I don't know if I've ever talked about it before, but my hair is getting CRAZY long.
Until recently, my hair hadn't passed my shoulders since I was 8 years old.
I started growing it out in 2011 for my wedding (more hair = more updo possibilities ;) and haven't cut it since. I mean, I've gotten it trimmed, but that hardly counts.
Now it reaches the bottom of my rib cage and I absolutely love it.
Just one little problem:
I actually have to find new ways to do my hair now.
When it was short I didn't have to do anything. I could just roll out of bed and it would look cute. Now I have to brush it all the time (and ALOT) and style it in all these different ways so I don't always look the same. So whenever I see new ways to make curling or styling your hair easier, I get really excited.
Which brings us to:
My Adventures with Curlformers
I saw a tutorial for these things about a month ago and freaked out. How has no one thought of this before? It's such a simple idea yet this is the first I've ever heard about it (maybe I'm just out of the loop).
But I'm getting ahead of myself, let me first explain about the product for anyone else that is still out of the know.
Curlformers are flat, hollow spirals made out of plastic mesh with rubber-like ends.
They are sturdy but flexible and are used to curl hair without heat.
Each kit comes with a set of Curlformers (there are different kinds and quantities), and a hair hook. How they work is simple, but since it's probably easier to see than to read about, I'm going to post the tutorial that I found:
Basically, slide the Curlformer onto the hook, use the hook to grip a section of hair, and slide your hair into the Curlformer. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I ordered a knock off set about 2 weeks ago (the name brand ones are a little expensive for something I had never tried before), and have learned a few things that I wanted to share with anyone who wants to start using these things.
1. Watch ALL the youtube tutorials.
Obviously I'm exaggerating, you can't possibly watch ALL of them. But watch a couple of them at least, you won't be sorry. Since I ordered the knock offs, they didn't come with any sort of instructions. Luckily, I had already watched like 6 different tutorials (not exaggerating this time) and I knew exactly what to do. I believe that the real ones come with paper instructions, but nothing really compares to seeing the process in motion.
2. It really does take some practice.
When I got these in the mail I got started almost immediately. It took a really long time and I got really frustrated and I almost gave up. But like almost anything else, practice makes perfect and it's getting easier every time I use them.
3. Do NOT force your hair through the Curlformer.
While you're figuring out how to get them into your hair, the hook is going to get stuck. It's inevitable. But do not, and I mean do NOT force the hook through. The second it catches, stop and get your hair out. Brush through the section to get rid of the tangles and try again.
If the hook gets stuck it means one of two things is happening:
1) you didn't properly hook your hair and now it's tangling while you're trying to feed it through
or
2) you've hooked too much hair and it's formed a tangled mess inside the curlformer.
Either way it's bad, but the damage can be minimal if you don't try to force it through.
What happens if you're like me and try to force it through because you're pissed and stubborn you ask? You pull out a shit ton of hair and it hurts. No fun.
4. Make sure that your hair is the right amount of damp.
The magic behind these things is that they wrap your wet hair into the shape of ringlets and leave them there to dry that way. That means making sure that your hair isn't too wet or too dry is key. What I do is put all my Curlformers in when my hair is dry and then spritz my whole head with water from a spray bottle. This is ensures that all my hair will have the same amount of wetness while also making my hair only as damp as it needs to be to manipulate the shape of my hair.
5. Sleeping in these things is the WORST.
Seriously. I can't recall a time that I've ever been more uncomfortable that wasn't due to physical illness or pain. Almost every girl on youtube said that they slept in theirs and that it was uncomfortable, but bearable. They are FUCKING liars. I'm sure they meant well, but for reals, they must be robots or some kind of super humans because it's absolutely miserable.
I finished putting them in at about midnight and tried to go to sleep, and there's really no way to get comfortable. If you lay directly on them, you're resting your head on hard plastic. If you try to pull them up or off to one side and rest your head beside them, it yanks the shit out of your hair. I managed to fall asleep eventually, but woke up every time I moved my head. Finally at about 4:30am I said fuck it, dragged myself out of bed and removed all 40 of them. I just couldn't do it anymore.
And it sucks because sleeping on them would be great for shaving time off the process, which brings me to my next nugget of wisdom...
6. They may not need heat, but you may want to use heat.
I don't know about you guys, but I rarely have 3 or 4 hours to waste doing my hair. And yes, I know, you're able to do other things when these things do their thing (like cleaning, or your make-up, etc.). But with the exception of my wedding day (and almost every Halloween), I've NEVER needed more than an hour or so to get ready for anything. So now whenever I use these (after my 4am debacle I mean), I use a soft hood attachment for my hair dryer. It's actually made by the same people that make the real Curlformers. It's really big so you're able to fit all of them inside, and it attaches to almost any hairdryer. And it's the tits. It only takes about a half hour to dry my whole head, which is way faster than just waiting around for it to dry.
