keep your hair healthy

I’ve been bleaching the -you know what- out of my hair for exactly a year. Allie (the blondie expert responsible) is always shocked at how well my hair is holding up…SO I’d thought I’d share my healthy hair tips with you.

** my hair is naturally darrrk brown, super fine, thin, and overall just sad. But that’s one reason I love the bleach so much–yes, it damages my hair–but that’s the point! I get so much more texture and volume that no amount of root booster or texturing spray could ever give me. **

So here are my healthy hair tips:

TIP 1 – STOP WASHING YOUR HAIR SO MUCH. 1-2 x a week is more than sufficient. “But Mikelle..you don’t understand. My hair gets so greasy, I HAVE to wash it every day.” UHHH yeah, that’s because you’re washing it too much!!

It will take a bit to train your hair, but just wean yourself off of so many washes. Slowly move down to a wash every 2 days…3 days…4 days…etc. (pretty soon you’ll be like “day 9? nbd”)

TIP 2 – BRUSH WITH PURPOSE. Every night before bed, brush your hair really well. Not to just get the tangles in the ends out.

I brush my hair root to tip, making sure the oils from my scalp get brushed all the way down. Then I flip my head upside down and brush it all going the opposite way.

Flip back up again and brush it all back, really applying pressure to your scalp. It feels like a massage and is so good.

There have been several times where I think “ugh. I need to wash my hair, it’s so gross.” I turn on the shower, strip down, brush my hair out really well and realize: it’s totally fine! No need to wash.

TIP 3 – COCONUT OIL BEFORE YOU WASH. I heard somewhere that Blake Lively does this…who knows if it’s true or not…but I’ve taken it as fact and have been doing it for years now 😂. Before I get in the shower, I rub coconut oil in the bottom half of my hair. Yes, rub coconut oil on your dry ends! (No, it won’t be greasy after you wash it).

Your dry hair will soak up the oil so that when your hair does get wet, the ends won’t just soak up water and shampoo which would just dry them out.

I’ve also used my trusty Argan oil and it works just as well. Anything to fill your porous hair ends with something nourishing before washing helps a ton.

TIP 4 – DON’T SHAMPOO YOUR ENDS. I just scrub my scalp and then rinse it out. I feel like that does enough to kind of wash the rest of my hair without scrubbing my ends with shampoo (not necessary).

TIP 5 – DON’T BLOW YOU HAIR DRY WHEN IT’S SOAKING WET. Let your hair air dry to like 80-90% and then use a dryer. If you don’t have time to air dry, then just slick it in a low bun and call it a day.

TIP 6 – DO DEEP CONDITIONING TREATMENTS REGULARLY.  I do one about once a week or once every two weeks…which equates to about every other wash :/.

This Matrix one is AMAZING, especially when you’re in a hurry or don’t want to commit to leaving one on overnight. It does more good in 60 seconds than lots of other ones I’ve used overnight.  Olaplex is another one that I’ve used regularly over the past 5 or so years. I usually get my hair wet in a shower at night, put it on, then wash it out the next day. If you have a friend with a hair license and can get in to a salon supply store, you can get both of these for about half the price you will pay other places…so take advantage of that.

ALSO, these hair masks make great gifts if you’re stumped on what to get someone.