stormieariel: Hair

Hey guys! I know it's been a good while since my last interesting post, haha. I have been doing weekly updates on how I am staying active weekly but I know that can be a bore for some of you so I'm back today with a tutorial but first a little background.

If you follow me on Instagram (@stormieariel) than you know I recently opened my own small shop on Insta (@shopstormieariel). Since Sophia was born, actually before she was born, I loved the way nylon headbands looked. They are so sweet and simple and chic, perfect for a little girl. BUT the price tag on most of them kept me from biting the bullet and even if they were a reasonable price, I couldn't pick just one. So I decided to teach myself how to make bows since I had fabric on hand that was left over from the fabric kites I made for Sophia's nursery plus I also had tons of ribbon on hand from my numerous other projects and from my schoolgirl days.

And I know there are mommas out there like me who are on a budget and need to know how to make simple bows to get them by until they can splurge so I decided to make a video tutorial of how I make one of the bows I sell in my shop. It is the simplest and easiest bow tutorial, so easy a caveman can do it (name that commercial). Also, please let me know how you like the video tutorial in the comments below. I would love the feedback as to which I should start including videos in all my tutorials or if step by step photos preferred or both!

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Hey guys! So today we are gonna chat about a totally new topic: hair. Now I have no expertise in this area what so ever but I thought I would share my experience in searching for the solution to create the perfect loose wavy curls in case anyone is struggling with figuring it out like I was.

Now that I am older, my hair has a natural wave to it. Sometimes it looks amazing and other times not so much. My current hair routine is daily shampoo and conditioner (I am a super oily person so if I don't wash my hair daily, it gets disgusting quick), I also apply Mac V Oil from ends to roots while my hair is still wet, combing through and air drying. If my hair is a hot mess after drying, I just throw it into a bun most days but if it comes out looking amazing I will wear it down.

Natural Hair

My hair coming out looking like that is far and few in between so if I want to make my hair look amazing, I use hot styling tools to create the curls/waves I want but again, sometimes it comes out beautiful and other times a hot mess because I am not hair stylist. I have tried learning the flat iron curling technique and I suck. It has only came out the way I like it once or twice in the two years I have tried to master it so I gave up on that technique (my wrist just won't do the twisting thing) and now I have been trying to experiment with the curling wand. However, I did not want to spend the money on a wand so I just turned my old Conair curling iron into a curling wand by simply removing the clip:

So the iron I have been using, is a 1 inch barrel and while it does the job of creating wavy curls, I feel it is too similar to my natural hair.

Conair Iron

I want more of the big loose wavy curls, they just look more natural to me although the small barrel actually matches my natural hair. Anywho, I just prefer the big look. The first tutorial I watched to try to achieve the look I was aiming for was Jaclyn Hill's Big Voluminous Waves hair tutorial. I loved the loose look she has and one thing I noticed she mentioned in her tutorial that she does that I don't is alternating the direction of how you wrap your hair around the wand with every piece. A tutorial I watched a few months ago when I first started trying my make shift wand only said to curl the left side of your hair over the wand and your right side under the wand. I also noticed the difference in the size of the barrel Jaclyn was using compared to mine and she did mention the iron she uses which is the Bellami 6-in-1 Curler Set. I really wanted to purchase it but umm, $300? No, thanks. So I was back at square one kinda, I knew I needed to try this technique of alternating the direction but I needed a bigger barrel. I decided to check out the Small Things Blog because, well, she is a professional hair stylist and probably knows more than Jaclyn when it comes to hair (no offense Jaclyn, I just can't fork out $300 or even $140 with your discount) and Kate might have better recommendations for which irons to use.

I went to Kate's YouTube channel and watched her Curling Wand Waves tutorial:

While the wand Kate uses in this tutorial is expensive as well, she does give a more affordable option. Which luckily, I got an Ulta gift card for Christmas and used that to purchase the Hot Tools 1.25 inch Curling Wand. I have only used it once and my hair came out perfect plus it only took less than 30 mins. I got the exact look I have been wanting for years. #winning

Hot Tools Wand

I will say that I think the results have to do more than just the size of the barrel although that was the biggest factor. The Hot Tools wand allows my hair to easily glide around the iron whereas with the Conair Iron wasn't as smooth during the styling process and my hair wasn't as smooth afterwards either. So all in all, you do not have to spend a huge chunk of money on a curling wand to get those perfect curls you want. You can still buy a budget friendly option just keep in mind the barrel size and barrel surface.

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Thursday, July 28, 2016

Modern Flat Bow | Tutorial

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Big Loose Wavy Curls using the Curling Wand

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