Jake likes my hair the most when it’s long, blonde and bang-less. He seems to prefer it straight or with loose waves, rather than my natural wavy/curly business. Kind of Victoria’s Secret modelesque, which is a pretty common look for a guy to prefer I’m guessing.

I’m posting about this today, because it’s our 5 year wedding anniversary! We got married at a little chapel in Las Vegas where I wore my hair like a Victoria’s Secret bride might. It’s these special occasions that I want to look extra pretty for him, so I’m trying to decide how to wear my hair for our date tonight!  Down and wavy or down and straighty?

Does your love have a favorite hairstyle?

Michelle Williams is a great example of my favorite kind of hair. She always has a great cut, and when it’s long, she keeps it healthy and beautiful with simple styles.

I love this photo of her soft blow dry. Just the right amount of volume, wave and texture. To get this look, you would blow dry with lots of volume at the roots. Once your hair is dry, take large sections and curl mid-shaft (like the messy waves tutorial) with a 1 inch curling iron. You are going for more of a bend than a curl, so you just need to turn the iron a little, maybe once or twice at the most.

Finish up with some Ocean Mist and shake it all about.

Congratulations, you are now my newest girl crush!

Does anyone know where this photo comes from? I’m sure it’s a legit shoot and I’d love to credit the magazine and photographer if anyone knows that source

Q by Sarah: So one of my BFFs is getting married this June, and I am the Maid of Honor. This is the third wedding for our group of friends, and in both of the previous two weddings, everybody’s looked really classic and timeless as far as bridesmaid hair and attire go. For this wedding, we thought it would be awesome if one of my Maid of Honor duties was having a really of-the-moment, trendy hairstyle on the big day. Ie. one that will be dated later so that we can laugh at the pictures in 20 years. Any thoughts on really of-the-moment, trendy Maid of Honor hair? My dress is one of those one-shoulder deals.

A by Reagan: This is definitely a fun question. The first style that popped into mind when I thought of trendy wedding hair, was long, loose wavy hair. This is how every bride/bridal party seems to be wearing their hair these days. I admit, at my own Vegas wedding just over 4 years ago, I did long, loose, flowing waves. It is more popular than ever now. It is a very Victoria’s Secret look. I think the look will keep around for a while, but it won’t be popular forever! I think one day you’ll look at the photos and know it was a 2011ish wedding. Remember when everyone wore their hair up for their wedding? Up-dos were the big thing? Most people are wearing it down. Down hair is the trendiest of all wedding trends right now. Also, look at the red carpet these days, down hair is all over that business too.

If you want to accessorize it in a trendy way, the bride can wear a birdcage veil, and the bridesmaids can wear a feather/flower piece.

The second look I thought of, is the topknot. The topknot (bun right smack on the top of your head), is definitely a big look right now. It can be done a lot of ways. You can make it slightly fuzzy for a soft/romantic look, thrown together for a messy look, teased to make it big like my party bun, or slick and smooth for a formal look. You can do it in the middle or off-centered. Do the topknot!

(i know the Mandy Moore topknot is very similar to a classic wedding bun, but it’s the fact that it is so high up that makes it trendy!)

Thanks, Sarah! I hope I get a picture of the look you choose!

Do any of you use the Enzo Milano curling wands? I have a few clients who bring theirs in for me to use on them, but I don’t actually own one myself. It’s on the “to-do” list. Or really the “to-buy” list. And that, my friends, is a very long list.

So, back to the Enzo Milano. These things are awesome! They are used by wrapping strands of hair around the iron to create different kinds of waves and curls. I have been wrapping strands of hair around curling irons as long as I have been clamping strands of hair inside curling irons, but there is something about wrapping strands of hair around a curling wand….The Enzo is just such a cool hair tool. Ok, I need to buy one right now..

The different shapes of the iron give different effects when curling. There is something wonderful about the enzo that makes your hair hold curl amazingly. You finies and smallies (fine haired and small haired) should try out an Enzo!

(I hope to talk more about the Enzo after I buy one. Or three.)

