Hair Care Products Every Woman Needs

Essential Hair Care Products

Overwhelmed by all the mousses, gels, irons and other hair care products vying for your attention? What you really need boils down to 10 basic tools. Here are the hair care products and tools every woman should have on hand.

1. A good brush. The higher quality your hairbrush, the healthier your hair. The best brushes have rubber bases and natural bristles. The rubber base allows bristles to flex, cutting down on the damage to your hair.
2. The right shampoo for your hair type. Shampoos clean hair by lifting dirt & oil. Picking the correct shampoo is all about the ingredients. Extra tip: More shampoo is not better. All you need is a quarter-sized dollop, perhaps a bit more if you have long hair. (scroll down to see "Best Shampoos & Conditioners for All Hair Types" below)
3. Conditioner. Unless you have baby fine hair that goes limp at the sight of creamy conditioners, you need a conditioner. Conditioners can help repair heat & chemical-damaged hair. The truth is conditioners protect your hair from these things (& harsh brushings). Conditioners are fortified with moisturizing agents that coat the hair leaving it tangle-free. Want to spend less time brushing out long wet hair? Condition the ends. Your comb will zip right through.
4. A wide-toothed comb. Never, ever, ever, never use a brush to comb out wet hair. That’s why they call it ‘combing out’ – a wide-toothed comb is the only equipment that should touch your wet head.
5. Shine serum. Here is where you may say, “what?” But really, who would turn down a shiny mane if promised one? These shine serums really do work. If you have fine, straight hair, forego the serums for the spray & don’t use too much. Shine products will weigh down fine hair, so a quick spritz will do you. If your hair is thick, try the serums, which help smooth the hair & give it an added gleam.
6. Dry shampoo. These shampoos are great for absorbing oil in between washings. Don’t want to splurge on the fancy stuff? Here’s what I do (having tried the fancy Bumble & Bumble powder): talcum powder.
7. A blowdryer. Never underestimate the power of a good blowdryer. The more powerful your dryer, the better. A strong blowdryer will speed drying time which reduces your hair’s exposure to damaging heat. If you have thick hair, you’ll want a dryer with at least 1,875 watts. Those with finer hair can make do with 1,500 watts.
8. Volumizing mousse or spray OR straightening balm. Volumizing products are a true blessing for people with fine hair. Bend over & spray it on your roots & voila! All of a sudden you have volume. Got coarse hair; skip this product & buy the balm, which will calm down those frizzies (unless you love battling them every now & then).
9. Rollers OR straightening irons. If you’re like people my age, you spent many a night as a teenager sleeping with those fuzzy pink rollers wrapped in your hair. These worked great, but they were so painful. Rollers have come a long way since then. Even coarse-haired girls can benefit from a good set of rollers. And remember, the longer your hair, the larger the rollers need to be. Don’t like rollers? Try a good curling iron. Curly girls, of course, can skip the rollers & invest in a high-quality straightening iron. Find one designed for your hair texture & flatten away.
10. Hairspray. Hairsprays are a must for holding your style in place while also protecting your hair against humidity or even heat & UV rays. You don’t want “helmet head” like my Grandma (I call this look 'Grandma head') who still gets her hair done every week at the salon -- leaving it perfectly curled & fluffy for 7 days. Go for a flexible, soft-hold formula. For extra body, lift sections & spray close to the roots.

Best Shampoos & Conditioners for All Hair Types

Shampoo is meant to cleanse the hair of dirt and debris. Conditioning is more than detangling; it should also moisturize and strengthen the hair. If you have had a perm, color, or other chemical treatments to your hair, you should be using a conditioner to help protect it. There are a gazillion brands and types within those brands to choose from.

Here’s a guide to what to pick for 4 different hair types:

1. Coarse, curly hair: Curly hair is almost always dry hair and here’s why: oils produced in the scalp don’t travel as easily down the hair shaft as they do with straight hair. Creamy, moisturizing shampoos work best for this hair texture. Look for shea butter & coconut & macadamia nut oil in your shampoos. These tend to coat the hair shaft, trapping water inside.
   
   Conditioners: For extreme hydration, use deep conditioners. You’ll want to look for products that contain cetyl or stearyl alcohol, panthenol & methicones, silicone or dimethicone, or essential oils & botanicals such as avocado or jojoba oil. Twice a month use a hot oil treatment.
   
   Extra tip: Remember to never, ever, ever wash curly hair every day. You’ll only dehydrate the hair & make it more frizzy & unmanageable. Another alternative to shampoo washings is to rinse the hair with water & then follow with a conditioner.



2. Fine, oily, or limp hair: Go for the clear shampoos & stay away from the creamy ones. You want a gentle shampoo that is marked for “daily or frequent washing”. The secret behind fine hair shampoo lies in a bodybuilding ingredient called panthenol. Hair experts swear that panthenol penetrates the hair cuticle making each strand thicker.
   
   Conditioners: Even limp-hair needs conditioners, just avoid placing the conditioner on your scalp. Massage a light-weight conditioner from mid-shaft down and do not leave it on for long. If you have extremely greasy hair, look for the oil-absorbing tea-tree oil in your conditioner.
   
   Extra tip: Spray conditioners may be your best bet. They tend to be more light-weight & therefore don’t weigh the hair down. Also, unless your hair is extra-oily, there’s no need to ‘rinse & repeat.’ One shampoo will do you. You do NOT have to lather twice.



3. Chemically Processed Hair: For colored, permed & relaxed hair your goal should be “adding moisture”. Unfortunately, processed hair usually suffers from oily roots but dry shaft & ends. So washing processed hair can be tricky. You want to cleanse the roots while moisturizing the ends.
   
   Here are shampoo tips for the following processed hair types:
   
   Colored: Color-protection shampoos contain gentler cleansers than regular shampoos and also contain ingredients to preserve color longer.
   
   Permed or relaxed: Any moisturizing shampoo will work for your hair type but make sure it apply it only to your roots and rub it in well. Then apply a quick burst of water. While the water is running down your hair shaft, massage your hair to remove any dirt & grime. Rinse well. You don’t want to skip the conditioner. Make sure to stay away from the scalp with the conditoner.
   
   Conditioners: Look for a rich conditioner, primarily on the ends of your hair. Avoid conditioners that contain silicone, since they tend to strip color.
   
   Extra tip for processed hair: Wash your hair only every few days to prevent drying out.



4. Dry, damaged hair: Avoid clear shampoos & go straight for the creamy ones formulated with a mild detergent such as sodium laureth sulfate & rich conditioning agents (shea butter or lanolin). These smooth, detangle & diffuse static.
   
   Conditioners: Again, moisturizing is key. You’ll want to look for an ultra-moisturizing conditioner with shea butter.