Hair cut/product review

Well, after a few weeks with the cut and using some of the products, I'm back to report.

The cut looks ok only when I style it straight. When it's curly, the layers are too short and I end up looking sort of like a mushroom. Blow-drying always makes it straighter than I'd like. I've been experimenting with how to straighten it, using curlers to add some body. It's working alright, but I still need to master the technique.  Here's what I ended up with today, which is not bad. I think it's even starting to look professional.

Products:
I purchased Frizz-ease Mousse and, after using it a few times, I just don't think it's for me. When I use it before blow-drying, it never helps hold the curl that I try to make happen. And when I use it when leaving it to air dry curly, it makes my hair very crusty and stiff.

I also bought deep conditioner. The hair stylist suggested Moroccan oil, but since that is $40 a pop, I thought I'd see if this stuff was comparable:

So far it seems ok. For $6 compared to $40, I'll take it. Right after using it (once a week as recommended) my hair is beautifully soft and comb-able. But with all the blow-drying, I think my hair might need something more powerful for the long run. When I comb it out, it gets very dry.

I think the products I'm most happy with are ones I've had for awhile. They are Aveda's Hang Straight and Confixor Liquid Gel.

 

These were recommended by a stylist at Aveda a few years ago and I use them every time I straighten my hair. They never make it feel tacky or stiff (Perhaps there is something to listening to your stylist and investing a little...if it's the right stylist).

I may go back to this stylist, I do like the layers when it's straightened, but I've had a lot more success when I drop a little bit more money and go to Aveda.

The Hair Cut

Everyone wants what they don't have. For me, it's straight hair. I have this curly hair that isn't that bad really, and if I learned how to style/treat it properly, it'd probably be stellar, but most of the time it just ends up making me look like some sort of fuzzy bear.

Here is what I've discovered in my research so far (particularly pertaining to curly hair):
• To keep hair healthier, don't wash everyday
• Distribute natural oils by brushing it out at night
• Use deep conditioner once a week
• Biotin is a great natural supplement to increase hair strength and vitality


Well, I went to a stylist this weekend and told her what I was trying to achieve with a cut that would be easier to straighten but still look good curly. I told her I thought maybe going shorter would help, but she discouraged that, saying the shorter it was the more big it would appear, because it wouldn't have the weight to hold it down. So what she did was gave me layers that are a bit more drastic than I've had from cuts in the past. She also used Moroccan Oil before blow drying and said it was great for moisturizing. I was going to buy the deep conditioner but it was $40 (more than I paid for the haircut with the coupon I found).

Here is how it turned out:

Her styling

My styling

What I began with in May

Month 4 begins

Wow, I know I say it every month, but here I am, still going. Hair month seemed so far off when I started. So here's what I hope to accomplish this month:

• Learn the best practices to take care of my specific hair (ie. maintain curly hair and calm down frizz).
• Find the best style for my hair type, and which is easy to style straight or curly.
• Figure out how to best style it curly
• Find the best color to stick with for my skin tone.
• Find a great eyebrow person. I had one once that plucked instead of waxed and my brows always looked fabulous afterward.
• Begin styling a professional look for myself, which will be rounded out when I undertake my fashion month.

So here we go!

Month 3 Wrap Up

So this month, I discovered a few makeup tips:
The one I like the best is using dark eye shadow in sort of a sideways v in the corner of your eye, in the crease, out to the corner and back in to the top of your eye lashes. Then a lighter shade over the lid.
Here is one eye with the new makeup style, and one eye without

 

I bought some good products and have been making sure to keep my face clean and to get that eye makeup off every night.

And I got myself a facial which, if nothing else, got rid of some of those blackheads.
There is still lots to learn. I'd still like to speak to someone who can give me personalized makeup tips.

Now for the side-by-sides

Man, did I looked hideous

Ah the wonders of the right lighting