Day 26- "Sweet and Simple Hair"

Lincoln suggested that I was trying to make my hair too intricate and that I was either going to burn myself out or I was getting to complicated. I totally agree. I decided to just do some simple braids on the side of my head and pinning them around the back of my head. Like a little crown if you will. It is sweet and easy and it takes no time at all. You don't have to spend forever on your hair in order for it to look nice and polished.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 25-"Hiking Hair"

We are getting so close to the end, and this is what I come up with. I am a little ashamed. It was my day off so, Lincoln and I packed up the car and headed out for a day in nature. We had a great time hiking and spending time outside. Clark was great and the weather couldn't of been better. We came home and stayed busy with all of the little things that you do on a saturday. I even took a little nap, it was awesome. THEN, and only then did I think to take a picture of my hair. You can see that it was a total mess after all the running around. A more put together person would have fixed it, but not me, I wanted to show you what it looked like after my long day. I knew I would be busy today and I would be out and about, so all I really wanted to do was wear a ponytail. But not just a regular ponytail, one with a little pizzaz.

I sectioned my hair in two parts, top and bottom. I did two dutch braids starting at my ears and meeting in the middle of my head. I then just made a simple ponytail. It was so easy. And clearly it lasted all day even with the hiking, napping, cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking... you get the idea. What a great day!

Four-Strand Braid Tutorial

Here it is. The braids everyone has been asking about. Let me know what you think. I want to hear from you on whether you were able to figure it out or not. Enjoy!

Have a happy hair day!

Day 22- "Knot so Hard"

Almost all of my updos start with what I taught on day 7. I almost always start with a little backcombing in the crown securing it with two bobby pins on either side. I then took my hair in three sections on either side of my head and just did a square knot all the way down until there was no hair left to tie. I secured with a few bobby pins and I was done. It was so easy.

You can leave your ends sticking out all crazy, or you can tuck them in. I promise I did this in no time. I even had little Clark around being cute. Just goes to show you, being a mom doesn't mean you have to have stupid hair.
Have a happy hair day!

Day 21-"Waterfall Braid"

Today was a day for experimenting. I saw this braid online and I wanted to give it a shot. It isn't as exciting as I wanted it to be. I felt a little old school. In fact, the other day I asked my brother if my outfit was a little too 1997, his response, "wow, it is getting hot this summer." So, I guess that was his way of answering my question as nice as possible. Maybe that interaction has made me a little sensitive to looking stuck or trapped in time. I don't think this hairstyle is doing me any favors in keeping me fashion forward. Oh, well.

The way to do this braid, is to drop the bottom section rather than joining it with a new section you pick up. The new section you pick up becomes the new bottom section. It sounds complicated, but it was really easy. And, like I said before, I don't think I executed it very well. I guess that is to be expected after trying to style your hair different for 30 days. There is bound to be a day that you don't like.

Better luck tomorrow. Have a happy hair day.

Day 18-"Four-Strand Flat Braid"

I love this braid. It is so much easier than it looks and it is so pretty. I usually only do it when I pull a small amount out of my face like the picture. I like the fact that it isn't your average braid, but is just as easy. I have a tutorial coming showing you how to do it, but being sick really put a halt on the tutorial. I felt like my head needed a little break from my hair being up so much, so I thought a simple braid would work

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some fireworks!!

Day 13-"Who says you can only wear one?"

Oh, what's that? You thought I decided to wear just a lame ponytail for day 13?

Wrong, I decided to wear THREE ponytails!! Some of you asked me where I came up with the bun-hawk, and here it is. I used to wear my hair like this as my go to style until a girl told me it looked dumb. I was pretty upset and thought about retiring the look. But, then I remembered that she has the same haircut since the third grade and I have never seen her wear anything but sensible shoes. So, the triple pony rides again. It isn't too obvious that you have three ponies in there until you move them around a bit. I can't wear my hair in a pony to work, so this is my day off style.

Bonus! Check out the action shot. You thought it was fun to swing one pony around, try three!!

