Nicole got a body wave, I mean PERM...

So, this long blog post on haircare started like this: I got a hair cut.  It was an impulse hair cut, by a new hair stylist because I had the afternoon off and just had to get a haircut.  I need a shape to my growing-out hair and wanted it right now.  I am so darn impulsive, it's not even funny! I got a recommendation of a hair stylist from a friend, called, and got an appointment for 4:00. I was so happy! I will admit: I wanted something that probably wasn't possible.  My bangs are growing out. I don't like that tapered down the face look. I wanted a shape. I didn't want to cut too much off because I was growing my hair off. So, she did exactly what I asked her to do. She attempted to even out the growing out bangs but in the end, the front was a bit shorter than the back.  I didn't want to cut the back off because I want long hair more than I want a lot of things in life. I don't know if I was going to leave happy because my hair's just in that "in between" stage, and as you know, that phase sucks. But, she did exactly what I asked her to do, so, she did a good job in my eyes, whether I loved my hair or not.

Well, I had been wanting a body wave for a really really long time. I thought, "well, if I don't love my hair cut, now's the time to get that body wave I've been wanting so I can scrunch it when I want." Right? Right? Well, not so right...

I got a body wave perm and do. not. love. it. I think it has something to do with the fact that...
A) my hair must not have been 100% healthy to begin with, so I probably shouldn't have gotten one
B) some of the strands of hair won't scrunch as well- unfortunately it's the strands at the top of my head and around my face, so, you can see how this is upsetting
C) due to point B, I can't wear it down, and when I do, it's not pretty
D) it is much curlier than I wanted it to be, you know, on the strands that worked. I wanted a body wave, not straight up perm. {yes, I know body waves are considered a type of perm, but y'all know what I mean!}
E) it takes me longer to straighten my hair
F) I can't have my hair permanently straightened for another while. I'm currently trying to let my hair HEAL.

Went straight home & styled it myself with what products I had...Still was deciding my feelings

You can see in the picture above how curly it actually was. No wave here.. just straight up curls! Also, you see how my bangs are curly at the root and then not so curly at the ends? That's probably due to the fact that either the stuff wasn't left on the right amount of time OR my hair wasn't healthy enough to handle the chemicals and just fried.

Day 2 morning = why I was in a panic!

Day 2: Got to wear it half up already.. on my way to get products!

Thanks to my sweet friend Cassie, I learned a bit about styling curly hair. She has naturally super curly hair so knew what worked, what didn't work, everything. It was so nice to have her walk with me into Cosmo Prof and say "You need this!"   

She recommended the following:

Sebastian Professional Whipped Creme

I HIGHLY recommend this stuff if you have curly hair.  The can looks just like a whipped cream can, and the stuff looks just like whipped cream.  This is for you curly headed people who want to have defined curls without that crunchy look. This stuff saved my life.  I may or may not have used too much of the stuff. I bet it doesn't require as much as I used, but as you can tell from my statements above, I was desperate.  I ran out of the stuff within two weeks. {Don't judge me!}

It's a 10 Miracle Leave-In Product

Okay, so, the lady who did my hair used this stuff on my hair.  Then I saw she had some stuff for sale and I knew I needed some products.  I was debating between this and another thermal protectant.  Then I realized that this is a condition and a thermal protectant.... and repairs dry, damaged hair {need that!}, adds shine, smooths and controls frizz {gonna need that!}, stops hair breakage {need that!}, prevents split ends {need that!}, plus other things! She has this stuff for $12 and I thought "Not bad!" so I tried it, LOVED it, and have used half the bottle already. Again, I don't think your hair requires that much product, but I am desperate.  After I started mentioning it to people, I found out that this product is apparently the world's best kept secret. People use it for curly hair, straight hair, whatever! It's just a fabulous leave-in product that I will probably use for the rest of my life now. 

I also went to Wal-Mart to see what they had.  I bought the following:

VO5 Hot Oil Treatment

because an "intense conditioning treatment" sounded like something I needed. And it was less than $5.

Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Extra Penetrating Oil

Disclaimer: The stuff I have looks almost like the picture about, but the link is to the stuff I actually bought. I bought the "Extra" Penetrating Oil, for dry and course hair.  I don't naturally have dry or course hair, but I was in a panic, and knew that this body wave perm had fried my hair, and my thought process went a little something like this: "fried = dry." Anyways, I love this stuff! The website says it "penetrates, moisturizes, renews, and creates softness and strength while protecting your hair from harmful styling heat and UV damage, giving you smooth, sexy tresses." That it does! I personally wear it more when I'm wearing my hair curly, but this stuff is worth the $5ish it costs! The benefits sound like a lot of the benefits of the It's a 10 leave-in product, but it IS oil, so don't use too much! :-)

Organix Weightless Healing Oil

The website says "This exotic precious formula of Moroccan Argan Oil Weightless spray instantly heals split ends, creating soft frizz-free perfection while protecting your hair from harmful styling heat and UV damage, giving a smooth, glossy, shine." And that it does! I spray it on before I blow dry it, and when I'm done straightening my hair, I spray a bit in my hands, then swipe my hands through the hair to prevent frizz! And, again, I thought my hair could use some "healing oil."

Oh! AND...

Joico K-PAK Shampoo & Conditioner

I saw these huge bottles of Joico K-PAK shampoo and conditioner for $16.99 each and thought they were a God-send! I previously have used Joico's K-PAK Deep-Penetrating Reconstructor and LOVED it.  It's an extra conditioner to use, to leave it for 5-10 minutes, and then to have the most conditioned hair ever, that's apparently more "repaired" than before.  I love the stuff & can't decide if I was surprised or not to see that Kourtney Kardashian was talking about also loving the stuff! Anyways, the K-PAK line was introduced to me by my fabulous friend, Ashley, and it's for damaged hair! {Aka.. what you have after you get a body wave perm and probably wasn't supposed to.}  I went to Ulta and swiped up a trial size of the Deep-Penetrating Reconstructor when I saw it for $5. Unfortunately it was only 1.7 fl oz. but I may get 2 or 3 uses out of it, so that's a good thing! I definitely recommend it for a weekly mask for your hair. And I'm loving the shampoo and conditioner.  I don't think I would trust any other shampoo or conditioner on my hair at this point in time.

SO...

I went about a week without using ANY heat on my hair after I did this. And I survived!!! Now I only straighten my hair 2-3 times a week, as opposed to every. single. day, which is what I used to do. I really just want to let my hair breathe and heal. It and I are not BFFs right now. And I don't blame it for being mad at me.  :-/