Oh, hello there! Yeah, I took a little time off from blogging. I’ll talk a little bit about why in another post soon. It’s nice to be back! Hello! Let’s break the ice with some frivolity, shall we?
It’s been a long time (more than four years!) since I’ve written a post about hair products, and given how much different my hair looks now than it did back then, I think it’s time for me to do an updated rundown of what I’m putting on my head.
The biggest change in my hair recently is that it is long. Like, not just medium-length longish hair…it’s full-on LONG. I haven’t had hair this long since maybe 1990. Long hair is a tricky beast. It’s nice when the air outside is dry and cool, but the second there’s any humidity in the air or the temperatures reach into the 80s, it’s not dissimilar to wearing a giant wool cowl that just came out of the dryer still half-wet. Because I’m still growing out this haircut from last summer, I can’t really pull it back yet—the side is still too short to reach nicely (I also don’t really like wearing ponytails or braids, so there’s that). My hair is also really fine but full—and prone to tangling.
Side note: As I write this, I’m waiting to get a haircut (yes, I’m still going to the amazing Mariko at Dlala!)—the ends of my hair are super-straggly and my bangs are way too long—and I have NO idea what I’m going to have done. So maybe it won’t be long anymore in a few hours? We’ll see!
The shampoo/conditioner combination that seems to be working really, really well for me is from the Italian company Davines. They have a pretty extensive variety of products designed to suit a lot of hair types and styling needs, and I’ve been using Love Smoothing Shampoo and Love Smoothing Conditioner. The combination leaves me with hair that’s not over-stripped (I like to wash my hair daily, so I have to be careful about that) and that feels soft, smooth and minimally frizzy. It’s a bit on the spendy side, yes, but I only need to use the tiniest amount each time. I expect to get at least six months of use out of one bottle/container.
As a side bonus, the scent is faaaaaantastic. My hair smells pretty all day.
I usually don’t blow-dry or straighten my hair at all on the weekends (I’d prefer to let it air-dry all the time, actually, but I don’t like leaving the house with wet hair), but on workdays I still use my trusty, no-frills Conair Yellow Bird dryer and a Chi flat iron. I’ve had both of these things for years, and I recommend them highly. I don’t use the iron to straighten my hair, really—I really just smooth it out a bit so there are fewer flyaways. I’m very casual with the whole styling process.
Once my hair is dry and neat, I set my bangs with Bumble and bumble Spray de Mode, a hairspray that doesn’t really behave like a hairspray. It keeps everything in place, but it’s not hard or crunchy or anything like that.
For a finishing touch, I rub in a dab of my latest favorite thing into my roots: Davines No. 4 Glossy Modeling Putty for Wizards. Yes—despite not actually being a licensed wizard in the state of New York, I was able to obtain a tube of this stuff. It is glorious. It magically turns my fine hair into something with texture and substance without feeling waxy or sticky or dull. You only need the tiniest smidgen, too, even on long hair. It’s really good stuff, and just like the Davines shampoo and conditioner, it smells great.
Okay, it’s time for me to hop on the subway and head out for my haircut now!! My pre-snip jitters are at a minimum, so that must mean I’m leaning toward something closer to a trim than a major change…
34 Comments
YAY!!! A beauty post! 🙂 And welcome back! My hair is also very fine (and tangly) but I have a lot of it and I also have this weird wave thing going on that I never used to have (it gets curlier after every pregnancy. Weird) so it has been interesting to say the least. It is such a cost per use thing with expensive product. It may be a spendy product but when it lasts forever it is really a cost saver! I may have to look into this stuff b/c so much of the products out there weigh my hair down and make it look NASTY. Can’t wait to see your pics!
Hi Lori. 🙂 It sounds like we have very similar hair types—mine has developed that weird wave thing even without any pregnancies! Take a look at the other Davines stuff, too. I think they might have smaller sized bottles that are a little lower-commitment.
