Updating My Hair for the Spring

I like to change up my hair a bit every season. A little lighter in the spring and summer, a tad darker for the fall and winter. I have to deal a bit more with frizz in the winter (a lot of time in dry, artificially heated environments does this to me) and I need to clarify my hair regularly and super hydrate due to all of my time in the pool in the summer.

I recently headed to my stylist (I see Tiffany at Tricho in Ann Arbor, Michigan) for a pre-spring break spring hair refresh, and emerged with refreshed layers and a bit more of a “face frame” of lighter balayage around my face. I love how it looks, and I have to admit, that I did quite a bit of shopping shortly afterwards!

My current hair priorities:
• I want big, voluminous hair that is touchable
• I want to curl it into pretty waves again, which means I’ll need to use some pretty great heat protectant products as my hair is damaged and I color it
• I want lots of shine. All the shine. Especially on days that I’ve left my hair straight

When picking out products, I headed immediately to Sephora, since they carry the full lines of my favorite brands (Kérastase, Oribe, Living Proof, Briogeo and Ouai). If you’re not already a member of their Beauty Insider program, you should sign up now! It’s free to join, and you’ll get perks such as early access to products, free standard shipping, and more. Some of my favorite perks are the luxe sample sizes, just watch your email for the codes! When I purchased all of the products below I also got a free Shu Uemura Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Hair Oil deluxe sample, perfect for travel.

Kérastase Chroma Absolu Line

Once I decided what I wanted my hair to look like, I needed to adjust my product selection a bit. I was nearly out of some of my favorites, and just as I was about to start shopping around, I found the answer in a new product email from Sephora!

I’ve been using the Kérastase Resistance line for years, it really has helped cut down on breakage due to my split ends and damaged hair. The new Kérastase Chroma Absolu line looked to be just as good but a slightly better fit for my hair issues, as it is for damaged and color-treated hair. I put the entire line in my cart immediately! (Ok, not the entire line. There are 2 shampoos, and you pick on based on your hair type. So, I picked the shampoo for medium to thick hair.)  I’ve been using it for a few weeks, and so far I’m impressed!

• Kérastase Chroma Absolu Shampoo for Medium to Thick Color-Treated Hair and Strengthening Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair
This shampoo is sulfate free and formulated to be gentle on damaged hair, prevent color fading and improve shine while reducing frizz. It has a nice lather and rinses out easily. The conditioner is just right, not too light or too heavy. It rinses out easily but my hair feels soft afterwards. I’m really loving both the shampoo and conditioner, I’ve already put more in my cart for my next Sephora Haul!

• Kérastase Chroma Absolu Strengthening Mask for Color-Treated Hair
I swap out conditioner for a mask once a week, and this one is good. It feels a more hydrating version of the conditioner, not heavy and not at all greasy.

• Kérastase Chroma Absolu High Shine Gloss Treatment for Color-Treated Hair
If you haven’t tried a gloss treatment like this one, you need to try one out pronto! I apply it to my freshly shampooed hair in the shower and leave it in for a few minutes. When it rinses out, my hair feels insanely silky and I can’t believe the difference only a few minutes makes! After a rough blow dry my hair is less frizzy, easier to manage and the shine is incredible! I’ve already repurchased (so yes, I have a back up) and I’ll be using this routinely.

• Kérastase Chroma Absolu Anti-Frizz Leave-In Treatment for Color-Treated Hair
I’ve been spraying this on my damp hair before drying and styling, and I really do think it helps a lot to cut down on frizz! It also acts as a heat protectant, and you can bet I’ll be using this all summer since it helps with humidity as well.

• Kérastase Chroma Absolu Anti-Copper Green Mask for Color-Treated Hair
I bought this mask to use in the summer when I’m swimming all the time. It’s a color-correcting, hydrating hair mask for red and copper tones in dark brunette hair.

Scrub and Volumizer

While I love my new Kérastase products, I had a couple more problem solvers I needed to buy!

• OUAI St. Barts Cleansing Scalp & Body Sugar Scrub
So, fun fact about me…. I have psoriasis on my scalp. I’ve really only recently discovered this, and while a prescription foam does most of the heavy lifting to keep my scalp happy, I need a good scrub to help remove any scale from my scalp. This helps my medication reach my scalp, where it can actually help me!

So, I’ve been in search of a great scalp scrub. I’ve found some nice scrubs, but most of them do the job and then…. stick around. I have a really hard time rinsing most of them out of my hair completely.

This scrub is different, and it is definitely my current go-to product! This scrub is sugar based, doesn’t feel sticky, and it smells tropical. But best of all, once I’ve used it, I can rinse it out without needing to wash that part of my head three times.

• Briogeo Blossom & Bloom™ Ginseng + Biotin Hair Volumizing Spray
I’m a sucker for a volumizing product, and this spray is pretty amazing. I spray it near my roots and the first 4 inches or so of my hair. Then style as usual. It adds some nice volume that lasts until the next time I wash my hair.

A Longer Curling Iron

• Bio Ionic Long Barrel Styler Pro Curling Iron 1″
One of the things that Tiffany mentioned to me that I should try for my hair is a different curling iron. She told me that for hair that’s as long as mine (slightly below my bra strap, even after my cut), she recommends trying a longer curling iron, and for me she recommended a 1″ diameter. My current curling iron is already 1″, but it’s a typical length. I try to push the hair I’ve wrapped around it down a bit, but unless I’m curling very small sections, I will run out of space on the curling iron and can’t get very high up the hair shaft.

This curling iron from Bio Ionic is about 2 inches longer than other curling irons. I love that it has adjustable heat, and unlike other extended length curling irons, it has a clip that extends for the entire curling iron. I’ve found that this curling iron gets the curls higher up on my head, and I think the results look much better!

Here’s another look at the hair I’m trying to recreate and keep every single day!

What’s your recent hair product find? I’d love to know more!

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This post is a collaboration with Sephora, but I’m the one that picked all of the products (yes, all of those Kérastase products!) and all opinions are my own.