This is the blog I think most of you have been wanting… I know it might seem hard to believe but I wash my hair about every two weeks. I know I know it sounds gross. But I’ve trained it to go this long, and I’ll tell you how.
DISCLAIMER: I am not a hairdresser or a cosmetologist. I got most of these tips FROM a hairdresser and licensed cosmetologist. AND I do not have extremely curly or coiled hair.
First, backstory… I was first diagnosed with depression in 2006 and started taking zoloft at that time. After about 8 years, I weaned off of it. After giving birth, I suffered from extended postpartum depression, but my body was rejecting getting back on zoloft (cue severe night sweats that I’d have to change my clothes twice every night) so I gave up on that. #hormones At some point in mid-January 2019, I got on Instagram and I found this girl named Jasmine Rae. She had BEAUTIFUL, Rapunzel-esque long, blonde hair and I knew I wanted to have the same thing. At the time she had two sons, and wasn’t far from having her daughter. She was also in the midst of going 33 days between washes. EUREKA! She was an affiliate for L’ange hair care and I started watching her videos. She preached about Hair Training and her #dryshampooandpushthrough hashtag.
This was the day that the straw finally broke the camel’s back… 
This was coming out of my head almost every week.
I had spent the last 16 months with an oil slick on top of my head. Struggling to get the energy or mental capacity to shower. I constantly felt like a grease ball and that I smelled and I didn’t want to go anywhere. I spent most days with my hair in a ponytail and my hair was thinning significantly. Whenever I’d go in the shower, handfuls of hair would end up on my shower wall (come on… You know you make designs on your shower wall with your hair too…) or on the floor in the drain. I began hair training THE DAY that I found Jasmine. After a few weeks of following her, I decided to jump right into it and I went two weeks without washing my hair for the first time. I was amazed. I felt like I could rejoin society. It was a weird feeling. I continued the 2-week wash cycle until July of that year when I decided to do my own 33 day no wash challenge when I realized I had accidentally gone 21 days instead of 14. I succeeded, but it was difficult in the Houston humidity. At that time, I wasn’t working out very much (or at all, really…I spent a good portion of 2019 very, very sick. More on that in a later blog…), so it wasn’t too terribly hard to manage the oils on my head.
So… about dry shampoo… I wait about 3 days before applying, and mostly only at night. When you spray dry shampoo on before bed, it gives it all night to absorb any unwanted oils. When you wake up and run a brush through it, your hair looks good as new! What dry shampoos do I use? Well, that depends on the day… I’ve tried a WHOLE bunch. Expensive, cheap, drugstore, to custom. My favorites are Hask Chia Seed, Alterna Caviar Sheer non-aerosol, L’ange Style Revival, R+Co Death Valley (this one is invisible!), Daily. Dark (they’ve since come out with an all hair colors version) … That about sums it up. The heavier ones are most certainly the Style Revival and the R+Co.
You see, hair training isn’t just about dry shampoo… There’s a whole process. From how you wash it, to how you sleep at night, and everything in between. (insert sheer determination… After all, “emotions are the catalyst for change.”) When you wash, use 2 shampoos, 1 conditioner, and 1 masque. Only shampoo your scalp, and only condition your hair shaft. The first shampoo is to cleanse/purify and the second is to treat (keratin/protein, moisture, etc). At this point, nothing else goes on your scalp. Keep it clean. Conditioner moisturizes the hair shaft and treats. Masque locks it all in. My picks are: Detox Shampoo, Lather Shampoo, Crème Brule Conditioner, and Silk Venom Masque. Then there’s the post-wash care. There are so many serums and creams that are out there to use… I drank the L’ange kool-aid, and now that’s pretty much all I use. After towel drying my hair, I spray on Replenish and Extende and brush through with my Siena wet brush. Then I put in a small amount of Satin Nectar, Sorbet, and Envie from mid-strand down. Comb it through. Then I spray some Salt + Sea on my scalp. If I’m going to bed and letting it air dry, I will only blow dry my roots. Otherwise, I’ll spray some thermal magique all over, and blow it dry.
Remember… treat your hair like a steak. Let it rest before you cook it.
-Me
We can’t forget about styling… If I curl my hair (usually on day 2 and beyond), I prep my strands and last 4″-6″ of my ends with Neuro Style Prime and L’ange Posh, respectively. My hair doesn’t hold curl REALLY well, so I try not to make it too heavy with product. I will set my 1″ Le Spirale to 450°F and rope curl my hair. After I’m all done, finger comb it out, give it a couple of whips, and spray some Salt + Sea for hold. If I just want to tame my frizz instead of curling it, I’ll give my hair a light spritzing of Rival and then use my Le Vite to smooth it out.
I’m saving the most important thing for last. BRUSHING. Brushing your scalp is hands down THE MOST important part of hair training. Even if you don’t use anything else I suggest, DO THIS. You will need 2 different brushes: a “wet brush” (nylon bristle paddle brush) and a “shine brush” (nylon with boar bristle paddle brush). I use the Siena paddle line from L’ange and Rock & Ruddle large brush towards the end of my no-wash cycle. (Note: The R&R brushes are a dupe of the $250 Mason-Pearson brush, and are superior in my opinion, however, the large brush is not for you tender-headed or super fine-haired chicas.) Only use your shine brush on DRY hair. The purpose of the boar bristles is to help distribute the oils on your scalp and break up any build up you may have on your roots. Remember “back in the day” people would brush their hair 100 strokes every night? They didn’t wash their hair every day. They COULDN’T wash their hair every day. It’s a novel idea, I know… The wet brush is obviously for when your hair is wet, but it’s also great for general detangling.
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What do you think?