DIY With ONLY

It’s that wonderful time of the year where the seasons start to change and the air gets one degree cooler in Texas, but everyone talks about “feeling” that really cold air (air in the 80s — dare say it 60s!) and starts to pull out the winter coats. 

As anyone with hair longer than shoulder length knows, with the winter coats, collars and scarves come the ever-present tangle of hair at the back of the base of the neck where your hair hits the winter garment. 

Sometimes your hair is just more naturally curly at the base of the neck, I see it more often than knot (I couldn’t resist that one), and curly hair just likes to coil upon itself. 

Also, scarves tend to be made of wool, cotton or other water-wicking materials that can dry out the hair more than usual, leading to dried hair cuticles that act like velcro.

First steps when you have a tangle

1. Please do not pull at it, unless it fairly gives. If you pull at it and then stretch the hair and physically break hair bonds, these strands will not repair and they will eventually break and tangle more.

2. Wet brushes will be your friend. These little brushes now come from a variety of companies and they have pliable bristles that won’t snag or cause extra tension in the hair. 

3. Get about a quarter amount of ONLY Conditioner, place it directly on the tangle, and squeeze the product into the hair. Let this sit for a minute or two.

4. Spray a little bit of water onto the tangle, work from the bottom of the hair to the top, and start to do little by little to dismantle the tangle. 

5. If you need a little extra oomph because the hair is very dry or brittle you can add a drop or two (or 10) of jojoba oil into ONLY, because you can easily emulsify oils into the conditioner without it turning greasy. 

Want some other tips about how to make ONLY DIY products? Here are a few that can all be mixed ahead of time to be used when you need them!

DIY heat protectant

1 Tbs ONLY Conditioner

3-5 Drops of Organic Rice Bran Oil

DIY Calming Lotion

1 TBS TAME (coming super soon)

1-2 drops of Lavender EO

1 drop lime EO

1 drop clary sage EO

DIY Energizing Lotion

1 TBS TAME

2 drops grapefruit EO

3 drops peppermint EO

Did you also know that you can mix shea butter, coconut oil, olive oil, vitamin E and other hair-healthy oils into your ONLY to create almost any product that you see on the shelves for a fraction of the cost? Let me know what you would like to see a DIY version of, and I’ll write the recipe! Have fun creating!

XOXO, 

Nina

Now is the time to ask questions

I feel like I can breathe a little bit better this week, don’t you? Hands up in the air if you feel like the last two weeks have been a rush of every single emotion available PLUS every single thing that you had to do all at once.  Hopefully, cross fingers, we are all moving into the realm of less overall heat and leading into cooler temps. (Everyone in Texas is still shaking their heads)

So some funny things have been happening this month that have really lead me to be super introspective and focus. I will admit, I do get very passionate about research and reading medical studies on ingredients and their interactions.

And that sometimes it leads me down a very fun path.

Looking for the perfect product

This particular time, about three weeks ago, I was researching a product line because I really liked their marketing and how they told their story about they’re beginnings. But, something was throwing me off. 

Inside all of the marketing material, the product claimed to be fully transparent. The owners were all about voicing the truth and showing up. 

Perfect, me too.

We only use the best possible ingredients and let you know why we are using them.

Also me. Go on. 

We never use any items that were derived from animal products. 

We use local Texas honey in ONLY Everything for volume and texture, but nothing else has animal by-products. 

Then I came across one of the ingredients and it threw me off because everything I have learned about this ingredient is that it is animal-derived. But I wanted to give the owner and producer of the product the benefit of the doubt because that is the civil thing to do, so I didn’t write a review online for everyone to see. 

Red flags ahoy

Don’t worry my friends; I wrote an email. I wanted to know their process and was hoping that I could learn something from a fellow small-business owner. The first email I inquired about how they found a vegan form of the ingredient that I knew wasn’t vegan (nicely of course). The owner's response (I was very happy to have had the owner respond to me) was short and cordial and gave the information about where the ingredient was sourced. They were welcoming and pleasant and were happy to keep me informed of how they were using their product (exactly what they promised online).

