Straight Poof

Today's hair was a leftover from yesterday, and while the picture is not the best, I was rather pleased when I attempted a straight hair poof "Bump it" without a bump to assist me.

I will admit there are 10 bobby pins in my hair, and I cheated a bit by bumping my bangs first, then pulling the additional bits on the sides up and pinning them. (Please note, I took this picture after I parked at work and realized I'd yet to take my hair picture for the morning!)

Style: Straight, "Bump it", half up.
Time: After straightening 5-7 minutes

Sunday Classic

Since I went to such lengths to straighten my hair yesterday I was not eager to switch it up today.. however, lets be honest, I like change too much to wear it the same two days in a row! So, for my Sunday Classic hair-do I decided to pull a portion of it back and pin it, for this result:

Except it is important to note that this picture, as well as many of the others are either taken with my laptop or in a mirror, so you are actually seeing the reverse of what the hair do is. Aka.. My bangs ACTUALLY go to the right.


Style: Straight with the top pinned/poofed.
Time: 2 minutes (after straight)

Simple, easy, classic.

The Outcome

So, today I was determined to actually blow-dry my hair... start to finish and not wimp out because my shoulders got tired haha

Step one: Blow-Dry with the new handy dandy round brush. 20 minutes.

The good thing about learning to blow-drying is that I am no longer stuck to curly styles only if I did not plan ahead and shower the night before.
The bad thing is it takes me forever and a day to get ready even with short hair because of how thick it is... And, as you can see in the picture, it does not get rid of all the frizzy curls. Darn.

Step two: Brush out and figure out what I actually want to do with my hair. 2 minutes.

I decided I would attempt a much more sleek straight look with a twist.. Literally a twist :)



Step three: Straighten and add a twist.
15 minutes.

I like this picture because you can really see the faded red, grown out natural color, and the darker brown haha.. I may have to start thinking of a new color I want.

Then of course I had to finish getting ready in general and give a finale picture:


Success! (37minutes + make-up time later)

Blow Drying Attempt #2...

Tomorrow I will use my handy-dandy new brush to attempt a new blow drying style... we shall see if it works.. I'll keep you posted, and might even get inspired to share the progressive states of learning to blow dry my hair..

I really like this brush, and it certainly is TOTALLY different then a regular brush.. who knew?!
I really like the combo bristles on this one, for someone with incredibly thick hair it keeps me from getting lost in this brush.

Again, thanks Goody for having quality products for not very expensive. Cost $3-4.

(does anyone else suddenly break into song "ooooohh where is my hair brush?!..." in their mind?.. Maybe that's just me...)

Straight Please

Today my hair was a terrible mess, and nothing new, so instead of detail the boringness that would have been my hair.. I thought I would begin my product reviews...

If I want straight hair it takes some serious planning ahead.

First I wash my hair with an array of choices of Shampoos (most recently):

Since it is winter and land of the frozen tundra, it leaves not only my skin, but my hair incredibly dry, so I have found that this line does a fantastic job of helping restore moisture.. In part because it is organic (whatever that means)!
I also only wash once during the winter instead of following the rinse and repeat suggestion.
Typically between $5-6.
(My curly hair is a different regiment.. exhausting I know..)



Then I use this conditioner:

My reasoning is as follows, first, since I color my hair frequently this has done a great deal to help me fight off split ends, and does a fantastic job with giving me a touchable smooth and soft hair-do.
Also, since I plan on rinsing it out, it is not too heavy on my hair, and definitely does not leave it greasy.
Typically between $9-10.


Then, once I have rinsed and towel dried my hair I apply a dollar coin size dollop of this to my hair, being careful to massage throughout my entire hair, not just wherever my hands happened to land first... It becomes quite the skill, but soon enough you can figure out how to tell when your entire head has been covered thoroughly.
Typically $6-7.

Again, since it's the winter tundra, moisture is the name of the game... Especially when my plan is to flat iron my hair, which essentially burns off most of the moisture and oils your hair has.

Typically I let my hair air-dry, usually while I sleep, but slowly I am and want to learn to blow dry my hair in a helpful manner instead of a fro manner.

Then, once my hair is completely dry (can I suggest, unless you want your hair to break off, never straighten it while it is wet).. I straighten using this:

I have been through probably 3-4 different straighteners in the last several years, and this one keeps chugging along. It is currently 3 years old and while definitely not as nice as it once was, does a fantastic job straightening my hair.
I will soon have to give it up for a new one I am sure, but for a fairly inexpensive price it has been wonderful to me (and my hair)!
 Typically $25-27.

