2 questions -- skincare and haircare

[Anonymous]

Hope this will be fun for the beauty experts

1) I've been reading about the oil-cleansing methods, and I'm so conflicted. The general consensus is 1 part castor oil to 2 parts other oil, like grapeseed, jojoba or sweet almond. My skin is breakout-prone, combination skin, and my nose is ALWAYS pinkish and flaky. and I'd also like to get some anti-aging benefits in there. I have used jojoba oil as a moisturizer in the past, but I think it caused breakouts. That said, I didn't wait very long so that may have been the so-called purge. Anyway, if you use an oil regimen, what do you use?

2) Over the past few years, my hair has changed textures from straight to quite wavy. If I blow it out, it will be straight, and I can air-dry it into nice, shiny bouncy waves with some creme gel. But if I sleep on it, it is scraggly and this odd straight-wavy hybrid of mess. I prefer not to wash my hair every day, so any tips how to maintain nice waves? Should I just wet my hair daily even if not shampooing it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2) Over the past few years, my hair has changed textures from straight to quite wavy. If I blow it out, it will be straight, and I can air-dry it into nice, shiny bouncy waves with some creme gel. But if I sleep on it, it is scraggly and this odd straight-wavy hybrid of mess. I prefer not to wash my hair every day, so any tips how to maintain nice waves? Should I just wet my hair daily even if not shampooing it?

My hair is exactly like yours if I don't blow-dry it, so I wash and blow-dry it every day that I'm planning to be seen (6-7 days per week), and it's the bane.of.my.existence. But I've recently discovered a way to get an extra day out of it. So exciting!!!

I wash it the night before, give it a quick messy upside-down blow-dry to get some volume, doesn't matter what it looks like, and go to bed. The next morning, I curl it with a 1/2-inch curling iron (by wrapping sections around the iron, not using the clamp), separate it with my fingers a bit, hairspray it -- it looks great (looks like this). Then the next day, miraculously the curls are still there. This never used to be the case with my hair, and I'm not sure what changed -- whether the texture has changed with age, or whether it has to do with the heat from the iron or the curling technique or what.

So the curls are still there, but the roots look a little limp and greasy, so I use dry shampoo. Look on YouTube for dry shampoo tutorials if you've never used it, but basically you just spray it at the roots, then fluff it. I've only tried the brands Dove and Batiste so far, and both get rid of the grease but the Dove one has a stronger chemical smell, so I prefer Batiste (bought it at Giant).

Dry shampoo might be enough for you and you could skip the whole curling thing. But my hair just looks too limp on Day 2 if I wore it straight the day before.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:2) Over the past few years, my hair has changed textures from straight to quite wavy. If I blow it out, it will be straight, and I can air-dry it into nice, shiny bouncy waves with some creme gel. But if I sleep on it, it is scraggly and this odd straight-wavy hybrid of mess. I prefer not to wash my hair every day, so any tips how to maintain nice waves? Should I just wet my hair daily even if not shampooing it?

My hair is exactly like yours if I don't blow-dry it, so I wash and blow-dry it every day that I'm planning to be seen (6-7 days per week), and it's the bane.of.my.existence. But I've recently discovered a way to get an extra day out of it. So exciting!!!

I wash it the night before, give it a quick messy upside-down blow-dry to get some volume, doesn't matter what it looks like, and go to bed. The next morning, I curl it with a 1/2-inch curling iron (by wrapping sections around the iron, not using the clamp), separate it with my fingers a bit, hairspray it -- it looks great (looks like this). Then the next day, miraculously the curls are still there. This never used to be the case with my hair, and I'm not sure what changed -- whether the texture has changed with age, or whether it has to do with the heat from the iron or the curling technique or what.

So the curls are still there, but the roots look a little limp and greasy, so I use dry shampoo. Look on YouTube for dry shampoo tutorials if you've never used it, but basically you just spray it at the roots, then fluff it. I've only tried the brands Dove and Batiste so far, and both get rid of the grease but the Dove one has a stronger chemical smell, so I prefer Batiste (bought it at Giant).

Dry shampoo might be enough for you and you could skip the whole curling thing. But my hair just looks too limp on Day 2 if I wore it straight the day before.

Thanks! I do use dry shampoo but I will perhaps try out Batiste. I use Oscar Blandi, which is a baby-power consistency. I take it Batiste is a spray? I do prefer those.

I often curl my hair to liven it up a bit, but I'd really like to find a way to better maintain my natural wave without starting from scratch every day.

[Anonymous]

One recommendation for your hair that I can attest to:
I love Terax shampoo and Terax crema conditioner, wash with that and then air dry with it in a scrunchie ontop of my head. I literally only have to wash about 3 times per week at most. My hair texture is thick, slightly wavy. Terax is amazing, I purchased it on Amazon and cannot recommend it more.

[Anonymous]

Also-I loved using Almond oil. Have heard good things about moroccan (argan) oil.

[Anonymous]

I've been trying a sample of the Tarte Maracuja Oil from Sephora: http://www.sephora.com/pure-maracuja-oil-P376726 I thought it would make my skin more oily but it's actually pretty good. Doesn't make my oily areas more oily but helps improve the flakiness of my dry areas. Not sure if I will continue using it in the summertime though when my dry skin problems clear up.

[Anonymous]

I love the DevaCurl products for my fine, wavy/curly hair- especially the "Mister Right" spray. It's a lavender-scented spritz that works as a dry shampoo and reactivates whatever product I have in my hair so I can get away with second-day and sometimes third-day hair (although those are usually half-updos or ponytail days). Also agree with the curling iron use for shaping second-day unrulies.

Would love to know more about the oil skincare- my skin is so dry that it could only help.

[Anonymous]

Bump -- OP here. I was just reading the reviews of the Tarte product yesterday. It seems pricey though -- I could buy natural oils for much less.

I found this link on the oil cleansing method. There are also a lot of reviews on Makeup Alley.

http://www.crunchybetty.com/nitty-gritty-on-the-oil-cleansing-method