8 Products to Give Your Hair That Fresh Salon Feel at Home
As many of us head into week five of quarantine, we’re all learning how to adjust to our new normal. Whether that means walking your dog and listening to your favorite podcast to replicate your morning commute, or virtually cheers-ing your pals for happy hour, we’re all doing our best to create some sort of normalcy in our lives. And as many of us have learned, when we get creative, there are a lot of ways to enjoy our favorite activities without leaving our homes.
But try as I might, there’s been one nagging, albeit vain, thought I can’t seem to shake: When will I be reunited with my beloved hair stylist? As the possibility of getting a fresh root touchup and blowout looms further away than I would like, I’m determined to figure out how to get that fresh-out-of-the-salon, no-one-can-stop-me feeling right in my apartment. Read on for the best products to get that salon feeling at home, and perhaps you won’t have to fight someone off for an appointment when it’s safe to go back to hair salons.
Madison Reed Home Color Kit
Are you nervous to try at-home color care? Try Madison Reed’s at-home hair color kit, which gives you everything you need to achieve your ideal color at home. The dye is ammonia-free and designed to give you multi-dimensional color that looks healthy and beautiful, and you don’t just pick your color from a list of options—instead, you take this hair color quiz to get matched with your perfect shade.
Buy: Madison Reed Home Color Kit, $22 from Madison Reed
Drybar Buttercup Blow Dryer
When it comes to blowouts, Drybar is the holy grail. And while we can’t pop in for our Saturday afternoon blowout and champagne treat, we can certainly take this time to finally figure out how to blow out our own hair. This Drybar blow dryer is the ideal starting point: It’s lightweight, great for straight and curly hair alike, and gets you that sleek frizz-free look in 20 percent less time than most professional dryers.
Buy: Drybar Buttercup Blow Dryer, $199 from Sephora
Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment
Our scalps are a vital, if not very sexy, part of creating a healthy and beautiful mane. This charcoal and tea tree scalp treatment combines a cooling blend of peppermint and spearmint oils to reduce scalp itchiness, with tea tree oil to reduce scalp irritation and inflammation. If you color treat your hair, tea tree oil is a good alternative to chemicals, which can harm and fade your color.
Buy: Briogeo Scalp Revival Charcoal + Tea Tree Scalp Treatment, $32 from Sephora
Sanguine Products Sharp Hair Scissors
If you’re brave enough to tackle an at-home haircut, you’ll need a pair of good, sharp hairdressing shears—if your scissors aren’t sharp enough, you’ll actually damage your hair by snapping it, instead of cutting it. These bestselling scissors found on Etsy come in six very fun colors, and have glowing reviews about their sharpness and effectiveness.
Buy: Sanguine Products Sharp Hair Scissors, $19.03 from Etsy
Custom Shampoo
I don’t know about you, but the shampoo aisle at the drugstore seriously stresses me out. With seemingly endless options all claiming to do different things, it can be overwhelming to cut through the marketing fluff and figure out what kind of shampoo you really need. Cue Prose. This stuff is awesome—I have this shampoo and love that it’s totally customizable and made to order. Every product is free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, dyes, mineral oils, and GMOS, plus is cruelty-free. Whether you have color-treated hair, frizzy curls, or both, you can get a shampoo that is tailored to your exact needs and will make your hair look and feel amazing.
Buy: Custom Shampoo, $25 from Prose
Philips Norelco Series 3000 Multigroom Electric Trimmer
While there’s no replacement for a good barbershop, this 13-piece electric trimmer with seven trimming guards, a steel trimmer, steel detailer, and nose and ear trimmer will give you the options to get the best at-home trim. It’s perfect for your face and beard too, so you’ll keep getting use out of it once you can return to the barbershop.
Buy: Philips Norelco Series 3000 Multigroom Electric Trimmer, $19.99 from Target
RAINCRY Magnesium Volumizing Large Barrel Brush
If you’re going to tackle the art of the at-home blowout, you’ll need the perfect round brush. This magnesium barrel brush from Anthropologie is designed for longer locks and delivers a quick and gentle blow-dry thanks to its magnesium alloy barrel that retains heat. The best thing about this brush is that it does such a good job, there’s no need for straightening afterwards.
Buy: RAINCRY Magnesium Volumizing Large Barrel Brush, $60 from Anthropologie
Briogeo Scalp Revival Stimulating Therapy Massager
We can’t forget the best part of going to the salon: the head massage that usually ensues during your wash treatment. Although you can’t get an in-person scalp massage, we found an at-home version that’s just a relaxing. This scalp massager not only feels amazing, it helps promote circulation to the scalp and can be used in or out of the shower.
Buy: Briogeo Scalp Revival Stimulating Therapy Massager, $16 from Sephora