Makeover Madness

If you are like me you hate the idea of a new hairstyle, a new color, etc. because there is always that fear of what if...what if it doesn't look good, what if I hate it in a week, etc.  So normally if I think about cutting my hair or doing a color change I just do it that day because I know I am going to talk myself out of it.  So today, I decided that I wanted to darken my hair.  I called a couple of salons and I have an appointment for MONDAY!  When hanging up the phone I thought...well by Monday I will chicken out.  So I thought, why not find a picture of what I want.  I am more apt to commit to something that I can see ahead of time.  So I went online and found this great feature on Instyle.com.  Click here to try it for yourself.  You upload a photo of yourself and you can try on different hairstyles, different hair colors and you can even try on makeup and even colored contacts.  It is a really neat way of doing a makeover.

Here are some hairstyles I liked on me.....

Since I liked the Ashlee Simpson hair the most I added some makeup.

I love this hair...however....I've had this hair before.  Am I missing the side bang?  I sported the side bang for so long...maybe it is time to darken up and add back the side bang.  I know what you are thinking...Shia your hair is dark.  Yes, this original photo and the one currently on my blog I have my "winter" hair color.  My hair darkens in the winter and totally lightens up in the summer.  Not really an appealing blonder version....it becomes like a reddish color.  This summer I am totally not feeling the light brown/reddish color.  See the picture below to understand what I am talking about.

Since like I said earlier, there's that chance of me talking myself out of the appointment on Monday.  I decided to do a few home remedies to see if I could get my color a bounce back on its own.  First off, I need to clarify my hair.  Perhaps I have too much build up.  

Okay minus the nap...but see how brassy my hair is...so maybe clarifying will help.

So any easy way to turn any shampoo into a clarifying shampoo is to add baking soda to it.  Bascially it is equal amounts of baking soda and shampoo.  See the pic below for how much I used.

So after I washed my hair, I decided to give myself an at home deep condition.  Bascially you can use any conditoner to do a deep condition it is all about heating it up.  I however had this product below which is a thicker conditioner.  

Bought this for 99 cents at Walgreens.

Basically, I put in the conditioner then covered my head with a plastic bag.  The natural heat from your head will set the deep condition.  If you have a plastic shower cap use that but if you don't save your money and just put a plastic grocery bag on your head and twist the handles to close it around your head and tuck the straps under the bag for a tight seal.  You can even continue to shower and no water will get in.  Also, did you just straighten your hair but you need to shower....use this method to keep your hair dry as well.

If you need a DEEP deep condition, sleep in it over night.  The longer you wear the bag the more of a deep condition you get.  

So now with this all said and done.  I am waiting for my hair to dry.  Once it dries I will style it and see if there is any difference.  I mean chicks normally want highlights in the summer so what's my deal with my natural highlights?  Seriously, I am someone who thinks...yes get highlights and then in a week I am over them.  So perhaps, I've just had my fill of this light hair and summer has yet to begin.  Sigh.

So as you can see...it helped!!  Not so brassy!  

This summer I think I need to clarify once a week especially if there are trips to the pool.  If you are leery about using baking soda in your hair, just buy a cheap clarifying shampoo.  You don't need anything spectacular...you're just looking to remove build up.  The clarifying shampoo that I have used several times and had great results is....

Suave Daily Clarifying

So since my hair appointment is Monday, I think I'll sleep on it and see what I think, but as for now...I am thinking I've solved my hair woes.  Since we are talking about hair...stay tuned for my next post, I'll be sharing some more tips and give you the low down on some new Redken products I am using.