Hair Share — Pixie Perfection

Inspired by Susan’s perfect pixie, Kathy took the plunge and pixified herself.

Say goodbye to this:

kathylong

And hello to this:

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From Kathy’s email:

Susan’s excitement about this product was so strong I went and got myself a pixie cut so I could use it! Seriously, I’d wanted to take the leap for ages but seeing Susan’s great cut pushed me on over and I did it last week. Now I wish I had done it sooner since I’ve taken my hairstyling time down from 30+ minutes every morning to 1 minute. Thanks for liberating me, Susan! : )

Oh, and the American Crew Fiber is fabulous too!

Thanks for sending in your photo, Kathy. Your pixie is perfection!

Share the hair love! If you have a great hair tip or two, email me with the details.

No Longer Scared of Hair Spray

I just returned from a quick weekend jaunt to Chicago. I guess you could say I was a quasi-Blogher conference attendee, but instead of trying to cram every panel, party and swag fest into my day, I brought my family and spent most of my time hanging out in our old neighborhood of Bucktown. We arrived late on Thursday night, had a pizza delivered to the hotel at 11:30pm and let our toddler jump up and down on the bed like a crazed lunatic.

Friday morning was pretty brutal. As most of you know, traveling east pretty much kills your will to live upon waking the following morning. As I dragged my tired ass out of bed, I remembered that I had an appointment with celebrity stylist Luke O’Connor and his team for a little hair styling session at the Suave booth at the conference. The day was looking up already!

At 9:30 am, I arrived at Suave’s darling booth and met the lovely Anna, who I’m pretty sure utilizes the best curling iron technique I have ever witnessed. It was like a hybrid of a no-clamp AND clamping technique. (I’m currently trying to replicate the process so I can show you all in a future tutorial.)

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Anna effortlessly curled my hair and sprayed a light mist of Suave Professionals Extra Hold Hair Spray as a final touch. Not being a fan of hair spray, I was a little hesitant, but she assured me the spray would help the curls last longer.

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Voilá! Ready for the day! Now, here’s the part I can’t get over. I spent the next 8 HOURS chasing my toddler all over the city of Chicago and my hair still looked like this Friday evening:

suave_event

I didn’t even need to touch it up before heading out! Suave, you have made this hair spray phobic into a believer. I’m stocking up.

Anna works at the amazing Lukaro Salon in Beverly Hills. Give her a call!

Hair Share — Products for Fine, Limp Hair

erika

The exquisite Erika from Makeup Bag (the greatest beauty blog EVER) sent in some incredible tips for dealing with fine hair.

I have super fine, limp hair and am always looking for ways to add volume. For fine hair like mine, the BEST TRICK EVER is you must apply product (my favorite is the Amplify Volumizing System by Matrix) and blow-dry hair while it’s sopping wet. After I get out of the shower, I only let my hair air-dry for MAX five minutes otherwise it will be flat and sad and likely require a pony tail. With shower-wet hair, I’m able to create a style with my blow-dryer that is full of volume and stays all day.

Another quick way to achieve volume is with a waver. If my morning is crazy and my hair ends up air-drying before I can get to the blow-dryer, I’ll just use a waver to create fast, easy waves. I’ll even crimp a few strands before throwing my hair in a ponytail to add a little glamour to my boring style.

Fine hair is easily weighed down so steer clear of too-rich deep conditioners and super long layers. I find that two inches below the collarbone is as long as I can go without the weight of my hair leaving me limp and flat. Also, use product sparingly. You’ll need to play around to find the right amount for your hair but too much product is as bad as no product at all for us fine-haired friends.

Thanks, Erika! I’m sure these tips will come in handy for many tress-obsessed ladies.

Share the hair love! If you have a great hair tip or two, email me with the details.

hair thursday makeover 68

Meet Celeste.

celeste_before

Celeste’s hair:

Naturally medium brown
Normal/oily condition
Wavy/Curly

When Celeste first wrote me in July 2008 (yes, there happens to be a 12-month waiting list right now UGH I’M SORRY), she was requesting advice on whether or not she should try a pixie cut alá Audrey Tatou. However, when I recently checked in with her, she wrote:

Right now, I’m actually thinking about growing it back. I haven’t had long hair since college, and then it was the heavy ’90 tent hair (which made me look a little like Cousin It – I’m 5’4”). I’m curious to see how I’d look with a longer layered cut, but deep inside I haven’t abandoned the idea of the pixie. I’m trying to let it grow for the next six months (if you have some suggestions on “transitional cuts” which don’t look like a helmet or a mullet, they would be immensely appreciated!) and then, if I don’t like what I see, I’ll go for the chop.

Don’t say another thing, Celeste! I’ve got a few chin-length or slightly longer styles for you to peruse.

ONE CAVEAT, THOUGH. Celeste described her hair as “wavy/curly”, which I don’t really see from her photos. (I’m wondering if maybe she flat-ironed it on photo day?) I think all of the following cuts could be achieved with either straight or wavy hair, depending on how much styling time you are willing to dedicate.

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Which cut do you think would look best on Celeste? Let her know by voting now!

Do You Need a New ‘Do?

Are you going to Chicago for Blogher next month? Don’t you think a new hairstyle would make it the best trip EVER?

If so, check out this contest hosted by Susan, Heather and Danielle. It’s pretty damn awesome, so don’t dilly-dally! Leave your submission in the comments section of one of the above ladies’ posts before midnight on July 3rd.

And what do I have to do with this contest? I’m a Very Important Judge, chicas. From Susan’s post:

All entries will be judged by the lovely ladies of Sparrow and by the super-talented Whoorl of Hair Thursday. Don’t even try sucking up to them; they’re hard core about this hair thing. Seriously.

You see? I’m hard core about this hair thing. And super-talented. BWAHAAAHAAAAA.

(However, I do accept monetary bribes.)

(FINE. I don’t accept bribes. Sheesh.)

Leapster2 Giveaway! Woo!

I’m back with another giveaway, folks.

le2

The Leapster2 from Leap Frog. It’s pretty dang cool- so cool that I can’t pry it out of Wito’s hands to try it out myself. I bought the Leapster2 Backyardigans game at Target last week (on sale!!), and Wito CAN’T GET ENOUGH. I’m not sure he even knows who I am anymore.

If you are not familiar with the Leapster2, here’s some info from Leap Frog’s website:

Following on the heels of the best-selling Leapster® learning game system, the new Leapster2 handheld is the next generation of learn-everywhere gaming from LeapFrog.  Like the Leapster learning game system, the Leapster2 handheld offers a robust learning experience through built-in tutorials and learning levels that adapt automatically to your child’s pace.  Its touch screen and stylus help develop motor skills used in writing, while its compact design makes it easy for kids to play on the go.  It’s also compatible with all 30+ Leapster learning games, so kids can practice a wide variety of skills for school as they play and learn with their favorite characters.

It’s suitable for ages 4 to 8, but I think younger ones will enjoy it too. (Case in point: Wito.)

The lucky winner will receive one Leapster2 with 2 extra games!

Leave a comment before Sunday, June 7th at 12pmPST and the winner will be announced Monday the 8th. Good luck!