I have had damaged and dry hair since I was 16 because that is when I decided that dying it was the best solution for me long term. After numerous different DIY dye jobs and all sorts of different colours and highlights I had to come to terms with hair that felt like a lifeless pile of hay. Everytime I washed and shampooed my hair after that it would feel sticky when it was wet and that is the number one sign that your hair is almost lifeless. If it wasn’t for conditioner, I would have had to make hats a permanent part of my everyday attire.

Every single hairdresser I go to I hear the same thing – “Your hair is very dry, you need treatment!”

Now this ‘sales’ job worked on me oh maybe the first 15 times I heard it and would be followed by a $200 -$300 treatment with me feeling a sigh of relief afterwards because I would feel like I did the deed which would repair my hair forever. To my dismay all those treatments lasted until the first wash and my uber tired hair would hang lifeless again, with the addition of more flyways than before.

I was growing more and more frustrated with hairdressers who couldn’t recommend a good product for my hair and with spending money on stuff that didn’t work.

Then one of my friends got me hooked on Youtube tutorial videos for makeup. I was watching the now famous Blair from Elle and Blair. Blair has a lot of tutorial videos on how to create make up looks and has fantastic long dark brown hair similar in thickness to mine. I found a video of her doing a hair treatment routine online and although I don’t follow all the steps, I found that the key product she uses is Joico. 

JOICO prices range from mid to high and this brand is considered a salon only brand. Recently I’ve been seeing their products in Woolworths. ( I know the Haircare buyer has been wanting to get her hands on the premium haircare brands for some time, so I am not surprised by this development.)

Here is my hair routine now (which I try to keep up even though it means time in the shower increases by double, but this has been doing wonders for my hair):

Step1. Shampoo with JOICO Moisture Recovery Shampoo for dry hair ( If you are at the very first stage of repairing your dry damaged hair). Make sure you wash the shampoo off and re-apply once again carefully massaging the scalp as only with the 2nd wash do all the oils and dirt actually clean off your hair properly. (This is a good tip I picked up from a friend whose husband is a superb hairdresser.)

I have replaced this step now with JOICO Daily Care Balancing Shampoo for normal hair.

It’s so nice to be able to classify my hair as ‘normal’ again and not just dry! If you have thick long hair, these steps will fix up your dryness issues guaranteed!

Step 2. Condition with JOICO Moisture Recovery Conditioner for dry hair. Leave in for 2-3 minutes before rinsing. Make sure you condition the length of the hair and not the scalp (especially if you have oily roots and dry ends). After 2-3 minutes rinse. You will already feel your hair feeling silky smooth. Wait what happens next!

Step 3. Apply the JOICO Moisture Recovery Treatment Balm for Thick/Coarse hair. Leave in for 5 minutes. Again remember to apply more to the ends and not the roots and massage through the length of your hair. You don’t need a lot as the balm is quite thick but make sure it covers most of the length of your hair well so it feels quite buttery. The Balm itself is quite butter-like in consistency which is what helps lock all that moisture in your hair.

Step 4. Once you’ve rinsed off the treatment balm. Towel dry your hair and dry with a hairdryer until hair is just a bit damp.

From here, apply CHI (Cationic Hydration Interlink) just to the palm of your hand in a size of a 20c coin. Rub between your hands and spread evenly through the ends of your hair (not the roots). This is an oil (similar to Moroccan/Argan oil), but I find this one to be less greasy on the hair or the hands and it also provides heat protection for the hair when you are blow drying it.

I’ll show you the consistency of each of the products here:

The Shampoo -
The normal hair shampoo is a typical shampoo consistency and this one is clear. The dry hair one is more like a cream/moisturiser as it’s got more oils for very dry hair. That’s why its really powerful against fly aways and damaged hair.

The Conditioner -

Somewhere in consistency between body moisturiser and body butter. It’s a moisturiser for you hair really. Both the dry hair shampoo and the dry hair conditioner smell the same – not overpowering, but fragranced.

The Treatment Balm -

As you can tell by the bottle, highly overused by me! But I swear by this product. Even if you can’t get the shampoo and conditioner, I would recommend using this product above all. You know that feeling when you’ve just conditioned your hair and it feels soft and sleek under water just as you’re rinsing the remains of the conditioner off – quadrouple that feeling if you’re using this product.

The Nourishing Oil -

Oil is oil, it looks and feels like oil but when you put it in your hair, the lightness of it is quite surprising.

Step 5. After you’ve dried your hair abit more, apply the JOICO K-PAK Reconstruct, Liquid Reconstructor for dry hair. This one is a leave-in reconstructive liquid protein spray and is recommended to give hair back it’s strength, shine and support. I don’t always follow this step but I am sure once you layer it all up it helps. So take this one as optional.

Step 6. Dry your hair completely or leave a bit damp to dry naturally (always a better option). After a couple of washes you will start seeing significant results. I would recommend to follow this routine maticulously in the first month and make sure you don’t dye your hair in between to avoid further damage.

So here are my hero products from JOICO all ligned up and ready to go.

I haven’t had any problems with dryness since using these products but am very causious of dye damaging hair (greatly so, from my experience).

The JOICO shampoo and conditioner 300ml can be bought for RRP $19.99

The Treatmetn balm is RRP $22

CHI oil RRP $27.99

K-Pak Liquid reconstructor RRP $27.99

I will later post about how to colour your hair the natural way – especially if you’re worried about over-drying and damage the chemical dyes do to your  hair.

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*Header image courtesy of Joico UK web page