Opposites Attract!

Listening to: "Photographs" by Rihanna ("Rated R" is such a good album, however dark it is!) 

Oh, my God, I haven't been up here in months--literally (or "lit-rally", if you're a Rachel Zoe fanatic like myself). I promise to be more devoted to my beauty duties! First off, I have to give a little blog shout-out to my friend Sasha who has a great blog called Natural High Academy (naturalhighacademy.blogspot.com). It's all about natural hair, natural products, the whole nine. Great little site from a great gal! 

But I can't lie--I am not one of those natural-haired beauties. I'm a total Barbie doll. I remember having had natural hair all my life, and begging my mom to perm my hair. I came from that belief that to be an attractive black girl, you had to look like an attractive white girl. I knew I'd never be able to lighten my skin, but, dammit, I just wanted straight hair! Now I know that's not the case, but I think it'll be awhile before I can go natural. It's such a process, even though the end result is gorge. Now that my hair's straightened, that's the first thing most of my friends from high school notice when we reunite ("Oh, my Gooooood! Your hair's not poofy anymore!" "You don't have that curly ponytail!" "Your hair used to look like pubic hair."). I'm so obsessed with my hair being perfectly straight, I've developed my own blowout technique! In case you didn't know, I'm very DIY. I won't pay for anything I can learn how to do from Google. 

My hair, like my skin, gets oily tres facilement, so I'm constantly trying to find ways to keep from looking like I just lost an oil-wrestling match. I stay away from Vaseline and anything with petroleum like it's the plague. I only use product at night (I feel like it soaks up by the time I wake up and I'm ready to style), and I only use product in areas I need it, and where I need it (like the ends). 

So, when I wash my hair (right now I'm into Bumble and Bumble's alojoba line), I condition it overnight and with a little bit of olive oil for added moisture. Then, I rinse well. I add--get this--Just For Me Creme Conditioner and Hairdress (sue me!) to my wet hair. Then, I blowdry slowly in a downward direction, brushing as I go (I like my two-dollar Conair hairbrush from Target--the bristles actually help your hair dry better and healthier, and there's a little blue strip that turns red when the brush is hot!). It's important that I emphasize blowdrying hair slowly. It's the only way you're going to get a smooth, flyaway-free shaft. Sometimes I like to use a little bit of serum, like John Frieda's, for extra gloss. 

When I straighten my hair, I don't use any product, and I mostly focus on the roots and ends. The result? Glossy-but-bouncy hair (that smells hella good because of that alojoba conditioner!). For my oilslick head, the results last three two four days before I have to frantically baby powder my head to soak up all the oil that's accumulated. If you're a permer, this is a good thing to do in between so you don't have to perm your hair as much. Maybe I'll post some pics lay-uh (that's "later" in a British accent). 

Au revoir, les belles!

Brittney