By: Olivia Volpe
With only two percent of Americans claiming fiery red tresses as their natural hair color (with many others converting to the spellbinding, scarlet hue), it’s important that those of us lucky enough to be part of that elite group of gingers take care of every strand we’ve got!
After much personal experimentation, and some unfortunately bad hair days, here are some simple changes you can make to your daily routine to improve the look and life of your fabulous red hair:
1. Skip the Shampoo- It’s a super satisfying feeling lathering your favorite shampoo through your locks while belting out Adele lyrics, but that shampoo strips your hair of natural oils that help give it a shiny appearance! Try and train yourself to only shampoo every other day to help avoid dried out, matte hair.
2. Cut the Cord- Turn off your hair drier, flat iron and curling iron. High heat from styling tools can permanently damage your hair, and no one wants that! Let your hair dry naturally and try some Velcro hair curlers for an old-fashioned, heat-free way to get a new style! If you do have to take a flat iron to tame the mane, use a heat protection spray like Chi Iron Guard Thermal Protection Spray to avoid too much damage!
3. Eliminate Elastic- I know this sounds like a silly thing to change, but your every day hair elastics cause more damage than you may think to your precious tresses. These more gentle twists by Mane Message are my absolute favorite accessory and add a little extra pizzazz your plain black hair tie just can’t compete with!
4. Switch it up!- Most of us get comfortable in a routine and stick to buying the same hair products time and time again. Next time your friend raves about her hair regimen or you read about your favorite celeb’s secret beauty tips, take their advice! Bumble and Bumble makes a great line of shampoos, conditioners and styling products for every hair type– and they smell great too!
Photo Credit: Kara Kochalko, © How to be a Redhead
