How To: Take Care of Your Hair in the Summer

Okay, I know. I haven’t blogged in forever and I said I was going to do this one forever ago and didn’t. BUT, today you’re in for a treat. These past few weeks have been full of craziness with the 4th of July, cheer camp, blah blah blah. So thank you all for being extremely patient and to reward you I am going to share with you the top 5 best ways to keep your hair healthy and beautiful this summer. 

1. Don’t Shampoo Every Day

I can’t stress this enough ANY time of year, much less summertime. The sun can be so drying to your hair (as can shampoo) so the two together are not going to be your BFF. Dry shampoo, however, is. I know too many people that say “I can’t go more than one day, I get so greasy!” No. Stop. Yes you can. You just have to train your hair to not be used to being washed every 24 hours. Start small and go every other day, then work your way up. You can thank me later 😉

My Favs: AG Hair or Moroccan Oil Dry Shampoo 

2. Clarifying Shampoos/Malibu Treatments

So now you’re probably thinking, “But, what about swimming? What about when my hair has chlorine in it? What about when it turns green?” 

After you go swimming, I absolutely recommend a clarifying shampoo to wash away the chlorine and chemicals from the pool. With a clarifying shampoo, however, you will want to use a moisturizing conditioner because you will be stripping your hair of so much, including moisture. My favorites are Paul Mitchell’s Shampoo 3 & Moisturizing Conditioner. NEVER use clarifying shampoo more than once a week. Ever. Just don’t do it.

Malibu Treatments are your life saver when your hair turns green/whatever funky colors due to all the chlorine in the pool. If this happens, hop on over to any beauty supply store or ask your hairstylist about a Malibu Treatment for Swimmers. They come in little packets and, when used correctly, can take the green tint out of hair. OR Dawn dish soap is a great alternative. Put it on your hair, leave on for 5 minutes, and rinse. You should always use a deep conditioner after any of these treatments.

Which brings us to…

3. Deep Conditioners

You should be using a deep conditioner 1-2 times a week depending on how often you wash your hair. Summertime is harsh on our hair and we need to take extra good care of it for that reason. Use It’s a 10, Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger Treatment, Brazillian Blowout Deep Conditioner (which are some of my favorites), or anything your stylist recommends. 

4. Leave-in Conditioners

“How can I keep my hair from turning green in the pool?” THIS. IS. HOW. 

Last summer, my sister swam for 10 hours straight and her hair turned swamp green. Not joking. Her hair turned green because she didn’t listen to me when I said put a leave in conditioner in your hair before you get in the pool. You can put it on wet or dry hair, however your hair is when you are getting in the water. Spray it generously all over your hair. This prevents chemicals from the pool to penetrate your hair. I 100% recommend It’s a 10 as my go to for this because it also has UV protection (your hair needs protected from the sun just like your skin does). But, other leave in conditioners will work as well!

If you really want a pro tip though…. Don’t get your hair wet. Put it up in a bun on top of your head or pull it up in a baseball cap. Not getting your hair wet in the pool in the summer is basically the only way to GUARANTEE 100% that you will not have green hair. Plus, the more often you get it wet, the more often you have to wash, which we talked about earlier.

And finally…

5. Trims

Make sure you are still getting your hair trimmed every 4-6 weeks if you want to maintain length and every 8 if you are trying to grow it out. Split ends are not completely preventable no matter how much care we give our hair. We all have them. Yes, even you. The key is stopping them before they get worse (aka letting them go just to “grow” your hair when in reality your hair is just going to break off and become unhealthy and stringy) so just do yourself a favor and don’t let it become a problem! Tell your hairstylist you want to “dust” your ends. When my clients tell me that I typically don’t take off more than 1/4 inch, but that is also a conversation (and amount) that should be discussed between you and your stylist. 
Thank you all for reading and I truly hope that these tips were helpful to you! Remember to stay having fun in the sun… But make sure you’re taking care of your hair so that you can look great while doing so!

