Products lately...

For some reason, I decided that August was going to be the month I would focus on my hair. This ended up being a complete joke because #1 It's 90-95 degrees out on any given day and, #2 I would rather sleep or eat or browse the internet or do basically anything else in my small window of getting-ready time than focus on my hair. 

This means that 99% of days, I go to school with damp hair in a braid and try to make it look serviceable with a bit of product and a barrette before the students arrive at school. 

When I see all the other teachers with their 7am blowouts, I really wonder what else in the world that I don't understand how to do. 

When winter comes around, I will start adding heat again, but it seems like a ridiculous waste of time right now.

Also, worth mentioning: I vowed (VOWED) I would stop washing my hair every day. However, if it's 90+ degrees outside, I don't think that's an option. You literally just want to exfoliate the sweat and grossness from every part of your body in the shower and that includes hair. Sorry. Maybe this winter I'll experiment with that. 

So, I did invest in a few hair products last month and figured I'd tell you about them because I actually did a shocking amount of research to find out very little information. Might as well pass it along. 

Olaplex Shampoo and Conditioner

I bit the bullet and tried it. The lady who did my lowlights last month recommended it. Everyone recommends it. She told me she doesn't like it for her because she has thin hair and it can weigh hair down. I have thicker hair so it was supposed to be a good fit.

Well....truly, it's fine. I don't dislike it. It has a pleasant non-smell to it. Great lather. Doesn't really weigh my hair down. 

It's just 100% not worth the price. It's just not. There's no world in which that makes sense. That was my grown-up purchase for the summer (usually I buy $5-6 shampoo/conditioner) and there is nothing magical about Olaplex. Sorry. Especially if you have thin hair, according to the expert, don't bother. I'm at least glad it didn't have a negative affect on my hair. So I'll definitely use it, but just won't buy it again.

Beauty Counter Cleansing Scrub

I ended up buying this because I love it. I've used it for years and ran out a few months ago. I subbed in the La Roche cleansing scrub, in an effort to save money. I really liked that too, but it came in a shockingly small tube. Meaning, I wasn't actually saving money by avoiding BC. The BC would've been the better buy! I really have used this since, at least, 2017 and highly recommend it, even for sensitive skin. 

Deva Curl set

I can't find the exact kit I bought on the website so I'm just linking to all of the kits. I do have naturally wavy hair and, if I let it go in a certain way, it will have a curl. The travel kit with shampoo, conditioner, styling mousse, and styling cream was only $8 (originally over $30) so it seemed like a good deal and way to try out something new. I am not used to using curly hair-exclusive products so I have nothing to compare it to, but I do like it. It's not a product you would want to add heat to; I definitely only use this shampoo/conditioner if I'm air-drying my hair. 

Olaplex Iconic Styling Duo (Heat treatment/protectant)

So the salon I went to this summer was actually transferring management, so all of their products were on super sale as they tried to get rid of all of their inventory. That led me to this... the stylist used it on my hair and I liked it a lot and the Duo set was only $20. Regular price is $56. I couldn't pass it up. Especially because she said how it will last me well over a year, even if I use it almost every day. It seemed like a good deal because I don't, by nature, stockpile different products so I was almost out of the heat spray I bought two years ago. I haven't used it much on my own (see: haven't been using heat much), but I really liked it on my hair when she did it so I think it'll be a great option for this winter. 

Schwarzkopf Dry Conditioner

I do not use dry shampoo. It doesn't do it for me. If anything, I've only every used it to "dirty up" my hair before curling or styling because I wash my hair every day and it's too clean. 

But when I saw this in action, I thought it'd be worth a try. You really just spray it onto the ends after styling. It smooths and gives a bit of shape. Totally worth it if you can't wash your hair and just need to make it look more polished (in a ponytail...because if my hair isn't clean, it's going to be up for sure). 

The bottle is pretty too, but it's an aerosol so there are shipping limitations in the U.S. if you're ordering direct from the website. I had to grab it from Amazon*.

