Goodbye 2011!

Last post of the year!!

This year has been an awesome one! I mean it when I say it's literally flown by, with school, interning, working, and trying to have a social life and relationship. But, I wouldn't have it any other way, I've been absolutely happy and loving life this year...

Keeping this blog going has been so much fun. It's a lot more work than I thought, and sometimes I have absolutely no motivation to write anything, but one of my resolutions in the New Year is to work on the blog a little more than I have been, it's something I like to do, and it's fun.

I wish everybody a safe and happy New Year, and I'll see you in 2012!

Baby Lips

I know I don't usually write about non hair products, but I really like this one so I figured other people might too!

I keep seeing these Baby Lips in the stores. I didn't know what they were, I thought they were a little kiddie version of Lip Smackers or something. WRONG.

They are made by Maybelline, and after seeing a commercial for them on TV the other day (Yes, I'm a sucker for product commercials!) I decided to try them out.

I'd also like to state that I HATE lipstick. I never wear it, it always rubs off and I see no real purpose for it. The same goes for lipglosses, and anything else that feels gunky and greasy on my lips. The only thing I ever really use it Chapstick, or any sort of lip moisturizer, which is exactly what this stuff is.

I got my Baby Lips (I opted for the nonflavored, light blue tube) yesterday, and the stuff is great! I doesn't feel gross on my lips, leaves them feeling nice and soft, and LASTS! It comes in a bunch of different flavors to suit anyone's tastes, and at under $5 it's not a bad deal!

Round Brush tip

After countless hours of practicing, I feel pretty confident in my ability to wield a blow dryer. I know I've nothing on the pros, but still, I can blow dry some hair.

That said, there seems to be some confusion among my classmates on the art of using a roundbrush, and if THEY are confused, I'm sure there are tons of other women out there who are also confused. So, here are my tips...

1. Don't even take the brush to your head until your hair is at least 75% dry! Use your fingers to comb through your hair until you get it to that dry point, then take out the brush.

2. Section off your hair, starting at the bottom, and work your way up section by section.

3. The best way I find to keep my hair smooth (I roundbrush my own hair every day!) is to keep the brush in constant motion, rolling it in a continuous circle. Hold the section straight up when you dry it to achieve more body.

4. To prevent frizz, ALWAYS point your nozzle DOWN the hair shaft. I see so many girls at school blowing straight up towards the head, and then don't understand why the client's hair isn't smooth. DOWN DOWN DOWN!

I'm also learning nifty tricks at my internship, such a making corkscrew curls using nothing but a blowdryer, and I'm practicing that like crazy, but I still mostly suck at it.

Practice makes perfect!

6 weeks

That's right, I've got about six weeks left of school, and I'm stuck somewhere between super excited and absolutely terrified. I think the last time I felt this crazy was when I was getting ready to graduate college.

I'm trying to get all my ducks lined up for after school, jobwise. So far I've turned in my resume at the salon I'm interning at, and have a 2nd interview lined up for a very nice salon in Dayton, as an assistant.

My biggest dilemma was trying to decide if I wanted to go work in a salon doing hair right out of the gate, or get some more training, work as an assistant, and aquire some more skills. There are pluses and drawbacks to each option.

I've decided the way I want to go is the way of an apprenticeship. I feel there's SO much more for me to learn, and in learning more I'd be gaining in skill as well as confidence, and I feel that for me it's the right thing to be doing after I finish school.

It's difficult when most people get jobs doing hair at salons right off the bat, but for me, I don't think that's the way I'm going to go right away. I know the type of salon I want to work at, and I think in the longrun I'll help both myself and my career in going the apprentice option first.

Getting so close!

Infuse Me!

Last week I ordered this Aveda Smooth Infusion serum from the salon, and was super excited that it came in this week for me to try out.

I've been going through a lot of serums lately, mainly at school so I know what works on clients, and also on myself so that I know what's good for my hair.

I put on a dime sized amount and ran it though my hair and blow dried as usual. Compared to other serums (like the Matrix Sleek and Shine) it didn't leave my hair as soft, BUT, it did leave my hair incredibly shiny, swishy, and healthy feeling. For those of you that have curly hair you know when you straighten it it's often lifeless and stiff. This felt like a breath of fresh air! My hair looked noticeably fuller and I got numerous compliments on it.

As a bonus, when I mix a tiny bit of this serum with my Be Curly, it leaves even my curls totally soft, natural feeling, and full of body.

At $24 a pop it's a little pricey, but I'd highly recommend it. It's also got that yummy Aveda scent which I think I'm starting to become addicted to.

And we are ROLLING!

After a few retakes and lots of "um", I have finally figured out how to post video on here. Don't be cruel, just patient with me as I work out the video tutorials for your future enjoymen. Suggestions and topic ideas are always welcome!

Merry Christmas!

Happy Happy Christmas!

