This shop has been compensated by Schwarzkopf. #HolidayHairCare #sponsored
I believe that everything should have a little extra sparkle and shine during the holiday season. Especially your hair! Because nothing quite sets off a fabulous frock like a funky new do! If you’d like to give your lovely locks a holiday refresher, here are 5 tips to get you started:
Tip 1: Refresh your hair color:
A few days before the start of the holiday season, I make sure to refresh my look with Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color. Its one of my biggest secrets to helping me get ready for the holiday season!
And when it comes to picking the right shade of hair color, a general rule of thumbs is to pick a shade no more than two hues lighter or darker than your natural brow color. This helps your color blend in with your skin tone. Helping your hair appear healthy with added dimension and shine.
Now, if you’d like a more show-stopping look, try something in the Auburn family. It’s my husband’s favorite shade and you’ll wow the crowds for sure! Here’s how I step-by-step use Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color to treat my hair at home:
Step 1: Remove the contents of the box. Making sure that you have all the supplies to color your hair. Then determine your coloring needs. If you’ve colored your hair in the last season, follow the instructions listed for touching up your hair. If you have virgin hair or hair that’s not been treated in 6 months or longer, follow the instructions for full head coloring. I used the direction indicated for full head coloring.
Step 2: Open the directions packet. There you’ll find your colorist gloves inside. Put them on to protect your hands during application.
Step 3: Twist off the Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color pre-treatment cap and squeeze some into your gloved hand. Apply to the dry ends of your hair. This pre-treatment is to prevent breakage and has the added benefit of helping to ensure your color is absorbed evenly throughout your hair.
Step 4: Break the Creme color seal. Squeeze the contents of the color Creme into the application bottle. Making sure to twist the cap off of the application bottle first.
Step 5: While holding a gloved finger over the top of the bottle, shake your applicator bottle to combine.
Step 6: Create a part through the center of your head. Squeeze a line of the Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color directly down the part and then smooth out your color with gloved fingers. Continue parting your hair into 1/2″ sections and applying color in the same way. Color all of your roots.
Step 7: Allow your color to sit on your roots for 20 minutes.
Step 8: After 20 minutes, apply Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color to the remainder of your hair. Squeezing the color down the shaft until you reach your ends. Then let your color sit on for an additional 10 minutes. And don’t fret, because Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color is low odor thanks to their advanced ammonia control technology. Thankfully, your house won’t smell of a hair salon while you wait!
Step 9: After your color is finished processing, using your colorist gloves, give your hair a final scalp massage to loosen your color and then rinse your hair. It is easiest for me to do this in the shower, but sink sprayers work well too! Rinse out your color thoroughly.
Step 10: Finish your color by applying a generous amount of the Keratin Care Complex Conditioner tube onto your hair. Working from the ends up to your roots. This helps moisturize your roots and keep your scalp and crown from being overly flat while styling! Leave this on your hair for 2 minutes and then rinse thoroughly. Then dry and style your hair as desired!
Here is my finished color. Perfect for the holiday season! Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color leaves my hair super shiny and soft. Plus, it provides 100% gray coverage with intense, vibrant color. A must for curly girls in our early 30’s!
For my latest coloring, I chose the color Bordeaux Red. This shade gives my naturally dark blonde hair, with some early signs of greying, a more vibrant, youthful look. The darker Auburn shade beautifully compliments my face and makes me feel positively radiant!
I pick up my Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color on the Hair Color aisle at Walmart. The next time your in-store, grab a box for yourself too! Currently, there is also a Try Me Free Rebate to get your hair color for free after rebate!
If amazing looking hair color wasn’t enough, Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color is a partner of support for Dress for Success®, Dress for Success®, an organization that helps women beat the cycle of poverty by entering the workforce looking their personal best, and have pledged a contribution of $125,000 to this amazing cause. Learn more at Dressforsuccess.org. Because upward mobility and a successful workplace interview start with a successful self-care routine!
Tip 2: Deep condition your hair bi-weekly. Deep conditioning masks help deeply penetrate your hair with moisture and promote growth, moisture, and luster. Essential for curls, as our spirals are prone to drying out. A simple 20-minute mask of half a mashed up banana, 1/8 cup organic agave, and 1/2 cup organic coconut sugar will do wonders for keeping your hair looking its best!
Tip 3: Trim Your Ends. Keeping your hair regularly trimmed is a cardinal rule for any curly girl. Colder temperatures can cause hair to become dry and brittle which can lead to breakage and split ends. Trimming your hair can greatly reduce breakage and help prolong the look of your style. I have my ends trimmed at the start of each season with a professional trim.