Here’s the problem: I knew now that they were falsifying information, saying they were using one ingredient and actually using another. 

So I sent another email with all of my backup research because I would rather go down in flames protecting those who don’t know how the product is made or don’t have the time (or the passion) to research every little thing. Their reply was not so wonderfully accepting like the first time, and I know that they didn’t like me pressing the issue.  

In short, they told me that they were a small company and that they didn’t know anything else about their ingredient beyond what they told me -- and that if I didn’t like their product, I could get what I wanted from a larger company. 

WHOOOOAAAA hold the phone, what????

True clean beauty — for everyone

Raise your hand if you’ve tried to be open and honest, and the other side was not cooperating. So then they did everything to shut it down and not expose themselves. I can see if someone doesn’t know how to express something personal and needs help communicating their views. What I don’t find valid is when they are falsifying information and getting away with it on the basis that they are a small family-owned company. 

NO. That’s not good enough. 

ONLY is also a small company, and I know absolutely everything that goes into my product because I helped create it with a chemist in the UK. It took nine months in the preliminary phase and four months afterward to create it specifically to standards. ONLY is like my third child. 

I didn’t respond to this email after the owner proposed just going somewhere else to receive the product that I was searching for. My standards are higher than that, and I won’t antagonize someone who is already in the corner and baring teeth. It’s not right, and it doesn’t prove a point. 

But what I will do is stand up for others by inquiring on the sites that are selling her products. They need to receive higher clarification for the misrepresentation. 

Here is my ONLY promise. I will stand up for those that can’t speak for themselves, even if it’s not my product. I want to create a dynamic where small companies work together to create something larger and better for ourselves, in turn making every product safer. If you ever get stuck, please reach out. I will help you ask the tough questions, because we should all promote transparency and work together. 

XOXO,

Nina

New products: what to ask (and how they should answer)

Pretend that someone tells you something about a product that claims “X,Y and Z.” (Being the kind of person that will fall for any new apparatus that will seemingly make my life easier or more organized, it is easy to market to me in these areas.) 

But give me a new product, and I automatically ask all of the questions. 

Check the claims

For instance, imagine someone tells you, “This lightbulb is guaranteed to work for 13 years, averaging a cost of $1.47 a year.”

—> Then you read the fine print, “Based on an average of 3 hours per day.”

Will you end up paying more for that bulb’s energy in the long run because you use it more than 3 hours a day? The answer is yes. But, your subconscious will hold onto the positive aspects of it only being $1.47. 

Not everyone is going to ask the tough questions or know how to handle situations where someone is claiming all of the amazing benefits of a new fad. 

But what about your hair and skin products? “I have this brand-new product for you to try, and it has this rare oil from a plant that only grows from this small creek in Oregon called ‘XYZ’ and it’ll do ‘ABC.’ ”

If it seems too good to be true, it just might be. And it would be good to look up some of the ingredients in question, and ask the seller a couple of questions.

The Right Questions (and answers)

1. What can you tell me about the pH of the formula? (This is important because all hair and skin works best when it can be balanced to its normal pH). —> If this answer isn’t around 4.5 to 5.5, it’s not what you need. 

2. What do you do to increase hydration?  —> If this answer has anything to do with a specific oil, butter (think shea or coconut) or silicone, run away. OK don’t run, but remember that oil does not bring more water into the skin or hair because oil and water do not mix. Oil can make something feel softer, but oil doesn’t contain water. Water is the only thing that can rehydrate.

3. Is it safe to use this product on my scalp (roots-to-ends) and on my face? —> If you make it this far and someone tells you “yes,” I need to speak to them because I feel like the creator and I would be best friends. 

How ONLY Works

ONLY has a resulting pH of 5, and all hair -- no matter your age, hair type or ethnicity -- wants to come back to this pH. ONLY increases hydration with ingredients that continuously pull water from the air (the guar hydroxypropyltrimonium chloride or honey). ONLY is made to be used on-scalp, roots to ends, and on the rest of the body. It will never make you feel “greasy” because it doesn’t contain any oils. 

