I officially finished my first semester of grad school this past week, and what better way to celebrate than to switch up the hairdo! I wanted to go for something a little shorter and more angular; I also wanted to play with color so I added some medium golden brown highlights to warm things up a bit. This is the first color treatment I've gotten in a long time, but I was ready for a change. My stylist put color throughout my entire head, from the mid-shaft to the ends of my hair. We kept the roots my natural color for an ombre effect. All in all, I'm really liking it!
Hair by Karina from Salon718 in Brooklyn, NY.
She bangs
I got a haircut! I feel like I'm always jumping around from salon to salon, and since moving to a new neighborhood, there I was again looking for another salon near me to go to. Though I love Self Salon in my old neighborhood of Williamsburg, I didn't feel like making the trek from one part of Brooklyn to the other... After some (intensive) research, I finally found a place that I felt could be promising: Salon 718. I made an appointment with the owner of the salon, Michaella, whom I read did really great cuts.
The look:
I wanted to go a bit shorter with bangs and throw a bunch of layers in there.
My ratings:
For the entire experience, I'd give 3.8 stars.
For the haircut, I'd give it a solid 4 stars.
The service was a little slow. At Self and Devachan, they were very quick to get my hair washed and me into the chair. In fact at Self, Jeff my stylist actually washed and cut my hair which I really liked. Plus, it was only one tip to shell out.
At Salon 718, I sat at the wash station for probably 10 minutes waiting for someone to wash my hair... Seriously one of my pet peeves! Both at Devachan and Self those transitions were seamless. However, when I met with Michaella, she was very attentive and offered some good hair tips.
Honestly, I feel like no matter what cut I get it comes out looking the same, but I must say it's a really nice change and I feel like I want to stay at this length. It's so much easier taking care of my hair when it's a bit shorter.
There's my quick and dirty review!
-Sophia
Fresh from the salon.
Side view.
Apple Cider Vinegar + Shea Moisture Anti-Breakage Hair Masque
Sort of unconsciously I've been following a conditioner-only routine. I'd been using Devachan's No-Poo Cleanser until finally it ran out a few weeks ago (or maybe it was a month or two ago...). I'd been also using Tresemme Naturals Conditioner as my co-wash conditioner once a week. Because I'm using mostly silicone-free products, my hair can live a while with just co-washing. But just this past weekend, I reached the point where I asked myself, "Damn, when was the last time I washed my hair...not using conditioner?" Not a self-deploring question but a sincere one. Hey, I was so proud of myself for having come this far, especially since I tried this very routine in the past and failed (I broke down with a bottle shampoo, argh!). I went out and bought a bottle of Apple Cider Vinegar because, yes, we are doing this.
Last time I used Apple Cider Vinegar, I used a ratio of 1:3. One cup ACV and three cups water. I put all of this into a big ol' bowl and dunked my head in while kneeling over the bath. It was a tad messy though, and not to mention smelly. So this time I decided to try something different, something...innovative. I opted for a small ass 2.5 oz travel-sized spray bottle, filled up about 1/4 way with ACV and filled the rest off with water. Yes, this had to be brilliant. My thinking was that I would section my hair, spray scalp and section while working in the ACV all while not making a big ol' mess like with the bowl trick.
Yeah, not really. So maybe the 2.5 oz spray bottle wasn't the best idea, as it took forever to even mildly saturate one section, and the stupid pump kept getting stuck. But eventually it did the job. After the ACV was worked in, I then coated each section with deep conditioner (Shea Moisture Anti-Breakage Hair Masque), threw on a plastic cap, and let that sit for a good 45-minutes. Finally I hit the shower, let the shower stream rinse the ACV and deep conditioner out, then gave my hair a quick rinse with Tresemme Naturals.
Results: Super soft hair. One can never use too much conditioner, right?
Out of the shower, all rinsed, I sectioned my hair again. Added about a quarter-sized amount of Weleda Rosemary Oil to each section (I made four), then I put two pumps of DevaCurl Styling Cream. Then twisted everything up (though I'm not sure how many twists I made...I would say no more than 6 per section.) Done.
All this to say that the combination of the ACV with the deep conditioner did wonders for my hair. My hair felt clean and moisturized. Sometimes I need to stop being a slacker and actually do deep conditioning treatments. There's a reason for them.
-Sophia
Liam's Baptism + Fashion Both Old & New
My cutie-pie nephew Liam was officially introduced to the Holy Spirit. And to my relief he didn't scream or cry when the deacon poured water on his head. He was pretty relaxed about the whole thing, as Liam so often is. My grandmother came in from France just to see this very moment of her great-grandson being baptized, so it was a particularly special moment for all of us. And what was even more amazing was that my nephew wore the same baptism robe that my great-grandfather wore on his baptism day. Liam's great-great grandfather. Liam was clothed from head to toe in a whole lot of family history. He was an angelic sight to behold :-)
On a more prosaic fashion note: Beforehand, I was banging my head against the wall trying to think of what to wear. Since I waited until the last second to get it together, finding something online was pretty much crossed off the list. So, I decided to check out one of the neighborhood boutiques, and to my delight and relief, I fell in love with a dress right away. It was bright, fun and totally 60s... but it was a size too small, argh! (I won't associate this with my having not gone to the gym in ages and being pretty much on a pasta diet... I wasn't too big for the dress, the dress just wasn't cut out for ME!). In any case, the owner of the shop was so kind as to make a few calls for me (I felt ultra-celeb), and she found my size at one of their other stores. Thank god, because that dress's zipper was literally going no where.
When my size finally did come in the next day, it fit like a glove but in a good way. Without further ado, here's the look I rocked for the baptism:
Dress: Meg
Shoes: Chinese Laundry
Hair: Twist-out, pinned to one side. Check my twist-out technique here. (Note: Skipped the oil and used TRESemme Naturals as my leave-in).
-Sophia