I think we need to have a talk about what the fuck I should do with my hair. A brief chat, really! I want to take more risks, but I like the waves I’m getting, and I fear that shorter hair makes me look older when I’m not looking so healthy. Sigh. I’m about to go out and get some sea salt spray so I only have one (light) step toward waves. Though I fear the dry lack-of-shine look, so I’m thinking maybe the Josie Maran Argan Oil stuff? At least Sephora will let you return ANYTHING!
I love your hair now, but I have to admit, I do really love the darker brown glossy long bob. A lot.
Love
Laura
Let’s not talk about how many things I’ve returned at Sephora. I’m certain they have some kind of file on me in their archives…
I have a large sample bottle of the Josie Maran stuff if you want to try it. I personally didn’t like it (it made my hair feel dirty and dry?), but everyone is different. Mariko gave me an awesome deep-conditioning treatment tonight and my hair feels SO GOOD right now.
I wound up going with short, blunt bangs, a center part, and got about 3″ cut from the length. Dying it darker brown tomorrow…
I desperately need a hairspray for my bangs as well, so will look into the Bb. Is it super fragranced? (Hoping not.)
I wouldn’t say it’s SUPER fragranced, but it does have a bit of a sweet scent. It’s never really bothered me or appealed to me—I didn’t think about it until you asked! It must dissipate pretty quickly, because all I smell on my hair though the day is that Wizard cream.
Nice to see you! I don’t even want to talk about my hair. It’s in a bun. Enough said!
I’m all about the bun and the bobbie pins when I’m not going out, believe me!
welcome back! i will have to check out this haircare line. i had bookmarked a post you did forever ago about mario badescu products and came back to it a few months ago when my skin was being totally wonky. i switched to the mario stuff and my skin has been preeeetty much awesome since!
Yay, Mario!
love your product suggestions. ’bout to head into the bathroom right now and give myself some bangs…..or should i go to a salon? may need some Bb spray too. my hair is……let’s just say, in need. i was born blonde but now at 47 it’s closer to your color and living in japan i am very reluctant to maintain my beach-head professionally… i’ve seen some poorly done blondes around here. so i use the john frieda mousse dye and i am rambling through my hair dilemma and in want of one more cup of coffee… your before salon photos are lovely by the way. your ombre still looks vey nice. (thanks for the couch time) lisa
Unless you’re just giving your (existing) bangs a trim and you know what you’re doing, DEFINITELY go to a salon. You’re in Japan! Japanese hairstylists really know how to do bangs right—take advantage of that!
(I love the JF mousse color, by the way. Tried it for the first time last week!)
I’m curious about the fragrance of the Bb hairspray as well, is it strong? That’s the only thing that turns me off of hairspray in general, I’ll go to try one – and then get flashbacks of choking on fumes from large cans of Aqua Net in 1992 and start hyperventilating. But since you have great taste, I’m tempted to give this one a try!
Can’t wait to see your haircut! Glad to see you posting again. 🙂
Like I said above to Kelly, it’s not an offensive scent or anything (kind of sweet?), but it definitely does have a fragrance. It’s nothing like Aqua Net, though!!
My brother has a little salon, and introduced my to the Davines line a few years ago, and I’ve never looked back. It smells wonderful, and isn’t heavy at all. I’ve got the similar fine hair but lots of it (as proven by the long thick dreads that I had in the 90s). For the first time in a decade, I’ve decided to grow my hair out, back to being long, long, and it is taking forever! Unfortunately for this girl, things like flat irons and hairdryers sit in boxes and never get used, maybe if I took them to work and used it after the bike helmet-head fiasco that adorns my crown each morning.
Your hair looks just lovely and so healthy, must be all those soba noodles and good vegan living.
One of my coworkers flat-irons her hair at her desk every morning!
I LOVE Davines products. Their color line is equally as fanfastic as their styling products and shampoos. Fun packaging as well.
Welcome back Anna! I am about to go for a haircut next week and I’m really nervous. My normal hairdresser is away for an extended holiday and the last person who cut my hair left one side longer than the other! I am now completely traumatised. I’ve been using the Kiehl’s Creme with Silk Groom on my hair, which sounds similar to yours. It seems to tame down the flyaways and settle down the crazy waves. A little bit goes a long way, though.
