how ANYONE can get long, thick and shiny hair (my science-backed routine)

My hair is completely slang. And this is not by accident. If your hair looks dull, frizzy, or just refuses to grow past a certain length, I need you to hear this. It is not your genetics. It's not that you don't have good hair. It's because nobody taught you the actual science of how hair works. And I'm speaking from experience. My hair used to be completely fried, like absolutely destroyed because I bleached my hair and dyed it to bits for years. And it just kept breaking off. So, I could never grow it out. I had a permanent bob because my hair would just snap before it could get any longer. So, if you have super fried, bleach damaged hair from years of bleaching. I'm sorry, but you need to give your hair a break. It did take me a while to go from fried bleach bob to butt length silky natural hair, but I did it. I'm going to share everything that I do to maintain my hair right now. I don't even go to hair salons. I don't spend a lot of money on products. Most of what I use is from drugstores, and my hair is the healthiest it's ever been, ever. But to set your expectations straight, everything that makes hair look like TV commercials is chemistry, styling, and very good lighting. I promise nobody wakes up looking like that. And no natural coconut oil avocado mask is going to give you those results. Believe me, I went down that whole rabbit hole. I even tried all kinds of expensive clean beauty products. It still didn't work as well for me as the chemicals. Maybe if you have high paracity hair, it might be different. Let me know in the comments. But everyone's hair is different. So you need to know about your hair type and your paracity, all of it. But here's what's also true. Anyone can have healthy shiny hair with the right interventions. Let me show you exactly how I do it. So let's talk about what healthy hair actually looks like because most people are going after the wrong things. Healthy hair is not about your length of your hair. It's more about your ends, your cuticle behavior, and also the health of your scalp. And believe it or not, your water. Having silky, shiny hair is all about matching the right chemistry to your hair type. There are 10 hair types in total in different forms of straight, wavy, and curly. My hair happens to be straight. And here's what people subconsciously notice when they look at beautiful hair. The ends look sealed. They're not too wispy or translucent, see-through. There is no frizz. The strands fall together as one sheet instead of flowing all over the place. And there's minimal tangling. The hair moves together. This is cuticle alignment and you can control this. If you're someone who's trying to build a better version of yourself, whether that's physically, mentally, or spiritually, make sure you subscribe to my channel because it's what this entire channel is about. My community is called Stoic Angels, and we're all about transforming ourselves. Our mindset, our identity, glow up, all of it. This video also has chapters and timestamps, so you can skip to whichever section you need to. And I also made a free hair guide PDF to accompany this video, so you can download that in the description box. I will also link every single product that I mentioned in the description so you can find it easily. Now, let's break down my exact routine. Tip number one is how to properly dry your hair. This is something that most people get wrong and it affects everything else. I highly prefer air drying if I'm not immediately going to sleep. And wet hair while you sleep will ruin your hair the next day, by the way. But here's what you need to understand about hair drying. The shape of your hair, how it sits when it's wet will determine the hair that you end up with when it's dry. So, if you don't comb or style your hair before it dries, you're going to end up with whatever it looked like when it was wet, which may include flyaways and an undefined frizzy texture, which I get sometimes when I don't do that, where your hair just kind of poofs up in weird areas instead of laying smooth. Sometimes that happens to my bangs. So, what I do is comb through my hair while it's still damp with the correct brush and make sure it's laying the way that I want it. And then I let it air dry. This sets the shape and it keeps everything smooth and aligned. But if you want to use a hair dryer, please use a heat protectant spray thoroughly. Like literally saturate your hair with it. Cheese silk infusion has been my go-to for heat protection for years. It creates a barrier between your hair and the heat so you're not just frying your strands directly. Tip number two, minimize heat damage. So, let's talk about these heat tools in general because this is probably what damage your hair in the first place most likely. And there are different types of hair styling