hair extension care

I've had my second set of hair extensions for almost six months now. I've taken care of this set much better than my old set that only lasted two months. While I don't wear my extensions everyday (because sometimes I'm too lazy), I've gotten much better at taking care of them so they stay clean, soft, and blend well. This post is dedicated to my tips on washing, styling, and traveling with hair extensions, with a few tips on blending them into your hairstyle.

First off, I use the Euronext 18 inch set in dark brown from Sally's Beauty Supply, since my hair stylist recommended it. I went into the store to find the shade closest to my natural hair color.

After I took these photos for an outfit post (left), I got the extensions and tweeted this one later that day!

Washing, Traveling, Styling, and Blending Tips:

Washing
At Sally's, the ladies there showed me what kind of products I should be using. (On my old set, I didn't use any products, so they got ruined pretty quickly.) About once a month (since I don't wear them every day) I wash the extensions with this shampoo and spray in this leave-in conditioner. I LOVE that this set smells like a hair salon!

It's up to you on how long you between washing your extensions. I do about once a month since I don't wear them every day, and when I do, I don't always style them with products. When they feel kind of rough and crunchy is when you know you should absolutely wash them!

After washing, lay the extensions flat and on a towel. I wouldn't recommend blow drying them.

Traveling
It can be tricky taking extensions with you when you are traveling. Sometimes clip-ins can get uncomfortable and you don't want to wear them on the plane. For me, when I had my 10+ hour flight to Italy last August, I just wore them the whole way there. Personally, I think clip-ins are pretty comfortable if they're clipped in right. They also did not set off the metal detector going through security in the US, Amsterdam (my layover), and Italy.

If you don't want to wear them on a flight or during a road trip, you can stow them in your suitcase. When I do that, I tie them together with a hair tie, and keep them in a plastic bag. This way, they have less of a chance of getting tangled in other things or getting spilled on from accidental liquid leaks.

If you want to use an actual hair extension travel carrier, this one from Etsy would work and has a fun zebra print. I haven't tried using a travel carrier, but they seem like an easy and safe way to travel with extensions.

Styling Products

My number one rule with styling hair extensions is to always use heat protectant. It's really important to do this to protect the extensions, because even if they are human hair, they're not "alive" and attached to the scalp anymore. Does that make sense? It sounds kind of gross...haha. I spray heat protectant on the ends of my real hair in addition to any part of my extensions that will get heat.

After styling, a leave-in conditioner will further protect the extensions and keep them somewhat moisturized. I use this kind from Sally's.

Lastly, use the lowest heat setting possible on your curling iron or flat iron. My hair doesn't hold curl easily, so I bump it up just a little past the lowest setting.

The lighting/shadows in this photo make my hair look two different shades...it's all the same! Haha, I promise!

Tips for Blending

Curling your hair extensions is the best way to make them blend into your real hair, in my opinion. Especially if your extensions aren't quite the right shade (mine are just a tad lighter), curling will make your hairstyle look more "real." (And also more voluminous!) I use this curling wand.
--Side note: my old set of extensions faded dramatically and it looked like I had ombre hair. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't....so far my newer set hasn't faded in color. You can see what it looked like at the bottom of this post.

Depending on what it looks like, you don't need to wear every piece in the set. My set has four layers with four small side pieces. I only wear two layers with the side pieces because if I wear every piece the extensions won't blend.

If I'm wearing a side ponytail or braid, I don't wear the small side pieces.

A teasing comb just may be your hair extensions' BFF. After clipping in the layers, tease the hair above the clips to hide the clips. You don't want the extension clips to show!

If you have any more tips on hair extension care, let me know in the comments!

xo-ally

ombre hair

The ombre hair trend has been going strong for quite some time now and I don't see it leaving anytime soon. It is a way to (in most cases) subtly add color and most of the time looks fantastic! It is low maintenance, so touch-ups aren't needed as often, especially if the color on top is your original hair color. I really like the ombre hair trend, and these fab ladies below look perfect!

Lately I've been looking through photos from when I studied abroad a couple summers ago. A few months before I went abroad I had a "trim" that turned out to be more like 5-6 inches off my hair. I love having long hair and was so sad to see my length hit just below the shoulder. So I got hair extensions. It looked great at first and it was nice to have more volume. However, during my time abroad, my extensions faded!!! The color changed to a lighter brown. A few people thought I just got highlights.....haha. My hair kind of looked ombre:

I actually like the look. If I weren't afraid of dying my hair (I've never colored it, ever) then maybe I would do this. I love my original color too much to color it, but ombre wouldn't change the roots.

