Shu Uemura Art of Hair's Essence Absolue

Shu Uemura Art of Hair's Essence Absolue Nourishing Protective Oil is just what my hair needed. Between highlights and low-lights, using Ion Hard Water Shampoo and Ion Crystal Clarifying Treatments, my hair has never been so dry!

Essence Absolue is an oil that intensely hydrates dry and damaged hair, adds protection during color application and shine with a UV protector. As soon as I roll out of bed in the morning, I use a dime size amount and work it through my hair. I let it soak in while eating breakfast and then shampoo it out in the shower. I can tell an immediate difference after using this. My hair is soft and healthy looking, and it adds a nice shine to my strands.

You can use this daily, but I only use it 2-3 times a week and see results. It smells like camellia petals, aka flowers. It's $65 a bottle, which is definitely pricey, but if you have severely damaged hair, it would be a good investment buy.

Take Care of Your Hair - Conditioning Treatments

Is the cold air taking a toll on your hair? Highlights/lowlights drying your hair out? I've recently become obsessed with deep hair conditioning treatments. Here are a few that I like:

Ojon Restorative Leave-in Treatments for Color

Hands down the best smelling hair product out there. It's hard to describe, it's very unique scent has an almond-esque scent. I use this on my wet hair before blow drying and adding straightening products. A little goes a long way, I use just a nickel-size amount and spread through my hair, and then run through my hair with a comb to help distribute. My hair looked a lot less dry after styling and straightening and it had a nice shine to it. Added bonus: the scent lasts until the end of the day.
The best price I found for this product is at Sephora.com and Amazon.com for $29.

H2pro Silk

I use this on the ends of my hair, and then comb through, before blow-drying. I wait a few minutes to let it soak in and then I blow dry. H2pro Silk provides a silkier finish to my hair. Infused with Jojoba Hydrolyzing Crystals, it also helps to hydrate as well as protect hair from heat. Protection from heat is important to me since I blow dry and flat iron my hair every day.

The best price I found for this product is at HairProductsPro.com for $13.

Belengenza

EnCore Leave-in Conditioner ($23) by Belengenza is another favorite. I can use it before blow-drying and it doesn't weigh down my hair or leave it greasy at all. I even use it with Belengenza RoMANce Deep Conditioning Treatment ($32) in the shower and my hair still has tons of body after styling.

Hair Break - White Sands Porosity

If you color or bleach your hair like I do, you'll understand how dry it can get. My hair gets really dry, especially from the well water at my house, so it's a constant struggle to keep my hair looking healthy. I've had the chance to try Porosity and really liked the way it made my hair look and feel after styling.

Porosity works like a foundation or a concealer to temporarily fill the blemishes in every strand and create the impression of illuminating, flawless hair. It has multiple usages, so refer to the pro formulas for chemical and salon services.

Porosity is categorized as a 'treatment' on the White Sands websites, but I use it before and after styling and it gives my hair a healthy shine. I use about 8-10 sprays in my hand and run it through my hair (I have pretty short hair so I don't need a lot). I make sure to comb my hair after apply to evenly distribute it. After drying, I use it as a gloss to add some shine to my hair and to tame my fly-aways and frizz. I love this spray, especially to use after it rains and there's a lot of humidity in the air.

Hair Product Break - RSessions Pin Up Girl Kit

With RSessions Pin Up Girl Kit anyone is able to create runway ready chignons, ponytails, and voluminous hairstyles at home! The chic and trés portable kit includes the appropriate, hard to find pins, elastics, clips, styling brush, and the all important hair bun, in an easy-to-carry and easy-to-pack bag, along with a step by step instruction booklet. Available in brown, black and blond, and priced at $21.99, this is an item that you can’t afford not to own!

Top New York based hairstylists and creators of RSession Tools, Kevin Ryan and Frank Rizzieri are no strangers to the catwalks and red carpets, working with top celebrities, designers and models for over 20 years. The RSessions Pin Up Girl Kit is the first product of the duo’s Runway Series which was created to give everyone their ‘secrets’ and the ability to create trendy styles on their own for a fraction of the cost of going to a salon.

R Sessions Pin Up Girl Kit is $21.99. Available at www.RSessionTools.com, www.Rickys-nyc.com; Rizzieri Salons Ricky’s NYC Store Locations and East Coast Salon Services.

Haircare Break - Steam Creams & Oils

This system was the answer to my dry hair's prayers! The "Steam' Healthy Hair System" is an original specialized 3-part system formulated to keep your scalp and hair healthy. This ultra conditioning and nourishing treatment starts with the "Steam' Scalp Oil" #1 and #2, applied at the root to create a healthy foundation for the hair to grow. The "Steam' Hair Oil" #3 is a unique blend of all natural oils formulated specially for each part of the hair strand, designed to mend split ends while and adding lots of shine. The "Steam' Supplement" #4 is an ingestible capsule that works from within by providing internal nutritional support.

When all 4 steps are used together, "Steam' health Hair system" will provide vitality, better elasticicy, reduced shedding, and lost of gorgeous shine and manageability.

I tried all 3 oils and they worked really well. Our house has hard water and was drying my hair out really bad. I also have high lights, which doesn't help with the dryness. I would leave the oils on for about 20 minutes before showering. They have an aromatherapy scent which is very tranquil and relaxing. It was kind of like brining a spa into my home! My hair was noticeably softer after the first use.

Secret tip: The oils work wonder on cuticles too!