Tip 4: Eat & Drink Healthy. As the old adage goes, you are what you eat. That includes your curls! Eating well-balanced meals, heavy in plant-based nutrients, will help to provide your curls with the essential nutrients your hair needs to increase growth, promoting shine, and stay moisturized and healthy. This also includes drinking water! Eight 8-ounce glasses of water are sufficient, but when it comes to moisturizing your curls at home, the more the better!
Tip 5: Change how you wash your curls. During the colder months, consider co-washing your curls. Co-washing, or washing your hair with only conditioner, will give your hair a gentle cleanse without totally stripping and drying the hair of essential natural oils. Because most shampoos and conditioners contain trace amounts of detergents called surfactants, that when mixed with water, wash away dirt, conditioner can cleanse your hair without stripping essential natural oils from your hair and scalp. If you’re not a fan of co-washing, make sure you use a good moisturizing shampoo instead.
A quick tip: Co-wash your curls from the ends to the roots. This allows your ends to be extra conditioned and your scalp to not be overly dry!
Tip 6: Plop Your Curls. Looking for a way to decrease the drying time of your hair? Then plopping is for you! Plopping involves putting your hair up in a cloth, which encourages your natural curls to dry without them losing their spiral shape. To plop your hair, you begin by washing or c-washing your curls. Then apply any leave-ins or styling products, as needed. Then bend over and place your curls into a cloth or turban. Position your curls within the cloth, pressing your curls into the cloth. Finally, securing your plopped hair with a button or bobby pin. Then just wait for your hair to dry. After 30-60 minutes, remove your towel and diffuse to separate curls, if needed. Then, rock those curls!
Looking for an easy DIY Plopping Towel? Here’s a quick pattern for you to try:
Materials:
Cotton yarn skein (around 240 yards)
Size G Crochet Hook
Elastic Band
Pattern Terms:
Ch = Chain
HDC = Half Double Crochet
Hdc2tog = Half Double Crochet Two Together
Pattern:
Side 1:
Row 1: Ch 10, hdc in 2nd ch from hook and in each across. Ch-1, turn.
Rows 2-18: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 19: hdc in first 8, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 20: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 21: hdc in first 9, 2hdc in stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 22: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 23: hdc in first 10, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 24: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 25: hdc in first 11, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 26: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 27: hdc in first 12, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 28: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 29: hdc in first 13 stitched, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 30: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 31: hdc in first 14 stitched, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 32: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 33: hdc in first 15 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 34: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 35: hdc in first 16 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 36: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 37: hdc in first 17 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 38: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 39: hdc in first 18 stitches, 2hdc in last. Ch-1, turn.
Row 40: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 41: hdc in first 19 stitches, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 42: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 43: hdc in first 20 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 44: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 45: hdc in first 21 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 46: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 47: hdc in first 22 stitches, 2hdc into the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 48: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 49: hdc in first 23 stitches, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 50: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 51: hdc in first 24 stitches, 2hdc in last. Ch-1, turn.
Row 52: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 53: hdc in first 25 stitches, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Row 54: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 55: hdc in first 26 stitches, 2hdc in the last stitch. Ch-1, turn.
Rows 56 – 63: hdc in each stitch across. Ch-1, turn.
Row 64: hdc2tog, hdc in next 26 stitches. Ch-1, turn.
Row 65: hdc in first 25 stitches, hdc2tog. Ch-1, turn.
Row 66: hdc2tog, hdc in next 24 stitches. Ch-1, turn.
Row 67: hdc in first 23 stitches, hdc2tog. Ch-1, turn.
Row 68: hdc2tog, hdc in next 22 stitches. Ch-1, turn.
Row 69: hdc in first 21 stitches, hdc2tog. Ch-1, turn.
Row 70: hdc2tog, hdc in next 20 stitches. Fasten off, weave in ends on your first side.
Side two: Repeat Steps from Side 1.
Creating your towel:
Lay the two pieces together and line them up. You’ll slip stitch around your seems with a single crochet border. Then flip your towel inside out and stitch a single stitch from the inside of the towel out to secure your elastic band to your towel. This will help you to secure your towel to your hair while your hair is inside.
To use the towel, place on your head, with the larger side cradling the crown on your head and your elastic band facing away from your face. Then gather your hair in the towel with your ends positioned into the towel end of your towel. Then gather your hair together by gently twisting your ends backward, towards the back of your head and secure inside the elastic band.
This pattern works up pretty quickly and would make a great holiday gift-giving idea for other curly girls on your list this year!
So, those are my top 5 tips for caring for your curls this winter. Give them a try! Be sure to also visit Schwarzkopf® to see what shade you will pick to color your own hair at home, product information, and even more curly hair styling tips too! You can also check out my other natural beauty and hair care tips here!
Friends, now I want to ask, do you plan to refresh your look this holiday season? And if so, what shade of Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color will you be going with? I’d love to hear about it below!
Connect with Schwarzkopf® Keratin Color:
Connect with Dress for Success®:
