All About Hair!

I get lots of hair questions, so thought I’d do a post on my favorite products and how I manage my hair.

A few facts about my hair:

  • I’ve never dyed my hair, ever.
  • I’ve been growing out my hair since before my wedding when it was around shoulder length so about 2.5 years now, with 1 inch trims at about every 3 months
  • I’ve had 2 digital perms (a little less than a year apart) and probably due for another one
  • My hair is super annoyingly thick so I have to get it thinned out every few months.
  • My hair has become drier since the digital perms and I tend to get more split ends now.

So, everyone wants to know if my hair comes out like this because of my digital perm.  The answer is, No, but I wish it did!  What the digital perm did is give my hair texture and the ability to hold a curl.  When I don’t curl my hair and use a diffuser to blow dry my hair, it comes out more wavy than curly, like in this lookbook.  To get these curls, I use this curling iron (which you can read about the other tools I use in this hair tutorial)

    hair2hair3

    All photos below are clickable and will take you to their respective links to buy!
    I’ve tried several shampoos and my hair seems to like Bumble and Bumble the best.  I like this gentle shampoo as I don’t need anything too harsh on my hair since it’s generally pretty healthy. 
    I also really like using this Sunday shampoo to get that really clean feeling.  They call this shampoo a “detox” which is a great word to describe it.  You can really tell the difference when you use this, it gets super sudsy and just feels like it’s getting all the product residue out of your hair.  Hard to explain but once you try it, you will know what I mean.  I use it only once a week or once every other week depending on how hard I was on my hair.
    After my shower while my hair is wet I like to put in one of these two sprays to keep my hair healthy.  I also think it helps keep it full because if I don’t use it, my hair tends to get a bit limp.  I blow dry my hair after I spray these in.
    When I want to curl my hair with a curling iron, I prep my hair with this Curling Lotion (it’s called lotion but it’s really a spray) from Lucido L, a Japanese brand.  I buy mine at Uwajimaya (a Japanese grocery store) but I hear that you can get it at a lot of Asian type of markets.  I haven’t seen it elsewhere in Seattle though.  I really like this spray because I think it really helps curl my hair yet it still leaves my hair very soft to the touch.  It’s like hairspray without the stiffness.
    Also from the same line, I use this hair cream to smooth my hair after styling.  It’s really lightweight and doesn’t leave my hair greasy feeling like some hair creams can.
    When I don’t want to curl my hair, I spray my hair with the Tigi Curls Rock spray before I blow dry to give it some texture.
    When I’m not working out every day, I’ll only wash my hair every other day (sometimes even 2 days).  I hate washing my hair every day just because it actually makes it harder to style and manage when it’s squeaky clean.  It’s so true that dirty hair is easier to style.  On some of the days where I feel like my hair feels a bit dirtier, maybe from product build up, I just put a bit of dry shampoo in and my hair instantly feels cleaner.  I’ve mentioned this Stila Hair Refresher before and I want to note that I’ve used many dry shampoos since but none that I have liked more than this product.  It’s just the right consistency and has a delightful fragrance.  Also, a trick I use is when I want very voluminous hair like you’ve seen here, a bit of hair powder really helps your hair stay “big” after teasing.
    So there you go, my “dream team” of hair products.  I experiment a lot and am a sucker for new products so I do try out a lot of new sprays/lotions/creams, etc… but those above are the ones that have really stuck with me for the past few months, years even, that I really like.
    hair

    In the pictures above I’m wearing Elizabeth and James blazer, Forever 21 top, Earrings by Marika King.
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  • Schnelle Couture
    October 5, 2010 at 12:10 pm

    I love your hair! I'm trying to grow mine out too and I just started taking Biotin. I haven't been getting frequent hair cuts though. Do you think that helped you- getting it cut every 3 months?

  • Katie
    October 5, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    Your hair always looks amazing, no wonder you get a lot of questions on it 🙂 Ive only used a couple of Bumble & Bumble products but have been really impressed. The Sunday shampoo is on my list to try!

  • curls-and-pearls
    October 5, 2010 at 1:34 pm

    What a great post, thanks for all the information!

  • Lotus
    October 5, 2010 at 1:39 pm

    Wow! You have gorgeous hair…thanks for sharing your secrets…I'm going to try out some of the products:))

  • Ashley J
    October 5, 2010 at 2:30 pm

    Your hair is awesome and I have never heard of a digital perm in my life so thanks for the info!! I NEED one of those because my hair is stick straight!

    http://www.afashionfixation.blogspot.com

  • CessOviedo
    October 5, 2010 at 2:48 pm

    You definitely have gorgeous hair! I love the way you style it 😉 … I use bumble and bumble products as well and I love them! they are great!

    http://blog.cessoviedo.com

  • Jessica
    October 5, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    You are so lucky to have thick hair! It's absolutely gorgeous. Mine is very fine, so it won't hold curl for more than 10 minutes! I'm trying to grow mine out lately. It was really long but I cut it off in a stacked bob last fall. It's finally grown out to my shoulders, and I am so anxious for it to be long again!

