Karen- What's your hair routine?

nm.

Karen- that sounds wonderful. Do you mind if I ask you one question? How exactly do you do the bun or braids for waves? Because I can remember when I was a little girl (I'm 25 now) my mom used to do this to my long hair. It was a nightly ritual and it's how we spent "girltime" together. I can remember that when I was at this age- the results came out really beautiful (she either braided my hair into braids-you know, like the Bo Derek thing, or she wrapped it in a bun). But now for the life of me I can't do it. Well, once I tried it and my hair came out looking like a hairball! It was frizzy and poking in all directions! A far cry from the nice waves my mom used to get for me! I don't know if I did it wrong or what. It's kind of a funny story-but the reason my mom started doing all this braiding, eyc. was because I had such baby fine hair (although it didn;t look so fine after she did this wet wrapping stuff). Now here I am at 25 and I still have stick straight, baby fine hair (it's also bleached which I know doesn't help- but I want it this light)! Tell me Karen- am I doomed- will I never see those waves again (because of my bleached baby fine hair) or am I just doing something wrong?> Hi,> Well you asked for it...so I hope I don't> bore you. :-)> When I am not testing new products (which> lately is often) I follow this routine:> I wash my hair every single day. I alternate> hair care products and here is a close approximation> of my shampoo and conditioning schedule:> Day One Shampoo hair with Aveda Shampure,> condition with Aveda Curessence, rinse with cool/old> water, blot as much water out as possible with> big towel, spray with detangler (I alternate with> Aveda Curessence Spray, ARTec Kiwi detangler,> Joico Integrity and Bain de Terre herbal conditioning> seal).> I carefully pick my hair out with a big pick> or big toothed comb with smooth teeth.> On some days I apply a little Aveda Confixer> to my bangs, blow dry about 3 mintues on cold> and then wrap my damp hair into a twist or bun> and pin it with a claw clip and off I go to work.>> About 2 hours later I unpin my hair, and> I have waves and soft curl. I finger pick it out> and that is it. I might brush it once to detangle,> but generally I don't mess with my hair during> the day.> Day Two Shampoo with ARTec Smoothing Shampoo> and condition with Aveda Deep Conditioner OR Aveda> Curessence. Do a cold water rinse (brrrr), towel> blot the hair, spray on detangler and pick out> the tangles, braid and then twist into a bun.> A few hours later...lots of waves. I let my bangs> air dry.> Day Three Shampoo with Aveda Shampure, condition> with ARTec Smoothing conditioner, spray with Aveda> Curessence Spray and depending on my mood, air> dry or blow dry my bangs.> I ALWAYS wrap my hair in a bun and let it> air dry. The only time I don't is very special> events which is about 5-6 times a year.> Day Four Shampoo with ARTec Kiwi Shampoo> and condition with Aveda Cherry Almond Bark. This> gives my hair lots of body and waves. It makes> my thick hair look even thicker.> Day Five Shampoo with Aveda Shampure and> condition with Aveda Curessence and follow all> the other detangling, picking and air dry steps.>> Day Six Shampoo with ARTec Smoothing Shampoo> and condition with Aveda Curessence or Deep Conditioner.>> Day Seven Shampoo with Aveda Chamomile &> condition with Aveda Deep Conditioner.> I alternate shampoo and conditioners every> day and I do it depending on the feel of my hair.> When my hair is dry I use Aveda Curessence conditioner.> When it is not so dry I use the ARTec or the Aveda> Cherry Almond.> I always spray on a detangler to protect> my hair from split ends.> I give myself an Aveda Beautifying Oil hair> and scalp treatment once or twice a week and sometimes> when I have time (not lately) I will do my olive> oil treatment. I leave the oil on for several> hours and will wrap a hot towel over a plastic> shower cap.> I get my hair trimmed 1/4" religiously> every 8-10 weeks. I usually go on the same nite> at the same time every appointment so it is easy> to remember my appointments. I book my appointments> months in advance too.> Every new moon I clip my own split ends with> a special Tweezerman scissors for cutting hair.> I only clip a tiny amount. I also clip a tiny> amount on the full moon to help the fullness.>> My hairstylist is Shelley Pryor at Salon> Michelle in Plano, Texas (Dallas) and she highlights> my hair for me about 3-4 times a year. She is> a long hair expert and knows exactly how to help> me keep my hair looking great. She also trims> several of my other long haired friend's hair.>> To highlight my hair Shelley uses the cap> method and pulls selected strands through and> then paints the hair with Matrix Socol about 2> shades lighter than my natural blonde hair. She> leaves it on about 40 minutes. The whole process> takes about 3 hours but it is worth the results.>> Every day I take Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)> every morning and evening, Vitamin B and E and> I eat seaweed for snacks. I eat the Nori sheets> that are used to make Sushi. I like them raw.> I also take acidophilous and Biotin tablets and> B6.> I get scalp massages about once a month and> do self-accupressure to my scalp to help stimulate> the energy and circulation.> I never use hot curlers, curling irons and> rarely, blow dryers. I never perm my hair or apply> any other chemicals except the Matrix highlights> every couple of months that Shelley does for me.>> I use Aveda Confixer when I want some body> to my hair. I have tried most of the Aveda products> and like all of them but I find the Elixer to> be beneficial only when I am going to blow dry> and I want a leavein conditioner to protect from> the heat. I like Phoemoellent but I prefer Confixer.> I also like the Flax Seed when I want an iron> grip of hold. I hardly use that though.> I never brush my hair more than I have to> and I use the best picks I can find. I have a> Cricket Boar's Head Brush in 3 sizes (paddle,> small and shaping) I have 5 Battalia brushes in> 2 sizes, I have several other brushes that are> OK but I don't recommend.> I take a little magnifying glass with me> to beauty supply stores and look at the knobs> at the end of the brush. Conair makes a few decent> brushes. Be sure to watch that the knobs are not> thick and check to make sure the spokes are perfectly> smooth.> I generally wear my hair down, up in a bun> with chopsticks or a claw clip or in braids (not> that often).> I buy all my hair care at World Wide Beauty.> I think they have the best prices and I love Ace> and Mickhael. They treat me right.> I currently have over 200 different hair> care products in my bathroom. This includes all> types of detanglers, shampoos, deep conditioners,> gels, foams. I even have some temporary color> that I was considering trying. I should take a> photo. You would not believe it.> I recently tested Aura, Abba, Rusk and ARTec.> I loved the ARTec but everything else was hard> on my hair.> That is why I love Aveda. No matter how horrible> my hair gets from testing other products, a few> days of Aveda Curessence conditioner and my hair> is back to its awesome soft, shiny self.> I love having long hair because it is easy> to take care of and it feels wonderful.> I think I covered just about everything.>> Hope that helped.> Thanks for asking. I am flattered. :-)> Karen>

