1. Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo — the last time I dyed my hair, I really did a number to it because I stripped color and then added red over it. My hair was very angry at me, which is why I’m letting my roots grow out. I’ve been using paraben-, SLS-, and [...]]]>

1. Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo — the last time I dyed my hair, I really did a number to it because I stripped color and then added red over it. My hair was very angry at me, which is why I’m letting my roots grow out. I’ve been using paraben-, SLS-, and petroleum-free Yes to Carrots Nourishing Shampoo and loving it for hydrating my hair and keeping the frizz at a minimum.

2.Dress Green Pure Hydration Facial Cream — my quest for the perfect, affordable facial cream seemed like an endless one. Because my face alternates between really dry and oily, I’ve had a hard time finding something that hydrates, but doesn’t make my skin oily. Solution: Dress Green’s Pure Hydration Facial Cream. Besides hydrating without being oily, the Pure Hydration Facial Cream is vegan, made with nutrient-rich Avocado Oil, Cocoa Butter, Rose Hip Oil, and other natural ingredients, plus it’s free of parabens and petroleum. I think I’m in love.

3. Earth Science Aloe Vera Complexion Toner & Freshener — While my homemade green tea toner is great for freshening up my face, it doesn’t remove makeup very well, and it’s hard to tell how well it removes dirt from my skin {because it appears yellow on a cotton ball}. Earth Science’s alcohol-free and non-drying Aloe Vera Complexion Toner & Freshener visibly removes makeup and dirt, plus the Aloe Vera, Hyaluronic Acid, and Sea Kelp ingredients moisturize the skin.

My hair is on the slightly thinner/average end of the [...]]]> Remember the sea salt hair spray tutorial I posted a few weeks ago? New reader Caitie sent me a super sweet e-mail yesterday about the customizations she made to the spray, so I’m thrilled to share them with you! Here’s what Caitie had to say:

My hair is on the slightly thinner/average end of the spectrum, so it needed some help. I added a little more salt and opted for lavender oil for a scent, twisted it up for the first 15 minutes or so of drying.

Wears well after a top down drive into the office. :) Nice option to the smooth bob look!

Above is Caitie wearing the smooth bob look {left}, and how her hair looked after using the sea salt hair spray {right}. Doesn’t she have a ridiculously sweet smile?

I always love getting feedback from my readers, so if you ever try any of my recipes, please let me know! You could appear here, too. :)

My favorite way of styling my hair used to be straightening it, but now it’s summer and it’s far too hot to be doing that. Plus, now that my hair is shorter {thanks, again, to my friend Ryan Gorey}, it’s easier to just wash it, throw in some product, and let it be [...]]]>

My favorite way of styling my hair used to be straightening it, but now it’s summer and it’s far too hot to be doing that. Plus, now that my hair is shorter {thanks, again, to my friend Ryan Gorey}, it’s easier to just wash it, throw in some product, and let it be naturally wavy. Lately, my favorite product has been my all-natural, homemade, beach-inspired, sea-salt hair spray:

Ingredients:

• ½ cup distilled water
• ½ cup coconut water {you can find this in the Spanish section of the grocery store}
• 1 tbs sea salt
• 1 tbs glycerin {you can substitute hair gel}
• ½ tsp jojoba oil
• 4-6 drops orange essential oil {optional}
• 4-6 drops pink grapefruit essential oil {optional}

Directions:

This is super simple. Ready? Just mix everything together! You can microwave the sea salt and water together if you’d like, just to make it dissolve faster, but that’s optional. This contains no preservatives, so I recommend storing it in the fridge, taking a little bit out at a time to store in a small spray container. If you keep it out, unused, for too long, the chunks of coconut in the coconut water will start to get moldy. I’ve kept mine mold-free in the fridge for over a month now!

Just spray it on when your hair is wet and let it dry naturally! Note: your hair will most likely not be as poofy as mine. I have ludicrously thick hair. I could carpet an entire house with what I have on my head.

….Side note: can you believe I haven’t been to the beach yet? It’s a damn shame!

