Emily Strange Hair | Hair Style Guide

Home Hair Care Guide

Cut Style and Maintenance

Shower Routine

Tips and Tricks for getting the most out of your shower routine.

Brush only on dry hair, use a wide tooth comb on wet hair only to detangle. You can dry brush your hair prior to washing it, but once it's wet, use a comb or fingers to detangle.
Shampoo only as often as you need:
- Oily hair: every day
- Normal hair: Every other day (2-3 times a week) or 1-2 times per week.
- Rinse only between shampoos if there isn't a lot of oil or product in the hair or protect hair with shower cap.
Condition every time you shampoo, preferably mid-strands to ends: it balances your hair's pH back to it's normal state, closing the cuticle, and locks in moisture.
Use the proper shampoo and conditioners for your hair type and texture.
Use a Leave In Conditioner or Hair Prep product after showering for hydration and heat protection.
As needed for pro-active hair health use an at home hair mask to hydrate for optimal health.
Use clarifying shampoos or a detox mask 1-2x a month up to 1x a week to remove product and water mineral build up.
Install a water filter on your shower head to reduce the amount of hard water minerals that come in contact with your hair and skin - both will stay softer, hydrated, and overall be healthier.

Tools and products recommended for showering routines:

Shower Cap
In Shower Water Filter
Wide Tooth Comb
Hair Brush
Shampoo
Conditioner
Clarifying Shampoo or Detox Mask
Hydrating Hair Mask
Leave In Conditioner or Hair Prep Product

Styling Routines

Other Tips and Tricks

Never heat style on wet or damp hair.
Always use heat protectant when heat styling.
Utilize products as styling aids to help you achieve your desired results.
Always start with the lowest amount of heat from any tool and work up to an effective level of heat for your styling needs. Excess heat can damage hair and most people automatically go to the highest setting even if they don't need it. The general rule is the finer the hair, the lower the heat; the coarser the hair, the higher the heat.
Utilize a silk/satin cap or pillowcases to minimize frizz (all hair types) and curl disruption while sleeping.
Utilize silk/satin scrunchies for low tension tying back of the hair.
Use claw clips instead of hair ties for a cute and effective way of pulling back hair without damage.
Never braid or tie back wet hair for long periods of time. This can create the perfect environment for mold to grow.
Do not sleep on wet hair - wet hair is in its weakest state and the friction of sleeping on wet hair can cause breakage and also mold if it takes a long time for hair to dry.

Strait Hair

For sleek, smooth, hydrated and frizz free styling be sure to use a leave in conditioner and/or shine serum to keep hair hydrated.
Use a hair prep product or smoothing cream for blow outs and heat styling.
Use volumizing foams/sprays/serums to add volume to the root.
Use a dry shampoo on dry hair right after washing to manage oil and extend time between shampoos - bonus: this can also help with volume and controlling flyaway hairs.
Lightweight, flexible hold hairsprays can also tame flyaway hairs and static.
Texture sprays or creams can be used to create separation in hair for a textured or messy look.

Wavy Hair/Curly Hair

After showering, detangling, and parting hair (if desired), apply curl product or gel to soaking wet hair using prayer hands and/or scrunching. You want to ensure every strand is lightly but evenly coated so work in sections.
Use twist or roll methods to enhance curls if desired or a specialty curl brush to ensure proper clumping.
Plop or use microfiber or cotton t-shirt to blot excess moisture out of hair.
Scrunch in any additional foams or salt sprays if using.
Use small metal clips to control curls around hairline and part or add volume to the crown if desired.
Diffuse (for more bounce and volume) or air dry (for more elongated curls/waves) without touching or disrupting your hair.
Once 100% dry you can use your palms, squeeze in sections, or lightly scrunch to break up the cast and lightly shake out the roots with your finger tips. Shine serums or oils or leave in can be used in this step to tame fly aways and minimize frizz.
To refresh hair between shampoos use a leave in conditioner or water (in a spray bottle or in the shower) to reset curls. Use product in palm of hands and scrunch in where needed to refresh.

Heat Styling

Blow Dryer: Used to dry hair. Pretty obvious, I know. Low heat and high flow minimizes risk of heat damage and burning scalp, whereas high heat and high flow can reduce blow dry time and should only be used with products that contain heat protectant. Use the cold setting to set hair and minimize frizz once hair is dry - especially important for diffusing curly or wavy hair, but is also beneficial for strait hair.

Nozzles can concentrate the air for brush or hand drying and quicken blow dry time.

Diffusers can be used for curly/wavy hair to enhance curl and volume.

Curling Irons: Can be used to curl or wave the hair depending on barrel size and wrap technique used. Can also add volume to hair or mimic a round brush blow out. The smaller the iron, the tighter the curl, the larger the barrel the looser the curl.

Shorter hair usually responds better to smaller irons (1 inch or less) while longer hair responds better to medium to large barrel irons (1inch or bigger) depending on the curl or effect desired.

Wavers: Used to create beachy waves in any hair length. May be a two or three barreled iron or a one or two wave iron.

Crimpers: Used to create tight zig zag texture in the hair, popular in the 90's and can also be great at just the root of the crown underneath the top layers for added volume. Can be used from root to ends, just at the roots, or in random pieces for a fun effect.

Blowdry/Heated Brushes: May be round or flat depending on the brush and some blowdry while brushing, while some simply heat the prongs for smoother, sleeker styling. Blowdry brushes may be used on damp hair, while those that have any kind of heated prong elements should only be used on dry hair.