*I was told that buying shampoo/conditioner from Amazon is never a great idea. Better to buy from an actual retailer, like a salon or Sephora or Ulta or Sally's Beauty. Third-party sellers will put filler into products to save money. This isn't really possible with sealed up aerosols, so that's why I got the dry conditioner from Amazon. Just fyi. 

I'm genuinely curious: what shampoo/conditioner do you use? I feel like I've rotated through them all in the last few years. 

Stuff and Things 1/16

+My goal is to clean off my phone this weekend, concerning pictures. I can't deal with the iCloud situation any longer. I have everything automatically uploading to Google photos. I need to stop being fearful of losing everything.

Tried to take 18 month pictures. It went as well as expected. 

+I think our good weather streak is about to end, but we've been attempting to just play in the yard a lot of days. Yesterday, we watched planes and he'd stop smiling and pointing as soon as I took the camera out. 

+Yoga begets yoga. I started, as I start most Januarys (Januaries?), with the intention of doing yoga every day if I could. The more I do, the more I crave it.

So, for now, I'm easily keeping up with the yoga. SarahBeth Yoga is wonderful. And I've also done some Yoga with Adriene.

I want to go around suggesting them to people IRL, but I feel like that's weird?

That's why I have a blog, I guess.

+And I have to mention/vent: I don't get these for sale or trade groups on Facebook. I hatehatehate that my newsfeed is just allthegroups, allthetime. People are ridiculous too. I've mentioned before that I don't understand a lot these people, but I've noticed a trend: many say "my husband said no" when it comes to "I may want it" as a response. They'll come back with the husband excuse later. Is that for real? I cannot imagine even telling Scott I was stopping by someone's porch to pick up a potty training book or a free shelf or...something? I told him when I sold a stroller and the bouncer, really just for the purpose of safety, so he knew I was going somewhere to meet someone.

All this to say, I'm trying to get rid of our Christmas tree because I don't want to move the ginormous box again and setting up that tree is a lot of work for a non-pre-lit tree. I hate stringing lights on a tree.
Someone wanted it and then said her husband said no. It's free.

+Speaking of...if you want this devotional, let me know. It's like new. I'm just not going to use it. I bought it myself and got about 1/3 of the way through before I moved onto a Bible-reading plan.

+I must be having some sort of crisis because I cut off of all my hair the other day. 

+I haven't even watched the whole Bachelor episode yet this week because I just haven't had the uninterrupted time. But I listened to this and, again, I'm no Nick fan: but he has wise words for the Hannah Brown stans. Basically, move on. 

+I went to bed at 8:30 last night. Scott was asleep by 8:00. So that's how things are going around here. 

This is what the entire week has looked like. 

Product Recommendations: Two for you, one for me(?)

I posted on Instagram last week or so, asking if anyone realllllllllly went entire weeks without washing their hair. IGers seem to brag about it all the time! While I don't wash my hair every day now, I did when I was working. It's the only way I can wear it down comfortably; to know that it's clean. I never wore my hair up to work. Maybe twice in 8 years...if I overslept and didn't have time to take a shower. Legitimately, that was the only way I'd wear my hair in a bun or ponytail when I was teaching.

So now,  I generally wash my hair every two days. If we have a lot of places to go, I wash/style it more often. If we're not doing anything for multiple days in a row, less often. Currently, I want to highlight my hair (fingers crossed for today's naptime!!), so it's probably been two days; you're not supposed to highlight/dye clean hair.

Onto some hair recommendations...

First, this shampoo and conditioner. I always try to buy a new kind when I'm ready to empty my current bottles. I found these in 16 oz bottles at Walmart for less than $4 each, but they have them on Amazon too. They've lasted a long time and aren't close to empty.

I was pulled in by "biotin" and "collagen", but man: they work. I already have thick hair but these take it to the next level.

I would say it's worth a try for such a low price, if you're looking for something new.

Also, this finishing spray. I bought a sample bottle of it at Target while visiting family in December...I had forgotten to take hair product with me and just needed something to tame the fly-aways. It's like a very light hair spray. I generally use it when I use my curling wand.

