So many hair styling products…what do they do and which should you use?
It can be confusing knowing which hair styling products to choose for which styling situation… and you don’t always want the same results from your products. Sometimes you just want to restyle a little from dry.. others, blow dry from wet.
We have gone through our entire product range and picked our best of the best for you.
When purchasing hair products for home, you won’t need the 20 that we offer in salon. We recommend sticking to 3-4 products that are specifically designed for your hair.
The basic rules are that if you want some hold then you need a mousse or volumising product.
Heat protection is essential if you use hot styling tools. P.S. heat styling over hairspray or sticky holding products is a bad idea. Direct heat and old products don’t play well together.
Smoothing, taming and anti-humidity products are a perfect choice if these are considerations for your hair.
Plus oils and milks for texture control.
We have listed the needs and desired results so you can see how hair styling products work and which is best for each situation.
#1 Freshly washed hair that is to be blowdried/ heat styled.
Our recommendation here is to use wet products that get through the length of your wet hair easily like a mousse or liquid volumiser if you want hold.
Adding a liquid root spray can help to get more root volume. A smoothing heat protector will protect your hair from the dryer and heat styling tools and is definitely recommended. there are so many you can choose and what you use will depend on how thick your hair is and what processes you have done to your hair.
Also, it’s the length and how regularly you heat style.
If you intend for the style to last with a bit of a reboot over the next couple of days, don’t overdo the hairspray on day one. It makes it harder to use hot tools on your hair later on.
#2 Hair you have only wet and has styling or smoothing products in it.
e.g. rinsed in the shower but not shampooed and has product in it from the day before.
Our advice is to let your hair dry before adding too much more product. When it’s wet you won’t be sure how much wax or mousse is left and what effect it will have. Be careful using blow dryers and heat styling tools too as you will never get a result like day one.
Once your hair is dryish adding a small amount of wax, curl enhancer, smoothing cream or oil should be enough. A dryer root spray should also be enough if you want to use the blowdryer.
Short styles need wax and dryer styling products for texture.
You may not need to add any more products and just style your hair if you are just wetting your hair and not shampooing.
#3 Restyling dry hair which has product from a previous blow dry.
e.g. Next day makeover of a style from the day before.
After giving your hair a good brush use a dry spray before blow-drying. A dry spray is perfect because it doesn’t re-dampen the hair and takes a little extra drying.
Dry shampoo can work wonders for volume on day 3. It gives volume, absorbs extra oils, and can be used with a dry-volume spray product.
If you want to curl or straighten again our advice is to use nothing but a little hairspray following the styling if necessary.
Using heat styling tools on hair with sticky sprays and volumizers is a disaster for your hair and your tools.
#4 Revamping hair that has been styled using hot tools
e.g. Re volumizing for a night out or using a hot tool to perk up a style.
Hairspray is your friend for this occasion. Don’t brush the day’s style out too much just use a nice dry hairspray and reshape.
If you are re-straightening no product at all is fine. Just use some spray after to hold it in place.
There are plenty of other styling products that we love and recommend you use… Serums, Heat Protectant Sprays, and Creams, Finishing Sprays, and Texture Products but this is a great guideline to get you started and especially understanding what products are best for different situations.
Enjoy these helpful tips on how to get the most out of your style and have it last.
Beautiful hair is possible so remember to use this advice and you will look and feel amazing.
Want more? Check out this blog on Common Heat styling Mistakes and how to avoid them.
Absolute Hair offers a range of products and advice to help you get the perfect products that match your hair. Book a consultation to discuss with our team of professionals what is best for you.
