Basic Materials

So I was going to do a tutorial on one of my favorite little girl hairdo's- a French twist with a looped ponytail- but I decided to do what every good teacher does: start from the bottom and work my way up.

So today, we will start with the most basic of basics: materials.

So here are some of the most trusty hair products and materials that I use all the time:

Ponytail Holders

You may call them elastics. I don't because elastics are a whole different thing in my opinion. But that conversation is saved for another time. The best ponytail holders are just the plain-old stretchy fabric ones. The only things you should avoid here are actual straight-up RUBBER BANDS {the kind you get off the newspaper} and the ponytail holders with the metal clamp- but those are hard to find these days, so you are probably safe.

Oh, how I love my flat iron:

This is the greatest flat iron EVER. I don't even know what it is called. But it's from Conair, and though it's no Chi, it is much cheaper than one, heats up super fast, and works well for me. Get a flat iron.

Curling Iron:

This, again, is no fancy curling iron. It is a ceramic 1 inch barrel curler from Revlon with 30 heat settings, and I use it every time I curl my hair. And for the record, I curl my hair A LOT.





Itty-Bitty Curling Iron:



This isn't actually something I use on myself usually, just because the tiny 1/2 inch barrel would take years to curl all of my hair, but it works wonders when my little sister wants a curly ponytail, or on babies {YES, you can curl babies hair, as long as it's not still the super-fine fuzzy stuff}





3-Barrel Curling Iron/Waver:

Oh how I love thee. This contraption is one of the easiest curling mechanisms to use, and it makes beautiful wavy hair, yet I have found that it is uncommon in many households. Look up "three barrel curling iron" on Google, and I think I got this one from Conair {not sure, it was a Christmas present}. Some companies sell brass ones for EXPENSIVE, like $300 or something, but this ceramic Conair one works like a charm, and I have gotten many compliments when using it!

Blow-dryer I am sure you have heard people say "Don't blow dry your hair everyday, it will kill it!!!" Personally, I am ever so lucky enough to have well-behaved hair that stays exceptionally soft, despite everything I do to it, but I know that for others that is not the case. In this case, use heat protectant spray, or you can buy a blow-dryer that keeps your hair shiny and soft. Mine {the one above} does that very well. It is the Conair Ion Shine 1875. It makes my hair feel super-soft.

Glove. Don't hate.:

One of the best techniques I have for hair-curling requires my hand to get VERY close to the barrel. And I would prefer to not have my hand scorched, thank you very much.

Large clips:

This is not meant to be a fashion statement. It is a temporary fix when you are working with multiple braids, layers of curls, and other hair-doing situations when you just need one extra hand for a few minutes.

Bobby pins:

This isn't a fantastically attractive picture, I apologize. But I wanted to demonstrate two different kinds of bobby pins. The one on top is your basic, average bobby pin. You can find it at Wal-Mart, CVS, Target, wherever. It probably works fine. The bottom one is a tighter, stronger bobby pin. It has unbelievable hold, especially on little girl heads that squirm and wiggle. I love it. This kind of bobby pin can be found at Sally's Beauty Supply Store, which happens to be my favorite place to buy hair stuff.

Headbands and Ribbons and Flowers, Oh MY!:
Sorry the picture is sideways. I just think it's funny to imagine everyones heads turning to the left as they read this. Haha. It's funny. Anyway, this is my giant door-hanger full of all of my ribbons and headbands and flower clips. These things not only dress up your hair and make them that much more colorful, but sometimes they can cover up accidental lumps in the ponytail or sticky-outy layers. Oh, how I love these things.

Tail Comb. Emphasis on the TAIL:

Tail combs help us create a neat, smooth part in the hair, as well as separate sections off. It is a good tool to have. CAUTION: DO NOT SUBSTITUTE PEN FOR TAIL COMB. Personal experience when I was about ten. You want your part to be the color of your scalp, not the ink.

Wide-Tooth Comb:

This is the comb you want to use when you get out of the shower and your hair is wet. NEVER use a brush. You will pull out your hair. And we don't want that. A wide tooth comb is gentle on your hair, which is what you need when your hair is soft and wet.

Pick Comb:

Like the wide tooth comb, this comb is also very good for wet, tender hair. But I especcially like to use it for poufing hair.

Mwahaha... Hairspray!

Hairspray is a hairdresser's best friend. We go through SO MUCH of it in our house {but it's not just me, its the boys and their "fohawks" too :)}


Gel

Also good for boys' "fohawks", gel is good for scrunching curls and smoothing down ponytails. It makes for neat, smooth hair.


Spray gel-like two in one!:

Spray gel is good when you don't want the gloppiness of gel, but you don't want your hair to be as hard as it would be if you used hairspray. I like to use it when I curl hair, but it runs out pretty fast.


Last, but NOT least, the common hairbrush.

We all know what a hairbrush is for, and most of us have one, so I won't say much. Just know that curly hair+hairbrush=frizzy, staticy, unmanageable hair. Thats all. :)

Bristle Brush

This brush is a lifesaver for second-day hair-hair that hasn't been washed since the day before. This brush does a good job at spreading the oils from your scalp all over your head so that you don't have greasy roots. I love it!

Thanks for reading, stay tuned for actual tutorials!

I will take requests and questions, just leave a comment and I will see what I can do! :)

Greetings from Emily

Oh, I am so very excited to be starting this blog! You probably already know the purpose of it at this point, and if not, read the sidebar--->

I will hopefully start posting tutorials soon, as well as things I have learned from other hair bloggers.

The consistency may be slow at first, but once I get into the habit, it will hopefully be at least once a week that I post something hair/cosmetology school related. So follow me and I will be even more willing to get things going!

Toodaloo!