  • A.Co
    October 5, 2010 at 3:48 pm

    Your hair has gotten so long in 2.5 years! I'm at the two year mark, but I had chopped it into a angular bob, so, a little longer to go 😉

    Great review on all the products you use, and information about the digital perm. I asked my stylist (last time I was there, in August) if she knew what that was, and she didn't (she's Asian) – however, I didn't exactly know how to explain it either! 😛

    A.Co @ A.Co est. 1984

  • chibi
    October 5, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    Thank you for this hair post.
    I have been debating on getting a digital perm.
    After reading this, I think it is for me.

    My hair is very slippery straight and does not hold a curl.

    I might try a digital perm before the end of the year.

  • janettaylor
    October 5, 2010 at 5:29 pm

    Ur hair is fantastic!

    ♥

  • momma j lee ♥
    October 6, 2010 at 3:56 am

    Thanks for sharing! I got a perm done 2 yrs ago and hated it. I've been growing it out ever since and now it's just slightly wavy but straight on top so I've been debating whether to go straight or to cut it all off again and grow it out … but your post has totally made me re-think perms.

  • Jackie
    October 6, 2010 at 5:02 am

    Ahh your routine and mine is as close to identical as it could get! I shampoo every other day (sometimes two!) and use dry shampoo if I need it (definitely volumizes and makes the oil go away!). I use Bb Sunday shampoo too! But I should probably try Gentle shampoo since I really don't use too many products on a daily basis in my hair anyway. I have Oscar Blandi dry shampoo which really really works (smells lemon-ey) but I'm going to have to try the Stila Hair Refresher you suggested. I use Bb Thickening Spray before blowdrying. I LOVE this spray! I really think it allows a bit more time between hair washes AND it protects from heat! Per-fect! This also helps give my hair some texture and keeps oil to a minimum. I bought the Lucido Curling Lotion a couple weeks ago and have tried it a couple times but I haven't really put it to the test yet because I don't have english instructions on mine and have been too lazy to look it up. Hah. I hope it's as great as everyone says it is. But OMG while I was reading your post I just kept thinking "HEY! Me too! … Omg. OMG!" I love Bb!

  • Chessa!
    October 6, 2010 at 1:29 pm

    your hair is gorgeous. I love that aveeno spray and the bb tonic too!

  • Ashley
    October 6, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    Agreed! I love using dry shampoo–I'm able to wash my hair every other day now and still look great! My hair is pretty managable as long as I have a great conditioner!

    I'm in dire need of CUTE WEDGES FOR THIS FALL! What do you think of these? Each is within my price range with design details that I adore: peep toes and feminine accents.
    http://www.honeysucklechic.com/2010/10/06/fall-has-arrived/

    Ashley
    http://honeysucklechic.com

  • DiamondsandTulle
    October 7, 2010 at 5:34 pm

    Wow! You've never colored your hair? I haven't colored in over 3 years now and I was just debating it… but I don't want to damage it. Love your curls as always. And I've been loving my BB sea kelp conditioner & surf spray too. I may give the shampoo a try when I run out.

    xx Vivian @ http://diamondsandtulle.blogspot.com

  • sharonlei
    October 7, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    Tiffany, your hair always looks soooo amazing! And that's awesome that you've never dyed it either.. virgin hair is awesome. 🙂 I used to have a lot of fun with coloring my hair. My first memory of "experimenting" was back in junior high and a bunch of my girlfriends brought over some Sun-in. Enough said. LOL.

    Well, I hope you are well!! Oooo and Happy Belated birthday, hope it was a blast. Kisses.

    xx Love & Aloha

  • MizzJ
    October 9, 2010 at 11:43 pm

    Thanks for the post, I've been very curious about digital perms after reading long ago about yours. Does it make it harder to straighten your hair though? I'm so fickle; sometimes I want it wavy, sometimes straight!

  • Katz NYC
    October 13, 2010 at 4:41 am

    Wow, I can't believe thick hair could actually be a problem. Mine is the other way around, very fine hair that needs all the possible help with volume. Lucky you! 🙂

  • Moe
    October 28, 2010 at 1:59 am

    Gee, I haven't been here in a while — like the new look.

    And yes, you definitely have lovely hair.

  • Anonymous
    October 25, 2011 at 11:52 pm

    Hi Tiffany, could you recommend any products to stop hair thinning for teenagers. Thanks!