When you’re creating the perfect hair care routine, no one can convince you to stop trying every product you come across. This is the one, the one product that’s going to give me the hair of my dreams, you might say to yourself as you throw another product in your shopping cart. It doesn’t take long for all of those products to pile up and before you know it, you have more products in your arsenal than can actually be used on your head. How can you possibly narrow them down?
Jeremy Taylor, L'Oréal Professionnel brand ambassador and stylist, is here to put an end to the madness and teach you how to build a product routine. Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take a million products to get the hair of your dreams. All you need is the right products. As long as you keep the motto “prep, treat, style,” in mind as you shop, you’ll craft the perfect hair care routine in no time.
Prep
Let’s start with the basics: No matter their hair type or texture, everyone needs to prep their hair with a quality shampoo and conditioner. Taylor says he likes to asses his client’s hair needs before choosing the proper hair care system.
“Does my client’s hair need strength, smoothness, volume, hydration or repair? For example, if my client’s hair is prone to breaking especially from blow drying, flat ironing or with age I would recommend the L'Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Inforcer Shampoo and Conditioner. The formula infused with vitamin B6 and biotin will help strengthen their hair,” he explains.
Treat
After you’ve washed and conditioned your hair, you’ll want to treat any of your hair woes with a targeted treatment recommended by your stylist.
“When picking the perfect treatment for my clients hair type and texture I always use L’Oréal Professionnel’s Serie Expert PowerMix. PowerMix has five unique treatments that can be customized to suit any client's specific hair needs like strengthening, smoothness, shine, hydration or repair,” Taylor says.
Choosing the proper shampoo, conditioner, and treatment is important, but don’t think you can slack off once you’ve got a great routine going. What your hair needs now may be completely different from your hair’s needs six months from now. Even when you’re armed with great products, Taylor stresses the importance of paying attention to your locks.
“When someone’s hair is very distressed or damaged due to mechanical or chemical,s a reparative shampoo is prescribed. But it should eventually be replaced with a hydrating shampoo so that your hair doesn’t get a protein overload,” the stylist explains.
Style
We all know that products that clean, soften, and treat your hair are crucial to any hair care routine, but Taylor says styling products are equally as important.
“I find that people want healthy hair but even after I give them an at-home hair care prescription which includes shampoo, conditioner, and styling aids, when they return to the salon they usually tell me that they used the shampoo and conditioner but not the styling aids,” he says. “The styling aids are just as crucial as the shampoo and conditioner, that’s why it’s called a styling aid—it’s to aid in healthy hair care routines!”
When choosing styling aids, Taylor says there three things to keep in mind: your hair type, texture, and your desired final look.
“For example if I wanted to blow out a client with slightly curly hair, I would choose from L’Oreal Professionnel Tecni.Art Dual Stylers Sleek and Swing. Which will provide up to 72 hours of volume control with natural movement and anti-frizz protection,” Taylor explains.
While it is important to choose styling aids based on your hair type, texture, and needs, there is one product Taylor says everyone should incorporate into their routine: heat protector.
“Put aside hair type and texture. One product that everyone should have in their hair care routine is a heat protector. We live in a world where people use hot tools almost every day,” the stylist says. “L’Oréal Professionnel Serie Expert Color 10 in 1 is a multipurpose spray for all hair types. Some key benefits are heat protection up to 446 degrees Fahrenheit, shine, smoothness, and helps reduce the look of frizz.”
Taylor says his most important tip is the easiest one to follow.
“Product technology has evolved,” he explains. “If you can replace a old product that you have been using forever with the same product that has a better technology, go for it. But at the end of the day, if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”
Now that you’re equipped with all of the information you need to properly prep, treat, and style your hair, the only thing standing in between you and the mane of your dreams is a trip to the store.