I used to use Silk Groom, and it is a similar product. The Davines cream does give a bit more texture, though, which can either be a positive or negative depending on the effect you want. The Kiehl’s is much softer.
Welcome back!
I’m in the midst of growing my hair out too but I have a ways to go. It’s hovering above my shoulders so my goal is about 4 inches off. ANYWAY, as a birthday gift to my self I decided to splurge on fancy grownup shampoo and conditioner. And dang if it doesn’t cost a million dollars (you know, compared to Suave)
I’m currently using the Kérastase Cristalliste line – so far so good!
p.s. love your hair.
xo
cortnie
Hi!
Was wondering where you went, but you were waiting for your hair to grow (LOL)!!!
Have a wonderful weekend!!!
Anna! You’re back! YAY!
I love Davines. I use the putty if drying my hair and I use the sea salt primer when air drying, gives the nicest waves without frizz and leaves behind a light vanilla smell. I would love to try their shampoo too but I have a dry scalp and shampoos with sulfates seem to aggravate that. Currently I am using Pureology (hydrate) shampoo/conditioner which is sulfate free, no animal testing and only uses vegan products. It makes my hair look pretty nice but I am so not a fan of the smell of the shampoo, it’s super expensive and because it’s sulfate free seems like I need to use much more than normal.
I’ll have to give that hairspray a try. Thanks for the recommendations!
I gave up sulfates for a couple of years, but noticed no difference other than increased breakouts! I know some people are sensitive to them, though…at least there are lots of options these days. 🙂
I’m probably late to the party, and have no ideas re: products, but I think your hair looks great! I’m currently growing out a formerly short cut, and it’s now layered and creeping past my collarbone, so I take inspiration from yours. At 35, I figure this might be my last go at the long hair, and I like it so far, embracing all the white hair…
xo
What does your age have to do with the length of your hair? (I’m older than you, by the way…)
It’s a personal thing – not a judgment on what other people do. I don’t want to have long white hair, which is what it will probably look like in another ten years, since I’m not into dyeing my hair.
Hellooo! Nice to see the blog back.
I love all your haircuts lately, the side cut away first and now the lightened ends. They’re great. I tend to feel guilty about spending a lot on shampoo and conditioner but it really is a stupid false economy. Decent product makes all the difference. Kérastase has worked best for me and the Aveda stuff is really good too. Most exciting hair news lately is I’ve bought a Babyliss Big Hair styler. It’s a hairdryer with a rotating brush (so basically does what takes a hairdresser’s skill) and has made my life about 10% easier. My hair doesn’t turn out QUITE as good as a professional blow-dry but is squillion times better than my klutzy efforts with a hairdryer and paddle brush.
I just found your blog. I love it! I’ll come back.
You look FAB! And I love your style.
XoXo Bloggugla
These recommendations sound great. I’m definitely going to check out a few of these products. Thanks so much for sharing, Anna. And welcome back!
You look gorgeous! I love your hair long. Hope you didn’t cut it. I love the ombre color, how did you achieve that? Did you have it professionally done?
Sorry, I cut it! Haha. And I always do my color myself. I did the ombré-ing with a basic drugstore bleach…I think Clairol.
Oh I am sure you look gorgeous! You always look gorgeous. Can’t wait to see pictures of the new cut. My hair is long and I sorta want the Aeon Flux haircut but even more dramatic. But I can’t stand hair in my face. That’s amazing that you did that color yourself.
I use the Spinach Davines. It’s yummy!
oh, I used to use Davines until I decided to go “all organic” (although, saw at my hairdresser that they now also have products without SLS etc). Never got crazy about their shampoos and conditioner, but I love Glossy Modelling Putty and still using it. I started using US John Master Organics and also Austrian all organic Less is More products (http://www.lessismore.at), which are wonderful and smell amazing.
I have shitty, thin hair, so have to be careful with products….