Now that my hair is finally pretty long again, I’m dealing with dry ends. I have to trim it pretty frequently, or it looks like cotton candy..the bad kind. (the bad kind consists of any kind that you wouldn’t eat.)

Anyway, when my hair loses its luster, I turn to artificial luster.

Basically I love shine sprays and serums.

Particularly:

Redken Vinyl Glam

This one gives you a spritz. It’s very shiney and light and goes great on dry hair. This is best for medium to thick hair.

Tigi Headrush

This is an aerosol spray and goes on light as air, so it works for any hair type. It works best on air-dried/blow-dried hair.

SachaJuan Shine Serum

This is a pump serum and can be used on wet or dry hair. It’s good for any hair type.

I know what you’re all thinking. If teasing is the high heels of hair, then spray/serum shines are the bronzers of hair.

If you wont tell, I wont tell.

Top photo by Ty Mecham

I used to use Matrix Sleek Look conditioner for years and years and years. I tend to get obsessed with certain products and use them until I never want to look at or smell them again. I do that with food too. After I ate maple oatmeal every morning for a year…I wont. I just wont.

Anyway, I was out of conditioner and forgot to pick some up at work before I left, so I picked up some of my old faithful on my way home. I love it again. It’s so rich and detangling and it smells like heaven!

Glad we could be friends again, Sleek Look!

Buy it here!

PS Ever find that you run out of conditioner waaaay before you run out of shampoo?

Today I’m here to report a magical, miraculous power my hair has.

And that is….

My hair can make it rain.

All I have to do is blow dry my hair straight, and it will be raining, I’m talking catsing and dogsing within 12 hours.

When the left photo was taken, it was nothing but summer sun and clear skies. The photo on the right was taken the next morning, when the old man was definitely snoring and I had to go outside for a few seconds.

Does anyone else have this kind of magical hair? Does anyone know how to monetize such a gift?

My solution? Throw in a quarter size amount of Je Veux and do a once over taking big sections with my blow dryer and brush. I’m like the first picture again. Until it’s time to go outside.

Hello there! I hope everyone had a great weekend! For this peek into my kit, I want to show you some of my favorite products!

There are two main types of products; styling and finishing. Your styling products are often (but not always) applied on wet hair, to build a foundation. I organized my products in order of how I’d use them from left to right in the picture above, although keep in mind I wouldn’t necessarily use all of these products on one person!

(before I get into the list I want to mention that I do like to have a plain spray bottle with water in it to wet down the hair if I need it)

Styling
First up is the SachaJuan Hair Mousse for your hold/body/fullness/volulme. I’ve talked about this millions of times right? You’re all thinking in your heads, ‘yeah, yeah, Reagan. We know. Use like 3 handfuls.’.

Perfect!

Then we have Maxamista by Oribe. It’s a thickening spray that makes you finies have nice, full hair! It has a little hold in there as well, so I like using this before blow dries.

Volumista is similar to Maxamista, and I often pair them together for ultimate fullness. It’s too stiff to wear all over, but it’s great on the roots for lift. Use these first three products before blow drying and setting and you are going to have yourself one full 1960s blow out.

Oribe Dry Texture Spray is an in-between product. I use it for both styling and finishing. I like to use this before curling, to make the hair really hold the shape, but I also like to just spray it at the end of a style for some shaky messiness. Bonus that it also works as a dry shampoo!

Elnet hairspray is what most stylists swear by. It holds really really well, and goes on perfectly even. Plus the can is huge. Woohoo.

Oribe Impereable Anti-humidity spray is great for workable hold. It lightly smooths fly aways without any stiffness, so it’s great for “down” styles.

Tigi Headrush and Redken Vinyl Glam are two really great shine sprays. Headrush is an aerosol and Vinyl Glam is a spritz. I tend to lean towards aerosols because they go on so much lighter, but I found that I can spritz Vinyl Glam onto my hands before applying to prevent an overdose. Also, I have a general rule to not spray above the jawline so that no one gets greasy roots!

