How to Care for Biracial Hair

I have very straight hair so figuring out how to take care of my daughters hair was quite a challenge. She has 3b-c curls (http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types). Most advice for biracial hair doesn't work on her because her hair is very fine & not dry at all. Through trial and error and a lot of internet research, here's the routine and the products I use on her:

For starters I CO (conditioner-only) wash her hair. To CO wash, you first have to get a silicone-free conditioner (Suave & V05 are popular - I've found Suave is better for fine hair). You wet your hair & then apply generous amounts of conditioner to the roots & massage in (you can't apply too much. Use enough to make sure your hair is evenly coated). Let it sit for about 5 minutes or so. Rinse out really well. You can follow up w/a more intensive conditioner on the ends but for my DD, since her hair is so short & she throws a fit when I wash her hair, I skip the heavier conditioner & use a leave-in when she gets out of the tub.


I use Garnier leave-in conditioner on her hair. It helps get the knots out while combing too.


Then I apply one pump of Paul Mitchell Skinny Serum, which helps to tone down frizz.


Then I scrunch in some Herbal Essences Totally Touseled Mousse to give her curls some hold.

When I need to perk up her curls (they get messy very easily since she's a toddler) I use the following:

Johnson & Johnson's Detangler to help me get a comb through her hair (Note: I always use a wide tooth comb on her hair).


Then I use plenty of water to wet her hair to help it curl up again. If she's just wearing it natural (not pulled back) I might scrunch in the HE mousse or whatever gel I have on hand. If I'm pulling it back I use a boar-bristle brush like this:

The brush needs to be very densely bristled so that it has a smoothing effect. I usually use some gel (yes on dry hair but just a bit) to help it stay & not immediately get the "halo" look.

Now you obviously don't have to use the products I listed above. Most of them I already had on hand for myself (I'm a product whore) so its not like I went out & bought tons. But give this a try. Not all biracial hair is the same and putting tons of oil/grease in hair that doesn't need it is *not* a good look.

Magazine Review: InStyle Hair Spring 2010 - Amanda Seyfried

I love special issues like this and since its put out by InStyle, you know that it's probably worth getting. Here are some of the things covered:
~Great how-to instructions for creating looks like the faux bob, pinup waves, etc
~Frizz fighters categorized by hair type, texture, weight, etc
~10 Way to Get Your Gloss On
~Rut busters like color streaks, extensions, adding jewelry, etc
~The Taming on the Do (best cuts, S&C & styling for straight, wavy, curly & coiled hair, also divided further by fine & thick in each category)
~Hue It Yourself (at-home tips for your base color -> lighter, darker or redder)
~Great Hair A to Z (DIY bang trim, face shape, hot rollers, sulfate-free, veruschka...)
~One Week, Seven Gorgeous Styles
~Many different ways to wear the bob
~How to grow out your hair w/style (w/celeb examples)
~America's most requested celeb cuts/styles

Get it & keep it for reference!

Magazine Review: Marie Claire May 2010 - Jessica Simpson

This issue has been talked about a bit because they are claiming Jessica is makeup-free. One reason I have trouble believing that is the lack of under-eye darkness. Are there actually people who don't need concealer?
As far as the fashion in the issue, there aren't tons of great articles but a few interesting pages here & there. The Fashion Resume is on Carey Mulligan. I had a feeling she was going to get attention from the fashion world since she tends to wear more unique clothes/outfits. The Designer Dossier is on Philip Lim. They had a page of street style and since that's so popular in other mags & blogs I'm wondering if it will be a new monthly feature. They did have quite a few cute swimsuits in the issue but since I have zero intention of getting into one anytime soon it doesn't help me much. lol. They have a *gorgeous* Vanessa Paradis/Chanel photo shoot. Great clothes, very artistic.
The seemed to be The Hair Issue. They had tool and product recs for each hair type (fine, medium/thick, curly, coarse, damaged), how to wear hair accessories and how to choose a haircolor to suit your complexion. In the Big Girl, Skinny World column she talks about slimming hair and makeup. One thing I noticed was not much emphases on contouring, which in my opinion, makes a *huge* difference.
The only article that stood out was an interview with Jillian Lauren who is promoting her new book Some Girls: My Life in a Harem.
Overall, its worth picking up but its not a must-buy this month.

