31 Before 32: Pixie Cut Plans

Yesterday I spent the entire day in the bed feeling a little under the weather with Little Mike. He's sick too. I spent the whole day watching HGTV and eating saltine crackers. Not fun.

One of the perks of being on the sick and shut in list is you have plenty of time to roam the land of Pinterest. I must've seen a million haircuts. Millions. Apparently there is a pixie style out there for all of us. I haven't had a short haircut since 2006 (other than when I did the big chop for going natural in 2010). I'm looking forward to the change though. Honestly, I really need to cut my hair off and start over with growing it out.

A week ago I got crochet braids done. They were pretty but I got them done with kanekelon hair because those Youtube gurus had me thinking I could manage all that. I couldn't manage it. I called my braider back and she's going to give me some box braids this weekend. I plan to wear those and get my haircut after that. Just in time for the Texas triple digit heat summer weather that's coming.

Here are some of the styles I am gravitating towards...

Follow The Chic Stay at Home Mom's board Coily Ringlets on Pinterest.

I don't know how realistic this will be but I would love a cut that I could wear straight and naturally curly. Does anyone have experience with this? Point me in the direction of an IG or Youtube account if so. I'm one of those people that researches everything before pulling the trigger...

My phone is full of IG screen shots to show the lady that will be cutting my hair. It took me months to find someone that had a decent IG portfolio. I'll still be looking around just to make sure I have found the absolute best person for the job.

In the meantime I'm looking forward to having box braids one more time before summer hits.

30th Birthday Countdown: Makeover Reveal

Did y'all see the Super Bowl last night? The most entertaining thing about it was Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The game was a total blowout. I'm not a Broncos or Seahawks fan but I at least wanted to see a good game. Didn't happen.

Anyway.

In much bigger and voluminous news. I had my hair appointment on Saturday. Remember the Vinuss hair I told you about a couple weeks ago? Well I finally got it installed. I couldn't be happier with the results.

Here is a selfie I took during the process.

And a close up of the ends that I showed you on Instagram…I am in love with the ombre color my stylist created for me.

A view from the back. Again. The color is exactly what I wanted. I love it when a plan comes together...

And here is a screen shot of all the different angels that I kind of stole from the instagram account of my stylist… Hope she doesn't mind!

If you want to see some hair get slayed and laid follow my girl Yama on IG here...

Saturday night before bed I rolled the hair on flexi rods. Below are the results. It was super curly and my hair had so much volume the next morning. Dare I say it… I was gone with the wind fabulous, LOL! Literally. Cause it was pretty windy here on Sunday...

Getting my hair done made me that much more excited for our trip and my birthday. I feel like a new woman. I probably look like one too. My hair appointment went smoothly. Yama is my stylist here in San Antonio. If you are in this area I would suggest calling her for your weave install. She has great customer service and is so polite. I emailed and texted her a bunch and she always responded in a timely manner. Very professional. Yama can be reached on her Style Seat site. I can't say enough about my experience. Not only did I get a new look but I also got some girl talk in too. Great way to spend my afternoon.

As for the hair, I'll be doing a video review as well but let me just say first impressions are everything and so far I am impressed. This Peruvian hair is so full and pretty. I have three bundles installed and it doesn't feel heavy at all. Even after coloring my hair is still super soft and tangle free. It was pretty windy on Sunday and I still didn't experience any tangles or ratchet hair behavior. Love. Love. Love.

So what do you think of my new look? Am I ready for my Flirty30 and trip to Vegas?

*Vinuss Hair Extensions supplied the hair for this mommy makeover. All opinions expressed are my own.*

*Yama is my hair stylist and I pay her for her amazing work. All recommendations made are done on my own accord.*

Mommy Makeover Hair Inspiration

We have been stuck inside for the past two days due to the frigid temps. I feel so bad for all of the people in Atlanta and Birmingham that were literally stuck in their cars, work or school over night. My Dad was one of the people out there sitting somewhere on 285 and I-75. So glad he made it home okay. It only took him 12 hours to get home. Someone needs to do better planning for the next winter storm.

Anyway.

Being at home has given me a little time to think about what type of hair color I'm going for. Remember I have three bundles of Peruvian loose wave hair that I'll be getting installed on Saturday. I'm so excited for a new look.

