Coloring Your Hair At Home

I have never liked the color of my hair. When I was younger I was told that the color of my hair was “dirty dishwater blonde.” Who wants to be told that their hair is the color of dirty dishwater? I can’t say for sure but I have feeling the desire to change my hair color began back then. After I had my first child I was ready for a change. I wanted to be a cute blonde. It would require having it professionally done, which cost a lot of money. Within five weeks my dark roots would begin to … Continue reading →

Easing the Fear of Haircuts

My first haircut was done by my grandfather, a barber by trade. But as I got older, I went to the beauty salon with my mom. I always enjoyed the experience — especially having someone wash my hair — but not every kid does so well in the hairdresser’s chair. There are plenty of kid-focused salons out there, where stylists and staff go out of their way to make parents and kids feel more comfortable about the hair cutting experience. Here are some tips from a local kid-focused salon here in the Portland, Oregon area. Tip number one: watch what … Continue reading →

Conditioner Makes the Difference

I have unruly hair. It’s thick and curly and I really do like it… but it can be difficult to handle. Dealing with my hair isn’t really that bad… as long as I use conditioner on a regular basis. I have two different types I like: one is your usual in-the-shower conditioner and the other is a leave-in conditioner. The leave-in is nice because it’s like wearing “product” (gel or mousse or something) without actually using gunk in my hair. I was in a rush yesterday while getting ready for work. So, while I’d intented to use my leave-in conditioner … Continue reading →

Long Hair vs. Short Hair: the Smackdown

I’m a short hair girl. It suits my face (I think), it’s easy to care for, and looks good on short notice. I’m used to it. I’m comfortable with it. Heck, I even cut my own hair most of the time! With curly hair, if it’s a little uneven, it’s hard to tell. (Things would be a little trickier if I had straight hair.) But every once in a while, I get the urge to let my hair grow. I can count only two times in my life when my hair has been below shoulder length: once when I was … Continue reading →

A Good Scare… and Your Hair

I wish I had thought of this one before Halloween: can a fright actually turn your hair grey or white in an instant? Literature and even history has tales of folks whose hair went white overnight. The earliest account comes from 83 AD, and describes a seventeen-year-old student whose hair went white overnight. Experts of the day determined that his strenuous studying was to blame. Marie Antoinette’s hair supposedly woke up with white hair on the morning of her encounter with the guillotine. Western legend Annie Oakley’s hair is said to have turned white after a train accident. The shock … Continue reading →

How to Make Your Own Dry Shampoo

Interested in trying a dry shampoo? You don’t have to shell out big bucks if you’ve got a well-stocked kitchen and medicine cabinet. I bet you’ve already got everything you need on hand. The quickest, simplest dry shampoo recipe I found? Take a little corn starch — yes, the stuff used in cooking to thicken sauces — and work it into your hair. Start at the roots and scalp, where hair tends to be the oiliest. Scrub it around as if you were using shampoo in the shower, then brush or comb it out. The corn starch will soak up … Continue reading →

What is Dry Shampoo?

There’s a lot of ideas out there about the best way to care for your hair. Wash every day. Don’t wash every day. Air dry. Blow dry. My thoughts? What’s best for you and your hair might not work for another person. I like to wash my hair every day, but that’s as much for the shower-wakes-me-up sensation as the my-hair-gets-greasy-fast problem. And my method is in no way the last word in hair care! Lately I’ve been in on a bunch of conversations about dry shampoo, so I thought I’d share the info! First things first: what is dry … Continue reading →

Salvaging Damaged Hair

How healthy is your hair? Are you free from frizz and split ends? Is your hair shiny and smooth, or dull and unmanageable? If your hair is damaged — be it from chemicals (like pool chlorine), over-processing (like hair dye or perms), heat (like the sun or hair dryers), or something else entirely — here are some tips to help get your locks back into shape. Get on a regular schedule for trims. If your hair is in really bad shape, you may want to deal with the dead ends once a month; most healthy hair can go longer without … Continue reading →

Correcting a Hair Dye Boo-Boo

Yesterday, the hair coloring bug bit me and I picked up a highlighting kit. The streaks are kind of cute, but I’m not totally in love with them. So that got me thinking of ways to fix things if I’d had a hair disaster! If your color isn’t as light as you’d hoped, you can try the old fashioned hair lightener: lemon juice! Rinse your hair with a little lemon juice and sit in the sun — your hair will gradually get lighter. If your color isn’t as dark as you’d hoped, you can always re-dye it with another, darker … Continue reading →

Highlights at Home

It’s been a long time since I got the urge to dye my hair. Partially because it’s expensive and partially because I just haven’t felt the need. But today the bug hit hard and I gave in. I picked up a highlighting kit that was made “especially for curly hair”. I guess that’s because the highlighting comb that comes with the kit has extra-wide teeth? This is the first time I’ve attempted highlights, rather than an all-over color, so I’m not really sure what the little comb usually looks like. The color? Supposedly a warm coppery color, somewhere between my … Continue reading →