Embrace your curls - Favorite curly hair products at the moment

Wearing my hair curly used to not be an option for me. I always hated my curls and would straighten and blow dry them until every strand was straight. I've learned to now embrace them. Whenever people see me now, they ask me what I did to my hair because they didn't realize my big hair was natural. I'm on a kick where I love my curls and it's actually a lot more easier then sitting in front of the mirror while constantly blowdrying. Less time and patience. 

With curly hair comes the need for great products. Every head of curls is different and it takes a lot of time for someone to find their favorite products to use. I'm lucky I work in a salon because I can do an endless amount of experimenting and using  different products together to see what works. 

Right now I am loving Bumble and Bumble and Kerastase for my curls. Many would think since these are the products we sell at the salon I work in, of course I'm going to advertise these. It actually took me a while to get to like Curl Fever by Kerastase. I was always so against gels because I hated any type of crunchiness in my hair. I was always someone who liked my hair to feel textured and not like I just put a glob of glue in it. My mentor was always telling me to just try it because she loved it. Finally, I did and I am so happy about it. Its actually part of the reason I'm wearing my hair curly on an every day basis because I know my curls are going to come out great. 

As for Bumble and Bumble, I will always love the surf line. It allows me to have beach hair all year round, and the packaging looks pretty awesome to. I use all of these three products for different things and each one is important. 

Kerastase Curl Fever - This is a gel that adds no crunchiness to your hair while still having some hold. I don't like the stiff feeling. This keeps helps keep my curls in tact without looking crusty. 

Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray - A sea salt spray for a beachy texture. It feels like you just stepped out of the ocean. Since its winter, there is no humidity in the air to help my hair get some volume. I use this at my root while its both damp and dry and it keeps my hair from looking flat and greasy. 

Bumble and Bumble Surf Infusion - A lot like the Surf Spray, this also gives the hair a beachy texture but is infused with oils for some added moisture. The original surf spray is great for the summer but in the winter, my ends need more moisture since curly hair tends to get very dry. I get the same beachy texture without the frizzy, dry feel. 

Granny Gray

Gray hair isn't just for the old and wise anymore. Metallic blues, violets and silvers are all the rage in the hair industry at the moment. Young girls everywhere are going through the process of turning their tresses into silver strands.

What many clients don't seem to realize is the process it takes to get to these tones and keep their hair looking perfectly silver all the time. It takes time, money, and a lot of patience. 

My client Michelle told me months ago that eventually she wanted silver hair. Being that she is also a hairdresser, she understood it would take a while. Especially since her hair was darker at the time and we wanted to keep it as healthy as possible. 

The first time Michelle came to me was in August. Our first task was to knock out the orange tones in her hair and match the banding that she had up against her natural color. She wanted to start growing out her base so that in the future we didn't have to battle previous color while lightening.

Our first session 

She then came to me again in October. I gave her a full head of Balayage and worked on getting her as light as I could, with the help of Olaplex of-course. Olaplex is a must, especially with big processes like these. We happily got her to a creamy blonde at her ends, keeping her a little rooty towards her base. 

Second session

In December, we were ready to get some more blonde into her hair and try out some silver pieces. When Michelle came in, she had oxidized to an orange tone towards her root and some yellow towards her ends. Since her ends were still very light, I went in with a Clear gloss and 40 volume because I thought lightener would be to harsh. Clear and 40 volume is a great way to shift someones color a half a shade to a few shades lighter without the use of bleach. I also gave her a partial highlight with foils to give her some finer, lighter pieces up at the roots. 

Before and after third session. 

After third session

After everything was rinsed, I toned her hair with L'Oreal Dialight 10.21 =15

volume and Olaplex. Afterwards, I low-lighted her with Guy Tangs' Demi-Permanant Kenra Metallics line. I used 8VM towards her mid shaft and 9VM towards her ends. 

After blowdrying her hair, her lowlights were nowhere to be found. I then realized I had purchased the wrong developer for the Demi Permanent metallics. Even though we were disappointed that her color wasn't what we were going for, the blonde still looked beautiful and she kept it for a while. 

This past week, she was finally ready to take the plunge and go for the full silver look. This time I made sure I purchased the right developer. 

