My friend Jen (avocadojen to you insta-friends!) got married last weekend. I’d love to post some more pics with her hair and beautiful flower crown, but today I’ll just post a few of my hair and crown! All the women in the wedding wore a little braid detail and a little flower (or not so little) detail. In my head I kept saying this wedding was “urban hippie”, which felt right. The wedding party was put up in an incredible loft in Williamsburg, and the wedding was held at a cool outdoor pizza place in Bushwick.

Here are some photos! The hair was fun, the gowns were fun, the wedding was real fun.

I made myself a little Caesar style flower crown, that only went around the back, because I decided the bride should be the only one with flowers in the front..since she’s clearly the special one.

The other bridesmaid, Kylie, and I wore these beautiful green ACNE gowns that we got from Barney’s NY. I’m so lucky to have a very close friend who works there and treats me to an occasional discount. I’ll wear this beaut’ many more times. Kylie and I didn’t have plans to match, but we both loved this color and shape so much that it just worked out that way! Tara, the redheaded cutie, was a groom’s-lady and I’m really hoping someone got a good picture of her hair, because the back was a braided creation!

Some of my friends walked by Roberta’s that night and remembered I was at a wedding there that night, so they peeked in the tents to see if they could spot me. They said they’d never seen a sillier wedding dancer in their lives. Which wasn’t hard for me to believe, because I cannot tear myself away from the dance floor at a wedding.

More to come! And it’s time I did some more tutorials!

Photos by Laurie Sales

My 29th birthday was on Monday (February 4th). Yay! If you are interested, I’d love to share how I celebrated!

I had a plan to go to Verameat in the East Village and pick out a piece of jewelry for a present to myself with my friend Anna, but then we ended up going early because they had a huge sale on January 31st! I felt so lucky that Anna noticed the sale and told me about it. I was able to pick out a few pieces that I wouldn’t have splurged on otherwise. Like this spine duster and feather ring. I also bought a “little teeny” (as I call it) ring that goes inbetween my knuckles. Those rings have always reminded me of my mama, who wears more rings than anyone I know. My siblings and I joke that when she’s late for something, it’s because she’s still putting on rings.

On the day of, I celebrated pretty casually, but still had a beautiful dinner with some of my best girlfriends at a great restaurant downtown. We went to Freeman’s on the Lower East Side, where I had a white bean soup with a side of roasted brussles sprouts. My friends were so sweet to treat me to dinner and fancy drinks, which made me feel even more special considering it was nice enough of them to come out on such a cold night (which might be the worst part of a winter birthday!).

Jen, Me, Kristen, Karrie and Anna.

Even though it was a cozy and casual event, which is really just the way I like it, I still wanted to feel a little special. Lately, my “special” hair secret weapon is a row or two of clip in extensions! My friend Lacy has her own hair extensions company, and recently came out with a new line of ombre clip-ins. I trimmed them to my own length, and had my colorist ,Carla, gloss them to match my hair exactly. They blend perfectly, and just thicken up my hair a little more on the ends, which actually makes it look much longer! It’s perfect for someone like me, who likes almost no daily fuss or maintenance when it comes to my hair, but really likes to go all out once in a while. Plus, I have a drawer of hair in my bedroom which literally makes me laugh out loud every time I open it.

If you have a special occasion (or not!) coming up, and want fancy hair, please check out Laced Hair Extensions!

And I’ll be doing a tutorial on how to put in your clip-ins soon!

I’ve been using a straight razor more and more on my man haircuts these days. I’m not really a fan of that crunchy hard “gel” look, so any and all texture that can be added to their hair just means less product needed for styling. One of my very favorite clients, Clay, (who I should mention is engaged to my good friend Jen B!) only uses a spritz or two of Ocean Mist, which he discovered because Jen uses it! The combination of the razor with the salty spray and his natural waves is like money in the bank. I don’t know how it’s like money in the bank, but I heard a rapper sing that and I knew I wanted to use it on my blog (I believe in honesty even when it proves that you’re a huge nerd.).

Oh, don’t let me forget the neckline! Undercutting the neckline so it lays softly is the key. I need a picture, don’t I?

Hairstylists, what’s your favorite trick for man haircuts? I like calling it a man haircut. It sounds caveman-ish.

It’s the weekend (Yes!!!!!)!

I’m at a wedding (and I’m a bridesmaid!) in Utah. I’m doing my hair down and hoping to stay warm during pictures outside. A perk of long hair, you know…

You stay warm too and we’ll see you Monday with part two of my Holiday Special!

pic from my sister’s wedding in September taken by Rebecca Rosell Enslein

I went from June-December without highlighting my hair and it feels so good to reach the end. This was not easy. There were times when I was like “hey! i want fresh ‘lights in my hair!”, but I held out. I stayed strong. At the end of the six months, I actually started to love my rooty blonde hair more and more, and I would honestly go much longer, but I have a collaboration coming up that I should look a little more polished for. I’m having color done today and I’m thinking of doing a little change. Someone mentioned in a comment the other day that I should consider going dark..maybe I will?