I initially fell in love with Cynthia Bailey's hair color on RHOA…

But then as I searched the wonderful world wide web I started to see more versions of the ombre trend that were pretty…

So what do you think? Is the ombre trend had its moment or is it good to go for another season?

30th Birthday Countdown: Mommy Makeover

I'm not going to say that I have been looking slightly beat down lately. But…

Let's just say I am in need of a new look. Badly. That's where Vinuss Hair Extensions comes in to play.

I pulled a Britney in 2010 when I was pregnant with Savannah and cut all my hair off. Love that look. Then it grew out. Love love love my curls and natural hair. However. I was not prepared for the maintenance that's involved with natural hair. I found a hair regimen that worked well for my hair and it's grown out a lot.

Enter BabyM.

Now that I have two little crumb snatchers (whom I love dearly) vying for my attention I have less time to wash/co-wash, detangle, trim, twist, roll, blow out or straighten all this hair. I have tried to make time, but if you read this blog then you know these kids keep me very busy.

I promised myself that for my 30s (and especially my Flirty30) I was going to pull myself all the way together. So. In an effort to give myself a break from feeling bad about not having time to do my hair I will be getting a sew-in.

The nice people over at Vinuss were nice enough to send me three lovely bundles (16, 18, 20 inches) of 100% unprocessed virgin Peruvian loose wave hair. Their customer service is excellent and their prices are even better.

My hair arrived individually bagged and labeled. Each bundle was packaged in a hair net. The first two bundles in the pic below are still in their net. I removed the net from the last bundle so that you could see the difference.

Here is an up close pic of the ends of the 20 inch bundle. Super smooth. Very shiny. 

Here is a picture showing the wave pattern. The hair is so soft. I'm beyond excited for my install in a couple weeks. I plan to have it dyed a golden blond. I'll be going for the color that Cynthia is currently wearing on RHOA. I am obsessed with her ombre color.

I'll be posting my new look very soon. Thinking about changing up your look using hair extensions? Do yourself a favor and visit Vinuss.  Their prices are perfect for a Mommy on a budget. You can thank me later.

When was the last time you changed your look?

*I was provided with product in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.*

Baby Prep: Styling my Natural Hair

So I admit that I am not the most vocal "team natural"Naturalista. I hardly ever blog about my hair. If you follow me on Instagram then you know I normally wear my hair in a wash and go, afro or twist out. These are all styles I love but because they require some for of maintenance I'm looking for a new do for when baby arrives.

Since I'll be spending a couple days in the hospital I want to make sure that I protect my hair during my stay. And as you know I'll be having a C-Section so it will be nice to not have to think about my hair while I'm recovering. After doing lots of pinning and YouTubing I think I have narrowed my choices down to two options. A high bun using marley hair or marley twists. I'm torn between the two. I've read that marley twists only lasts a couple weeks. In my mind that really doesn't help me much. Has anyone else heard this? Does it depend on what technique is used to install them? I plan to DIY the marley twists and would love to hear about someone else experience.

Here a couple of the YouTube videos I found on marley twists that I found helpful...

This looks easy enough. I never learned how to braid (down to your scalp) or flat twist so this DIY is right up my alley. My plan is to attempt these twists and if for some reason I'm unable to achieve the style then I'l do a bun. I'm looking forward to trying something new with my hair. Have any of you tried these styles? Got any tips for me?

My Natural Hair: A Twist Out

In an effort to keep trying new things with my hair I did a twist out on my hair this past Friday. After watching eight million YouTube videos I got the confidence to give it a shot. I normally do twist outs on Sav's hair all the time. Mainly because it's the only thing I know how to do and secondly because it doesn't take forever to get it done.

I started my own hair by shampooing with Shea Moisture and doing a deep conditioner. I can't remember the name of the deep conditioner but it's the Aloe one in the mustard yellow pack. They sell it everywhere. I then did two strand twist all over using Cantu Shea Butter leave-in conditioner.