Don't mind my regrowth in the back. It is all part of my long term hair goal. I wanted to grow my color out a little so it can be ready for my next hair transformation. You need to prepare for these things.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 12- "Ballerina Bun"

I LOVE the ballerina bun! It is the easiest style with the best response that I do. I studied ballet for a large part of my young life, so it is only natural for me to wear this style with pride. I know you have seen it around, but do you know how to do it? Well, now you do. Enjoy the tutorial.

FYI- I always smooth out the bun in the back when I am finished, I just didn't do it very well in the video. And, just in case some of you are using your Nancy Drew skill and wondering why I am wearing a different outfit in the video, I did the video on one of my days off. However, I swear to you that I didn't cheat and I did wear my hair like this today. The picture was taken after my long 11 hour day, and the bun is still going strong. I challenge you to give it a try and make it your own. I sometimes add a fabric flower or I twist the hair as I wrap it around. Do your thing and let me know how it goes.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 11- "Second day curls"

It's all about the head scarf!! I love wearing headbands or scarves to tame my hair. I woke up this morning with a head full of bouncy curls from yesterday's due, and I for sure didn't want to work too hard on styling it if I already had something going on, so in comes the scarf. (Was that a run on sentence or what?!) This is one of my favorite scarfs to wear in my hair. It is long enough to wrap around my head twice and it isn't too silky so it doesn't slip out. I got it from UO like forever ago. I also find great headbands and accessories at Forever 21 and my all time favorite place to buy really nice hair accessories is J.Crew. They have gorgeous things for your hair.

All I'm saying is you don't have to just wear a sad twist tie in your hair to get it out of your face. Be adventurous. Wear a scarf, it's not just for your neck!

Have a happy hair day!

Day 9- "The Bun-Hawk"

Who says you have to only wear one? I want to wear three. I like my buns to be nice and messy. I don't mind if there are hairs twisting out all over the place. It looks nice all sleek and polished too, but sometimes you need to just not worry about it. I challenge you to try it.

I always start with the top bun. I have my hair parted on the side and just sort of swept back with the hair. I think you can part it just about anyway you want. I have a tendency to twist my buns the same direction and when I pin them, I pin in a X . I use only about 3-4 bobby pins per bun. I usually rake my fingers along the sides to blend the part a little, give it some spray, and I'm out the door. Give it a try. This works with shoulder length hair too, you just might need to use rubber bands to hold the buns in place.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 8- "Father's Day Hair"

Happy Father's Day!! I wanted to show my appreciation to Lincoln by wearing my hair the way he likes it. Lincoln is amazingly supportive when it comes to my crazy love of all things girly. I have more clothes then I need (did I just admit to that?), I have SO much makeup and I write a blog about how I style my hair. HELLO!!! I don't think he knew what he was in for when we got married, but he is very supportive and helpful. (Who do you think takes most of the pictures?) Anyway, I wanted to show my love for him by wearing my hair the way he likes most- straight.

When I do a intricate style or lots of curls I NEVER let him run his fingers through my hair until the end of the night so he doesn't mess it up. However, when it is straight he can play with it to his hearts content. I added the braids to give some character to the otherwise straight hair. I have two on my left side, one on top of the other...
...and one french braid on this side. The braids help to keep the hair out of my face and they are so in right now. Thank you Lauren Conrad for making them so mainstream.
You want this simple look? Here are some key things you need to know.

STRAIGHT HAIR-

Assuming you have smooth hair and it isn't TOO curly, here is the 411 on straightening out your hair. You have to smooth it out as best you can while you blow dry! Having a good silk product (my favorite is Moroccan Oil!!!) is so important. It will help to smooth out your hair as well as protect it. Use your hands or a wide tooth comb as you dry it to make it as smooth as possible. Once it is 100% dry it is time to section it off into small sections to flat iron it. Section it much like the way I showed you in the Loose Curl tutorial. Use small sections for best results. I would also recommend a heat protector to help fight fly aways and damage (caviar anti-aging rapid repair spray is my favorite). Using a good straightener is CRUCIAL to getting a nice smooth style. If you use one that is not a ceramic flat iron you are doing some major damage. I know that they are not cheap, but if you use it all the time, and you don't want to ruin your hair... THEN GET ONE THAT COUNTS! It is worth the money, I promise. I use a FHI flat iron. I know this is a really quick rundown, but I have a feeling most of you get the idea. If there are any questions, let me know and I will address them.