And it will actually give you the softest hair WITH volume. 

Imagine that your skin looks lackluster, then you drink a lot of water for a couple of days. Your skin will become plump and radiant because of all that water. That’s what ONLY does for your hair. 

Remember, it’s OK to ask questions. I learn the most when people challenge me because it helps me reaffirm what I’m using and allows me to take a look at what is new and upcoming. We are always evolving.

XOXO,

Nina

ONLY for the Littlest Ones

Is there anything softer than a baby’s cheek? Maybe their little squishy toes. Or the downy tufts of hair on their heads.

But here’s the truth: Babies get dandruff, too. It’s called cradle cap, and while It’s common and painless, it doesn’t look or feel great. It’s caused by your baby’s oil glands working overtime, giving their skin a scaly look and feel.

Does your little one have cradle cap? Don’t worry! ONLY Conditioner is gentle enough to use on your kiddo’s hair and skin every day.

Treating Cradle Cap

1. On their dry scalp, put about a half dollar-size amount of ONLY.

2. Scrub ONLY into the scalp with a soft bristle brush. 

3. Wet hair just a little and re-scrub to create a lather. 

4. Rinse and repeat again, if necessary. 

5. If a portion of the cradle cap doesn’t want to budge, do not force it off. Re-try again the next day on dry hair and it will naturally loosen from the scalp. 

XOXO,

Nina

Nina’s routine: Where haircare meets science

I’ve gotten a lot of questions lately about my haircare routine, so now is a good time to come clean. (Come for the beauty advice, stay for the fun dad jokes!) 

But seriously, here’s the low down: I haven’t used shampoo on my hair since April. It’s now mid-August and it’s still light and fluffy and not weighed down or oily. Do you know why?

Science. 

Believe me, I was the most skeptical of this routine before I started it, and I told myself I would keep doing this routine until my head got really dirty or oily. And then the months started ticking by. 

I also told myself that I love the foam in a shampoo, and while I still love bubbles, I love the purple color staying in my hair so much more. 

You see, shampoos nowadays have strong enough surfactants to make sure that our hair gets pretty clean without having to heavy-duty scrub. Think about it this way: the surfactant, in the case of shampoo, is the part that helps to break down dirt and oil. It’s the actual cleansing part. The stronger the surfactant, the more dirt and oil will be pulled off -- along with any color, treatments or masks that you’ve recently done. 

You can’t use Dr. Bronner’s soap on a duck that has been in an oil spill. You need a strong surfactant like Dawn to break up the oil and grease.

The reverse is also true: You don’t want to wash your hair with Dawn, or any other dish soap for that matter, because it will strip every essential oil off of your head and hair. Hellllooooo, tangle city! 

How I wash my hair

1. Soak your hair with water. 

2. Take a good quarter dollar’s worth of ONLY and SCRUB it into your scalp. All over. Chances are that you missed the middle back part of your head, so use a little bit more and scrub that spot again. 

3. Put your head back under the water for TWO seconds, just enough to re-wet the head and scrub, scrub, scrub again. This time, you’ll start to notice slip. It’ll foam up some, and your hair will start to feel super soft. Put some more ONLY on your hands and immerse from roots to ends. (You may choose to let it sit like this for a bit. The longer it has, the better.)

4. Rinse hair, and then you’re done! 

5. For those EXTRA dirty wash days, repeat steps 2 and 3. 

PRO TIP

I hear this a lot: “Nina, how are you saving on products when it seems like I’m adding so much ONLY to my hair just to cleanse it?” 

Glad that you asked. 

Just bring an empty 2 oz. ONLY bottle into the shower. Fill it half with water, and a quarter of the way with ONLY, then shake it really well. Pour this mixed product over your head, making sure that you got every inch of your scalp, while decreasing the amount of product you use. 

(But always use the newly mixed product the same day. Discard the rest.) 

