A Few Random Things...

Warning, this is a super random post. But this is how my mind works. It runs about a hundred miles a minute.

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I missed my blog's 1st birthday. I knew it was sometime in January or maybe even February. But I totally missed it. It was January 22nd.  Sorry little blog, happy belated birthday! 

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I'm in love with the winter we are having.  I can count on two hands the time I have had to wear my "winter" coat this year.  It's legit been in the 60s and 70s most days and I LOVE it.  I have been ready for warm weather since October, so this winter has been real kind to me. and HOLLER FOR TODAY BEING THE FIRST DAY OF MARCH!!

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So as I'm sure all you fashionistas know, the 2012 fall/winter fashion week occurred a couple of weeks ago.  I always love the idea of the spring/summer fashion week in the fall, not that I really pay that much attention to it, I just know it means people are thinking about upcoming warm-weather fashion.  Which means... I am so not a fan of the fall/winter fashion week. I mean who wants to think about fall clothes right now?!

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Have y'all ever had Annie's Cheddar Bunnies?  I am the cheese. cracker. queen. and these lil' babies are delicious.  I bought some last week and won't tell you how fast I went through the box... I had seen them at various houses that I've babysat at (where the moms are mega-organic and healthy) so I'm thinking this must mean these are good for me right?! 

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and here is one more hair product to add to my collection. I've heard about it for a long time and my hair girl kept telling me to get it and I should've listened a long time ago.  It works some kinda good!

Told you it was a collection of random things :-)

My Miracle Hair Products

I want tell all of you who left me comments about my botched haircut/new short hair THANK YOU!!! I really enjoyed reading all of your "oh my gosh's" and "what did that girl do to your hair" comments!  

Through the experience of having my thick, curly hair suddenly chopped off to above my shoulders, I have gone through my fair share of hair products to find the ones that really work and wanted to share my findings with you.  

Pretty much the only thing that I've found that keeps my hair from looking like an oversized mushroom, is keratin. (Thank you sweet baby Jesus for whoever decided to put this protein into hair products!)  I debated getting a keratin treatment done to my hair, but the products below prevented me (so far) from having to have that done.  I tried a lot of drugstore products with keratin in it, but unfortunately the only ones that have worked, and I mean really work, have been salon brands. 

 I now present to you my lifesaver/sanity preserving hair products!

Simply Smoth Xtend Shampoo

 A little tip about this shampoo, and I'm not real sure how I came to figure this out, but if I wash my hair first with any other kind of shampoo, I normally use a smoothing one, and then use this afterwards, it works that much better, it helps it lather like crazy!  So yes, I have to double shampoo, but it's worth it!

 

Simply Smooth Xtend Conditioner

It only takes a tiny bit of this stuff and the tangles comb right out!

Simply Smooth Keratin Finishing Gloss

I put this on my hair while it's damp right before I blowdry it.  It says to use a dime-sized amount and they ain't lyin' when they say that.  I used a quarter amount one time and it did not turn out so well.

Simply Smooth Xtend Magic Potion

 This product is exactly what it says it is. A magic potion.  I'm not real sure what it does... I guess it conditions and helps smooth,but it's amazing! I put this on after the finishing gloss above.  

Simply Smooth Xtend Humidity Shield Hair Spray

This is hands down the best anti-humidity hairspray I've ever used!! I haven't used it at the beach in the summertime yet, but I'm guessing it's going to be golden when I do!

Paul Mitchell Awaphuhi Ginger Shampoo

 I've use the whole line of this collection as well.  The shampoo, conditioner, keratin leave-in treatment, and serum work really well!

California Smooth Keratin Smoothing Treatment

 I only have the smoothing treatment in this line, but I really love it and want to get the shampoo/conditioner next!

and I couldn't do without my HANAair blowdryer that I reviewed here! It has been a huge help!

So there you have it, those are the products that have helped me embrace my new short hair!

Have y'all ever used any good products with keratin in them?

  

(I wasn't paid to say/review any of this)

HANAair Premier Hair Dryer - Product Review

I shared with you on Tuesday about my hair disaster.  So, you can imagine how excited I was when I was contacted by the company Misikko about doing a product review on the HANAair Premier Hair Dryer about a week after getting my hair chopped.  I had been using a Babyliss hairdryer, which is also a professional blow dryer, and had really enjoyed it so I was excited to give the HANA dryer a try. 

I was so pumped when I got this package in the mail.  There were so many great hair and beauty products inside!  

