I’m reluctant to admit that I have an embarrassing amount of hair products and tools which usually go unused on busy weekday mornings. Is it so terrible that I’d rather spend that extra 30 minutes sleeping than on wrangling my unruly hair? My usual style is sort of a pile of kinks and curls and can look messy and unkempt if I’m not careful. Recently, however, I’ve discovered the secret to looking polished is easier than cranking on the hot tools in the morning. Ready to see what it is?
Give yourself a precise middle part. The only difference between the above and below photos is that I precisely parted my hair down the middle. It takes five seconds and will make your bad hair day into a great hair day. Don’t be lazy – get in there with a rattail comb and make it perfect. A perfect part makes your bedhead look intentional and gives the illusion that you spent time styling your hair.
So easy and quick! Alternatively, if you have taken the time to blow out your hair (or gotten a professional blowout), make it look less perfect by messing up the part. I’m all about hair not looking too ‘done’ (if you couldn’t tell).
XO, J
P.S. I took these photos before I changed up my hair! Check out my Instagram for my latest cut and color!
I have a confession to make. I haven’t washed my hair in five days (I’m not gross, I swear!). For me, washing/drying/styling my hair is such a chore that I will find any possible way to avoid it. I refuse to be that girl who stays home on Friday night to “wash her hair,” even if my wild Friday nights consist of my couch + Netflix.
In the past, I went about three days between hair washings. For most people, that’s actually a pretty good length of time. By day three, my roots were oily and my scalp felt itchy and dirty. I bought the Living Proof Prime Style Extender on a whim about a month ago because I had heard good things and wanted to see if it was worth the hype (really I was just looking for another excuse not to wash my hair).
I mean… how could anything coming out of this sophisticated, matte black tube be bad? As it turns out, I wasn’t wrong. By day three, my hair still looked freshly washed; my roots weren’t oily and my scalp felt clean and didn’t itch. I happily sailed through day four with a few tiny spritzes of dry shampoo to add some lift. Day five was a breeze, too. In fact, I bet I could make it to day seven (!) with almost no complaints, but I’d like to wash my hair for my own peace of mind.
Trust me, if you hate washing/drying/styling your hair every day like I do, you need to go buy this product. It is truly unbelievable.
XO, J
P.S. I actually enjoy drying and styling my hair much more now that I have a fantastic new hair dryer, but I’m still really lazy/don’t want to fry my hair with excessive heat styling (but mostly just lazy).
There’s a lot more to great hair than meets the eye. Many women (me, included) struggle with frizzy, unruly hair on a daily basis. It seemed like no matter how many anti-frizz/smoothing/sleek hair products I slathered on, nothing worked. True confessions: up until about a week ago I was still using my old Conair hair dryer from college. I honestly didn’t think that expensive hair dryers were worth the investment and had little overall effect on frizzy hair. As it turns out, I was pretty darn wrong. Your hair should be your crowning jewel, ladies.
I decided to give it a shot and started looking at new hair dryers on Amazon (because nothing else I was doing was working). After browsing around, I decided to order the BaByliss Pro BABP2800 porcelain ceramic 2000-watt dryer. However, even at $52.99 (which is very reasonable for a professional-grade dryer), I was hesitant to pull the trigger and it sat in my cart for a month and a half. About a week ago I decided to take the plunge and order it, along with a new round brush (more on that later…).
Rockin’ the second day blowout.
This hairdryer BLEW all of my expectations out of the water (pun intended). With my old hair dryer, I would spend a sweaty hour rough drying, sectioning, and blasting my poor hair with lukewarm air. It would start to frizz and curl the moment I walked outside.
With this new dryer, it was the next best thing to a professional blowout. My hair felt like it had been washed with angel tears and was drenched in shine. Remember what I said before about hot heat being the key to a sleek blowout? This dryer reaffirms that notion; this dryer gets HOT. I think that the warm setting is plenty hot enough and that you should proceed with caution should you decide to use the hottest setting (it may damage color-treated/weak hair).
