A Little Tease

A few months ago, I happened to meet a very cool woman at R/S: like me, she was born in and grew up in a foreign country, like me she was in a relationship with a ginger, and like me she is mom to two boxers. I'm a great believer in destiny, and 3 coincidences just seems liked the universe was trying to tell me something. Turns out, she is a hair stylist: clearly, the universe was telling me it was time to do something different with my hair!!!

Carolina works at Tease in Lakewood, and I decided to go in for a blowout to give her a try! The salon is  super charming with its exposed brick and vintage dressers.

Carolina ended up doing my hair in a side-do that I absolutely LUUURRVVEEED! 

Needless to say, I was back the next week for haircut.

The results from the first haircut: She talked me out of bangs since it was still the beginning of summer, but I absolutely adored the curls and volume!

Over the past month, she put in the bangs (its almost fall after all) and touched up my ombre to make it look more natural (well, as natural as ombre is going to look on someone with SUPER dark hair)

Overall, I am more than pleased with all of my experiences with Carolina. She is extremely knowledgable and can turn a vague description into a real vision. That said, I ALWAYS recommend taking in pictures. Best of all, she will spend the time to show you HOW to style your hair and give you plenty of options to change up your look. So, if you're toying with the idea of a new stylist, I absolutely recommend Carolina at Tease!!!

All Pinned Up

I've been trying to grow my hair out for a few years, and I'm starting to get a little restless. I've done the bangs, no bangs, highlights, and I'm currently rocking ombre. While I would love to experiment with updos, quite frankly, I have no updo skills. Seriously. I can eff up a sock bun. Lucky for me, a few months ago, I ran into a hairstyle so simple, even I can do it....

Source: bellasugar.com via cleshopaholic on Pinterest

Source: bellasugar.com via cleshopaholic on Pinterest

Bobby pins!!!!  Seriously, how much easier can this get?!?! For a more dramatic look, just line up a few of them in a row! Best of all, this past weekend, I found these at Target!

 How awesome are these?! Adorable, completely on trend for spring with the bright colors, and best of all each set was under $5!!!! 

Product Testing: Brazilian Blowout!

A couple of months ago, I bought a Groupon for a Brazilian Blowout at Studio 247 in Chagrin Falls. I had it done about two weeks ago, and OHMYGOD, why in the world did I wait so long?!?!?

The Brazilian Blowout is different from the Brazilian Keratin treatment (which I have not had, but I've done some research) in a few ways:
1. The Blowout only takes about 90 minutes from start to finish, vs. a reported 2.5-3 hours for the Keratin
2. With the Blowout, you can wash your hair as soon as 12 hours later, although they recommend that you wait as long as possible. The Keratin treatment requires 4 days of no hair-washing, no clips, no hair ties, etc.
3. The Blowout typically starts at $200-$250, while the Keratin has a higher starting price point of $300-$350. For both treatments, most salons will require that you receive a consultation before you get the treatment, which is when they give you your estimated cost.

Now, both products are designed to smooth your hair and decrease frizz, but if you have curly hair, it has the added benefit of making it easier to straighten. Since I have wavy hair, the Brazilian blowout made mine pretty darn straight, although I've been told (by people who've tried it), that the Keratin works better as a straightener than the Blowout if you have curly hair. Both fade out in about 3-4 months, and both require that you use sulphate-free shampoo and conditioners. Both treatments will last longer the less you wash your hair; so if you're an every-day-shampooer, it will not last as long as someone who shampoos only 2-3x a week.

Overall, my hair looks much healthier (even though I'm WAAAYYY overdue for a haircut), is much straighter (and therefore looks longer), has a much shorter drying and styling time, and best of all, its unaffected by humidity!!! I will ABSOLUTELY get this treatment again, and highly recommend it for all of you who have naturally curly/wavy hair, and fight it to straight submission every day!!

Cure For Bad Hair Days

Last fall, I had bangs cut in my hair. Ever since then, I've had a love-hate relationship with them. Some days (its the humid ones) I really hate them; they won't lay right, they get poufy.... on the days that Mother Nature will not work with me, I turn to hair accessories.

A few days ago, I picked up some SUPERCUTE ones on Etsy.

$3 each (plus shipping). Both are available here

Obviously, these are not work-appropriate, but they will be perfect for football Sundays (GO BROWNS!)and St. Patty's Day!! Also, little side note, the actual hair pin is pretty small, so if you have really thick bangs, they may not work very well for you. These would be a great "just-because" gift or stocking stuffer for a young girl or a young-at-heart woman! So next time you have a bad hair day, just pin that hair away with something cute and fun!!