Q by Ashley: You mentioned that perms are most always a no-no.  What about body waves?  I have small hair and something that will make it look bigger (I totes want GINORMOUS hair) is really tempting to do.  So I guess my question is do body waves even look good?  Will not doing as much heat styling kind of cancel out the damage from a body wave?

A by Reagan: Ashley, I know you want to look like the picture above, so march right on over to your local beauty parlor this very second! Hehehe. (When someone calls it a beauty parlor, the only thing that I can picture is a bunch of women with tight roller sets and perms. And FUMES from perms!)

In all seriousness, a lot of people have asked this question. Ashley asked it most recently, so I just copy/pasted her Q for the post. I’m afraid to say ladies, loose, wavy perms do not really exist. They don’t. If you insist on getting a perm (don’ say I didn’t warn you), the closest thing you could get to wave, is bigger rods with very small sections, or small rods with bigger sections of hair. The chances of it coming out the way you want it are very slim, and the chances of it coming out damaged are very high. Especially if you have color treated, or long hair.

Honestly, I rarely do perms. But the fundamental rules for perms haven’t really changed….the bigger the rod, the less likely the curl will take. But you are still putting a very powerful chemical on your hair, so whether or not the curl takes, that damage will be there. Another honest opinion, I like perms. I like perm-perms. Perms that look like this…

I can tell Halle’s style is done with a curling iron, but it is similar to how a normal perm with normal white or purple rods would look like. And I like it. I almost did it with my own hair, but seeing as how my hair is brittle, and I knew I’d grow it out again, I opted to keep my natural instead.

Back to your Q…a body wave will give you some damage (that you might actually need), and make your hair a little bigger. But it wont make it ginormous, and it wont make it wavy. I think you should get a small curling iron, wrap big sections around it, and shake it out furiously. That will give you ginormous hair.

Ashley (and others), I think you shouldn’t do it. But if your heart is saying perm it, follow your heart. (don’t come chase me down when you look like the first picture!)

I can’t believe you guys like my hair! I’ve gotten more than a few emails asking for my hair’s step by step.  I guess I can’t feel too cool, because apparently I have a very common hair texture, and it can take a little bit of time to figure it out. I flat ironed my hair every single day for probably 5 years before one day I accidentally air dried it and someone gave me a huge compliment. My head then immediately communicated to my hair the following conversation…

Brain- “Hey hair, what do you say we take it easy on the damage and 45 minute daily styling?”

Hair-”I thought you’d never ask.”

…And I (we) never looked back.

Here is my hair’s step by step:

Step 1~Shower. Maybe. I’m only going to say this once (except I think I’ve said this more than once) I usually shampoo once every 4-5 days. Please like me anyway.
Step 2~Towel dry.
Step 3~Apply product. I use all or some of the following: Redken Outshine (A cream), Redken Full frame (a mousse), Garnier Wonder Waves (a miracle spray of beachiness), It’s a ten (detangler and leave in treatment),  L’Oreal Proffessionel Architexture (a wax) and Redken Anti snap. I genuinely use all (and others on occasion) of these products. I’ll start out with a cream after I towel dry, then wonder waves spray or a mousse, then I continue to scrunch until the cows come home or until my hair is dry, then I rub some wax in my hands and scrunch again!
Step 4~Scrunch more. Just do it and stop complaining.
Step 5~Maybe blow dry my fringe (bangs) if I feel like it or need to. I’m going to do a bang/fringe tutorial soon
Step 6~Dance.
Step 7~Wear for 4 or 5 days with no regrets. And maybe use a little hairspray.

*guys, this was really hard (I swear I accidentally wrote “haird” when I meant hard) for me. I guess it’s because I do my hair different every day! Sometimes I leave the house with nothing in my hair, sometimes I use everything on this list. I guess I don’t like to be chained to anything, but these products I’ve suggested really are what have been consistantly great for me. I hope it helps and that you have all the hair success you always dreamed of. And if you don’t then I think you should repeat step 6.

Love,
Reagan

Also, please forgive the picture. I had a hard time finding a decent picture that wasn’t the side of my head.

I hope you enjoy our first tutorial and the little photo shoot we did in beautiful Charleston right after. Please, could Kat be any more beautiful?