7. Like any other curling technique, you NEED to use the right products.
My hair is thick, straight and stubborn. It has a hard time holding curl on a normal day, so you can only imagine the horrific time I've been having with this god damned Virginia humidity. It happened last week. I spent about an hour putting them into my hair, another 30 minutes drying them, and 5 minutes taking them out. My curls were gone in less than 10 minutes, and I could have killed someone. That is A LOT of time to waste you guys, so PLEASE make sure you find a good curl booster or hair spray that will help them keep their shape.
But here's the bottom line:
Now that I've warned you about some of the problems that you are bound to come across, let me just say that
these things really do work.
^^ 4:30am. Thank god you can't see my face
^^ 4:30am. No idea how I managed a smile this early in the morning...
^^My first successful attempt with the hood dryer.
Only did half my head to show the before and after ;)
So yeah.
I know that this post has been crazy long but I really wanted to inform you guys about some of the problems I encountered so that you could avoid them when trying these out. These are actually really cool and easy to use once you get the hang of it, and I don't want anyone to get discouraged because it takes time to perfect. Now that I know how to use them, I absolutely love these things and will probably invest in another set in the near future (the REAL ones this time ;)
My hair is the longest it's been in AGES, so now I can finally do the more complicated stuff.
Which is why I was so excited when this little beauty arrived:
I need to hunker down and actually learn new ways to do my hair, and I think I've found the perfect way to inspire myself. I'm going to try to master a new braid every day and post the pictures here in a weekly post.
Here we go:
Braid-a-Day Challenge
week one
Scarf Pigtails^^
difficulty: medium
I don't think I could ever pull these off in life, but it's still a cool thing to learn to do just in case. I could use it for Halloween or something :)
Angel Braid^^
difficulty: medium
I LOVE this braid. It's a great way to dress up a normal bun or ponytail.
And it doesn't take long to do so I can do it before work :)
Mermaid Braid^^
difficulty: easy
Fun fact about me, I kind of suck at using bobby pins.
I don't know why, but I always have to use loads of them and they never work as well as everyone always tells me they can. So thanks to that, I kind of sucked at this braid. It's supposed to be 2 normal braids bobby pinned together to look like one big thick braid, but thanks to the fact that I'm pin inept and that my braids weren't the same length (my fault, easy fix), this braid didn't turn out quite the way it was supposed to.
Braided Headband^^
difficulty: medium
This one is also fun, it was just surprising how long it took to braid the tiny sections that make the band.
When I braid all of my hair at once it takes me less than a minute, but when I'm working with tiny little strands it takes much longer. It makes sense, I just didn't think about it until I was doing it.
Basic Braid^^
difficulty: easy
A new all the time staple for me. I'll braid it like this before bed so it doesn't tangle, I'll do it like this for work, or basically just anytime I want my hair out of my face. Ponytails look weird on me (my hair is too long and straight, I feel like Madonna) and buns tangle the shit out of my hair. This is a nice alternative :)
Fishtail Braid^^
difficulty: medium
One of my favorite things ever. Not just because it looks cool, but because I actually figured out how to do it. I've been trying to learn how to fishtail for years and I just couldn't wrap my head around it. But once I got it, it became second nature and I do it all the time. The only sad thing is it's kind of a delicate braid (especially if you have layers), so you can't move it about that much without it starting to come undone.
Meaning this one is a no no a work :( Boo.
Lace Braid^^ difficulty: medium
This one is essentially an angel braid that just never stops.
And like the angel braid, it's a great little garnish to your normal hair style.
As much as I love curling (or mermaiding;) my hair, it takes heat and time and this time of year the humidity can be a real curl killer. Meaning that most of the time when my hair is down, it's just down, and that can get boring.
This braid is a great way to add a little oomph, and it doesn't take long to do so it isn't a hassle.
They're getting harder so doing one a day is probably a little ambitious, but I'm going to give it my best shot ;)
I can't be the only one out there that goes through phases.
You know, that thing when you discover (or rediscover) something and it becomes your new usual for a bit. It could be a TV show, or a beauty product, or maybe even a sandwich.
You become obsessed just for a little while, and then it goes up on your shelf (metaphorical shelf, if it were a real shelf it would have capsized by now...) as an old favorite.
That's what this post is about.
I've decided to do a wrap up at the end of every month describing my new infatuations.
