Since I was a kid, it was obvious that "doing my hair" was not something I was born with a natural inclination toward. Initially, either because I had tangles or I didn't like to brush my hair ... I ended up with tangles and not wanting to brush my hair. Sometime in the tweens, I figured out how to use conditioner and a brush! But then, The Great Downfall came at some point in the early teens when I got it in my head (no pun intended, ha) that beachy waves were where it was at! Wuh-oh.
Henceforth, I decided that all I had to do to my increasingly fine, long hair was scrunch and tousle it with some Aussie Sprunch spray (remember that?) or later on, Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray and be done with it! Pffft! Now I realize ... that was never really working as well as I had intended it to.
Nope. It only meant I had a semi-frizzy head of hair that I was hoping looked beachy wavy. Sigh. But somehow, thankfully, in the wake of turning 30 this past year, I think I've FINALLY figured out the secret to pretty hair!
Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. Obviously, I've posessed some skills to make myself presentable and have smooth tresses up until now. But I feel like I only just got a grasp on making my hair look at least half as good as it does when I leave the salon ... This is something worthy of at least a pat on the back, I'd say!
More from The Stir: Biting the Bullet on This 'Embarrassing' Beauty Treatment Changed My Life
I could've stood to go get myself even a drugstore, cheap-o set of rollers or one of those nifty wavers. Or to learn how to use the heated wand thingamajigger my Victoria's Secret-maned, future sister-in-law swears by but that I gave myself several first-degree burns with. And that's what I thought it would take. Until I realized recently that all I needed to do was find the right products for hold, volume, and shine (Bumble & Bumble Thickening Mousse and Thickening Spray are my go-tos), a regular round brush, my trusty blow dryer, and oh yeah, a bit more time and patience than I was used to tapping into to get the job done ... (The last may be the most important.) Wrap my hair around the round brush the way my stylist does when I get a blow-out (even only in the front if I'm too lazy to do it all the way around!), and boom, GREAT hair! So easy! Even in the dead of winter, when I used to see the absolute lack of humidity as an excuse to throw my hands up on trying at all!
Turns out, it's so much easier than I was making it out to be. And it's bolstered my confidence to try all sorts of new styles! Maybe one day I'll even get those coveted beachy waves down pat. But for now, I'm perfectly happy with my DIY blow-out. Took me long enough after all!
What's your go-to trick for foolproof pretty hair?
Image by Emily Pogozelski/Pogo Photo