Must-Have Clips and Heat Protectant Tips From a Professional Hairstylist

Today we’re going to talk hair. More specifically, Shawn is back to talk about her favorite hair clips & her best heat protection tips.

Shawn does my hair a lot & is just a master at her craft. She’s been on the blog before ( check out her beachy-waves how to & how to do a chic ponytail here ) & today she’s back sharing more of her professional tips. I’m going to throw in my 2 cents along the way so I can share with you guys why I love these things too.

Let’s get right into it…

Heyyyyy guys! Shawn here! I’ve been styling Lauryn’s hair now for…5 years??? Maybe 6? I’m located in San Diego but love getting to go up to LA to style her up there. Of course I’m here to talk about something hair related. Which I love doing. I love giving easy tricks and tips with hair. So, I’m gonna talk about a few of my favorite hair clips and also some tips on heat protectant and recommend some good deep conditioning treatments you can do at home.

So I have clips everywhere. Like EVERYWHERE. Literally. In my purse, my car, my makeup bag, gym bag, and sometimes without noticing, clipped on my sleeve lol. So here’s a little info about a few and what they’re good for.

♡ ALLIGATOR CLIPS

MY FAV. These are great when sectioning your hair to blow dry and style. But what they are the best for is a sleep bun! I wear my hair up in one of these EVERY NIGHT. The gentle yet sturdy grip helps hold your hair up without leaving any dents while you sleep or just want your hair out of your face. Rubber bands leave dents. I tell all of my clients who want to preserve their blowout and style to sleep with their hair up in a loose bun with one of these.

Lauryn: These are also a ride or die for me. I’m obsessed with them. Seriously though, if I didn’t wear my nightly sleep bun, my hair sucks. The sleep bun’s a top knot bun that you wear on top of the head with a big-ass alligator clip. It has to be at the very, very top of the head. ( Click here for a video tutorial ). The sleep bun creates that hippie, effortless, not too overdone, SWOON hair. Because in my opinion, overly curled hair is OUCHHHHHH.

♡ PIN CURL CLIP

These are great for holding your Velcro rollers in place and setting a blowout. Also if your hair doesn’t hold curl well, set each curl with one of these to let them cool in the curled position. Let them set while you do your makeup. It also looks kinda old school glam too.

♡ SILVER BARRETTES

Pretty sure we’ve all worn these. Hello 90’s middle parted hair vibe. I love that these are making a comeback. So cute. We recently used these on a look for Lauryn and it so fun and youthful. I also think they are the perfect addition to a high bun or braid. I just got rose gold ones and I’m obsessed.

Lauryn: I’m loving that these are coming back in style too. It’s nice to wear your hair down but still be able to keep it out of your face in a stylish way. Big fan of these old school snap clips.

♡ NO CREASE CLIPS

This is a celebrity hairstyling tool that leaves no crease, no mark, and no bend when keeping the hair out of the face. You can use them when putting your own makeup on or getting your makeup done. They also help control those stubborn fly-aways along the hairline. I use these on my brides all the time. Plus they look chic AF.

Lauryn: These are cute silicone clips that you can pin your hair back with so you don’t get makeup in your hair, or hair in your makeup. Turns out though they’re like bobby pins- you lose them frequently, so buy a pack of like, 10. Also, you should know I prefer the pink, black, white set because it’s very The Skinny Confidential-esque. Always trying to keep it on brand.

Let’s talk hair & heat.

So basically everyone colors their hair these days & almost everyone uses a hot tool on their hair too. And don’t forget about the weather- all which can make your hair feel dry. Here are a few tips for protecting your hair against heat, keeping it soft and giving it some TLC.

♡ GET A GOOD LEAVE IN HEAT PROTECTOR.

A pre styling one. Use after you towel dry you hair. Spray throughout. They’re usually lightweight so you don’t have to worry about having it weigh your hair down. My fav is Prep Rally and Hot Toddy by Drybar.

Lauryn: I absolutely LOVE heat protector. It’s like… you have to have one. Not only do I love a protectant I love a finishing spray. Specifically this one. First of all, this makes your hair smell amazing. Secondly, The best thing about this product though is that it sort of gives waves with that chic, edgy vibe. It’s hard to explain but it takes the 4-year-old curl out of the equation. Basically makes the curls less precious? My waves DO NOT LOOK the same without this product. After waves are added to my hair I add this thick dry finishing spray to complete the look. I spray it about 6 inches from my hair & kind of shake up the hair. If you’re curious about more hair details: sex pot curl breakdown here, video tutorial here.

♡ ROUGH DRY OR LET YOUR HAIR PARTLY AIR DRY.

Do this, then when you start to blow dry it’s important to focus the heat away from your scalp, towards the ends of your hair. Blow drying toward the scalp will open the cuticle and leave your hair feeling damaged, flat, and brittle.

Lauryn: I think this is such a good tip because it really helps reduce damage done to your hair.

♡ TEMPERATURE OF IRONS.

You don’t need to crank it up all the way. Especially if your hair is on the fragile side. Always make sure you have tools that have temperature settings.

When dry styling hair make sure to use a dry style heat protectant. These come out aerosol so you spray each section you’re about to either curl or straighten. Hot Toddy (the mist) by Drybar and Hot off the Press by Paul Mitchell are great.

♡ DEEP CONDITIONING TREATMENTS.

Everyone needs them and everyone should do them. I do one on my hair every month. After you wash your hair, towel dry it then comb through the conditioning treatment. Leave it in while you shave your legs then rinse. But when you want extra hair love I say clip it up and grab a robe or towel, leave in for 30 mins while you watch a show, then rinse. Your hair will love you. A few of my favs are Moroccan Oil Intense Moisture Mask, Alterna Caviar Mask, Amika Soul Food and Oribe Signature Masque.

Lauryn here again, the only thing I want to add to this post is that if you’re blonde, you need a purple shampoo. BECAUSE we need to get it icy…you know like cool-toned, icy.

We can throw this back to my high school days when my blonde was BRASSY. If you’re a blonde you know the struggle is real here. Or maybe you’re brunette & you have blonde highlights. Regardless there’s nothing- AND I MEAN NOTHING- worse than when blonde hair goes yellow & brassy. You know I hate brass. I like ‘cool’ when it comes to my hair. dpHue has amazing blonde shampoo & conditioner– if we’re being real, I never wash my hair so I use it twice a week. It makes all the difference. For more blonde hair care tips, check out this post.

I hope you guys loved all of Shawn’s latest favorites. She knows her shit.

Be sure to follow her on Instagram.

x, lauryn

+ If you loved this post, check out how to get sex kitten curls here.

++ If you’re thinking of switching up your hair style check out this post.

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