WILW: Hair products

I've always been obsessed with my hair.

Apparently my parents would dry it like this every night after bath time. Wow. Maybe not my best look, but as you can see I was rockin' "the poof" very early on.

and I look very excited about it, don't I?

I get it from my dad.

He was Jesse from Full House. You know, the guy who asks every five minutes "How's my hair? Does my hair look ok? Don't touch my hair" It use to drive me crazy, now what I would give to hear him ask me that again. Goes to show you how you can't take even the tiniest little things [no matter how annoying] for granted because you'll never know how much you'll miss them when they're gone.

He would sit under a dryer to tame his naturally curly hair [hence where I get mine from] and make his locks look perfect. We use to make fun of him... now I've turned into him.

I've been going to the same hair stylist since senior year in college, so over 5 years now. Each time I go she knows one thing for sure; we'll never do the same thing. I switch it up each and every time. The cut, the color. It's the one thing no matter what you do, it always grows back. It allows me...well her...to be creative.

I've been a blonde, I've been a brunette. It's been super short a few years ago, It's been super long more recently. It's straight one day thanks to my Chi, then curly the next thanks to my dad's good genes.

I've always been ga-ga over beauty products in general and more recently when baby hormones began to change these locks a bit, I've grown even more obsessed with finding the right combination to make my do' perfect.

Then even MORE obsessed once I found Katie's blog - It's the Small Things.

Seriously, my hair doesn't look good everyday because honestly I don't take enough time to style it. But if I did, I'd make it look like Katie's everyday. Amazing!

and just because she's my sister [on left] I taught her how to do the "curling iron curls" trick recently since she's grown her hair out from a super short bob. I thought it looked so pretty Saturday at the game and she looks like a pro with the curling iron now. So proud!

Don't these ladies look lovely in their Sugar frocks?

Ok, moving on to the details. Thought I'd share the products I'm loving these days:

Joico K Pak Shampoo and Conditioner

features reconstructive proteins that really help frizzy, damaged,

color-treated hair [aka: that's me, all of the above]

I've been using it for a few months and love it.

Then my hair stylist also recommended I use Nioxin Cleanser for color treated hair a few years ago. It's for fine hair so I don't use it often but if you ever experience dry, itchy scalp or just want your hair squeaky clean - this is shampoo to use once or twice a week. The peppermint smell reminds me that I'm taking all the bad junk out of my hair and scalp and it leaves it oh-so-fresh and clean.

As a detangler, sometimes I use Pantene Detangle Spray but more recently I've tried Redken Real Control Thermal Resist before I dry my hair and it protects against blow dryer and straightener heat.

Then for YEARS, this has been my little gem.

Biosilk Silk Therapy

a MUST HAVE for girls with naturally curly, frizzy hair

Just slather onto the ends before you dry your hair and it leaves it, well...silky smooth.

I'm thinking of that scene from Billy Madison now. Please tell me you know what I'm talking about!

I use a lot of hairspray. After I straighten my hair I curl it with a huge curling iron, piece by piece, then tease and spray. [unless i leave it naturally curly] Yes, I said tease. I tease my hair everyday. I have to get volume at the crown and get "the poof". I used Vavoom hairspray for years but more recently tried Kenra 25 strong hold and oh. my. word. what a difference.

This seriously IS the best hairspray ever.

I haven't tried this yet but my hairstylist ordered the Aquage Uplifting Foam for me yesterday because I told her Katie recommended it on her blog for more volume at the root. I can't wait to try it. It's a lightweight foam that you apply to roots before you dry so you can get the "ooomph" you need. Will let you know how it works.

I've used a Chi straightener for years now and last Christmas my mom bought me the Chi hairdryer and absolutely love it. I also use a 2 inch curling iron for volume and 1 inch for the loose "curling iron" curls.

I joke with my hair stylist that if something ever happened to Sugar one day, she better save me a spot at the salon because that's what I'm going to do. We laugh about it, but I hope she knows that um... I'm not kidding.

What's your favorite hair products? Any that I should try?

Next week I want to share my favorite makeup and skin care products.

Trust me, that's a whole other post for another day. Stay tuned.