Hair History and Current Hair Care Routine

Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

I was born with a full head of thick, black hair. Since I was a teenager, I've colored my hair with box dyes (not the best, I know, but it only gets worse). As far as I could tell, my hair wasn't really affected negatively by doing this - it was always strong and healthy and really long.

I used to be skinnier too.

Fast forward to February 2013 when I get the bright idea to go blonde. And I mean platinum blonde.

Being a hair do-it-yourself-er, I got the supplies at Sally Beauty and bleached my hair myself. I must have bleached it at least three times. My once strong hair was now like delicate rubber bands waiting to snap if you looked at it funny.

Long story short(ish), I'm back to dark brown hair, but the parts that had been blonde are extremely damaged. I was thinking of just hacking all the old bleached parts off, until I had the idea to try and salvage the length if I could. So, Here we are at my current hair routine.

I wash my hair every day with Salon Grafix Healthy Hair Nutrition Conditioning Cleanser, the one for dry and damaged hair. I know it's bad to wash your hair every day, but while my ends are like the Sahara, my roots get greasy the day after I've washed my hair. I started using this conditioning cleanser (think WEN) because it's sulfate and paraben free and combines two steps in one in my shower routine.

Every other day I use the Macadamia Natural Oil Deep Repair Masque on the ends of my hair, comb it with a wide tooth comb and holy moisture, Batman, my ends feel like silk! When I get out of the shower, I comb it again, with a Tangle Teaser this time.

Now all of this conditioning really weighs down my hair. When I feel it just won't hold a curl any longer I use the Garnier Pure Clean Clear 2 in 1 Fortifying Shampoo and Conditioner. While it's not exactly a clarifying shampoo (I actually bought this in error), it does help to remove some product buildup.

When I blow dry my hair, I first put One 'n Only Argan Oil Treatment on my ends as a heat protectant and treatment. I comb it through with a wide tooth comb. I love the smell of this oil. I blow dry willy nilly as I'm incapable of using a brush and drying my hair at the same time. When my hair is dry, I brush through it with a paddle brush.

When I curl or straighten my hair I use the Schwarzkopf Got2B Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm. I find it works just as well whether I'm curling or straightening my hair despite the product name. When I straighten my hair, I use the GVP Ceramic 1" Flat Iron from Sally Beauty. Lately when I curl my hair, I've been using the TIGI Bed Head Maxxed Out 1 1/4'' Curling Iron. To set my style I use Sebastian Shaper + hair spray, which I'm not in love with because I feel it dries out my hair.

 So that's what I do with my hair these days. I'll keep you updated as to how this routine is helping my hair or not.