Tips for Straightening Your Hair

1. Lets start with the obvious. Don't use curl enhancing products! I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but people have told me they have a hard time getting their hair to stay straight & then they tell me they use mousse or some other curl enhancing product! Yes, curl enhancing products will make it harder for you to get your hair to go straight. Who knew? ;)
   
   
2. Use a straightening balm. Straightening balms changed my life. It takes a little practice to figure out how to use them without getting your hair tangled, but they really help so much. I apply my leave-in conditioner, then I apply my straightening balm, then I seal it with a smoothing milk. Straightening balm helps shorten dry time and help your hair dry straighter and stay straight longer. My favorite is the Garnier Fructis Straightening Balm.

   

   $3.47 at Walmart

3. Divide your hair into layers, spray heat protectant on each layer, then brush with a paddle brush and straighten immediately before moving to the next layer. This allows you to minimize waves, kinks, curls, etc.  When your hair is damp for a short period of time, brushing it will help make it straighter without it getting wavy again. Heat protectant will obviously protect your hair from heat. My 2 favorite heat protectants are by Garnier Fructis and Tresemme.

   

   Garnier Fructis: $3.47 at Walmart
   Tresemme: $3.99 at Walgreens

4. Use a good flat iron. Stay away from the Remington Wet 2 Straight (for damage purposes) and Conair flat irons (unless you have found one you absolutely love); I have yet to find a Conair flat iron I actually like, which is strange because their blow dryers and curling irons are great. I love Chi flat irons and the Remington Pearl. Take the time to research flat irons before purchasing one.

   

   Chi: $50.00-$120.00 at Target
   Remington: $32.50 at Walgreens

5. Tourmaline, Titanium, and Ceramic are your best friends, Plastic and Aluminum are not! Plastic and Aluminum contribute to the positive ions on your hair. Positive ions will make your hair dry, damaged, and frizzy. Therefore, it would only be common sense to use an element that cancel out the positive ions with negative ions. Those elements are Tourmaline, Titanium, and Ceramic. (I did my research, can you tell?) Purchasing a Tourmaline, Titanium, or Ceramic flat iron would definitely be an investment, as it would minimize damage, dryness, and frizz. 
6. Know your plate size. If your hair is longer than your shoulders, a 2" plate would be best for your hair. If your hair goes to your shoulders or shorter, use a 1" plate. 2" reduce the amount of times you have to run your flat iron over your hair before it is straight, which will result in less damage.
7. Blow your hair dry. I recommend only doing this if you have an extra hard time getting your hair to go straight. If blowing it dry still isn't enough, use a round brush. Blow your hair dry, then touch up with a flat iron. This step is very hard on your hair and will result excessive damage, so only do it if you have to. Remember to use cool air for best results (less frizz, results last longer, etc.). 

Fall Fashion {According to Pinterest} 2013

6 Fall trends according to Pinterest:

1. Boots. The trend last year was riding boots. This year, almost any kind of boot is fair game. Pair with some comfy legwarmers & you're good to go!

   

   Found on Pinterest

   

    These are great boots for Fall! $39.99 at Target!

   
   
2. Scarves. The infinity scarf is making an appearance again this year! I am uber excited.

   

   Found on Pinterest- Pinned from thememphisjewel.com
   

   

   My favorite infinity scarf was $20.00 at Nordstrom. {The Pointelle Infinity Scarf}

   
   
3. Crops. Even if you can't pull off skinny jeans (like myself), crops flatter almost every figure!

   

   Found on Pinterest from hellofashionblog.com

   

   My favorite cropped jeans are $29.99 at American Eagle.

   
   
4. Dark, but natural, lips. Tip for choosing a lip color: blue tones will make your teeth look whiter.

   

   Found on Pinterest, from thestylishprint.com

   

   I love the Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie! $6.48 at Walmart.

5. Braids. People are getting more and more creative when it comes to braids! I've already seen some amazing braids that are perfect for Fall.

