Hair

What Are Your Biggest Personal Hair Pet Peeves?

August 16th, 2018 by Karen 17 Comments

Thank goodness for hats on crazy hair days!

Even though my mane is currently under moderate control, and even though I’m relatively happy with my ‘do right now, I’m going to work under the assumption that there will still be days when it goes crazy…because cray hair days are inevitable. And even though I’m relatively content with my coif today, I still have my personal hair pet peeves.

In no particular order…

I have a widow’s peak, and I have NO control over baby hairs in it. Absolutely none! They do what they want, whenever they want to, and I can only get them to submit to my will if I use a round brush, a hairdryer, elbow grease and A LOT of styling products.

It’s work, and even when I go through the effort to tame them, those baby hairs still end up sticking up every which way.
So, I have wavy hair, and the curl pattern is tighter on my right side than it is on my left… On more than one occasion when new people have cut my hair, I’ve ended up with a lopsided ‘do that looked like I was trying to do a cool Salt ‘N’ Pepa style from the ’80s but failed miserably.

Sigh!
The bangs on the left side of my head always poof up and never lie quite right on their own, so I always have to use a heat styler to get them to fall the way I want them to.

‘Tis annoying.
Dandruff…

It’s annoying, and it ain’t cute, but I get it on occasion. (It’s the worst when the seasons are changing and my scalp goes nuts.)

How about you? Do you have any personal hair pet peeves?

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Easy Everyday Hair Styles for the Dog Days of Summer, Day 4: Friday Fun Buns

August 10th, 2018 by Karen 6 Comments

And for more heat-less hair styles for the dog days of summer, check out…

Day 1: The Woven Wonder

Day 2: Textured, Tousled Waves

Day 3: Wash-and-Wear Wow

OK, I’m sweating behind my knees and between my toes right now… I woke up this morning to second-day air-dried bed-head hair and scorching heat (today’s been in the ’90s, and we don’t have air conditioning), which left me with the following choices for living my best hair life on a blisteringly hot day like today: 1) throw it into a high pony (boring), 2) squirrel it underneath a hat (which is great for sun protection, but man…hats make me sweat so much.), or 3) fun bun it up.

Wanna guess which option I went with?

I feel like buns had a mega moment a few years back with the whole sock bun trend, but I’m still here for them in a major way. It’s an easy hairstyle for a summer Friday because you can look as sleek and done or as messy and undone as ya please! Do a single bun, or double the fun with two. Keep it simple, or jooj it up with dainty Dutch braids (like I do here). They’re surprisingly versatile.

Today’s fun buns is/are the last of the heat-less summer hair styles I had planned for this week, and they build on day 3’s wash-and-wear ‘do.

Once again, I Oribe’d it up…

Dry Texturizing Spray is an old fave of mine (I like keeping a backup on hand), but Mystify Restyling Spray is new to me. You spray it on second-day (or third- or fourth-day hair, for that matter), and it reactivates whatever styling product you have in your hair from the day before. It also has UV and heat protectors to guard your hair if you decide to use hot tools.

Let’s get ready to put the fun in ‘ze bun…

1. Fix flatness with dry shampoo

Spray a dry shampoo or texturizing spray through your hair, concentrating at the roots, to lift your second-day style.

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Easy Everyday Hair Styles for the Dog Days of Summer, Day 3: Wash-and-Wear Wow

August 9th, 2018 by Karen 22 Comments

And for more heat-less hair styles for the dog days of summer, check out…

Day 1: The Woven Wonder

Day 2: Textured, Tousled Waves

I don’t know if it’s because I’ve thoroughly embraced the triple “L”s (otherwise known as #lazyladylife), or if it’s because stepping outside right now feels like walking into the world’s largest oven, but I’m super into wash-and-wear hair right now. Beach babe meets laid-back French girl chic, if you please. Loose waves that willfully bend whichever way they want, with textured ends that signify that I tried enough to care about my hair this morning but didn’t obsess over every stray strand.

Lurves it!

And ya know, it’s also an instant pick-me-up, too, because I swear, I stand up straighter and smile wider 🙂 when my hair is even just a little bit done. It makes me feel like a functional human being.

For this easy hair style, I used Oribe products again because right now “Or” is my “bae.”

See what I did there…? 🙂 OK, that was pretty lame. I should not be allowed to say “bae” in public.

Here’s how you can work those dog-days-of-summer breezes to your air drying advantage…

1. Prep with a repairing shampoo and conditioner to heal any damaged ends

I like shampoos and conditioners that don’t strip my color, and Gold Lust Shampoo and Conditioner do that while simultaneously adding moisture and shine.

