Hair basics

I've received a lot of questions asking me how I get my hair to be so voluminous, how I style it, which products do I use..so this post is dedicated to getting most of those questions answered. But just be aware, like make-up I don't have an extensive knowledge on products and tricks because I'm very lazy when it comes to doing hair.

First, the most important thing you need to know is that my hair is naturally VERY thick and very healthy, so I don't do anything to add volume. In fact whenever I get my hair cut I need to get it thinned out so it doesn't get out of control.

It's also extremely straight in its natural straight, so for most of the pictures you have seen on my blog I have had a perm, but right now it's grown out almost completely and I style the waves by using a curling iron.

Those who have asked how I get my thick hair up in a bun, it just takes a few tries to get that mass sitting just the way I'd like it to :P and use 2 thick hair ties!

My favorite trick that I've figured out over the years is to shower and night and let my hair dry while I sleep because it minimizes the poofy texture I get from showering the day of. Rolling around on my hair makes it a little softer and silkier, also the bedhead looks better when I style it.

Here are the few products that I use (I didn't list shampoo/conditioner because I'm always changing it up whenever my bottles are empty):

Shu Uemura's Liquid Fabric Spray. Most Asians don't have great texture, our hair is just really smooth and 2 dimensional, so when my hairdresser recommended this to me for adding texture I was skeptical because nothing has impressed me before. Let me just say, I LOOOVE this. Used sparingly, it gives a great piecey look after hair is dried and it stays that way all day. I love that it also doesn't feel sticky or crunchy upon application, this is a "the shit" product.


Moroccan Oil. I've heard endless rave reviews about this stuff so I had to give in and buy a bottle. So far, it hasn't blown me away with fantastic results but it keeps me dry ends from looking horribly frayed and it smells nice. I don't use it every night, just when I feel like my hair could use a pick me up and feel softer.

Redken Glass 01 Smoothing Serum. My hair doesn't really frizz, but when I really want an ultra smooth texture I'll rub some of this into my hair. It was included in the gift bag at a fashion show and I'm so glad it did because otherwise I wouldn't have tried it. Previously I used John Frieda's smoothing serum but it felt a little sticky to me. I highly recommend you frizzy haired people to give this a try!

Conair curling irons. My whole life I never understood how to use these properly until maybe 7 months ago. Don't bother using the clamps and just wrap your hair around the entire iron! Since my hair is thick and doesn't like to hold very well, I hold the pieces on the iron for 15-20 seconds. Afterwards, just run your fingers through your hair and use styling product if desired, I just skip that. The one on the left is 1" and the one on the right is 1" 1/4, I mostly use the thicker barrel though.