I am currently in an awful place with my hair.  There is nothing to do about it, but give it time.  I had extensions put in my hair for my wedding last summer.  They were lovely and I had such a blast magically having a thick full head of long hair.

The downside is that the first time they were not put in correctly so they started to rip my natural hair out.  You can imagine how upsetting this was!  I had them corrected a total of three times (by the third time they had me go to someone different).  In the end, my hair was beautiful for my wedding, but the damage was done.  When I had them taken out I was left with about half my normal head of hair.

As you can imagine I now treat my hair as though it is as fragile as butterfly wings and am just waiting for the pulled out hair to grow back (It’s about 2 inches now).  Here are some current hair products I swear by as well as some products I would like to try in the future.

Osis – Dust It Matifying Powder
You can find this on amazon, here.

This stuff is absolutely amazing.  You sprinkle it on the roots of dry hair and it immediately absorbs excess oil and provides crazy volume.  You can build up as much as you want.  You can also use this on the hair ends.  A hairdresser told me that she sprinkles it on the ends of her curls just to give it a bit more hold.  A side note: if you prefer your hair to feel soft and pretty, you might not like how this feels.  It is definitely a texturizer made to give soft and pretty hair a little more oomph. If you are nervous use a light hand, or just use the next product:

Powder Puffy by Kevin Murphy
You can find this on amazon, here.

Kevin Murphy products are just wonderful.  He also has a shampoo and conditioner for fine hair called Angel Wash & Angel Rinse that are wonderful.  Powder Puff works just like Dust It only it is a lot softer and milder with the mattifying effect and hold.  I love this product as well.  With this product I can sprinkle more on my hair without any worry of over doing it.  It works great as a dry shampoo, but I love it as a volumizer.  I’m currently using just this product right now as I ran out of Dust It, but for me, I think both are worth having in your bathroom.

As far as dry shampoos go…. don’t forget about the baby powder!
This is an age old secret women used to use back in the days when they would have their hair shampooed and styled once a week.  Baby powder dusted into the roots and worked in until no longer visible absorbs all the excess oil extending the life of your shampoo.  I love this trick and use it regularly.  I even will sometimes put baby powder on my hair just after it has been washed and dried to give it a little bit of texture and absorb the oil before it forms.

Kevin Murphy Hair Resort
You can find this on amazon, here.

I have had this product for quite a while.  A couple years at least.  Yes, this is another hair texturizing product.  I only need about a pea sized amount rubbed between my hands and then worked into the roots of freshly washed hair.  It smells amazing, and adds much needed volume.  I do pull my hands down to the ends as well, because it helps tame any fly aways or frizzies I may have.  This is one of my go to products and I can’t believe it has lasted me this long!

Full Shampoo and Conditioner by Living Proof
You can find this at Nordstrom here.

Typically I am the type of girl not to expect too much from my shampoo and conditioner.  I want them to smell nice and not do anything ‘bad’ to my hair.  I rarely really expect them to do much beyond that.  These products have changed my mind completely.  I love the shampoo and the conditioner.  Not only do they smell amazing, but my hair is so light weight afterwards.  When I first started using these products I could tell a difference immediately.  Other shampoos and conditioners I was using in the past must have been leaving quite a build up on my hair, because after one wash and condition my hair felt brand new.  The conditioner does a great job of getting rid of my tangles without leaving my hair too heavy.  That is a concern for me as my fine hair does get quite tangled, but I shy away from heavy conditioners.  I bought the 60ml bottles at Nordstrom to give them a try (and they are lasting me quite a while), but after they run out I will be returning to purchase the full size bottles.  They also have a full discovery kit available that has some promising products as well…

Now for some items I am hoping to try in the future:

Since my main concern right now is growing back the hairs that were ripped out of my head (brutal, I know) from extensions, I have been looking into hair growth products.  There isn’t really anything out there that addresses my issues.  I didn’t lose hair to hormone issues or age so a lot of products don’t apply.  I have found one supplement that has received pretty universal rave reviews.

Phyto Phytophanere Dietary Supplement
You can find these on amazon, here
for half the regular price!

Once I start taking these supplements I am going to track my hair growth and update regularly on here.  Normally I am not one to fall for quick fix type products, but the ingredients are all things I should be taking anyways so it doesn’t hurt to give it a go.  These supplements include goodies like: fish oil, carrot oil, vitamin E, Omegas 3 and 6.  People have claimed they were able to tell differences in their hair, nails and eyelashes.  The reason I hadn’t picked up a bottle yet, was I wasn’t too sure about the hefty price tag, but after finding them on amazon for so much cheaper, it’s a no brainer.

Another product I am going to try at some point is pure coconut oil.  I haven’t even decided which brand yet, but I have read at beauty brains that it is one of the few oils that can actually penetrate the hair shaft reducing breakage and increasing the flexibility and strength of the hair.  Currently I use an oil treatment I picked up when I was on my honeymoon in Bali.  I try to do it once a week.  I put the oil on my hair before I go to bed and wash it in the morning.  It is best if you can let the oil sit for at least two hours as you really want to give it a chance to absorb into the hair shaft.  I might try it out next with something like this: Nature’s Way Organic Coconut Oil, 16 Ounce.  The key is I want to make sure it is pure coconut oil and not a blend of other products designed for hair.

If you like Moroccan Oil for your hair, I’ve read over at the beauty brains that the ingredients have very little actual argon oil.  You can read the article here.  They recommend a product by Nexxus that works as well for taming hair, but at a fraction of the price.  The product is Nexxus Frizz Defy Leave-In Oil Shine, you can find that here.  Perhaps I will use my roommates thick prone to frizz hair as a guinea pig and compare the two products.

As I am trying to let my hair recover it is very important to me not to have any other hair break off!  (Keep in mind this has never been a problem for me in the past, but now I am hyper vigilant about my hair.)