I am definitely one of those Latinas who doesn't leave the house without makeup, perfume and having my hair styled. And if my hair doesn't look good, then it affects my mood! This week, I had to travel for business, and I got so many compliments on my hair that I just had to share some of my secrets. My hair is the one part of my body that I'm pretty happy with! Following are my best kept secrets for hair that is thick, coarse and plentiful like mine. Your hair too will look fabulous in no time.
Read more in ¿Qué más? 7 Reasons why you should visit a Dominican hair salon
1. Wash less. First, as a child, my mamá and abuela taught me to wash my hair twice a week to keep it healthy. And, I hardly use any products other than shampoo and deep conditioning once per week or every two weeks as needed. If my hair starts to look greasy, then on the second or third day I wash the front, top and most visible section only.
2. Air dry. Most of the time, I air dry my hair rather than use a hair dryer. I typically wash my hair in the evening, detangle it and then towel dry it. Going to sleep with my hair damp is something I do all the time. Although, this part I do against mami and abuelas advice, gracias a Dios I've never gotten sick because of it.
3. Save time with hot rollers. Now, this styling tip is the real money saver and a hit with colleagues and friends! I'm often asked if I just went to the beauty salon to get my hair styled. Most mornings, I plug in my hot rollers while I take a shower. By the time I'm done (15 minutes) they're hot and ready to put on. I put 5 of the large rollers (at least 1 and ½ inch in diameter) in a row starting with the top, front and middle sections of my head, and working my way to the back, lower part of my head. I then use 1 curler on each side. No need to measure each section perfectly as this ends up giving my hair a more "natural" look. I leave them on for 15 to 20 minutes while I do my make-up and other things. I love this because I am getting other stuff done while the rollers do their work!
4. Cover your roots. My final tip has been life changing since it allows me to hold off going to the hair salon for root and grey coverage for at least two months (as opposed to every 3 weeks). I use Clairol's Nice 'n Easy Root TouchUp as soon as the grey starts to show. It literally takes me 10 to 15 minutes tops to get the this done. You can get this product at most drugstores and supermarkets and it only costs around 7 dollars and all I did was to match the color on the box to my hair!
Like most busy Latinas I'm always looking for beauty tips that are easy to incorporate into my hectic lifestyle, save me money and garner great results. Please share your game-changing beauty tips and/or products.
Image via Lucia Ballas-Traynor
