For me, hair has always been an art canvas waiting to be designed. I’m a sucker for new color, pretty hairstyles and fun seasons of color. My hair has always been a way for me to express myself–and my hair has tried it all. I’ve been through color spunk and back trying pinks, purples, reds and all sorts of highlights and hues in my hair. While it’s certainly been fun–I’ve learned to see the beauty in embracing my natural roots, curly hair and wavy texture.

I’ve recently started toning down my hair and going back to my natural brunette color while still adding honey tones to brighten things up. I am obsessed with the balayage technique and will share more details on this process below. I get questions all the time about my hair care, so I thought I’d compile a post about my hair tips and resolutions for the new year. I’ll be sharing my favorite products, where and how I get my hair styled and ways I like to manage my curls.

So come on, get ready with me. 

 

“Personality is everything, but people notice your hair first”

This past year I started something new by getting my hair done at Aveda. I absolutely love Juut SalonSpa in Roseville, MN because I’m always guaranteed to walk out with a new color and style I love, plus it’s close to home and my college. My stylist, Brenna Prude, is absolutely amazing. When I first saw her, my hair was an art display full of one too many colors. Desperate to get back to a more natural look, she helped take me back to my roots and find a color and style I love. We said goodbye to all the blondes, pinks, purples and reds and did a one-step color process back to brown and finished with a honey balayage–a technique I adore.

The balayage process allows for sun-kissed natural looking hair color that is perfect for curly hair. Its a sweep of color that isn’t as stripy as highlights, but rather, more subtle–which is exactly what I needed. It’s pretty and the upkeep isn’t bad. Before, I was getting my hair colored every four to five weeks, which was damaging and difficult to manage. However, with my new color, I can go two to three months before having to visit the salon again to get my roots touched up and more balayage added if needed.

“Invest in your hair, it is the crown you never take off”

It’s so important to find a good salon you love that you know will take good care of you and your hair. While I was living in New York, I tried a place that had a really good reputation in SoHo, unfortunately I wasn’t impressed. My hair got a lot darker then I hoped for and their processes were a bit messy. I could’ve gone back and had them fix it, but I knew it would be hard on my hair to keep processing it and I wanted to wait till someone I trusted could do it. So I went a season with really dark hair and then as soon as my roots needed to be done and I was moved back home, I went back to Juut. Brenna worked her hair magic and once again I’m in love with my hair. It’s still dark, but we added a lot of honey hues to brighten it up. It shines and looks more healthy. It also brightens up my face and complexion. I love it.

For me, this look is one I’m loving to embrace as I enter my 20s. All the bright colors were fun during high school, but as I settle more into my journalism career and make more on-camera appearances, I find a more natural look fits my personality better and is more professional. For me, 2018 will be a continued year of more natural color. It’ll also be a year of more relaxed styles. I overdid it in New York by curling or straightening it every day, and my hair suffered. I lost quite a bit of it and while it definitely grows quickly, I’m going to take the next year to embrace my natural wave and curls by processing it with heat less.

“All things are possible with coffee and dry shampoo”

Can I get an amen? Dry shampoo is my best friend. Now for products I love:

I always start off by putting Aveda’s brilliant emollient finishing gloss lightly throughout my hair. This gloss gives it a bit of sheen and smells so good. If it’s a dry shampoo day, I’ll use Aveda’s shampure dry shampoo–it’s a powder that gives my hair some volume and also makes my hair smell amazing. For the days I style with heat processes, I love to spray in Aveda’s shampure thermal dry conditioner. This protectant is great for the days I curl my hair because its a weightless conditioner that envelops my hair with a softness that is full of natural movement.

I almost always let my hair air dry. I wash it at night and sleep on it wet or in a braid. When I curl it, I’ll either use a wand or barrel curling iron depending on the look I’m going for. I’ve been into tight curls recently and pulling part of my hair up for a look that keeps my hair out of my eyes, but now with fresh balayage, I’m going back to looser curls and waves. I’ll be posting another blog post and video about my curling techniques soon. To finish though, I always style my hair with a bit of hairspray. I love adding body and volume to my hair. My favorite hairsprays to use are KENRA volume spray 25 and Big Sexy Hair spray & play. I also use KENRA shine spray or silkening mist to finish with a nice glisten.

If you have any questions about my hair routines–leave them below or find me on social media @fearlesseyes97 I will be posting more beauty related posts in the new year. If there’s something you’d like to see me cover, let me know! I’ll end with this: “If your hair is done and you’re wearing good shoes, you can get away with anything” Happy New Year!