QuoteReplyTopic: THICKEN, STRAIGHTEN, SMOOTH AND SHINE Posted: January 12 2000 at 3:33am
I've got long, thin, wavy hair - but alot of it - and all one length.What products and what order should I use them in to get my hair - thicker, straighter, smoother and especially SHINIER?I hear about a product here and a product there....but not an actual routine to follow.Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Jeanie
Hi,I just posted a brand new article on the front page of Hair Boutique that gives detailed info on chemical straightening. I don't think that is what you are asking for...but you can check that out and see.If you want your hair straighter, it is best to use a good moisturizing shampoo & rinse out conditioner that will make your hair softer so that the waves/curls will be easier to control. I personally love ARTec's Smoothing shampoo and conitioner on my wavy long hair. However, my current stylist has very curly hair and she has great luck with Aveda's Blue Malva and Cherry Almond Bark. She swears by it.After you have finished washing your hair, do a cool to cold water rinse to seal the hair shaft and hold in the shine. Towel blot your hair to remove excessive moisture.Then use a good detangler (I like ARTec's Kiwi detangler which acts as a combination detangler and leave in conditioner). Use a good wide toothed comb or pick and starting at the ends...detangle up to the roots. I also like Aveda's Curessence Spray. Joico also has a good one but I find that it causes my hair to get some build up.To get thicker hair you can do several things. After your hair is detangled from end to roots, apply a little Aveda Confixer at just the roots and underside of your hair near the nape of the neck. Use a good blow dryer on the lowest/coolest setting and direct the air flow so that you are doing a sweeping motion back and forth on your hair.You can carefully finger pick your roots as you blow dry to fluff up the hair shaft. When the underside of your hair is completely dry...and this is key....no moisture should remain....flip your hair back over and use a paddle brush to carefully smooth your hair on top as you finish drying. I have a Cricket boars' head bristle paddle brush that I lightly use to "smooth" the hair as I finish blow drying. To give the hair a straighter and smoother finish you can also carefully use a round brush to smooth and straighten as you finish blow drying the top part of the hair.It is important to remember to use the brushes as only a way of smoothing the hair as you dry. Do not ever brush wet hair since the hair will easily rip.Get the top hair completely dry and be sure to use the coldest setting you can. This seals the hair and helps with shine and straightness.Once your hair is completely dry you can apply a little bit of ARTec Smoothing Serum to your palms of your hands and then carefully smooth this over your dry hair. Just a little bit is all you need to smooth and add a little shine. Then you have two options. You can use a curling iron set on the coolest setting and turn the ends under OR you can set your hair on giant velcro or heated rollers to get even "bigger" smoother hair.You can also use a tiny drop of ARTec's Texture Shine which adds shine. I would not recommend using this all the time and make sure your hair doesn't develop any build up. My hair doesn't but I use it sparingly.How do you make hair shine? First it should be in the best condition possible and this means doing 1-2x a week deep conditioning treatments using a product like ARTec' Moisture Pac or Aveda's Curressence conditioner or Revitalizing conditioner OR you can whip up an olive oil home treatment (read my straightening article for info on how to do this).Using a cold water final rinse and blow drying on the coolest setting seals the hair shaft and helps with shine. Using the products I mention will add shine.Finally, you can often use vegetable hair coloring...which is temporary...to add more shine to your hair. Also, the color shampoos by ARTec and Aveda will brighten hair and add some shine.The key thing to remember is that your hair is unlike anyone else's hair so you will need to experiment to find the products that work best for you. I have a friend who swears by ARTec's volume line and it just doesn't work as well for me as the Smoothing. All hair is different.There are so many products out on the market that it can be confusing just what does what. So I hope this helped a little. Please post if you have more questions.Best wishes,Karen> I've got long, thin, wavy hair - but alot of it - and> all one length.> What products and what order should I use them in to> get my hair - thicker, straighter, smoother and> especially SHINIER?> I hear about a product here and a product there....but> not an actual routine to follow.> Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated! Jeanie
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