pink rickshaw

how to: at home blow-dry

"A hair in the head is worth two in the brush."-William Hazlitt

I live across the street from a Dry Bar. That is dangerously close. So it is very tempting to pull a Kate Middleton (or the new blow out darling Kim Sears) and just get a salon blowout twice a week. However, I promised myself that  despite this proximity, this would be the summer. The summer I would achieve a salon level blow dry at home. My mid-summer update is bleak because despite multiple attempts, I just can't get 100 percent there.  So, I turned to a trusted pro, Austin Reyes Valles for some advice. Austin has built an impressive career as as a stylist by working at some of Dallas' top salons like Salon Lucien before starting his own studio, Hair Studio 103, in Shelton, WA (near Seattle). He has styled some notable ladies like Chelsea Clinton, Paris Hilton and model Helena Houdova. And most importantly, no one (and I mean no one) compares to his blow drying skills.

The tools:
Brush: "I always encourage my clients to use a boar bristle round/flat brushes," Austin says. The metal or ceramic brushes maintain so much heat that if your not fast and coordinated enough you can easily cause damage to your hair. Boar offers tremendous amount of shine and seals the cuticle of the hair. Also remember, that depending on how much movement/curl you want on your ends determines the size of the round brush you use."
Clips: Clips are very important. They help to keep sections clean and organized.
Products: Products are the foundation to a long lasting blowout. Always start with a heat protector/volumizer product. I personally recommend Serge Normant Meta Lush Volumizer. It provides heat protection, volume, hold, frizz control, everything in one beautiful bottle. If your hair is coarse and unruly, you can layer Serge Normant dry oil after applying the volumizer. Concentrate the dry oil on the mid and ends (while hair is still damp).

The warm up: "Rough" Dry
After applying styling products and combing them through, begin to rough dry the hair. Austin says,  "Do not take the term rough dry literally. With the nozzle, start removing excess moisture, lifting the root area where volume is desired. Follow the cuticle of the hair while rough drying. Be gentle. the less you roughen up the cuticle of the hair, the easier you will make it to smooth out the hair shaft and the less frizz you will have to deal with. Use your fingers to stretch and loosen your curl/waves. It is important to leave some moisture in the hair; it helps in smoothing and molding the hair into shape with your round brush."

Work-out
Everyone knows the drill here but Austin recommends a methodical approach. "Take the time in taking clean sections, try to get as close to the roots area and make sure you remove any tight waves. Always start at the root and then the mid shaft and finish the ends. It is very important to not neglect the ends."

Cool Down
Austin says, "Finish off blasting the hair with cold air. It allows for the cuticle to seal providing natural shine and 'piecey-ness'. "
And after all that hard work, you want to be able to maintain that blowout for a few days. So, "If you find yourself in an oily situation the next day or following day, dry shampoo will always be your next day savior," Austin says.  "It absorbs any oils at the root because of the matte texture, it provides lots of fullness for some va-va-voom hair. I am a dry shampoo snob and my all time favorite is Serge Normant's Meta Revive Dry Shampoo."

image source: sergenormant.com, sephora.com, drybar.com, realsimple.com

-SD

DIY: pinwheels

"The intellect is a very nice whirligig toy, but how people can take it seriously is more than I can understand."-Ezra Pound

pinwheel (noun): A child's toy consisting of a stick with colored vanes that twirl in the wind. Synonymous with whirligig or windmill.

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of throwing a bridal shower for one of my dearest friends with some of her other bridesmaids. The bride-to-be, Sunita, is always so much fun and full of life. So as part of the decor, I thought it would be fitting to try making some whimsical and festive pinwheels to capture her spirit. It's a project I've been eyeing for a while from the lovely book Paper+Craft. Here are the steps from the book if you want to make a few for a shower, party or just for fun.

 
1. Acquire fun paper and gather your materials
One of the bride's wedding colors is spring green, so I found this green filigree patterned paper from Paper Source. You'll need 8.5 by 11 inch sheets to cut into squares.
What else you'll need: scissors, pushpin, pencil, ruler, X-Acto knife, cutting mat, round head pins (at least 1 inch in length), 12 in long wooden dowels, 1/4 in. hole punch, chipboard in small scraps, hot glue gun

 
 
2. Prep and cut the pinwheel sheets
Using scissors, cut the paper into squares. I made some big ones and baby ones. (For the big ones, cut 5 inch squares and for baby ones, 3 inch squares) After cutting the square, find the center of each square and mark it with a pushpin, creating a small hole. Lay the square with the pattern side down and use a pencil and ruler to draw a diagonal line from each corner to make an X. Then, place the square on a cutting mat and using an X-Acto knife, cut along the diagonal lines. Stop cutting before you reach the hole in the center (For a 5 inch square, stop 1 inch from the center and for a 3 inch square, 3/4 inch from the center.
Then lay the square on your work surface, patterned side up. Use the pushpin to make a hole in the right-hand corner of each section of the square (if you click the picture above to enlarge it, you can see the placement of the holes)