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How to TWEEZE your TWEEN!

Let's face it, there comes a day in every girls life when its just time to turn those fuzzy caterpillars over your eyes into beautifully arched eyebrows. Today was the day for my daughter. I never thought that she would want me to be the first to do them, I thought she would want me to take her to get them waxed or even threaded! So naturally I was thrilled when she asked me to give her brows a little plucking. Actually, I probably got too excited. The look on her face said "Calm down, Mom. It's not that serious." and I'm sure she was rolling her eyes on the inside. Maybe even on the outside but I was so happy that I didn't notice. Oh well, moving along.

Despite what my daughter may have thought, I decided this would be a great opportunity to turn this into a tutorial. Now I'm sure there are some moms that are gonna scoff at the fact that I'm tweezing an 11 year olds brows. I'm also sure there are people who are going to judge me as a mother. To those women (or men) I say this... You do what you want for your daughters, I'll do what I want for mine.

My daughter is going to middle school and if this is something that is going to make her feel good about herself, so be it! I'm not saying to fill them or color them, I'm just saying to shape em up and keep them tamed. We all know by that age it can be A JUNGLE UP THERE! So with that said I give you....

How to TWEEZE your TWEEN.

Step 1. Make sure the area is cleaned with your tweens usual cleanser. Also, good lighting is crucial.

Step 2. Brush the brows several time following the natural hair growth pattern.

Step 3. Once they are brushed, you will see a natural arch within the chaos. Follow that natural line.                   Everything else must go.

Step 4. Begin above the brow and clean up the fine hairs that tend to grow on your upper browline. This will help you to form the arch. Make sure that you're pulling in the direction of the hair growth. It's less painful.

Step 5. Once you're done with the upper browline, begin plucking the outer, lower area of the brow and work your way to the inner brow following the natural arch that you noticed in Step 3. 

Step 6. Shape the inner most part of your brow so that it aligns with their nostril. (follow the diagram below if you need more direction)

Step 7. Clean up between the eyes and take one more look to make sure you didn't miss anything.

The result is a youthful and tamed brow.

Thanks for stopping by The Messy Vanity,
Kat

Curling Rods are back!

Ok so way back, waaaaaaay back when I was in about 3rd or 4th grade, my mom used to put curling rods in my hair to enhance my perm. Yes. I had a perm. But hey it was the late 80's and it was the style then. She would put them in after my shower the night before and the next morning I would have bouncy curls that lasted all day long. No heat. No Aquanet. Well they're back! Everywhere I go, I see curling rods and ladies with perfect bouncy curls that they got without damaging their hair with heat or chemicals. So I thought, what the hell. I'm gonna try them again. I've got nothing to lose. My hair is pretty long now and if it doesn't turn out, its fixable. Everything is fixable. So here it goes...

Tools You'll Need:

• A Spray on Leave-in Conditioner
• A Detangling comb or brush (I use Con-Air)
• A Rat Comb
• 10 or more curling rods (I'm using Con-Air brand)
• Argan or Moroccan Oil
• Hairspray if needed

Step 1. Towel dry your hair after washing. Step 2. Spray on your favorite leave-in-conditioner. Step 3. Begin detangling your hair. Step 4. Start at the bottom and work your way up until your hair is completely untangled. Step 5. Part your hair into 3 sections. Step 6. Secure each section with clips or ties. Step 7. Starting with the bottom layer, begin taking small sections and comb through to make sure each section is untangled.

Step 8. Take a curling rod and about halfway down the section begin wrapping your hair, rolling it toward your scalp. Bend the ends to secure. Step 9. Continue doing this, working your way around your head doing the same for the middle section of your hair. Step 10. Take the top section of hair and roll the wand away from your face and secure the rods. FINISH! Wrap your head with a scarf or shower cap to help from getting too many fly aways while your sleeping. (This was the only scarf I had that was large enough to cover. DON'T JUDGE ME!) Lastly, cross your fingers and hope for the best in the morning.

Maui Babe

Yesterday, being my first day at the beach this season, I decided to try a tan accelerant that I've heard my best friend talk about for years. It's called Amazing Maui Babe  Browning Lotion. 

At first I was sketchy. The label looks a bit generic and the color of the bottle is actually the color of the lotion! I read the back of the label which assures you that it is not a self tanner and is not a stain. 

I personally thought it smelled pretty good. Like a nutty coffee, which is about right since its made with ingredients such as: Mineral Oil, Kukui Nut Extract and Kona Coffee Plant Extract (coffee is also good for cellulite. [so I hear]) and a few more natural ingredients. I slathered it on, sat back and relaxed.

The formula looked gross going on and really made my fingernails look dirty and unkempt. It also got brown smudges on my towel which I'm really hoping comes off in the wash. It tends to be a bit streaky going on and if you're not thorough, it could leave a brown blob that will have people staring I'm sure. 

After a couple of hours in the sun, I checked to see if there were any results... Nothing. I was pretty disappointed. I packed up and headed home. 

Holy Tan Lines! When I got out of my post beach shower, I was shocked by the amount of sun I actually had gotten! I left the beach thinking that I had wasted my money but shortly after, my mind was definitely changed. Not only did this "magic" tan reveal itself after my shower, but it seemed to continue to increase for hours after. I will definitely be using this one again. This summers goal? To look like a Maui Babe!

Thanks for stopping by The Messy Vanity,

Kat

Well isn't that just beachy.

