Fishtail braid

Even with my hair cut last week, I can finally do a fishtail braid in my hair. I found a great tutorial on YouTube by Lilith Moon that gives a step by step for French fishtail braids for short, layered hair! It's great and helped me catch all those layers in my hair in the braid. It's touch for me to do this braid any other way because my hair is so thick with many choppy layers. I'm glad it's grown out just enough to braid it this way now. Also, how do you like my highlights?

I'm so sorry

July has been insane! From work to a car accident to a family camping trip, there has been no time for me to blog!

Anyways, I never got my hair cut, but I've only styled my hair two or three times all month. I actually prefer the curls/ waves now.

I'm also taking a risk and going to a new hair stylist soon. She's a friend of mine and a professional. I told her about my blog and my obsession with my own hair. She's interested in my tips for curly hair. She had never heard if Tshirt drying before! When I go get my hair cut with her, we're going to cut it a little differently. I'll explain all the details as soon as I actually go get this cut!

Keep curly!

Haircut!!!

I'm getting a trim tomorrow. Just to hack some of those dead ends off. My last hair cut was in March, right before my cousin's wedding. Needless to say, it was the worst haircut of my life. I'm heading to my usual hair care professional tomorrow. She's been cutting my hair since I was 14. She's fantastic with thick, curly hair. So much in fact, my mom started to go to her too. I never walk out of there unsatisfied. I'll post pics of my new do tomorrow!

Results!

Hello beautiful people!

I'm in such a good mood today. I washed my hair yesterday and straightened it this morning. It's so soft and clean. But the best news is that my hair is growing! My bangs are long enough to sweep to the side again. I love this. I hate pulling my bangs back because they look funny or won't stay back all the way. Now, I can leave them down. Take a look!

A couple of cute hair styles:

Ok. You all know I'm a big fan of the sock bun, but I tried a cut french twist the other day for work. All I my hair was pulled up with THREE bobby pins! I was so excited. It was a hot day and I don't drive with AC so it was nice to get my hair off my neck.

Also, my hair, when straight, is starting to become long enough to roll into the sock bun. I'm so excited about this. I can't wait for my hair to be long again so I can use the sock bun trick to curl it over night.

Enjoy the pictures!

Braids braids braids

So I decided to wait an extra day to wash my hair, but the problem I face is that when my hair is three days dirty, I can't wear it down. So wear it up, right?

First, I split my hair into 4 sections, top layers, bottom layers, and about an inch of hair on each side of my face.

Next, I braided the lower section of hair into about 5 braids and tied each with a small elastic. Then, I pulled apart each braid to give them a little more volume.

Next, I did a side French braid on the pieces of hair around my face. You do this by only pulling hair for the French braid from one side (the face side) of your hair. Secured with elastic again, and pulled apart for volume.

Then, I did 4 braids on the top section of my hair. Two in the back, and then one on each side. For the ones one the side, I used the side french braid I had done as one of the strands of each braid. It gives it a more textured look.

Finally, pin! I usually start with the braids that I wrapped in the French braid with and work pinning top-down. Make sure the ends of the braids are covered, and little to no metal from the bobby pins is seen. Finish with a veil of hairspray.

I love this look because it gives a cute way to pull your hair up in the summer and keep it off your neck. I usually carry extra bobby pins around with me just incase it starts to get loose. Hope you like it!

I am so sorry

I have been so bad about blogging. I have no excuse. Last week was a crazy week and I've just been so busy! I've barely been home.

Anyway, I've noticed a lot about my hair in the past week or so. It's getting longer!!!! I've been awful about my vitamins (not being home much hasnt helped). I've also noticed that after I straighten my hair, my curls don't come out so clean when I wash it. It takes a few days for them to take a good shape when I get my hair wet.

What's nice about my hair growing out is that my bangs are becoming less awkward, which means I don't have to pin them back anymore. Less metal in my hair is a good thing.

I have caught a few split ends here and there, but I think that's normal. No one is going to have perfect, no split end hair, much less me.