Here goes nothing ;)
1) Sherlock
Okay, so you remember my friend Kelsie, right?
Well she and her family really enjoy the BBC and started watching Sherlock when it started back in 2010 (or maybe 2011, I'm not positive). They told me how amazing it was and told me to watch it, to which I replied with "meh". This went on for YEARS, and every time it was brought up I would just kind of shrug my shoulders and tell them that I would get around to it eventually.
Well, I finally watched it this month and OH MY GOD.
It's SO good you guys, and I kind of hate myself for not watching it when they told me to watch it.
I watched the entire series in less and a week (which yes is only 9 episodes, but they're each an hour and a half long). And I may or may not have watched seasons 1 and 2 twice since :/ I have a problem.
I'm not going to say a word about the plot, just know that it's awesome and I love it and I'm never going to doubt Kelsie and her sister again.
2) Candy Camera
Candy Camera is a photo editing app, and it is awesome.
It has filters, you can adjust contrast and saturation, it even has different light effects.
I've spent HOURS messing around with this thing, there's just so many different options and possibilities.
Obviously it isn't something that you would want to use for ALL your pictures, but it can be really entertaining :)
My only complaint is that you have to take the photo IN the app, or you can't edit it.
You can't choose from your gallery or anything like that, which is boo.
3) Braids
I've been OBSESSED with braids in the last few weeks.
My hair is the longest it's been since I was 8 or 9, so now I can actually do things with it.
I finally mastered the fishtail braid the other day and I was RIDICULOUSLY proud of myself.
I just ordered book with a shit ton of hair tutorials, focusing mainly on braids.
I'm SUPER excited.
4) Bud Light Margaritas
OH MY GOSH.
These things are deadly and delicious.
I loved the lime ones that came out last year, but they just came out with new flavors: raspberry and mango. There was a lady at the grocery giving out samples and we HAD to try them both (obviously).
Erin and I ended up getting 10 and drank them all that afternoon.
Awesome ;)
This concludes my little wrap up for the month of April.
I'll be back next month with more of my new favorite things :)
I'll be here in between too of course, don't be crazy.
See ya ;)
ps: I'll be continuing my Disney challenge tomorrow ;)
Summer's on its way, so it's time for beachy waves to make their annual comeback ;)
20 Minute Mermaid Hair
For most of my life I have had short hair.
Not boy short (only once...not for me), but chin length bob short.
When I got engaged I figured I should start growing it out for the wedding.
You know, maximize my style options.
It's been 2.5 years since Bryan and I got married, and it's still growing.
I really really like it long, so I have no idea when it'll be short again. Maybe never.
But now that it's long, I actually have to find new ways to style it.
I'm kind of going through a mermaid thing right now, so I'm guessing that this will be a staple hairstyle this summer :)
Here's what you'll need:
a straightening iron
hair ties (4)
hair spray
I started with it just normal.
My hair is super straight and crazy thick.
I just brushed through it.
I split my hair into four sections.
I braided each section, starting as high up as I could.
For tighter crimps, make tighter braids.
For looser waves, well you get it.
(I was rocking the SHIT out of those braids by the way...)
Slowly, run a straightener over each braid.
I've seen different tutorials where people will twist the braids, but that's never really worked for me so I just do it straight down. Make sure each bit of hair is evenly heated through the braid.
Once each braid has been straightened, let the braids cool down.
This will help ensure that the crimps stay longer.
Once they've cooled, unwind your braids.
Fluff fluff fluff, spritz with hair spray and BOOM.
I'm really excited to wear my hair like this out somewhere :)
I hope this helps anyone trying to find an easy way to get summer waves :)
This isn't my first time doing this one. But it is BY FAR one of my favorites. It's so easy and it looks so pretty once it's completed.
I used a make-up sponge with turquoise, black, a clear glitter polish and a hot pink. (optional: a silver shimmer polish)
Start with a coat of black polish. No need for an extra coat, it'll be covered in a second. It's just a background color.
Next, take your make-up sponge and sponge on the turquoise, applying as many layers as needed. After you get the desired turquoise shade, do the same with the pink, blending them together.
Here's the optional part: BEFORE sponging on the turquoise and pink, I sponged on a light layer of silver shimmer. Why? Because I am WAY to impatient to do layer after layer of the other colors. That's what I did the first time. This time, I did the silver, and only had to apply one layer of turquoise and pink. Not to mention it added a nice shimmery background instead of a flat one. But keep in mind this isn't absolutely necessary, its just a little short cut.
After the pink and turquoise are blended together, add 2 layers of glitter polish to incorporate the stars.
And viola!
I hope you liked this week's mani! see you next time :)
