Q: “OOOH, you cut your hair.. it’s CUTE! But what will you do for the wedding?!

A: “I will be wearing MY hair, thank you very much!”

I think there is a stigma attached to brides - long traditional white dress and long traditional hair. I realized that  you should look and feel how you are most comfortable on such an important day. I was one of the many “letting my hair grow” for my wedding. I’m not sure just who I was trying to be that day, but it sure wasn’t me. I actually tried on veils with my medium-length hair and I hated them, I went back and tried on those same veils with my short hair and I cried like a baby.. I was in LOVE! It wasn’t the veil that I loved, it was my hair that I loved and I was happy and it’s  how I wanted to see myself on that day.

I’d like to take the time out to inspire other brides having a similar dilemma.
My first step was to Google “short hair wedding hair” and this came up.

Uh, short.. I think NOT!

Here are my absolute FAVORITE shots of a short haired bride and it’s actually how I have decided to wear my hair on my big day!

Breaking all the rules, Malinda looks FLY with her short, sassy style. Some women are more traditional and want the veiled looked.. luckily this style looks fantastic with or without!

Here are a couple more truly short hair styles that would look great on your wedding day.. enjoy!
Feel free to email me with your pictures!

There’s a story that goes along with this that I don’t even care to share. This is a hair blog and this ish is HILARIOUS! He has a total of 5 hair things going on at 1 time and not one of them is a success.

Here’s the story if you care to read!

Monroe Etiquette Hair brush, 2.5″ - For Volume and shaping - $15.99

Monroe Glamour Hair Brush, 2″ - For straight finish and for processed hair blow. - $12.99

Monroe Lady in Red Hair Brush, 2″ - Ceramic Barrel Brush for fast blow. - $12.99

Click here for more great brushes!

Chemicals: I learned this lesson the hard way. Pay very close attention to how much your hair is actually growing between relaxers. Most relaxers advertise (4 - 6 weeks) CHILE PLEASE! If you actually monitor your growth for 4 - 6 weeks, you will see that you hardly have any new growth. Thus, you are putting a relaxer on already relaxed hair, damaging it and causing breakage.

You will not find me to be the one that says relaxed hair is damaged hair.  You can definitely have healthy, relaxed hair, but it’s going to require some work! Of all these things, it can be summed up into one word..moisture!

Hayden Panettiere chopped off her locks and is rocking a short, sleek, and sexy new style! I’ve read a few reviews that aren’t so fond of the look, but I think she’s headed in the right direction. This look is definitely more mature and shows off her features. The cut itself is a bit choppy, but I’m excited to see how creative and funky she’ll get. The great thing about this length is the hair gives you complete flexibility!

Here’s a look back at Hayden’s longer and younger hair days - Hayden Panettiere

My growth became more noticeable , I went to get a trim, had some damage and now I’m back at square one and SO frustrated. Have I kept up my hair regimen..NO, not even close! Whose fault is this.. MINE!

Here’s the basic boring bob hair you’ve heard so much about. It pains me to even look at it.

 I started visiting a stylist every two weeks and I thought that would be the solution to my problem, but honestly I think that creates more of a problem, because I become lazy. I know that in two weeks, someone will come to my rescue and fix whatever damage I’ve done, so I think I’m going to cut that back to monthly and get back to having fun and taking care of my hair!  For starters, last Saturday and again on Tuesday I went out and got creative and finally had some fun!

See how much happier I look! My new hair motto - go back to when hair was fun!

Anyone can rock a long style, but it takes some real gut to go to the barbershop and get a shape up and still feel FLY! lol

I initially decided to grow my hair out, because I wanted to focus on hair health. In addition, my hair has been short since 5th grade and I wanted to see how my hair would look with some length, so I challenged myself to let it grow. Now that it’s growing, I just feel BLAH!

I think that part of the problem is that I haven’t been able to find any fun, unique ways to style it. Right now, I’m faced with either finding some fun styles or cutting my hair! Shannon, if you’re reading this, I promised that I wouldn’t say the words “cut my hair” in 2010, but it’s one of those days :(  If I wasn’t so stuck on having my own hair, I could get extensions as a temporary style, but wearing weave isn’t an option - I’d rather rock my own tresses (no offense, just my personal opinion).  I never thought this would so challenging, but I can’t live with boring bobs much longer!