What I’ve Learned

• If you add a product that doesn’t add oil to the hair -- like ONLY -- it’s balanced and doesn’t get oily. 

• If you have a lot of buildup, scrub ONLY at the roots when hair is dry, wet it just a little bit and scrub it into the scalp to let it suds up. Putting it on dry will concentrate the formula and concentrate the ingredients, since added water will dilute it. 

• You probably aren’t using enough ONLY if your hair feels dry, and that is from a buildup of your other products. 

• If your scalp still gets oily, you didn’t scrub it in well enough at the roots when you washed. 

This process can be used for ANY type of hair, even on pets to help combat dry, itchy skin. And is sensitive enough for the most gentle skin.

XOXO,

Nina

Freebie Friday: ANA (Ask Nina Anything)

Happy Friday, friends! Here’s hoping your week was a good one, and next week is even better.

And congratulations to this week’s winner: @thephoenixprojector! We’ll send your free sample ASAP.

Now we’re looking for something from you: Your burning questions about everything and anything skin- and haircare.

We’ve covered cowashes. We’ve showed you the warning signs for damaged hair. We’ve even told you how to avoid the dangers of summer sun and water fun. Now we want to know what keeps you up at night about routines, products, salon visits and healthy hair and skin. Leave your questions in the comments, and you’ll be entered to win a free sample of ONLY Conditioner.

Life Lessons Learned

Why do I do what I do. Why do you do what you do?

These past two weeks -- actually these past two months -- have been some of the hardest, yet some of the most rewarding times of my life. It’s really come into focus that there isn’t a time when you get to check the box for “Life: Mastered.” 

Hitting the wall, hard

For the past two months I’ve been trying to put all of my products onto the ONLY by Nina Fitzgerald Facebook page and create a shop, but I keep getting declined by a third-party because they think I don’t own my website. Something that I thought was an absolutely mindless task, I’ve now spent a grand total of about 23 hours on. 

On top of that, Facebook can’t regulate what this third-party is looking for, nor can they help. I got frustrated -- I’m still frustrated! I was angry for about 30 minutes, and then the epiphany happened: I’m working against my own process.

I’m trying to force an issue that I have on Facebook by repeating the exact same steps I did the other 15 times I tried to input my information. It’s easy to say that Facebook is to blame because it’s their system. Obviously it’s not me; it’s always the other person or system. 

But I’m not one to give my power away, that’s not what I do. I didn’t realize that I am my own lesson, I’m always my own lesson. Facebook isn’t the big boss I’m supposed to beat at Level 35 of life in order to get to Level 36. It was my own self.

The obvious answer to this great dilemma wasn’t that I inputted all of my information correctly and that I was just misunderstood. (I probably inputted it just fine, but what should’ve knocked me back was that I forgot a very vital piece of the puzzle.)

 I did it wrong. I made a huge mistake. 

Lesson No. 1: Trust your process

I was forcing what I wanted and trying to make the system see it my way without seeing the bigger picture. Life doesn’t give you the big caption bubble in your face that tells you when you should make a left turn instead of a right, or when you need to go back and double-check something you think you might’ve accidentally forgot. I was frustrated that it wasn’t as easy as it should’ve been. If I had listened to my heart, it always guides me in the correct direction. Instead, I was listening to my head and doing this fast-and-furious style. 

Now comes the funny part: I was inputting the wrong number this whole time into the program, so it was always going to come back wrong.

Lesson No. 2: Learn From Challenges 

Have you ever felt like the whole world was just coming to get you? The “Why is everything happening to me, and why can’t this be easy”? (We should all be nodding on this one, save for the 2 percent that have really done the tough work and have undeniable self control.) 

Here is what I’ve learned -- what I’ve really learned over the past two months: It is all about the impact of what you do and why you do it above anything else.

Now when a frustration arises, my new mantra is, “What am I going to learn from this, how will this teach me in some way?” Every single person and entity has the sole right and discretion to do all of the things they do and more. That is what free will is all about. I don’t have to agree with what they do or understand why they do it, but I can learn from it and make sure that I don’t have to learn the same lesson twice. 