I like what it does to my hair, but I would never use it on day one and then not wash my hair the next day. If I sleep on it, it will make my hair limp and kinda gross the next day. So, I would use it on day 2 only or on day 1 if I know I'm going to wash my hair the next day anyway.

And I hate the smell. It's not a bad smell, but it's not for me. I just don't like it. You may. So what's kept me from buying more is the smell...they still have the sample sizes at Target and I picked one up yesterday and then put it back. It's very floral-like. Again, not for me, but maybe for you.

And, finally: I need an eye cream recommendation.
I used Rodan+Fields for years and liked it but I ran out and would just like something new. I believe I asked this over the summer (?) and ended up with a caffeine-based eye cream that I like, but I also want something that focuses on lines (I don't have any...yet..Wells is doing his best.)

A short-ish haircut

Back in 2015, I got my hair cut kind of short-ish. It was something I did because I knew I'd be turning 30 soon and I wanted to get it all chopped off prior to that so I couldn't blame "turning 30" for a shorter cut. Then I figured I'd let it grow again.

The weird thing was that I started a new job about 2 weeks later, so everyone "knew" me as having shorter hair. When it started to grow again, everyone commented on how long it was but I didn't even notice because that was its regular length.

For the 3 years since then, I haven't done more than a trim. I had it trimmed back in November before I knew I was pregnant. Then I had it trimmed again in January. Then not again until June. You know how some people say their hair is just amazing during pregnancy? Mine wasn't. I'm 99% sure it didn't grow at all actually. It even got, if I'm being honest, kind of stringy and hard to comb out.

But, since Wells was born, I've had it cut twice. That's twice in two months. I had it cut at the end of July and then again on Monday.

No makeup, little sleep, and a bit of sea salt texturizing spray. 

Post-partum, my hair is full of volume and, I swear, so much thicker and gains length like crazy. Now, I have a lot of the fine baby hairs around my forehead that weren't there before because of breakage or whatever. But I seem to be dealing with the opposite hair issues that a lot of pregnant/post-partum women have. I still expect some hair loss in the coming months, but I'm hopeful because I hated my stringy pregnancy hair. I couldn't even wear it down because I just felt like it was limp and greasy all the time.

Anyway. When I talk about these haircuts I've gotten in the last year, they are all Great Clips cuts and I've mentioned that I like Great Clips because they actually do what you ask them to do. If I've gone to fancy salons, they always end up convincing me to just get a trim and then I pay $45+tip for something I could probably figure out how to do myself.

So I went into Great Clips on Monday and asked for two inches off. I think Vicky took more than two inches off because, after the cut, she did lots of texturizing.

Which is fine. I've realized that the longer my hair is, currently, the less likely I'm going to be to do anything with it. And if I do experience some post-partum hair loss, it'll be easier to deal with if it's somewhat shorter, right?

What was your post-partum hair experience like? Or, do you (like me) just assume that hair will grow back, so getting a few inches off isn't the end of the world? 

Why I Look For Cheap Haircuts

The best haircut I ever had was at Great Clips in Wasilla, Alaska. I remember the stylist's name was Clint, but that's about it.

I grew up with a cousin who cut hair so I always had an avenue to getting my hair done that was less expensive. I never, until I moved to Alaska, went to a stranger for a haircut.

I realized pretty quickly that hair was an expensive market, so I picked up the habit of going to Great Clips and it's something I've stuck with ever since. Then, I got into the habit of going to Veda Salon and Spa here in Colorado Springs a few years ago because I was given an overly-generous giftcard as a trade-off for dog-sitting. After going to a fancy salon for haircuts for a year or so, I got back in my routine of going to Great Clips every 6 months.

1. I don't go for the experience. I don't want conversation or a shampoo/style. If I'm going for a haircut, I realllllly just want my hair cut. Like, if I could do it myself, I probably would. This is why I highlight my hair myself; it takes less time and costs about $120 less.

2. They do what you ask them to do. There's no discussion about it. I've paid $40+tip in the past and they always talk me into a trim because why would you want to cut your hair? and then I paid $40+tip for a trim.

