The ‘Must-Have’ Hair Products!
Hi guys! I’m Christiana, one of Amanda’s assistants. She allowed me to take over her blog for the day to talk about one of my passions… hair products! Yes, hair products is a passion – I’m not sure if I should be embarrassed about that, but you’re all in luck because I’ve tried SO so many products and have narrowed it down to some of the absolute holy grails. I’m a product junkie, what can I say? Keep in mind these are great for NBR clients, but also for people without any hair extensions as well. So lets get into it!
Redken Guts 10: This stuff is amazing for anyone that has flat hair or just needs a little extra boost at the root. Spray this in while your hair is damp, before you blow dry, riiiight at the root. It’ll give you that extra oomph.
Madam CJ Walker Pre-Wash Protein Treatment: Guys….. this stuff is SO. GOOD. Before I was Amanda’s assistant, I was her client. She used to always ask me what I used on my hair because my extensions stayed so soft and healthy. I have blonde hair.. which blonde hair is not known for being very shiny or soft.. but mine actually was! And its not due to good genes or anything I promise you, its because of this stuff right here. Let me start off by saying that I’ve never been a huge fan of hair masks. I could never tell if they were really helping the health of my hair, but I did know that they were weighing it down and it always looked kinda crappy the next day after doing one. Day after hair mask = not a good hair day. But NONE of that with this pre-wash. In fact, my hair actually behaves the next day and turns out better than most. Because there’s protein in here, it helps repair and rebuild brittle hair thats been compromised from heat damage, chemical services, etc etc. Protein is key! However, you don’t want to over use anything with protein.. there is such a thing as too much. So only use this once a week and you’re golden.
Ouai Memory Mist: Heat protection is super important before styling your hair. It helps maintain the integrity and even the color from any sort of heat styling you’re about to do. Mist some of this over dry hair before tackling it with that straighter or curling iron.
Colorwow Brass Banned Mousse: Lets get something straight, we are in the age of ash. Ashy hair tones are soo in right now. Anyone looking to keep the brass away NEEDS this in their life. It’s a lavender tinted mousse and as we pretty much all know, purple cuts the golden tones (purple is the color opposite yellow on the color wheel, so they cancel each other out). As someone who is blonde and tends to get brassy easily, this + purple shampoo are my secret weapons. Squirt a golf ball sized amount in your hand, rub together and run through damp hair. Be sure to evenly distribute and not get too much in one area – you don’t want it to all concentrated in just one spot – evenly disperse throughout your hair. Don’t worry my brunette girls, you have not been forgotten – there is also a teal colored mousse for you to counteract any unwanted brass if you have any highlights, balayage, etc.
Gisou Honey Infused Hair Oil: If you’re feeling a little bougie, this hair product is for you. It’s a little on the pricier side, but it. is. worth it. First of all, the packaging is so amazing, you will legitimately want to keep the box it comes in — it’s gorgeous. It also smells incredible… AND it keeps your hair silky and hydrated. There’s a few different ways you can use this product – on damp hair, as a finisher on dry to hair to smooth the cuticle, give you shine and tame any frizziness, as an overnight treatment (I do this a lot!), and you can even add a few drops into your hair mask for some added benefits. Honey is a natural humectant so it is really conditioning for your hair – looove this oil so much.
Unite Expanda Dust: A big trend right now is that messy, perfectly undone, effortless, wavy hair. Whew, thats a l lot. Unite’s expanda dust helps make this ‘look’ so much easier to achieve! Especially on just washed hair when its a lot harder to get those clean strands to have volume and not lay flat. Puff some of this into your roots, sparingly throughout the hair, and even a little right at the ends, then piece it out with you fingers. It gives the perfect amount of grittiness!
Unite Texturiza: I love spraying this on my strands before curling my hair – it just gives you curls a little bit more to hang on to and not just fall flat. You can also spray a little bit more throughout once you’re done curling and run your fingers throughout, it’ll give you those beachy waves! I swear if I was in one of those deserted island situations and could only pick one hair product, texture spray would be it.
Bioionic Curling Iron: This is the curling iron that Amanda uses on all her client’s and it is amazing! It heats up super fast and has an extra long barrel so it’s perfect for all of you long haired girls out there. No more trying to fit all that hair around a short little barrel.
Wet Brush: Extensions or no extensions, this brush is a necessity. Our hair is the most vulnerable when it’s wet, so brushing can be really damaging. The wet brush is much more gentle on your hair due to it’s bristles and detangles really well without tugging or tearing at your hair.
Unite U Oil: It’s recommended to use a pure argan oil on extensions, which is exactly what this is. Since your extension hair isn’t technically attached to your head, it’s not getting any of that natural oil – therefore they get drier and frizzier a lot quicker. Keep them hydrated + smooth with this stuff and they will last you much longer!
Colorwow Dream Coat: I don’t know about you, but I have a slight frizz problem … ESPECIALLY living in Texas with all the humidity. And lets not even talk about when it rains. But this stuff is like a raincoat for your hair. I usually let my hair air-dry for a little bit before spraying this on (it works better when your hair isn’t super wet, more damp). Spray generously all over and your hair will blow dry so straight! It does need to be heat activated to work, so blow drying afterwards is necessary (a GOOD blow dry too, with a brush so you can dry it straight, not just a rough dry). Then go out into some humid AF weather and you won’t have to stress. But seriously, it lasts up to about 3 washes before you need to reapply again.
Olaplex No. 3: I love using Olaplex in between color services to keep my hair strong and reduce breakage. It’s NOT a conditioner of any kind, but a treatment that has some sort of technology (haha literally though) that “relinks the broken disulfide bonds caused by chemical, thermal, and mechanical damage to the hair.” I’m into it.
Unite Blonda Shampoo: Purple shampoo is where it’s at – I heavily rely on it to keep my hair bright between appointments. Anyone who has used it before knows it can be pretty drying, since it is clarifying, and that can deter some people from using it. I like to mix it half and half with my regular shampoo every time I wash my hair so I can use it more frequently and then it’s not so drying on your strands. You need this in your life!
And there you have it! My top go-to products of the moment, tried and true. I hope you try one, two, or all 😉 and love them as much as I do!!
