It’s getting hot and humid out. Either cue pony tail or cue neck sweat.

To read my latest post on Divine Caroline about pony tails, click here!

Katie Holmes pony photo from DC

I’m having bang envy right now. I don’t want to cut them, because I’m worried about the summertime sweaty bang. So holding out for fall it is!

In the meantime, I thought I’d show you my bang terminology. I get a little carried away sometimes…

First up..

Block-y Bangs. I call Zooey’s bangs “Blockies” or “Block-y Bangs” because they are a big block of hair right there on your forehead. Don’t worry, this is the kind of block that is sexy and cool.

(ps the above one of Zooey is maybe the greatest photo of hair ever)

Next up..

Shake-y bangs. These are similar to blockies, but they are a little messed up. They have more texture and separation and you can see forehead skin. Kate Moss perfected the shakies.

And another.

Then we have..

Sweepies! These go to the side. They are for the girly-girl. Or the girl growing out her bangs.

Lastly….

Curtain-y bangs. These are parted in the middle and sweep outwards like a curtain, unveiling your forehead for possibly the first time in blocky bang months. I was going to post a photo of my two Queens of curtainies…Alexa Chung and Brigitte Bardot, but I thought that would be a wee predictable. So we are going with random hot girl below! She kills the curtainies! And I miss that length of hair.

There are several bangs not mentioned. Straighties, Betties, Pointies, Featheries, Softies…

I’ll do a part two for them.

(All photo sources lost in translation, unfortunately)

To celebrate 2,500 likes on facebook, I’m giving away my favorite curling iron! It’s a one inch Hot Tools Marcel Iron.

It’s a real good iron y’all.

Leave a comment to win and maybe you’ll win! I’ll choose a winner and notify them by email on Friday.

(PS giveaway to celebrate 3,000 likes on Friday!)

Last week was shampoo, this week is conditioner! Hairray!

To see this week’s Divine Caroline post, click here! And have a great weekend!

Random photo of Carey Mulligan from Elle.

PS Two giveaways coming up next week. Tell your hair to get pumped.

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I’ve had “no poo” on my mind all week, so it’s funny that I got a question asking me my thoughts on it.

What is no-poo?
Basically, no-pooing means you don’t shampoo your hair, at all. Instead of using shampoo and conditioner in the shower, you just scrub your scalp with water to loosen up and rinse any dirt. Some people use baking soda to clean their scalp in the shower, then follow with diluted apple cider vinegar.

Why no-poo?
Shampoo strips your hair of it’s natural oil, making it necessary to shampoo regularly.  The more stripped your scalp is, the more you need to shampoo. There are chemicals in shampoo that turn people off, and it can be extremely drying. People claim that after a few months without shampooing, their hair becomes shiny and healthy without the use of any styling products. No-pooers argue that people only started using shampoo in the 1930s, and if there wasn’t a need before that, there’s no need now!

My Thoughts on it.
I’ve never joined in on the movement, but I see why people do. All I can comment on really is what it’s like from behind the cutting chair. Hair that isn’t shampood feels so different from hair that is shampood. It’s a little alarming at first, because it is so coated in natural oils, almost like it has a shield around each hair. There is a heavy-ness to it, but not the same as flat or weighed down hair. When you wet down their hair before cutting, the water at the base of the shampoo bowl looks like a rainbow from all the oils. Kind of like when a car leaves an oil spot on a drive way and the sun glistens on it, haha.

Pros
1. It is so kick a** to stick it to the media and be freed of product handcuffs.
2. Less chemicals in your life.
3. Shiny, healthy hair.
4. Saving money on products.
5. It sounds kind of cool.

Cons
1. It’s a little bit gross. I’m supportive of my clients’ who choose to not shampoo but I have to wash my hands really well after they leave.
2. It takes a few months for your hair to adjust to not shampooing. These months are horrendous from what I hear.
3. Buying hats to deal with con number 2.
4. Your head smells. Not strong and not even necessarily bad, but it smells like a head and that never goes away.
5. I would miss that squeaky clean feeling. I know I would. Even if it’s a little bad for my hair, it sure feels great when it’s clean as a whistle!
6. You can’t color treat your hair. You need shampoo to wash out the dyes. But chances are if you don’t like chemicals in your shampoos, you don’t like chemicals in your dyes.

