How I Style My Hair: Long & Textured Hair

Today’s blog is about a topic that I had wanted to do since forever, and I’m so thankful that a sweet friend encouraged me to do so. She was interested in my hair care routine and how I styled my hair. So I am going to do that today. I just got out of the shower, so my hair is about — I would say — 80% dry. And the unique thing is that during this shower, I used the L’Oreal Paris ELVIVE 8-Second Wonder Water Treatment for the first time, and it was a success. 

But let’s go ahead and get started. So, again, my hair is clean and partially dry. I typically wash my hair once or sometimes twice a week. I go to the gym practically every day. So if I don’t wash my hair, I definitely do a body-wash. My hair is thick, long, and textured. And as you go through this process with me, you’ll see that. You know, there are quite a few steps in getting my hair done. To some people, it might just seem crazy, right?

But then for others, they get it. That’s why I don’t wash my hair very often. And because I only wash my hair once a week, I kind of look forward to styling my hair because I take this “frizz ball” mess and turn it into something really beautiful that I love. It’s something that’s soft, manageable, and stylish, which I wear all week.

Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging Color Hold Dual-Use Serum

I like to make sure my hair is nourished. I’ve been using Alterna, and it’s an anti-aging product for hair. I use their Infinite Color Hold Dual-use Serum to enhance radiance and shine for color-treated hair. And I just had my hair colored recently. I love having my hair dark. So this is the perfect serum for my hair. I simply do a few pumps. Of course, I’ll avoid hitting the roots because I don’t want to weigh them down. So I just distribute the serum. I wish you guys could smell this. It smells so good. It’s a really amazing line of hair care products. I always make sure to get it through my hair and sometimes, I’ll apply another pump.

Phyto Paris Phytokeratine Extreme Exceptional Cream

I also use PhytoParis Keratine Extreme. It’s an exceptional cream for ultra-damaged, brittle, and dry hair. This is what I’m trying to avoid. I use it for extra protection. It doesn’t really have a smell, and the cream is extremely lightweight and distributes throughout the hair really well. And, again, I simply put those through the ends of my hair. Sometimes, I split my hair in half and apply another few more tiny pumps to make sure that my hair is covered with the product. I’ve been using this for a while now. This incredible product has no sulfate, parabens, and mineral oils. Thermal protection up to 430 degrees Fahrenheit.

 Shea Moisture Smooth & Tame Blow Out Creme

I love Shea Moisture Argan Oil & Almond Milk & Smooth Tame Blowout Creme. It’s the best and kind of looks like a little marshmallow puff when you squeeze it out. But, it is great because I need my hair protected, as I’m going to blow-dry my hair and then use a curling iron to style it. So, yes. There’s gonna be some heat from the styling appliances. But because I only style my hair about once a week, it’s gonna be okay. Also, this hair product protects my hair well and helps it get into that smooth state that I love. This is because my hair is frizzy, wavy, and looks quite wild right now.

My hair is now prepped with the proper products. Now, we’re gonna section it and get it ready for the blow-dry.

Keratin Ceramic + Ionic Vent Brush, Black

This my favorite brush. I’ve had it for a long time. It just grabs my hair so well and is really easy to use. I use the brush to section my hair and brush through it. I think it’s important to add that I don’t brush my hair very often. This is because once I style my hair, I just leave it alone. Anyways, I really love this hairbrush. It is for all hair types. 

Medium Claw Clips

I always use these claw hair clips. I like this one because, again, I have lots of hair, so my hair is heavy. But these clips do a great job of holding my hair in place while I’m moving.

BaBylissPRO BP2800 Porcelain Ceramic 2800 Dryer, Black

The hair blower that I use is a porcelain ceramic one by BabyBlissPRO. I’ve been using the last few years, and it is still going strong. It is not the lightest hair blower, and there’s a little bit of weight that you feel. But, I’m used to it and I like it because it does the job well. It gets my hair dry and smooth in a short amount of time.

Olivia Garden NanoThermic Ceramic + Ion Round Thermal Hair Brush

Here is my barrel brush that I use to smooth my hair, and it’s quite big. Why? Because I have long hair. This really separates, grabs, and holds the hair in place. Also, the air is able to go through the little pockets in there, and it just straightens and smooths out my hair. This useful brush is the Olivia Garden NanoThermic Ceramic + Ion Round Thermal Hair Brush. It has both ceramic and ion technology.  It creates beautiful volume, waves or curls!

Now that I have given you an intro to the hair products that I use to smooth my hair, let’s move on!

So I take sections of my hair at a time, comb it out, brush it out, and put the barrel brush under my hair. I start blowing, starting from the roots. Then I move all the way down the hair shaft. If you can see, my hair is now very smooth and straight now from the process. This is just the prep work to help me when I start styling my hair via a curling iron.

Big Hair Scrunchies

You need hair scrunchies, and I just snatched one of my daughters’. This works best because it holds your hair in place that you just blown out without putting any kicks into it. Now, I’m just going to separate the areas that have been worked on here so that I can concentrate on the next area. My arms are getting tired, and I am not even done. But no worries! We are going to power through this. I’m really excited because it means I am almost done. I grab as much hair from the “mohawk” area and put it in a little man bun up there. I then clip it and blow-dry the next section of damp hair.

Okay, then I take the hair in the “mohawk” area and part it in the middle because I feel like it gives my face a symmetrical look that I really like. But you can part your hair any way you like. 

Clip one side of your hair. This step allows you to focus on the hair that needs to be blown dry and contains it. For the hair closer to my face, I really like to blow-dry it away from my face to give it volume. Continue the process till you are done.

Okay, so my hair is smooth and has a lot of volume, wouldn’t you agree? So for some women, they could be pleased with the result and I am. I’m pleased with how my hair looks after blow-drying it, but I am going to take it a step further. To do so, I am going to use my curling iron.

Hot Tools Professional 24K Gold Extra-Long Barrel Curling Iron

This is my Hot Tools Professional curling iron. It is a two-inch barrel curling iron. I use it to really smooth out my hair and to add just a little bit more curl. And I find that when I do this, my hair doesn’t look frizzy. Rather, it looks polished, and I just feel more confident and beautiful when I do this final step. It takes me probably another 15 – 20 minutes. I have this at the highest setting, which is about 430 degrees. This particular barrel is amazing because it delivers even heat distribution and is corrosion resistant. I find the Hot Tools Professional Hair Products really smooths and curls my hair effectively.  I love having my hair smooth and styled. The two-inch barrel will definitely give my hair that soft, bouncy look. 

After curling each section I drop it gently as to not disturb the curl pattern and let it cool. I comb through it a little bit with my fingers, but I don’t really like combing or messing with my hair afterward. Then, to finish off I use my favorite hair mist from Shea Moisture to hold the look in place and give it shine.

Shea Moisture Hold & Shine Moisture Mist 

All right. This is my go-to hairstyle.  So what do you guys think? Yes, you better believe it is a lot of work. This is why I do it only once or twice a week. But the results are so beautiful. My hair is one of the features that I love. It’s so much fun to care for and style my hair. I also find it so therapeutic. I do love the process of transforming it from this crazy, “frizz ball” mess to something so beautiful. I hope that you enjoyed this post and make sure to check out my YouTube video below for the full hair tutorial in action.