hair

POST-BLOWOUT FRIZZ FIGHTER

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

One of the worst things I can think of is blowing out your entire head of hair only to find it getting puffy + frizzy by the time you’ve put your makeup on and gotten dressed. Obviously the curling iron or flat iron can help but sometimes you just want to wear a smooth, bouncy blowout. We get a lot of emails asking how to eliminate the puff. Here’s what works best.

  1. Blow your hair out as usual. Use a good serum to help you control your frizz.
  2. Once you’re done blowing your hair out split it into two sections. Twist both sections BACK (away from your face) starting up near your temples. Don’t laugh– tuck one side into your bra strap while you do the other side.
  3. Join the two sections together under your chin using a rubber band as you see in photo 3.
  4. Go apply your makeup and get dressed. I know you may look like a little wierdo, but WHO CARES! We’re fighting frizz!
  5. Once you’re dressed and ready to roll, take the rubber band out and put a drop or two of your favorite serum. We love THIS ONE and used it for this tutorial!
  6. Put a little serum where you need it and you’re good to go!

Have you ever tried this??

hair

ROPE BRAID CHIGNON

photography/post/graphics: Kristin Ess

You asked for it! Remember the hair flowers post from Valentine’s Day? We got a ton of emails asking if we could show how the hairstyle from that post was done. You’re going to need a few important things to get this look, so we’ve teamed up with Pantene Pro-V. For this tutorial, we’re using 3 products from the Pantene “Stylers” line which is endorsed by one of our favorite hair heroes, Pantene Celebrity Stylist Danilo! We’re using a heat protector, a soft texturizing wax and a shaping spray. Here we go!

  1. Blow your hair out all the way and put it on top of your head in a bun for about 10 minutes. That should help re-direct the hair so it doesn’t lay too flat.
  2. Grab a little pile of bobby pins in assorted sizes.
  3. Take a “pea-size” dab of Texturizing Sculpting Wax in your palm. Rub your hands together to warm + soften it up.
  4. Massage it into the root. This will give us the proper texture and will keep the hair appearing flat + limp. Remember– this wax is water-based so don’t be afraid.
  5. Grab your 1″ curling iron + your Heat Protection Spray.
  6. Spray a light veil of heat protector over your hair, wait for it to soak into the hair, then wrap curl your whole head for more texture.
  7. Do a rope/french braid on one side and pin it in place using a large supportive bobby pin.
  8. Then rope/french braid the other side.
  9. Lightly tease the hair in back. This will give volume to the bun portion of your chignon.
  10. Pull all of your hair to one side and twist it the same direction you’ve twisted the rope braid. In this case,  you can see she’s twisting it upward and toward her face.
  11. Pin it in place as you go.
  12. When you get to the ends, tuck and pin them as you see illustrated in picture 12.
  13. Gently tug at your rope braid to loosen up the look and make it a bit more romantic.
  14. At this point, you should pull out any small whispy pieces you’d like. You can see what it looks like with more pieces pulled out versus zero pieces pulled out in the Valentine’s Day post.
  15. Do a final veil of hairspray with something that will stay put but not look helmet-y. Obsessed with this Shaping Spray.

I made a quick video (not our regular style production), just so you could see how the rope braid is done! xo

Oh… and that cute little peach tulle dress is right here.

hair

KITCHEN BEAUTICIAN

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Sometimes you just gotta Treat Yo Self with an at home beauty mask! This one is particularly for soft shiny hair but we’ll be doing quite a few for both hair and skin in the coming weeks. Oh, FYI- the Magic Bullet mixer has officially become one of our favorite beauty tools at TBD. You know– the one from the infomercials!? Normally we mash up “Kitchen Beautician” mask ingredients in a bowl but the other day we thought to try it in this teeny blender. Boom! Perfect size cup makes the perfect amount for one mask. Hope you have one at home! If not, try a food processor or a hand-held mixer. It feels so much better when the ingredients are blended– almost the same consistency as conditioner. Here’s how I make my favorite moisture mask:

Mixing:

  1. Split an avocado, remove the seed and spoon the whole thing into the blender bowl (or blender cup in this case).
  2. Add a little less than 1/4 teaspoon of Vitamin E oil. If you have Vitamin E gel capsules, pierce them and squeeze out the oil. If you’d rather, you can buy the oil for topical use.
  3. Pour 1 teaspoon of your favorite oil– jojoba, olive oil, sweet almond oil or coconut oil. I usually stick to olive oil because it’s worked wonders for me every time with this mask.
  4. Blend it up until it reaches a whipped/creamy consistency.

