These past few weeks I have fully embraced the theory that you can still have a great hair day, even if you have little time for styling. One of the benefits of having long hair is that there are so many options when you’re in a rush, from buns, to braids, to pony tails. With a little bit of help from my Conair tools, I was able to pull off some really great hair styles.

Two weeks ago my best friend gave birth to my God son, Zachary Chase (insert bragging here: this is quite possibly THE cutest baby I have ever laid eyes on). With a newborn, and two other kids to take care of, you can imagine that she has ZERO time when it comes to doing anything to her long mane of blond hair. I drove down to Maryland to meet this precious bundle of joy. When I arrived on scene it was just as I had expected, Becky had that new mother- who-hadn’t-slept-more-than-an-hour-and-a-half-at-a- time look on her face. While I could feel the pride and loving motherly glow radiating from her skin, she clearly needed help with her ratty hair. The second day I was visiting, it was time to take Becky out to dinner. I mean, how long can one person stay inside their house without going absolutely insane? With a special thanks to an incredible daddy, it was time to climb out of the clothing that smelled like formula and poopie diapers, and have a few hours of normalcy– a meal and a drink without any crying in the background, surrounded by adults.

I knew this would be a great opportunity to show Becky how easy it is to pull off a stylish pony tail with the help of my pink tourmaline ceramic flat iron. Anyone can put their hair in a pony tail, but actually styling it and adding a sweeping bang is the key to adding a WOW factor to a simple hairstyle.

First brush your hair, and tie it high or low (whichever you prefer), leaving out a large section in the front. Brush that section forward, and then apply a little product to the hair that you put into the pony tail, so it lays flat. Grab your flat-iron starting at the root sweeping down the shaft to the tip, straighten the bang so it sweeps across your forehead diagonally. If you prefer, you can tilt the flat iron upward as you let go of the hair, so it flips. Or, you can flip the hair under (toward your chin). I prefer the flat iron versus the Curling iron for this hairstyle. I always think curls and pony tails are very cheerleader meets prom queen…and for the older more sophisticated woman, a large sweeping bang with a pony tail is a timeless, classic style that automatically makes you look well-groomed, without a lot of effort.

As I sat brushing Becky’s hair, and telling her she really needs to cut the out of control mane that was on her head, she reminded me of what so many of my friends did when I was diagnosed with cancer… they cut their hair and donated it to Locks of Love. She informed me that she was letting it grow a few more inches, and what may look like a rats nest to me will one day become a wig for a little girl with cancer. She told me now that my hair is so long, I should really think about doing the same.

And it was one of those great life moments, where I was reminded that I’m healthy enough to have a long head of hair. There I was, in a room with my best friend who has a pink ribbon tattooed on her neck for me, with a brand new precious baby by her side. And I just stopped and looked around and took it all in– and marveled in how incredible my life is.

And after the great hairstyle, in true best friend fashion, we decided it would be more fun to put on sweats and climb into her bed and cuddle with the baby.

One of my favorite quotes, “The only thing that remains the same is change” seems to be the motto of my life these days. And change, can truly be a good thing if you open your heart and mind to the happiness that lies within these new possibilities.

The last five years of my life have truly focused around breast cancer. From getting it, to beating it, to losing 29 incredible women along the way to it, cancer has defined my life even when I didn’t want it to. As I approached my five year anniversary I wanted to do something that was all about me. Cancer tried to steal so much, but it was time for me to take it back. So I stepped as far out of my comfort zone as possible, and signed up with an adventure therapy group called First Descents. They take young cancer survivors age 18-39, and teach them to white water kayak and mountain climb for a week, and the result is a newly defined sense of strength and courage, and the belief that you really can reclaim your life after cancer.

Since returning home from this adventure ten weeks ago I have lost 30 pounds, and really embraced myself…something I stopped doing long, long ago. Although this huge change started within me, now I seem to be bursting at the seams and trying all sorts of new things on the outside- to match the incredible feeling that radiates from within.

