the products that keep my thin, dry, heat-damaged hair from falling out (completely).

I was blessed (not) with very thin, very dry hair that air dries like an old lion's mane (aka frizzy, wavy/curly, and all over the place). Needless to say, it's a struggle to care for it, because on the one hand, to make it cooperative, it has to be blow-dried. To make it less of a frizzy mess after that, it needs to be hit with a straightener either every day (in the summer when it's humid) or every two or three days (in the fall and winter, when it's dry out). Luckily, I only have to wash my hair once every five days because it doesn't get very oily (this took a bit of training, but having a dry scalp also helps in an ironic way), so it only sees the blow dryer about once a week, but the straightener kills it more.

To battle this truly awful hair situation, it's taken me a long time to find the products that work for me and keep my hair looking clean and smooth (and shiny, when I'm lucky), but I'm finally in a groove with some really amazing products that I'm willing to share with my fellow thin/dry/frizzy-haired friends.

SHAMPOOS AND CONDITIONERS.

Briogeo Don't Despair, Repair! Super Moisture Shampoo. I saw this on Amazon when I was looking for a new shampoo to buy without sulfates and all that jazz (thank you, Jonathan Van Ness, for educating ya girl), and honestly, the packaging is what sold me. Pink, gray, and white bottle with a pump? Yes please. It has turned out to be the best shampoo I've ever used. It smells incredible (and actually leaves my hair smelling like it, something that has never happened with my hair and a thing I was always envious of other people over) and does what it says on the tin — it moisturizes and cleans without stripping natural oils. Love. It.

IGK Hot Girls Hydrating Conditioner. This conditioner is another product that smells like pure joy. It definitely doesn't make my hair feel as silky smooth in the shower as other conditioners I've used, but it's like magic once I'm out of the shower — my hair has never dried so smooth and luscious. Also, I like using a bit of conditioner on the top of my head as well since my hair is just SO dry, and it doesn't make my roots greasy.

OUAI Repair Conditioner. I learned the hard way that this conditioner does make my scalp greasy, so this is purely an ends-only conditioner. It's super thick and smells like cologne, and I apply it to my ends when I'm feeling more dry than usual or have had a heavy heat-styling week.

PRODUCTS THAT HEAT-PROTECT.

Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Heat/UV Protective Primer. I'll be honest with you: I have no idea how to really tell if a heat protectant is protecting my hair against the heat because I've had split ends since middle school. However, this stuff smells like a dream, makes my hair easy to comb through, and doesn't add any heaviness to my hair, so I'll keep using it and convincing myself it's doing something.

PRODUCTS FOR DRY HAIR.

OUAI Hair Oil. Thank you again, JVN, for bringing this wonder product into my life. I use this hair oil nearly every day now, and my ends are better for it. I usually finger-comb a full pump of this through the bottom half of my hair after blow-drying, then I'll use half a pump on my ends on days two and three. On days four (and five) the grease starts to make itself known, so I usually switch to my other set of products that eliminate the oils. It's a delicate balance, y'all.

Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment. When my scalp is feeling a little itchy and dry (and some pesky dandruff comes out to say hello), this stuff is a life-saver. My scalp can get super flaky — especially in the fall and winter — which isn't a cute look, so I use this before showers to really scrub at my scalp to both relieve any itchiness and really deep clean my roots. It does tingle a bit before being washed out because of the tea tree oil, but I've found that to by typical of any tea tree oil product.


Verb Ghost Dry Oil. I definitely use this oil more in the summertime, when it's humid and gross out and my hair can't take as much product before poofing out into a mane. It's a super light formula, but makes the bottom half of my hair, especially the ends, feel sufficiently hydrated and looking shiny. I normally go ham with this on blow dryer days, then hit the ends with it on days one and two, maybe three.

Cake The Locks Smith Dry Conditioner. This dry conditioner is the coolest stuff ever, and I know I keep saying this, but seriously, IT SMELLS LIKE MY DREAMS. It's super light and makes my hair really smooth, so when I'm feeling extra dry — despite my oil routine — I'll zap a bit of this on everything but my roots to add shine and moisture.

PRODUCTS FOR DAY FOUR (AND FIVE) HAIR.

IGK Jet Lag Invisible Dry Shampoo. This is the product that introduced me to IGK, and I'll be completely honest with you: I spent $27 on this dry shampoo for the blush pink packaging. That said, I'm still on my first can purchased back in the spring because I use it about once a week (usually on day five — because it tends to add a bit of texture to my hair I like to wash it out at the end of the day). It gets rid of even the heaviest amounts of grease and smells like a soft powder you want to roll around in.

Burt's Bees Dusting Powder. Old habits die hard — I've been a baby powder girl since high school, and when dry shampoo came along I was all "pffftttt, you fools, just use baby powder." I've graduated from the brand that rhymes with Fonson's (because of a few nightmare stories about talc being cancer-causing) to Burt's talc-free formula. Yes, it's for diapers, but it also keeps my hair from looking like a bowl of spaghetti aglio e olio (sorry for the visual, but scalp flakes + oil are NEVER a cute look for me). This formula definitely has a feel to it that clings to your hair until you wash it (I touch my hair constantly, so my fingertips always feel the powder despite it not being visible after rubbed in). For that reason, I never use it on my clean hair and try to keep it to days four and five.

And that's the whole shebang. I don't use every single one of these products every week, but I use at least one of them a day (obviously multiple products on hair-washing days). They've all collectively helped make my hair look and feel less like a dry mess, something that I never thought was achievable. So I'm forever grateful, mostly for JVN recs, cute packaging that sold me, and the POPSUGAR free table (where I snatched the Cake and Verb sprays from originally — thanks, Beauty team!).

*hair flip*