No More Short Hair Blues!

We’ve seen them all—women who conveniently turn to hair extensions for length, thickness, etc., but unfortunately don’t realize that the public can see the extension’s lining or glue line. This is why I’ve been terribly afraid to go near the thought of wearing extensions. Because, of course, I would be “that girl”.

I chopped all my hair off in the spring of 2010 after my mother, the creative and imaginative hairstylist that she is, convinced me to cut my long 13-inch hair that I’d so anxiously and patiently grown out, into a 6-inch A-Line. I have always wondered what I’d look like with an A-Line cut, but had always backed out because I persuaded myself that I didn’t have the right kind of cheek bones or face structure for the style.

However, I ended up with very short hair and a whole lot of time spent trying to style what little hair I had to work with. After about 1-2 months of contentment with my hair, the resentfulness began. I had missed my long hair for so many reasons: quick styling, easy maintenance, flowy feelings, and an overall self confidence from my locks of love. Having short hair made me feel chubbier because I don’t have the defined cheek bones of Reese Witherspoon or Gisele Bundchen. I ended up wearing my hair back or in a bun with cute hair accessories, attempting to jazz up my “do” as much as possible.

So, it’s been about a year that I’ve had this short, (horribly slow-to-grow) hair, and I finally came to my senses last week and considered hair extensions. My hair is naturally at about shoulder length now, so I thought that if I got 10-inch hair that it wouldn’t look too fake or desperate.

To my surprise, the simple glue-in extensions that only cost me $13 for the hairpiece and glue, ended up being quite a success! You can also sew-in the extensions, but sewing extension clips (at beauty salons) to the extensions themselves with simply a needle and thread. This takes a little more time, but the hair will last much longer as it is so easy to take the extensions in and out of your hair! If you really want to go big, you can get a very teeny-tiny braid (like a cornrow) across the back of the crown of your head, and have the extension sewed into that braid, avoiding the glue process. Like I said before though, the glue actually worked great! I measured the crown of my head where I would be placing the hair, and cut the measured size 5 different times, creating 5 different pieces to match my head! The entire hair extension package comes with a very long piece of hair (probably about 10 feet total!) I pinned up layers of my hair, making sure that it was a straight line across my scalp, carefully lined up glue along the extension’s stitched edge, and held the hair onto my scalp, pressing for about 30 seconds. Then, I took a blow dryer (on low power, cool in heat) to the glued area for another 30-60 seconds to ensure dryness!

It’s been almost a week, and I’m still loving my extensions. A lot of people actually haven’t even noticed, except that maybe my hair looks a little darker. I was able to get a perfect light brown/sand color that matches my original almost perfectly, so it’s actually hard to even recognize the real hair from the fake hair! I love curling my hair now, because I have flashbacks to the days when my hair was long and flowing and I felt so great about my locks!

If you’re a bride-to-be, and you’re concerned with having short hair for your big day, I really encourage you to look into getting extensions. Whether professionally or just at home, you can find the right way for you. If you choose to insert a hair piece with glue, there are dark and white glues available that help suit your hair better when it dries. You can get a really great deal on extensions and tools at a local beauty supply shop that is open to the public. You can also ask a friend that may have their beautician’s license if they can pick up some good extensions for you at a Maly’s or any other beauty supply shop.

If you are a shop owner, get in touch with different brand owners about Store Locators. They are a great way for online shoppers to find your store through a brand’s website!

Have fun!

The Wonderful Art of Updos

Have you ever though of hair as an art? What if you could create a series of curls and twists and combine the design with beautiful flowers and pins, all with the simple threads of a woman’s hair? Ask any hairstylist with a background in up-dos, and they’ll inform you of the beautiful complexity of hair design. Colors are the supplies for a painter, coffee and foam are the supplies for an artistic barista, and hair, curls, and pins are the supplies for a hairstylist. You must consider the wonderful artwork of updos!

The beauty in up-dos is not only in the endless possibilities of curl sizes and decorative flowers, (even though they are so fun :)), but in the uniqueness of each individuals look. Two women could receive the entirely same up-do, but can look completely different due to the difference in hair. Because most women have different hair from one another, your up-do is your own. That is something worth considering!

Even while talking to my fellow recently-married friends, we decided that taking the time during your wedding day to properly have your hair done is a great element to experience in the big picture. Yes your mind is running on that big day, and you probably can’t tell your best friend from your mom, and you’re thinking about the possibility of tripping down the aisle, but what a wonderful thing to look back in pictures, and see all the effort you really did put into your wedding day! It’s just another “keepsake” moment to have hold of.

Some women are mistaken in the truth of up-dos. Yes, there are more extravagant styles than others, but it really is all about your own customized hair style. Whether it’s a higher up-do, with more curls, twists, and turns, or one with a milder grace about it, perhaps lower and with light curls and a simple flower.

Your entire wedding has the sole purpose of reflecting you and your spouse as a couple, meaning it should be customized down to the smallest details. Likewise, your bridal image on your special day is entirely based upon your own desire!

The all important hair style

Now I know my wedding is not until August but believe me it is right around the corner! Seven months will go by all to quickly so I am starting my hair preparation now. I know for my hair I want it to be blond with a little brown weaved through it just so that it is not platinum. I also know that I ever since my fiancé proposed I have wanted it to be long for the wedding. I have been growing it out since last April and it is longer and in better condition then I have ever seen it in. When I look online at all the different wedding hairstyles I have gathered different ideas for how it will be on my wedding day. I have not decided on the perfect hair due yet but I have a pretty good idea of how it will look.

I want it all down with long barrel curls, I might have a little of it pulled up in the front but I have not decided for sure. Currently I am going through the decision on bangs or no bangs. I started wearing bangs about 6 months ago and I have enjoyed them. Tonight I am going to get my hair done and I am going to try the side swept bang to see if I like that more then blunt bangs. By next time I get my hair done again which will be 2 months I have to decide if I want to grow them out or keep them for the wedding.

I will keep you all posted…Until next time brides ☺

Choosing your Wedding Hairstyle

So you are preparing for your big day and something that keeps going through your mind is “hairstyles.” There are so many different wedding hairstyles to choose from! How do you know which hairstyle is going to work best for you? Well I wanted to see what was in style for 2008 weddings. What I found is when it comes to wedding hairstyles there are a lot of choices!

If you want to wear all of your hair up then there is the classic up do, up do with curls, and up do with accessories (example: flowers, hair pins, pearls etc.). To wear all of your hair up, you need to have a certain length of hair to be able to pull back. Also you have to feel comfortable with it all up. I for one do not like it when all of my hair is up. I have a rounder face and so I always feel self-conscious when all of my hair is pulled back. Although the nice thing about having all of your hair back is you do not have to worry about messing with it!

If you want to go for more of a half up half down style then there is the sleek half up look, half up with a lot of curls, and half up with accessories. Again to wear your hair half up it has to be a certain length to pull back. This is a style that I would consider because it still pulls back your hair, but at the same time leaves some hair to play with.

The other option is to have all of your hair down. When you make the choice to have it all down there are a variety of ways you can wear it. You can always wear it long and sleek, or you can dress it up a little more by doing long barrel curls. If you have naturally curly hair you can always wear it with your natural curl. I recommend especially on your wedding day to wear it a new way you have never worn it before. In my opinion that would make your hair style that much more unique on your special day! Also always plan ahead to try a few different hairstyles before the big day.