I hope everybody got to spend the day with family and loved ones, and enjoyed the holiday, because I know I did!

In my family we open gifts at night, so today was mostly spent being lazy, although I did go see a movie.

At some point I also found myself slathered in face mask, in pajamas, with a hair treatment on my head... it felt great!

Christmas wishes to everyone!

Hair update

I just looked at the picture from Dec 1 of my hair... it's already feeling MUCH longer than that picture looks!

I got some comments this week about how my hair is nicely taking shape and growing super fast, and after looking at that picture I believe it!

I also ordered some more Aveda products from the salon, so I'm looking forward to putting those on my hair and furthering my whole "let's keep the hair healthy" plan. I have curly products, so I ordered some straightening and smoothing serum to protect it while I blow dry. I'm excited about it, and should be getting it this Friday, and writing a review on it as soon as I try it out.

As far as Christmas gifts go, I'm super excited to get new shears from my mom.... Will def be posting photo and info on those as soon as I get them! And don't forget, it's always a horrible idea to trim your own bangs, no matter what the tutorials tells you on YouTube....

Be Curly

I've finally caved and gone Aveda. It was only one product, but still, I now have a list of things I want to buy, because this one product... AMAZING!

I find it a little difficult to find products for curly hair that leave my hair soft. Lots of curly products leave my hair crunchy, which this blogger does NOT like.

I blotted my hair with a towel after the shower, and used a little less than a quarter amount of the Be Curly. I ran it through my hair, and then used the diffuser on my curl. Instead of putting the diffuser IN my hair like I usually do, I just moved it around in a circular motion all over my head, lightly holding up my roots, until it was almost dry. I straightened my bangs, and off I went.

I absolutely LOVE this stuff. It smells amazing, left my hair soft and touchable, and after 2 days of not washing my hair it's STILL looking and smelling great.

Grade: A+

Intern Perk

I discovered a sweet perk of interning today, which came in the form of a bang trim.

Long story short, when I bleached my hair a few months ago, my bangs were on life support, and I've only let one person touch them since. Every few weeks she "fluffed" them for me, taking the dead ends off for me bit by bit. That friend has since graduated hair school, and I've been left to fend for myself in the cutting my bangs department. It's not pretty.

A stylist took pity on me today, sat me down in her chair, and with some ninja moves my bangs look AWESOME.

They have finally grown almost back down to my eyebrows, and I've promised myself to never cut them again!

I see the finish line!

Just wanted to write a quick post and say that I have less than 300 hours left in cosmetology school before I graduate!!!!!

Braids

I have 10 weeks of school left. That said, with 10 weeks of school left I still can't braid to save my life!

You'd think it would be easy, right? Wrong!

I don't know what it is about those little strands of hair, they just don't listen to me. Practice, practice, practice, and when I'm done it looks like a 5 year old just went to town on a mannequin head.

The little front braid I can do, the fishtail braid is my bitch, and if you want a simple ole' 3 strand braid, I'm your girl. Anything else? SORRY!

Red in HD

Matrix makes a little line of HD colors, one of them being red. I've never used them before, and today decided to play around with it a little bit. I picked a mannequin (she can't talk back) and went to work.

I did the front panel in the photograph with the red, and threw in some red booster to boot. She had already had highlights on her with an original brown, so it gave the red a nice definition, almost a sort of red with super red highlights. Her back I did in just a chocolate brown.

The picture doesn't really do justice to the red, but I was super happy with the way it turned out!

December hair length

As promised, I'm posting the first picture of my hair in my Mission Impossible task... the task? Growing out my hair for three years. Yes, it's daunting, but hey, it might be fun!

I took this photo on Dec. 1, 2011. It's fresh from a cut about a month ago, and from here on out, TRIMS only. I really like the cut and I think it should grow out nicely from here...

Right now I've also got about half an inch of regrowth coming in, and it's blond. So, I have dark brown hair with blond roots, which I'll be taking care of in 3 weeks with highlights to blend the two contrasting colors together. Next picture to come Jan 1!

Bed Head

I gave this Bed Head Extreme Straight shampoo and conditioner and whirl last week.

Overall I really liked the product. It left my hair feeling soft and manageable, and above all else, did exactly what it said it would do! After blowdrying my hair it was smooth, and I had a much easier time getting it straight than usual.

Along with these two products, after I shampooed I also used the Matrix Sleek and Shine , and then dried in sections using a round brush.

Holiday Hair

It's the holiday season! That means parties! All kinds of parties, ranging from the office, to the homes of friends, and then there's the nightlife... and being that it's Christmas, time to give your hair a little bit something extra when you're going out!

I found some updos that are pretty, but not too fussy, that if I had hair, I'd love to try...

For those of us with short hair, you can never really go wrong with something shiny and sparkly. From headbands, to clips, to using brooches as hairpieces, feel free to play around and experiment! Merry Christmas!