Inconsistencies

Apparently a former reader is upset at some inconsistencies on this blog regarding hair products. The fact that I said I rarely do my hair (I don't use blow dryers, straighteners, curling irons, etc.) and yet I've done several product reviews and tutorials on the subject confused her. She feels I said great things about those products just because they were given to me for free. I get that. It is not the case, but I can see why she would think that.

I should have clarified yesterday's post by saying that I rarely do my hair *anymore*. But yes, I've always preferred the au naturale look. I go through seasons of appreciating certain colors, products, styles, and clothes - this includes hair products, styles, and cuts. This season in my life is about not having to style my hair. Since we're getting close to summer season and everyone's hair is probably having some difficulty staying styled, I thought I'd tell you about another way I style my hair using no curling irons, blow dryers, or straighteners.  However, in future posts, and in past posts, I have and will post about the benefits of using products even though I prefer not using them all the time. Right now I have chosen to go au naturale, but tomorrow I may use a curling iron or straightener. In fact, I hate the color black, and yet I wear it often on this blog. Sometimes out of necessity, boredom, curiosity, or whatever else, I try things that I don't prefer. Hope that clarifies it for some of you. And if not, feel free to ask.

I stand by the products I was given for free. They truly are amazing. I just haven't needed to use them much lately and prefer to not have to use them at all. But soon I'll be in a no baby season of my life again, get bored with my hair, and experiment with all the products I have.

Beachy Hair

I rarely blow dry, curl, or straighten my hair. I prefer the au naturale look most of the time, and thankfully I have pretty easy going hair that doesn't usually have to be styled to look ok. In the summer, though, I love to add a bit of product to my air dried hair. I use salt sprays to achieve a beachy hair look. I've used all kinds of products in the past, but my favorite is the stuff I make myself.

I add a teaspoon or more of sea salt to a spray bottle filled with warm water, a dab of conditioner (or this time around I used melted coconut oil) and then sprayed it generously in my hair. Using my homemade product achieves the look I have below.

When I'm going for the beachy hair look, I shampoo my hair only twice a week. The saltwater dries out my hair, so all I do is rinse it lightly with water in the shower and then let it air dry half way before spraying it with the saltwater. If my hair ends up too greasy, I just use dry shampoo, and if it gets too dry, I will skip the shampoo and just add conditioner to the ends. 

I love easy, breezy, beachy hair for the summer!

Product Review: Hana Professional Blow Dryer

Misikko asked me to do a product review on one of their best selling professional blow dryers. Specifically, they sent me this one. I am already a big fan of their hair straighteners (see this post), but was a bit skeptical about their blow dryers since I've always had bad luck with them. I prefer to wash my hair in the evening and let it air dry over night. Either that, or I just let my hair air dry for one day and style it the next. Plus, I have very thick hair so it takes forever for it to blow dry. It can be frustrating that I can't immediately style my hair once I get out of the shower, but it's always been worth it to me because of how dry and brittle my hair can get after a blow out.

However, I was pleasantly surprised that this is not the case when using the Hana Professional Blow Dryer. I used the Hana Shine Shield on my hair first and then blew it dry with a round brush for a full and sleek blow out. The drying process took maybe 15 minutes (that's quick for my hair), and the cool air kept me from getting overheated in my A/C free bathroom. The dryer is not very loud, too, so my kids actually stayed asleep while I did my hair.

My hair was soft, smooth, shiny, and full bodied after the blow out with no need for touch ups with a flat iron. I'm definitely in love with my new blow dryer!

Misikko carries several professional blow dryers as well as chi blow dryers. You should check them out if you are in the market for professional styling tools.

Product Review: Bumpits

I recently purchased a pair of Bumpits from Misikko. I'm amazed at how simple they are to use, and how long they remain in place! The instructions tell you to tease your hair first, but I find I don't have to. I just pull some hair up, stick the Bumpit in place, fan the hair over it, spray a little hairspray (if I'm leaving my hair down), or go sans hairspray if I pin my hair in place in the back, and I'm good to go for the entire day!

Product Review: Misikko's Corioliss Curling Wand

My curling wand from Misikko arrived complete with extra goodies (like Paul Mitchell Volumizer spray, make-up, flowers, ribbons, etc.!) - it was like my Birthday all over again!

I couldn't wait to try it, so even though I had just straightened my hair with my new Hana flat iron, I immediately started using the curling wand...It took me quite a while to get the hang of how to use it, but I loved the results. It definitely creates more of a ringlet than what my flat iron or regular curling iron can do, but it also has the ability to create a ripply wave (something my regular curling iron doesn't really do either).
You really should check out Misikko for great products like ceramic curling irons, the best hair dryers, and great flat irons. I love my Hana Professional, but Corioliss (the same brand as my curling wand) makes a Corioliss Straightener, too.