I have also found that I carry my coconut oil around with me. When my hair gets a little worn out from the day, it's nice to smooth it out a little with the oil, plus it smells great and gives it a nice summer shine.

I've also been toying with the idea of dying my hair again, but I don't want to have to deal with the upkeep. If I do anything, I might do some blonde undertones, but we'll see. I think that would look cute even when my hair grows out because it'll look like my hair was tipped blonde. I'll let you know what I decide.

Also, I don't like the dry shampoo I use. It makes my hair crunchy like I put gel in it and then hair sprayed it. Not soft and touchable like I want it to be.

So out of all of this, I need to be better about my vitamins and stop straightening my hair. Both are more difficult for me than they sound.

Day 20

I washed my hair yesterday, but my curls just didn't turn out the same as they did on Tuesday. I think I didn't give my hair enough time to dry. It looked ok during the night, but I ended up pulling my hair back. I slept with it in a bun, and the morning result wasn't so pleasant. In order to avoid the 2 hour drying process my hair likes to have, I straightened my hair because I had to do a family portrait today. Here's a picture:

Day 17

Yesterday, I washed my hair and I just wanted to show you the dramatic changes it goes through while drying.  I refuse to use a blow dryer.  It makes my hair super frizzy and nothing will tame it after that. 

This is just after I washed my hair.  I dried it with an old t-shirt.  I don't rub, just squeeze the water out. 

This is 10 minutes later.  My hair is still very damp, and I squeezed just a little more water out with the t-shirt. 

This is about 25 minutes after my shower.  I combed my hair with a large plastic pick comb from ends to roots, then applied about a dime size of leave in conditioner.  See how my bangs are already falling in my face, compared to earlier when they would stay back? 

This is about 45 minutes after my shower.  I used about two egg sized clumps of mouse through my hair, just scrunching it from the bottom.  At this point, my bangs were giving me trouble and I pulled them back with a very loose pin curl. 

About another 20 minutes later my hair was 95% dry, and my curls looked great!  I took the pin curl out about 10 minutes after I put it in, and just did a simple twist of my bangs to keep them back while I was doing my makeup.  I left them down the rest of the night, and they had a great curl to them.  I sprayed some hairspray in my hair just for hold, not enough to make my hair crunchy in combination with the mouse.  I hate that feeling.  It makes me feel like a doll, or like I'm wearing a wig.  I want my curls to feel sophisticated and touchable.  Here's a picture with my friend from later on that evening.  

Sometimes this works for me.  They key is to be patient.  Curly hair takes a lot longer to dry, especially if it's thick like mine.  I know I have to give myself extra time to get ready when I want my curls to look this good. 

Happy curling! Love your hair! 

Day 16

Today is hair washing day! It was a long weekend and straightening my hair on Saturday was a good idea. I didn't have the time to be fixing my hair in a cute way, and when I straighten it once, it stays straight. No extra anything.
I haven't been so great with my vitamins this weekend, but I'll get back on track today. I think they also help me with my apatite because I don't eat enough already.
This week I'm planning on keeping my straightener away for good. I need to let my hair replenish itself. I want to get at least 3 cycles of washing my hair in before the next time I rock the straight and sleek style again.

Day 14

I succumbed again to my straightener yesterday. I was going to the opera and my curls weren't cooperating again and my dress only looked good with my hair down. Here's some pictures from yesterday and today.

Day 12

I washed my hair today! It smells so good. The conditioner felt fantastic in my hair. I'm always in a better mood after I wash my hair. Maybe it's the scalp massage I give myself, or I'm just more relaxed because I feel clean. Who knows.... It just puts a smile on my face.

