Just ROLL with it

I had the great opportunity to be a guest blogger on one of my good friends blogs while she was out of town. I know what you are thinking, why would she ask me? I am not the most consistent blogger these days. But, for whatever reason, she asked me and I was happy to do it. I did a silly little video about hot rollers and I thought it was time I shared the post with you. Please check out her blog when you get a chance, she is awesome and she does some creative outfits. You might remember her from this post too.

Enjoy!

Well, hello Mommy Crafters. I am Mallory from splitendsandnewbeginnings and Ashley asked me to guest post for her today. Ashley is sort of my blog mentor if you will. She is super encouraging when it comes to making my blog a better place for all things hair and beauty, but I just don't seem to have the blog skills that she possesses. With her guidance, I am sure I can find my inner blogger. I am just so happy that she asked me to guest post so I can work on said blogging skills.

Let me tell you a little about myself. I have been doing hair now for over 10 years and I LOVE it. I think your hair is your BEST accessory. I say "accessory" and not a "feature" because you can change it and adjust it to your mood and to whatever look you want to show for that day. You can do so much with it and it can do so much for you. I feel my best when my hair has fresh color and cut. After having so many of my clients ask me how to do their hair in different and fun ways I decided to challenge myself by styling my hair different for 30 days. I got the idea from my good blog friend over at Hair Romance. It was such a fun challenge and it really helped to inspire both myself and many of my clientele. After finishing the challenge I decided to try and keep my blog going with the occasional hair and beauty tips and ideas. I think it is very important to look and feel your very best. Even in a pair of sweats and no makeup, we can still learn to appreciate the beauty that we possess inside (I sound like a Whitney Houston song.) Anyways, I am getting a little off track. I just want to share the love of all things girlie.

I have a few video tutorials on my blog and I made one special for all of you who follow Ashley. I have to warn you, I am a little embarrassing. When you watch yourself doing your hair or looking at yourself in the mirror, it is totally awkward. I drop things, I repeat myself, my throat gets totally dry and I get a really itchy nose once the camera starts recording. At least I remembered to put the toilet seat down this time and I was able to edit out the two phone calls that I received. Oh, the joys of blogging! Enjoy!

If you have any questions, let me know on my blog, and I will get back to you.

Have a happy hair day!

Video Tutorial- Flat Iron Curls

I know, I know, I have been totally M.I.A. Balancing my responsibilities as a wife, mother, and hairstylist can be a little tricky. I do what I can, but if the blog suffers a bit for it, I apologize.

I did this tutorial a few weeks ago, and I hated it. I was so embarrassed with how I look and sound. I did it after a long day of running around. I didn't want to post it, but I figure it had some useful tips. Don't mind the fact that the toilet lid is up.

I wanted to show you the simple steps in curling with a flat iron. I get that there are probably many techniques and ways to do this, this is just my own little style. I do make my hair curlier or even straighter with the flat iron depending on how small the section is and how tightly I turn the iron as I go down the strand. If you want lots of curls, just use smaller sections and turn the iron around more often as you pull it down the strand. Still do the 180 degree turn at the base, just turn the iron more as you pull out. You will understand when you see the video.

I tend to like my hair on the messy side these days. I think it looks a little too messy in the video, but you get the idea from what I am doing. Flat iron curls just take practice. Once you get them down you will have so much fun and so much freedom on how loose or tight you want your curls to be. Have fun.

P.S. I promise to remember to put the toilet lid down for the next video. I also promise to find a way to not bang my comb, product, and flat iron down when I am done with them.

P.P.S. I know most people call the type of flat iron I used a F-H-I, I just say it all together as FHI. Potato, Potato.

P.P.S.S. The Lanza spray wax is now discontinued. I hope (fingers crossed) they are just working on making it better. You can use other spray waxes to achieve the same result.

Have a happy hair day!

Short Hair- Glamorous Style

I have SOO many clients who think they need to grow their hair out before a big event. They think that having it long will give them more options with a glamorous style. Maybe having more length does give you more options, but there are still so many styles for hair that is shoulder length and shorter.

One of my clients on Saturday was a bridesmaid with gorgeous short hair. Meg, wanted her style to look stylish and not dated. I worked a flat iron over the entire back to give her curl and volume. We wanted the front to be polished and not so huge, so I shaped the curls into a soft finger waves and pin curls. It isn't a tight finger wave, but it still gave the front of her hair structure and interest. I think Meg is a great example of a gorgeous short hair style for weddings or nice events.

The point is, don't sweat it if your hair is on the shorter side and you have a big event coming up. There are many options for your hair. Just have a open mind and trust in your stylist, and you could end up with a beautiful style.

Curl Love

My awesome cousin, Stephanie, brought this article to my attention from the NYTimes. I am always in shock when I hear curly girls talk about having straight hair envy!! I would LOVE to have really curly hair. I guess the grass is greener on the other side. And, what do you think about these Drybars? Man, I love the power of hair!

Read the article here

Day 28- "The Lucille Ball"

When you have day two of curls like this, you don't want to get rid of them right away. I was surprised to see how in tact they were. Today was a super hot day and I had to wear it up. I had so many people tell me I looked like I was Lucille Ball or Emma. What do you think

Day 27-"Irish Dancer"

I don't know where to start with this one. There are so many things going on in my head with these crazy curls. My little sister is doing a challenge as well on her own blog. I saw her crazy curls and I just had to try it. I picked up the sponge rollers from her late last night, and I was so excited to get started. I washed and conditioned my hair then put some silk in it before I wrapped it in about a million of the smallest sponge rollers you have ever seen!! Lincoln kept telling me that it felt like he was in the 1940's with a wife going to bed with curlers in her hair. When I took out of the rollers this morning, it looked like this.

Yes, I know, I look like Richard Simons. Needless to say, I was a little freaked about what I was going to do about styling it since I was running late to work and having a hairdresser with sausage rolls for hair is not a good look. Luckily, I had a really cool first client who loved the idea of what I was doing and thought the curls were "cute." Right. Once I finished her I was able to run some putty and spray wax through the curls and shake them out a little. Don't ever try to brush your curls!!! Not unless you want a fro. By the end of the day my curls were looking more like this.

Day 23-"Curling Iron Curls"

I know what you are all thinking. "Didn't she do this look on day 2?" NO, I did not. That was done with a flat iron, this was done with a curling iron. See the difference? NO? Ok, let me point out that the hair is fuller and the curls are bigger and rounder. Still don't see the difference? Well, we can't win them all. I like the body that my hair gets with a curling iron. I don't think everyone knows how to master a flat iron curl, so I wanted to show that you can still get the look you want with a curling iron.

Have a happy hair day!