And since I had some trouble at first using the curling wand, I thought I'd show you a quick video tutorial of how to use it since I think I've got it figured out now.

You can watch this video I did for tips on how I style my curled hair.

Have any of you tried the curling wands out there? Do you prefer them over the regular curling irons with clamps?

Product Review: Misikko Flat Iron

Misikko (a company that sells ceramic flat irons, and other fabulous hair products like the T3 hair dryer , and chi hair straighteners), sent me the Hana Professional with Tourmaline flat iron to do a product review, and I have to say, I was impressed even before I saw and used the iron! Check out how they wrapped it:
After looking through the little goodies they sent with it (lipstick, hand sanitizer, emory boards, etc.), I finally got a glimpse of the flat iron... It came in a pink faux leather pouch with a separater inside so that the cord to the iron would stay separate from the iron when hot. Love that. I was sent the pink edition, which I'm particularly excited about since pink is my favorite color!! I decided to put the straightener to the absolute tests...

This is my hair on a bad hair day...very bad hair day...and immediately upon waking up...

I brushed through some of the front pieces of my hair with the iron before the flat iron was even fully hot, and couldn't believe how powerfully and quickly it straightened and shined my hair!

Reading the instructions to the iron, it says that it has a heat setting for super fine hair, and so I thought I would test the iron out on my mother-in-law who never uses any heat on her hair due to how fine it is.

This is her hair with just a touch of hairspray in it. She has a grown out perm in the ends of it, and sleeps in sponge rollers to give her hair extra body for the day.

This is her hair after I flat ironed it. Shiny, smooth, and full looking. And yes, those curls were made with the iron. I also decided I would test out the iron on someone with super curly hair.

My sister-in-law's hair is so curly, she has to tame the frizz with styling gel, and tons of hairspray. She came to me with her hair full of hair product and stiff, but we tried the iron on it anyway...

It straightened her hair in one brush of the iron! I quickly curled the ends with the iron, and my sister-in-law left with shiny, bouncy curls!

The curls the flat iron makes are stronger than what my Conair curling iron can do, and I've found that my curls stay tighter longer, even after two days of no touch ups! Can you tell I'm sold on this iron?

Product Review: Living Proof's No Frizz Restyling Spray

This is my hair on the third day after shampooing. That's right. I decided to test this product to the max and see just how long it would make my hair last in between shampoos.
When Living Proof contacted me to do a product review on their latest product: No Frizz Restyling Spray, I was very skeptical. I have always found hair products to weigh my hair down and make it oily - requiring me to shampoo more than I normally would.
After this three day trial, I have to admit that this product does what it says it should. My hair feels even more full bodied than before on the third day, has retained its shine without it looking oily or dirty, and holds the style longer than on freshly washed hair.

Living Proof uses a breakthrough ingredient called PolyfluoroEster. It's new technology that not only detangles, reduces static, and adds shine, but also helps you to restyle your hair by offering a light conditioning and hold.

I definitely recommend this product!!

No Frizz Restyling Spray is available exclusively at Living Proof for $24 for each 3.4 oz spray.

Answer to a reader question

Do you use hot rollers?? And also what kind of product do you use? I've been thinking of getting big hot rollers and trying them out. I really like big curls.

I don't usually use hot rollers, but I have used them on occasion. When I use hot rollers, I get a much tighter curl and the curl lasts for a couple of days. Lately, I haven't had to use hot rollers. Since I highlighted my hair, my hair has had a lot more body, so for all of these pics since the highlighting, except for the one of me in my Shabby Apple dress, I don't do anything with my hair but let it air dry. I've been using Dove moisturizing 2-in-1 shampoo, and that's it. Every once in a while I've used John Frieda's Dream Curls spray (pictured below), but usually I only use that to touch up at the end of the day. I love this product because it doesn't make your hair look dirty, and it is soft and touchable all day long.

For the photo of me in the Shabby Apple dress, I just used a small 1" barrell curling iron and curled a few sections of the ends under.

If your hair is not as full bodied or is on the straighter side, I would definitely recommend hot rollers. And if you want the curl to really last, use a curling iron before you put the roller in. If you don't have thick hair, velcro rollers that you put in damp hair and then blow dry can really add a lot of body, and won't look like you "curled" your hair.

When you take the rollers out, brush through it all upside down, and then tease it a little at the crown when you come back up to give it that full bodied, big curl, look.