   

   Found on Pinterest, from hair-sublime.com

   Here are some links to my favorite braid tutorials from CGH-
1. Double-Twist Bun Updo
2. Lace Braided Bun
3. Cobra Braid Side Ponytail
4. Lace Braid Headband
5. Box Fishtail Braid
6. Collared shirts + sweaters. Perfect for fall!

   

   Found on Pinterest, from simplyme091909.blogspot.com

   

   You can get this sweater at Target for $17.99 & it comes in a variety of colors. Layer with a dress shirt from Old Navy. Click here to go to Old Navy's website.
   
   
   
   *This is not a sponsored post.*

No Heat Hairstyles

For the past 4 years, I have put heat on my hair nearly every single day. About 2 years ago my bangs had suffered so much breakage that they were about 2 inches long. It was awful! I realized I had to be nicer to my hair, but I was horrible at doing anything else with my hair & I wasn't confident enough to go to school with another hairstyle (pathetic, I know).

That's what got me interested in beauty; finding ways to straighten my hair without breaking it. However, my hair was still being damaged, just not as badly as it was before. This summer I decided I wanted to find other things I could do with my hair. & to be honest, I'm not very good at doing my own hair. I'm pretty good at doing someone else's hair, but I'm just not good at doing my own hair. With that, here are a few of my favorite no heat hairstyles that anyone can do!

1. Pony tail w/ lace braid: Start by lace braiding your bangs (or the front section of your hair if you don't have bangs.) A lace braid is sometimes called the "Lauren Conrad Braid". If you don't know how to lace braid, click here for a tutorial by Rachel from Rachhloves. I usually do my lace braid a bit smaller than Rachel did hers, but do whatever size you want! I take the lace braid down to my ear & then I start braiding the rest of the hair (from the lace braid) normally until I get to the ends. Then I pull the rest of my hair & the braid into a pony tail! Super quick & easy!
2. Beach waves: If you're like me & sea salt just doesn't work with your hair, this is a great way to get wavy hair! Simply start by dividing your {damp} hair into 2 sections. If you have a center part, just carry your part down to your neck & use that to divide your hair into the 2 sections. If you have a side part, divide your hair as close to the center of your head as you can, but make sure the small side of your part has a smaller section of hair than the big side of the part (don't make it too big of a difference though). Then just do simple pig tail braids. I don't french braid mine, but you can if you'd like! Let it dry (I sleep on mine) completely before taking the braids out. I like to spray mine with hairspray when I'm done.
3. Curly hair: Meredith (aka Stilababe09) did a tutorial a while back where she used the Conair Spiral Curlers to get a Taylor Swift-inspired curl. Just follow this tutorial. It's super cute & easy!
4. Curly pony tail: When my hair is about 80-90% dry, I divide my hair into 4 sections (vertically) & wrap each section around a spiral curler. I sleep on it & take it out in the morning. Then I pull my hair back into a pony tail & it makes a really pretty curly pony tail.

These are the Conair Spiral Curlers. They retail for $14.74 at Walmart.com

Tip for super soft pony tails: About 30 minutes before pulling your hair into a pony tail, apply coconut milk to your hair. I've found that letting the coconut milk sit for a while before styling really makes your hair extra smooth and healthy.

This is my favorite coconut milk. It's the Organix Coconut Milk Anti-Breakage Serum. It retails at $5.74 at Walmart. You can also find it at Ulta and Target!

Hope this post was helpful! Let me know if you'd like a tutorial on any of these styles :)
*This is not a sponsored post.*

5 Favorite YouTube Beauty Gurus of August!

In no particular order, here are my 5 favorite YouTube beauty gurus of August! I'll link my favorite video of theirs from August next to their name!

1. Rachel from Rachhloves- Click here for her Top 10 Under $10 video!
2. Melissa from Melmphs- Click here for her YouTube Made Me Buy It video!
3. Mindy from Cute Girls Hairstyles- Click here for her Double Twist Bun Updo video!
4. Tracy & Stef from EleventhGorgeous- Click here to find out how to do 2 super cute hairstyles!
5. April from AprilAthena7- Click here for her video on How to Lighten Dark Armpits!

Those are my top 5 for August! Who are some of your favorite beauty gurus?