How To Care For Your Hair When You Unpin
How To Care For Your Hair When You Unpin
We put our hair through a lot as pinups. We set it, curl it, tease it, sleek it, roll it, pin it and spray it. But when it is time to unpin and for us to finally brush out and wash our hair - how do we take care of it so we can maintain its health and vitality? We should not be abusing our hair, that is why it deserves its own self care days, or should I say hair care days.
Personally, I like to give my hair and skin full unpinned days, in order to ensure they have the chance to restore back to their natural health. Healthy hair, will perform and style with more ease. Whereas dry, damaged hair will always be screaming out for more products in order to get it to behave.
"How you wash your hair and the products you use can go a long way toward maintaining smooth, shiny hair." - American Academy of Dermatology Association.
I learnt fairly quickly in the pinup game that my hair wash days were just as important as my hair set days. By making the simple switch to quality hair care products (not just whatever was on special and the cheapest at the grocery shop) ended up saving me time when styling my hair into pinup and vintage inspired do's.
So let's start at the time when you are itching (sometimes literally!) to get the in shower and wash your hair after a few days of heavy pinup styling.
Step 1: Detangle
You should always first brush your hair to remove all knots. If you have tease in your hair, ensure you safely remove it first. If it's all a little painful and just the brush won't do, a few sprays of my favourite Muk leave in conditioner works wonders as a detangler (mutli-use product - yes please!). This is also a great product to use if you prefer to not dry brush your hair - a bit of moisture can protect against any further unwanted damage.
Related: Will Teasing Damage My Hair?
You also want to use a wide toothed brush or specific detangling brush. This will help get through your hair and get any of those last knots and built up product out. Always make sure you can easily glide your brush through your hair before you wash it. If you have any stray strands of hair stuck in your brush, make this part of your routine to quickly pick them out to keep your brush that little bit cleaner.
Related: How To Clean Your Hairbrushes
Step 2: Cleanse
Ok, let me step you through how many products I sometimes have in my hair by wash day after a few solid days of styling: setting solution, argan oil, working hairspray, pomade, finishing hairspray, dry shampoo. Yep, that's just a bit. So you want to make sure you get all of that product out of your hair before you go in with your traditional shampoo and conditioner - because sometimes just a shampoo will not do! I had a fellow hairdresser suggest this product to me and so far nothing has come near to how easy it cleanses my hair (I even use it to clean pin curl clips too!)
A little goes a long way with the Natural Look clarifying shampoo. My 1 L bottle is still going strong 3 years later. Just a small amount will have you in a sweet lather, cleansing all those products out of your precious hair. I find just one round using this shampoo does well but I have had to do two rounds when I do actually *ahem* abuse my hair with too many products. This will give your hair a squeaky clean feel - remember it is a clarifying shampoo so you will need to follow it up with your regular shampoo and conditioner.
Step 3: Shampoo & Conditioner
Now we should all know how to do the next step yeah? You can just go in with your regular favourite shampoo and conditioner. This is a very personal product and you will have your favourites and what works best for you - on all wash days, not just post-pinned up hair days.
Below are some links to products that worked for me and that I am currently using:
When I had coloured hair:
Natural Look Colourance shine enhancing range
Now with my natural colour:
Ethique Solid Bars - Mintasy Solid Shampoo + Curlosity Co-wash Conditioner
Step 4: Conditioning Mask
Now this step is a GAME CHANGER! I was referred this product by a fellow pinup who rocks the most vibrant colourful hair and I was always in awe of how it was in such good health and always looked so shiney and felt so smooth. She said this was her 'little secret' and it makes a huge difference to your hair care routine. The Muk 1 minute treatment!
Confession time:
#1 I do sometimes leave this in for longer than 1 minute as I clean the shower when this is in.
#2 I sometimes do a Zohan dance and repeat that my hair will be 'silky smooth' in his accent.
Get yourself a wide toothed comb to keep in the shower as well to comb this through your hair. I love this one as it has extra grips on the handle because trust me when I say this conditioning treatment works wonders on your hair, the product itself is also quite slippery. And when you wash it out - I dare you not to say 'silky smooth'! (BTW if you haven't watched Don't Mess with the Zohan, do so and get back to me for we are always quoting it in our household!)
Step 5: Leave in Conditioner and Wrap
Now that you have had your 'me time', don't just rub the crap out of your hair and fuzz it all back up. I have recently been taking on some curly girl hair care techniques and not using a towel to rough dry my hair has made a huge difference. You may not feel the need to put in any more conditioning to your hair after the Muk 1 minute treatment. But for even just regular wash days when I don't need to follow all of the above steps to fully cleanse and condition my hair back to it's happy health, I use a few more sprays of the Muk leave in conditioner, comb it through my hair and squeeze out as much moisture as possible using an old t-shirt. Then I wrap my hair up in a hair towel to suck out a bit more of the moisture.
This step helps you to avoid any extra heat, if you do wish to blow dry your hair it won't take as long. But I like to keep my hair wrapped for at least 30 minutes and then brush out and air dry my hair on unpinned days.
Step 6: Minimise Heat
Speaking of heat, it is best if you give your hair a break after all of that lovin' you just put into it - especially if heat setting is your preferred curling method. I understand if some days you simply don't have the time to be parading around in a hair towel and then air dry your hair - but please, for the sake of your hair, if you have to then blow dry it after you wash it (or even use the straightener on a couple of strands or your fringe) please use low heat settings and add in an extra layer of protection with a heat protector spray - your hair will thank you for it!
Please keep in mind that I have suggested products that have worked well for me. Hair care products (especially shampoo and conditioners) will have different results for different types of hair. Your hairdresser will know you and your hair best, so listen to their suggestions for products that may work best for you too.
You will notice I have suggested mostly Muk hair products - this is because I not only love this brand, but I personally use a lot of products from their range for styling as well (hence why I also stock the Pomade in the shop!).
xoxo
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