3 Extra Ways to Condition Your Hair

I'm sure that you've all noticed that as our skin gets drier in the colder months, so does our hair. As we're getting towards the end of winter here, I think our tresses deserve a little TLC to prep it for the spring and so I've decided to share my 3 favorite ways to add extra moisture and nourishment to my hair.

Before I start, I just have to include a little disclaimer: I am by no means a hair expert or even a hair person. But, as some of you may know, I've been working at a salon/beauty supply for about a year now and have picked up some nifty tricks here and there. It also seems that somehow hair products are not the most talked about in the blogosphere and since I get to try quite a few by way of work, I might as well share, right? Right.

1. Hair Mask + Extra Boost: Goldwell Rich Repair 60sec Treatment ($17.95 for 200ml/ 6.7 fl.oz.)+ Enjoy Intensive Reconstructing Spray (~$22 for 300ml/10.1 fl.oz.). I'm sure many of you already use a mask in your haircare routines, and the Goldwell Rich Repair is my favorite; it has hydrolyzed keratin and silk very high up the ingredients list, smells like cherry vanilla and can be just used in place of your regular conditioner - because it's a 60 seconds mask, you don't need to go through the whole 'leave for 15 minutes under a plastic cap' ordeal. It moisturizes and smoothes the hair nicely, and with the addition of Enjoy Intesive Reconstructing Spray (I have the old packaging to show you here; it looks more like the Conditioning Spray bottle below these days) beforehand it provides a lot of protein to rebuild my color-treated hair. The Enjoy I.R.S. is mostly a keratin amino acid spray, which in practical lingo means 'protein that won't overproteinize your hair'. Some forms of protein, like animal protein, has a tendency to push out water molecules out of a hair shaft, leaving it dry and brittle; but the Enjoy spray can be used every time you reach for a hair mask, or even in conjunction with a moisturizing conditioner.

2. Leave-in conditioner/detangler: Enjoy Conditioning Spray ($19 for 300ml/ 10.1 fl.oz). If you now think 'gosh, she really likes those Enjoy products' - yep, I do; I also use their shampoo and conditioner, but that's for another post. Anyway, I like this spray detangler for its unparalleled smoothing properties without weighting down the hair; although on my fine hair, it does need to be used quite sparingly. As with any conditioner, I always recommend applying only from ears down; on chin-length hair, that's basically just your ends. Another nifty thing about this one is that it can be used as a leave-in or rinse-out.

3. Serum/oil: MoroccanOil Treatment ($43 for 100ml/ 3.4 fl.oz). You've probably all heard about this one already but it is worth the hype; it conditions with the antioxidant-rich argan oil and the blend of silicones protects the hair against heat damage, frizz, humidity and even static and can also be applied on both damp and dry hair. A small tip before you buy: take a sniff first, some people can't stand the signature orange blossom scent of this line. For a similar effect from other brands, try the Enjoy Smooth & Shine or better yet, Loma Organics Fortifying Repairative Tonic (formerly Loma Pearatin Fortifying Repairative Serum).

Depending on how dry and damaged your hair is, you could try incorporating just one or all of the above steps to your routine to give it an extra conditioning boost. I usually just go for one of these on the days I wash my hair to keep it healthy and shiny and I want to say my hair is the best it's been in a long time. What do you use to condition your hair? Any products worth checking out?

Disclaimer: The article above features a mixture of products I purchased myself and samples I received as part of my employment. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. Thank you for reading!