I have been dying to try this new "beach hair" spray that I saw on Pinterest. I absolutely love my hair after leaving the beach and I thought it'd be awesome to use in those rare occasions in the summer that I'm not lounging at the beach. So I picked up a spray from the Not Your Mothers line of products. I read the back of the bottle.

**Description

It adds sexy, tousled waves and a light matte finish to any hair type. Infused with natural dead see salt and sea kelp this salon formula has you and your hair on the boardwalk all year long.

Directions

Mist generously onto clean, damp or dry hair. Comb through evenly and style with fingers or a brush to create random texture, waves and body. Air dry naturally, use a diffuser or lightly blow-dry. Oh and don't forget your sunblock (wink).**

As always, I followed the directions to a T. I chose to air dry instead of use my diffuser because I wasn't sure if the spray would leave a stiff residue. I didn't want a stringy look.

I hoped to look something like this:

The Good: 

•The mist was fine and the nozzle really made for easy spraying. 

•When dry, my hair was soft enough to run my fingers through. Didn't feel dry or stiff. 

•I felt no residue at all 

The Bad:

•While I was spraying, the plastic labeling on the bottle began to creep upwards which made for a not so easy grip. I scooted cover back down and continued. After a few frustrating label replacings, I ended up taking the whole label off and now have a plain white bottle that is driving me nuts!

The No-So Ugly:

Did I get the beach hair look I was going for? No. But that won't keep me from trying it with the diffuser before giving it the thumbs down. Plus, I really liked how my hair felt after it air-dried. It's a great product to keep around for those wash n go days. The OCD in me is probably gonna go crazy if I have to keep looking at the blank bottle though....I'm sure I can fix that in some way. 

Thanks for stoping by The Messy Vanity, 

Kat

Psori Assist Phase 1: Patchwork

Picture this... Its January. I'm in the car on my way to work. Hair in a high bun. Make up on point. Suddenly, I feel a slight tingle in the back of my head. I reach back to give it a little scratch and BOOM! I notice that this is not just a little tingle, this feels like a little patch of dry skin. (Ok. No big deal.) I decide to stop at my best friends house on the way to take a quick look. She confirms it! I have a dry patch on my scalp. I didn't panic. She said it was small and not noticeable.

Yes. There are bigger things to worry about in life than a stupid dry patch, I know this, but this damn patch has almost literally consumed my thoughts every morning, noon and night of each day for the past 4 months! I have been so self conscious about it and now its to the point that the "little" tingle I was talking about has turned into what I would imagine a hot spot feels like for a dog. Its itchy, bigger, embarrassing and annoying! What could it be and why the hell is it there?! I take good care of my hair and scalp and since this little tingle began, I have been rubbing oils on it and making sure that its well moisturized. I've been drinking water like a camel in the hopes of getting my skin out of its winter funk.

I have become obsessed with figuring out what this is! Like every other normal human being... I went straight to the source...THE INTERNET. Because as we all know "They can't put anything on the internet that isn't true." What I found was scary! Hair loss! Ring Worm! Psoriasis!... Luckily, I haven't lost any hair in that area and this patch can easily still be covered by my hair. Also, it is definitely not ring worm (phew) that would have freaked me out. That leaves just one thing.. PSORIASIS. I'm not 100% sure about this so before pulling out the big guns and going to the dermatologist, I've decided to try a few more at home remedies.  I started on Saturday with a few key items to healing dry scalp.

1. A dry scalp shampoo. I went with Selsun Blue. Its a shampoo and conditioner in one. (not a huge fan of combination shampoos but a dry scalped girls gotta do what a dry scalped girls gotta do) I also was unimpressed with the fact that not only did the blue coloring stain everything that it touched in my shower, but more importantly, it didn't seem to lather well and actually made my hair feel the driest its ever felt. I rinsed thoroughly and moved on to item number 2.
2. Coconut Oil. I slathered... and I mean slathered this stuff all over my hair. Root to tip, I left no follicle uncoated. I massaged it into my scalp, paying special little attention to "the area", combed it through, waited 45 minutes and went back into the shower to rinse it all out. While in the shower It donned on me... "Oh crap! Oil and water don't mix. This is not going to be easy." I ended up shampooing with my normal shampoo 2 times before getting it all out. It was frustrating but it was over. I got out, gently towel dried my hair and moved on to the final ingredient in Phase 1.
3. Argan Oil. I used the one I received in my Ipsy bag a couple of months back by Josie Maran. Rubbed a little on the scalp and finished styling as usual.

I must say, for a while there I thought my remedy had worked. I had no itching all day and my hair was delightfully soft. (Hellzyeah! Mission accomplished!) No itching the next day either. Then came the dreaded Monday. The tingle was back with a vengeance. Maybe it was just me? Maybe I've just become so accustomed to having that tingly sensation that I'm just over-thinking it? I ran into my good friend and hair dresser this morning and had her take a peek. She thought it looked like psoriasis. (Gosh lets hope not.) 

I think for now, I will stick with Phase 1 of my plan and give the Selsun Blue a chance to do its job. In the mean time I will be looking all over and seeking the advice of others to help form a Phase 2. I Invite you all to help me in my journey. Suggestions and advice is not only appreciated but really REALLY encouraged. (Mama needs some help. [old southern voice])

Here's to hoping that Phase 2 is a success story. Stay tuned to find out.

side note: If you're in the Virginia Beach area and are in need of some hair TLC, head over to Dimensions Hair Studio. Everyone there does an amazing job. Whether its hair, nails or waxing. I can assure you, you won't be sorry. And no. I was not asked to say this, I honestly suggest them to everyone!

Thanks for stopping by The Messy Vanity,
Kat