I find no-pooers so fascinating! Many of them that I know have tried it out for a year or two, but eventually went back to regular shampooing.

Do you no poo? Would you consider it?

This week on Divine Caroline I’m giving you my tips for the best shampooing!

Take a gander here!

I love busting the beauty myths. In fact, I think I’d like to do a little beauty myth series!

First myth up for discussion….

You can’t go darker in the spring/summer.

There is no reason you can’t go dark in the spring or summer, even if you are a natural blonde. Hell, go witch dark for all I care! If you like your hair dark, go dark whenever the heck ya want! Apparently his myth makes me talk like a darn tootin’ Midwesterner.

Shifting focus back to the topic at hand..you can absolutely go dark in the spring and or summer.

After all, there is such thing as brunette mermaids too.

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One of my really good friends, Anna Adams, started a blog recently about her life as a model. Anna spent a few years modeling in NYC and Europe doing extreme diets and working out constantly to be the size the casting agents wanted her to be. In the end she decided to embrace the beautiful body and curves she was given and end her career as a straight size model. Her blog, PeaceLoveandCurves is a peek into her career modeling plus size after being straight size for her entire career up to this point. It’s positive, interesting and incredibly uplifting to read through her posts. I hope you will take a look at it and follow her along.

I’ve worked with Anna (and her husband, Sam) a few times on shoots, and love working with her. She is a knockout and the camera loves her. Here are a few photos from past shoots. Hair/Make up by me and Photography by Seth Smoot.

Here are a few photos I grabbed from PeaceLoveandCurves.

I’m not sure who photographed the above photo, but the below is by Heather Hazzan. I got Anna that braided bracelet in Argentina!

Oh yeah, Anna was recently in Italian Vogue! What can you possibly do in your career that’s better than Vogue? There is a sexy little video featuring Anna that you should check out. I wish I could post it here but the Vogue Italia website is in Italian and I don’t understand how to share, ha!

Enjoy!

I’ve been feeling a little uninspired lately. Blogginwise. I miss this blog and it’s always on my mind. I have a million ideas for upcoming projects, some that will even be happening in May! I’m really looking forward to showing them to you all.

I’ve been working on a million projects around my home these days and it’s pretty much day and night. On the weekends I find myself checking the free section of craigslist and going to flea markets to bargain as low as I can for little items to “spruce” up my home. (Not the same as my hair sprucing!) I recently found these girls at the Green Flea and couldn’t leave without them. Their hair puts me in a dream.

When you were little and you’d watch movies with your friends or family, would you yell out “I’m her” for the prettiest girl in the movie? I hope you did because my friends, cousins and sisters and I did that too. I would watch Princess Bride and Splash and I would refuse to watch the movie if I couldn’t be Buttercup or Madison. This applied to all major Disney movies too. Even the Jungle Book. Which only has a girl in it for 15 seconds.

Anyway, in this case, I get to be the pink one. But if one of you called it first, then I’ll be the orange girl. I’d settle for any of these girls. I love them, and their hair and their cheeks and their flowers. They’ve got my mind spinning with inspiration….

..And also caffeine.

Over the weekend I was at my local drug store picking up cleaning supplies and hint o’ lime chips, when I happened to find colored Batiste. You know, for those of us who don’t have white hair? I love dry shampoo, I love it so much. Long love story shortened, I bought the blonde and tried it once. I already like it much better than normal white Batiste Dry Shampoo, but still think it’s too light since I like to keep my roots nice and rooty. I’m going to try the medium color next, and I’m crossing my fingers that we’ll be the perfect match.

I always get complaints about brunettes not being able to use dry shampoo because it’s white, so this is a good way for everyone to use it.

Tip: don’t throw away that old can of white dry shampoo yet! I use it on my brunette clients all the time, but just put it on little by little, working it in between layers. That way it soaks up the oil without depositing too much white powder.

If you can’t find it in a store near you, buy it here!