Repairing Damaged Hair

My Top Three Hair Repair Products

I know I said that I would be doing a post next reviewing a set of excellent Beauty Blender dupes, but as I've been a tad too busy today to film it, I thought I'd put some hair recommendations up here first. I was speaking with someone the other day who has really frizzy, damaged hair; they told me all of the hair products they've tried, but nothing seems to work. I've seen a lot online (Pinterest, StumbleUpon, blogs, YouTube, etc.) about how to fix damaged hair and split-ends, all the way from DIY to expensive hair masks, but I wanted to share what worked for me and what finally healed my hair.

I used to have very long, very blonde hair that I alternately had highlighted or did myself at home. Here is a picture from over a year ago of my hair: 

(Out of vanity, I am going to note that this was before I lost weight. I have a tendon issue caused by a reaction to antibiotics that crippled me for over a year--I would stand up at my desk and fall to the ground. I'm on the road to healing and I've lost a lot of poundage since, though! Huzzah. But I digress.)

You can probably tell, if you look closely, that my hair was very damaged at that point. I had already been trying to heal it from January 2011, when an inexperienced salon stylist put straight bleach on my hair and created a ring of dead strands that felt like sandpaper to the touch. I finally found products that started to work on my dead blonde hair, and then I decided, since I was so sick of constant touch-ups and the bleach wrecking the repair I was attempting, that I would just go back to being a brunette. (I'm actually a natural ombre and I've been dying since I was young. Had I known ombre would get popular, I would have just stayed my natural color!) Now my hair is super shiny and feels like silk, even when I don't put any product in it. Here's the most recent photo I have of my hair:

The products I used are not expensive and you can find most of them either online or in your local drug or department store. I've found that three things have helped my hair the most over the years: 

1) Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum 

This stuff is amazing. You only need one pump if you have short-medium hair, or two pumps if you have long hair. Warm it up in your hands and distribute it evenly through your hair, concentrating at the ends. It's so packed with coconut oil, shea butter, and protein that it enriches your hair, makes it super shiny, and protects it from heat...but doesn't weigh it down! I've been using the same bottle I've had since 2010 and I still haven't run out, despite using it almost every day, so it lasts forever and is well worth the $5.74 you can snag it for at Walmart, which is the lowest price I've found. 

2) Renpure Organics: Color Protecting Moisturizing Conditioner 

This conditioner is unbelievable. I happened upon it one day when I was sleuthing around Ocean State Job Lot (OSJL) and decided to give it a try. While it isn't marketed as such, this little guy might as well be a deep conditioning mask. It uses all fruits and flowers to completely repair your hair, smells great, and again--you only need a little bit to completely saturate your locks. It lasts a really long time, and you can get it for only $6.99 through Renpure's site (cheaper than Amazon!), a small family company located in the U.S. I haven't yet found this in local stores, but I know OSJL frequently carries it for $4 or less, depending on your location. It's amazing! 

3) Organix Cherry Blossom Shine Spray

I really love Organix, because they truly are an organic company and their products just do wonders for every hair type. I also super recommend their shampoos and conditioners. This is the best heat-protecting shine spray I've come across so far, and as I'm a tad bit obsessed with my hair, I've tried a lot. The directions say to spritz it on wet hair and then again when it's dry, but I use it as a heat protector just before I style my hair, whether I use a flat-iron or curl it. It makes your hair super soft and silky, and it smells wonderful. I should warn you guys, though, that it has such a strong scent that you shouldn't accompany it with perfume. It will make you smell of cherry blossoms all day! You can order this one on Amazon for $4.95. And, again, lasts and lasts! 

Those three are my hair care staples. I'll follow this up with a post on hair care products I have purchased that are a waste of time and actually make my hair worse! Ciao for now!