Only thing this photo is missing that I make sure to always have on me is a hair paste for male clients and stubborn fly aways. Paste is great for little hairs around the hairline that refuse to lay with the rest of the up do.

The products I carry are pretty focused on volume and hold. I try to get a feel for the job before packing up my kit, so I know if I need any extra products for a specific hair type. If you can’t meet in person or see a picture before, try to at least consult on hair texture (fine, thin, coarse) and habits (gets frizzy, doesn’t hold curl) so that you can be fully prepared for the job.

Photo by Jake Breinholt for Hairdresser on Fire.

Michelle Williams is a great example of my favorite kind of hair. She always has a great cut, and when it’s long, she keeps it healthy and beautiful with simple styles.

I love this photo of her soft blow dry. Just the right amount of volume, wave and texture. To get this look, you would blow dry with lots of volume at the roots. Once your hair is dry, take large sections and curl mid-shaft (like the messy waves tutorial) with a 1 inch curling iron. You are going for more of a bend than a curl, so you just need to turn the iron a little, maybe once or twice at the most.

Finish up with some Ocean Mist and shake it all about.

Congratulations, you are now my newest girl crush!

Does anyone know where this photo comes from? I’m sure it’s a legit shoot and I’d love to credit the magazine and photographer if anyone knows that source

Good Morning! In our fifth and final video in our Aussie series, I’ll be showing you some ways to prevent damage on your hair from heat styling using the Aussie Heat Protecting Shine Spray.  I’ll be doing a natural hand-blow dry on my model, Amanda Blair, before using a curling iron to create very soft and loose waves. To finish up the style, I’ll be using the Aussie Smoothing Serum, that will help the style looking smooth and shiny all day.

To see our other Aussie videos click on the links below!

Aussie Spray Gloss
Aussie Split End Protector
Aussie Anti-Frizz Cream
Aussie Anti-Breakage Spray

Visit the Aussie site to learn more about this, and other Aussie Stylers.

I have a strong belief that any hair can hold curl. A lot of clients swear that theirs is the hair that will never hold curl, and it is my true joy to prove them wrong.

All you need is products. Possibly handfuls upon handfuls, but that is all you need.

My very favorite foundation is mousse. I talk about mousse all the time, but I don’t know that I ever get much more specific than saying that it is great for volume. The truth is, mousse is the world’s greatest foundation product. Note: sometimes my clients are shocked to see that I might use two or three handfuls of mousse in their hair. That is when I don’t have time for nonsense (or misbehaving hair).

Here is what you’re going to do. Shower (or just shampoo/condition your hair). Towel dry. Put in several handfuls of mousse. Every inch of your hair will be moussed, root to tip. The key is to take the silky/softness out. Then you are going to comb through. Then you’re going to blow dry. Then you are going to curl your hair and possibly set it in pins (while it cools). And it is going to hold.

All day. Can you imagine?

It might not feel like real hair, but it will look beautiful and it will hold. Some people are lucky enough to have hair that does what you want it to with little effort and little to no product. The rest of us have to work a little harder!

Here are my favorite mousses.

Redken Full Frame

Sachajuan

Garnier

Go on now. Go get some curly hair!

Both times I’ve been to Europe, I’ve noticed that the water is very hard on my hair. While I was in London, I only shampood once in an attempt to prevent drying out my hair. My hair just seems to be more brittle than the average Jane’s, so maybe this is more of a problem for me than most.

So along with cutting down on shampooing, product is also a great way to lock in some extra moisture. Here are my favorite hair oils!

Redken Glass

Je Veux Argan Oil

SachaJuan Shine Serum

Aussie Smoothing Serum

I call products like these “Hair Drinks”.

Give your hair a drink when it’s thirsty!

PS I had a wonderful time in London and I am so excited to show you some photos from my trip!