3 *free* ways to take better care of your hair

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Since beauty school, I’ve been pretty rough on my hair. The lighter the better, in my opinion, and between lightening it with color, heat styling, and generally doing too much to it on a regular basis I’ve learned that I need to use a deep conditioner about once a week. And frankly, I may be able to get away with doing one more often than that!

But there are a few things that I do to care for my hair that don’t require products! If you feel like your hair is in need of a little TLC, but a deep conditioner isn’t in the budget, try making these few changes.

  1. Brush it out before washing it. Not only does this loosen up any dirt, product, etc. but it removes any tangles so you can adequately wash your hair after it’s wet. Wet hair is up to 50% more elastic than dry hair, so tangles on wet hair will stretch and tear much worse than tangles on dry hair. Start at the bottom, working your way up toward the root area, brushing in long strokes until it’s completely smooth before washing.
  2. Let the conditioner sit in your hair for a few minutes. That will give the product some time to work and soften up the hair shaft. My routine is as follows: wet hair, shampoo hair, let the shampoo sit on my hair while I apply facial exfoliator, rinse shampoo and exfoliator, apply conditioner, rake through with my fingers, wash body, shave legs, generally enjoy the hot water loosening up my sore shoulders, rinse conditioner.
  3. Do not FULLY rinse out the conditioner. That is the easiest thing you can do to make sure your hair is soft and smooth. It is okay to leave a tiny amount of conditioner behind on your hair, and you’ll find that you’ll have much fewer tangles because of it. So, for example, if you normally rinse your hair for 60 seconds when you are removing conditioner, try cutting that time down to 45 seconds. There is no need to rinse your hair so thoroughly of conditioner that it is squeaky clean and feels dry or stiff on your fingers.

None of these steps cost anything, but they are valuable tips that will help you care for your hair in the long run! My favorite brush is the Wet Brush, and my go-to conditioner is Pureology Hydrate Conditioner.

p.s. For more recent hair care tips, check out this post!

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Sarah Read says · 01.08.18

I received Pureology hydrate for Christmas and I’m not sure I got the real deal. (Amazon purchase :/ ) do you know if there’s a way I can check?

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Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog says · 01.08.18

Thank you for the tips! I actually practice number 2 and 3 already, it’s something I learned from my Mum as a little girl! 🙂

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

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Kelly says · 01.08.18

Thank you , great advice.. love your hair, it always looks so healthy.
Do you have any advice for a 48 yr old with thinning hair please. I do have high lights occasionally and top my own roots up every 6-8 weeks with shop brought products. My hair is thinning and very dull, I have lost all volume where it’s becoming so thin.. my sister is getting married in Oct 18 , as part of the bridel party, I would like to look as good as I possible can.
My sister is my twin… she has beautiful thick hair … what do you think I’m doing so wrong? Please can you help .

Thank you

Kelly

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Jennifer Freemon says · 01.08.18

What is your favorite shampoo? I am havi g trouble finding one that fits my fine hair to take frizz, give volume, and not to weigh my hair down.

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Christy says · 01.08.18

Thank you for these tips! Is it safe to use the Pureology Hydrate Conditioner on highlighted or lowlighted hair?

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Kate says · 01.08.18

yes!

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Erika says · 01.08.18

This is such a timely post, Kate! I just got back from visiting family overseas, and something about the cold temps there (I live in Florida, so it was significantly colder in Italy!) and the water absolutely ravaged my hair. I’ve spent the past week doing some damage control and I’m happy to find that I’ve been doing everything you’ve recommended! 🙂 Also, I JUST bought the Wet brush at Ulta this past weekend, and I LOVE IT. That thing is amazing.

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Kimberly K Faltys says · 01.08.18

Since you have tried so many hair styling tools, which one would you recommend to create beachy waves on a shoulder length lob? There’s so many different tools so I’d really appreciate your help!

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Abigail E. says · 01.08.18

Thanks for these beauty tips! It’s always really nice to be able to take care of your hair without having to use a bunch of products in it 🙂

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Allie says · 01.08.18

I just got the wet brush and love it! It’s so amazing to brush my hair and not feel any tugging or snagging! Thanks for all the tips! xAllie http://www.theallthatglittersblog.com

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Kate says · 01.08.18

What’s your favorite once-a-week deep conditioner?

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Holly says · 01.08.18

Are you going to be doing a blow dry video. I remember you mentioned it after seeing so many women blow drying their hair wrong in the gym. Would love a tutorial!

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Kim says · 01.08.18

I love this! So when leaving conditioner in, do you have any recommendations to make sure it doesn’t look oily? That seems to be my issue!

Kim

http://trendkeeper.me .. new year, will travel!

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Kate says · 01.08.18

don’t leave so much in that it looks oily, just a little bit left over is fine

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Alyssa says · 01.08.18

My girls and I have crazy static in our hair! What can I do to diminish it???