3. I hate making appointments.

4. My hair is easy to maintain. I know people who swear that a certain person is the only one who can tame their hair. I don't really believe that (sometimes I think it's an excuse to splurge), but I don't need someone who knows my case history.

5. I hate it when a stylist blow-dries my hair straight and slaps a bunch of product in it. I never blow-dry my hair straight. It gets so lifeless and stringy. Why do people do this on purpose? Even when you ask stylists to please not blow-dry it straight, they still do to an extent. Usually I just want to go home and wash it in order to get that product out and fluff it up again.

What do you think? Do you splurge on hair? I'd rather pay for a pedicure every month from May to September.

Slightly shorter hair and a look at that purse I got last week. 

Hair stuff (Stuff and Things 4/23)

I got my hair cut in February of 2014 in Missouri.  Then again in October of 2014 in Colorado.  Then again in January 2015.  Then, I swore that I was going to get like 4-5 inches chopped off as soon as Scott deployed because I immediately regretted not getting more cut off in January.  Plus, Scott likes my long hair.  Now, Scott actually shaves his head, so he can't really make a case about hair. Plus, I know he doesn't really care.  But my grand plan was to get a bunch chopped off, enjoy the ease of shorter hair care (shorter drying time, etc) while he was gone and then it'd be longer when he got back.  Again, not that he REALLY cares.  But I try to be all considerate and everything because all I ever wear are gym shorts or sweatpants and spend all my time reading stuff online and sometimes I feel like I duped him when it comes to the getting dressed up and going out often thing (Sometimes "going out" means putting on a clean sweatshirt, you know?)

Then we had a snowstorm every weekend for like 3 weeks in February/March so I never made it to the salon.  Then I started thinking...I like long hair in the summer.  Because my hair has a natural wave, it's more pronounced the longer it is.  And if it's wavy, I can slap some pomade in when it's wet and just go on an 85 degree day and I don't even have to glance in the direction of the blow dryer.  So I want it to be long for summer for this reason and it's almost summer.  Then I had this quirky thought that I want to get my hair cut before I turn 30 so I can prove to myself that I don't always need to have long hair as some sort of youthful cushion (my hair has been longer at 26 through 29 than it ever was when I was 19 or 20) and then I can let it grow again and all will be well and I will have proven to myself that I don't NEED long hair.

This is why I thought about putting off a haircut for the next 6 months.

Also, I bought this sticky stuff to put on tree trunks to trap moths and I was spreading it on our trees last week and I got some in my hair.

The next day on Skype, me with wet hair:

Scott: Why did you wash your hair if you're going to the gym?
Me: I wasn't going to but I got Tanglefoot in it and figured I'd better get it out before it destroys my hair.
Scott:....are you serious?

So there was almost an emergency trip to the salon anyway.  Or at least Fantastic Sam's to repair damage.  Don't worry.  It all came out.

Then, last week,  I got annoyed by the perceived scraggliness.  Doesn't it always happen that as soon as you start thinking about a haircut, you notice how badly you NEED a haircut?  That was me all last week.

This is shorter...and kinda flat. I'm not sure if I like the way they blow dry it straight.

So I got a haircut.  I pretty much just said, "What should I do with it?" because I have a specific person that I go to at a real salon now.  At the end, my hair looked FABULOUS (Thanks April!), but she said I seemed disappointed.  I wasn't disappointed in my hair, I was disappointed in myself for being such a chicken.  Though, I was waffling over the idea of cutting off 4 inches instead of 2 and she persuaded me to keep it longer (You're welcome, Scott).

Also, the whole salon thing: I didn't plan it that way.  I was given $200 in Veda salon gift cards last fall, so I started going there and...now I can't stop.  There might have been at least one massage mixed in with the 3 haircuts I've gotten there...

