Let Me Tell You a Hair Secret.

I'm going to let you into a little secret today, but first do you notice anything different about my hair in the picture above? It looks ok right? Well here's the thing....

I haven't washed it in over a week now. At least not with shampoo. 

Let me explain, so I came across this post a few weeks ago now that suggested a 'no-poo' method for washing your hair. See regular shampoos actually strip your hair of all its natural oils. Which makes your hair produce even more oil to compensate, meaning that your hair feels greasy again faster and you need to wash it again sooner. Great for shampoo companies as you need to wash it more frequently over time but not so good for your hair. So I really wasn't sure about trying this, but apparently the past few months I have been into trying new things (getting my butt-kicked by Jillian Michaels again and even trying a body cleanse where I didn't eat sugar, dairy, gluten or processed foods for 2 weeks).

So we came home from a retreat just over a week ago and I had run out of shampoo. And I was feeling a little lazy and didn't want to run to the store just to get shampoo. 

So I decided I would give the baking soda/distilled white vinegar a try. And I wasn't that turned away by the results. (I bought a spray bottle for the vinegar solution & a squeeze bottle for the baking soda solution from the dollar store!)

I followed these instructions By Amanda over at Living in Another Language:

Ingredients:

Baking Soda
Vinegar (White or Apple are fine)

Put one tablespoon of baking soda into a squeeze top bottle along with one cup of water. Shake until the baking soda is dissolved.

Combine 2 tablespoons of vinegar and a cup of water in a spray bottle. Shake.

What you do: Thoroughly rinse your hair with water. Add the baking soda mixture to your roots and massage thoroughly. You’ll notice a slightly slimy feel…kind of like shampoo. The baking soda breaks up any sort of residue buildup you may have from hairspray or other hair products. Thoroughly rinse the baking soda out of your hair.

Then spray in the vinegar mix through the length of your hair, paying special attention to your ends. Keep it in your hair throughout your shower until you’re about to get out.  

Interesting right? Well I thought it was worth a try as if it works, it seemed like a super cheap and easy way to wash my hair. 

Friends, lets be honest. I am never going to be the girl that spends 30+ mins on her hair. I have tried, its just not going to happen over here. I definitely try to be more creative on how I fix my hair most days now so that it doesn't just look as though it is hanging from my poor head. But we are talking maybe 10 mins tops, and that might be on a Sunday morning.

So far it has been a week and it definitely feels less greasy and perhaps even shinier? I have been washing every 3 days so far, which is more than my usual every other with regular shampoo. I am hoping to increase the number of days in between washes which is the idea.  

I have noticed I need to be careful with the back section of my hair as it feels a little tacky, but I am sure this is a 'transition' thing as my hair learns to naturally oil itself again. 

There are some great tips in her follow-up post I may try this week as I make up a new solution (I may try 2 Tbsp Baking Soda this time for that tacky/waxy feel problem). 

I also love that after a workout, I don't feel like I need to wash my hair immediately after from the sweat!! Not sure if this is a change in the weather now Fall has finally kicked in or part of this change in hair washing. Guess I'll just have to wait and see, but either way I am loving that! You can even use cornstarch as dry shampoo, which I feel is needed the day immediately before the wash just to push it to 3 days in between.

And the Sunflower picture at the top was Day Six. 

So now that I am a week into this, I wanted to share what is going on hair-wise over here.

Have any of you guys tried this before? 

Girl Behind the Blog LinkUp: Beauty Products

So my throat healed enough to video for a late entry to the Girl Behind the Blog LinkUp.

So I am linking up with Ashley & Jenna....

Trust me I am no fashion expert or hair expert. 

So this is just my 2 cents to add on something I wish I was more into haha.

Head on over and check out some of the other girls.

There are some great tutorials and advice on makeup & things.

It's awesome =)

Totally agree with Julie from The Funny Thing of It Is about the bible being our best beauty resource if you will. True beauty really does come from the inside, from a heart totally in love with Jesus. 

In the words of Leslie Ludy:

'A woman with noble beauty is gracious and forgiving, tender-hearted and compassionate, and does not keep record of wrongs. If you feel far from such an attitude, ask God to transform you from the inside out. Remember how much He has forgiven you, and ask Him for the grace to show the same mercy toward others.
When you habitually forgive and love instead of resent and hold grudges, you’ll glow with a softness and feminine grace that cannot be manufactured any other way.'

So glad I was able to recover enough to participate =)

Much Love,

L

'Two Hearts In Love' Thursdays. [Hairstyles]

There are multiple options planning hair for your wedding day,

 and the hair of your bridesmaids.

You can totally just hire a salon to do everyone's hair, this is probably the most costly option but may give you the most confidence depending on your other options.

In my case, I had 2 friends who are AMAZING with hair. So I asked them if they would do the bridesmaids hair for me at the church beforehand. This way everyone was together so they were all ready to go and able to enjoy the time leading up to the ceremony.

I actually went to a hairdresser myself, it is usually humid here in the summer and my hair does not cooperate well. So I wanted to go to a professional who would force it to behave =)

Amazing friend.

The results were amazing all round. 

I had a friend who was married before me who shared the tip of trying a hairstyle you want several months beforehand. This way if you don't actually like the one you picked, you can try a different one at another trial appointment. This way you aren't putting a ton of pressure on the way it looks the morning of the wedding.

My trial hair appointment & the wedding day.

My trial actually looked better than the wedding day, my highlights had grown out a little and as I had been told not to touch them up after a certain point, they needed to be integrated into the hairstyle differently on the day.

Not a big deal as I still liked what she did, but it was different from the amazing curls we tried before.

The trial was also done in the winter so there was zero humidity which also contributed to the way the curls sat. Bit different from the humid wedding day where the curls dropped before the reception.

I will admit I was so happy being with A & married by that point that I didn't even notice my hair. 

I gave my bridesmaids their hair accessories from Claires as gifts.

I would recommend buying a wedding hairstyles magazine to look through, or you might find what you are looking for online. Maybe Pinterest?

Also make sure that you take your hair accessories with you to a trial appointment, the style you pick will also depend on what you want in your hair (ie flowers, tiara, clips, barettes) as well. If you are having a veil you will want a hairstyle in which you can anchor it.
You can find unique hair accessories on Etsy which are handmade pieces, usually cheaper than those available in bridal stores.
If you plan on having your hair different from your bridesmaids hair (or choosing their hairstyle), then you may want to decide on your own hairstyle and pick theirs after you have chosen. This way you won't all end up with the same hairstyle (unless that's what you want).
Be sure to make sure you all wear button down tops on the day so that you don't mess your hair up when you come to change into your dresses.

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This would be gorgeous on Bridemaids =)

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Much Love & Happy Hair days,

L

P.S. To me...March 1st is officially Spring! Oh yeah!