Hair Transformations + Recovery
Thanks to Pantene for sponsoring this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
My hair is no stranger to a major makeover. Ever since my early teen years, I’ve done drastic changes to my hair looks - some just to shake things up and experiment with my style, and others to symbolize and reflect major moments of personal change and growth (and, let’s be honest - serious break ups!) It all started with my tween adventures with "Sun In," followed by my first time getting salon color when I was 13, to many, many variations of at-home manic panic -- all before I left LA for college in NYC. My hair was relatively strong and resilient, but I really pushed it to its limits.
As much as I love playing with different hairstyles, cuts, and colors, it’s no secret that bleaching and heat styling can take a major toll on hair health. Especially once I hit my 20s. I went from dark black, purple, and navy blue ombre hair to red in a single color correction sitting, (yes, it took the entire day, and yes, my hair had to be bleached multiple times in one session). From that gingery-red, I went blonde, and through a period of double-processing (bleaching + coloring) my hair that was so severe and damaging, that entire chunks of my hair broke off. (Check my IG Reel for a little photo chronology). To combat that damage, I ended up getting bonded hair extensions, which truly exacerbated the damage and pulled my hair out from the root. It took years of growth and treatment to recover my hair health to get it back to its original state. Now, my hair not only looks shinier and healthier, but is also growing at a normal pace.
But with healthier hair, I’ve finally felt like I’m at a place where I can “start over,” with a much gentler and more cautious approach! My hair is now mostly it’s natural dark-brown black, and last year I added a bit of balayage to the lengths of my hair. I wash my hair no more than 2-3 times a week and try to keep heat styling to a minimum.
My at-home haircare routine has been taken up a notch recently with the new Pantene Miracle Rescue Collection — a deep conditioning treatment that you can do at home with the same results as a $60 salon treatment. It targets extreme damage (think split or broken ends, excessive drying from heat styling or coloring), and makes hair look visibly healthier from roots to ends. Pairing the Miracle Rescue Intense Rescue Shot ampoules with the Pantene Miracle Rescue Deep Conditioning Treatment has made my hair noticeably shinier, bouncier, and grow faster (something really striking considering the glacial pace my hair was growing at during my years of being a platinum blonde!). For days where I'm heat styling, I add extra protection to my freshly-washed hair with Pantene Miracle Rescue 10-In-1 Multitasking Leave-In Spray; it provides heat protection, color protection, UV light protection, and also repairs, detangles, and moisturizes hair.
Looking back, I'm pretty sure my "favorite" hair color and style is whatever I'm rocking in that moment, but I think I can objectively say my current look is my favorite. My hair feels healthy, shiny, strong and since it's the closest to my natural hair, it also feels the most "me!" I'm so happy with my hair journey and that I'm able to keep up my hair maintenance and deep treatments without having to pay the price as frequently! I am #ReadyForMore low maintenance, high glam realness!
You can find the Pantene Miracle Collection in-store and online at Pantene HERE!
