Hair FAQ’s

Guys,

I don’t know what took me so long to do this post. I mean, I only get asked these questions once a week. Duh. JESSICA. USE YOUR BRAIN. Finally, all in one place, I answer your most frequently asked questions about hair! If you have any others, make sure to leave ’em below, and I can add them in!

Here we go…

What shampoo and conditioner do you use?

I use Beautycounter’s shampoo and conditioner (and body wash!) It’s non-toxic and sulfate free. A lot of sulfate-free shampoos don’t lather very well, but this one does! It’s not super expensive and has a light, fresh citrus scent! I wrote a whole blog post on it right over here–where I also share about all the harmful ingredients a lot of shampoos contain! (YIKES!)

Where do you get your hair cut/colored?

I’ve been going to Stacia at Sine Qua Non for over two years now and I wouldn’t recommend anyone else! She’s amazing and I’ve also had several readers reach out to me and say they went to her for color too and she was equally skilled in that area! (I don’t color my hair, so I don’t know anything about that personally!) I’ve never heard of anyone having a bad experience at Sine Qua Non, and it’s a very popular salon in Chicago! They have a few different Chicago locations, too.

What are your must-have haircare products or brands?

I’ve used a lot of hair products and frequently rotate new ones in and out, but these definitely stand out as my favorites:

Oribe: I am IN LOVE with Oribe products. They smell incredible and perform amazingly as well. My favorites are their Texture Spray and their Apres Beach spray, which both give you amazing texture. The brand is free of parabens, sodium chloride and harsh sulfates.

Living Proof: The best ever dry shampoo I’ve tried, period! Like Oribe, the incredible scent is a major factor, but it’s actually a patented formula that literally CLEANS your hair, just like shampoo does. It also adds volume and texture, making it an awesome styling tool as well! It also happens to be another “clean” brand as well–none of the bad stuff!

Christophe Robin: I was turned onto this amazing French haircare brand a couple of years ago and I really love everything I’ve tried from him. If you find that you need a little scalp rebalancing–maybe it’s dry or flaky, or you have greasy roots but dry ends–the Jujube Bark Purifying Shampoo is amazing. I also love the Lemon Hair Scrub and the Moisturizing Hair Cream–I use after I get out of the shower and let it air dry! His brand is also paraben, silicone, oxidant, phtalate and SLS free.

R& Co: My hairstylist, Stacia, actually turned me on to this brand! I really like their Death Valley Dry Shampoo (if we’re being honest, it was my #1 until I found Living Proof, now it’s my second favorite 😜) and I also like their High Dive shine cream. They also have a great thickening spray. The same as the above, this is also a brand free of parabens and yucky stuff and blah blah listed above that I am sick of repeating over and over beating a dead horse 😜

What are your tips to having healthy hair?

This is probably my #1 question that I’ve received over the years, and honestly–it all boils down to this–do as little to your hair as you can possibly get away with. My hair looks the way it does, honestly, partly because of genetics (thanks, Mom!) but also because I don’t dye it, I don’t wash it every day (washing your hair is very harsh on it!) and I hardly ever blow dry it (always air dry) and I use heat on it probably 2-3 times per week max.

Also, make sure that you aren’t using your hot tools to their max capacity. I JUST learned this the hard way and I burned off the finer hair at the back of my head–now I have these hot looking rat tails when I put my hair up 😳! Here’s hoping they grow back soon! I was heating my curling iron up to maximum heat, but my hair doesn’t need it that hot! I now curl it at a level 3 heat and it still works just as great!

What tools do you use?

I use T3’s blow dryer (mine is an older model but this one is their latest!) and “Whirl” curling iron (buy the base and the 1″ attachment separately). I also have their straightener that works very well and makes your hair very shiny but honestly I rarely use it because I prefer my hair curled (and it’s way faster to style curled!) Although Neal does love when my hair is straight–maybe I should pull that out again soon, haha!

IMPORTANT: Their curling iron gets INSANELY hot. Like, way hotter than normal. You probably don’t need it that hot (see my story above about burning off my hair)–if you have fine hair, you probably can get away with a level 2, or thicker hair, level 3. Unless you have very coarse hair, I don’t think you need it higher than that. Try it lower and you can always adjust!

How often do you wash your hair? Do you use a shower cap?

Usually every 3 days! Sometimes less than that just depending on what I have going on, how much I’m working out, etc. This is why dry shampoo is the BEST!

I messed around doing the “awkward I can’t get my hair wet” shower dance for years and finally wised up and asked you guys on Insta stories for shower cap reccos, and you definitely delivered! The one by SHHHower Cap was a crowd favorite by a land slide–and I love it! It’s actually really cute (I mean, for a shower cap) and it keeps snug to your hairline, which is really nice! I spray my roots with dry shampoo before I put it on, and then when I take my hair out of it after I shower, it looks good as new! Magic! 

Can you share a hair tutorial on how you curl your hair?

Yes! You can see this post for a video tutorial! (I can do it in under 7 minutes!!)

Can you re-share that air drying tutorial you posted that on time on Instagram stories?

Yes! I always get asked this, haha! My friend Meg shared an AWESOME “how to air dry your hair” tutorial on her blog, and I swear by this method to get beautiful messy waves!

Any others I missed? Leave them below and I’ll make sure to answer! 

Photo by Cassandra