And then, I am ready to face the day with some form of straight hair!

Sophisticated

I was in the mood for something a little more sophisticated, but I did not want to pin my bangs back because I was a fan of the way they were laying this morning... So, here is what I came up with, nothing too dramatic, but just a touch different.

Style: Straight, with the top 1/4 bobby pinned back.
Time: After straightening, 2 minutes

Nothing extravagant today, but slightly different all the same.

Blow Drying Attempt #1...

Last night I used my new large round brush and attempted to blow dry my hair for real... I did the front half before my already tired from working out shoulders decided I was done... So, I gave up and let my hair air dry.. then straightened it this morning...

I am a fan of how the new large round brush changes the shape of my bangs!

Overall style: Straight
Time: (Should've been longer) Total after blowdrying and straightening was 30 minutes.

Note: I typically add oil to my damp hair when I know I want straight hair... I'll showcase that in one of my product highlights too..

ps.. my fingers while obviously larger than normal cause of the closeness to the mirror look odd haha

Bobby Pins

After years of ridiculously trying to subdue my thick, curly, and at times incredibly long hair with bobby pins that stretch, break, chip, fall out, etc.. and ultimately leave my hair out of place or requiring an abnormally large amount of hair spray and a tortuous number of bobby pins to achieve my perfect hair do; I have FINALLY found one that I am totally sold on, and will never buy any other kind (although I need to get a few new colors for when I change my hair color...)

I bought one package more than 6 months ago, and have not had a single one chip, break, stretch or fall out.. my biggest problem is I have lost 2 so far!

So, these have my recommendation for the best bobby pins out there! Thank you Goody for finally making ones that do their job perfectly!

Product rating for Goody Colour Collections: A+

Twist and Pull..

Today was a multiplying factor when it came to my hair decision..

1. I was out late last night.
2. I was late getting up and ready for church.
3. My bangs take the longest for me to do in the AM.

So, in an effort to help with all of these things, I came up with the following style.. The picture is edited to help you see the contrast and the style, so, my walls are not painted the incredibly fun yellow.. They are yellow, but not that color ;)

Style: Twisted and pinned bangs, and an athletic headband with curly hair.
Time: 5 minutes.

I think I need to explain the prep that goes into my curly hair... I don't wash the conditioner out of my hair when I plan on having curly hair, instead I leave it in, then squeeze the remaining extra out of my hair, do a quick towel dry/scrunch, add a little mouse or gel (depending on my mood), and proceed with whatever style I feel like for the day.

The purpose behind leaving the conditioner in is this:

1. The winter makes my hair a desert wasteland.
2. The conditioner helps the curls stay defined with less artificial chemicals (I tend towards organic conditioners if I'm leaving it in)
3. The curls are fuller and curl better.

My goal is to exhibit a few of my favorite products tomorrow and share why I love them so!

p.s. I just noticed most of my faces this week have looked the same haha.. whoopsie, apparently I've been in the same fun/spunky mood each time I have taken the picture..

Functional Braid...

Today the wind was close to 400mph, and I needed to head to Georgetown to look for some unique shoes.. So, I knew my already straight hair needed some help or I was going to look like a quick hot mess... This was my solution, and I must say, I was pretty pleased with the turnout!

I only braided the side my bangs are on, and the rest is short enough that it did not pose a problem.

Style: Straight and braided
Time: Since my hair was already straight it took me 5-10 minutes to braid and run the straightener through a few times to control a couple spastic hairs, I also used hair wax for the fly-aways.

Traditional Style

I like to think of this as my traditional Do... except for some reason my hair was all about adding a little extra poof and flair.. so I went with it!

Overall Style: Straightened
After shower time: ... This is a little tricky because usually I if I want a good straight style I shower the night before, let it air dry, and then straighten it the next morning... So, it typically takes me 15-20 minutes to straighten currently.

My new goal is to learn to accurately blow dry my hair for real... So, in my new endeavor I bought a new brush to help!

Soon I will post about my favorite products! :)

Curls and Braids

Today was a sort of "I need change but am too lazy for it" kind of day..

Overall style: Curly with braided bangs
After shower time: 5-10 minutes

This was my walk back to work from Starbucks on a BEAUTIFUL Wednesday...

The Many Hairs of Kris..

Here's a brief synopsis of a few typical hair styles over the last few years...

*This picture was a professional picture from Stephanie Rhea

All of these clearly show the little bit of variety and adventure I enjoy with my hair.. There is no particular order to these pictures, but the short dark/red hair is the most current... And we shall see where it goes...

(Obviously this is the many faces of Kris too haha!)