Shiny Hair Secrets - Welcome to Olivia Rink

Posted July 26, 2016

In BEAUTY, FASHION, hair, HAIR AND MAKEUP, outfits

While trends come and go, a shiny, healthy, bouncy head of hair will never go out of style. Whenever people ask how I keep my hair growing long and shiny, my main piece of hair advice is that you have to treat your hair like a new born baby! No matter how many products you use or treatments you do, achieving healthy and shiny locks is only possible if you avoid breakage, damage, and over-heating.

In order to get the shiny locks you’ve always wanted:

-Be extremely careful whenever brushing your hair – especially after the shower. I only use the wet brush and start from the ends of my hair and work my way to the top. You cannot achieve long hair if you’re ripping half of it out by brushing it too aggressively.

-Always tell your stylist to be gentle on your hair whenever you go in for a cut or color. I’m sure most of them know this, but I’ve gone to stylists in the past who have man handled my head to the point where I left with a headache and 3/4 the amount of hair that I arrived there with. Foils, dryers, and blow-outs can all cause damage – so always be sure to let your stylist know you have a “sensitive head”!

-Avoid teasing. I know teasing helps create body and makes up-dos look great, but it’s one of the worst things for your hair. Try using a volumizing shampoo and conditioner or a root-pump spray instead.

-Avoid ponytails. Instead of using hair ties, whenever I want my hair out of my face I either use a jaw-clip or these awesome springy-looking hair ties that don’t leave a crease and are super gentle on your hair.

-Your blow-drying technique really matters. Blow dry hair with a nozzle on and always point down the hair to smooth down the cuticle which helps reflect the light. Look for ceramic, ionic, or infrared tools, which shorten the time that you’re heating your hair (this one’s a splurge, but worth the investment).

-Avoid using heat tools every day. Try to get your curls to last a couple days and if you already have semi-straight hair, stop using a straightener – if I blow dry it and don’t want to curl it, I either put it in a braid for a while to give it a little somethin-somethin or I just throw in some dry shampoo powder for extra body to add texture (I use Aveda’s dry shampoo powder and I love it).

THEN products come in the play..

-Invest in a good hair mask and leave it on hair for 15 minutes twice a week. I use Luster Lock by Joico. the way it feels on my hair in the shower is incredible, but the way it looks and shines after I blow dry and style it is AWESOME. It makes my hair stronger, healthier, and shinier with each use, repairs to damaged hair, and makes it 9x more resistant to breakage – I HIGHLY recommend trying it out.

-Every time you get out of the shower, use a couple pumps of Morroccanoil – I will forever promote this product because it has done wonders for my hair and smells like heaven. (Nordstrom has a trial kit of their basic products on sale right now here).

-Once a week, use a clarifying shampoo to get rid of buildup from sprays, gels, and pomades. It’s like exfoliating your skin – you have to remove the dull layers in order to get the shine you want (shop the whole Joico K-PAK Line Here).

-Mist a lightweight shine spray over the hair, make sure you hold it away from your hair while applying though, you don’t want to overload the hair and have shine turn into grease. I use an ultra-light mist that strengthens hair making it 4x more resistant to breakage: Joico Shine Spray.

ALSO, a couple tips:

-Rinse hair with ice-cold water before getting out of the shower. Cold water helps to close the cuticle and seal in moisture from the conditioner — which helps your hair look shiny and healthy.

-Lighter hair (blonde) is porous and more susceptible to buildup, so it’s shiniest when it’s cleanest. Brunettes are at their glossiest with well-conditioned second-day hair.

Pleated Polka Dot Romper (wearing 0, true to size and SO comfortable) // NEW Henri Bendel Rivington Bag coming to their website THIS WEEK, keep ya updated when it launches! (similar here) // Black Sandal Heels // Karen Walker Sunglasses: use code Rink15 to rent these for free here! // Black + Rose Gold Watch // David Yurman Ring: pink 6, pink 7, black // Essie: ‘Fiesta’ Polish