All about BRAIDS!

We're talking braids people.  If you would like to know how to do braids on yourself, you can purchase The Ultimate Hairstyle Handbook in ebook form or paperback!  There are step-by-step PICTURE tutorials on how to do each braid on yourself and the books come with video tutorials!

There are essentially 5 different types of braids.  You've got the classic braid, including the french braid and the boho braid, you've got the fishtail and the rope braid.

The classic braid is made from three sections of hair.  Obviously!  What's nice is that the classic braid is totally back in style.  They are no longer associated with old school pioneer hairstyles.

Stemming off the classic braid is the french braid.

French braiding is extremely popular right now and can easily be done on yourself.  With lots of practice and patience!  French braiding has been around for centuries- for good reason.  It keeps the hair out of the face, it's quick and easy, the style can look formal or casual depending on how the braid is done and let's face it.  It can look totally soft and gorgeous!

Another branch off the classic braid is the boho braid.

Can you tell the difference between the boho braid and a regular french braid?  Instead of the braid lying underneath, the braid is sitting on top.  If you're used to regular french braiding, the boho braid can be tricky.  You've got to teach your hands to braid OVER instead of under.  These braids create wonderful texture.

The next type of braid is the fishtail braid.  

Fishtails are absolutely fabulous.  They can look super messy or sleek and sophisticated.  The fishtail looks intricate and tricky to do, but with a bit of practice becomes nearly as easy to create as a regular three-strand braid.  Like most braids, it looks a little bit better slightly messy, so if you mess up while trying to create the fishtail braid- no worries!

The next style is the rope braid- created by twisting two strands of hair together.

Rope braids can be simple or intricate.  This is what I call the
waterfall twist.

Rope braids can be fast and simple.  I think they're great for holding bangs back and keeping hair out of your face.

Braids are wonderful in the fact that they can easily be done by yourself.  They camouflage greasy roots or messy, tangled hair, and if you're growing your bangs out, braids are perfect for keeping them out of your face.  Braids create so much texture and look awesome.

What's your favorite type of braid?  Do you struggle with doing one or all of them?!

According to Harvey

Apparently baby shampoo is the second harshest shampoo on the market.  Who'd have thought?  It's terrible.  Anyway.  If you color your hair this tip is for you.  Have you ever come home from the salon and your color is WAAAAAY too dark?  And you have to wait a few weeks for it to calm down?  I've got a secret for you!

Get in the shower, wash your hair with baby shampoo and leave it in for five minutes.  Rinse and condition.  The chemicals in the baby shampoo will open your cuticle, release some of the color and the conditioner will seal it right back up.  Your hair will be ONE shade lighter than what you had before.  And don't worry about using the baby shampoo on your hair, one time won't damage anything.

It's just as good as going into the salon, getting under the sink and having a stylist work on you.  Pretty sweet huh?!

Let's all say thanks Harvey.  Together now- THANKS HARVEY!

HAIR TIPS!! Last 3 paragraphs are a must

So on the way to Oklahoma my mom sat next to this very nice man named Harvey.  Turns out he's been a high fashion hairstylist most of his career and has styled everyone's hair from Tom Cruise to front cover magazine models.  He was so intriguing to talk to that I just had to have him touch up my roots.  Where was the camera when I needed one?!  He was the SWEETEST man ever.

He worked on developing hair extensions in the 80's on white women.  See, African Americans have been weaving in extensions for a long time.  But nothing could hold the extension in a white woman's fine hair.  So he worked on developing the glue with a man from Chicago and started putting them in white women's hair.  No one seemed to care for the idea.  He worked on a lot of thinning anorexic hair and cancer patients.  After a few years it totally took off.  He's been all over to help manufacturing plants process the hair correctly and he was at one point, one of the only hair stylists who knew anything about hair extensions.  His stories were fascinating.

Anyway.  He shared with me one secret that I thought you should all know.

