Precious tips for straight and thin hair
Do you remember my super friend Fe Grão, owner of a gorgeous hair who already wrote 3 posts about how to take care/manage/turn it blond here on DDB in the past? She is a master in the art of giving some emotion to very straight and thin hair, and she shares several nice tricks here and here – and told how she does her color here.
Well then, Miss Grão is back to share with us new products she has been testing. If you also have straight and thin hair, that doesn’t work with anything, that never gets any volume… take advantage! (I remind you that we had a special post with tips for curly hair recently here). But before starting with the products, I asked her to separate and comment a few different “capillary moments”:
1 – “Here you can see my hair on its darkest version, with less beach time and products added, but still with some volume and swing. If I had to choose a capillary look for the rest of my life, today, I think this would be the ideal one!”
2 – “This photo was taken on my first day back from London! I had just had my hair cut at Taylor Taylor in East London, by Federico Vazzoloretto. It was one of the most amazing haircuts I had in life. An incredible experience I recommend and want to repeat! Federico worked for 45 minutes, adjusting layer by layer. I wanted my hair with much more movement and swing without having to curl it. It ended up exactly like I wanted it! Actually it was better!”
3 – “This one is nothing special, but I choose it cause I’ve been changing the way I part my hair as a strategy for a hair that falls less flat! On this day, my hair was even a bit more straight, but with this trick it got way more interesting!”
4 – “Do you think that the Alterna volumizer that you gave me worked? Special thanks to the blogger friend;)”
5 – “Panic photo! Hair with no fun! It illustrates the reason why the volume investigation was worth it! But it doesn’t reach the slavery stage… Each day is different and on this one I probably just wanted to let my hair “breath” because there was a party at night!”
6 – “Magazine hair for Glamour! Patrick Pontes is fantastic (makeup and hair). He did this incredible look that even God gets suspicious of (you only need to check photo 8!)! But it proves that with the right products + nicely done curling iron, even the most difficult hair surrenders! I was full of myself.”
And here we go. I leave you with Fe Grão:
“I’m back for one more of my sporadic collaborations with DDB! I took a sabbatical in the forgotten land of who thinks there’s no time for anything and doesn’t care much about beauty news, but now I rise again! YEAH! The worst is that it doesn’t give me content for a whole other post about light life and the total importance of a few precious details that shape the daily life (for better)… It’s a conversation somewhat philosophical, but beauty and its rituals have everything to do with this balance! ;) The good thing is that I am back! What the honor to be able to write for the beloved DDB once more.
Seeing the market more prepared and diversified is one of the most cool aspects since my first collaboration, in 2009. The easy access to a wider range of products is a very positive balance for everyone, but especially for the category of straight/ultra straight hair that doesn’t have a big voice on the mainstream market. Shall we remember? Back in the days when Sephora was not yet in Brazil, and Oscar Blandi, for example, was a reality a bit more distant than the actual two clicks on your computer.
Another point: L’Oréal also released the californian ombré kit (the one from the campaign with Isabeli Fontana). I have a feeling they saw our hit-post about the Sun-In / controlled highlights and had more “courage” to release this product in Brazil. I can only imagine its print on the PowerPoint from L’Oréal’s marketing department considering the pros and the cons of inserting this line in the Brazilian market. Hahaha. Since I left the blond look behind, I didn’t test it yet. But I thought it was great that this novelty arrived, because it clearly stimulates a more democratic approach to the Brazilian beauty ritual.
In almost two and half years after my last collaboration, I could increase the range of products – but before the list, it might be nice to remind my plan of action to deal with straight and lightly oily hair. The whole story can be divided in a few premisses:
1. Consider the astringency of the shampoo before washing your hair and don’t use conditioner 99% of the times. Result: lighter hair.
2. Detangle your hair with all the patience in the world (from the ends to the roots) with a large tooth comb. Result: The less your hair breaks during the combing process, less tendency it will have to tangle. The work will become easier through the months, and your dependance on the conditioner will decrease.
3. Choose a volumizer element (fluid, cream or mousse) to apply on your hair before drying it. Some are activated by heat while others work better if you let your hair dry naturally. Result: Once the hair is dry, it will already have a different disposal to face a curling iron or simply exist with more swing.
4. Decide to dry the hair with or without a blowdryer.
5. Apply the shaping / finishing products (spray, paste, hairspray, loose powder, oil). Result: More intense control or fixation of the result – after the curling iron or before the bun.
(Attention: this step is the one that can be harder on the hair since it is the last ‘layer’ of products!)
These are the basic steps of the ritual, but I don’t force myself to comply with all of them, of course, because each day is different, with more or less time, with more or less demand. And let’s move to the novelties I enjoyed getting to know recently – more or less by the order of the steps:
Fito shampoo Henna – Weleda
With henna and nettle vegetable extracts, it is recommended to people with hair that tends to get oily. (No, it doesn’t dye the hair!) For me, it cleans the hair just right and it is one of those healthier and more natural cosmetics, without substances that derive from petroleum, preservatives, fragrances and dyes. I am not very strict when it comes to this, but I have been aligning myself more and more with the logic that the way you choose your cosmetics should be as solid as the way you choose your diet. So, it’s worth checking out the beauty line from Weleda.