I have been making headbands like a maniac lately! A couple weeks ago, I posted a tutorial on how to make a yarn-wrapped headband, and before that I wrote a guest post for the Jennie Fresa Beauty Library on making bridal headbands. Today’s DIY is on braided fabric headbands, which I think are [...]]]>

I have been making headbands like a maniac lately! A couple weeks ago, I posted a tutorial on how to make a yarn-wrapped headband, and before that I wrote a guest post for the Jennie Fresa Beauty Library on making bridal headbands. Today’s DIY is on braided fabric headbands, which I think are the easiest to make. Here it goes:

You will need:

• 3 pieces of fabric. They can be all the same or all different. I used an old shirt, leftover fabric from my bridal headband tutorial, and an old skirt. The leftover fabric was a little difficult to work with, though, so I recommend sticking with cotton-based fabrics.

• 1/2 inch wide elastic
• thread
• sewing needle
• scissors

Steps:

1. Cut your fabric into strips that are about 1 inch thick and 12 inches long. {I decided to make the strips from the old pink skirt and the leftover fabric a bit longer to have a “tail” on my headband, but that’s totally optional}.

2. Sew the tops of the fabric strips together.

3. Braid! Since the fabric strip from my shirt is the shortest, I can only braid until I reach the end of that strip.

4. When you’ve reached the end, sew the bottoms of the strips together.

5. Fit the braided fabric to your head and determine how much elastic you will need to finish it off. Then, sew one end of the elastic to the inside of one end of your braid.

6. Sew the other end of the elastic to the other inside end of your braid.

Et voilà! You’ve made a braided headband! I got really excited and made a few more:

Happy crafting!

I wanted to get this up yesterday, but I was elbow-deep in cupcakes all day, getting ready for my party tonight! So, last year, I wrote a DIY Hair Accessories post and, shortly after, DIY Hair Bows. I’m happy to say I’ve refined my techniques a bit, so I think you’ll find the [...]]]>

I wanted to get this up yesterday, but I was elbow-deep in cupcakes all day, getting ready for my party tonight! So, last year, I wrote a DIY Hair Accessories post and, shortly after, DIY Hair Bows. I’m happy to say I’ve refined my techniques a bit, so I think you’ll find the results of this DIY a bit more fashionable. Here’s how to make a yarn-wrapped headband:

You will need:

• metal headband
• thin yarn
• a fake flower {or a few}
• a button {or a few, if you’re doing more than one flower}
• tacky glue
• scissors
• a clothespin {normal-size or obnoxiously large like mine if you like} or a bobby pin

Steps:

1. With your yarn ready, dab a little bit of glue onto one end of your metal headband.

2. Place your yarn onto the glue, leaving a little tail {about 1-2 inches} hanging off the end of the headband.

3. Wrap your yarn tightly around the headband until the entire headband is wrapped in the yarn and no metal is visible. You’ll want to stop every couple of wraps to make sure the yarn is tight and pushed together, again, so no metal is visible. I usually do about 6-8 wraps, then stop and push the yarn together.

4. Once your headband is completely covered in yarn, finish the end off with glue, leaving a little tail again, and let it sit for a while. When dry, use a little bit more glue and wrap the tails around the ends of the headband to cover all of the metal, then trim off the excess yarn.

5. If applicable, pull your flower{s} off of the bunch, then cut the stem off.

6. Remove the plastic center from the fabric petals. {Note: if you want to keep the center, skip this part. Instead of gluing on a button, you can sew the flower to the headband by pushing your needle and thread through the plastic flower center}.

7. Dab glue on the headband where you’d like to place your flower, and press your flower onto the glue.

8. {I know, you’re looking at the photo going “what?!”} This is where you let the flower dry, and use something to hold it in place. I happen to have this ludicrously large pink clothespin that I used, but you can even use a bobby pin or a regular-sized clothespin. Just know that it will probably stick to the flower, and you’ll have to pry it off a bit. This is okay, though, because you’ll be gluing a button over the center of the flower to cover up any marks this process may make.

9. Once the headband has dried, glue a button to the center of your flower.

When the button is dry, you have your very own, wearable, super cute, yarn-wrapped floral headband :)