Moving Right Along...

Okay...let's talk hair products.

V. and I were both blessed with full, thick heads of hair.

Not only thick hair strands, but also a lot of hair per square inch.

Mine is mostly straight, V's has a bit of a curl.

Over the years, I've done pretty much everything

one can do to one's hair...remember those perms mum gave us when we were

little V?...Yikes!..except shave it all off.  It's been every length from short-short

to so long I could sit on it.  In all modesty, my husband says most people would kill for my bad-hair days.

Right now, my hair is highlighted to lift it's dark ash-ness

and just brushing my shoulders.

Let's start with shampoos.

I wash it about every second or third day with any kind of light shampoo

this one...

or this one...

sometimes this one...

(pretty much, whatever is on sale)

and once a week with this

I'm told it's probably not the best thing for maintaining

my highlights, but I find they fade anyway and this shampoo does

remove the buildup that other shampoos seem to leave behind.

I only use one conditioner.

I've tried just about every other one on the market...and

nothing works for me like this one.  First I massage it into my hair and then I comb it through and leave it on for at least three minutes.  

I know hairdressers hate it...but there you have it.

When my youngest daughter got married, I went with her to the hairdressers.  She has inherited my thick, straight, dense hair.  The girl who washed her hair was rushing a bit and only put a dab of conditioner in it.  When she tried to comb Jessica's hair, it was a tangled, mangled mess.  Jessica kept insisting that she needed more conditioner, but the girl just kept tugging away.  Daughter had a complete melt-down (it was her wedding day after all).  Enter stylist, who after a brief aside with mother-of-the-bride, took her back to the washing station and proceeded to massage the conditioner into her hair.  This was the result

Since that day I have always taken the extra two or three minutes to massage the conditioner into my hair...lesson learned.

I've just recently (thanks to my darling elder daughter) started

using the tiniest bit of this

to help deal with some split-ends that need removing

and it's gorgeous...stupidly expensive, but gorgeous.

However, darling neice (remember the one that works at Sephora) tells me that I should be using Argon Oil

which is in Moroccan Oil, but is more pure and seems to cost less.

You can also use it on your skin and nails so the instructions tell me.

Once I've finished the bottle of Moroccan Oil, I'm going to see if I can find Argon Oil

and I'll report back.

Then there is the once-a-month

Sophia Loren hair treatment.

1/4 cup of olive oil massaged into the hair

and left on for at least a day.  If you can stand the smell, it works!

Good enough for Sophia...certainly good enough for me!

Now onto tools.

I have four old, white, bigger-than-a teatowel-but-smaller-than-a bathtowel 

towels.  I've had them for years and years.  I don't use fabric softener when I wash them.

They are the thirstiest towels in the world and I love them.

Out of the shower and wrap my hair in one of these.  Then I let my hair air-dry as much as possible and break out the tool-bag. 

I have a regular old hairdryer...

a Corialis flat iron...

silly expensive at the store, but I found mine on e-bay for a fraction of the price,

a set of hot rollers

and a curling iron.

Obviously don't use all of them together, mostly just the hairdryer and the straightener (did I mention I have this funky double crown?)

Two brushes

a flat paddle style

and a large-barrel round brush, both by Aveda, only because I happened to be getting my hair done there and bought them at the same time.  I don't think there is anything magical about this brand, and they are quite pricey.  Having said that though, I've owned both of them for quite some time, so they have lasted.

I don't use products in my hair...never have liked the way they make it feel (other than the Moroccan oil of course).  I might use the tiniest bit of hairspray if my hair's being a bit unruly, but that's about it.

So...how do you groom your locks?..what are your hair-secrets?