The Ongoing Quest for Healthy Hair & Nails

I know, I know. Obsessing over hair and nails is not that deep, but for those of us who struggle with fine, thinning hair or nails that always break, you kind if can’t help but think about it a lot.

In November 2018, after my birthday, I decided I’d had enough with saying, “Make me as blonde as possible,” whenever getting my hair done. It led to roots that constantly needed to be touched up, unnecessary dryness, and ends that broke off at the ready. I sought out a new hairstylist and asked her what we could do to help my hair health.

While on my quest to make my hair healthier, I’ve also discovered a few things that have helped my nail health, too. For starters, I simply cannot do gel manicures anymore (I have to do dip or at-home regular manicures). Since there is overlap in hair and nails, I thought why not share it all.

Here are some things to try that worked for me!

Go Darker

When I first sat in my stylist Michelle’s chair, I told her I was tired of breakage and having to upkeep uber-blonde hair. I also wasn’t loving the yellow-golden tone my previous stylist had taken me. Michelle recommended tinting my roots a little darker and blending it down the hair. This allowed my natural hair more time to grow between (less and less frequent) visits. She also made the blonde icier overall.

It took over six months before she was able to start adding a few highlights back in without damaging my growth, but the wait was worth it. Now, I’m loving having my darker, natural color as the root and brightening up the ends when need be. My hair is stronger overall, too.

Upper left: October 2019. Middle: November 2018. Bottom: October 2018.

Switch to Moisturizing Shampoo & Conditioner

This step SHOOK ME TO MY CORE. Having had a head of fine, thin hair my whole life, I always opted for volumizing shampoo. I had no idea I was damaging my hair by doing this! What volumizing products do is pull out moisture from the hair so it’s weightless and thereby gives it more “body.” But, as you can imagine, that dryness leads to breakage. I truly had NO idea.

I switched to moisturizing shampoo this past summer and it’s helped immensely. My hair is silky smooth and the ends no longer feel like crisp, fall leaves. I have significantly more breakage on the right side of my head (I tend to sleep on that side) and the breakage is finally slowing down.

Beachwaver just sent me their new line of moisturizing, reparative pre-shampoo, shampoo, and conditioner, and my hair has never been shinier. It also holds curls even better.

Try Supplements

I have had great success with Nutrafol and Moon Juice SuperHair. I went through three bottles of Nutrafol and saw a ton of tiny baby hairs pop up around my hairline. Unfortunately, I am really bad with online shopping and like to be able to buy things in stores close to me. For several months, I stopped using any supplements whatsoever and felt like my hair wasn’t growing. Then, less than a month ago, I picked up a bottle of SuperHair while running errands. I am not kidding you when I say I have enough baby hairs at the front that I could sweep them into bangs. They don’t even know which direction they want to grow, so I have these random hairs poking out from under my middle part all the time (but I love it…I’m oddly proud).

On top of that, my hair went from medium length to Officially Long (you know what I mean) in the last month and I swear it’s because of SuperHair. Not to mention my NAILS! After one terrible gel removal in August, I had the most paper-thin, painful nails I’ve ever had. Even when they grew, they kept breaking. Ever since starting SuperHair, though, they’ve been strong and long.

Add a Protective Layer

Two more products that changed the game for my hair and nails, respectively: R & Co Waterfall Moisture + Shine Lotion and Butter London Nail Foundation Priming Basecoat. I apply R & Co to my hair immediately after washing and conditioning and either let air dry or blow-dry (I tend to air dry my hair fully, then heat style with a wand/Beachwaver/straightener). What I love about this is that it moisturizes and protects my hair without weighing it down whatsoever. I’m on my third tube of this! There is NOTHING better! Also, if I’m going to blow-dry my hair, I’ll add Kristin Ess Blow Dry Mist.

Butter London’s nail foundation entered my life when I was in Ashland, OR, and in desperate need of protection for my bare nails. I had a terrible gel removal that left my bare nails throbbing and I felt the only thing that would help them was to protect them from air, water, and anything that might touch them. A cute little boutique next to our hotel housed my newfound holy grail nail item. I layered on two coats and instantly felt relief. It’s the only thing that touched my nails for almost two months as I waited for my nails to grow. Now that I’ve graduated to other polishes, I layer this on first and it evens any ridges or rough textures. I cannot recommend this enough!

Adopt a Three-Day System

My three-day hair system goes like this:

Day 1: Shampoo, condition, apply hair lotion, air dry/blow-dry, heat style
Day 2: Add dry shampoo and/or styling products to whatever wave remains from day before
Day 3: Wear low bun that doesn’t tug at the hairline anywhere
Day 4: Repeat Day 1

Not washing my hair or heat styling every day is hard for me! The farthest I can stretch it is three days, and often for the third day, I simply wet my hair, add conditioner or a hair mask, and then put into the low bun. There’s also a delicate balance with washing/not washing and how it affects my acne. If I go too long without washing, the product on my hair drips down my face during workouts and causes breakouts.

(The bun day has saved my hair in a serious way. Shout out to my friend Kelsey for that tip!)

If you’re on your quest to improve your hair and nail health, I’d love to know what works for you!

Wishing you long, strong hair and nails!
Kailey