Vintage Vi, circa 1994. Since my hair has always grown super fast, my mom used to cut it into all sorts of cute hair dos. Here I am, age 5, rockin' the bob.
Grade 2. No shortage of hair (or front teeth for that matter).
By grade 9, I had a Stage Five case of the frizees. It can also be said that my thick hair madness extended to my yet-to-be-plucked eyebrows.
At the beginning of Grade 10, I cut all of my hair off to look like a girl I saw in a Dentyne Ice commercial. Looking back it's a bit Catelyn-from-Teen-Mom, but at the time I loved it!
By graduation I had encountered a life-long hair foe: the piecy bang. While I had finally learned to tame the friz, I now had to struggle with greasy roots...ugh.
Enter university. New city, new style, new inspiration. I cut my hair for a fresh start and finally began to control the crazy.
At twenty years old, I had finally discovered the careful combination of cut, care and product to maximize my hair potential :)
Now - don't get me wrong - I still have days where I want to reach for the razor and shave off all of my hair, but I generally have more good hair days than bad ones. Along the long and bumpy road to manageable hair, I have honed a strict hair regimen to ensure minimum craziness. It is with great trust and love that I now pass my secret recipe onto all of you :) Here is Vi's Recipe for Long, Healthy Hair:
1. Don't Over-Wash Your Hair.
As tempting as it may be, try your best to resist over-washing your hair. Our hair produces natural oils which are healthy for the hair and scalp. When you wash your hair (especially if you use a harsh shampoo), you strip these oils out. So, when you over-wash your hair, your body produces more oil to compensate and your hair actually becomes greasier than if you were to let it chill for day or two. Personally, I wash my hair every other day to every three days. Less washing will give you shinier, more moisturized hair.
2. Get Your Hair Cut Often.
When you are trying to grow your hair, getting a cut may seem counterproductive, but it will actually do wonders! There's nothing worse than long hair with dry, split ends. Keep your hair clipped and tidy so that when you achieve your goal length it will be shiny and healthy.
3. Find Your Product and Stick With It.
I cannot tell you how many bad mousses, creams, gels and waxes that I have tried over the years. Don't worry about brands. Instead, focus on what product gives you the desired effect. For instance, no matter how many products I try, nothing does the trick like a cheap drugstore bottle of Garnier curling mousse. Who knew?!
4. Embrace What You Love.
When it comes to hair, we all want what we don't have. Without any product or heat, I have weirdly frizzy, not-quite-curly-not-quite-straight hair. I always felt insecure as a teen surrounded by straight-haired blondes about my big fat Greek hair, but as I grew up I realized that it was what made me look like me. I just don't feel quite right with straight hair; I feel like it gives me peanut head (don't pretend like you don't know what that is...). Once I learned to embrace my big hair, I felt much more comfortable and confident :)
5. Give Your Hair What It Craves.
Pay attention to your what your hair needs. If you spot dry, split ends in the wintertime, rub a little moisturizing oil into your fingertips and spread it into your hair. If you have greasy roots in the morning when you wake up, spritz a little dry shampoo onto your locks to soak up the excess oil without stripping your hair with a harsh liquid shampoo. The trick to healthy hair is to compensate for damaging external factors like weather, stress, heat styling, etc!
6. Cool It With The Heat Styling.
Heat styling always yields the nicest beauty results, but the process can be damaging to your hair. To keep your locks healthy and glowing, decide what heat styling you can live without. For example, I cut out the blow dryer by letting my hair air dry overnight. That way, I can use a straightener to curl my hair without feeling too guilty. You don't have to go completely heat-free, just save it for where it matters.
Wishing you shampoo-commercial-worthy hair!!
Talk soon,
Vi
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