My entire life I have heard -from EVERY SINGLE hairstylist- that if you are growing your hair out, you need to get it trimmed every SIX weeks.  Well my cute friend Harvey told me this is a huge fallacy.  Getting it cut every six weeks is pertinent to those who have short hair, to help keep the shape.  He said the SOONEST he would get it cut is every 12 weeks.  Even then, he'd wait longer.  

This is his reason: the hair end is going to split 1/4 of an inch over a six week period.  At 12 weeks it's still going to be a 1/4 of an inch.  At 15 weeks, still a 1/4 of an inch.  He said to save your money on frequent hair cuts and spend it on product.  So for those of you wanting to grow your hair out- try going 3 or 4 months.  See what your stylist says.  I can't offer any personal advise on this because I got mine trimmed every six weeks when I was growing my hair out.  Took forever, but it did produce results.  If it were me, I'd trust my good ole' friend Harvey!  

Have a stylist diagnose what products your hair needs.  Some stylists aren't able to do this- it doesn't mean they aren't great stylists.  But find one that will.  One that knows and understands different ingredients in different products and how they work.  Because everyone needs something different and what works for my hair may not be what will work for yours.

I have one more awesome tip for those who color their hair... you'll have to check back to find out what it is!

The World Wants Braids

Braids are SO in right now.  French Braids, Dutch Braids, Fishtail Braids, Waterfall Braids, Waterfall Twists and Bohemian Twists.  

Messy beach braids are everywhere.  The awesome thing about braids is they can be so casual and so formal.  Here are just a few pictures I grabbed from google images.

Messy.  Sometimes being perfect isn't always best!

For this one you need super long hair.  At least that's how it is with all the tutorials I've seen.
Remember, celebrities have extensions.

Yeah that's a NORMAL braid.  Curl your hair, put it in a side braid and pull the braid loose!

This is a dutch braid, can you see how the braid is reversed?  You get this braiding the hair OVER each other instead of under.  Tutorial in the ebook 

French braid pulled loose

Yeah, she's got extensions in.

See how this braid is different from Jennifer Anniston's above?  All that's different is that top piece wasn't added on to.

Dutch braid.  Top piece not added on to.

Love the back on this one!  SUPER easy.  Similar tutorial in the ebook

She's french braided the side over and then it looks like it's transitioned into a fishtail

Anyway.  Get your braid on people!  If you don't know how, buy the ebook at watch my tutorials.  It's not as hard as it looks, I PROMISE.  If you can do it on other people but not yourself, PRACTICE on yourself.  While watching TV of course.  It's the only way!

The Stars Love the Top Knot

The top knot or high bun is here to stay, well at least for now.  It seems as though the celebrities love throwing their hair up into a high bun and going on their merry way.  

It's this photo of Christina Milan and daughter Violet just the cutest?  Christina is rocking her top knot while Violet rocks baby puffs.  

Nicole Richie sports her top knot while working out!  

Looks like Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian both sport matching top knots after workouts too!  


So ladies, do you rock a top knot? 

Rihanna Rocks Ringlets

Rihanna rocked some serious ringlets for her performance at the V Festival in Hyland Park.  The more I see Rihanna's new brown hair with these golden highlights the more I love it.  Paired with the smokey black eyeliner and a shiny but nude lip, it looked awesome.

What do you think?  Will you be rocking some ringlets a la Rihanna?

Rihanna's New Hair Style

I'm really loving Rihanna's new hair color and the style she sported while promoting Reb'l Fleur at House of Fraser in London.  The style can be easily recreated with a rollerset using smaller rollers than you normally use.  A smaller roller size will create a more curly look.  Once your hair is set, finger comb it out.  To get the front of your hair looking similar to Rihanna's, take the front side of your hair and comb it over and secure with bobby pins.

Gorgeous, right?

The Perfect Ponytail

Way simpler than some of the other beauty and fashion trends seen on the runways showcasing fall and winter fashions, the ponytail is a classic style that you can put your own signature twist on quickly, easily and fashionably!

And, while there are TONS of variations on this classic style from high ponytails to low ponytails to side ponytails, messy ponytails, super sleek ones and more, this is a look you can make your own with Goody Start.Style.Finish.

