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Krisitin Ess

Thoughts on Changing Hair Texture as You Get Older

November 4th, 2022 by Karen 25 Comments

How’s your hair doin’?

I have a section of my brain devoted solely to obsessing over beauty thoughts, and currently, it’s occupied by hair texture and how it changes as you get older.

In theory, I knew that as one ages and hair color changes that hair texture changes too, but I didn’t understand just how much I’d have to adapt to that particular element.

OK, let me go back a bit. Within this last year, my hair has gotten considerably more gray, and a lot of those grays have this funky, wiry texture with a tight, uneven wave pattern. They look like ramen noodles and stick out at weird angles.

These “ramen noodle hairs” used to be buried way in the back of my head, but now they’re starting to show up more and more around the visible areas closer to my face.

Before I could wear my hair down and not really have to do anything, but the presence of the wiry grays makes it difficult because they don’t flow with the rest of my hair. Unless I smooth everything down with a curling iron or a flat iron, my hair just looks messy, and not in a cute, casual and purposeful way.

And while having a unified and smooth texture looks nice to me, I then have to deal with the damage created from relying on heat tools. Sometimes it feels like a no win situation.

Anyway, I was chatting with a hairstylist a couple weeks ago, and she said from this point on there’s just going to be more and more of those wayward hairs! Oh, and apparently, the texture change also makes it harder for dye to stick, so if I decided to cover my grays again, they’d be that much more resistant to holding onto color.

In heavy rotation

  • Pureology Strength Cure Superfood Deep Treatment Mask
  • Pureology Color Fanatic Multi-Tasking Leave-In Spray
  • Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Ultra Rich Hyaluronic Treatment Lotion
  • Kristin Ess Ultra Hydrating Curl Co-Wash
  • Kristin Ess Fragrance Free Texturizing Paste

Wiry hair texture’s been my main beauty issue as of late, so I’ve been buying a lot of hair products for hydration, smoothness and building up strength. I’ve been having some luck with leave-ins and masks made for damaged or colored hair, especially. Even though I don’t have any dye in my hair at the moment, these types of products seem to help.

OH! Yet another issue I’m dealing with is that I have less hair than I used to compared to my 20s and 30s. Blame it on hormonal changes. SIGH. I can especially tell when I put my hair up or when I’m washing it in the shower. So now, I’m deeply obsessed with volume — especially at the roots. Don’t get me started on root lift. LOL!

Even though I knew that my hair was going to change, I didn’t understand the degree of how much it would, and what I’d have to do to adapt to those changes. It’s so crazy!

How has your hair texture evolved as you’ve gotten older? Have you changed your routine much?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

P.S. TGIF! We made it. 🙂

There are 25 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Bumble and Bumble, Hair, Just For Fun, Krisitin Ess, Pureology

Kristin Ess Has a Line of Hair Styling Tools at Target, and It Includes Something for Cray-Cray Cowlicks

December 18th, 2018 by Karen 18 Comments

kristin ess hair appliances
Dear Kristin Ess, you are speaking my language with all that white and rose gold.

Dude. Target on the weekends before Christmas is freakin’ Battle Royale, especially if you park your booty in the middle of the aisle to take some pics of these hair styling tools from Kristin Ess.

(No joke, I was almost run over at least three times.)

The line is from Lauren Conrad’s hair gal, and some of the products are available at Tar-ghay now. I’ve tried a few of them so far, and overall…I think they’re OK.

kristin ess blow dryer

krisitin ess beach wave curling iron

I do like how these look, though, with the white and pale rose gold accents. It’s very T3-esque. The products range from $50 to $100, which is on the high side for Target.

The line includes a hair dryer, a few different curling irons, a flat iron and a very intriguing thingamabob for roots.

krisitn ess texture taming root control iron

It’s the Texture Taming Root Control Iron, and it’s $55. In concept, it sounds like *the* answer to all my crazy hair woes…

“Ever wonder how to control all those baby hairs/edges that are too short to make it into your flat iron? Or those curly roots you can’t quite get to? That’s what this is for! It’s called a root control iron and it changes EVERYTHING. You can effortlessly smooth hairs around your hairline, or at the nape of your neck, and easily tame frizz, cowlicks, and unruly bangs by directing them with this comb/iron hybrid.”

— kristinesshair.com

And here’s a video of Kristin herself using the tool…

Texture Taming Root Control from Kristin Ess on Vimeo.

Um…WANT. My cowlicks and baby hairs have gone next level cray since I started growing out my grays, and unless I douse myself in hairspray, they stand up every which way, and I look like I’m walking around with a current of electricity pulsing through me all day, every day.

Have you tried this? The reviews on the Target site make it sound hit or miss, so I’m not sure if I’m going to take the plunge…but MAN I REALLY WANT TO.

[Continue reading…]

There are 18 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Krisitin Ess

The Co-Wash Chronicles: Joico Color Co+Wash Whipped Cleansing Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair, and Kristin Ess Frizz Management Cleansing Conditioner

July 10th, 2018 by Karen 9 Comments

joico co wash
Co-washing my mop, one bottle at a time…

…because I’m on a mission to try all the conditioner washes!

DUUUUUDE. I’ve been co-washing since before it went mainstream, since I unraveled its secrets in a now-long-forgotten hair forum in a dusty corner on the Interwebz more than 10 ago.

Finding out about it was one of the best things to ever happen to my hair. Now I do it a few times a week between regular shampoo and conditioner sessions, and my hair’s the healthiest it’s ever been.

Needless to say, I’m a co-wash evangelist, and I love trying new ones and options.

Here are two I tried in June…

Joico Color Co+Wash Whipped Cleansing Conditioner for Color-Treated Hair ($23.99, 8.5 oz.)

Joico has three foaming Co+Washes in their line — one for dry hair, one for curly hair, and this one for color-treated hair, which I like. My hair and scalp feel clean after rinsing it out, and just like with R+Co Analog and Drybar Double Standard, my hair is full and lush and shiny the next day, not heavy.

If this were just a little more moisturizing, it would go from pretty good to totally great. Unfortunately, my ends do feel a little crun-chaaay afterwards if I don’t also use a leave-in conditioner. Also…it kinda smells like Downy fabric softener?

joico co wash
After co-washing my hair with Joico, letting it dry overnight, and spraying it with R+Co Sail the following morning.

So, depending on your feelings about Downy, that could be a good, or a bad thing (I don’t mind it).

Overall, I like this co-wash enough to finish the bottle, and when I’m done, I want to try the dry hair version.

❤️❤️❤️ 3 1/2 out of 5 hearts. (Side note: why is there no half a heart emoji?)

[Continue reading…]

There are 9 comments on this post. Leave yours.

Categories: Hair, Joico, Krisitin Ess, Product Reviews Keywords: conditioner wash review, joico, joico review, kristin ess, kristin ess review

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