I Can Hear the Bells...The Wedding Bells

It's May 31, which means tomorrow is June. And everyone knows June is the wedding month. Want to know a bit of trivia? I knew you would.

According to some folklore, June became the traditional month to marry because that is when people had their (get this) annual bath. So they were all fresh and smelling clean. Luckily these days we don't have to worry about smelly people showing up to our weddings, but June still remains a coveted month for marriage.

"Everyone hop in a clean off! We've got a wedding to go to!"

Weddings and the beauty industry are pretty much tied up with each other. You might call it a marriage. Working in the salon, I've learned a lot of things that will come in handy for when I take that step down the isle one day.

And of course, I've decided to share them with you.

• Please, please, please book a trial run for your hair and makeup. Stressing out on your big day is no fun, so if you're going to stress over your hair, make sure you do it the month before. It is a huge help to you (and the stylists) to already know what y'all will be doing.
• Give yourself plenty of time! This goes back to the no stressing rule. Especially if you have appointments in two different places. Sometimes we run behind. Sometimes you run behind. Either way, we want to get you where you need to be on time. So make sure you give yourself some room to spare.
• Of course you can bring your photographer! Please do! There was a wedding party in one day where no one was taking photos of the bride getting ready. I thought, she'll want to see this one day, so I snapped some pictures for her. If you only have your professional photographer for the ceremony, that's what your bridesmaids are for. Put 'em to work girl!
• Pretty much all the same advice as "your formal hair day"

So...how many of you guys are getting married this year? Do you have tips to share?

So... You Want to Donate Your Hair?

Well, first of all congratulations! Donating your hair is really like being Santa. You get to bring joy into someone's life who is going through something dreadful. And, really, who doesn't want that?

I've done a bit of research on some of the companies that take donated hair. Many of you will just automatically say, "Locks of Love." Did you even know that there are other companies out there? Check 'em out below.

Pantene Beautiful Lengths is one of the more well-known organizations. They say, 

"Beautiful Lengths is a partnership between Pantene and the American

Cancer Society that gives gorgeous, real-hair wigs free of charge to women

fighting cancer. Demand for real-hair wigs is high, and we need your help to reach

even more women. To us, it's hair, but to a woman with cancer, it's hope."

Some things to know:

• Requirements: The hair must be at least 8" when straight. No permanent color, bleach, or chemical treatments (Like the Japanese straightener). No more than 5% gray. 
• Pantene Beautiful Lengths makes wings mainly for woman with cancer.
• Wigs are free.

Locks of Love is probably the most well known donation company. They say, 

"Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers."

Some things to know:

• Requirements: They take up a full page to explain them, which you can see here. 
• They donate wigs to children under 21 suffering from long term hair loss. 
• Not all their wigs are free.
• There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the organization. You can read about some of it here. 

Wigs for Kids is another non-profit organization that takes hair donations. They say,

"When Children lose their hair, whether as a result of medical treatments, health conditions, or burn accidents, they don't just suffer physically. The change in their appearance can drastically undermine their self-image and sabotage their self-esteem. To combat this additional trauma, Certified Cosmetic TherapistTM Jeffrey Paul founded Wigs for Kids, a nonprofit organization that has been serving children suffering from hair loss since 1981."

Some things to know:

• Requirements: Another whole list of them. See them here.
• As the name suggests, they make wigs for kids.
• As far as I can tell, the wigs are free.

You can do a Google search that will turn up a hundred other organizations. There are even location based ones. So you can donate to people who live in your area.

Next time you're donating you hair, or you are thinking about donating, search the web and find out what organization is right for you. It's a brave thing you're doing, so make sure you feel good about doing it!

How To Tuesday: Sock Bun

I like big buns and I cannot lie.


You know that has been coming for a while right? Ha!


So, ever since I cut my hair off I've been missing my big giant top knot. It's small and puny now, and I understand why people with little hair are sad. And then, I discovered the sock bun. It was like an angel was watching down over me.

If you have hair much longer than mine, then this probably won't work. But there are sock bun tutorials for long hair out there. Or, you can just watch this top knot tutorial and it should work just fine.

Just an extra tip. Try teasing your hair before you do the "swoop" step. Just a tad, close to the sock. You'll understand after you watch. Enjoy! Then you can thank my hair angel.





Do you like top knots as much as I do?