I went back in with clear and 40 on her ends to lift out any yellow or brassy tones. Her ends came up to a white blonde while she still had a lot of yellow-orange in the mid-lengths. At her root, I went in with 7SM = 9 volume for a Deeper, Silvery tone, hoping it would knock out all of those brassy tones. At her ends, I went in with equal parts of 8SM and 9VM equal parts and Olaplex. She processed for 25 minutes and we then glossed with 10.12 Dialight 6 Volume and Olaplex. 

The result was gorgeous, even though it still wasn't exactly what we were looking for. Her mid shafts were not light enough to pick up the silver tones we were hoping, even though her ends took to a beautiful silver. 

These kind of colors take a lot of patience! For best results, the hair should always be taken up to a pale yellow - white blonde. Michelle's' hair wasn't exactly what we were expecting, but color isn't always 100% predictable. I do think that adds to the fun of it. We still are LOVING the way her hair is looking! 

A week later........

New Years came and went. The feeling of new beginnings and possibilities are in full swing. 

It's been 1 week since I posted about all my goals and resolutions I wanted to accomplish for the upcoming year. In my mind, my everyday schedule was supposed to be upgraded by this time. The feeling of positivity was to be felt everywhere. Unfortunately, this didn't happen. 

As we rang in the new year, I was getting a cold. A really bad one. It didn't take much time for me to be strapped to my bed with no willingness to move. My motivation and resolutions were put on the back burner. 

My biggest fear was to lose track of my goals all together and never start them. Keeping motivation is hard enough as it is, especially when you don't feel well. I had a lot of time to think while I was laying in bed. I kept telling myself I couldn't lose track of the small impacts I wanted to make on my daily life. 

Each day I was sick, I would try and pick which day I was going to start implementing my changes. After organizing and organizing, I realized I was doing it all wrong. Why do we continue to say "tomorrow". I'm so guilty of this and by the time comes, "tomorrow" is gone, as well as our chance to get going. 

I realized that instead of talking and thinking about my goals, I had to just start them right then and there. Even though I was in the middle of a fever and sweating through everything I wore, there was no reason why I couldn't do something at that very moment. 

So, if you have goals and resolutions that you've already given up on, don't. Just think to yourself, what can I do right at this very second that will take me one step closer. Its so easy for us to lose track, that's why It's important for us to stop, think, and bring yourself back to awareness. 

Just came to bring you this update and help you remember why you set your goals in the first place. Stay inspired and imagine what you can accomplish! 

Life Changing Brownies

New Years Day. It's currently 3:48 PM and I'm still in my pajamas. Some people would think that's irresponsible and unacceptable but I really don't care. My energy today is limited. I'm pretty sure the rest of you are in the same boat though. I'm assuming this day is filled with alot of hangovers and regrets from celebrating the New Year. So, I'm bringing something to you that might not totally cure your hangover, but you definitely wont regret making. Brownies.

This recipe is adapted from the Barefoot Contessa herself, the queen, Ina Garten. To me, she's fabulous in every way. I have yet to try a recipe from her that didn't widen my eyes or warm up my heart. I bring her recipes into my home from her amazing cook books and continue to please hungry stomachs with them.   

These brownies don't taste like regular, store bought, box made brownies. I can't describe the looks of happiness I get when anyone bites into these. They are rich, chocolatey goodness that you wont be able to stop eating. They're also super easy to make. No mixer or fancy tools are involved which is great if you're not one to keep any of those gadgets at home. Actually, I lied. You need a food scale to measure out the chocolate. Besides that, it's perfect for a day where you don't want to put any effort in, like today. 

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter 

8 ounces plus 6 ounces Hershey's semisweet chocolate chips

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate

3 extra large eggs 

1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa 

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract 

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar 

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


Directions 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 by 12 baking pan. If you don't have this exact size it's okay. It can be a little bigger or a little smaller. 

Melt the butter, 8 ounces of the chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate together in a medium bowl set over simmering water. Allow to cool for 15 minutes. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature. 

In a medium bowl, sift together 1/2 cup of the flour, the baking powder, and salt and add to the chocolate mixture. Toss the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour in a medium bowl and ass the to the chocolate mixture. Spread evenly in the prepared pan. 

Bake for 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake!

Allow brownies to cool completely before you cut into bars.

If you really want to have a ball, pour some caramel on them. Just pour it all on. Add some marshmallows, nutella, whatever you like. 

If you want an easy recipe for caramel, check back into my posts. I have the recipe in there somewhere. 

Enjoy the deliciousness. I'll be wishing you good fortune into 2016.