❤️ Emily 

How To: Have a Good Monday (Or Any Day)

Mondays are… well, Mondays. Today, for example, I woke up and couldn’t remember the last time I woke up in such a bad mood for no apparent reason. I woke up feeling stressed out with a bad outlook on the day before it even started. But, I made it through. If you’re reading this, you did too. If you struggled as much as I did though, then this blog is for you. This is a list of things I did today that I strongly feel made an impact on my attitude. These are my top 10 ways to have a good Monday. 

*Photo by Natalie Day’s Photography*

1. Coffee

I cannot and will not ever start a day without coffee. I’m sure to an extent this is strictly a mental thing. Am I entirely dependent on coffee? No (well, not entirely) But, I do look forward to it every single morning. That’s the key. I look forward to it and enjoy it, therefore, instant mood booster.

2. Breakfast You Actually Look Forward To

Yeah, we all have those days. We grab the closest breakfast bar and coffee to go and run out the door. But, today I went in to work a little late and decided to have a real breakfast. I’ve been on a weird egg kick lately… I’m practically that girl from the Amanda Show. But, seriously, I’ve just really been wanting eggs. So you know what I did? I had some freakin’ eggs! Why? Because I wanted them and even though it was simple, I thoroughly enjoyed eating my breakfast. 

3. Face Mask

Like I said before, I went into work late today. I do realize that most days you’re not going to have time to do this in the morning. But since I did, there was no reason not to. Taking care of my skin makes me feel better about myself in general, not just on a Monday. Because of that, I knew that a little skin brightening facial couldn’t hurt. I was right.

4. Be Positive. No Matter What.

I cannot stress this enough. As I drove to work, I thought about how tired I was. I thought about everything I needed to get done this week. I was just not feelin’ it. But then, I realized that being a cranky pants wasn’t going to do ANYTHING for me. Complaining wasn’t going to change anything, it never really does. So instead, I just prayed that my attitude would change and that I would continue to have things to look forward to throughout my day.

5. Visit/Call Someone Who Makes You Happy

After work, I had to go drop something off at my best friend’s house. Seeing her and her daughter (my goddaughter) always make my day. From venting with my BFF to playing with the baby, I’m always guaranteed to leave in an even better mood than I walked in with. 

I also call my mom every single day when I leave work. I still live at home and I’ll more than likely see her in 20 minutes, but it always helps to at least talk about your day to someone while it’s still fresh in your mind.

6. Eat Stuff That Makes You Feel Good 

It doesn’t have to be salad or a super strict diet. But I have noticed that since I found out I am limited to what I can eat, I am much happier when my stomach isn’t upset because I ate something that I probably shouldn’t have. Today I made sure I paid extra close attention to things I was eating and noticed a drastic change in my mood. 

7. Workout

Or some kind of physical activity. I did a quick 10 minute cardio video and felt so much better after sweating a little bit. It helps to get all of the day’s frustrations out and it doesn’t have to be intense. It can be running, yoga, lifting, kickboxing, anything. Whatever you like and whatever makes you WANT to workout.

8. Watch Your Favorite Movie/TV Show

I finished my workout and then I watched Grease. ‘Nuff said.

9. Do Something Nice For Someone Else 

You’d be so surprised how much better you feel when you make someone else feel better. I tried to get in the habit earlier this year of doing something nice for someone else every single day and then writing it down so I could hold myself accountable. I truly believe it changed my character for the better and it really wasn’t hard. It can be a simple compliment that makes someone’s day. You never know what kind words can do to a person, so just use them.

10. Count Your Blessings

As I lay here in my bed having survived yet another Monday, I can’t help but think about how lucky I am to have the life that I do. I count my blessings and thank God for everything I have every single night. Maybe Mondays are only “Mondays” because we wake up with this negative mindset that it has to be a bad day simply because of what day of the week it is. 

My main point that I’m trying to get across is: do all the little things that make you happy. Look forward to things. Make ANY day a day worth living! 

I hope y’all enjoyed this post. I know it’s not my usual hair tutorial. But, we can all use a little #motivationalmonday every once in a while, right?

Thanks for reading, loves!

