Hair Rules To Live By

1. Thou wilt not hate thine hair.

Straight Hair

     Seriously, that hair-hate you feel? Stop that. I understand the drive to make your hair 'behave' or 'submit to your will, goshdarnit!", trust me, I do. All of middle school and most of high school was one prolonged bad hair-day. It was what I call "a bad hair-epoch". It took me forever to get a handle on my hair, but it doesn't matter how thin, thick, oily or frizzy you're hair is, it's a part of you. Don't hate it or let it frustrate you. Stop obsessing and read on.

2. Thou shalt know thy hair.

Wavy Hair

     Is it straight, curly, fine, thick, oily, frizzy, wavy? What is it? Don't know or not sure? Here's something to help you start understanding your hair. Wash and condition your hair as you normally would. Do this when you know you don't have to go out.  Step out of the shower, detangle, part it like you normally would and then step away. Don't touch it, or put anything in it. What is left when it dries is your hair in its natural form. Now you can see if it's naturally straight or if its got some bend. Does it feel dry or silky smooth? Has it frizzed? Is it curly? Take note. Now brush it. Does it puff up? Or stay smooth? Take note of this as well. 
    Now that you've gotten to know you're hair some more, here's a great quiz from naturallycurly.com that was a hair-saver for me. (Quiz is good for all hair-types.):

http://www.naturallycurly.com/texture-typing

3. Thou shalt not torture thine hair.

Curly Hair

     This is for all my peeps who freaked out when I suggested I let your hair air dry. To you I say, put the thermal tool down and step away! I was you once, obsessed with making my hair submit to my will. What I ended up with was fried ends and denial. Look, there's nothing wrong with styling your hair every once in a while, even most of the time if that's what your comfortable with. I strongly suggest trying products like mousse, gel, hair oils and seeing if it works for you. But if you HAVE to use heat or chemicals then for pete's sake use a heat protectant! Set tools to the appropriate heat setting! Wait a few weeks between chemical processes like bleaching and keratin treatments! And most of all-

4. Be kind to thine hair.

Coily Hair

   As Lauren Conrad said in her book 'Style': "Yes, hair grows- but it grows slooooowly!" My point: treat it well. Don't torture it; nourish it! Figure out what your hair needs (moisture? a good cleanse? a haircut?) and treat yourself to a spa day and a hair mask. Ask your hair stylist what they recommend for healthier hair or do some research on this lovely world wide web.  
Just remember that everyone's hair is different, and a good stylist will know more than any of us mere mortals.

There's more, so much more, to know about hair than just these four rules. I'll be exploring it some more in other posts, but there will never be a definitive guide to hair. Just love the hair you have and play nice!

Much Love, 

                    Vicky