The Holy Grail of Hair Products! If You Want Silkier, More Shiny Gray Hair, Try These Two!

Are you ready? Do you want to know about the two products that have CHANGED my hair!? The two easy to find and affordable items that have basically stopped my never ending search for the holy grail of products? I've been testing them out all summer long, and now I can not only personally recommend them to you, but I can firmly say that are now essential routine.

Before I tell you though, let me just touch on the equally important first step that you need to do in order to set the stage for bright and shiny looking hair - find a great shampoo and conditioner! Particularly one formulated for gray and white hair. They're often called "purple" shampoos and conditioners. They work to keep your whites white and to make sure the dull, yellowed tones that can so often develop on light hair, away! 

I've been through my fair share of "purple" shampoos and conditioners, and I've written about them over the years on the blog. In the end, I found my favorite duo more than a year ago, that I continue to use today and feel confident in recommending.  

It's the Joico Color Endure Violet Shampoo and Conditioner and I use them regularly to keep my hair looking its best. Sulfate and paraben-free, and in GIANT 33.8 oz bottles, these two last me at least three months each time I purchase them. After playing around with these two,  you'll begin to notice your white hair being a bit lighter and brighter. Take note, and try to figure out how often you need to use these purple products and for how long to leave them on your hair before rinsing to get your perfect result. Once in a while, when I used them too many times a week, or I go a few extra minutes before rinsing, my hair gets a temporary purple/gray cast. That said, I quickly realized that I only need to leave the shampoo and then conditioner on for a minute to get my optimal results, minus the purple. Play around, this set of shampoos and conditioner is so incredibly worth it!

Ok, the moment you have all been waiting for! So....... at the end of spring, I was just tired of my frizzy flyways and I felt like I wanted my hair to be shinier. Summer was coming and for me, that means HUMIDITY and crazy hair! I decided to look for something new. A product or two that would help me accomplish my goals - more shine, less coarse frizziness and something to hold my style, even in outdoor heat and humidity. 

The problem was, because I had been pretty rigid about holding myself to only more natural products, I kind of tried everything already! Then one day I was at Target, in the haircare aisle. I passed by on the shelf an old friend, a familiar logo. It was John Freida's Frizz Ease line. As a teenager with curly, wild hair, Frizz Ease was a lifesaver for me and I used it everyday. Over time though, I stopped. I didn't want to use conventional products with all of their ingredients and I had heard that silicon wasn't great for keeping white hair white. So, as an adult, Frizz Ease never crossed my mind.

I'm not sure what prompted me to pick up a bottle of the Extra Strength Frizz Ease Serum or the Frizz Ease Moisture Barrier Firm Hold Hairspray, but I think it was simply hair desperation!

I'm so glad that I let myself just try it out. It's been over three months and not only have I NOT noticed any "yellowing," but my hair is SIGNIFICANTLY softer, less coarse, less frizzy, and more shiny!  The serum has not dulled my hair, even with daily heat styling. I'm pretty sure this is because I take the time to regularly use my purple shampoo and conditioner.  I really keep up on my end, combating the yellowing. This is a good point to remember.  The hairspray was a God-send in the summertime. My hair pretty much stayed smooth and didn't go bonkers in the humidity. It was also great to keep my flyaways down and I feel like the spay adds a touch of shine.

Here's an odd picture of the back of my hair too, for some reason....

You can see, for somebody that normally has fairly thick, unruly and frizzy hair, these two products certainly help for everything to lay nicely and to calm down!

I'm not just trying to sell you products. Truly, these are things that I have found through years of weeding through all kinds of brands and items. These are "tools" that I would recommend in a heartbeat to any Silver Sister on the street. I like sharing what I've found works, so I can give back to others as they helped me in the beginning of my gray hair adventure. I hope that some of these tips and products will help you too, and that you'll go forward with confidence and a smile on your own journey!

Until next time.....

Shine on my Silver Sisters!!!

xoxoxoxo,

Lauren 

** This post contains Amazon affiliate links. For a full explanation, please see my complete disclosure HERE! Thank you!!! **

Growing Out Your Gray Hair: You WILL Feel NORMAL Again One Day! Have Hope! \(^-^)/

Oh you guys. My silver sisters, it's the middle of winter and I just looked outside at the white snowy ground and have been transported back in time to January of 2012. I was smack-dab in the middle of my journey, growing out my salt and pepper hair and feeling so so low. I was trying my best to be positive and upbeat. To have hope and to stay strong! But, as most of us know, it's easier said than done when half your head is one color and the other half is...........well, almost color-LESS......?