❤️ Emily

The Journey in The Blonde Direction: The Blonding Process

Blonde. Whether it be an ombre, highlights, or full on platinum, it seems that nobody can ever get enough of it. Nowadays, there are so many different ways to incorporate some brilliantly bright strands into your look. I mean really, what’s NOT to love about changing things up once in a while?

Well… Apparently there’s one thing that so many people are not crazy about:

Blonding. Takes. Time.

It’s not something your stylist can control and it certainly doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with your hair! The fact of the matter is, if you have brown hair, your ombre is probably not going to be white blonde the first time you come in for an appointment. It’s just how it is. 

Why? I’ll tell you.

Hair color in the hair stylist world is classified in levels: on a scale of 1-10, 1 being black and 10 being platinum blonde. Lighteners can only lift so many levels (healthily) at a time. Therefore, if your hair is dark brown, your best bet is counting on your hair to be a caramel color when you leave the chair. Then, the next time you go in for an appointment, you can count on being even more blonde, so on and so forth. This is intensified even more if you have previously colored your hair because of the added chemicals and dyes, and since blonde is the ABSENCE of color (yes I said absence, that’s why your blonde ombré isn’t fading out!) you need to eliminate all of the colors that have been previously on your hair, whether it be natural or added by dyes. 

“But, when I go lighter it’s not caramel or blonde, it’s just orange.”

Ahhh, I see. So you have never been introduced to toners. What are those? The simplest way to explain toners: they cancel out brassiness. If your hair is yellow you can pop a toner on and yellow becomes platinum. It’s like magic… except it’s kind of not because cosmetologists go to school to learn exactly why and how these kinds of things work.

I’m explaining this all so that you understand from a stylist’s standpoint what all goes into becoming blonde. Without basic knowledge of lighteners, toners, and the health of hair in general, it makes no sense why you can’t or shouldn’t try to go from black hair to white hair in one day. Yeah, I know Kim K did it but every person I’ve ever heard of that went from dark to light in a matter of hours had hair the texture of chewed up bubble gum. No, not joking and yes, it’s a thing. Your hairstylist just wants your hair to look good AND feel good. 

So, now that you know how blonding works as the stylist, I’ll give you my point of view as the client. I know it’s frustrating to wait a few appointments to finally reach the color you want. I promise you that if your colorist could take you from point A to point B in 3 hours, they would. But, going blonde isn’t a point A to point B process. In fact, for me it was more like a point A to B to C to D to E process, as it is for A LOT of people. Lucky for you guys, I documented every single step in my blonding process that took place a little over a year ago. I’ll show you step by step what I went through and to help reassure you that the in between stages really aren’t miserable! 

Background story on my hair: I am naturally blonde. On that scale of 1-10 I was talking about earlier, I’m right around a 7 or an 8. Really ashy, dirty blonde. In high school, I box dyed (EW) for years to make my hair dark brown. Well, eventually I got into cos school and learned that box dye is actually the devil and I decided that going back blonde was going to take too long and to just keep coloring my roots dark brown. It looked like this:

This photo is from November 2014. I had been switching between solid brown and ombre for most of the year simply because I was in denial for a really long time about the fact that I was actually a natural blonde (Lucy Hale obsession, long story short). 

In January 2015, I was back to ombre. I spiced it up with some magenta pieces because why the heck not? Notice my ombre is definitely NOT bleach blonde.
*Side note: the magenta only showed up on my ends because it was a dark, warm color. Most fashion colors, especially silver and pastels, have to be applied to white or nearly white hair.

By the end of January, I decided to continue my blonding journey that had already started with my ombre about a month back. We actually decided to pretty my much leave my regrowth of my natural at my roots and my ombre ends and just bleach out the mid section of my hair. I needed a nice clean base to start highlighting so that my hair would lighten evenly from root to end.

About 4 weeks later (spacing out appointments was key to keep my hair healthy), I had my hair highlighted all over. You can definitely tell that even after those 2 steps I was considered “blonde” again. 

By the middle of April, I was able to use high-lift color (a blonding color line that lifts color but is not as harsh as some lighteners) and my hair still felt great. I wasn’t where I wanted to be yet, though.