So my opinion of this hair dryer.... IT IS AWESOME! It has been a blessing to help me style my new short hair.  My hair is thick and naturally curly, hence why I was terrified when I had to get it chopped off to fix the botched cut, and can be a nightmare to get straight and sleek.  But this dries my hair super fast (in like 8 minutes) and I can for sure tell that those ions help to make my hair much smoother than my old dryer did.  It has 2300 watts (most dryers have around 1800 I think) and I love every one of them! The only negative thing is that it's a little heavier than my old dryer, but I've gotten used to it now and maybe it'll tone my arms some :-) 


Big thanks to Misikko for sending me this! You really did pick the perfect person to send this product too.  It has helped me to give me some sanity with my new haircut! Misikko also has a great selections of flat irons, which are also essential to obtaining a sleek hairstyle!

My Hair Disaster

Ok, so I think I'm finally ready to share my traumatic hair story with y'all.  I briefly posted a few weeks ago that I gotten my hair chopped off.  Well here is how the story of my hair disaster goes... 

 I wandered into a popular cosmetic store (I'll leave the name unsaid, although you probably can guess) on a Sunday in mid-Ocotber to buy a lot of things I'm sure I didn't need and was looking at hair products when one of the girls that worked there asked me if I needed some help.  I told her I wanted a hair product to help lay down one of my shorter layers that stuck up due to static.  Well instead of showing me products she busts out with "We are doing a cut-a-thon for breast cancer and I can blend that layer in the with the other one in like five minutes." 

Knowing GOOD AND WELL that I should say no and RUN for the door, in a split second I made a real bad decision and said "okay..."  I mean how do you say no to charity for breast cancer?!  The minute she begins chopping on my hair, I start to feel sick and know that I shouldn't have let her do it.  Well about 20 or 30 minutes later (she said it would be five) my hair was botched.  I've had so many people ask me why I didn't stop her, but I was honestly in shock, I didn't even realize how bad it was when I left.  It was on Monday morning at about 1am when I woke up in a sheer panic that I realized how messed up it was.

Here is a picture of what my hair looked like before (Note that I did get my hair cut my regular hair girl about a week before this happen so it was a little shorter than this)

and here is a picture of what she did to it.  How's this for blending?! (Disregard the imprint my hair tie left in it)

It has taken me a hot minute, but I cannot look at this picture now without laughing. hard.  My friends and I have coined it my reverse mullet or my rat-tail haircut. 

Also note that I had only been at my new job for a few weeks. If I had of been at my old job, I would've taken the day off to deal with this.  But since I couldn't do that, I threw my rat-tail up in a ponytail and prayed that no one would notice how uneven it was. I took it down once to show it to a guy at work who knows nothing about fashion or hairstyles and when his eyes almost bulged out of his head I knew I had to do something fast.

So right after taking that picture in my work bathroom, I had to make the call.  The call to my hair stylist who is also a good friend of mine.  I was so scared that she was going to get mad at me or that she was going to think I hated how she cut my hair the week before and that I went to get it fixed. That was DEFINITELY not the case. I just got sucked into something and make a quick, bad decision.  Thankfully she was super nice to me and didn't get mad.  She kept telling me that I was probably over-exaggerating and that it probably wasn't that bad.

She obviously hadn't seen a picture yet... ha

The minute I got out of the car at her salon and she saw my little uneven ponytail, she was like "oh girl, that's bad..." and here is what she saw when I sat down. 

and thanks to her performing a miraculous hair miracle this is what we saw next...

Didn't she do a good job?!?

I was definitely in shock for a few weeks. I went from my hair being mid-way down my back to being above my shoulders not by my choice.  But here are a few things I've learned through this expierience. 

1. I don't recommend getting your hair cut by someone new on a whim. 

2.  If you get a botched haircut, you're allowed to panic for a little while, but then you have to breathe.  Make plans immediately to seek professional help to see if it can be fixed/improved.  and remember, hair does grow!! I also tried to keep in mind that dealing with my botched haircut was NOTHING compared to what women with breast cancer deal with everyday, which is how I ended up getting it cut in the first place.

3. Blessings happen in disguise.  I would have NEVER, EVER, EVER cut my hair this short on my own, but I actually really like it.  Every person that has seen it has told me they love it and I've even had people on Facebook, that I haven't seen in years, tell me love it. and the way I see it, they aren't prompted to tell me they like it, they told me on their on, so they must not be lying.... 

I can't fix it quite as good as my hair girl can, but here are two recent pictures.  

I decided to be a flapper girl for Halloween since all the flapper girl costumes want you to buy the short haired wig!

So I'm sure you might be wondering, if I am going to keep it like this?!  The answer to that is I am going to keep it short while it's cold, but I want it to be at least ponytail length before the summer gets here (I can't see living in North Carolina and not being able to put my hair in a ponytail). and although it's a lot harder to style (I have so much respect for people that have to style short hair after being through this ordeal) I'll probably cut it short again late next fall. 

I'm going to post soon on the hair products I have used since I've had my new short hair. I've found some winners!