Hi Michelle,To do the bun, after I have totally picked out my hair, I apply some gel or leave in conditioner or spray and then I pull my hair into a ponytail, but don't put a clasp around it...and with my hands I twist it around my fingers into a simple knot and pop in a big claw clip.If I want lots of waves, I will first apply Aveda Confixer to the roots (love that stuff) and then scrunch my hair and then wrap it into the bun. Sometimes I use a hair stick and sometimes a claw clip. It depends on my mood. For work I often wear the clips because it is easier to pop off and put into my purse.The braid is very simple. I just do 1 three strand braid at the nape of my neck. I gather my hair into a ponytail and then I braid it into a thick braid and apply a little "hair friendly" clasp at the bottom. Sometimes I pin it to the top of my head and sometimes I just let it hang.If I want lots and lots of waves, I will do a series of 5, 3 strand braids, and then tie them all together or pin them up on my head. I hardly ever do that. It takes too much time.I also can get lots of waves my blow drying my hair upside down and applying Confixer and "scrunching" like mad.Hope that helps. For me simplicity is so important because I am always on the go and don't have a lot of time to mess with my hair. :-)Sorry it took so long to answer.KarenPS. To avoid the "hairball" or frizz results, you may want to try and smooth the hair shaft by applying a little leave in conditioner like Elixer or even still a good detangler like Aveda's Curessence Styling spray. I usually apply either Confixer or Curessence Styling spray to give my hair a smooth finish. I also sometimes use Elixer.Also, I pick it first to eliminate fuzziness.Even though my hair may be damp, I have picked out all the tangles and globs of hair so that it is mostly smooth before I roll it up into a bun or braid it.The best way to learn how to do this is just play with your hair. I had to play with it for awhile until I got it the way I wanted.Hope this helps. If not....please post more questions. :-)Karen> Karen- that sounds wonderful. Do you mind> if I ask you one question? How exactly do you> do the bun or braids for waves? Because I can> remember when I was a little girl (I'm 25 now)> my mom used to do this to my long hair. It was> a nightly ritual and it's how we spent "girltime"> together. I can remember that when I was at this> age- the results came out really beautiful (she> either braided my hair into braids-you know, like> the Bo Derek thing, or she wrapped it in a bun).> But now for the life of me I can't do it. Well,> once I tried it and my hair came out looking like> a hairball! It was frizzy and poking in all directions!> A far cry from the nice waves my mom used to get> for me! I don't know if I did it wrong or what.> It's kind of a funny story-but the reason my mom> started doing all this braiding, eyc. was because> I had such baby fine hair (although it didn;t> look so fine after she did this wet wrapping stuff).> Now here I am at 25 and I still have stick straight,> baby fine hair (it's also bleached which I know> doesn't help- but I want it this light)! Tell> me Karen- am I doomed- will I never see those> waves again (because of my bleached baby fine> hair) or am I just doing something wrong?