*Photo provided by Natalie Day’s Photography 

This photo is from around the end of May. I was lighter, but again, I was not where I wanted to be. I really really wanted to be icy, platinum blonde. This just goes to show that allllllll that color takes a while to get out completely.

July came around eventually. I went on vacation which lightened my hair even more and then I ended up cutting it all off right after. At this point, I was so happy with my color. My hair was nearly white which was what I had been wanting for about 7 months. 

Yep, you did read that correctly. It took me seven months to get to the point I wanted to be at. Now, depending on how blonde you want to be, it may not take you as long. But, that’s what it took for me. 

As a little bonus I will also throw in the fact that about a month ago, I had silver hair for the first time ever. I had been blonde for about a year at this point and I was already a cool platinum when I did it because I had been toning my hair at least once a month if not more for months, even when I didn’t retouch my roots. I felt that this would be helpful to some of you considering the obsession with silver/gray hair at the moment. It usually takes more time to get to than platinum because you cannot have ANY warmth in your hair whatsoever. Just a heads up!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this post. It was a lengthy one, possibly the longest I’ve written so far. But, I hope that you got something if not multiple things out of it! Remember I love feedback and appreciate hearing from you guys and what you want to see next. Love y’all!

❤️ Emily

How to Choose Your Hairstylist

 So many people would argue that trying out a new hairstylist is in fact one of the scariest things you’ll ever experience. Okay, maybe not ever, but it can definitely be a little nerve racking! 

 Good news, today’s post is all about how to go about finding the right hairstylist for you. Because believe it or not (and as much as I hate to admit it), not every single stylist & every single client are going to be “the perfect match”.

  First things first, what kind of stylist are you looking for? There are so many things to consider while asking yourself this question. 

 Are you looking for someone newer to the industry or someone more experienced? Although I do not agree that the number of years behind the chair determines the talent or skill of the stylist, some people prefer to go to someone who has been doing hair for 20+ years versus someone that has been in the industry for less than 5 simply because they are more comfortable with that.

 Remember that if you are looking for a younger stylist (I have experienced this first hand), you are also looking for someone a bit newer to the industry. This does not at all mean that your young stylist is any less talented than stylists that have been doing hair for most of their lives! It simply means that you feel that you will relate better to said stylist. Is it okay to try out a few different stylists of different ages/experiences before choosing “the one”? Yes. Are there pros and cons to going for either type of stylist? Absolutely. There are pros and cons to every decision you make in this world. But, like I said before, it’s all about who you are the most comfortable with. 

   Moving on to the next step in finding your perfectly matched hairdresser: Personality. 

 This is so, so important. Your stylist could be the most skillful in the universe… But, do you love them as a person? 

 If you don’t get along with your stylist on a personal level, it’s going to be very hard for you to be comfortable enough to talk to them & be honest with them about what it is that you truly want to get out of your time in their chair. It also makes it very hard on the stylist to understand what exactly it is that you want. Spending time with your hairstylist should be fun, relaxing, and an all-around good experience. You should leave happy and if you’re not, then you should be able to talk to your stylist about it. If you can’t… Well… That brings me to my next point:

 You have a stylist that you absolutely adore, but the communication just isn’t quite matching up.

 Let’s say you and your hairdresser get along great. You spend most of your time with them sharing stories and laughing, but what you want and what you get are just not the same. This does not mean that your stylist is uneducated or a bad hairdresser. This also doesn’t mean that it’s your fault that there was miscommunication. We are all humans and we all miscommunicate at some point or another. 

 There’s actually a very easy fix to this problem. Don’t automatically assume he/she does not know what they are doing. Don’t abandon your stylist and freak out trying to find a new one because you could end up just repeating the process. As a rule of thumb, give it a couple visits. You guys may not hit it off and get your perfect color the first time you visit the salon (then again you totally could, it’s not NOT normal!). But, if you give it a couple of appointments and get to know each other and build up communication as well as get more comfortable with each other, you’re more likely to get on the same page about things. 

