Three Ingredients For A Good Hair Day
No A*rwrap required!
Shitters! *Bo Burnham voice* How we feeling out there tonight?! Amid our continued descent into authoritarianism/ economic clusterfuck/ whatever you want to call the car dealership on the White House lawn, I too am not feeling good… I’ll be dissociating to the new Haim song (catchy!) until further notice.
Anyways, as you may have gathered, today’s letter is about hair—something that, despite my best efforts, never quite turned out the way I wanted for… basically my entire life? But I’ve made some big strides in this department recently, which is what prompted this newsletter!
For reference, my hair is medium length/medium thickness (right now it’s the longest/fullest it’s been since I was maybe in middle school?), my texture is naturally wavy/ frizzy, and I haven’t dyed or chemically treated it in years (a fact I use to justify WAY too many purchases). What follows are the things that I’ve found especially helpful for styling (skip to that section for the three ingredients), but also just to get it healthy and looking its best. (*Sidenote: Anything with an asterisk is something we have a code for! I’m including all of the codes at the end.)
Lets start with getting your hair to grow—for years this was my primary concern and it was NOT happening for me. (Note: If you’re dealing with alopecia, postpartum hair loss, balding, etc., this advice does not apply. I’m not an expert, nor have I experienced those things myself—I can only speak as someone who spent years trying/failing to get mine to grow.) The number one most important thing in my experience: You need to eat. You can take all the supplements in the world, but if you are under-eating, or not getting enough healthy fats, protein (from real food, not bars), or vitamins/minerals, your hair probably won’t grow very quickly or look very good. I know this isn’t revolutionary advice, but I spent years not doing this and being baffled by the fact that my hair wouldn’t grow past my shoulders.
Once you have that down, if you want an extra step, Nutrafol really helps too. I’ve experimented with a few other options, but Nutrafol is hands down the best. When I’m on it, my hair responds quickly, grows thicker and longer, and sheds considerably less (the difference in what falls out in the shower now vs. a few months ago is WILD). It’s definitely an investment, and requires consistency/ taking an ungodly number of pills a day (I cannot understand why they don’t make the formula more concentrated), but it really does work. If you’re gearing up for a big event (or stressing about your hairline), I’d go on this shit stat.
As a bonus, every now and then I’ll flatten my red light mask* and use it on top of my head to stimulate hair growth (here’s the PubMed link if you’re curious about the science here). They make a full red light helmet* if you want to target your whole head, but for now I’m good with repurposing what I have.
Caring for your hair: I don’t have a wildly involved routine, but once or twice a month I’ll oil my scalp and ends and let it marinate for a couple hours before a hair wash day. I know lots of people do this, but to me the tradition feels very Indian, and outside of the benefits (hydrating your scalp, shine. etc.), I like doing something that connects me to the people who came before me. I tend to use this rosemary/mint oil—it’s inexpensive, so I never feel bad when I load my hair up with it. Usually I’ll put it in before a hot yoga class and wash my hair after.
Wash day: I’m currently on a 2ishx/week wash schedule, usually timed to the days I do a sweatier workout. On a regular day I’ll use this Roz shampoo (everything they make smells DIVINE), but if I’ve used hair oil or several days worth of dry shampoo*, I’ll use this sea salt scrub. Both of them are repeat buys for me, but if you haven’t tried the scrub in particular, run! It made our “Most Wonderful Shit of the Year” issue for a reason!
For conditioner I’ll switch between this Roz version (I buy it in this duo with the shampoo) and this mask by Christophe Robin (currently 20% off!). The mask is another highlight of my routine—it leaves my hair feeling so soft and smooth (the difference between this and a regular conditioner is noticeable), and the prickly pear scent is one of my favorites in my shower. It’s on the pricier side, but the tub is BIG and has lasted me nearly a year and a half at this point.
Drying/styling: Fresh out of the shower I’ll comb through my hair and put it up in this towel* for anywhere from 20-90 minutes. I prefer waiting to style my hair vs. going in immediately because it takes less time/heat, and I find that the towel cuts down on a lot of the moisture/frizz. Before drying, I’ll go in with two products—first this heat protectant/anti-frizz spray all over, and then this spray at the roots for that lifted, professional blowout look. I’ve tried so many heat protectants and styling products over the years, but this combo is a standout. It protects your hair without weighing it down, and makes it easier to style.
As for the actual drying, here’s the deal: I’ve had an Airwrap for 4+ years now, but to be honest, most of my Airwrap blowouts looked like shit after a few hours. They would always frizz up and never stayed event-ready (though I will say that my hairstylist always told me that my hair looked healthy, despite me using it often). Towards the end of last year, I started to hear good things about this Blow Dry Brush—the bigger size was supposed to be easier to use for people without extensive blow dry skills (me), and the styles supposedly lasted longer, both of which were my main gripes about the Dyson. I was intrigued enough (and committed to testing for you, dear readers!), so I decided to give it a shot.
Long story longer, it’s incredible. The flexible bristles and brush design let you get real tension, which is key to smoothing out hair, and the bigger barrel is much easier to maneuver and style with. Yes, it’s harder on my hair than the Dyson, which is why I load up on the heat protectant and try to minimize the number of times I do this a week, but the results last so much longer, and I find it faster and easier to use (it’s also considerably less expensive.)
My actual drying method isn’t anything revolutionary, but I do have two small tips: 1) Hold the brush at the root for 10-15 seconds before running it through to dry the rest of the hair in that section. This plus the root lift spray is the key to feeling like your blowout is light, has volume, and won’t frizz up. And 2) Don’t try to dry too much hair in one pass. Focus on a smaller chunk and make sure all of it is actually touching the bristles. Those both sound simple, but helped me a lot!
Maintaining the style: And finally, maintenance. As I said in an earlier newsletter, I love my Sleepytie—it keeps my blowout smooth/intact and gives me more volume than on day one. The only reason I can prolong my wash days is this dry shampoo*. The formula is incredible, and it’s easy to buff it into my roots without any visible powder (huge if you have dark hair). And on days when my hair looks/feels a little dry, I run some of this styling oil through the ends. It’s super lightweight and never makes my hair look greasy or flat (unlike pretty much every other oil I’ve tried). I’ll admit that I’m also curious about these (also by T3) for events/when I really want to go all out, but for now I’m good with this routine!
*Discount codes in this issue: Crown Affair: PRIYANKA15 for 15% off. CurrentBody: PRIYANKACB for 10% off. Hanni: PRIYANKA20 for 20% off.
Other things I’m loving lately: Had fun converting my friends to the Fatty Stick* at the bachelorette party I was at over the weekend—perfect for post-beach! My favorite Doen dress now comes in more patterns if you wear colors beyond black and white (could not be me). Can confirm the Westman Bronzing Drops are just as good as everyone says! I went with shade two. Can also confirm this cashmere tee is a staple in the rotation (this one is featherweight and perfect for spring). This DISSH set got me a million and one compliments on said bachelorette too!
Thank you for reading Shit I Bought and Liked! If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share, hit the like button, and/or leave a comment on this post—it helps other people find this newsletter and is so very appreciated!