While I haven’t done anything drastic yet, and by drastic, of course I’m referring to my hair color and cut, I’ve been toying with the idea of chopping it off, and changing to a new vibrant hue. If you’ve followed my other blog entries you know that cutting my hair is not something I take lightly. So while I sit with the decision a little longer, what better way to change things up then to play with the style?
Having curly hair, you never really think about rollers, unless you blow it straight a lot. But when I was on the trip with First Descents, I really started to look at my hair in a different light. Obviously, there was no time to style my hair; we were always going from the river to rock climbing, or mountain biking and everything in between. I wore it in braids every day. When I would take the braids out at night, I loved the way my hair curled at the bottom. So when I got home, the lightbulb went off.

I went out and bought the Xtreme instant heat multisized hot rollers. Having never had a product like this before, I was a little intimidated. But once I pulled out the directions, and realized that it was as easy as plugging in the rollers, and taking out the bag of clips, I knew I was in for some fun. The first time I used them, I just wanted to play with the different sizes of the rollers to get a feel for what I could do with my hair. I have long hair that has very long layers cut on an angle to frame my face. So I used the larger rollers on the bottom most layer of my hair, and smaller rollers as I worked my way up my face. The rollers heat up in minutes, and they are so easy to use… I promise this stuff is idiot proof!!! Totally made for even the most hair-challenged person!

After I realized that these rollers were super easy to operate, I washed my hair at night, and put it into four big sections. I loosely braided the sections and went to sleep, and then put the rollers in my hair in the morning, while I was eating breakfast and getting ready for work. The result—amazing loose waves that were full of bounce! I finished the look off with a little hairspray, and I was out the door.

Moral of the story: whether your life is in need of a major change, or whether you just need a small change, start with your hair—and the rest will fall into place. Be open to the possibilities. If a pair of shoes could change Cinderella’s life just think about what a great hairstyle can do for yours.

Okay, so maybe Curlicious isn’t really a word, but that’s the kind of hair day I’m having. It’s deliciously curly, full of bounce and body. The best part about living on the east coast in the fall is that the weather provides for the most incredible curly hair days.

The art of styling curly hair took me years to master. Believe it or not, my hair was straight until I hit puberty, and then one day I awoke to a head full of banana curls. Taming this new do was no easy task, but I managed to do it, and I’d love to share the tricks of the trade.

First, you have to get to know your curls. Long, short, tightly wound, or loose, knowing your curls makes all the difference. Finding the right shampoo, conditioner, and products is another huge task. You truly have to experiment with a lot of different brands to find what works for you. Once you find the right products you can start playing with the amount/combination that works best for your hair, but one of the most important pieces to the perfect curly hair equation is your hair dryer.

We all know that the less you mess with curly hair the better it will turn out, but air-drying your hair generally doesn’t give you the volume and bounce that you desire. You have to find a happy medium, and for me, it’s the Conair ionic cord keeper. The cord keeper is the no brainer part. The fact that all hair dryers aren’t cord keepers blows my mind. How many times have you pulled your hair dryer out from under the bathroom sink, and the cord catches everything and pulls it out onto the floor? Then you have to stop what you’re doing, clean up the toilet paper, tampons, q-tips, and everything else that’s all over the floor, and then you’re stressing about being late to school or work, and before you even start to do your hair, you’re already having a bad hair day because you’re aggravated and sweating.

I love the humidifier attachment; not too big, not too small. When I first turned on this hair dryer I felt like I was drying my hair with a jet plane. While I really don’t know any of the technology behind why this hair dryer works the way it does, I do know that it works—and works well. As soon as you turn it on, you know you’re using a hair dryer like none other. And when I say none other, just think about the last time you were in a hotel room, and the back of the hair dryer ate your hair, and then your hair smelled like burnt toast all day.

My tips for drying curly hair to perfection are as follows. First, after you get out of the shower, you should NEVER put a towel around your head. You should brush it with a wide tooth comb, pick, or an air vented brush. Don’t brush it with a flat brush, a round brush, or anything you would use to blow it out straight. Only brush through it ONE time. The more you touch your hair, the frizzier it will be.