  And finally:

Every stylist/client relationship is different and takes time to build. 

 This kind of goes along with the last piece of advice. Everyone has “their” hairstylist. Sometimes you know from the moment you sit in the chair and sometimes it takes a while to get comfortable enough to open up about both hair related topics as well as personal ones. Either way, give it time. The profession of being a hairdresser is a rare one in which a lot of the time personal and professional worlds collide. I was just telling one of my clients yesterday, “I’m part hairstylist, part therapist”. At the end of the day, we are there to make you happy and I speak for all hairstylists when I say we love what we do, who we do it with, and who we do it for. 

 I hope this offered some helpful information to you all! Please don’t be shy with suggestions for what you’d like to see on my next post! 

   love, Emily  
 All of the photos in this post were taken by the one and only Natalie Day’s Photography. The photographs are, in fact, of the loft that I co-own with my loft mate! Hope you enjoyed them all and you can check out more of Natalie’s work below:

Natalie Day’s Photography
 

The Knot Braid Tutorial

Hey guys! Welcome to my first ever blog post!

Today I’m going to be giving you a step-by-step tutorial of how to do a knot braid. Here I am sporting it below: Now, I only did the braid in the front to style my bangs. But, you could absolutely use this technique as an updo & include all of your hair in the braid. 

I love the knot braid because it’s super fast & easy, even if you can’t French braid your own hair! I also feel that it gives my hair a much more textured look than just a regular French or Dutch braid. 

I have pretty fine, short hair, but this works on all hair types. Don’t think that you can’t “pull it off” because you think you don’t have enough hair for it! The beauty of this braid is that it can be achieved on all types & lengths of hair.

I also have extremely dirty hair in these photos, which may be helpful when it comes to texture & hold!

Side note: I ALWAYS have had trouble getting my braids to look full (ya know, like the Pinterest posts?) but the knot braid has absolutely worked the best for me & there are tricks to making your braid appear fuller & thicker!

So, let’s get started! 

First, get the rest of your style ready. I put some loose waves in mine before because I wanted to go for a very messy, almost beachy look. This totally works on straight styles as well, though!   Next, I parted my hair exactly where I wanted my braid to start. I parted a little farther over than I normally would because it helps me to “fake” the fuller braid look.Pick up 2 strands of hair (yes 2, not 3) and hold them out like you would when you’re about to tie your shoe.  Now, actually tie them like you’re tying your shoe. You are going to literally be tying little knots in your hair repeatedly.While holding the two strands in your hands (or one hand, whatever you’re comfortable with), pick up two more small sections and combine them with the other two strands.

Yeah yeah, this part is kind of like a French braid, but trust me this is as hard as it gets.   Now, tie another knot.Repeat this process until you reach your temple. If you want to keep going around your head, by all means, keep going. But, since I only wanted my bangs braided in this style, I stopped picking up extra pieces when I reached my temple.  Now, just keep knotting your hair until you only have a small amount left at the end. Notice I have small pieces poking out all over the place, that’s okay! You can fix those later if you choose to, or you can leave them out for an even messier look!Lift up the section of hair that will be laying over your braid (this also helps hide pins!) & use Bobby pins to secure your braid. If you want to be able to see your braid all the way through the end of it, you don’t have to lift a section to cover it. Just pin your braid in place over the rest of your hair.  Here, I am going through & pinning down those little pieces that were poking out. Remember, this step is completely optional! Next, you want to gently pull the braid apart. This is going to give you that very full, thick look. It also helps add extra texture! Keep pulling your braid in opposite directions until you are completely satisfied with the look of your braid. And you’re done! How easy is that? 

Your end result is a beautiful, thick, texturized knot braid! If secured correctly, you can make this style last you all day or even 2 days (shoutout to all my fellow grease balls who hate washing their hair). It’s so easy & a perfect quick fix on those days when you’re running late & your bangs just are not cooperating. 

Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my blog & I hope this helped some of you that were in search of a new hairstyle or just could not figure out how to make this braid work!

Let me know what you think & what you want to see next!

Love, Emily