Pulling a Felicity

So a few weeks I just randomly decided to chop off all my hair. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I mean, I thought about it for several days, but I pretty much decided I would do it when the thought popped into my hair head. Sometimes I can be semi-impulsive.

In general I just tend to chop my hair off, grow is out for 2ish years, and then cut it again. I can tell you exactly when the last few majors haircuts in my life have been because of this trend. (Winter break of my freshman year of college and Thanksgiving break of my senior year of college, in case you were wondering.) So my layers and style had kind of grown out since my last big chop was 19 months ago. I mean, I’ve gotten trims since then, but it was time for a change.

The infamous Felicity hair SNAFU

I wouldn’t say I pulled a Felicity (don’t worry; my hair isn’t that short!), but it’s true that this past spring semester was a pretty rough time, and this summer has kind of marked the end of a difficult season in my life. So how better to commemorate it then with a big hair change?

I also decided to go out on a limb and get my hair cut here in Oregon rather than waiting to go back to Texas. I wanted to give someone other than the stylist who’s cut my hair for 20+ years (crazy right?!) a chance to look me over and give me a new look. I don’t think the stylist ended up doing anything revolutionary (she did what I asked: she took my Pinterest board of prospective cuts and made it work), but I like the end result. I wouldn’t say I’m in love with it or anything, but I’m happy to have some dead ends, length, and weight off my shoulders.

So without further ado…

Before

Lame mirror shot… should have tried MySpace style, obvs!

After

The new do!

 What do you think?

Catch a wave

I have been trying for some time now to embrace my natural hair texture. It’s not quite straight, but not quite curly. I guess it’s wavy. But it’s also very unpredictable. Sometimes I let it air dry and I look like a wavy-hair ginger super model. Other times I rock what the girls in my high school youth group liked to call the Girl Scout Wave*.

But seriously, fighting the natural wave takes time and effort. It takes blow drying and straightening and waking up to shower in the morning, and I’m just not that dedicated to do that all the time. On top of that, because my natural hair texture isn’t straight, one hint of humidity will return it to its Girl Scout Wave state.

So I’ve decided to try my best to embrace the wave. Sometimes it looks good, just showering and letting it air dry. But I often find it gets frizzy or my waves aren’t defined enough. But then I try some sort of “curl enhancing” hair product and my hair looks crispy and heavy.

So I’m taking a stand. Last night I bought nine “curl enhancing” products. Yes, nine.

Now before you go all, “You spent (x amount of money) on all of that?!” I’ll let you know that I talked to the good people of Walgreen’s before I made my purchase, and they assured me I could return all the products after I tried them once or twice. So don’t freak.

So this week I shall test all nine products and find what works best for me. My mission: find a product that gives me the best-looking defined, natural, frizz-free waves without feeling crispy. I’ll let you know what I find out! Stay tuned…

Do you have a favorite wave-enhancing hair product? Any other wavy-haired tips?

*The Girl Scout Wave is that uneven, not cute, awkward wave that most elementary-school-aged girls wear for a while until they realize it’s “not cool.” I have discovered it’s still not cool in college.