Flip over and shake your hair out, then scrunch with your preferred styling product. Flip back over, and gently separate the curls, then DON’T TOUCH IT; let it air dry for at least 15 minutes.

Begin drying your hair flipped upside down. I prefer putting the setting on High, and Cool, or High and Medium. There is no reason to use such a hot heat on a head of curls. You only need to use a high heat setting when you’re blowing it straight. Begin by flipping your head over and holding the hair dryer at least 6 inches from your scalp. Work your way from the nape of the neck all the way to the tip of your hair. Really concentrate on the upside down, bottom part of your hair. Try to keep the dryer and heat away from the top section of your hair near your face. Do not shake the hairdryer around a lot. A steady motion with less movement will give you less frizz. Do this for about five minutes. Put a small amount of anti frizz serum in your hair, and let it air dry for another 15 minutes. This is usually the time I put my makeup on or get dressed.

To finish the look, flip over and dry the back again, then spray your hair with an anti –frizz touchable hold (you do not want your hair to look like it’s frozen, wet, or crunch when you touch it) hairspray. Flip right side up, and dry the front and top layer of hair. For more volume flip over, take a wide scrunchy hair band (that you should never wear out of your house unless you’re going to a party with an 80’s theme) and loosely pull the hair into a high pony tail. Spray it again with hairspray and after 10 minutes take the hair band out. It’s important to use a fabric scrunchy—if you use a tight elastic pony tail holder you will get a ring mark in your curls. Even if you are styling your hair in a pony tail for the day, by drying your hair upside down you will add so much more volume to the pony tail.

The best part about the cord keeper- press the button and BOOM…the cord takes care of itself, and you can get on with your fabulous hair day.

Until next time…

October used to be my FUN month. My birthday always falls on Columbus day weekend, and choosing a Halloween costume that always outdid what I wore the year before occupied most of my time. Of course, I would shop in stores and see some pink products that donated money to different breast cancer charities, but I never really paid it much attention. Why would I? I was 26 and in the prime of my life. I had long, luscious, curly locks that were my trademark…literally. One summer when I was thirteen I cut my hair, and I guess word got around, and I got a barrage of letters from friends telling me my life was over because I had chopped off all my hair. I never cut it drastically again.

I had a great body, and great breasts. And never for a single moment thought my world was about to be shattered when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I cut my hair to a bob length, to try to prepare myself for chemo. Then I cut it to a G.I. Jane length, and though I would let the chemo take care of the rest. Boy was I stupid. The day the little hair that I had left started to fall out, was as devastating as the day they told me I had cancer.

Still, I pressed forward. And with every passing year, I reclaimed my life after cancer. My hair growth was a huge part of every milestone.

My first hair cut (I ran out crying, and thinking the guy just set me back three months), my first pony tail holder (although I couldn’t get all the hair into the pony tail without bobby pins) the first time I saw my curls start to come back (and I had to go through that TERRIBLE, awkward short curly hair helmet phase), and of course, the first time my hair passed my ears, then my chin, and brushed my shoulders.

A few weeks ago I celebrated five years since being diagnosed with breast cancer. My hair is healthy and strong, as are my body and spirit. And while I am grateful for having hair, I still have the same good and bad hair days as every other girl out there. I’ve been bald and back. I’ve rocked every shade of hair color from blond to black and all the reds in between. And now, I’m here to tell you all about it. There isn’t a product out there that I haven’t tried, a hairstyle I haven’t attempted to pull off, and what better to do with all of the hair knowledge that has been bestowed upon me, then to share it with incredible, fun, fearless females like myself. So stay tuned ladies…because the doctor is in. First on the agenda, EVERYTHING CURLS!!! Inside scoop soon to come. Hubert De Givenchy once said, Hair style is the final tip off whether or not a woman really knows herself.

Let’s find ourselves and our best hair together…