One of these days I'll do a video tutorial on how to use hot rollers and how to curl hair. There is an art to it. For now, I'll just say, try to think about where you place each curl. Where do you want height, and if you want the curl to face away from your face, or in to your face. Depending on where you place a roller or a curl, it can totally change the look.

All about hair

I'm kind of in love with my diffuser attachment on my blow dryer. I don't have curly hair naturally and so I never think to use the attachment. But lately I haven't really wanted to style my hair. So I've just been washing it, spraying on some curling gel and then blow drying it with my diffuser attached.
I bought this curling gel spray for my daughters hair (who has wavy locks) but apparently it works pretty good on gals who don't have curly hair.
This picture doesn't really do justice (lol, I think) to how wavy my hair looks to me right now. All I did was wash it, spritz it and blow dry. Can you see the waves?

Follow up on cutting your own hair

I originally posted about this here and promised pictures - which I have only recently obtained! Below I have cut and paste the 6 steps I posted earlier, but included corresponding photos. The model is a friend, so I'm not actually cutting my own hair here, but hopefully it will give you a better idea than when I first posted about this. Being that I was cutting the hair, and also taking the pictures...I'm not sure that these pictures are really that helpful, but it was the best I could do. Hope it helps!
.......................................................................................................................................................................

1. I started with freshly washed hair and then combed it through. I parted it down the middle and put each side over each shoulder. Then I brushed half of her hair forward onto her face and cut an upside down "U" shape around her face, keeping the shortest edge to right about her lip.

2. Then I pulled the sides forward and cut a vertical line framing the face. This is what creates the layers that shape around her face.

3. After that, I took sections of hair from behind her ears to her forehead and pulled them straight up above her head and cut what would end up being a U-shape with all the sections I pulled up.
4. If you were cutting your hair yourself, you would then comb all your hair over your head and bend over. In my case, I cut an inch off the handful of all my hair that was combed across my head and onto my face. I cut it about six inches away from my forehead.

[I forgot to take a picture of this step since my technique is different when cutting someone else's hair. Shoot. Sorry!]

5. The last step was combing her hair out and again parting it down the middle. In my friend's case, I just cut a U-shape in the back in small sections, starting with the under layer of her hair and working outwards. If you cut the bottom layer slightly shorter and gradually make each outer layer longer, then you will cause the hair to bend under at the ends, instead of the blunt cut, which would cause the hair to lay straight (if you have straight hair). If you are cutting your own hair, you pull half your hair over one shoulder, and the other half over the other shoulder, and then cut however many inches off the length you desire. When you brush your hair back, it will have a nice U-shape.

6. To make sure it all blended I just combed sections away from her face and trimmed any stray hairs as I brushed it out and matched the length on either side of her head.

[with my friend, I also pulled bangs forward and brushed them to the side before cutting them around her face.]
And the finished product.
I used Nioxin hair volumizer and texturizer and CitreShine shine serum before I blew it dry with a vent brush. Lastly, I just touched up the ends with a curling iron.
Let me know if you have any questions!

Hair Tips

Summer is the season for those tousled beachy looking waves. Kate Hudson wears the look so naturally, you'd never know she had any other look.

I usually use a curling iron to achieve this look, but it takes me 10 minutes, and I hate having to put heat so close to my head when I'm already warm in the summer. Also, I wanted a more messy look and the curling iron makes it look more formal and not as carefree. So In hopes of replicating Kate's "messy" look I decided to experiment with an idea that I've seen in fashion magazines and fashion blogs several times over.

So after my shower last night, I towel dried my hair, and then pin curled it in about 10 sections. I didn't make the sections real clean, nor did I pin it perfectly. I kept the pins in over night.

I probably should have left the pins in longer when I woke up so the hair could finish drying, but even with the hair being damp yet, my hair had that tousled wavy look. I finished off the look by spraying Sunsilk's beachy waves spray in it and then a shine spray from CitreShine. For the five minutes it took for me to pin my hair up last night, and the two minutes it took to unpin and spray it in the morning, this is a look I'm definitely going to try again.

While we are on the topic of hair, I thought I'd give a shout out to this fabulous blog dedicated to hair styles: Hair Thursday. Check it out!

Likes and Dislikes

I know in the past I have raved about Sunsilks Waves of Envy products and shampoos. I liked how they added more volume to my hair and forced out what little waves I natrually have. So, I decided to sample their "Straight to Perfection" products hoping for the same effects (just opposit) on my lushish strands.
Ya, no. I didn't see any difference. Maybe my hair is to ornary, or maybe my hair already is so straight that any more "Straightening" products put on my hair would be like beating a dead horse. But still, I was hoping for something mirculous to happen. May hair does feel wonderfully clean, and the heat defense creme did seem to make my hair a tad less frizzy...but that's about all the wonder I can give to this haircare line. My suggestions (if you are interested in any of the hairapy prodcuts) is go to their website and request some free samples.