Friday Link Love 5/25/2012

• The first thing in this week's Link Love has to be The Great Gatsby trailer. I'm seriously fangirling over here. Please tell me y'all are just as excited as I am?
• Yankee Candle, the place where I can spend hours sniffing things, has come out with a new scent. And men, it is perfect for your man cave. 
• I love this article from Hello Giggles about how everything I need to know I learned from Mean Girls. True? Possibly. 
• Oh those Japanese. They make the coolest things...like a robot that will wash your hair. 
• A Cup of Jo had a beautiful mermaid tail braid tutorial this week. 
• I love those lego sculptures, and I love hair. Some talented person combined them both. 
• Wrinkles suck. And botox is expensive. Why not try this natural homemade wrinkle remedy? 
• Last week I posted an article claiming that swoopy bangs were giving people lazy eyes, apparently it isn't true! Yay!
• Christina from Hair Romance is so talented. Check out this braided updo/awesomeness. 
• The trailers for some of the new shows for the Fall are out. Check 'em out and let me know which ones you think you'll be watching. 

What did you see online this week? Tell me in the comments below! 

Clip-In Extensions

I've been seeing a whole lot of clip-in extensions  in the salon these days. Prom season is just finishing and prom girls love to wear them. And why not? It's a great way to get the (long) style you want without years of waiting.

But I've also noticed some other things about clip-in extensions that I thought I would share.

• There are bunch of different types: synthetic, human hair, tracks, head pieces, etc. Make sure you know which one would be best for you.
• Make sure you know the difference between synthetic and human hair. Synthetic means that you can't color or put any heat on it. So basically they are come as they are. Whereas on human hair you can color or style it.
• If you buy human hair, bring it to your sylist and ask them to color match. Obviously, you want to buy the one that is the closest to your hair color first. 
• If you have thick hair, take into account how much hair your actually getting. For myself, one package of track extensions wouldn't be enough, but something like a head piece probably would be. 
• Make an appointment with your stylist to have them show you how to put them in! It can be tricky the first couple of times if you don't know what you're doing.

Clip-in extensions over all are pretty cool. They have huge pros and not very many cons. So I say...go for it!

Have you tried clip-in extensions? What brand? How did you like them?

In Between Color Tips

My hair grows at super human speed. If I don't do it every four weeks I have people telling me, "oohh...it's time to do your color." And just a heads up, no one likes to hear that. You'd think that working in a hair salon would make it easier to get your color done, but no. It's harder than a normal client. So a lot of times I go longer than four weeks, thus submitting myself to hear remarks about my roots. 

don't look at me or my roots!

But over the years I have learned a couple of tricks to make your color last longer and to conceal those pesky roots. Pay close attention. You'll want to know what I do. 

Help your color to last by...

• using a color shampoo. I switched over and went from needing every two weeks to every four.
• use a UV protectant out in the sun. Believe it or not, the sun can fade your color, so if you go out in it a lot, you need to protect it just like your skin.
• talk to your stylist about demi-permanent color.

Hide your roots by...

• I know it may seem silly, but hats really are an amazing product. Not only do they hide greasy hair, but they can also hide your roots too.
• try a hair mascara wand. It's like coverup for your hair. You paint it on your part line, and it effectively covers your roots...until your next shampoo of course. Don't forget to buy the right color!
• scarves. Tie 'em around and bam! no roots. 
• wear your hair down. I've noticed that when you pull your hair back, sometimes you can tell that you need your hair colored more than if you wore it down. 
• keep it clean! My hair turns dark at the roots when it's dirty, making it look like my root is really longer than it is. 

I didn't know what category to fit this tip into:

• prebook your appointment. A lot of the reasons that people go too long is because they forgot to make an appointment or their stylist is booked out for another two weeks. If you prebook, you never have to worry.

What are your tips to hide those grown out hairs? 

How To Tuesday: Pin Back Your Bangs

Growing your bangs out sucks. Believe me. Every time I see a picture of Zooey Deschanel I ask my stylist to cut my bangs, then I grow them out. And then I see another picture of Zooey. It's a vicious cycle that I go through with my bangs.

And that weird phase where they're too long to be full bangs, too short to be swoopy bangs, and way to short to fit behind your ear. It's a frustrating time. I basically wore one of these looks everyday. So check out a couple of ways you can pin back those frustrating things.

The Poof

1. tease your bang area. 2. pull back bangs and pin. Easiest thing to do.

The Braid

1. start a french braid. 2. continue braid across hairline. 3. finish by braiding all the way down and securing with a hair tie.

The Middle Part

A personal favorite of mine. 1. part hair in middle. 2. pull bangs to side, twisting as you go. 3. secure with bobby pins

The Twist

very similar to the braid. 1. start with one piece of hair 2. pick up a new piece and twist around other piece. 3. pick up new piece and combine with first piece 4. continue in this fashion 5. secure with bobby pin

What is your favorite way to pin back your bangs? Did I miss it? Tell me in the comments below!