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I’d love to call myself a brilliant brunette (for knowing how to creating the appearance of healthier hair), but the truth is – I’ve spent years consulting with hair stylists and reading beauty books to learn techniques to improve the look and feel of hair, while strengthening it and minimizing future damage.

In this beauty guide, you’ll learn my insider secrets on how to make your hair look healthier and more beautiful.

Brilliant Brunette – How To Create The Appearance of Healthier Hair

I’ve always had dark brown hair, but since entering my 30’s, I’ve noticed annoying grays sprouting up. To combat the problem, my hair stylist uses a demi-tint (which is a semi-permanent hair color) on my roots. This conceals the gray hairs, without being as damaging to my hair as permanent color.

While this technique is great for covering-up gray roots, it can also result in unwanted brassiness (from oxidation and sun exposure). Unlike intentional highlights, this brassiness (or lightened hair) mostly occurs on the ends of my hair, making my split-ends and dryness more apparent.

To minimize the appearance of damaged hair, my signature look is soft, bouncy curls. Unlike straightening hair, I’ve learned that soft, bouncy curls not only makes the brassy tips look prettier (as they look more like intentional highlights), it also makes dry split-ends less noticeable.

1. After washing hair, run a golf-ball sized amount of thermal-activated, frizz-fighting product through your hair, starting at your roots, and dispersing through your ends. This will help prevent any damage from heat-styling, and make your hair more manageable and soft.

2. Using an ionic hairdryer with an attached nozzle (which smooths the shaft of your hair, making it look glossier), blow-dry your hair on medium heat, using your fingers to gently lift and separate your wet strands. Get your hair 80% dry before using a hairbrush on it (since it’s more delicate when wet, making it more damage-prone).

3. To help smooth your hair follicles (which helps them lay flat, reflecting light better), use a vented round brush to dry and shape small sections of your hair, starting with your crown. Aim the hairdryer nozzle downward to direct the flow of air down the shaft of your hair. This helps to minimize frizz and makes your hair look shinier. Continue drying each section until your hair looks straight and smooth.

4. Using a set of hot rollers (medium and jumbo-sized are best for soft curls), roll sections of your hair up, using a pin (not a clip) to secure each roller. Start with the front, top section of your hair (or your bangs, if you have them), then the crown, and finish with the sides and underneath sections. Let the rollers stay in your hair for about 5-10 minutes.

5. When you take the rollers out, allow your hair to cool down for 1 minute, which ‘sets’ the curl (helping to make your hairstyle last longer). Then gently run your fingers through the curls, making the curls look more softer and more tousled (and less ‘perfect’). You can finish the look by using a gloss-boosting spray or anti-frizz serum on your ends, to add extra luster and shine.

As you can see, the result is gorgeous hair! Not only will people be commenting on how beautiful and healthy your hair looks, this styling technique will also help to keep your hair in good condition, and prevent further damage.

When I really want to enhance my natural hair color and make my hair look the best it can be, I always go for a darker shade. By darkening my all-over hair color, it makes split-ends virtually disappear, minimizes any visible signs of damage or dryness, and makes my hair look shiny and healthy.

To make my hair look richer, over the next couple weeks, I’ll be deepening my brunette hue with a new line of color-enhancing products by John Frieda, including the Brilliant Brunette® Visibly Deeper™ Colour Deepening Treatment and Brilliant Brunette® Visibly Deeper™ Colour Deepening Shampoo and Conditioner, which are available from Walmart store (in the Beauty Aisle) and online at Walmart.com. (The Visibly Deeper™ Treatment may not be available in all stores, but you can find it online at Walmart.com.)

Since my hair is colored by a professional stylist I never use products that aren’t color-safe. So, I’m happy to report that these products can be used on color-treated hair or with highlights or lowlights, while making your hair color look deeper and richer, without the damage of traditional hair color.

The Visibly Deeper™ Colour Deepening Treatment instantly deepens & darkens brunette tones up to 1 shade, and infuses hair with a boost of color for deep, dark brunette. The Visibly Deeper™ Shampoo and Visibly Deeper™ Conditioner gradually deepen brunette color in the shower, and are formulated with cocoa and evening primrose oil.

If you want to #RethinkYourColour too, learn more about how the John Frieda Brilliant Brunette® line works by watching the video below. If you were to re-think your hair color, which shade would you go for this season?

Plus, stay tuned for a follow-up tutorial in 2 weeks showing how these products work, and how you can get a sleek, shiny blowout at home.