With Start.Style.Finish, Goody has simplified the way you style in three simple steps:

Step 1 – START: Detangle and Dry
Choose from 4 brushes to detangle and condition wet or dry hair to help prevent split ends and fight frizz:

Start hair style routine with the following brushes:

• Ceramic/Ionic Straightening Brush ($8.99)


• Gel Vent Brush ($6.99)


• Ceramic/Ionic Detangling Comb ($2.99)


• Ouchless Shower Comb ($2.99)

Step 2 – STYLE: Add Volume, Curl or Straighten
Lift, curl, volumize, straighten or smooth damp hair, prepping it for your pony. Choose from 7 brushes to help achieve the style you desire:

Style hair with the following brushes:

• Ceramic/Ionic Porcupine Hot Round 43mm Brush: Volumize and straighten ($9.99)


• So Smooth Ceramic Round 33mm: Volumize and curl ($7.99)


• So Smooth Ceramic Round 43mm: Volumize and straighten ($7.99)


• 43mm Ouchless Hot Round: Volumize and straighten ($7.99)


• 53mm Ouchless Hot Round: Straighten ($7.99)


• Gel Monofilament Hot Round 33mm Brush: Add curl ($6.99)


• So Smart Tufted Round: Volumize and straighten ($4.99)

Step 3 – FINISH: Smooth and Shine
Once you’ve secured your ponytail with your hair accessory of choice (Goody Ouchless Elastics work wonders and don’t tug!), finish off the look with one of five brushes to eliminate static, frizz and add shine.

Finish your beauty system with the following brushes:

• Paddle Brush ($4.99)


• Ouchless Fine to Medium ($7.99)


• Gel Cushion Brush ($6.99)


• Ceramic/Ionic Flat Iron Comb ($5.99)


• Gel Purse Brush ($4.99)

Lifestyle Leak: The Help

I know I've been missing in action but I've had some big shake ups in my life so I needed to take a huge break from blogging and everything really.  Now I'm back and lately, I've been spending a lot of time reading.  Two of my favorite books were Barefoot: A Novel and The Help.  The Help as you know is a movie that is about to launch and yes I plan on seeing it.  Growing up, my Grandmother was "The Help", she raised lots of children that grew up to become doctors, dentists, and lawyers so I was unsure what she would think about the movie, but she wants to see it too.  Luckily, for the most part the families she worked for were pleasant and now that she is retired they still keep in touch.

Anyway, one of the stars from The Help, Jessica Chastain looked awesome at the premiere of the movie.    Though she sports blonde locks in the film, she turned heads on the red carpet with her gorgeous, flowing red hair and beautiful gown. Jenny Cho, Suave Professionals Celebrity Stylist, gave Jessica a soft hairstyle to go with her elegant dress. “As soon as I saw her beautiful, flowing dress hanging by the window, I knew I wanted to give her a soft hairstyle that didn’t compete with her gown. I gave her a deep side part to give it a bit of drama but kept the style simple and pretty with a little texture to show off her gorgeous red hair flowing down her back” says Cho.

Follow Cho’s simple steps to make this look your own:

1. Starting with damp hair, make a deep side part and layer Suave Professionals Captivating Curls Whipped Cream Mousse and Suave Professionals Volumizing Root Boost Spray on hair and diffuse to bring out natural waves and texture.

2. Next, mist hair with Suave Professionals Touchable Finish Lightweight Hold Hairspray. Starting at the nape, wrap one-inch sections around a 1 ½ inch curling iron to make waves. Stretch and pull each section after curling so it looks wavy, not curly.

3. When the whole head is curled, rub a pea sized amount of Suave Professionals Sleek Anti-Frizz Cream into hands, flip head over and apply to hair to add shine.

4. While still flipped upside down, spray a few bursts of Suave Professionals Dry Shampoo to add extra texture. This will guarantee long lasting volume and grit for the entire night.

5. To finish, tuck light side of the hair behind the ear and mist entire look with extra hold hair spray to lock it in.