Application:

You can either put apply this all over or your can do the ponytail method! Put your hair up in a ponytail, saturate the ends and then cover with plastic wrap. Try to give it about 10 minutes at the least, go for 20 if you have the time! Then hop in the shower, shampoo and condition as usual. Blow your hair out or air dry for soft, shiny goodness!

hair

MANE-TAIN

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Hairstylists typically own lots of curling irons and they’re all used to achieve different types of curl or wave. One thing all of these curling irons have in common– they need to be cleaned and stored properly in order to last a long time. Whether you’ve invested in an army of irons or just own one, here are 3 things very important things you should know…

  1. Clean your curling iron barrel about once a month with rubbing alcohol and a washcloth. Product build up on a curling iron is no good. A lot of people don’t even think about cleaning their hot hair tools, but that crusty brown gunk will cause excessive dryness to your hair and can even cause a slight yellowing on blonde ends. Product residue will remove easily with alcohol while the iron is cool. Someone asked me if they could shampoo off the residue– answer is no. You never want to submerge the barrel of your curling iron in water (plugged in obviously, but not even unplugged.) There are small cracks that can get water in them and cause rusting or coild damage.
  2. DO NOT run a hot curling iron under cold water. The extreme hot to cold temperature can cause damage to the springs inside the barrel. They need the proper time to cool. I had to learn that the hard/expensive way. If you’re in a rush and you have to pack a hot iron, instead of running under cold water get one of Lauren’s curling iron bags! They’re the best and can withstand temperatures up to 450 degrees.
  3. When you’re finished don’t wrap your chord around the handle because doing that over and over can cause your curling iron to short out. Instead, grab a rubberband or ponytail holder and wrap it like you see in the bottom photo.

If you have any tips or tricks of your own for curling iron maintenance, please share them below! If you’re looking for these curling irons, you can find them HERE. xo

hair

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

photo/post: Kristin Ess

Reporting live from Miami, Florida! Keeping your hair in check while traveling to a humid place can definitely be a challenge. If you have paper-straight hair or really curly hair then lucky you! Paper straight hair may be mildly affected and tight curls tend to look best in humid places. However, if your hair type is anywhere in between those two types, you know how difficult it can be to avoid frizz in high-moisture climates. Here are my favorite things to pack and how to use them:

  • A DETANGLING BRUSH- THIS ONE has very flexible bristles and is my favorite for detangling. It’s meant for detangling wet or dry hair. I take it in the shower with me and brush my hair out with the conditioner in it. Then I rinse the conditioner out and I don’t brush it after that– just towel dry once out of the shower. Flip your head upside-down as you towel dry so the hair doesn’t lay too flat against your head.
  • SERUM OR ARGAN OIL- Take something to put on the ends of your hair to help weigh it down a little. I put this on once I’m out of the shower and after I’ve towel dried. I always take THIS SERUM because my hair is so red and it protects the color, but you can take whatever serum or oil you love!
  • BLOWDRYER + NOZZLE- I like to air-dry my wavy/curly hair for the most part in humid climates, but bring a blow dryer with a nozzle on it to knock out any of those unwanted cowlicks along your part, crown or hairline.
  • ANTI-HUMIDITY SPRAY- It does just what it says- keeps the moisture out. THIS ONE (also comes in a mini size) is my favorite. I like to spray a very light veil of this over the areas where I know my hair gets most frizzy later in the day. For me it’s the midddle. I like to put this on first and then…
  • APRES BEACH SPRAY- THIS ONE is my fave because it’s soft. It’s not crunchy like a lot of beach sprays can be. (This one comes in a mini too!)
  • CURLING IRON- I always take my 1″ curling iron to humid places to quickly touch up any of the curls that misbehave once my hair has air-dried. Not every single piece is going to lay perfectly.
  • HOT IRON COVER- These are the greatest thing for travel because when you’re rushing, you don’t want to throw a hot curling iron in with your clothes and products. I particularly love THIS ONE because it’s cute and mostly because it’s made by the lovely Lauren Conrad with xo(eco).
  • HAIR PINS + PONYTAIL HOLDERS- You can’t go wrong with putting your hair up in a bun or pony when you’re dealing with humidity so don’t forget these gems!

Got any tips + tricks of your own for dealing with hair that gets frizzy in humidty? Leave them below! xo