Do you like your hair?
Even though I receive a lot of compliments, I still complain about mine!
My strands are stick-straight, don’t hold a curl, and are nowhere near as thick as my sister’s hair.
Then again, her hair takes 45 minutes to blow dry, while I can do mine in 3 minutes flat. And regardless of how straight my hair is, it does have one thing going for it: shine! It also grows super-fast:
I credit my healthy, shiny hair to three things: shampoo, babying, and diet.
How to get Shiny, Healthy Hair
1. Use a high-quality shampoo. I can’t say enough good things about Desert Essence coconut shampoo and conditioner.
Initially, I bought this because—well, hello! It’s coconut! But it truly is the best shampoo I’ve ever used. Prior to trying this, I would buy the cheapest shampoo (of the brands that don’t engage in animal testing). I have “normal” hair (not too dry, not too oily), so I wasn’t picky about brands.
This shampoo normally sells for about $8, but I buy in bulk at a grocery store called Sprouts, when they have a 20%-off-all-vitamins sale. That helps. Plus, sometimes quality products are well-worth the extra cost.
2. Don’t over-process your hair.
I only wash my hair on days I run (4-5 days a week), and my hair-care routine is pretty minimal (basically because I am lazy and don’t want to spend the time with a curling iron or round brush!) After washing, I spray in a detangler. (Long hair can get knotty!) Then I comb the knots out, blow dry it for three minutes (or less), and I’m done.
In the past, I’ve done highlights a few times, and I’ve had three perms (only one of which actually worked; the other two fell out!). But the last time I did anything chemical-y to my hair was in high school. I like my natural color, so why dry it out by adding highlights? (I’m not ruling out another perm, though. Being a curly-top is fun!)
3. Make sure you’re getting enough healthy fats in your diet. Low-fat diets might be good for calorie control, but they wreak havoc on hair and skin! I prescribe large doses of the following:
Ok, maybe not large doses… but seriously, if your hair and skin are super-dry, consider adding healthy vegetable-based fats (nuts, nut butters, olive oil, coconut, etc.) to your diet. Even in the dead of winter, my skin is still soft.
Step Four: Embrace your hair, whether curly or straight! (I need to remember to take my own advice on this one. Do as I say, not as I do!)
Do you like your hair?
And what’s your hair-care routine?
P.S. Click the link for a picture of me with permed hair.
🙂
I like my curly hair and I’ve learned to accept that sometimes, it just needs to do its own thing. I only shampoo it once a week, but use conditioner every time I wash. I definitely envy how straight haired women can just pull their hair back or up and it looks neat, but I like how my curls allow me to be a little more wild.
I attribute my hair health completely to my diet–my love of nut butters and avocado has made my hair so much shinier than it was before I started eating those things. I also don’t dye or flat iron my hair, which probably helps.
Aww you look so young and cute with permed hair! You have lovely hair, I wish mine was like yours. You’d probably wish you had mine though, it has a natural ripple to it and looked like waves when it was long! I am definitely going to follow your tips 🙂
xoxo
Haha yup! I’d love some of your waves ;).
I wish I could only wash my hair on days I work out… I know its better not to wash every day, but having thin blonde hair means when its not washed it starts looking brown at the top and is noticeable!
Wow, it’s been ages! This post reminded me to make your fudge cake so glad I did, it’s waiting in the fridge for after tomorrows study session. I often get compliments on my hair but can’t say I pay it too much attention to it as it’s really low maintenance and I generally just throw it up in a loose bun or pony tail. When I saw your coconut shampoo and conditioner I laughed, coconut really does wiggle it’s way into all aspects of your life 😛 Good thing too as it’s so good!
Hope you’ve been well lovely 🙂
Aw Claire! So good to hear from you :). Yes, I am a little (a lot?) obsessed with coconut.
p.s – chocolate covered haircare products!! Now I’d buy summa those! 🙂
Great post and lovely pics! You and your sis both have gorgeous hair! I also maintain that getting enough fat in your diet is essential to having nice hair. I’m really not a fan of low-fat diets!
I used to wash my hair every day but it was losing it’s condition as well as getting limp and oily too quickly, so I slowly got myself down to once every three days, and now it’s in way better condition than before (I still sometimes rinse my hair just with water on non-wash days) and doesn’t get greasy. I find that if I don’t use conditioner my hair goes curly (kinda like your sister’s) and if I do use conditioner it goes wavy. Ironically, I’ve found that using conditioner doesn’t actually have much effect on the condition of my hair, only on whether it’s curly or straight!
I used to hate my hair and straighten it every day, but now I’ve learnt to embrace what I have and generally love leaving my hair as natural as possible!
I may be a little late but I must write a comment here 🙂 . I have always been a fan of your healthy shiny hair and now that I know it grows super fast too, I can only say I am jealous! In a good way, of course 😉 .
