True confessions: In the battle to tame my mane, the mane often wins. My hair, curly on good days but frizzy on most, gets wide instead of long. But being a dedicated naturalista,
I always thought the fewer products I had on my hair, the better. Of course I still washed and conditioned, and used a little bit of hair oil to moisturize, but I thought of those gooey, gunky hair mousses, gels, and sprays as chemical central. Besides, they turned my hair unnaturally brittle, and I preferred my haze of frizz to those crispy little tendrils.
So I often default to wearing headbands and clips in my hair to give me some semblance of control. Recently, though, I couldn’t even bear to wait between haircuts my normal three months, and went in for a trim after about ten weeks.
Annie Weisel, my hairdresser, who works at Urban Pearl in Boulder, Colorado, sat me down. Thinking we were doing the initial precut pep talk, she started playing with my hair, applying some product and really twining my hair around her fingers, working the lotions in. When she was done, I had a new head of hair: defined Botticelli curls cascading down my head, each tendril gleaming. She said I didn’t need a haircut what I needed, she said, was to use some product.
It was an epiphany, albeit a modest one, as I saw firsthand why for my type of hair in particular, you would no more leave the house without some sort of styling aid as you would without a moisturizer. Of course, it’s not just about what you put on your hair apr¨s shampoo. A slew of factors go in to taming your tresses so follow our action plan below to put the luster back into your locks.
Pre-shampoo oil treatment:
Consider conditioning your hair before you shampoo, by massaging in oil to your hair and scalp heating is optional and leaving it in for roughly twenty minutes. We love Suki Hair/Scalp Conditioning Oil (1 oz, $29), which combines stimulating rosemary with conditioning neem. Yarok Spark Your Youth (2 oz, $60) incorporates orange oil, a powerful antioxidant that keeps hair healthy, with avocado oil, great for nourishing dry hair.
Shampoo and Condition:
About a year ago while doing research for another hair story, I came across the Curly Girl ethos pioneered by hairdresser Lorraine Massey, author of Curly Girl (Workman Publishing Company, 2001). Her theory? For the curlyhaired, shampooing, especially with a formula that contains sulfates, is a crime against nature, as it strips hair of its natural oils. She recommends a no-poo approach, and suggests, when needed, to wash hair with conditioner. For those with straight or fine hair that tends to get greasy, not shampooing may be out of the question. You can, however, wash your hair less frequently than you think you need to, and use a shampoo without sulfates or harsh synthetics. “We’ve been trained by commercials to over shampoo our hair,” says Weisel. “Shampoo half as much and just rinse in between shampoos. And avoid using overly hot water, which dries out the scalp.”
Here are three mild but deeply restorative shampoo conditioner duos we love: Living Nature Balancing Shampoo and Balancing Conditioner (6.76 oz, $25 ea), kelp oil in the shampoo has silica, a key component of strong, lustrous hair. Suki Hair daily shampoo and conditioner revitalizing (5 oz, $27 each [LINK: www.sukipure.com); organic yerba protein leaves hair shiny and full. Yarok Green With Envy Shampoo and Conditioner, (8.5 oz, $36 and $39), offers a stimulating blend of botanicals, herb infusions, and nourishing oils.
Mask:
Just like your face, your hair needs special treatment, preferably once a week. Our favorite is Hamadi Shea Hair Mask (4 oz, $24), which combines silkening avocado, hydrating aloe vera, and mood-elevating ylang-ylang essential oil to replenish your hair roots to ends.
Styling products:
This is the holy grail of toxin-free haircare styling products that actually get the job done. Conventional styling products depend heavily on silicone, which tames frizz and gives instant smoothing results. But silicone is a form of plastic that smothers the scalp and hair. “Over time, frequent use of silicone means that your own scalp may stop producing its own moisture,” says Weisel.
Winter means people tend to blow dry more as there’s nothing worse than having your freeze into icicles. Explore letting your hair air dry as much as possible before finishing up with the blow dryer. And for maximum effect, put styling products on when hair is slightly damp. If you didn’t wet your hair in the shower, get a little plastic spray bottle, fill it with water, and spritz your hair till moist. And then, voila. Here are the six natural styling treatments we found that gave us the control, shine and softness we craved.
For girls who rock the curls, nothing worked better than John Masters Organics Shine On (4 oz, $30), which combines sea kelp for shine, carrot seed oil for moisture, and beech extract to define hair. For a glorified bed-head look, try John Masters Bourbon Vanilla & Tangerine Hair Texturizer (2 oz, $21), which features castor oil for smoothness and tangerine oil to tone the scalp.
Say goodbye to dry with Tela Beauty Organics Healer (1.6 oz, $36), a weightless treatment that uses organic humectants such as shea butter and argan oil to protect the hair from damaged ends and blow-drying damage. Tela Encore (1 oz, $32) works well on straight and frizzy hair alike, helps smooth hair into an up ‘do, and protects hair from environmental damage.
Save your tresses from sun’s harmful glare with Hamadi Shea Spray (4 oz, $18) the shea butter, a natural sunscreen, gives hair sheen. And the spray design makes for an easy, quick fix for dry hair that’s misbehaving. Hamadi Shea Leave In (4 oz, $21), perfect for finer hair, is a versatile styling lotion that’s never sticky or greasy.
By Elizabeth Marglin
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