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…

Q by Mikaela: I have long (as in mid/lower back length), fine, VERY straight strawberry blonde hair. I love that it always looks smooth, sleek, and shiny, but I feel like I can’t do much with it. It doesn’t really stay curled or braided, and I feel like I’ve exhausted the option of headbands and such. Can you give me any advice about hair styles I can try, or maybe some products I could use that would help? I suppose I’m just getting tired of wearing my hair pretty much the same way all the time.

A by Reagan: My first thought after reading this question is that I’m wondering why you can’t braid your hair. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it is too slick and slicks it’s way right on out of that braid. The best advice I can give you, is to use product like crazy. Got it? Like crazy, Mikaela! I’m talkin’ root lifters, mousses, waxes and texturizing sprays. Your hair is too soft and silky (who would have thought that is a bad thing? It’s not, but we need change sometimes!) to hold styles, so you need it to be dirty and grippy.

I would start out with a root lifter and/or a mousse. This should be done on towel dried hair. Then spray a texturizing (like the Garnier wonder waves I talked about a few posts back) all over. If you are doing this on dirty hair, nix the mousse and just use a texturizing spray and root lifter then mush around with your fingers (make sure you are getting it in evenly and not over dosing on product. Once your hair is dry, rub a small amount of wax together in your hands and run through your hair. By now, your hair should have a good amount of grip. Braid away, my love!

And if a regular braid still isn’t holding, try what I call a “mermaid braid”. See below. I often do this braid in many variations. I’ll do identical to the picture, or I’ll do a center part and braid both sides. There is absolutely no reason your hair shouldn’t hold this. Especially if it’s secured at the bottom with some heavy duty criss-crossed bobby pins.

Next thing, when using a curling iron, use a much smaller barrel than what you’re going for. Maybe that is a 3/4 inch just to get loose waves! Try wrapping the hair around the iron instead of clamping it. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, and it creates a really beautiful curl/wave. Do this after you’ve used all the above products (minus the wax). Go get ‘em Mikaela!

Q by Ashley: I have a two year old with hair identical to the girls in the photo you posted here. No one in our home has curly hair so my partner and I are drawing a blank on how to care for it. We wash her hair about once a week, some times less and use a conditioner every time she bathes to remove the knots (with our fingers). Beyond that its a total mess. Is there a no fuss (and natural) way to tame her hair? Would you please post about caring for curly/wavy hair?
Pretty please and Thank you!
-A

A by Reagan: Buy this product. This is my biggest seller by a landslide. I recommend this product to almost all of my clients, many men included, but as soon as I find out they have kids it goes from a recommended product, to a must have product. This is the best de-tangler I have ever used. It is a leave-in conditioner, a smoothing cream, a de-tangler, anti-frizz and a little hold all in one.  Kids hate to have their hair brushed, and it can become a rat’s nest (as my mom often called my hair growing up), so a great de-tangler is the most important, if not the only product you need for children.

When using this product on your daughter’s dry hair, you would want to spray just water on it first to get damp on top and wet on ends, then spray It’s a Ten in the palm of your hands, rub together and then apply evenly to her hair. Then gently comb or brush through. I usually spray enough in my hands to be about the same size as a small grape, but you’ll learn what is right for her after you’ve used a few times. Also, you can spray directly into her hair, I just prefer my hands first so that I can deposit onto the hair more carefully.

This product is kind of expensive, but very very worth it. Good luck!

Q by Lea: Reagan, I love your blogs, and your hair. I have wavy hair that’s just past my shoulders (similar to yours) which I like to wear natural. I know how to style it with a diffuser to wear it curly. My problem is that I prefer to *wash and style my hair at night (mornings are way too hectic), but sleeping on it flattens my hair and makes it frizzy. Is there a way to keep a naturally wavy style overnight so I don’t have to wash it every morning?

A by Reagan: This is a tough question. It is so hard to change your routine when you are used to it. But after I have just answered a question about wearing a hairstyle for multiple days, I am wondering why you *shampoo every day? It would really cut out on time, effort and product if you started to stretch your style out longer. You’ll be a changed woman. Quote me on that!

Your question is actually in a way very similar to Julie’s, even though I think I got your question first! I would recommend that if you absolutely prefer 100% to *shampoo your hair at night, then you should just do a 5-10 minute touch up in the morning. The same way I suggested to Julie, i.e. spray with a little water, use a little product, do a little scrunching, maybe a little defusing..voila! It works for me, and I am a crazy sleeper. I don’t know what I do in the night, but I have wanted to video myself sleeping just to get some lifelong questions answered about what goes on there….

I so hope this works for you, because I am not about to tell you to change up your beloved routine. I lift weights every morning at 7 am while I watch re-runs of saved by the bell. Nobody in the world could convince me to change that.

Love,

Reagan. Your neighborhood hairdresser on fire.

*We wash dishes and shampoo hair

I’ve seen this picture floating around different magazines and websites for about the last week and a half. Michelle Williams has the gift of good hair. And good face. And good body. And good style. And good talent too. I love her. But really, isn’t this image just beautiful? Are they really dating? Should I know that already? Because a few weeks ago I saw Ryan Gosling at starbucks and he totally didn’t tell me they were together. Fine, I didn’t talk to him, but still.

This is my all time favorite red carpet look. The dress, the COLOR of the dress, the makeup the up do, the hair color. But again, that hair! Such a beautiful, romantic, soft, sweet, youthful look.

Above img

Again, rocking every length perfectly.

img

When i grow up i want to be michelle williams and alexa chung at the same time.

Q by Michelle: So, my question is this…I have naturally curly hair – but I often like to use a curling iron to enhance my curls.  My natural curl is a little tight, so I like the looser, smoother curl that I get from a curling iron.  The curling iron that I’ve been using is on its way out – so I need to replace it with something soon.  Is there a difference between a curling iron that I could buy from Target and a professional one that I could get at the beauty supply store?  Do you know anything about the $300 curling irons they sell at the kioks in the mall?  And what about hot curlers?  Should I give those a try?

Sorry for the super long question.  Basically – to sum it up, what kind of curling iron should I buy?

A by Reagan: I love this question the most. I love to use curling irons on my clients, so yay! Do not buy the $300 one. I use an amazing and cheap Marcel iron from Hot Tools. For the life of me, I can’t remember if I use a 3/4 or a 1 inch barrel the most, so you might want to check one out in person before you buy. They cost $30 here.

This curling iron is amazing. I have had mine for 5 years and I use it very often. Most of the stylists at my old, fancy salon used this iron, so that’s how you know it’s so good! Also, I really just can’t get over the price.

The most important thing I want to make known, is the difference between a Marcel iron and a regular “clamp” iron. I am shocked if I ever see a professional using a clamped iron, it gives such an artificial, Shirley Temple ringlet. The Marcel type of curling iron gives a soft, natural wave and almost never gives you a kink in your hair. It definitely will take a little getting used to the different handle, but it will be so worth if you just practice enough. You will be so happy you did. You also might want to try using a flat iron to create wave. I am a big fan of that technique. You have full control of how big or not big you make the curls!

As for curlers, I never use curlers. The closest thing I do to curlers is when I am doing a blow out, I will sometimes roll the hair and pin it to set and give more volume. But I think you are good to not ever invest in hot curlers.

Thanks for my favorite question!

These little girls have the prettiest hair ever. I love how the ends are almost metallic, a look you can only get properly from being in the sun (in my opinion). Adorable.

photo found on a cup of jo