hair

HAIR TALK: OVAL FACE SHAPE

post: Kristin Ess graphic design: Eunice Chun

The oval face shape has long been held up on the “perfection pedestal”. We always hear people talking about how the oval is the perfect face shape. Sure, almighty oval is often more versatile when it comes to haircuts + styles but the “perfect face” by definition actually has nothing to do with shape at all- it has to do with ratio (which we’ll talk about in my next post after we finish face shapes). An oval is typically 3 parts long to 2 parts wide. In other words, the width of your face is about 1/3 less than the length of your face. There are also no major corners on an oval face shape– not around the hairline or on the jawline. If you missed the chart to find your face shape, you can find it HERE! Let’s discuss some great hair options for the oval face, shall we? READ MORE…

hair

HAIR TALK: SQUARE FACE SHAPE

post + graphic design: Kristin Ess

Last week we put up a chart that shows you HOW TO FIND YOUR FACE SHAPE. Hopefully you’ve all narrowed it down to one shape (or two if you’re a hybrid!) and are ready to talk about what cuts + styles work best for you. Don’t fret- we’re going to do a post on each of the 9 face shapes from our chart, so hang tight if you don’t see yours yet! It’s coming. Also, feel free to mix advice from two face shape posts if you think you’re a hybrid! Talk it over with your hairstylist if you’re not quite sure.

THE SQUARE: The goal with most face shapes we’ll talk about will be to either love it/embrace it/wear it proud like Olivia Wilde does in the bigger picture above with all of her hair pulled off of her face OR to do what you can to down-play your shape if it’s something that you don’t love. If you’re looking to down-play your square face shape, the goal will be to diffuse the 4 corners a little bit. Here are some great ways to do that. READ MORE…

hair

REFRESHING CURLY HAIR

post: Micha Brown photos/graphic design: Kristin Ess

Lately we’ve noticed a rise in the number of girls wearing their hair with a more natural curly texture. The reason seems to be different for everyone– curly hair trends, rainy weather or just giving the hair a break from heat styling and working with the beauty of natural curl. Either way, we’re into it! Most curly girls sporting a natural texture (whether it’s their own or not) don’t wash their hair every day in order to preserve the hair’s natural oils. Some of you jump in the shower and re-wet the hair by just running water and/or conditioner through, which is totally fine if that works for you, but some of us don’t neccessarily want to get our scalp wet. Here’s how I go about refreshing my curls if I feel like they’ve gotten too out of control…

  1. This is pretty much what my hair looks like in the morning when I wake up if I haven’t worn a satin sleep cap (which you can see in picture #8). First thing I want to do is detangle it.
  2. A) DON’T start at the top when detangling. Since curly hair already lacks moisture naturally, we don’t want to add anymore stress to it because it can cause breakage. B)DO start at the bottom working your way to the middle and then up to the top/root.
  3. My favorite thing to do is to mix 1/2 water with 1/2 leave-in conditioner. I use THIS ONE by Sexy Hair. I don’t like to use just leave-in because I feel like it can weigh the hair down after a day or so, but when I dilute it with water I never have any issues with that.
  4. Take sections of hair and spray. You don’t want to soak it, but you don’t want to lightly mist it either. Go somewhere in between. Since I can’t see you, and because each head of hair will absorb product differently, use your best judgment. Start with less and add more if you need to.
  5. Now comb through using a wide-tooth comb. I like to use a wide-tooth comb because as you can see in the photo, the hair tends to “group up” after it slides through the wide teeth of the comb.
  6. After you’ve used the wide-tooth comb, you should only use your hands. No more brushing and no more combing as it dries. The hair will start to lock back up into it’s original ringlets.
  7. If you come across an extra stubborn section that wants to frizz no matter what, just wet your hand with your leave-in & water spray and spin that piece around your finger to encourage the curl. Make sure to spin it the way it wants to go so you’re not fighting the natural pattern.
  8. This is the satin sleep cap that every curly girl should own. I know you feel stupid wearing it but to be honest I don’t even think about that! Anything that minimizes my beauty routine in the morning is FINE. BY. ME.

hair

FINDING YOUR FACE SHAPE

post/design: Kristin Ess

There are so many face shapes in this world. It seems like every time I read a story about finding “the right haircut” there are only 4 (maybe 5) face shapes to choose from– but not everyone can be squeezed into those little boxes. Over the years, I’ve spoken with many people who have always thought they were one face shape (and followed the guides for that face shape) only to learn that their face was another shape entirely. Perfect example– one of my clients had  always thought she had a heart shaped face just because she had a pointed chin like Reese Witherspoon. The thing is, you can have the pointed chin of someone who has a heart-shaped face but if your hairline is more narrow, as my client’s was, you would fall more in the diamond family.

For today’s post, I’ve created a guide that should help you find your real face shape and in my next few posts, I’m going to be talking about what to do with each one. I really hope this helps and please keep in mind that it’s very common to fall into more than one face shape family!

UPDATE: Find the tips and tricks for your face shape by clicking these links!

hair

HEAVY SIDE PART

photos/post/design: Kristin Ess

Obsessed with this side-heavy look- and as you can see below it’s all over the red carpet. It’s kind of got this sort of 90′s feel to it which I’ve really been digging. The weight of the hair feels very a-symmetric and it takes a whole 15 min to create this look. Here’s how it’s done:

  1. Find your super-deep part. Try lining it up with the very outside of your brow first. If that feels like it’s just too much, go a little closer in and line up with the arch of your brow.This could potentially feel a little uncomfortable at first if you’re not used parting so far over. If you really hate having that deep side part or if your hair just won’t cooperate for some reason, try doing what I did on Lucy Hale below– see how I went on a diagonal? It starts a little closer to the center and then diagonally goes into a heavier part. This way you get all the weight of the hair on one side but it doesn’t feel overly swooped. Don’t be afraid to take a blowdryer to it to get it to behave!
  2. Use the finer side of a comb + some strong holding hairspray to make the side tight as you see in photo 2. Don’t over spray, you just want the hair close the head and the fly-aways to stay down. If you really wanted to go for a sleek side, you could gel it and give it that “shaved side” appearance which feels equally edgy + girly!
  3. Now split the hair diagonally from the back of the part to the opposite corner of your neck. Start the braid behind your ear and go down and around as you see in photo 3. Use a tiny clear elastic to secure the braid on the opposite side of your neck. This elastic will be hidden underneath the other side with all the hair.
  4. That’s it! Now you’re free to create whatever texture you want on the heavier side– smooth waves, messy waves, curl, straight, anything you like. Personally I like the messy waves with a little volume (like you see in the very top photo) but you really can do this using any natural texture.