I Wish I Had Curls Like...

Kate Hudson a la "Raising Helen."

Curly Girl Method: Week #3

I think I know now what the tips meant when they said your curls may get worse.

My curls are worse than they were the first two weeks, but they aren't worse than when I started. But I do have a few frustrations with my curls right now. But first, pictures.

As you can see, it's inbetween where I was from before I started the Curly Girl Method and my first week. There are a few factors I think that have led to this:

1. My hair-fussing habit has returned! AH! After I put the gel in my hair and style it, I can't help but keep messing with it because it just doesn't look right. Which leads me to point two.

2. I think I need to get my hair cut. I haven't cut it since last August and the length is just awkward.

3. It's so stinking cold outside that my hair freezes as I walk to school, because you technically aren't supposed to blow dry your hair on the Curly Girl Method; You can use a diffuser, but alas, I do not have one. Therefore, my hair freezes and then as it air dries, something makes it frizz. Maybe my hair is just allergic to cold weather.

Also, sometimes it's really windy, and that makes it frizz too, because it's (almost) the same effect as blow drying. And, I can't wear a hat, because then I would have serious hat hair for the rest of the day. If there is one thing I have learned about my curly hair, it's that you never wear a hat unless your hair is completely dry, or you plan on wearing it for the rest of the day. For instance, the day during my senior year of high school when the power went out across town while I was taking a shower, and it didn't come back on until halfway through first period. That was a definite all-day hat day.

What's weird about my curls though, is they are super curly on the bottom layer, and not so curly on the top. I have this awesome curl right by my ear that is in the perfect shape of a slinky, and all day during class I've been playing with it, pulling it out and letting it bounce back to place--it may or may not have been a pretty boring day in my moral judgements class.

So, here's my plan of attack:
1. Stop fussing with my hair after I've put in the gel. Maybe I need to put in a little bit more gel to get it to stay curly.
2. Get a hair cut...sometime...when I have sufficient time and funds.
3. In the near future, invest in a diffuser. For now, either shower earlier or ponytail it on really cold days.


Song of the Week: I Wanna Go-Britney Spears

I'll admit it: Britney is my home girl. The first CD I ever bought was "...Baby One More Time." I never did see "Crossroads," but from what I've heard, I'm kinda glad I never did. And even though she had those spastic, crazy years, she has made quite the comeback. I do have to say though, the first time I heard this song, I actually heard a Hunger Games parody of it (which I'll link to below). I did eventually hear the real version, and I absolutely love it. It's become my new walking to class/workout jam (the real version, not the Hunger Games version).

Curly Craft Circle

I don't know what it is about having a break from school that makes my inner-Martha Stewart come out, but yesterday I was in the mood to do a craft. I saw the idea for a button bracelet on pinterest and decided to give it a whirl. I spent less than $5 on this, which is good for my budget.

Here are the supplies you need:

  

-Elastic band

-Buttons

-Thread

-Needle

1. Take the elastic band and measure it around your wrist. I made mine a little loose, but you can make it as tight as you want to. Make sure to overlap it about 1/2 of an inch. Cut off the desired amount.

2.Pick out your desired buttons and lay them out. They may overlap a bit, so keep that in mind. Also, you can double up, layering a smaller button on top of a bigger button to give it a little bit more cuteness.

3. Sew the overlapping pieces together to make it into a wristband. I hand-stitched mine, but it might be easier with a machine.

4. Start sewing on the buttons. This process takes a little bit of time. It took me about an hour and a half to two hours until I was finished. Make sure you sew the buttons on tight enough that the stitching won't come undone.

The Finished Product!

 

Curly Girl Method: Week #2

Another week has gone by, and I'm still loving the Curly Girl Method. Why did I not discover this about ten years ago. I could have had such a better teenage experience without the unmanagable mane on my head.

I did my hair in a side bun today, so there aren't any pictures to show off my fabulous curls.

I'm still finding a few flaws in the steps that I've been following. For instance, I was having a struggle getting the conditioner straight to my scalp to wash it. My hair is like a vacuum and sucks in anything that comes within 10 inches of my head, kinda like that secretary in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" who keeps pulling pencils out of her hair. Anyway, whenever I would try to "wash" my hair, the conditioner wouldn't get close enough to my scalp to do anything. So, I started to try something that is working a little better. I take the conditioner and rub it between my palms, and then I get my palms and fingertips as close to my scalp as possible. That helps to get the conditioner to the source, but I also have to do another round of conditioner to get the rest of my hair the moisture it desperately needs. So, I'm going through a lot more conditioner that I thought I would.

 

Couldn't find a picture of her pulling out the pencils.

There is another step that I don't really know why it's there, but I do it anyway. It's doing the final rinse with cold water. Let me say, this step does two in one: it rinses my hair and it helps wake me up. Especially because when I turn around to turn off the shower, I get that brisk water running down my back and I do a little dance every time when it happens.

So far my hair hasn't been getting any worse, which I am quite glad. One of the websites I read said that may happen, but I hope it doesn't. But don't worry, if it does, you will all be the first to hear about it.

Song of the week: Say it Ain't So-Weezer

As I am writing this post, I am listening to my 90's rock playlist. No 90's rock playlist is complete without the presence of Weezer. My favorite is their blue album, because it reminds me of a very long road trip up to Oregon with my two brothers and my sister-in-law. Say it Ain't So is my favorite song by them.

It's a Love/Hate Thing!

LOVE:

As a child, I was constantly compared to Shirley Temple.
















HATE:

As a child, I was constantly compared to Shirley Temple.