tools, some of which may damage your hair more than others. And obviously, we don't want to damage our hair, so we should go for the other ones. I know that using traditional flat or curling irons can be super satisfying, but also terrifying because we're basically cooking our hair. And god forbid you use these things while your hair is wet. So, if you don't want frizzy, damaged hair, girl, don't do it. We have to be so careful with heat damage, especially with those irons, because it's literally deep frying your hair, which then puts you in this vicious cycle where you want to rely on the heat to have shiny hair, but then the heat also fries your hair up even more. So, I try to avoid heat as much as possible. And there is just so much better ways to go about this. For a long time, I was using the Dyson Air Wrap for blowouts, and people rave about it a lot. It cost over $600, by the way. And to me, it is just not worth it for how much it costs because I don't find it to be very powerful. And this is the real tea, okay? It just doesn't style my hair while it's wet. So, I found much better alternatives. I recently got my hands on the Dreamy Air Style Pro. They're the sponsor of this video. And I love this because it works beautifully like it's supposed to because my hair does not go flat after an hour like it does with the Dyson. And I think it's much easier and faster to use and it's a third of the price. So, with the Dreamy Airststyle Pro, instead of relying on extreme heat, it uses high-speed airflow. It has a really powerful 110,000 RPM motor, meaning your hair dries super fast. And then you're drying and you're styling it at the same time without destroying your hair. The auto wrap barrel literally grabs your hair on its own, even when it's wet. I just hold it near the root. It wraps in 1 second and hold for 10 seconds. Hit the cool shot button to lock it in, and then voila. Look at that bounce. No clamping, no twisting, and I don't burn myself like with a traditional iron. There's also built-in temperature monitoring that checks the heat 300 times per second, which means way less damage. I can get blow drying and hair styling done in like 15 minutes tops, and my hair feels soft and smooth afterwards, and there's no burning smell. This comes with seven different attachments that just snap on magnetically. So whether I want a sleek blowout or bouncy curls or smooth volume, it just does everything. I saved so much money not having to go to the salon. I also have a discount code for the Dreamy Air Style Pro linked in the description box below. If you want to style your hair fast without heat damage, then this tool is perfect for you. Tip number three, understand pH and why it matters. Your hair generally prefers a slightly acidic environment. We're talking about pH 4.5 to 5.5. So, when your hair is an acidic conditions, the cuticle lays flat. But when it's in alkaline conditions, your cuticle is going to lift up. And lifted cuticle equals frizz, tangled hair, dullness. So what does this mean practically? It means acidic treatments work. Apple cider vinegar rinses for example, glycolic acid sculpt treatments, acid balance shampoos and hair conditioners. I also do DIY at home hair laminations every 3 days or so, which temporarily seals the cuticle, reduces water swelling cycles, and it improves how light reflects off of your hair. This is a huge game changer for me. Especially if you know me and my hair really well, and you can see that this is truly the best my hair has ever looked. And this is all chemistry and it works. I love this product that I use in the shower. It's by L'Oreal Els or the Elvive line. You can find it at drugstores. It only takes about 8 seconds for it to work and then you rinse it off after shampoo. Which leads me to tip number four. Drugstore beats luxury. I know this may sound backwards, but hear me out. For dry, silky, low paracity hair, drugstore formulas often work way better than expensive, clean products. Why is that? Because drugstore brands use effective surfectants, silicones, and conditioning polymers. The clean beauty and all natural stuff often skips all of these ingredients that actually smooths out your cuticle. And let me just tell you this clearly, silicones are not the enemy. Even professional salon treatments will use the same ingredients. So what it does is it coats the hair. It reduces friction and creates shine. So stop being afraid of them. And of course you do whatever you like according to your beliefs, but for me I prefer drugstore chemicals. And the results speak for themselves. Tip number five, rotate your shampoos. Do not just marry one bottle of shampoos. I constantly am rotating between three types of shampoos. And here are the actual products I use first. So, like I mentioned before, I love the L'Oreal Elsev or Alvivve line because it's relatively cheap and it's super