Beauty School Diaries: Growing Out Damaged Hair

 

Damaged hair is such a common complaint amongst women I know, it's not surprising with all of the chemicals and heat we use on our hair. Hair straighteners now go up to 450 degrees and most hair types don't require that much heat. With every stroke of that little magic machine you are frying your hair a little bit more. Hair is made of protein, I don't want to get all chemistry on you but basically damage occurs when the protein chain breaks. This break in the protein can not be fixed, despite what labels on products may claim, hair damage is permanent. Using these products can help manage symptoms of damaged hair, frizziness, breakage etc but the damage is still there. The only way to really repair the hair is trim the damage off. Getting regular cuts is important because it removes the split/ damaged ends and stops it from spreading up the hair shaft. Some blogs say to grow out hair you need to stop getting it cut completely, WRONG, your hair will continue to break and split.

I've had to cut a lot of hair off in the past year due to my love of coloring my hair. I was blond, then red, then dark brown with blond highlights, then brown with pink, then dark brown with blond highlights. I was adding color then removing it with bleach, this destroyed my hair. In the process i've found a few products that actually help to manage the symptoms.

My favorite product is Carol's Daughter Split End Remedy, this helps to seal the split ends together. Does this solve the problem? No, once you wash your hair the product is removed and the seal is gone. This product smells nice and can be applied to wet or dry hair.

Protein Sprays: Damaged hair is in need of protein, using a protein spray is a great way to temporarily add that protein. Hair is made of Keratin so when looking for a protein spray look for one that is keratin protein, like It's a 10 miracle leave in treatment PLUS Keratin.

Deep Conditioning can help moisturize your hair to help with flyaways and keep the rest of your hair healthy. (Don't deep condition too frequently, it can weigh your hair down)

the NUMBER 1 MOST IMPORTANT thing to do to manage damaged hair is to STOP bleaching it.

Use LESS heat, I am not telling you to stop flat ironing your hair, but lower the heat. Try it at 200 degrees if that doesn't straighten your hair crank it up a little, find that sweet spot that works for you it's likely less than 450 degrees.

XoXo Nicole

 

XoXo Nicole

Beauty School Diaries: Blunt Cuts

Hello Pretty! I am so sorry I've been MIA, I started cosmetology school last week and my life has been hectic to say the least. You my poor readers have been neglected in the process. I'm starting a new series (today) called the Beauty School Diaries. This will chronicle my thoughts, feelings and learnings while in school! Hopefully ya'll will find this information helpful and I'm excited to be able to bring to you the actual science of beauty! So let's dig in I have a lot to catch you up on...

I had A LOT of expectations of what beauty school would be like, I thought it would be really fun and easy. I totally thought I would be the best at everything, because 1.) I'm a perfectionist and 2.) I have high expectations on everything I do. We started with the basics, orientation, rules and regs of the school etc. The same day we did our first haircut. Wait, what? Day one and we are cutting hair? I know, I know it's just a mannequin but still I wasn't prepared for this until at least week 2. We learned a four section part (i.e you part the hair down the middle and then from ear to ear) we dropped a 1/2 inch subsection (am I suppose to know what a half inch looks like??) and we started our 0 degree haircut. What does this have to do with you? Well in this haircut I learned a few things.

A 0 degree cut is also called a "blunt" cut. This means there is no layering or elevation in the cut. This is not one of my favorite haircuts yet it serves a purpose. The blunt bob is the same cut as a long 0 degree cut, interesting huh?

This cut builds weight in the hair and creates the illusion of thickness and body. This is a great cut for people looking to create thickness in their hairstyle, however it's NOT a great cut for people with a long face. Without face framing or layers this cut actually makes your face look longer. If you have a long face and love this cut add blunt bangs to help widen your face. Jennifer Love Hewitt is an example of someone with a long face doing this cut right.

 

On a round face this helps to balance your overall look out. Sienna Miller rocks this blunt look with some side swept bangs to add a little softness to the cut.

The blunt cut is a lot harder than I thought....it is hard to achieve a perfectly straight line. This beauty school thing may not be as easy as I thought. Queue "Beauty School Drop Out".... just kidding! I'm not giving up!

 

I hope everyone is having a beautiful day!

 

If anyone has any questions for me please feel free to write me! I am learning a ton of stuff and trying to repeat to you what I think is relevant.

 

XoXo Nicole

 

XoXo Nicole