Hair Advice from a non-hairdresser!

Since I am in the not fun part of my chemo round, I figured I would post something that made me happy…how to have a good hair day.  If you have hair (sorry, Mike) then this may help you get the long curls that you wanted and have them actually stay curled.  I have been wanting my hair to grow ever since Mike proposed to me in 2008, and my hair just grows painfully slowly.  A friend of mine did share with me that her hair has grown as long as a mermaid’s because she stopped using heat on it.  This is an excellent point, but I don’t know how to not use heat on my hair.  I can’t just let my hair air dry and walk out the door unless I’m willing to look like a mess…not even a hot mess…just a mess!  I do think if you can use less heat then that is a start though, so here are my 3 suggestions to give your hair some extra care while not breaking the bank and your curls lasting possibly even in humidity…yes, you heard me correctly…even in humidity!  Now, everyone’s hair is different, so if this doesn’t work let’s blame someone else, but if it DOES work then it’s all me!  Well, I should probably give all the credit to the sweet gal that does my hair, but she’s pregnant with her 3^rd kid and doesn’t have time to write this blog.  Here goes- I hope this helps!

Tip 1- use less heat.  I know, I already said this, but here is what I tried…I wash my hair less often but when I do I wash it, I wash it at night and sleep on it wet.  When I wake up my hair is crazy looking but almost completely dry.  If I have to dry it a little more I use a lower heat and just use my fingers to comb through it.  The point is to get the moisture out, not make it look nice at this point.  Don’t use your brush to smooth it out like you probably usually do.

Tip 2- use something X-long!  Get your mind out of the gutter!  We’re talking about curling irons!  Jeez!  When you curl your hair, use a curling iron with an X-long barrel.  You can get one at Ulta (http://www.ulta.com/24k-gold-salon-curling-ironwand-extended-barrel?productId=xlsImpprod12191139) and this might be the ONLY time that they have let me use one of their stupid coupons and I got it for 20% off.  Don’t even get me started on retail establishments that send me 800 coupons and when I go to use it they say, “you can’t use this coupon on that item.”  UGH!  Hey Ulta!  I don’t shop here because you carry Maybelline; I can get that at Target or Walmart where it’s cheaper.  I shop here because you have high end makeup brands and hair products…I want to use the coupon on that stuff…not your lame Ulta brand products or the other common products that I could get anywhere!  Okay, sorry, I’m done.  Back to the curling iron, the longer barrel allows you to have more hair on the direct heat which helps smooth it out after you didn’t smooth it out when drying it.  And this is the only time your hair is getting heat put on it vs. the usual 2 times since you typically dry it with a hair dryer first.  Using this whole “sleep on wet hair, let it air dry and then curl your hair with an XL barrel iron” tip kept my hair curled for over 24 hours!  That was curling it in the wee hours of the morn, getting on a plane, flying to Tampa where it was hot and humid, in and out of the A/C and back in the heat, getting back on a plane, flying home, sleeping on it and heading to the pool the next day.  Still had curls.  The only reason I lost them is because I pulled my hair up into a top knot when I got into the water at the pool.  Not bad, right?!  Even the last time I was at my hair dresser’s she curled my hair for me with the X-long barrel and it was misting outside.  I told her not to waste too much time on my hair because the rain and humidity would pull it out.  She ignored me, and I’m so glad she did.  My hair stayed curled…all day!

Tip 3- If you have to dry your hair, don’t smooth it out while you’re drying it.  I don’t know about your hair, but with my hair if I use a straightener then my hair will not curl again until I wash it.  Sometimes I would use a straightener one day, not wash it and then try to curl it the next day- waste of life.  I stopped using a straightener because I didn’t want to be committed to straight(ish) hair for multiple days in a row.  I have always washed my hair, dried it in sections and used my paddle brush or round brush to smooth it out before I curled it.  Wellll, this is kind of like straightening my hair first before I wanted to put curls in it.  Duh.  Stop doing that.  Stop straightening it/smoothing it out before you curl it.  Just use your fingers and get the moisture out and then let the curling iron smooth it out and curl it.  Work smarter, not harder.

Okay, that’s what I got!  I’d also like to point out that the pic above was taken at the end of my long Tampa travel day at around 11pm…just to prove that I still had curls.  Please ignore the lacking of makeup since the day was full of emotions and travel.  I hope these tips help in giving you long, pretty curls!  No one ever says, “man, I love a bad hair day!” Hopefully this advice will give you a lot more good hair days, because I don’t care who you are, we all enjoy a good hair day!  They make you happy, and you know I like to Choose Happy!