FRENCH BRAIDS-

Hrmmm, where do I begin? It is like a braid, but attached to the head. I guess the only way to explain it is to show you. I might have to do a tutorial later. The way I learned is on my sisters head when I was about 9 or 10. I did it over and over again while we watched the Disney Channel family movie. Once you figure it out, you can do it anywhere. I will show you looks with different braids in the future. They are so fun and so important to know. Well, at least I think they are.

Ok, that was way too much writing. Are you still with me? I challenge you to wear braids in your hair and make sure it is touchable for your love. If not for your love, then for you.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 7- "What's holding your hair back?"

I know that some of you are going to take one look at this hair style and think, "LAME!" But, wait, I want to explain. I think it is important to know how to pull your hair back away from your face, but still giving you volume and hold. You need to know secure your hair back with only bobby pins (and not using a rubber band) so you can better understand how to start a updo. And, I also think it is crucial to know how to do this with using the least amount of bobby pins possible. THIS is why I styled my hair like I did, to get you on track to knowing how to really style your hair. Your'e welcome.

Let's begin. You can see that I have a nice bump at my crown with smooth sides pulled back. Below is a step by step on how to achieve said style.

Step 1. Take your crown section and give yourself some nice back combing. After the back combing, bobby pin only the crown section down by putting a bobby pin on either side of the section. Remember, this is only the crown. You are leaving the front sides out for now. Step 2- Take on of the side parts and smooth it across the two bobby pins holding the crown section down. Place a third bobby pin under the bobby pin opposite from the side you are working on. Slide it in straight not at an angle, this will help the bobby pin hide under the hair.

Step 3- Take the other side and repeat what you did with the first side by sliding a bobby pin in under the other pin holding the crown in place.
Step 4- (I admit, I didn't do this step very well for the picture.) You now need to make sure the hair is hiding the pins and the strand are held in place.
I didn't get a good chance to look in the mirror as I was doing these pictures, but you get the idea. I love using this technique when I start many of my updos so the style doesn't weigh down the crown and make the hair too flat on top. I always use bobby pins and rarely do I use hair pins or straight pins. I know this doesn't look like much, but once you understand how to put a bobby pin in, you can do so much with your hair.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 5- "Topping off a fishtail"

Today was a day to wear a hat and sport the classic fish braid. I have to admit, I am not very good at doing this braid. I can do braids in my sleep, but the fish braid always seems to get the best of me. The hat was for added style and for sun protection. You can never be too careful when it comes to those pesky UV rays. I have a really large head, so I usually have a difficult time finding hats that fit. I found this lovely at Target in the guy's department!! I am not above wearing a guys hat.

Today's tip- Embrace the bobby pin! I have a HUGE box that seems to be used more than anything else. Lincoln is always finding them all around the house. Sorry honey! But seriously, USE BOBBY PINS!!! I will be using them in almost all of my styles, so go out and get some today.

Have a happy hair day!

Day 1- "Nothin' much"

I decided to start out easy, I wanted to show you what my hair looks like without anything done to it. I seriously did NOTHING!!! Hence the title, "nothin' much." I washed it the day before and wore it in a bun most of the day, so that is why it has a little wave. I didn't wash it this morning, but I ALWAYS wash my bangs. I think the biggest thing most of my clients do that they need to work on is NOT washing their hair everyday. It doesn't need it. I wash my hair every other day, sometimes even every two. I think the blow dry time takes way too long and it can be damaging to your hair. At night, I sleep with it in a low loose ponytail or a high bun so it doesn't get too tangled. Like I said before, I always wash my bangs though. I just wash them in the sink or I leave them out of the shower cap (this look is VERY attractive). This hopefully shows you what I have to work with. My hair is right at maybe a little below my bra strap with layers and almost chin length bangs. So, there you go. I know this is very anti-climactic, but we are just getting started.