Hello! First and foremost, let me apologize for my ridiculously long absence. I don't really want to make excuses for it because I know I find that annoying to read, but I feel like I need to. My semester got really busy for a while, and I was also super sick for almost 3 weeks. That is why I've been neglecting this little corner of the internet. Also, I was feeling a bit uninspired to be completely honest. If you have any posts that you would like to see from me or that you think might be interesting to read, please just me know in the comments :) Anyways now that I've gotten that out of the way, on to today's post.

I've been trying out a new hairstyle, and I thought I would share it with you. It got a lot better response than I was expecting (one of the pictures below is now my third most liked picture on Instagram). This hairstyle is called the milkmaid braid. It made me feel like I was in The Sound of Music for some reason, and it is incredibly easy to do. You actually just separate your hair into two sections, and then braid those two sections into regular braided pigtails. I would suggest holding your hair away from your head while you braid. This makes that section lay a little flatter when you flip the braid over your head. Secure those with clear elastics. Take this time to pull on the sections of your braid to widen it up. Then, pin them on the other side of your head, and hide the ends as best you can. It is a super easy up-do and a great option for days when your hair just doesn't want to cooperate or you are trying to push it an extra day in between washes. My hair is pretty long which makes this style quite easy for me to do. I haven't tried it on shorter hair, so I couldn't tell you how well it will work. It doesn't take long to do, so I would say give it a try and see how it turns out. I'll include the video that I watched to figure this out below so you can have some visuals!

Hello! By the title, I have obviously already revealed my big plans for my hair…I went purple! When I got my ombre done, I just caught some sort of hair dye bug (Is that a thing?). Once you have dyed your hair, you realize that it isn't as big of a deal as you thought it was originally. I've seen a lot of cool looking purple hair in my time spent on Pinterest and Tumblr, and I just got the urge to give that a go for a few reasons. First, purple has always been my favorite color. Second, I knew college was the only time that I am "allowed" to have purple hair. I figure that is frowned upon in most work places. Third, the dye my hairdresser used is just a semi-permanent one (washes out in 6-8 weeks), so really why the heck not dye my hair purple? I wanted my purple to be quite subtle, but I was determined to at least attempt it on my whole head. Because the hair on the top of my head is not only a medium brown but has also never been dyed, the chances of the color showing up vibrantly weren't great. (A purple tint is better than nothing in my mind). What I ended up with is a pretty deep purple showing up strongly on my ends (because they were bleached for the ombre) and a very dark brown color on top with a sort of purple sheen that shows up best in natural light. I'm happy with it, and I think purple is something that I will be coming back to in the future. Since this is the first time that I have put an actual pigment in my hair, I will do my best to document the fading process and see how well my color protecting hair products hold up to a real test. So far, it has been fading a little weird, so I'm thinking trying a different dye might be good for next time.

I want to explain the process that happened at the salon when I was getting this done. First off, I washed my hair the night before with the most stripping shampoo I have. I didn't want any product blocking the dye's access to my hair. The process was pretty standard. My hairdresser mixed up the color and then used a brush to apply it over my entire head. Then, I got to don the lovely shower cap you'll see below and sit under a dryer like the old ladies do. My hair was blasted with heat for about 10 minutes. Heat opens up hair cuticles which allows the color to soak in better. The dye was left for another 10 or 15 minutes to develop. Then, she washed my hair a couple of times, blow-dried it, and we were done! Below are some pictures of my visit and, of course, a few to show off my brand new hair color! 

Shout out to my mom for being my salon photographer :)

After contemplating it for months, I finally decided to just jump and dye my hair for the very first time! I have seen a lot of people with ombre hair, and I absolutely love the look of it. My number one ombre inspiration was definitely Zoella. I have been obsessed with her hair since I saw her first video, and I hoped that ombre would be a good option for me as well. I thought that it was a good way to get into the world of hair dye as I kept my natural color on top and just died the bottom half(ish). I had mine done at a salon because I wanted to be sure it turned out right. I am loving the result, so I wanted to share it with you. After I have had it for a little while longer, I plan on sharing my hair care routine and how I keep my hair healthy. 

Before

And After!

A Few Tips for the Salon Day: