how i care for my hair.

Affiliate links included in this post.

I thought I would share my hair care routine with you all, since one of my readers asked what I do to my hair to keep it healthy (thanks Yael for asking, by the way!). I used to have a lot of trouble with my hair and I hated how thick and frizzy it was. I tend to have thick, somewhat course hair. But it is much better today than it used to be. I have a few tips for my type of hair that I've found works fairly well. First of all, don't use cheap shampoo that strips your hair of its natural oils. Find a shampoo that has argan oil or another type of moisture/oil in it. It doesn't have to be expensive either. I really like the Shea Moisture brand that you can find at most drugstores. It's inexpensive and it lasts a really long time. Both Jed and I use it and he has really curly hair that can get frizzy if he uses the wrong shampoo. I also apply a small amount of argan oil all throughout my hair while it's still wet. Sometimes I will even apply a tiny amount at the top of my head, where I can have a tendency to get frizzies. I generally put more oil in my hair during the humid summer months than the winter. If it's really cold and dry, my hair is straight. When it's hot and humid, my hair is a wavy puff ball. However, ever since I started using argan oil, I haven't had much trouble with frizz! I also use conditioner, but I don't worry about getting an expensive one. I've been using the Dove brand for awhile now, which is nice and thick and it keeps the tangles at bay.

Up until more recently, I really haven't used a hairdryer or curling iron/straightener on a regular bases. I think that is partly why my hair isn't damaged. I also know now that since I'm drying my hair more often and using really hot curling irons etc., I should probably get a heat protectant. Anyone know of one that is good? I hate adding extra gunk to my hair if I don't have to, but I don't want to damage it either. Other than that, my hair routine is pretty simple. I also take a good multi vitamin and other supplements for my skin (zinc for blemishes). I haven't taken any of those hair/skin/nail vitamins before, though. I wonder if anyone has had experience taking these sorts of vitamins? Do they make your hair grow faster or skin softer? That is another thing I need to research more about; dry skin. I inherited dry skin, which is quite annoying! I'm sure there is something lacking in my diet, but for now I just have to make sure I use a really thick lotion and body oil right after a shower, otherwise my skin hates me. But now I'm getting off topic!

The hairbrush I use is by Sonia Kashuk for Target, which is similar to the very chic and very expensive Mason Pearson brush. I love that the Sonia Kashuk brush is not expensive so if something were to happen to it, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Mine is amazing on those nasty nape-of-the-neck tangles I tend to get. And best of all, tangles are never painful to brush out. I also use a brush to tease my hair when I'm feeling in a '60s mood! The one I use is called "Teaze" by Phillips. I got it on Amazon for $5 or $6 and it works really well. Like I mentioned before, I love the Elnett hairspray by L'Oreal. I've never liked a hairspray so much!

As for my bangs, I blow dry them while brushing to the left and to the right. Then I use my straightener to curl them under. When my bangs were shorter, I didn't always use a curling iron. Sometimes I would even put the smallest amount of argan oil to tame them (in the summertime), but I know when I do that I'll probably need to wash them the next day. At the moment I am currently growing them out, so I'm playing around with different ways to wear them. I still love my bangs, but I think I'm ready to try another style. I used to trim my bangs, which is so simple to do yourself and saves on trips to your hairdresser every other week.

So, what are some tips you've learned about your hair? Any fabulous hair products that you would like to tell me about?

valentines

Valentine's Day is coming up fast! This year as part of my (unofficial) New Year's resolutions, I am trying to take advantage of the holidays that I love, and make time to craft and celebrate them. I have always loved Valentine's Day, even when I went through a stage of my life where I acted like I was indifferent to it. Even if you don't have a sweetheart to share this particular holiday with, it can still be fun! I have lots of great memories when I was a little girl, making and sending out cards to friends and family. Mom would make a heart mailbox, either out of a used Cheerios box or a cardboard oatmeal canister. All of my family would write valentines throughout the season and drop them in the mailbox. On Valentine's Day we got to open the (overflowing) mailbox and read our cards. Mom would usually pick up those boxed cutout valentine cards for us from the grocery store. I loved the Charlie Brown ones! I'm not sure if you can get those anymore, but I found some cute more grown-up valentines at the Victorian Trading Co. This year I vow my Valentine cards won't be mailed at the last minute! How about you? Do you celebrate Valentine's Day? Any fun traditions or crafts you like to do around this season? ♥

P.S. Some fun Valentine's Day ideas that may help you get inspired to do some holiday crafting or baking!

vintage hairsetter

 

I recently purchased an old 1970's Clairol hairsetter from eBay and wanted to write about how I liked it. My mom used to have one like this, but the last time I was home she couldn't remember where she put it. I know she used to have one with a mirror and I remember thinking how amazing it was when I was growing up. I've hardly ever used hot rollers, since I always thought they looked too complicated. But more recently I have had a new found curiosity for hot rollers, possibly because my hair is getting really long and I thought it's about time I play with it a bit more than I have. I love the fact that hot rollers are really a lot easier than they look and are much faster than a curling iron. You simply roll your hair up and let it sit there while you do other things around the house. Easy! I have a modern velvet style roller set that are really large, but I've found these can be tricky to work with. They don't really grab onto your hair as easily, so they have a tendency to fall or flop around on me. I really like how the vintage hot rollers have these little spikes that grab onto your hair when you roll them up, so you don't really have to worry so much that they will fall out. Although I will say I had a bit of trouble getting them out. I think it was the way I wrapped my hair around the curlers. Next time I'll be more careful.

From the little experience I've had so far using hot rollers to curl my hair, I've found a few things that are helpful. First of all, I like to start with freshly washed and dried hair. For some reason my hair keeps curl so much better right after it has been washed (I've heard this from others as well). I like to blow dry my hair, but if you prefer, you could probably let it air dry. After the hair is dry, I like to spray Elnett hairspray all over my hair and then brush it out. The curls tend to last so much longer when I use hairspray. With this set, I didn't add any hairspray (need to get more) and today my hair is wavy, but not as curled. I also left the curls in for a good 30-45 minutes. I've read that it's best to leave them in until they are no longer warm to the touch. When I took mine out they were still slightly warm, but I didn't want to wait any longer. As you can see, they did a pretty good job of curling my hair! I was a little surprised because the hot rollers didn't feel very hot to the touch like my modern velvet rollers. An added bonus!

I highly recommend using a vintage hair setter if you happen to find one. I am betting you can find these all over at thrift stores for much cheaper than you can find them on eBay (where I got mine) or Etsy. Mine cost about $20 (including shipping), which I don't think is bad, but I just know you could find them for much less if you frequently go thrifting! Mine is in great condition, but I still washed all the curlers in soapy water (I used a cheap shampoo) and cleaned everything else with vinegar. In my hairsetter, there is a compartment where you were supposed to put a special conditioning liquid in the base, under where the curlers were placed. I discovered you could remove the metal cover and since it looked like it could use a bit of cleaning, I poured some white vinegar in there and turned on the heat. It cleaned the gunk right off and now it looks brand new!

A few videos on using vintage hot rollers that I found helpful. Also the vintage manual I got with my set can be found on Archive.org.

Some photos from the last few weeks...

There have been a whirlwind of activities in the last month for Jed and I (mostly having to do with lazing around and being with family). I am sorry for not blogging more often. We were gone over the holidays, but we are back now and getting into our daily rhythm once again. I am working on some new projects for (hopefully) the summertime which I'm rather excited about! But I'm not going to say what that is until I know it will actually happen. ;)

The weather has been crazy warm this year, although it's colder today. Over the weekend it felt like a spring thaw. Perhaps this is a bit early, but I am getting excited for Valentine's Day this year and planning some fun crafty decorations! I even ordered some heart cookie cutters, so cookie baking and decorating will be in order! Enjoy the rest of the month, everyone. xo

P.S. I got to meet up with Jenny when I was home in Iowa over Christmas! Such a fun time chatting with her at the knit shop. She is always so inspiring!