Shampoo Root Awakening Purify & Nourish – John Frieda
This is another shampoo with balanced astringency for my type of hair. It has eucalyptus extract that stimulates, purifies and balances the roots leaving the hair full and light. Actually, John Frieda developed this “Root Awakening” mini line focusing on the health of the scalp (for oily and also for dry hair).
VolumeA Volumizing Conditioning Spray – Rene Furterer
From the volumizer spray category, this is one of the best I’ve used. My modus operandi consists in towel drying my hair and apply it while the hair is still humid focusing more on the ends. The package doesn’t mention if it is activated by heat, but for me the best results were with the blowdryer. This is one of those lighter sprays that you can hardly make mistakes with. Rene Furter is a French brand also with a more natural approach to treatment and that focus on the scalp. It’s worth to research it because the brand is quite vast and full of tradition.
Bamboo 48 hour Volume Spray – Alterna (this is one of the few you bought for me in London!)
This volumizer thermo-active spray is priceless! It’s incredible! When my hair is still lightly humid and parted on the middle, I spray it twice on each side, then I blow-dry it, finalize with the bun technique “without-making-it-too-tight” and tcharam: a look with super natural waves, light and not sticky at all! On the day I used it, there wasn’t a single person that didn’t comment how my hair was different, with more movement. (Above there is the photo to illustrate it!)
I did a research just now and found out that this is one of the most awarded products by Alterna, a brand that until recently I barely knew. It is another beauté brand that stands for the products free of parabens, sulfates and other chemicals that can harm the health. I am crazy to try other volumizer products from this line and also the Caviar line (hmm…).
Surf Spray – Bumble and Bumble
A classic and, nowadays, one of the products I use the most. It fits in the category 3 of the ritual – pre-drying volumizer element – but according to the manufacturer it can be used also on dry hair. It’s fixation power is super balanced. So it is a product that leaves no space for mistakes, easy to use, works with or without blowdryer and doesn’t ask for the use of other products. The result (visually and to the touch) is very natural. It’s my go-to product to take on trips or to leave on the beauty bag I take to the gym. Another thing I love about it is the kind of pump it has – it remind the power of an aerosol, but it’s not one. So it is a long lasting product.
Awapuhi Styling Treatment Oil – Paul Mitchell
The last time I wrote to DDB, the treatment oils were not a thing on the beauté market yet. I really got into this wave. There are times when my hair feels the lack of conditioner (being it because I spend 12 hours under the sun during Summer or because I filled my hair with hairspray and curling iron to go to a party). A few drops are great both to help detangle the hair before drying it or, after the hair is dry and ready, to give a final touch if the texture is not the best.
I tested several, but I fell in love for this one by Paul Mitchell that feels lighter than the rest. So it is more compatible with my needs.
Full Thickening Cream – Living Proof
This products was a tip given by the beautiful Johanna Birman (#gorgeoushair), once that I wrote an article about her top beauty products. Different from most of the “step 3” spray products , this is a cream that was thought to treat and give body to super straight hair before blowdrying. Its formula is powerful (with a super technological molecule), but it’s also very light. So we’re not talking about any drastic result (which is exactly what we need sometimes, a error free procedure). Its use experience is super simple and ultra rewarding. The cream has lots of fragrance and leaves the hair smelling like a “delicious bath”, besides giving a beautiful and natural texture to the touch.
Pronto Dry Shampoo Powder – Oscar Blandi
On the previous post, we spoke about Klorane’s dry shampoo in a loose powder version (like a talc powder), that I found out to be way more useful for my type of use that the aerosol dry shampoos. It’s another go-to resource on the beauty ritual! My hair has a bigger tendency to get oily so the aerosol shampoos almost didn’t last since I had to apply so much of it to solve an excess issue or simply to give more body to the hair after drying it.
This is a sort of its cousin that I discovered going through the shelves at Sephora on my last trip abroad and I’m loving it. (As far as I know, Oscar Blandi was one of the pioneers of the “dry shampoo science”.) I divide my hair in longitudinal parts and apply it close to the root and spread / massage it with my fingers so that it doesn’t stay white. According to the website of the brand, the rice, oat and tapioca (!) starches absorb oil, while the tea tree oil treats the scalp. I live better with this type of assurance.
Elnett Satin Flexible Hold Hairspray – L’Oréal
My relationship with hairspray defines itself by the expression: necessary evil. But since technology works in our favor, there are products more efficient and less unnecessarily sticky for step 5. Elnett Satin Flexible leaves micro particles on the hair, guaranteeing a lighter result, but not less efficient. You can get it right easily. Another ease: after dry, if you brush your hair, it practically disappears because the particles disintegrates.”
THANK YOU Fe Grão! I really loved these tips, I hope you like them girls!
{Translated by Ana de Almeida}
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