I didn't feel like "Me" and every time that I looked in the mirror or saw my reflection in a glass storefront, I'd get a shock of gray surprise, like: "whooooo is that???" "Aren't I a brunette?" I'd say to myself?

I really struggled with how I looked. Every well-meaning, but often unhelpful comment, every side-ways glance at the grocery store or every stare on the street, they all reminded me over and over of how much I wanted to flee from this "journey."  It reminded me of how uncomfortable that I felt in my own skin. A place that I never felt particularly confident in anyhow, but now, it was even harder.

Growing your gray hair out can make for difficult times. It is a roller coaster of emotions.

But..... I put on a brave face. And even, sometimes a smile. And I reminded myself of the WHY I was doing this. For me, it was firstly because my allergic reactions to hair dye were getting worse and worse. Secondly it was because as I learned about living a more natural lifestyle, the more I wanted to keep away from extra chemicals that were not necessary to put on my head. I wanted to not have to worry about my roots showing every three weeks, not have to bother with the mess of hair dye, the time it took, or the cost.

So with a brave face and and my list of "whys" always tucked into my pocket, I went forward. One month at a time, one week at a time, one day at a time. And soon, it got a liiiiiiittle easier. Each small victory was celebrated:

1.) I no longer had a "skunk strip," it was more like a block of gray color.

2.) My pixie cut grew out, and my hair was long enough to pull back in small clips.

3.) My hair grew to shoulder length. At least the cut was feeling more like me.

4.) It was long enough to cut some of the old color off, but I still had length left over.

Yet through the small victories, there was always always a group of questions looming in my head: 

"WILL I EVER FEEL JUST NORMAL AGAIN!?" 

"WILL I EVER FEEL LIKE THE OLD ME AGAIN!?" 

"WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO LEAVE MY HOUSE AGAIN AND NOBODY STARES OR GLANCES OR COMMENTS!?"

 "WHEN WILL LIFE JUST GET BACK TO NORMAL!?"

A person can start to feel pretty sad when they can't see an end point and when they don't know if they'll ever feel like their old selves again......

But I am here to tell you Silver Sisters that THERE IS HOPE! That you WILL feel like yourself again! That you WILL one day leave your house and nobody will stare. That the comments will slow down or even stop! That one day, you will wake up, take a shower, get dressed and go about your day without even giving the color of your gray hair a second thought! \(^-^)/

Yep! It's ok guys. You CAN go from hiding away and fear to smiling and feeling normal again. And besides, in the meantime, you can just buy cute winter hats like THIS ONE that I found ! ;)

The point is, things get better. I promise you. It gets easier. What I think happens, is in addition to your hair growing and transitioning to a more even color, people around you, your family, friends, co-workers, they all become more accustomed to your new look. I've equated it to getting new glasses. You know how it takes a while for you or others to get used to how they look in new frames? The same goes for gray hair! If you give yourself and those around you time to get used to your silver locks, MOST of the time, things work out. The comments slow down or stop, and even YOUR own internal comments of doubt peter out too!

I wasn't going for beautiful or "cool" or perfection with growing out my gray hair. I was just aiming for healthier and NORMAL. I'm happy with normal. I'm satisfied with normal.

This is me this morning on a normal day. No time for curling my hair or doing anything special. I'm a Mom of an elementary school aged child, a puppy and two cats. I wake up at 6:00am. Everyone is out of the house by 8:00am. Nothing big about this morning. I got ready, I went on errands. The day progressed. And you know what? I'm A 37 YEAR OLD WOMAN WITH A FULL HEAD OF GRAY HAIR and nobody said anything! I didn't even catch any looks! I didn't even THINK about my hair!  \(^-^)/
So you see...... one day, everything will just be NORMAL again! I promise ya!

(Goin' about my day, not thinking about mah hairs until I took this picture for this post....)

So friends, if you're going through your hair transition. If you're like me in the winter of 2012 and feeling low and lonely or sad, please know that I for one believe that you can do it! And even more so, I know that one day soon.....soon....soon....SOON......YOU will also feel like your old self again.  You'll learn to like this 2.0 version of your hair, it'll all be ok. HAVE HOPE MY FRIENDS! IT'S ALL GOING TO BE JUST FINE! :)

Love you lots and lots! I'm sending you cheer and wishes for feeling like your good old self again soon!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo,

Lauren