Tuesday Tip: Since I’ve been growing my hair over the past year (admittedly as a mild form of mid-life crisis), I’ve suddenly been prone to the flyaway, dry, scraggly, birds-nest hair problems that I used to think were just white chick problems (admittedly worsened by the ”balayaging” of my hair to a white-chick light brown color). The surprising solution is hair oil. Not the twist-off tube kind that you have to carry into the shower with you in a cup of warm water. If you haven’t ventured into this world, hair oil has been reincarnated as a potent shine boosting, anti-oxidizing miracle from the plants of Africa.
The concept of adding oil might seem counter intuitive at first. You might worry that your hair will look like John Travolta’s in Grease. But surprisingly, no! I love Elixir Ultime made by Keratase because it absorbs quickly, especially on wet hair. When I first tried it, I have to admit I was worried that the oil would stain my dress, because, as mentioned above, my tresses are uber-mid-life-crisis long these days. I’m convinced that the oil is somehow activated by heat to make your hair even shinier when you use a blow dryer or curling iron (even though I can’t find any evidence that the manufacturer thinks so). Using a dime sized amount in wet hair, I’ve never noticed any residue. Even patting my hair down with Kleenex, there’s nothing there. But my hair feels super soft and brilliantly shiny. I also use a little rubbed into my palms to tame flyaways on Days 2-3 of a hairstyle. The key is to use it on the ends, NOT the roots close to your scalp.