2. Towel dry, then apply a lightweight, moisturizing styling balm from the mid-shaft to the ends

Here’s the thing about air drying: unless you’re one of the lucky people who steps out of the shower with perfect hair that automatically falls into place (my friend Christine has hair like this, and yes, I’ve been jealous for over two decades), you gotta work a little something-something into it. Ideally, it’s a styling balm that does a bit of everything — moisture, hold, a touch of smoothness, and hydration, of course! The goal is to tame that mane a little (but not too much).

Oribe Featherbalm does everything aforementioned, so your air-dried ‘do looks done but not overly worked.

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Easy Everyday Hair Styles for the Dog Days of Summer, Day 2: Textured, Tousled Waves

August 8th, 2018 by Karen 21 Comments

And for more heat-less hair styles for the dog days of summer, check out…

Day 1: The Woven Wonder

Peep these summery wavy-waves, kitty cat! — that is, if you can get past that luscious lip. (It’s Chanel Le Rouge Crayon de Couleur Jumbo Longwear Mat Lip Crayon in 269 Impact from the fall collection.)

Read on for chill, casual waves that are also chic (at least I think so).

Unlike the waves at Waikiki Beach, where, I kid you not, it takes me 15 minutes to paddle out to the surf lineup with my noodle arms on a massive longboard twice my height, catching these summery waves takes less than five minutes.

And yes, I can feel the extra love ? emanating through the screen from my hair tribe right now. You know who you are! You hit snooze more than a few extra times every morning and always end up with only five minutes to style that mop. I’m here for you, homegirl.

Anywho… Remember yesterday’s braids? Yup, this is the next day ‘do, and like yesterday’s, this one doesn’t require any heat styling. Once again, I used some Oribe faves, including Gold Lust Dry Shampoo (moar magical than Magic Mike, ’cause it completely sucks up all the funk on your scalp without leaving behind any visible residue!) and Flash Form Finishing Spray Wax, a sweet stylin’ spray wax to separate your strands for serious texture (how cool is that?).

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Easy Everyday Hair Styles for the Dog Days of Summer, Day 1: The Woven Wonder

August 7th, 2018 by Karen 20 Comments

Hello, ? lovebug. Someone on my Facebook feed kindly reminded me yesterday that there are officially 20 weeks left until Christmas, to which I was like, “Woman, you’re cray!” It’s 80+ degrees outside, and I’m not ready to think about roasting chestnuts on an open fire…which I’ve never done before, BTW, but it sounds hella dangerous, especially while wearing hair styling products, because I’m not about to spontaneously combust over roasted nuts…

Which brings us to summer hair and easy summer hair styles.

As you know, I’ll do almost anything in the name of le beauté, but who wants to stand in front of a hot hair dryer while it’s broiling outside? I love a marvelous mane as much as the next girl, but these are the dog days of summer. I’d like to avoid sweating more than necessary, thanks very much.

Over the next four days, I’ll be showcasing some totally doable everyday hair styles that don’t require heat styling tools, and I’ll be using some of my favorite products from Oribe.

Say it with me: “OAR-bae.”

Today is all about “the braid.” It’s simple, chic and easily my top summer fave because…have you ever noticed that it doesn’t really matter what type of braid you do — fishtail, French braid, Dutch braid, etc. — as long as you do something, people usually notice and give you props for it, even if the braids are messy as hell (a.k.a. my style!)? LOL! It’s so true, though!

For today’s plait…

1. Start with a shampoo and conditioning sesh

I’m using Gold Lust (the LOVE OF MY LIFE) Repair & Restore Shampoo and Conditioner because I have demi-permanent hair color at the moment, and this particular pairing gets everything super clean without stripping my color.

2. Towel dry that ‘do

Blot or squeeze the excess water out, and avoid aggressively rubbing your hair to minimize frizz. I also like to use a super water-absorbent towel to help reduce the drying time.

3. Prep, nourish and protect

It’s already August, and your hair may need some TLC after all of the sexytime summer fun you’ve been having, so do your hair a solid by working a restorative hair oil through your strands to moisturize and prep.

I do a squeeze or two of Gold Lust Nourishing Hair Oil, a lightweight repairing hair serum for dry hair to moisturize and condition. Added bonus: it also has UV protection (a must for color-treated hair!). I massage it into my hair, concentrating most if it on the ends.

4. Part your hair down the middle, then do a Dutch or French braid on each side.

Leave about an inch of hair at the ends, because you’ll want that much to be straight for tomorrow’s style.

Yup, we’re planning ahead. 🙂

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