Tuesday, December 22, 2015

you asked, I answered: my hair

This might be the only post I've ever written that my dad doesn't read in its entirety. Sorry, dad.

Just as often as I'm asked about being married to a medical student/resident, maybe even more so, I am asked about my hair.

"How do you make your hair wave so perfectly?"

"Hair info, please! You have the best curls!"

"Oh my heavens, your hair is perfection! How do you maintain it!?"

I'm afraid this is going to be a very disappointing post because... I have no secrets.

I use the cheapest shampoo and conditioner that Safeway sells. I've had the same $20 curling iron since high school. I don't use hairspray, split-end repair gel or volumizing anything. I trim it maybe twice a year (most recently in my own bathroom) and have colored it once (which I actually regret). I have been growing it out since 8th grade, so how did my hair get so long? Patience! (Which I lack a lot of) I have an excessive amount of cowlicks framing my face (thanks, mom!) and baby hairs where bangs should be (thanks, babies!) More often than not, it is all in a wet, unbrushed bun on top of my head. I do, though, have some natural wave to my hair, so it's not totally hideous when air dried and it holds a curl pretty well, which I'm thankful for. And which is what I get asked about most often - my curls.

I felt so very silly doing a video tutorial, so I took some equally embarrassing, low quality, pictures curling my hair in my living room
 ^^ The size of the chunk of hair affects the size of the curl, duh. Usually, I curl a 1-3 inch section of hair. ^^
 ^^ I wrap my hair around the curling iron just like you would a curling wand - I don't use the clamp. I curl the hair away from my face, curling all the pieces on each side of my head in the same direction, meaning when I get to the back of my head I switch directions. I start the curl somewhere around my ear/chin, getting lower as I continue to curl around my head so the curls start higher in the front. I do this because 1, my hair is too long to all fit around the curling iron from root to tip and 2, because I don't like the curls to form a straight across line around my head. ^^
 ^^ I hold the end of the hair away from the curling iron so the last inch or so is left straight, holding it for about 7 seconds, though the amount of time you hold your hair wrapped around the curling iron affects the size/"looseness" of the curl, so, adjust accordingly. ^^
^^ Voila! And continue! ^^
 ^^ And, switch directions! I curl the hair away from my face on both sides, so the curls face into each other on the back of my head. ^^

When it's all done, I'll loosely run my fingers through the curls, but they tend to loosen up on their own as I continue to get ready so I try not to overdue it or use a brush - I like my curls curly! And, that's it! My hair gets greasy quickly, so I'm not one of those girls that can rock day 5 hair, but these curls are great for day 2 waves and a day 3 ponytail. 

Anything you were hoping to learn about my hair but didn't? Leave your question in the comments and I'll update the post with the answers! 


1 comment :

  1. gorgeous!! I can't believe you don't have to use hair spray! I do a similar technique- but my hair is board straight so hair spray is a crunchy must haha

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