If nothing ever bothered me I wouldn’t learn, I wouldn’t grow, and I wouldn’t have much of an impact. The opposite is also true: There will be some people that will never understand me, will never see things the way I see it, or understand why I do what I do. Facebook doesn’t have time for every single person. They’re a huge conglomeration that gets so many requests all day, every day that some things just need to be automated. 

Lesson No. 3: Recharge to Refocus

Once I sat back and let life take the wheel (and the whole process), I forgot about pushing this timeline I so desperately wanted to hit. (It was for the 1st of June, so we are long overdue on that one.) But thanks to my frustration, I became lazy as a lizard sunning itself on a rock. I was Googling random things that served no immediate purpose for a week -- here’s looking at you June 5-12. I didn’t work much at home, but I did allow myself to breathe and have time to recover and start anew. 

My lesson for that chapter? I needed more self care and self impact.

More times than I would like to hear, but I will hear it a 1,000 times more, is “Nina you look tired, you’re overworking yourself, you need to get more sleep.” Have I pushed myself to some limits that I didn’t think were possible? Yes, totally. Would I take it back if I could? Absolutely not. 

Sometimes I don’t start working on ONLY things until 8:30 at night, and most times I don’t get done until 1:30 in the morning. On the weekends, I spend as much of the day with the boys, watching them grow up and learn what life is all about. I’ll never forget the first time that my oldest son (he was about 2.5) saw that I left my phone in a room and said, “Mama your phone!” and ran up to give it to me. That plucked all of my heartstrings at once. 

How many times had I thought, “Please just go to sleep, I have some things I need to finish”? Not anymore though. Holding down a dream full-time job that never ends at 5, styling wedding hair and makeup, mothering two boys under the age of 4, and starting a product business, I solidly know that it will require grit. I will choose to be tired to live my passions while still having an impact on the boys. 

Business will always have its own timeline, life will not. 

Lesson No. 4: Be True to Your Purpose

If I didn’t push myself to limits then I wouldn’t be asking people to help and to come and join me on this journey. (Tyler, Nancy, Ashely, Amber, Monti, Chelle, I’m looking at you!) I’ve learned that in order to make an impact, you have to push yourself and work through some pretty grueling times. I’ve wanted to quit several times, I’ve lost my drive several times, but then I’ll get an email detailing how what I’ve created has so drastically changed someone’s life  -- and I melt into tears because that is why I do what I do. 

I’ve impacted someone’s life; I have helped. 

It finally came full circle when I was talking to Robin Emmerich last week, one of my Austin gurus, and she asked me, “What is your purpose?” 

This summer was a summer of intense learning, because I needed to fully understand what my impact would be. I needed to be present in my family's life, and in order to do that I needed to be present in my own. 

I needed to understand when life challenges were meant to be discovered that day, and when they just needed time to play out because I wasn’t supposed to learn them in that moment. By fully being present, I could create products that above all were about impacting others’ lives and being present to what they needed, too.

Being present doesn’t mean being right. It means being able to see both sides of the coin and taking ownership of situations, even when it creates goosebumps on my arms and makes my palms sweat. Ultimately, ONLY is about the lasting impact I want to have by creating products with a purpose and a meaning. 

What impact do you want to leave on this world? What will your legacy be?

XOXO,

Nina

The Art and Act of Going Green

Ahhhh, the art of going green! It seems like an easy task, but when it actually comes down to it, it’s pretty tricky. 

Most companies will say that they are going green, but what does that really mean? Nowadays the market is getting into a cycle of “greenwashing,” where companies try to push products under the guise that they are clean, chemical-free and made with environmentally conflict-free methods. 

Unfortunately, saying and really doing are two totally different tasks; the standards vary from company to company, and from country to country.