Day 11

Okay, I've been so busy, but I have been promising to give you my shopping list from Monday.  So here it is:

Conair flat paddle brush
Suave Professionals Moisturizing Almond and Shea Butter Conditioner (sulfate free)
Organix Nourishing Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum
Suave Professionals Waterless Foam Shampoo
Spring Valley Folic Acid 800mcg (1-a-day)
Spring Valley Hair, Skin, and Nails plus Biotin 1000 mcg (3-a-day)

None of this cost very much, and you can find it all at Wal-Mart!  I was so excited!  Being a college student on a budget, I have to penny pinch no matter how obsessed I am with my hair.  I also splurged just a little on some all natural face wash products to see how it would help my skin as well.  I bought:

Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Clarifying Toner
Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Pore Refining Scrub

I really hope all of this is worth it, especially the vitamins.  The Hair, Skin, and Nails vitamins are really big, and I'm not very good at swallowing them.

I will say, even though I cracked and straightened my hair the other day, I noticed something great!  My hair has never felt more soft and clean in a long time.  I didn't have any split ends!  My hair looked great all day.  I was nice to go straight for just a few days, but tomorrow is wash day, so bye bye sleek hair and hello curls again.

It all got me thinking though, I can mistreat my hair from time to time, just not EVERY DAY like I was for so long.  I'll try to keep it down to once or twice a month for styling, so I guess I should pick my styled days wisely.  Really, my ultimate goals in all of this is 1) healthier hair, 2) longer hair.  I know you can't grow your hair long unless it's healthy.  I just miss my long hair so much!  I love that I cut it off back in January for Locks of Love for a second time, but I hated how my hair has looked since then.  It's starting to look better, and I get quite a lot of compliments on my curls, but they're not how I want them.  I don't take compliments very well, and I'm very stubborn.  I'm fine knowing other people like how my hair looks, but if it's not exactly what I want, I'm not happy.  This challenge to work on healthier hair is to make myself happy with the thing I'm obsessed about the most: my hair, because really... it's MY HAIR.  Especially if I get the crazy idea to cut my hair off for Locks of Love again, I want to give healthy hair to sick patients, not dead hair.  How mean is that?

Day 9

I gave in today. We're going to the horse races for my internship, and I caved and straightened my hair. What I've noticed is that my hair is so much softer than before. Also, it doesn't seem so dry anymore. I used a coconut oil serum to tame the fly aways, and it makes my hair smell fantastic.

Also, I'm really excited for the next time I get to wash my hair. At Walmart yesterday, I found a Suave brand, all natural, sulfate free shampoo an conditioner. They were out of the shampoo (which is okay, because I still have a ton to get rid of) so I'll just get some in a few weeks.

I am NOT going to make this a frequent thing. Even though I love the way my hair looks straight, I know the excessive heat I'm applying is not good for it. I just love the way my layers look when my hair is sleek. Also, my natural highlights show through. I'll post pictures later and also let you know exactly what products I got at Walmart and their prices.

Day 8

Yesterday was a long day, and I didn't get to post. I wanted to wash my hair yesterday, but I was out of conditioner. All was well, but I really need to wash my hair today. Heading to Walmart later to see if they have the products I need at a good price.

Day 6

Pulled my hair back today after it dried. My curls were cute and more like waves, but the way it was pulled back made it look like I was a made scientists when my hair was down. I like it in a clip more than a bun. It just makes my hair look more interesting. And my cute little fly aways help frame my face a little bit.

Morning 6

Showered last night an wet my hair, and the result in the morning was some serious bed head. So I just wet my hair again this morning, and styled as usual (leave-in conditioner and mouse). I'm out of conditioner still. I really need to make a Walmart run. I've been looking at sulfate free shampoos and conditioners. I know these will be the best for my hair.

Morning 5

Yup. Skipped my shower this morning and just brushed my hair out and pulled it into a sock bun. I'm working at an outdoor amphitheater today, and it's a cute way to pull my hair back and stay cool.

Night 5

Giving my hair a break tonight and just wearing it down. I'm also skipping my usual leave-in conditioner routine. I don't want anymore mess in my hair than necessary for tomorrow. Goodnight y'all.

Day 4

The twist method didn't work for me. My hair just stays in too tight of curls. I decided to wash my hair this morning and let it air dry. It wasn't cooperating with me, so I pulled it back in a clip, and pinned my bangs back. What do you think?