I think somewhere along the line I got caught up in, “ok I’m tired of having short hair, long hair is more feminine, etc”, but who am I kidding.. I’m not and never was “normal”.. I’m a risk taker!” So pretty and petite, with hair that’s always neat (inside joke, but it was meaningful)! Luckily I’m having this crisis on a Sunday and I have hours to Google and play with my hair, because there’s nothing else to do.

Today I am truly discovering hair!

Should be interesting……

Today we explore…Chignons!

Chignons in short are buns with a twist! Chignons are great for weddings and they allow you to have an “updo”, but the more modern style of updo. This is not your mama’s hair blog, lol. I LOVE chignons for weddings, because they show off your neck, shoulders, makeup, jewelry..you name it! They’re quick, fun and still give you a sleek, elegant look on your big day! These styles work for both inside and outside weddings and can be glammed up or made messy to fit your style of wedding - and let’s not forget that chignons are easy enough to DIY!

Chignon

These images are courtesy of http://www.projectwedding.com and you can find more here. Throughout all of my wedding blog searches, they have the BEST hair pictures.

* I will wash my hair every Sunday.
* I will deep condition every time I wash.
* I will wrap my hair EVERY night (this is a BIG one for me)
* I will only use my flat iron on special occasions (never exceeding once a week)
* I will not blow dry with a handheld dryer.. only rollersets or air dry
* I will pay closer attention to the ingredients in the products I use
* I will stretch my relaxer for 5 months minimum
* I will take a hair care vitamin
* I will drink 8 glasses of water a day (another BIG one for me)
* I will change of the style of my hair every week (I’m gonna have to get creative)!

seems simple right?! we’ll see and pictures of my journey to come…..

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner The sweet smell of success for your hair. Trade those dry, thirsty tresses for vibrant, touchably soft hair with this moisture-intensive conditioner. Restorative herbal emollients detangle and rehydrate to leave hair ultra-silky and irresistibly fragrant. Also recommended for bleached or highlighted hair.INGREDIENTS: Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Organic Shea Butter, Wheat Germ Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Rosa Mosqueta® Rose Hip Seed Oil; Extracts of Fennel, Hops, Balm Mint, Mistletoe, Camomile, Yarrow, Chrysanthemum, Angelica, Forsythia and Magnolia; Honeysuckle Oil, Carrot Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

Survey Says (Courtesy of Discoveringhair reader - Ashelyn J.):

1. What did you like most about the product? Well I like using natural/organic products on my hair so this product definitely has that covered. The ingredients are bomb!* It has a thick consistency (which I love) and it leaves my hair feeling very healthy and moisturized. Not to mention the smell–lovely!
2. What did you like least about the product? Well it’s not the cheapest conditioner and you can only get it at health food/vitamin stores (e.g. Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe) or online. I’ve also heard some people say that it’s not the best detangler but I haven’t detangled with it yet so I don’t know (I’ll detangle with it soon and report back with my results).
3. What end result were you seeking when you used this product? With my hair type (Type 4a for those who like hair types ), it’s vital that my hair have a lot of moisture and nourishment because it can easily become dry and brittle (and that is not a good look lol). So with AO HSR, I was hoping that it would be a conditioner that REALLY conditioned my hair and helped add moisture and a touchably soft feel.
4. Did you achieve that goal? Yup, I sure did!
5. Did you feel that the cost of the product matched the results? Yes, I do think that the cost matched the results.
6. Would you use this product again? Undoubtedly
7. Will you add it to your normal hair cocktail? Yup, it’s definitely a keeper and I almost always use it when I wash/co-wash my hair.
8. How did you use the product? I alternate using it with a 2 other conditioners (AO GPB Conditioner and Oyin Handmade Honey Hemp Conditioner) when co-washing or deep conditioning. I don’t actually shampoo my hair, but when I use other cleansing products (e.g. Peppermint Castile Soap or Oyin Handmade’s Grand Poo Bar), I usually follow up with the Honey Suckle Rose Conditioner. Sometimes I slather it on in the shower, massage it thoroughly into my hair, throw a plastic cap on, and then rinse (with cool water), while other times I’ll leave it on for about 20-30 minutes, go on about my business, and then rinse it out. I also use a conditioning cap to DC with it for about 15-20 minutes once in a while.

Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner can be purchased at www.aubrey-organics.com
Please let us know how you enjoyed Aubrey Organics Honeysuckle Rose Moisturizing Conditioner!