Wedding Blog
…is finally getting my hair cut!
I, like many brides, have been “growing my hair out for the wedding.” When I was little, my hair was baby fine. At age six, my mom and our hair-cutter at the time thought it would be good to cut off all my hair and see if it grew back any thicker. Well, it did. But, for years I had this awkward mullet-growing-out thing going on. I wish I had a photo to share, but they are all in Florida and asking my mom to use a scanner would probably stress her out far more than it is worth, right mom? 
Well, when it finally grew out and decided on its final texture, I ended up with sort of curly, sort of straight, always frizzy, very thick hair. In order to have some control over my head I blow dry and straighten my hair every day. So, it has been 15 months since the last time I had my hair cut. 15 months worth of heat damage does not look so pretty, in fact it looks a little like this:
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Now it is a little extreme to go all this time without even a trim, but I keep having nightmares that I chop off all of my hair (all of it) a couple days before the wedding and I cannot bring myself to have it cut. In addition to being heat damaged, my hair is this variation of a ruddy brownish color from dying it burgundy for over a year. I have finally made an appointment to get my hair cut and colored as well as for a wedding day trial for September 13th (the day of my shower).
Until then, does anyone have any great product suggestions that I can use to bring some life back to my head?
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I have long hair - down to the middle of my back - and I color it because Mother Nature has a nasty sense of humor and is giving me these wiry gray things. Anyhoo, I recently started using Frederick Fekkai products and it has turned my hair into a ribbon of satin! It’s not cheap, but it is the most worth it splurge I have made on beauty products in ages.
I will agree with carolineG but if you dont want to spend all the money on the shampoo and conditioner i LOVE the fekkai technocolor hair mask. it’s around 30 dollars for a jar but you dont have to use it every day but you can if you would like to and it makes your hair feel sooo nice! Also I started using the new dove shampoo and conditioner with the repair serum…dove intense damage therapy! it’s amazing. and i am just like you instead of getting the typical beautiful asian silky hair, my hair is coarse thick and frizzy… =*( so good luck!
the kerastase hair mask is wonderful. I put it in my hair and wrap it up in a towel and leave it on all day. i also like the deep conditioning treatment from rene furterer. for gloss and moisture on the cheap, it’s good old vo5 hot oil treatments.
I concur on the kerastase. Take a shower and rise with warm/hot water to open up the hair cuticle. Slather it on generously, and wrap your head in plastic wrap (do this alone, you’ll look ridiculous!). Leave on as long as you can, then rinse out with cold water to seal the moisture in.
I’m sure you’ve heard this before but try not to blowdry it if you can get away with it–ponytails, buns, headbands, etc… It will go a long way to making your hair shinier and softer! Also, try to wash your hair at most every other day–you can simply rinse on the in-between days. Sweat won’t make you dirty, and constant shampooing will just dry it out further. You want to use a deep conditioner once a week–and if you do have split ends you might want to get those snipped. You’ll be surprised what a difference in appearance that will make. And lastly, think about hair extensions if you don’t think you’ll be able to get it to the desired length on your own!
Anything by the Ojon line. I have seriously gone to my hairsylist every six weeks for a trim and highlight - practically every other appoinment she says I don’t even need a trim! That Ojon is some miracle stuff!
I also agree with Mrs. Bee and Robyn171! After I colored my hair (who really thought blonde on a very dark brunette would go over well??), the Kerastase deep conditioner really saved it. Also, instead of coloring, my stylist also just glossed it for a year. It evened out the color and added vitamins, rather than stripping them away by coloring it (I think the gloss was called PM Shine)?
@Miss Pomegranate: Miss Pom I used to cut my hair religiously every 6 weeks like a crazy person until I started using the Ojon line as well. I won’t be cutting my hair until right before the wedding now!
If you’re going the same shade or darker on your color, ask your stylist about doing what is called demi-permanent haircolor. Essentially, it is a deposit-only color, which means it won’t blast your hair open with all the ammonia that regular permanent haircolor has. When you shampoo, try to use the coldest water you can possibly stand (it’ll preserve the color for a little longer). As far as products go, my clients like K-Pak (by Joico) deep reconstructor and the Redken Extreme line. Both are really great for improving the look and texture of damaged hair, but are a bit of an investment pricewise. If you’re looking for something a little less expensive, Nexxus is great and has recently gone over-the-counter. I used their Therappe(shampoo) and Humectress(conditioner) for years.
I just had to say, I had the growing-out-mullet deal too, my mom also cut my hair to make it grow back thicker… In my “off to kindergarten” picture the only way you can tell I was a girl was by my uniform!
Any type of spray-on heat protector helps me a lot, at least to hold you over until you can get it trimmed.
for a less expensive line, the neutrogena professional line is also great.
You can now buy the Clairol conditioning/gloss treatment thing that comes with their hair dye by itself–I think I got a little tube at Target for like $3. It’s fantastic; my hair feels even softer after using it than after kerastase (and it’s super-cheap to try!). It’s a tiny little blue squeeze tube.
Ojon is great, but if you have curly or frizzy hair, I highly suggest you check out DevaCurl products. I have spent years and hundreds of dollars trying to find products that will give me shiny, soft, defined curls and their stuff is aaaamazing. You have to buy it through the salon’s website. The salon itself is way overpriced (NYC=hundreds of dollars), but the owner’s book “Curly Girl” is actually very helpful. Most importantly, there are no sulfates in any of their products, unlike Ojon’s shampoo–that stuff will wreak havoc on your hair. I can’t use Ojon for more than 3 or 4 days before I go back to DevaCurl because my hair starts to feel dry and frizzes out. If you want more info, the naturallycurly.com website is helpful for postings from other curly girls.
Oh, and taking fish oil softgels (~1000mg) 3x daily is proven to strengthen the hair shaft and will give you stronger nails as well. That’s a super cheap and effective way to get stronger, longer hair. Hope that’s helpful!
That is a really long time to go without a trip to your hair salon!! What about going in right now, before all the heat & chlorine of summer is upon you, get an inch trim off the bottom, and have them do an intensive conditioning mask on it? Seeing your stylist now will get your hair in even better shape for your hair trial in September!!
I’m trying to grow my hair out right now too, and it currently looks stupendously ugly when I wear it down. I find that silicone hair serums help it look better though. If your hair is damaged, all the expensive beauty potions in the world won’t turn it back into something lustrous and silky and manageable, but silicone products help you fake it by temporarily glue-ing down frizzy bits and giving a nice shine. If you prefer something a bit more natural, The Body Shop makes a nice product called coconut oil hair shine, or I’ve heard of people using pure coconut oil in their hair to help control and condition it.
Oh, and I concur on the not-washing-your-hair-every-day thing. If the concept of that seems kind of gross, or if you’re like me and you have a bit of an oily-roots problem, try “washing” it with just conditioner on the off-days.
All of that said, I don’t know how much it’s worth from someone who currently has stupendously ugly hair!
thanks for all the great advice ladies! time to go shopping 
@MissCricket: eh, another couple months wont kill me…
[...] care samples from Mr. Pineapple’s friend, Jess. Jess used to work at ULTA and read my post about my crazy frizzy hair. She then wonderfully offered to send me some of the free samples she had been given while working [...]
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Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
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