You Too Can Do: What Should I buy: Sleeker Look

What Should I buy: Sleeker Look

As discussed before, most of the time women want volume.

However, if it’s not volume they want, it’s a sleek, shiny, healthy look.

And for those who want both, I normally try to keep a straight face while thinking,

“Sure. Shall I also pull a unicorn out of my butt?“

But for sleekness and shine- I promise it’s obtainable.

So if you read my previous post on volume, you’ll know I advised against oils, creams, etc-

-WHICH IS PERFECT FOR SLEEK AND SHINE.

Here’s the general breakdown of what’s happening when you see hair that shines like glass.

Imagine every hair on your head has a series of umbrellas. These umbrellas open when you use products that are alkaline (think hair color, clarifying shampoos, etc) and close when you use something acidic (think Brazilian blowouts, conditioners, etc).

So when hair is shiny and reflective, it means those umbrellas are closed, creating a perfectly flat strand.

SO TO SUM IT UP: Think Acidic.

Now, before I go on, let me say what I always say in situations like this.

Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

You shouldn’t use a particular regime of hair products every day of your life. Too much keratin creates hair snapping (which we’ll talk about in a another post), too much oil creates an oil slick, and too much clarifying removes color and moisture.

If you’re using products to slick down the hair, make sure you clarify periodically to remove some of that buildup.

SO LETS GET TO THE FUN PART:

Staring from the beginning, you should think about shampoos and conditioners meant for sleek and shine. (Mind you, these types of products aren’t great for clarifying.)

If your hair is naturally frizzy and you want to kick it out, Alterna makes a smoothing set under their Bamboo line.

It includes the shampoo, conditioner, oil, and hairspray- which is kind of perfect for anyone who has hard time keeping non frizzy and curly hair from kinking back up through the day.

If you hair is naturally pretty straight and you’re just trying to keep shine- odds are you probably just need moisture.

I have a sneaky feeling you’re the girl who’s not using conditioner (“it makes my hair so flat!”).

Paul Mitchell’s Awapuhi Wild Ginger line is divine. It’s hydrating but it’s doesn’t leave greasy limp hair behind. It’s actually surprisingly lightweight. (The Keratin treatment is a great once a week thing to do, by the way).

Yes, they are a little pricey, but they’re pretty amazing.

And when it comes to styling products, think anything with some weight:

Creams/thicker mousse/serums:

Again, I love my awapuhi Hydrocream Whip and Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum (featured here in a Breast Cancer Awareness bottle) helps add some weight. The Alterna Brilliance Cream is great too.

And then, once your hair is completely dry and styled (IE, you already did any curling, flat iron work, etc) add some oil!

Why did I say to add oil after heat work?

Uhhh, hello, you ever fry anything in oil on the stove?

Please stop trying to deep fry your hair.

Here’s some of my favorite oils