HOWEVER, I saw this photo from my last night in Florence. My extensions look so fake. I just CRINGE when I see this photo!! Needless to say I took the extensions out when I got back to the US :(

There are times when I think I might put those extensions back in to get more volume and an "ombre hair" look but then remind myself of the photo above. Sometimes it just ain't pretty. Maybe I'll be able to find a way to make it look more real....hmm if you see any future photos of me with semi-lighter hair that's probably what I tried to do!!

Anyways, I am a big fan of the ombre hair trend and I have a feeling it will last longer than we think. What do you think of ombre hair?

xo-ally

I've been wearing a lot of navy lately

Scarf H&M Jeans Nordstrom Flats Report (similar) Bracelet J. Crew Necklace H&M (similar) Tank Brandy Melville Firenze Jacket Aritzia

It's rainy and my roomies aren't around to take my photos outside, so....I took my outfit pics on my phone today! I'm realizing that I've been wearing navy a lot lately. My navy parka is a current staple in my winter wardrobe; I wear it almost daily. I love that navy is a neutral that goes with pretty much anything. Last year my "go-to" neutral was olive green. Except, while I love olive as a neutral, I don't think it matches my skin tone that well. Maybe that's why I've been gravitating toward navy this season!

Today I wore a light military jacket over a basic cotton tank with skinny jeans and sparkly bow flats. Today was all about the accessories when I matched my ombre infinity scarf to the jacket, then added a strand of pearls underneath and my J. Crew pink link bracelet. I wore pearl stud earrings too but you can't really see them in the photo.

I've also been experimenting with my hair! While I just left my hair naturally straight today, I've been trying to take just that extra 5-10 minutes to try something out of the ordinary. Whether it's a side pony, topknot, a headband, or a bow, I'm working on branching out more with my hair. This weekend I borrowed my roommate's hot rollers. I love the loose, swoopy curls! I used to rock the hot roller curls look in high school when I borrowed my mom's rollers. I've been dying to do this since I've been at school!

Happy Tuesday!

xo-ally

colored jeans for fall + messy fishtail braid

As for today's photo, it seemed like practically the whole campus decides to walk or drive by right when I decided to take it. I now have the whole awkward smile-really-fast-and-run-out-of-the-street thing down GOOD. ;)

Jacket, earrings: Nordstrom (old) Jeans: GJG Denim Flats: my mother's closet (similar) Watch: Michael Kors Sunglasses: Chanel

Since I loveeeee my ballet pink colored jeans, I wanted to wear them in a "fall" way. The weather hasn't totally switched over here in the inland northwest, so I threw on a light jacket in olive - one of my favorite neutrals - and leopard printed flats with the bright, pink jeans. Since the colored denim trend has exploded, I thought, why let the beautiful bright and pastel colored denim go to waste? 

Whether it is adding a jacket and flats or a scarf and boots, there are plenty of ways to "fall up" your spring-colored skinnies. Let me know how you plan to wear bright colored denim this fall!

xo-ally

PS - I finally made the plunge...and registered my own domain!!!!! This blog is now officially sunnysweetheart.com. I've been planning on doing this for forever, so I finally just did it this afternoon. Eek :D

yay or nay: leopard hair streak

Okay, first off - I can't believe I haven't blogged in days! I felt like I had finally gotten back into the swing of things, but right when that happened, a TON of homework hit me. Darn that PR campaign class....

Anyways, I was perusing Pinterest recently and saw this pin of a girl with a leopard printed streak of hair.  The article it links to explains that the hairstylist uses permanent hair dye to freehand the spots on that section of the hair.

I think that is actually a really unique idea. There could be so many colors and patterns to choose from! And with the colored-hair craze going strong, I have an inkling this trend might continue to grow.

Or, at least, we'll see Snooki sporting the look.

While this I think this is creative, I personally would not want this done to my hair. It looks a little 13-year-old to me. Though I'm sure there are older girls who could rock the style if it fits their personality.

What do you think? Yay or Nay on the leopard-streaked hair?

xo-ally

laine blogger award

I would like to thank adorable Demmy from Uniquely Demmy for giving me a Laine Blogger Award! When you receive one, you answer a few questions and award five more bloggers. Then the five other bloggers can post this, answer the questions, and award five more! It's fun. :)

The Questions

1. What is your current beauty obsession?

Right now I really like Argan Oil. I wrote about it briefly in an old post because it's awesome! I put it on my wet hair after the shower and it dries (with or without) a blow dryer really quickly. It also makes hair shiny and healthy-looking.