Online Shopping

Were you aware that Carnegie Mellon's Green Design Institute found that choosing to shop for 100 percent of purchases online would lead to a 35 percent reduction in emissions?” One way to decrease waste is to simply offer more online shopping!

By reducing the amount of cars out on the street that go to purchase individual items and shipping through fleets, there is actually a reduction in the amount of CO2 (carbon emissions) dollar-for-dollar of goods sold. 

Look at Germany: They actually have one of the most efficient systems of reducing the amount of waste byproduct. How do they do this and how do they ensure that everyone plays along? They put the onus on the manufacturer to make sure that all of the product containers and waste from their products is recycled. In doing so, Germany has seen a drastic reduction in the amount of waste that is produced, and have increased the amount of recyclables that are picked up. 

If you do care to learn a little bit more, here are the stats and the write up from 2018. 

Plastics Get Complicated

Now onto the talk about plastic bottles. 

I wish this was a lot easier of a task, but it’s really hard. There is a huge movement to make plastics more biodegradable and from natural sources, like corn. In theory it sounds great, but many of these options still give off noxious gases and cannot be used in organic farming. Traces of the material that the container is made from won’t fully break down, and they are impossible to separate from the soil. 

And here comes the real kicker: It might have better ability to biodegrade on land. “In the oceans, the water is usually too cold to break down biodegradable plastics, so they either float forever on the surface (just like conventional plastics) or, if they do break down, produce tiny plastic fragments that are harmful to marine life.” 

AKA, welcome to the wonderful world of micro plastics. So, if the container doesn’t have a zero marine toxicity seal of approval -- meaning it will not harm or add to the pollution in the ocean --it’s still a big nope. 

That takes us back to tried and true, which is still slightly better than throwing something away, which means looking for the easiest plastics to recycle: #1 PET and #2 HDPE plastics.

Truthfully, there are many companies decreasing the amount of overall plastic that they use, and some that I was actually surprised to learn about: 

• Coca-Cola wants to recycle one bottle or can for every bottle or can that they sell by 2030. 

• McDonald’s will have 100 percent recycling in all of their locations by 2025. 

• Aramark has a huge campaign to reduce single-use plastics by 2022. 

Even if they decrease their waste by a small amount, these companies are so widespread and emit so much, that they will have a global impact with even a fraction of the reduction in plastic waste. If we can’t get a government-mandated reduction, or bills passed to force companies to be more sustainable, at least some of the biggest players in our economy are trying to turn the tides.

Change doesn’t happen overnight, but if corporations work together, people will feel the impact.

What about ONLY?

What is ONLY doing in this great race to help decrease waste?

For starters, we are trying out more eco-friendly packing materials. For instance, the filler that surrounds the bottles will be now padded with the most biodegradable form of recycled paper. Take it out of the box, and it can immediately be used in the garden to help keep moisture in the soil. And you don’t have to worry about any additives that have been sprayed on the paper, or waxy residues that don’t break down. 

We are also exploring reusable containers that can be refilled at retail locations, or through a mailer that will be included with purchases to send the old bottle back for refilling. In the meantime, we will ONLY use plastics that are the most accepted at recycling plants until we can find -- or someone makes -- something durable enough to hold product and not decompose while sitting in the shower.

We will also look into going fully fragrance-free. I know this will upset some people because I also love the smell, but it brings up many issues of what all it takes to make smells, aromas and compounds that make up fragrances in our product. Some of the essential oil isolates used in ONLY are on the endangered plant list (one example being Sandalwood). 

Studies even go as far as saying that essential oils should never come into contact with any open water or groundwater because contamination will have long-lasting effects and they are extremely toxic to marine life. BUT don’t worry: I will have many discussions about the essential oil isolate in upcoming blogs to hear all of your comments.

How would you like to see ONLY become more environmentally friendly? Sound off!

XOXO,

Nina

Is your hair dry, damaged or completely done?

You know we’ve all been there: We set an appointment at the salon because those ends, they’re feeling ROUGH. Not only that, we’re dreading that appointment because the stylist is going to tell us, “Yeah, you need to take at least 18 inches off to make this right.” Then you gasp because you don’t even have 18 inches, and oh my gosh does this mean a shaved head?? 