I didn't use the hair dryer. I took them out Saturday morning using Shea Moisture Curl Enhancing Smoothie and grape seed oil. The grape seed oil that I used wasn't anything fancy. It's an all natural grape seed oil I found in my beauty supply store. The pics below are from days one, three and four (today). Have you tried anything different with your hair lately?

day one

day three before Sav's bath time

day four

- posted from my chic iPhone

Influenster Beauty Bloggers VoxBox

Here is the second video for the Influenster Beauty Bloggers Voxbox 2012. In this video I review the Not Your Mother's Kinky Curl Cream and the No7 Beautiful Skin products. Hopefully, I will become more familiar with my video software and the production of my videos will get better. Until then, I hope you all are enjoying these videos. This one even has a small cameo from Sav. Have a great weekend everyone!!

My Box Braids Experience

So. I took my braids out a couple days ago. I couldn't make it to two months. I really did love having them and they were pretty gorgeous but it was time for me to say goodbye to them. The best part about having braids was that it gave me a break from thinking about my own hair. I also got to try out a new hair color. I plan to dye my hair that color if I can find it. The downside to having braids was that they broke my skin out for some reason. My forehead has been jacked up like a pubescent teen for the past few weeks.

It took me from eight o' clock in the morning until about four o' clock in the evening to take my braids out. I took about an hour break to make Savannah lunch and put her down for a nap. No one told me that taking braids out was pure torture. It was the task that just would not end. After they were all out I ended up with a very fluffy Afro. It was gorgeous. I was kind of sad because I knew that it would be gone the second I washed my hair. My hair has major shrinkage so my curly Afro is no where near as big as my post braids 'fro. I've been doing a little youtubing and I plan to recreate that look. 

Since I didn't want to shampoo my hair and start that whole process in the evening. So I did a prepoo of coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil and honey. It sat all night. When I was done shampooing my hair the next morning it was super soft. Still is actually. All the softness in the world couldn't make up for how tangled it was though. It took me two whole hours to get my hair detangled and into some two strand twists. During this process I decided that I would probably not be getting my hair braided again. Like ever. It was a task and a half. I would have paid someone to do it. 

My soldier snapped some pics of me while I was taking my braids out. Savannah must have seen that I was struggling because she starting helping me at one point, ha ha!

My New Look Part 2

I wanted to do a quick update or review on what I think about my braids so far. Since this is my first time getting braids done I'm not quite sure I knew what to expect. While I am very happy with the way they look I'm not so sure I was prepared for the way they feel. These suckers are heavy, long and in the way. Maybe it's because I'm use to having my little curly fro, but I can not imagine wearing my braids down. I've been trying to pin them back in the front and I've attempted to do a bun several times with no luck. I'm still very happy with my decision to get them but I'm still trying to get use to them. The next time I have my braids done I will definitely go with a smaller box braid.

Anyway. Here are some of the styles I've done so far. Nothing extreme. I've been getting tons of compliments on the color of the hair. It is a number 30 from the Kanekelon line.

i think this ponytail makes me look sixteen. not to mention my husband said it reminded him of "Shanaynay" from Martin.



My New Look

While I'm away visiting my mother in law I got a new look. I had been thinking about getting box braids for awhile. I'm so glad I decided to get them. Here are some pics that I snapped during the braiding process, right after my appointment and the next day. I'll posts new pics as I change them up. I plan to pin them up in different styles. What do you guys think of my new look? Any style or maintenance recommendations?












Hubby checking me out.
















-posted with my chic iPhone

Hairy Situation

As you know I will be attending my newest nephew's baby shower tomorrow. I'm very excited! I wanted to get something done to my hair for the weekend. I'll be seeing lots of family and friends so I wanted to switch my look up a bit.

I scheduled an appointment with Dyevercity Salon here in Augusta. I have to say that I was pretty nervous about getting my hair straightened because I've always had a bad experience with it before. Either the stylist would cut an extreme amount of my hair off or they wouldn't have actually styled my hair. I know that some stylists get intimidated by natural hair. Stacy at Dyevercity is not one of those stylist. She took my fly coily ringlets and turned them into a beautiful head of curls. I am so happy with how my hair turned out. She answered all the questions I had about me and my daughter's hair. I was in and out in under two hours, super professional. My hair is bouncy, full of body and feels incredible!

If it wasn't for our big move next month I would go back to Stacy in a heartbeat. If you're in this area be sure to look her up! Here are some before, during and after pics.

fresh face. no filter. LOL

after shampoo. detangle.

all blown out.

the finished product.



What do you do with your hair when you're ready to switch it up a bit?