10 Hair Secrets I Learned from My Hairstylist Mother

One of the first things I ever noticed about my mom growing up was that she was the most put together and beautiful woman I knew. Maybe I’m a little biased because she’s my mother, but she never left the house without dressing to the nines, her hair was perfectly curled, teased and she had a signature lip. But beyond her obvious beauty, she was confident, daring and warm-hearted. She pushed me to go outside my comfort zone, she helped me embrace my creativity and she has been my number one fan since day one. One of the biggest reasons I’m also so close with my mom is that we both share a love for beauty and fashion.

When I was little we would sew outfits together, I would watch her do her hair and makeup and she taught me everything I know. Today I’m teaming up with göt2b for their Go & Be Daring Campaign. göt2b is a brand that my mom introduced me to over 20 years ago, we both use to this day and love. A huge aspect of why I love göt2b is that they embrace individuality, creativity and pushing their customer to being the best version of themselves – whether it’s with a new hair style, checking something off their bucket list or creating a better community around them. My mom and göt2b have given me the confidence to be daring in my daily adventures, so I’m excited to share at the end of today’s post the details about the super fun göt2b Go & Be Daring Contest for a chance to win a VIP trip to ComplexCon!

#1: If you color your hair, you have to use salon quality products. Most women spend upwards of $150 to $300 to dye their hair and the worst thing you can do is not using good quality products to help your color stay, or protect your hair from getting more damaged. When I started dying my hair red about four years ago, I only washed my hair about three times a week to help my color last longer, and I used special shampoo to keep the color vibrant. Now that I add blonde to my natural brunette color, I make sure to still use special shampoos and conditioners to nourish the bleached hair and I make sure the products don’t have any added harsh chemicals. Make sure you’re also using higher quality styling products, like Got2B. My curls and styles can last up to three days with only minor touch-ups since my products are long-lasting, non-damaging and don’t make my hair feel gross.

#2: You do not need to wash your hair everyday! Ok, hear me out. I know your argument might be, “well my hair gets oily everyday,” and that might be true if you are in fact washing it every day because you are stripping out the natural oil from your hair, so in return, it produces it at a higher rate. I washed my hair pretty much everyday in middle school and beginning of high school since hormones are a beast of their own, but once I got older, I cut back to washing my hair to every other day, and then once I started dying it (which dries it out faster) I could wash it even less. I now wash my hair 1-2 times a week- depending on how active or hot it is. It also comes down to the fact that I’m pretty lazy and my hair styles and curls better if it’s not freshly out of the shower. My suggestion is to start washing your hair every other day for a couple months until your oils balance out, and once you feel comfortable with it at that stage, schedule your shampoos accordingly to your week. I obviously shower everyday, but I just throw my hair up in a bun or wet down my hairline a little if I just finish at the gym.

#3: If you want volume – focus on the roots. My mom is the queen of volume. She rocked the perm in the 80’s, created the perfect teased poof in the early 2000’s and her hair looks better than most DryBar blowouts. We both have naturally thick hair so she always taught me to focus on the roots. Blow dry your hair upside down, use a round brush, tease at the roots and use special products like the Got2B root lifter or sculpting spray.  When I was in fourth grade, I really wanted that rock n’ roll spiky stacked bob where you have the long bangs in the front and the back of your hair is all spiked in the back *cringing* (see example here). My mom refused to let me do that kind of dramatic cut (thankfully) but gave me a choppy bob, bought me the Got2b styling putty  and let me spike up my hair and create a super fun messy ‘do.

#4: Use heat protectant before curling or straightening your hair! I’ll be the first to admit that I forget to do this sometimes, but this is extremely important when you have dyed hair or use heat tools on your hair a few times a week. You can pick up a spray at any beauty supply store; and make sure your hair is completely dry before curling or straightening.

#5: Don’t mess with hot curls until they’ve cooled down. Have you ever noticed if you curl a piece of hair and automatically run your fingers or a brush through, it almost always instantly falls a little? Make sure you wait a few minutes before messing with the curls. I will spray my heat protectant, curl a layer, let it sit a few minutes – finish makeup, get dressed, etc. and then run my fingers through, add product, etc. once it’s cooled down. This is how my curls can last all day!

#6: Evenly distribute your styling product. I used to curl my hair, cover it in a thick shield of hairspray and hope for the best. My hair would completely fall within an hour but I would still have a crusty, unworkable top layer of bad curls. The best use of your styling product is to evenly distribute it so it holds your hair – especially if it’s thick! You can add a thin layer of workable hairspray on each layer when you curl (once it’s cool of course) and once it’s done, work Got2b styling putty from your underneath layers and the roots of your hair to the ends. Rub the putty into your hands like lotion and run your fingers through your hair. Now when I curl my hair, I do all the curls then run my fingers through, and add extra product so I make sure it’s evenly distributed.

#7: Do non-heat curls and waves to keep hair healthier and save time. There are plenty of non-heat curling ideas on Pinterest, but some of my favorite techniques to add curl or wave to my hair when I’m feeling too lazy, or in a time crunch, are with braids or twists. After the shower, or with slightly damp hair, french braid your hair in pigtails, sleep on them and in the morning you’ll have perfect mermaid waves. You can also twist your hair around a headband, or create mini pin curls all over your scalp for loose non-heat curls.

 #8: Try to best to upkeep with trims and color every 4-6 weeks.  Even though I might say this, I know I’m pretty bad at keeping up with this. When I lived in Arizona, I would see my mom about every 6 weeks and we would touch up my roots, she would trim my bangs or layers and call it good. I’m now in the process of growing out my hair and I’ve stopped dying my hair as often so it can grow faster. If you are dying your hair a completely different color, adding blonde or a lighter color to your hair, color touch-ups on a regular basis are extremely important! Also, trimming your hair about every 6 to 8 weeks can help you avoid split ends or harsh breakage.

#9: Growing out your layers or color take time! I have Hair ADD – one day I’ll want to be blonde, the next I’ll want a bob, and the third day I want pink mermaid hair. I’m constantly wanting to try new things but my mom has often reminded me that it’s always a process and I need to take baby steps if I want to keep my hair and not burn it all off with chemicals…haha. When I went from red to blonde, I started dying it in stages, adding different highlights and cutting off dead layers to complete the transformation. I spontaneously attempted bangs over the holidays this past season but soon realized I asked to get them too short, so I had about 3 months of awkward growing out stages. I would twist my hair and avoided trimming them until they got to their now desired length.

#10: Shop at the right places. There are plenty of things in my life that I try to save money on – I thrift shop, love happy hours and the words ‘sale’ or ‘clearance’ are music to my ears. But the most important lesson my mom taught me about hair care, is to make sure I know where I’m shopping and to not skimp on quality beauty products. If you’re not buying directly from your salon, buy at a beauty supply store like Utla, Sally’s, Ricky’s, or buy the products directly from the website. Certain retailers or drug stores don’t have the products you might be looking for, or even if they look salon quality, they can have harsh chemicals. I buy my Got2b directly through the company, which sells on Amazon. You can shop my favorite GOT2B PRODUCTS below!
GOT2B HAIRSPRAY | GOT2B SCULPTING SPRITZ | GOT2B PUTTY

Here’s how to enter – take a photo of your daring move and upload it to your instagram account. Include the hashtags that corresponds to the category (The Adventure, Comfort Zone and Do Good) and tag #got2bcontest and @got2busa.