Then whoosh you wake up in a cold sweat.

Don’t worry, it’s all very normal. We’ve all had to take off some inches because we’ve been a little too chummy with the iron (flat or curling) and our ends have gotten just a little bit toasty. 

OR we’ve used the dryer at the gym that got wildly too hot when we were used to a professional dryer, and fried our hair, and had to pin it back … anyone?? OK, maybe that was just me.

OR that time when we added bleach over the ends of the hair just a tad too many times, and for a week it felt like spaghetti when it was wet. OK, OK, that was also me. 

What’s your damage?

Those are visible times that our hair was on the down and out. But what about the times that it feels dry, but you can’t see any true visible signs of breakage? When I say visible, I mean that you can see little white nodes or little knots on the side or end of the hair -- as illustrated below -- or you see a strand split into what feels like 17 other hairs.

Non-visible damage is when you run your hand down your hair and it starts to make a creeeeeaaak sound like straw, but you don’t necessarily see any damage. Your ends aren’t making the crinkle double-y right angle -- but it feels like the savannah.

And for those with hair that looks shiny from roots to ends, with no cuticle roughness, or it just looks dull, you are in luck! You may not have to cut off as much as you thought!

Our suspect: Oily build-up

Most often if you can feel dryness or a creak (like you’re stepping on an old floor board), it’s due to an oil build-up -- likely from a product you have been using. If your products contain too many oils, and you don’t wash them off properly, they will cling to the ends of the hair where it is the most porous. Then, once the water has evaporated from the ends of the hair after air- or blow-drying, the oil coats the ends, thus preventing any other water from entering the follicle. 

Remember, oil and water don’t mix, so just like a plant that is starved of water in a pot (RIP every plant I tried to grow on my balcony from 2009-2012), the stems will wither and break. 

The ends of the hair strand are already weaker than the hair at the base, where it is newly keratinized, and so any excess buildup at the end will make it break faster. When dried out hair breaks, it starts to split, and then those splits will tangle, and then before you know it, your hair has formed an impromptu game of Twister on your scalp. 

(Side note, RIP the hair closest to the nape during coat and scarf season. I would love to just classify that as “Fall or Winter,” but living in Texas gives me no expectation of when those seasons actually exist. Sometimes it’s in October, sometimes it never happens -- save for that random day in February when we all pull out the bucket of coats in glee that we can finally wear long sleeves, only to get the heat back by mid-day. I know my native Texans are all nodding in agreement right now.) 

Is it time for the big chop?

So back to the story: How do you know if you really need to make that appointment for the big chop? Feel your hair. Does it feel like someone crimped it with a micro crimper meant for a mouse? (If micro-crimpers weren’t big in your day, don’t worry: We’re on a 30-year fashion cycle, so it’s coming back around again.) 

Or does your hair feel like a very worn, long wool rug? That hair definitely needs a trim. Like now. 

Maybe you feel like you can hold off two more months -- after all, if it’s truly damaged it will break on its own before then, right? Think again. That’s when you need a trim, or you’re going to end up with hair resembling the feather or the tree picture from above.

And if you can’t feel any mechanical damage, and your hair hair feels waxy when it’s wet, with heavy ends? Chances are you just need a simple cleansing to rid yourself of those oily ends. 

Wash that build-up right out of your hair

Method One, with Shampoo

Step 1: Find a gentle clarifying shampoo. While I’m working on my own formulation, my ultimate favorite and go to brand is N4. My hair has never felt more clean and refreshed, and since I’m sensitive to everything under the sun, it was nice that this brand never broke me out. If you can’t find it, then just use any gentle shampoo that you have. 

Step 2: Shampoo twice, making sure to scrub your scalp and the ends of the hair thoroughly both times.

Step 3: Rinse really really well, and make sure that you can’t feel build-up on the ends of your hair.

