My July Hair Rescue: Head & Shoulders, Argan Oil and Lowering My Expectations

My July hair routine currently consists of two things:

Head & Shoulders and argan oil.

That’s it. That’s the headline. We can all go home. 😂

Okay, there’s slightly more to it than that.

Summer and my hair have a complicated relationship. In my head, summer hair is glossy, effortless and gently tousled by a warm breeze.

In reality?

Humidity.

Frizz.

Dry ends.

A scalp that apparently has its own seasonal agenda.

And the occasional moment where I look in the mirror and wonder why my hair has doubled in width since leaving the house.

So this July, I’m not chasing perfect hair.

I’m concentrating on a happy scalp and healthier-looking lengths.

And surprisingly, my current little combination is working rather nicely.

First: Head & Shoulders

Sometimes beauty blogging makes us feel like everything in our routine needs to be new, fancy or packaged in a bottle that would look beautiful next to a peony.

Meanwhile, I’m over here enjoying Head & Shoulders.

And I’m perfectly happy about it.

For me, a good hair day starts with the scalp.

There’s very little point putting seventeen beautiful styling products through the lengths if what’s happening at the roots isn’t working for me.

This July, I’ve been reaching for Head & Shoulders because I want my hair to feel properly clean and fresh.

Nothing particularly complicated.

It does the job I want it to do.

And sometimes that’s exactly what makes a product earn a permanent place in the bathroom.

Then Comes the Argan Oil

If Head & Shoulders is taking care of business at the top, argan oil is looking after the other end.

My lengths and ends can start looking thirsty remarkably quickly.

Heat styling doesn’t help.

Neither does sunshine.

And I’m fairly certain my habit of repeatedly touching my hair throughout the day isn’t contributing anything useful either.

A little argan oil through the lengths gives me that smoother, shinier finish I’m after without requiring an entire salon routine.

The important word here is:

little.

I have learned this lesson.

Argan oil is one of those products where there’s a fine line between:

Ohhh, look how glossy my hair is.

and:

Why does it look like I haven’t washed my hair since Easter?

😂

Start small.

You can always add more.

Scalp Care + Length Care Makes Sense to Me

I’ve become much more interested in treating different areas of my hair according to what they actually need.

My scalp doesn’t necessarily want what my ends want.

My roots want to feel clean and fresh.

My lengths want moisture.

My ends want me to apologise for everything I’ve ever done to them.

Fair enough.

So rather than searching for one miracle product that’s supposed to do absolutely everything, I’m enjoying this simple little division of labour:

Head & Shoulders → scalp and cleanse.

Argan oil → lengths, ends and shine.

Simple.

I’m Also Using Less Heat

Or at least I’m trying to.

Let’s not make promises we can’t keep.

July is a good excuse to give my hair a bit of a break from constant styling.

If it’s going into a ponytail anyway, do I really need to straighten every single strand first?

Probably not.

If I’m wearing it up, can I let it dry more naturally?

Often, yes.

And if the humidity is going to undo forty minutes of styling approximately seven seconds after I step outside…

Perhaps we accept defeat before the battle begins.

I’m calling that personal growth.

The Argan Oil Finishing Trick

One of my favourite ways to use argan oil is as the final step rather than drowning my hair in it beforehand.

Once my hair is dry and styled, I use a tiny amount, warm it between my hands and lightly smooth it through the lengths and ends.

That’s usually enough to add shine and calm things down.

And if my hair is looking particularly dry between washes, I’ll sometimes add another tiny touch to the ends.

Again:

tiny.

We respect the oil.

Summer Hair Doesn’t Have to Be Perfect

I think this is the biggest change in my July routine.

I’m not trying to force my hair into looking exactly the same every day.

Some days it’s smooth.

Some days it’s wavy.

Some days it’s clipped up.

Some days the weather has made an executive decision on my behalf.

And that’s okay.

I’m much more interested in whether it feels healthy and whether I’m comfortable with it than whether every strand is behaving.

Sometimes the Boring Products Are the Good Ones

There’s also something quite refreshing about rediscovering products that aren’t necessarily this week’s viral beauty obsession.

Head & Shoulders isn’t a new discovery.

Argan oil certainly isn’t.

But they’re in my July routine because I’m actually using them.

And that’s becoming a bit of a theme around here.

I’m increasingly interested in the products that survive beyond the initial excitement.

The bottle you replace when it’s empty.

The product you notice when you forget to use it.

The thing that quietly becomes part of your routine without needing a TikTok trend to remind you it exists.

Those are the products I want to talk about more.

My July Hair Formula

So right now, things are wonderfully uncomplicated:

Clean scalp.

Conditioned hair.

Less unnecessary heat.

A little argan oil through the ends.

And considerably lower expectations when humidity arrives.

😂

It might not be the most elaborate hair routine I’ve ever had.

But right now?

My hair seems happy.

And so am I.

Love,
Hayls x