Friday Things

1.  Plaid.

Shirt: Old Navy // Pants and Boots: JCP

2.  Haircut.  See above ^.  That's almost 3 inches off.

3.  Guess who secured themselves a rental in Missouri?  That's right.  It was a busy week.  But we are moving and I'm thankful we have somewhere to move into when we get there.  Granted, we're renting "sight unseen".  I suppose that's better than 10 days in army lodging desperately trying to house-hunt, right? (Just tell me it's alright, please.)

4.  Breaking Bad mugs.  Thanks Natalie!  How awesome.  Speaking of...we finished the last episode of the first half of season 5 the other day.  Yikes. 

5.  State testing week in 4th grade is over.

Guess what I did while the kids were testing?  Wrote out a brand new resume from start to finish.  That actually felt really good.  At least I can cross it off my "to-do before we move" list.

Happy weekend!  I think I'll go shopping.

Sharing at High Five for Friday

Not-so-new hair

Shirt: Target // Shorts: Old Navy // Sandals:  American Eagle (3 years ago)

Look.  This is what I look like when I'm warm and happy.  Nice change, huh?

I totally didn't know this before, but apparently my husband likes girls with long hair.  I use "long hair" loosely here, because this is the longest my hair has ever been.  Pretty sure it was shoulder-length when I met him.

He also likes brunettes.

I totally did know this, and it's probably one of the reasons I keep my hair highlighted blonde.
To prove him wrong.
Because I'm blonde and he likes me.  Most of the time.

So when I declared, "I'm getting my hair cut!", he was all, "Okay, but I like long hair."
And then I started to feel bad.

I mean, there's so much I can't/won't/don't do for him already.
Make him salmon, meatloaf, or tuna for dinner.
Fish with him.
Camp with him.
Hunt with him.
Go outside with him.

The least I could do is not chop 4 inches off my hair.

Plus, I was reminded (by some high school pictures) that every time I cut my hair, I hate it two days later and spend the next 18 months growing it out.


This is annoyingly embarrassing, but this is why I can't have short hair.
Because this is what it will look like.

2003 *shudder*

So I went with some layers in the front.
Sorry to those of you who were hoping for a dramatic change.
I'm not very dramatic in the looks department.

Sharing at The Pleated Poppy and Wednesday Walkabout

Beach Hair: A How-To Guide

Yesterday's post was a little depressing.  That wasn't my intention.  (Rule #1:  Always write with an air of sarcasm.)  The moral of the story is that I am annoying when I don't feel well.  Scott's even been calling extra to check on me (hehehe).

This is my favorite spring/summer/fall hair.  It's SO easy.   If I could do this everyday (I cannot, as damp hair is chilly in the winter), it would never take more than 5 minutes to do my hair in the morning.

I've talked about my hair coloring strategy.  What you also need to know is that I have a severe case of the fly-aways at the top of my head.  It makes wearing straight hair difficult because, if it's a bad hair day in the least, I look like Woodstock from The Peanuts.  And curled hair is great, but takes time.  This is messy beach hair that can be worn anywhere.  And, yes, I do wear it to school like this.

Also important:  I have thick-ish hair, but not super-thick.  I guess I just mean it's not thin.  And it has a wave to it.  Not curl, necessarily.  Just "a wave".  So it crimps naturally if I let it.

So, you start, by going to bed with damp-ish hair.  I usually take a shower in the evening when I come back from the gym (as if I've been to the gym lately..har har har).  Just take it your wet hair and pile it into a bun on top of your head.  I don't even brush it.  I wring out the excess water with a towel and pull it up.

The next morning, it still may be a little damp when you take it down, but that's okay.  It crimps better that way.  I use this pomade.  It's about $4 and the container lasts forever.

Curl suddenly exists where it wouldn't normally

Or.  My favorite trick is to run a curling iron through it quickly to get some extra body.

You'd think an iPhone could take a better picture than this.

This was after being outside in the wind.  Still looks good!

I started doing my hair this way in the summer of 2007 when it was too hot and humid to pull out the blow-dryer.  Needless to say, I was still living in Pennsylvania.


Do you have a signature hairstyle that you go to seasonally??  I'm extremely low maintenance when it comes to hair, so this works perfectly for me.