2. What is one beauty item you wished you own?

A heat protectant! Every time I get my hair trimmed, the stylist scolds me for not using it before blow drying/curling/flat ironing my hair. The one she used at the salon was wonderful but also really expensive. I'll save up some money and get some then! Haha.

3. What kind of posts are your favorite to read and write?

My favorite posts to read are outfit posts. I love seeing how everyone puts together different outfits. Everyone has their own, unique, personal style. My favorite to write are fitness and fashion posts! I really like fitness, so writing about it is another way to express myself in my writing. I also like posting my outfits and writing about my day. My favorite outfit posts are the ones that I get a chance to take outside!

4. What inspired you to become a blogger?

My first internship was a writing job with College Fashion. It was so much fun, and I really liked writing about other students' personal style and photographing their outfits. [This might sound a little selfish of me, but I thought some of my outfits were CF-worthy too!] Other than College Fashion, I began reading The Daybook and loved seeing how a personal blog was different than a more professional one. The more blogs I read, the more I enjoyed reading them. I wanted to start my own! I began my blog last March.

5. What color nail polish are you wearing right now?

I just had what I call "Tiffany Blue" on my nails with clear jewels on the ring fingers which you can see in the photo below (sorry for the poor quality). My toes have a geranium-colored red.

The five blogs I nominate are....

1. All the Vanity... by Tina

2. Classic Glam by Halle

3. Suppose I Should Blog by Eimear

4. The Slice by Christina

5. Monograms and Pearls by Megan

This was fun! Be sure to check out the blogs I nominated - they're great! Also, does anyone know who Laine is or who started the Laine Blogger Award? Random question, just curious....Thanks again, Demmy!

xo

topknot

I rarely wear my hair up, unless I am at the gym or at dance. Sometimes people ask me if I ever wear my hair up - yes I do, all the time working out! Just not often with "real" clothes. 

I've always thought topknots were a charming little way to polish up an outfit. I tried the hairstyle for the first time today, and I like it! I watched this tutorial on YouTube and it was super easy. If that tween can do it, so can I! Haha. It was nice to have my hair up to go lay out in the sun (yup, that's my swimsuit under the tank). Now I'm going to study for my final final of the semester. Happy SUMMER!

xo

3 of my favorite hair products

So many people have hair products and tools that they swear by - "cult favorites," tools they've used for years, etc. Other people use hair products and tools, but aren't totally satisfied with them. I thought I'd share a few of my favorite hair products and tools I use and rate them as well!

Here are three products I regularly use, on a scale of 1 to 5. (1 being low and 5 being high).

Bed Head Dual Barrel Waver

Rating: 5

I really like this iron! It gives me waves that are more unique than regular curls and they usually stay bouncy longer (my curls often fall flat). Here's a photo of me on one of the days I waved my hair using this iron. It took me a few tries to get it down easy, because having two barrels is more different than one - you have to weave the hair in a figure-eight motion to get it to wave. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube to help you figure it out (that's how I did!) I recommend this for beautiful, wavy hair.

Remington Ceramic Curling Wand

Rating: 3.5

The curls made using a curling wand (an iron without the clamp) are very popular right now. I like this style, so last fall I got this curling wand from Remington - I got the smaller barrel size version. It does a great job curling the hair, however, I wish the barrel was just a tad larger! Also, since the base is a little plastic-y, sometimes a few strands of my hair get caught in it. If I could go back, I might have just spent a little extra money on a nicer version, but I'm actually pretty satisfied with the purchase. Overall, it gets the job done!

Argan Oil

Rating: 5

I LOVE THIS STUFF. It is pretty pricey - $40 per bottle - but a little goes a long way. (Apparently on the website I linked to has it on sale for over 1/2 off, which is awesome). I started using the oil in August, and even though I use it on my hair often, I still have a lot left! Just a dime-sized dab of the vitamin E-loaded oil is all you need to smooth the ends and bottom half of your hair, and voila! Shiny, silky hair. I usually put it in before I blow-dry my hair but it will work on both wet and dry hair. HUGE recommendation!

Anyone else use these products? What are your favorites? Any recommendations for me? (I'd love to know!)

xo