This dryer has a lower pitch than my last dryer which, while not necessarily quieter, is less irritating. It also came with a precision nozzle for extra-concentrated air flow, which amplifies the sleekness of my strands (it’s about as powerful as a jet engine, too). Remember what I said about the hot getting hot? The cold shot on this dryer gets cold. Like, air conditioning cold. Perfect for sealing those cuticles and locking in shine.
Quit fooling around with cheap hair dryers. If you have long, thick, curly or frizzy hair, get this dryer. It will make your life.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for the new Olivia Garden round brush I bought. I really like the size and it seemed like a nice quality, but it couldn’t withstand the heat of my new dryer and the bristles have already started to melt! Do you have any recommendations for ceramic round brushes that can withstand blazing hot heat?
You know when you have those moments where you know it was destined to be? For me, that was the moment I discovered my favorite YouTube hairstylist was in the same city as me. I’ve been following Silvia Reis on YouTube (also known as ellebangs) for about a year now, using her straightforward tutorials to guide me through my at-home hair DIYs. Little did I know that when I moved across the country, I would be moving to the same city and could actually book an appointment with her! It was meant to be.
Last night after work, I headed over to Bibbo Salon on Sutter to meet the lovely Silvia Reis in person. I decided to go for a blonde balayage instead of the all over, one-dimensional blonde hair that I already had. We spent the first 10 minutes of chatting about what I was looking to achieve with this appointment. I showed her a bunch of photos that I had pinned on Pinterest for inspiration. She really took the time to listen to me and then explained to me, in her own words, what she was going to do and exactly how she would do it. Everything Silvia does is precise, and you can tell she really takes pride in her work and making sure her clients are happy.
Silvia mixing up the magic! She was so easy to talk to. We chatted about boyfriends, trash TV, and the woes of making dinner after a long day of work. I think it’s really important to have a good relationship and to feel comfortable with your hairstylist.
I woke up like dis. ***FLAWLESS***
The finished product! I love it so much and it was exactly what I was looking for.
The haircut was also super flattering and so beautiful. I’m still not entirely convinced this is my actual hair. It has never looked this good before!
Thank you so much, Silvia! You’re the best!
XO, J
P.S. Make sure to check out Silvia on YouTube and book an appointment with her if you’re in the San Francisco bay area!
In my never-ending quest for frizz free hair, I’ve stumbled across a quick trick for a sleeker mane. Next time you wash your hair, instead of wrapping your wet hair up in a terry cloth towel, try a regular cotton t-shirt. Unless your mom was super savvy, she probably taught you to roughly rub the towel over your hair and then twirl it into a turban on top of your head. However, your hair is actually a very delicate fiber, and should be treated like an antique lace or luxurious cashmere. Your wouldn’t rough up your best cashmere sweater, would you?! To prevent frizz and breakage, gently wrap your wet hair up in an old cotton t-shirt, which is actually much more absorbent than a terry cloth towel. Gently pat and squeeze out the excess water and never rub your wet hair. This allows the cuticle of the hair to remain sealed and flat, which will make your hair appear shinier and sleeker. Curly girls, try it out for perfect, frizz free curls!
Ever seen one of these before? I discovered them a little while ago and they seemed like a secret too good not to share. It only takes one of these little guys to hold my topknot all day. As a gal with thick hair, I’ve always had issues with regular bobby pins popping out of my hair midday (so. annoying.). With this awesome spiral bobby pin, I never have to worry that I’m sporting a sweet rat tail. Here’s how to use ’em!
Secure your hair in a ponytail. I like to wear my topknot high but the pins work well for low buns and chignons, too. Second or third day hair works well for this kind of style.
Gather your hair into a bun. You can make it tight or loose – either way, the bobby pin will hold! I chose to make mine a little loose and messy. Twist the spiral into the bun horizontally right where you’re holding the ends of your hair. Make sure, while twisting it in, to grab some hair close to the scalp to anchor it in place.
That’s it! Super easy and your bun will last all day. The package comes with two spiral bobby pins, so feel free to anchor your topknot with another one if it feels too loose (twisting in from the opposite side).
XO, J
P.S. My thin gold rings were a recent H&M find. I couldn’t resist! ;)