The next hair product that I sampled came by way of another fashionista who didn't really care for the outcome of the product on her hair. So take this review with a grain of salt:) My new favorite is John Fredia Luxurious Volume lift root booster. You put it on damp (or dry, as I have used it a few times and liked) hair and then blow dry and/or style as usual. It does make your hair feel a bit tacky and slightly stiff, but I loved the volume and what seemed to be better control of my style.
My camera is broken so I can't really show pics, but here is me at a friends party after washing my hair, spraying on the new volume product and blowing it dry. I just loved how it made my hair straight, volumized, and a bit messy looking all at the same time. I also loved how little effort it took to get the desired look that I was going for.

Waves of Envy

I know I posted not that long ago about using Sunsilk's "waves of envy" sea spray. I still use it and love it. Well, I recently just bought the shampoo and conditioner to go with it. Needless to say I do not have naturally wavy hair, but using this shampoo and conditioner on my locks gives me a heck of a lot more wave then I ever had naturally. I LOVE it. It makes my hair soft and full, not to mention more body. If your looking for some cheap shampoo to do some nice stuff with your hair check it out. Or go on their website and order free samples!

What I wore today while running errands

My clothes:
GLO Jeans - $19.99
Green Merona t-shirt - $7.99
Gap Pale Green Cardigan - (bought to long ago to remember)
Eddie Bauer brown belt - (bought to long ago to remember)
Brown Dansko clogs - $99 (over five years ago)
"M" necklace - gift
My make-up:
A little blush
A little black mascara

My Hair:
Sunsilk "Waves of Envy" Spray
A little curling iron touch up to add more waves
Jade laughed at me while I took the pictures of myself, and when I was finished she stood still and pointed at the camera for me to take her picture. So here you go:)

What I'm trying now

I just bought Sunsilk's waves of envy sea spray. It boasts "tousled, texturized, beach waves" on the label.

I tried this product out this morning on dry, un-styled hair. I can't say that I have "beach waves" right now, but I do have tousled hair and some texture (at least for my stick, straight, strands) and my hair feels creamy soft. I'm not sure if that's from the spray, or it's just a really good hair day, but I'm thinking the spray has something to do with it.

At any rate, for $3 I feel as though I smell of summer and even though I'm sporting just jeans and a sweat shirt, knowing I tried a new product in my hair, makes me feel styled and put together:)

I'm looking forward to using this more with different styles and see what it does when sprayed on damp hair (like the label recommends).

Nioxin Volumizer

Recently, I read somewhere to try Nioxin volumizing and texturizing creme. I decided to give it a shot and am now hooked! I just rub a dab in my hair right after the shower for immediate volume and texture. It lasts all day long and is shiny too! You can get it at any salon and some drugstores for about $13. It's worth every penny.

All things Fructis

I love Fructis Garnier shampoos and conditions. Why? Because they make my hair smell so good! I've have been using other shampoo brands the past couple months and then last night returned to my first love...Fructis. And now my life is happy again. I'm a sucker for all fruity scents, but fruit face wash and hair products are the best! I got the biggest compliments in my life on my hair when I was only using Fructis hair products. Why did I ever stray?
I love their mouse, shine serum and shampoos. I still like Pantene's sculpting wax a bit better then theirs...but I rarely use sculpting wax.
With all the holiday parties I am sure to attend this season, I want to have my hair smelling just as good as the rest of me:)

Texture and Shine

I have chin length, slightly layered hair. I usual flat iron it to give me very straight styles, though sometimes I'll flip out the ends and/or turn them in, depending on my mood. Regardless of my style, though, I do want texture without being too funky, since, after all...I am a Mom.

My stylist recommended I use "Being Undressed" by RUSK. I like it. It keeps my hair nice and shiny without looking overly glossy, greasy or leaving me with "crunchy" hair. However, the goal of my RUSK product is not to give me crazy texture or a lot of scuplting ability, and it's a little too expensive for my budget.
So last night, while shopping at Target, I decided to check out Pantene's new styling products. The price is doable and the results are awesome! The "Texture and Shine Defining Pomade" does exactly what it says it does. I just used a pea-sized amount and ran it through my freshly styled hair. It gave me more texture and shine then my previous brand I used ever did, while still leaving my hair non-greasy and non-crunchy! I'm so excited about it!

If you have short to medium hair with layers, you definitely should try this (if you haven't already). Even if you aren't planning on styling your hair, I'd recommend running a bit through your hair after a blow dry or after the second day of unwashed hair to give yourself a nice healthy looking shine.