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Sarah says · 01.08.18

I’m pretty good about sticking to #1 and #3 already but I’ve gotten lazy about #2. I’ll have to start leaving my conditioner in longer again. My hair is pretty healthy because I don’t do much to it, but the extreme cold weather we’ve been having takes its toll anyway.

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Julie says · 01.08.18

What do you recommend for a deep conditioner once a week?
Thanks!!!

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Katelyn says · 01.08.18

Do you have any suggestions for static-y hair? This cold, dry KY air is making my hair a mess. I try to condition well and I use a leave-in conditioner. Do you know of any other tricks?

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Caitlin Edwards says · 01.08.18

As my hair grows longer the ends are becoming dryer quicker so thank you for the hot tip on leaving your conditioner in a little bit! – Cate x

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ashdaisley says · 01.09.18

Perfect tips to reach my long locks #goals. Gorgeous blog!

http://ashdaisley.blogspot.com.au

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Cassie says · 01.09.18

I have read that it is best to rinse out the conditioner with cool water instead of hot because it helps to seal the hair. Do you agree?

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Shreya says · 01.09.18

I’m going to try that leave conditioner behind trick. I had done that once and felt huge difference in my hair. Thank you for the awesome tips.

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Sarah says · 01.09.18

Do you have any advice on cleaning hair brushes?
I feel like mine is always disgusting and I don’t even use a ton of product. Should I just buy a new one more often?

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SM says · 01.09.18

Clean the hair out of your brush with a comb and wash your brush with some shampoo and hot water. Done regularly your brush should last you a long time!

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Eva says · 01.09.18

Great tips! My hair can tend towards greasy, so if I don’t wash all the conditioner our it needs to be rewashed pretty soon. I’m definitely going to try combing before to see if it works for me!

http://www.shessobright.com

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Nicci says · 01.09.18

Did not think leaving some of the conditioner was an option. Will def give it a try. Thank you for sharing these useful tips !

http://niccimarquart.com/

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Beka says · 01.09.18

Yes to Pureology and a wet brush! Those are two products I use all the time. Thanks for sharing these hair tips. They are very easy to do and practical. I always regret not brushing my hair out before a shower. It makes it harder to brush when you get out.

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Beka says · 01.09.18

PS – I checked out your ‘about’ section and LOVE that your cats are called Grits and Gravy. So cute!

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Em says · 01.10.18

I think I’ll try the one with slightly brushing my hair before, that’s probably a good idea.
Leaving conditioner to work longer too. Sometimes I am in a hurry and rinse it out pretty much immediately but then, how is it supposed to do its job? But recently I got a red conditioner that keeps my colour vibrant and since I want the colour to really soak in, it makes it easy to remember to leave it in for few minutes.
Not sure about the not rinsing out, I guess it depends on your conditioner. I sometimes have done a bad job rinsing it out and my hair was then stiff with it, felt greasy and super heavy and I had to wash it again. But then again if you rinse it properly and your hair feel still stiff, dry and squeaky, I think you need to condition your hair better and get better products. Hair shouldn’t be like that after washing, the conditioner should make it, well, conditioned.

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Franzi from the f-kitchen says · 01.11.18

Hey,
thanks for the Tipps! I like this post!

Much love

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Allison says · 01.11.18

I’m the worst at leaving my conditioner in. I’m also really bad about taking extra hot showers. My stylist said it’s not good for my scalp and to apply cold water to my hair before getting out. I always seem to forget though. Have you ever noticed a difference?

Great tip for loosing up your hair! I’ll definitely try this out. Bisou! <3

Allison
Peplums & Pie

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Olga says · 01.12.18

I always complain about the tangles I get on my hair so I’ll definitely putting the “brushing before washing” thing to the test! Thanks for sharing!

Love,
Olga from Myme

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Mary Anna White says · 01.12.18

So, I do all of these things already, however my hair is super stubborn and doesn’t like to hold any style very well, and I think it’s because it is too “silky”. Any suggestions? I condition every time I wash my hair, or else my hair is like straw, but I want styles to hold!

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Gay says · 01.15.18

Heated styling tools damage my hair (even on low setting and using products to protect hair from heat).
Any way I can get loose curls without using heat?

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Kelly says · 01.16.18

Thanks for the tips, I already did the brushing out one, but I’ll definitely try the conditioner tips next time I wash my hair!

Kelly from http://www.kellywestra.com/

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Valerie Tobias says · 01.28.18

What do you do with your hair when you sleep? Do you leave it down or pull it up?

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Kate says · 01.29.18

If I want to restyle it the next day, I’ll pull it up until a high but loose ponytail

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Sara says · 02.05.18

Kate, which of your wavy hair tutorials will make my hair look like yours in this post? Those are my dream waves 🙂

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deitta says · 02.13.18

I hope this will help with my curly hair, looking foward to read more

thanks
kiara at http://www.fithair.site

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