Happy.

This post will probably make you think I'm crazy. I promise I am, but only a little. :)

I am getting my haircut next Monday. This haircut it going to be a special one- it's going to be a fresh start (no, I am not shaving my head!). I am choppin' off my dead ends!

Ever since middle school I have straightened my hair. I only pulled my hair in a pony if I had a soccer game or I was going swimming. I did it out of insecurity; I didn't think I would be pretty unless I actually styled my hair. A few months ago I realized that was completely insane. I realized I could pull my hair into a pony tail and still be the same, beautiful me. 

But did I change anything? No. I continued to straighten my hair every.single.day. My sister would give me a hard time about my patches of broken hair. She told me it looked awful and told me how bad my school pictures were going to look because of it. And I totally cried about it. I wanted to fix it, I really did!

One night I decided I was too tired to straighten my hair (I straighten it at night so I won't have to in the morning), so I braided it. Just 2 simple pig tail braids. That one act of pure laziness led me to an entire Summer without putting heat on my hair.

Tonight I straightened my hair for the first time since May. I looked at my hair- like up close, not just in the mirror. I didn't see 6 inches of split ends and broken hair, but I saw healthy hair- for the first time in years! And it made me so happy! 

I just want to challenge you all to do something that will make you happy. Trust me, it's worth it!

That's all :) Goodnight!

Love, 

Brooke

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.*