effective. That is my go-to for most days. And then second, I use a tea tree peppermint shampoo once every two to three days or so to prevent dandruff and encourage hair growth. And the tingling sensation from the tea tree oil and the peppermint also just feels really nice on the scalp and it also helps with circulation. I literally just buy mine from Trader Joe's. And then third, and this may surprise you, I use a shampoo from Cos RX. Yes, it's the same snail mucin K beauty brand, but apparently they have hair products now. I actually really love this formulation for clarifying my hair. It leathers on really nicely. Just a bit of product. It smells really good. It literally reminds me of hair salon shampoo but much cheaper. and I have the entire line from step one to set three. I buy that one from Yes Style. And again, I link all of my products in the description. And for Yes Style specifically, I have a 15% off discount code. I also wash my hair very frequently, pretty much every day. And I know some people think that that's bad, but for my hair type, it's very necessary because humidity plus oil buildup flattens my roots and really gets my scalp very dirty and it makes my hair greasy. If I don't shower for 2 days, my scalp is going to get flaky. and low paracity hair specifically repels water but traps buildup. So a clean scalp actually creates a better growth environment for my hair. It's been very thoroughly researched that your scalp hygiene directly impacts your hair growth. Tip number six, check your water. This one is huge and I don't really hear people talking about this. Hard water deposits calcium and magnesium onto your hair and the minerals prevent your conditioner from actually binding to your strands. They increase friction. They cause dullness and tangling. So if you live in an old building with aging pipes, it's probably even worse. Back when I used to live in New York, the water pipes were horrible because my building is really old. And old buildings, especially in older cities, is super common. It made such a difference in my hair and not in a good way. This might sound weird, but I tend to notice the hard water, especially in cities where the water supply has to travel a really long way and it basically collects sediments along the way all the way into your shower. And then there are certain cities that have amazing water like Tokyo for example, Eastanul. When I was in Bulgaria, the water was amazing. But the chances are if you're in an old building that hasn't been renovated for a long time, you might benefit from this fix. And the solution is simple. will just install a shower filter and replace it every 6 months. I get mine from Amazon. It costs about $ 20 to $30. And this alone can completely transform your hair. I'm not even kidding. Tip number seven, apply products the right way. Always start at the ends and then work your way upwards. Never pile product on your scalp. Why is that? Your ends are the oldest and the most damaged part of your hair. They need the most attention. Your scalp does not need to be coated in conditioner that just causes follicle congestion and buildup and limp roots. So whenever I apply conditioner treatments, serums, anything like that, I always start from the ends first and then work my way up. I'm always making sure that my ends are moisturized first. And this rule is completely non-negotiable. And as for serums, I use a silicone hair serum from Yes Style. I find that Japanese silicone hair products specifically are the absolute goat. I'm also a huge fan of Japanese hair styling products. I just don't find them to be as damaging to the hair. Tip number eight, use two brushes. I use a detangling brush and a bore bristle brush and they serve completely different purposes. So, the detangling brush prevents mechanical breakage on wet or fragile hair. Some of you may be surprised that I brush my hair while it's wet. Most people say that you're not supposed to, but not if you use a detangling brush specifically built for that. And then the bore bristle brush distributes your natural sibbum from your scalp to your ends. It smooths the cuticle and enhances shine without adding more product. Basically, that means if you start combing from the root of your hair with a bore bristle hair brush and you comb all the way down, you're basically spreading the natural oils of your hair. So, you don't even need to use that much hair product. But I also use this to spread my hair products evenly and to distribute the moisture from top to bottom. Always making sure that my tip is getting what it needs. Sometimes I use them both in the same session. But basically my routine is detangle first and then finish off with a bore bristle to polish it off and your hair is going to look completely different. Tip number nine, scalp care is everything. Your scalp health controls everything downstream. So if your scalp