Step 4: Take a good handful of ONLY Conditioner and scrub it really well into your scalp. Apply enough so that your whole scalp feels slippery. Then let sit for 1 minute. 

Step 5: Rinse.

Step 6: Blow-dry at least one small piece to make sure all old residue has been cleansed. 

Method Two, Without Shampoo

This version uses salicylic acid (a component of aspirin) so please do not use if you have a known sensitivity. Salicylic acid is a wonderful exfoliant, and helps rid the scalp of excess dirt and oil.

Step 1: Get a bottle of ONLY Conditioner and a packet of BC powder (aspirin). If you’re going to try this method without the BC powder, you can skip to Step 3.

Step 2: Before wetting your hair, take mix the BC powder into a good palmful of ONLY Conditioner. You can also mix it in a little plastic bowl and bring it to the shower. 

Step 3: Put the mixture (or plain ONLY conditioner) on dry hair, scrubbing really well into the scalp and through the ends of your hair. When I mean scrub, pretend you’re trying to get all of the sand out of your scalp after you’ve been on the beach all day. 

Step 4: Wet your hair just a little at the scalp, and re-scrub the ONLY until it lathers from roots to ends. 

Step 5: Rinse well.

Step 6: Take a new handful of just ONLY Conditioner (nothing added) and repeat the scrubbing process, roots to ends. Then rinse well again.

Step 7: Dry a little piece of hair. Do you feel the same creak, or does it feel healthy and refreshed?

If your hair is refreshed and happy and shiny, yay it’s OK! You don’t have to chop it -- unless you need to even it out. If you’re hair’s not so happy, it might be time to take a little off of the ends.

Give this method a try for a happy scalp and refreshed ends -- and let me know about your results!

XOXO,

Nina

Summertime Hair & Skincare, Part I: Beat the Heat

Ahh, the summertime woes of haircare. The heat, the sun, the endless days of pool time all make for a hard time keeping your hair perfect. But it doesn’t have to throw off your schedule!

Let's dive into exactly what all of those summertime elements are doing to your hair and skin, and how to minimize the effects.

Sunshine Days

It’s a common misconception that the sun is closer to Earth during the summer months, but it’s actually the opposite. The sun is farther away from us leading up to July, and closest to the Earth leading up to January. So what does this mean?

Have you ever taken a magnifying glass and focused light on something to create a small spark or fire? This essentially is what happens during the summer. The sun’s rays hit at such a steep angle that the sunbeams are more focused. Not only that, but we have longer daylight hours during the summer months, and the Earth has longer to heat up. MMMMM, toasty.

But, don’t worry, there are ways of protecting your skin and hair.

The best way to minimize damage and to prolong the longevity of our skin and hair is by avoidance, at least during the peak hours of noon to 4 pm. But since we can’t always avoid the sun’s rays, it’s best to wear a hair and skin SPF. Check out this cool list from Elle magazine online of some great products.

And don’t forget to put sunscreen on the top of your ears, lips, nose, shoulders and the tops of your hands!

Heat Protectant vs. SPF

Your next layer of sun protection is a heat protectant. They are not the same as an SPF, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. The sun can break down the melanin in our hair, causing the color to fade and the protein between the cell layers to thin. Heat protectants help to create an oil barrier in between the hair follicle and the heating tool to minimize mechanical damage to the keratin.

Just hydrate first with ONLY Conditioner, then use a product with an SPF. Then apply a heat protectant to ensure you’re fully protected.

It is very important to know that if you’ve been using ONLY Conditioner or ONLY Everything as your cowash, and you use a silicone based product, you will also need a clarifying shampoo to release the silicones from your hair and prevent frizziness. Silicones, which can cling to hair and cause a film, need to be broken down.

Not every oil is a heat protectant, either. An oil will only be viable up to its smoke point, the point at which it starts to break down and oxidize — i.e., the point at which it starts to cook your hair instead of protecting it.

Next up: Protecting your hair and skin from prolonged exposure to water.

XOXO,

Nina