Magazine Review: Glamour April 2010 - Amanda Seyfried

This month's Glamour has 3 different cover girls: Amanda Seyfried, Zoe Saldana & Leighton Meester. All 3 are part of the 50 Most Glam Women of 2010. The Glam list includes newcomers like Blake Lively and Chanel Iman, glam couples like Tom Brady & Gisele, glam men like Jon Hamm, Hall of Famers like Jennifer Aniston & Kate Winslet & imports like Marion Cotillard. Many, many more are listed.
Didn't find much in the way of fashion inspiration although there were a few cute pastel pieces that stood out. Michael Kors Dos & Don'ts of Spring Chic had some good tips for keeping things season appropriate.
There are several beauty spreads but no fresh new looks/ideas. I did find a few hairstyles to try in Sexy Hair in 60 Seconds (liked 4 out of the 10 styles shown).
As far as articles, the only one that I bothered to read was What's Destroying Your Love Life? Oh... Could It Be You? It's very basic common sense stuff (like He's Just Not That Into You) but sometimes you just need to hear it.

Total pages: 238
Pages dog-earred: 4

Product Review: TRESemme Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

I was excited when I first heard that TRESemme was coming out with a dry shampoo, since the only other drugstore dry shampoo is Pssssst!! It took awhile for me to find it & in that time I started to notice the bad reviews stacking up. I thought that maybe the reviewers just didn't know how to use it properly so I bought it anyway. Well, the reviewers weren't lying. My hair wasn't even that dirty when I tried this but it certainly felt gross after I used it. It's sticky for some odd reason. And it comes out white/gray & it takes a bit to rub it into your hair so if you aren't careful you could end up with gray splotches in your hair.
This stuff is horrible. I've heard that the foam shampoo is better but that's not something I'm interested in. I'll just stick with my cornstarch.

My HG Hair Products

I never used to fuss much with my hair. I still keep things pretty simple. But I have come across some amazing products (mostly drugstore) and I would like to share them with you. NOTE: I have straight fine-to-medium hair, color-treated, usually just a bit past my shoulders.

My HG shampoo is Cristophe Purely Natural Daily Shampoo. It's sulfate-free (I went sulfate-free several years ago), leaves hair feeling clean yet not at all stripped. Holds volume quite well. Can be found at CVS.




My HG conditioner is Biolage Conditioning Balm. I use this for every wash on the ends & also all over when I need a deep conditioning treatment. This doesn't weigh my hair down at all.




This is a recent discovery. I'm always trying new volumizing products & saw that this had great reviews. Now I don't use this for volume as much as texture. This gives *amazing* texture. The piece-y, almost beachy look that I have always wanted to acheive. Doesn't build-up or weigh hair down.



My HG serum is Pureology SuperSmooth Smoothing Elixir. It's amazing stuff. Doesn't weigh hair down at all but smoothes & protects it. I use it mainly on my ends. A little goes a long way, which is great because it's not cheap.


My HG hairspray is Got2Be Smooth Operator Smoothing Hairspray. Nice scent, strong hold & brushes out easily. Much less sticky than other hairsprays. Great for finishing too.



My HG heat protectant is TRESemme Heat Tamer. Hardly any scent, doesn't buildup or weigh down hair.



My HG finishing cream is John Frieda Sheer Blonde Dream Creme. Pretty sure it's discontinued in the US. Hopefully my bottle will last a long time so I don't have to worry about finding a replacement.



Lol. No this is not a mistake. This is my HG dry shampoo. Even though I have medium brown hair this works much better as a dry shampoo than any other ones I've tried. The trick is to get a bit on your fingers, then rub into your scalp, approaching from the underside of your hair. Works great to soak up any oil & adds amazing volume. TIP: If you have any extra oil on the top of your hair, take a fluffy blush brush, dip into loose face powder, tap off excess & then lightly brush over top of hair. With either one of these you can use a hairdryer for a minute if you are worried there might be any residue.



My HG haircolor is Revlon Colorsilk in Medium Rich Brown. This is about 2 shades darker than my natural shade. I love that this doesn't smell harsh & my hair is left feeling better than before I dyed it. I've been using this for several years now. I used a few of the different medium brown shades but I like this one the best.