Curly Girl Method: Week #1

First off, so sorry for not doing this update yesterday. I got sick over the weekend; yesterday I went to the doctor and found out I have a sinus infection. It's weird, but I envy people who just get colds, because my colds always turn into sinus infections.

Anyway, I figured today would be better for an update.

I have to say, I am loving the Curly Girl Method! My hair is no longer frizzy, and you can actually tell that I have curls. Here are some pictures of my hair:

I have to point out my new favorite accessory: My acorn necklace. I do seasonal work at a DownEast Basics in Salt Lake City. This is one of the necklaces that we sell and I when I saw it, I knew that I would have to buy it. Why? Because it's like the kiss that Peter gives to Wendy in Peter Pan (my favorite book).

As you can see, especially the side and back of my hair is doing a lot better under the Curly Girl Method.

There are a few things that I find difficult, though. First, you aren't allowed to dry your hair with a normal towel, and you can only squeeze our excess water with an old T-shirt. Now, the reason why this is so hard for me is I hate having my hair be dripping wet when the rest of me is completely dry. It completely defeats the purpose of drying off. Although I do squeeze out the excess water, it still drips and I hate it! Also, because I am used to towel-drying my hair, it's hard to change that habit. I've had a couple of close calls, but whenever the towel gets close to my head, I can almost hear my hair screaming, "NO! DON'T DO IT! THINK OF THE FRIZZ!"

I can also hear it saying this whenever I go to play with my hair when it is still wet. Doing so makes it frizzy. Once you put in the gel and style it, you have to let it be. Well, can I just say that this has been one of the hardest parts of this process. I rustle my hair when I get nervous or am day-dreaming, so it's been hard not to do that. I feel like there needs to be a hair rustling support group for people like me ("Hi, I'm Chelsea and I'm a hair rustler").

But, giving up some of these habits is definitely worth it. My hair doesn't look like a family of rats lives in it. It has only been one week, so I hope that it keeps getting better.

Song of the Week: Flight-Sutton Foster and Megan McGinnis

I have a confession to make. I love Broadway music. Sutton Foster is probably my third favorite female Broadway actress (First is tied between Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel). I was listening to one of her songs from Anything Goes on Youtube and I found this beautiful song. She and Megan McGinnis were in the stage production of Little Women, and I was excited to see that they did another song together. This song just makes me feel like I'm flying, and the harmonizing is amazing.

It's a Love/Hate Thing!

LOVE:

 Those days when the curls turn out just right and I feel sassy the entire day.
















HATE:

  Triangle Hair.

Tomorrow It Begins

 

That's right folks: the curly girl cha-cha starts tomorrow! The old T-gel, Herbal Essences conditioner and gel, and my hairbrush have been thrown away. I'm removing the temptation, that way I have to stick to the Curly Girl method for at least until the products I bought today have run out.

 

I traveled back to school today and finished unpacking earlier than I expected. I decided to brave Wal-Mart to go purchase my supplies. This was quite a feat, as I go to school in a little town in Idaho and Wal-Mart becomes very crowded the first week of the semester. I figured that many people would be flooding the aisles for notebooks or hangers, but I was quite surprised with how busy the shampoo aisle was. It made it quite hard to search down my needed products.

I found a list of suggested products for the curly girl method at this blog. I wrote down a couple before heading out to fight the crowds. I did stop in at Sally Beauty Supply first, which is right next to our Wal-Mart, but I was shocked to find that there weren't that many good products there (and the prices--whew! I would have to sell my first and second born children in order to purchase anything from there).

Speaking of prices, the products I picked met the criteria for curly girl method, and they fit my criteria for being affordable. I am the epitome of the starving student and I knew that I would need to find products that would fit within my budget but still work. The total amount of my purchase was around $13. At first, I thought that was a little pricey, but then I thought about how the prices of my previous T-gel, conditioner and gel combined equal about that same amount, so that made me feel a bit better.

By know you're probably wondering which products I decided to go with. Well, here they are:

For the conditioner, I chose Burt's Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet Conditioner. Let's hope it works as good as it smells. I've been a fan of the Burt's Bees chapstick for a while, so I thought I would try the conditioner. Knowing my hair, I knew I would need some sort of gel, so I purchased the Got2B Spiked-Up Gel. I've used this gel before and it is actually pretty good. And of course, I now own a wide tooth comb, which was actually a part of my Christmas present from my sister, so that one was free!

Now that I have the right products and tools, I'm ready for the curly girl cha-cha (hee hee, I love saying that!). I'll probably do an update on how it is going every week, so expect another curly girl update next Monday. But during the week, I may update the blog with something about curly hair (like my "It's a Love/Hate Thing post) or something completely random (*see bottom of the post). So keep following, and feel free to comment or leave questions.

Here is a before picture. As you can see my curls aren't so bad from the front...

...but then you get to the side and the back, and that's where it goes downhill. I couldn't get a good angle from behind, but trust me, just take this side view, lessen the curls down to barely a wave and you've got the back of my head.

Oh, the Curly Girl method steps I am following are located here.

*Song of the Week: I love listening to music, so every week I'm going to post one of my favorite songs. Now, I have quite a random taste in music, and most of the songs on here won't be recent releases. You may have heard some of them, you may not have heard others. But I hope to give you a little bit of a glimpse at who I am through one of my hobbies.

Use Somebody-Laura Jansen:
I found this song over the summer and I still can't get enough of it. The Kings of Leon are great musicians, but Laura takes their lyrics and makes it into a beautiful ballad.