The six month break was the way to go. I feel like my hair grew so much, and all it needed was a tiny trim every few weeks to keep it cleaned up. It would have been much more desperate with some more processing.

My advice for growing out your hair:
Keep your color jobs close enough to your natural color, so that you can stretch them out longer. Your hair and pocket-book will grow right before your eyes!

Also, use tons of this.

(all you colorists out there, forgive me for the above advice.)

I’m so excited to announce this giveaway today! Are you ready?

The lovely people over at Oribe generously sent over their new product, Shine, for me to test out. It’s a finishing spray infused with argan oil and lemongrass, and it’s a game changer ladies and gentlemen. I’m a long time believer in shine sprays to keep my long (and likely dry) ends looking shiny and healthy, and this is the best I’ve ever used. It applies evenly and is fine like a mist, so it doesn’t weigh down your hair. A little goes a long way so the bottle will last you a long time, and like every Oribe product, it smells extremely fancy..like heaven really.

The best part, Oribe sent over two extra bottles for me to give away! By all means, leave a comment to enter this giveaway. If you tweet about this giveaway (with a link to this post), you may leave one extra comment with a link to your tweet for another chance to win. I’ll be picking two winners on Friday afternoon!

Click here to read more about Shine!

Thank you Oribe for this Giveaway, and thank you all for entering!

Two months ago I was flying American Airlines (don’t do it. not worth it. never ever worth it.) and my checked baggage was ransacked. The American Airline agents had their way with my bag that I paid money to keep in their possession while I traveled with them. They stole my Bottega Veneta handbag, a camera, a Bottega Veneta coin purse, my car key, Rayban sunglasses and every single tube of lipstick that I own. The total value of what they stole was almost $4,000. it never occurred to me that a company would rob from their paying customers, which is why I had valuable items in the checked bag that I thought would be safe and well taken care of. American Airlines has been completely unsympathetic, and unhelpful would be an extreme under-exaggeration. I have spent hours upon hours of my life dealing with this mess, because of how difficult their customer service/central baggage department is. They sent me a check this month for $200, yes $200 to cover what was stolen.

This whole experience has really shaken me. I’ve never felt so violated and afraid to travel. I now question that everyone around me is out to take advantage of me. American Airlines doesn’t value their customers, and has no interest in fixing their mistakes. I have felt so sad and frustrated and helpless throughout this experience, and hope that by sharing my story, it can help prevent some of you from feeling the way I feel/have felt. I haven’t cashed my check from American Airlines in hopes that they’ll do the right thing and fix this mess in a more appropriate and considerate manner.

…..Red scrunchy.

I had a friend over when I was making my Thanksgiving pies (Chocolate Pecan to be deliciously exact) and one of the first things she said to me was “are you wearing a scrunchy? awesome.”.

It is awesome. It’s so old. And stretched out. But I never want to get ride of this old thing. I only wear it at home, or to drop something in the mailbox, or to run to the coffee shop. Other than those three occasions, this baby doesn’t leave the comfort (and privacy) of my apartment.

But I guess the secret is out. I still like scrunchies.

What’s your red scrunchy? A banana clip? Cheap products? Sponge rollers? Cap highlights? Lee press-on nails?

We all have something.

I’m beside myself with excitement to introduce a new series of videos on Hairdresser On Fire. This series of tutorials will all be styles that can be done in well under two minutes, you know, for the girl who’s in a hairry!

In A Hairry – Hairdresser on Fire – Hairry 1 from Joe Varca on Vimeo.

Step by step instructions:

Flip your head upside down.
Start a french braid at the nape of your neck.
Braid until you get to the crown of your head and gather all the rest of your hair into your hand firmly.
Tie up into a pony tail
Twist or stuff into a bun and pin/tie into place.
Pull down your mancatchers.
Go about your business.

This video is also special, because it’s the first time having my new theme song featured! My sister/brotherinlaw’s great band, Imagination Head, wrote this little jingle for my videos and it makes me feel like Hairdresser On Fire is finally complete. I love my job.

Thanks to Imagination Head and Joe Varca for another great video! See our other videos here!

ZaraCardigan
StylemintTanktop
WaxedJeans
MarniShoes (can’t find the backless ones!)
ChloeHandbag
MadewellStacked Rings
KateSpadeBangle
LonewolfHand Chain (my favorite thing ever)
Nailpolish