It has been a loooong time since I have blogged but between work, school, family and friends something had to give!  Luckily I am almost back on a routine (plus I have a detailed outline for a manuscript I’m writing due on Thursday and I am procrastinating) so I am back.  To kick off this homecoming I am going to fulfill a request I received this summer from my friend Amanda…my hair care routine.

When I was young I hated my hair with a passion.  It was big and frizzy and I never knew what to do with it so it went in a ponytail until my mom would bribe me to cut it.  Then I was really stuck with some helmet hair!  I will always remember coming home from school during my sophomore year in high school and sitting down with my mom to watch an episode of Oprah.  She was giving hair makeovers and one guest was sharing her horror story which involved someone using thinning shears on her hair.  She warned people to run away if a hairdresser ever pulled them out around you.  Her warning had the opposite effect on me; I ran towards them and never looked back.  My current (and phenomenal) hair dresser always jokes that I lose more hair in a thinning than most do in a cut.

Now that I am older and have a better idea about how to handle my hair I love it!  I am blessed with the fact that I only need to wash it once a week, which is great because I hate blow drying it.  Like most things in my life, my hair routine* is fairly consistent.  Luckily most people don’t even realize that I style my hair in specific ways on specific days (until now).

Day 1 — Sunday

Sunday’s are reserved for hair washing.  Sometimes this switches to Saturday’s and once or twice a month I go to Dry Bar, but typically Sunday is the day.  Because I have purple hair right now, some products and procedures are specific to maintaining my color.

1. Thorough clean.  This week I used Redken’s hair cleansing cream shampoo to really cleanse my hair of product build up.
2. Vivid cleanse.  I use Pravana Choromosilk color protecting shampoo and conditioner to maintain my purple.
3. Violet cleanse.  Violet shampoos are great to use if you are blonde and want to keep brassy tones out of your color.  I have tried a few but always go back to Joico Color Endure Violet.
4. Hair mask.  To keep my hair soft I use Kerastase Nutritive Masque.  I was wanting to add a masque to my routine and chose this particular mask because it is made for thick/coarse hair.  It’s fantastic and leaves my unruly hair soft and shiny.
5. I thought the purple in my hair hair needed a little boost this week so I decided to apply Overtone’s Go Deep Vibrant Purple Weekly treatment.  I’ll be doing a full review of the product at a later date.

With freshly cleansed and colored hair, the drying process begins.  I begin my pulling out the three products I use:

1. It’s a 10 Miracle Leave-in Treatment
2. Kenra Blow Dry Spray 
3. Tressemme Curl Activator

I begin by spraying my hair evenly with Its a 10.  I brush through it with my Wet Brush.  I then spray the Kenra and Tressemme and brush through again.  I part my hair into three sections (right, left and bottom) with simple clips.  Beginning with the bottom portion of my hair I rough dry using my T3 Featherweight Luxe 2i (I opted for this version specifically because my hair hair is so thick).  Next I bring down the right side to rough dry, the left side and then use my Olivia Garden finger brush to bring my hair to a complete dry.  That’s all I do on Sunday’s.  I like to get a good sleep on a silk pillowcase before styling the next morning.

Day 2 — Monday

I am my most energetic on Monday mornings which works out well because when I wake up Monday, my hair needs some work!  I typically wear my hair straight at the beginning of the week so before I start my eye makeup, I plug in my Instyler and spray my hair with Tresseme Heat Tamer Spray.  Once my makeup is done and my tool is warmed up I part my hair into three sections, just like when I blow dry.  Taking 1-1.5 inch sections, I slowly glide my hair through the Instyler.  The Instlyer can be used in various ways, but I like to use it to straighten my hair and gently curl under the ends.  After my hair is complete, I run a single squirt of BedHead After Party through my hair.

To prepare my hair for bed I use a Spornette’s boars’ hair brush and brush for about two minutes (roughly 65 strokes).  I then throw my hair into a high ponytail on the very top of my head (think Pebbles Flinstone) with a 1990s throwback scrunchie.

Day 3 — Tuesday

Tuesday morning looks a lot like Monday.  I pull my hair down, brush through it and go over kinky pieces with my Instyler.  Once I do that, I am out the door!

Typically my hair is still in good shape Tuesday night, so I brush with my boars’ hair brush and just throw it back up for bed with my trusty scrunchie.

Day 4 — Wednesday

Wednesday mornings are rough!  I am groggy and my straight hair is boring me.  Often this leads to an undo of sorts.  Today I decided to include a small fishtail braid into my look.  Using my rat tail comb, I section of a large chunk of hair near my face and rub some Redken Braid Aid into the piece.  (While this product isn’t essential, it really helps me keep fly aways in place).  I pinned it back with my mega bobby pins and put my hair back with a clear elastic (Blax are fantastic if you have thick hair).

Usually by Wednesday night, my hair is starting to show signs of age.  I applied Living Proof Night Cap Overnight Perfecter to bring the shine back and Redken’s Pillow Proof dry shampoo to add some volume and eliminate any traces of oil.  After letting everything absorb I throw my hair up with my scrunchie and go to bed.

Day 5 — Thursday

I have class on Thursday nights so I tend to wake up a little bit early and refresh my look so I look nice in class (it’s a mental game I play with myself so that I don’t dread going quite as much).  I love my hair curled, and have a ton of curling irons, but my favorite remains the T3 SinglePass Whirl Conical Curling Wand.  Before I start my eye makeup, I spray my hair with Chi’s texture spray, plug in the wand and by the time I am ready, it is all warmed up.  Because of the density of my hair, I usually warm it to about 430 degrees.  I start by dividing my hair into three sections (right, left and bottom).  Starting with the bottom section I curl 1-1 ½ inch sections in alternating directions, starting away from my face.  Once each section is finished I apply Chi’s firm hold hairspray.  I leave the curls to cool and then release them when I’m ready to leave for work.

By Thursday night, my scalp begins to show signs dryness so I apply tea tree oil to my finger tips and massage into my hair.  Once complete, I put my hair up and go to sleep.

Day 6 — Friday

My hair holds a curl pretty well so on Friday’s I simply spray my hair with TIGI Spoil Me Restyler and re-curl a few pieces of hair.  I add some hair spray and I am good to go.  Because of some rainstorms in Dallas I planned to spray my hair with Big Sexy Weatherproof Spray but I couldn’t find it and I was in a hurry!

Friday night was pretty boring.  I knew I was going to have a low key Saturday so I didn’t bother trying to preserve my hair, I simply put it up and went to bed.

Day 7 — Saturday

It was raining Saturday and I didn’t have much going on.  For a quick and simple style I did a side fishtail braid and called it a day!

This is a typical week for my hair.  Of course, it isn’t always exactly like this, but it’s usually pretty close.  One final tip: I always sleep on satin pillowcases; not only do they make me feel like I’m sleeping at a fancy hotel, they also prevent frizzy hair (and wrinkles)!

For extra beauty ramblings follow my Instagram @jessicasgoneviral

*I have linked each product for purchase.  Each product mentioned I purchased for myself based solely on word of mouth and intuition.  I have linked each product to an online retailer but do not receive any compensation if you choose to purchase from them.