Thanks to Jake for filming and editing, and for shooting the stills. Thanks to Kat for being the most perfectly gorgeous model ever and THANK YOU, HDOF readers for being patient! We have a few more in the works, I’m really looking forward to getting better at these, Haha! Meaning, please excuse my awkwardness during the intro, I somehow managed to make it look like I’m reading cue cards. I’m not. And I swear my voice sounds different in my head than it does on video, does anyone else feel like that? Next time I’ll practice saying “Unique New York” 100 times before hand.

**note**if you run the flat iron down more quickly, you’ll get less curl and more of a bend effect. Same goes for not turning the flat iron and just cocking your wrist all the way down, you’ll get a slight wave if you prefer that to what we do in the video. Keep in mind that the flat iron waves are meant to be shaken out and played with!

Q by Auro: I got (ummm … had) mid back wavy dark hair. Love it but mostly tie it in a bun on a daily basis. On special occasions I open it out, run a curling iron through it and feel fabulous
So I have been toying with the idea of chopping of my hair.  Have done so two times in the last 10 years. Love it for a month or two and then can’t wait for it to grow back.
Anyway – fast forward to yesterday. I went in for a hair cut armed with pictures of long, medium, short styles and one that I did not quite like. Discussed it with my hairdresser and we decided to keep it long but shape it up so that it looked changed.
By the time she was done it was by my neck. She styled it and it flipped and looked exactly like a photo I told her I did not like Anyway – in the heat of the moment I decided what the hell, just chop the back so it does not look flippy like that !!
Now I have short hair And I sit her shocked and stunned 24 hours later. My husband is quite amused by my reaction and tells me its just hair ! I know there is no magic pill and I know it will eventually grow.
But is there any advice you have in the meantime. What would you tell a client ?
I know I am being super vague here – but as you see I am emotionally scared
Much love,
Auro

A by Reagan: I bet a hundred people will read your question and cry and nod their heads because they are or have been there with you Auro. I am still in the honey moon phase of short hair, I am LOVING it, but let’s be honest, it wont be for long. Soon I’ll be pulling on my hair and brushing it 100x on each side in attmepts to stimulate my hair follacles so they’ll grow faster.

Here is a short list of ways to get your hair back.

~Keep it healthy. As healthy as possible. Dry, damaged ends will break off, making your hair shorter! K?
~Get regular trims. I like to yell at my clients *I don’t really yell at them ever* when they refuse to cut their hair because they are growing it out. If you keep, nice, healthy, moist, blunt, lush ends, they will continue to grow DOWN instead of damage and dry-ness growing UP your hair shaft, breaking off inches of your hair. That is where the confusion of “cutting you hair makes it grow faster” comes from. It doesn’t actually make it grow faster, it just ensures it will continue to grow in the right direction. Your hair will end up the length you want to achieve more quickly if it is (say it with me) kept healthy! Woohoo! Team Healthy Hair!
~Deep Condition. Buy a good deep conditioner at a salon or beauty supply and use once a week or every other week. Leave on for 15-30 minutes before rinsing.  Again, keeping hair healthy and preventing damage.
~Find a stylist you trust. There aren’t many things more frustrating (when it comes to hair) than having several months of growth cut off because the stylist doesn’t understand the difference between a 1/2 inch and 5 inches. It has happened to me. It has probably happened to you. PS I dont do that to people. It is my goal in life to be a trustworthy stylist.
~Comb, Massage and Brush hair. You thought I was kidding about stimulating your hair follacles. It’s a real thing! If you stimulate them, they produce more quickly. Before showering, brush your scalp medium to hard with a bristle brush to loosen up any buildup on the scalp and to stimulate those little guys. Top it off with a clarifying shampoo every few weeks. (never over do the clarifying shampoo!!)
~Finally, talk to your hair, tell it that it’s doing a good job. Tell it you’re proud of it. Caress it. I don’t know if that helps. But it’s just one of those things that is like a “why not?” sort of situation.

Hey, do you guys want to sit back and covet some pretty hair with me? Nothing like starting out your day in seething jealousy!

Dont cry guys. Your hair will be long soon.

Sorry I never credit my photos. I need to work on a better photo storing system…