I like what my hair is supposed to be – thick and curly. At the moment it is only curly and very far from thick but it’s still not bad. I am trying to compensate the high levels of stress in my lifestyle with good hair care products and no blow drying or styling at all. Brushing happens once or twice a week… It is for this reason that it looacks like a nest under construction sometimes, especially if I go to bed with wet hair 😀 .
By the way, your permed hair reminds me of the times when I was kid with very straight hair and slept with pigtails to make it curlier 🙂 .
Oh but I want your thick hair! lol we all want what we don’t have, right?
It made me happy to see you feature this shampoo. I’ve used the lotion before and recently, frustrated with my recent shampoo and conditioner choices, was thinking of trying this! Actually, I’m hoping to try several new ones over the next few months and maybe make some of my own 🙂
I have a dry scalp, so extra moisture is always desired!
Adding more fat to my diet made a huge difference in the texture of my hair. I’ve always had thick hair, but it’s much softer and shinier when I eat more fat.
I keep it pretty simple too. I only wash my hair 2 or 3 times a week. Use cheap shampoo and conditioner and then comb Giovanni’s leave-in conditioner through it while still wet. Scrunch with Kiss My Face grapefruit syling gel and allow to air dry. Drying and straightening takes an hour, and so as much as I love my hair straight, I rarely take the time to do it. When I scrunch and go curly, life is so much easier. Don’t even brush or comb it until the next time I wash it.
I’ve always thought your hair was so beautiful! 🙂
I have a question for everybody … I know this is a little off-topic, but maybe not since we’re talking about hair.
Have any of your doctors ever said, or insinuated, that the condition of your hair is due to your vegan diet? Or anything else that is negative toward your being vegan?
I know way more about nutrition than my doctor lol. By now, she knows better than to try and give me advice ;). But I do remember working a blood drive once, and one of the girls I shadowed was a vegetarian. She told me, “They said I probably wouldn’t be able to give blood because they assumed I’d have low iron levels… but when I took the blood test, my levels were some of the highest they’d seen all day!” Ha! 🙂
What foods or supplement do you take that gives you the good iron reading?
PS Katie — I totally see you doing a cooking show (like a vegan Rachael Ray … who I won’t watch) on mainstream tv. If I were a tv producer I’d scarf you up!
Awww 🙂 🙂 🙂
Gosh I wish you were!
Maybe you could start with public access cable tv in your area … (anyone can get a show.) And see how it goes …
If you’re serious about it, well I can tell you are very smart and resourceful to get there… but if ya need any other ideas, let us all know.
I’m so happy to have found your website and just started to scratch the surface with your Kozy Shack Oatmeal. My next adventure is your vegan whipped cream, and vegan greek yogurt!
Hehe well I’m working on a book, so maybe someday tv will be a go… but I’m actually shy!
As for iron… maybe my comment was confusing. What I meant was the other girl (who was giving blood) had high iron levels. But mine are always normal too :).
“Shy” is refreshing. People respond to it. And it takes ALOT of confidence to do your own webpage. Hay, I’m 57 … I have a feeling most of your viewers are much younger. I can tell from the way you write (and from your pictures) that you have something very special about you. If anyone can “sell” veganism through culinary advocacy, it’s you.
The book is a great idea, glad to hear it. While I’ve stopped accumulating books and usually only use the library, I would not hesitate to have a copy of yours.
You have gorgeous healthy hair!! I had super long hair like yours and shaved my head this summer!! (UH OH!) and have kept it short since. now i m trying to grow it out cos i miss my long hair. its taking for – -ever 🙁 and wearing lots of hats!! XO
Gosh, a shaved head sounds so freeing!!! If I were brave enough, I’d totally wanna try it!
Ya know what I use on my hair? Burt’s Bees Pomegrante & Soy shampoo and conditioner AND… for flyaways, or a little extra moisturizing on the ends.. coconut oil! I also use coc. oil on my skin, it’s AWESOME, but yeah I add it to my hair a SCANT amount on the ends anf SOMETIMES just ever so lightly on the top to control those fine lil flyaways. Awesome huh?
Love love love love the coconut 😉 *giggle* I thought you’d be able to appreciate that too, fellow coconut lover 🙂
AND I also only wash my hair every other day. And since I blow dry also, and usually add a little flat iron, the lovely dried, flat hair lasts 2 days! SOMEtimes I wash it the 3rd day, depends on what I do… I don’t EVER wash my hair two days in a row, it gets so dry!
And darlin… maybe it’s diff. in person, but your hair LOOKS so beautiful and thick in the pics you post! It’s beautiful 🙂 (Just like the rest of you!) :oD
Ooo pomegranate shampoo sounds almost good enough to eat. Almost ;).
I haven’t read all the comments but I’m sure its been said, you are so beautiful!
Awww thank you! Seriously, thank you 🙂 :).
You do have gorgeous hair. It suits you 🙂