is congested, inflamed or clogged or flaky, your hair cannot thrive. I wash it frequently, especially in humid weather because otherwise my hair starts getting really gross. And I use a silicone scalp massager twice a day. Once in the mornings and once whenever I shower, when I shampoo, I use the massager to really clean my scalp and get all of the buildup out. Scalp massages also improve circulation, which helps your hair grow. It helps products penetrate better and it also reduces all of the sibbum that's up here. There's also actually research showing that scalp massage can increase hair thickness. This is such a simple practice, but most people skip it. A scalp massager only costs a couple of bucks, and I'm telling you, this little tool makes a huge difference. Tip number 10, minoxidol for hairline density. So, this part is optional and definitely not necessary for everyone, but I still want to share it anyway because it helps thicken my hair. I use 5% minoxidol. You can get it on Amazon as well. I started using it because I wanted to fill in the sides of my hairline where it was looking a little sparse. And after about 8 months of applying it almost every day, I have baby hairs growing now where there weren't baby hairs before, which is crazy. So, this does take a while, but at least I don't have to fly to Turkey, right? Minoxidol was originally a blood pressure medication, and they discovered that it also stimulates hair growth as a side effect. It increases blood flow to the follicles, and it also extends the growth phase of your hair cycle. It is FDA approved. And the thing is, you have to be consistent about it. If you stop using it, the new growth can actually fall out. So, it's a commitment. I apply it to my scalp in the mornings and let it just dry and that's it. Totally optional, but it's something that I do. Your hair can be healthy and beautiful without this, but if thinning edges or sparse hairline bothers you, this actually has some science and research behind it. Tip number 11, getting the right haircut. This matters more than most people think. For low paracity straight hair, the best cuts are blunt cuts, soft U-shapes or long layers with minimal texturing. I get micro trims every few months, not even. And I also do it myself. But what you want to avoid is razor cuts, over thinning your hair, and excessive feathering. These destroy the illusion of density. Your hair will look thinner even if it's not. Unless you're going for the wolf cut and you're willing to style it frequently. And I know that the wolf cut is really popular. You can also benefit from finding a stylist who understands that style and also understands your hair because one bat haircut can set you back for months. So all of these things are what I do. And it's the truth that silky hair is maintained. It is chemistry, water quality, friction control, and consistency. If I didn't do like five of those steps, I would not have this hair. Pretty hair is intentional. You don't need good jeans or spend a lot of money to get it. All you have to do is to understand the science and be consistent about it. That's it. I literally went from a fried bleach bob that wouldn't grow past my chin to butt length healthy hair. If I can do it, so can you. Don't forget to download the free hair guide PDF in the description box. And check out all of the products I mentioned. They're all linked below. I believe in you, Angel. You got this. If you hear this point, comment. I will get my hair glow up and I will affirm that together with you. and I will see you in the next video. Bye.

my no salon hair glow-up! 💜 get the Dreame Airstyle Pro: https://bit.ly/MaeDreameairsytlepro with my discount MAE26AP (save extra on top of the 40% off deal) 💇‍♀️ DOWNLOAD my FREE hair guide: https://bcns.link/flLeoW 🌸 ALL HAIR PRODUCTS MENTIONED in video: https://shopmy.us/collections/public/3828124 🪽 shop my merch: https://shop.stoicangels.com 💌 stoic angels newsletter: https://maealicesuzuki.eo.page 🔹join my summer group trip to Greece! closing early applications end of this month: https://maealicesuzuki.com 🌸 support the channel: https://patreon.com/maealicesuzuki https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHQ0GPGhqjinKm-Y9DLC3hw/join 🦋 follow me on my socials: https://instagram.com/maealicesuzuki https://tiktok.com/@maealiccesuzuki https://twitter.com/maealicesuzuki https://discord.gg/AHPZWV4aZk 📖 chapters: 0:00 - how i did it 1:43 - what healthy hair looks like 3:04 - tip 1 how to properly dry hair 4:13 - tip 2 do not use this technique 6:47 - tip 3 understanding pH 7:55 - tip 4 good hair products 8:47 - tip 5 rotate this product 10:24 - tip 6 this can silently ruin your hair 11:37 - tip 7 apply products correctly 12:30 - tip 8 proper hair brushes 13:37 - tip 9 scalp care 14:30 - tip 10 fix thinning hair 15:44 - tip 11 right haircuts #Dreame #DreamAirStylePro @DreameTech