hair care update

I noticed that my post about washing my hair with vinegar and baking soda has been getting popular again, so I thought I'd do a little update on what the state of my hair care is now.

First, I do not do the vinegar/baking soda thing any more. I did mention in the post that I had trouble getting the right ratios, and I never was able to figure it out satisfactorily. My hair would be really lovely and soft for a while, and then steadily get drier and drier until I basically had a head full of straw. Not cute.

I switched to a pretty standard Garnier Fructis for a while, which also gave me drying problems. But then, back in January I got my bangs and a new color and committed myself to finding a shampoo/conditioner that would not make my hair sad. I was very very close to resigning myself to using Aveda products; both my long-time salon back in the 'burbs and the new salon I went to in the city are Aveda concept salons, and I really have always been happy with how my hair feels (and smells!) after treatments there. The problem, of course, is that these are "salon quality" products, so their full sized bottle of their basic shampoo is $35. I don't know about you, but I do not have that much room in my budget for my hair.

So I researched! I searched high and low, read dozens of testimonials, browsed online drugstores, until I finally found a product that sounded right for my hair. And so far, I'm still happy with it!

I use Yes to Cucumbers, the color-safe shampoo/conditioner in the Yes To...  product line. It's sulfate, paraben, petroleum and SLS free and smells like cucumbers! It actually makes me think of some cleansing mask my mom (I think?) once got for me when I was young...it smelled strongly of cucumbers and was a clear goo that you rubbed on your face until it set and then you peeled it off like you were a lizard shedding skin. That is...not actually relevant to my enjoyment of this product, but there you go!

One of the biggest pluses of Yes to Cucumbers (besides the fact that it leaves my hair soft and healthy) is that you can buy it at Target! It's in the organic hair product section (I had to hunt for a while in my local store) and is regularly priced at $7.99 apiece for shampoo and conditioner. When I bought it, they were each a dollar off - even better! I'm thinking about trying out their new exfoliating scrub, Yes to Grapefruits - if I do, I'll let you know!

What's your hair care regimen? Are you one of those lucky souls who can grab a bottle of Suave and be good to go, or do you have picky diva hair like mine?

secret obsession: wigs

I just started a new job this week (yay!), so what better way to celebrate movement forward in my fancy career-oriented adult life than a post exploring one of my decidedly dorky and non-adult passions?

My secret obsession (which is not so secret anymore)...is wigs.

I love this wig. I bought it at LeakyCon last year to show my Slytherin pride (I told you this was a dorky passion) after many years of poring over wigs on Ebay and drooling over cosplayers with elaborate faux-hairdos. Last weekend, for lack of anything better to do, I put on a full face of makeup and my wig and took selfies in the bathroom. Obviously, I lead an exciting life, but for real - it was a ton of fun to play dress-up, even if I didn't have anywhere to go. (Also, this was the first time I'd done a full-face of liquid foundation since my spackled and raccoon-eyed days as a high school theater nerd with no idea how to apply makeup. Hopefully I've progressed since then.)

Part of the fun is the chance to be extreme without consequences. A couple people thought I'd really dyed my hair when I posted the pic on the right to Facebook, but this was the day before I started a shiny new business casual job - there's no way I could get away with green and silver hair, no matter how fabulous. But with a wig, I can pop it on and be that cool girl with the alternative hair for a while.

I'd always thought wigs weren't for me because, as I've mentioned before on this blog, I have a really big head. Woe is I. But this one from Arda Wigs fits great, no adjustment needed, even without a wig-cap. If I were actually going to wear it out (which I'm working up the courage to do), I probably would secure everything a little better, but for now I just pin back my bangs and put my hair into a ponytail and tuck it inside. They're super reasonably priced too, and it seems like good quality to me - I don't know enough about wigs to make a full review/rec, but I would definitely say Arda is a great place to get your first wig if you want to experiment a bit. They also have a bunch of tutorial videos to help you care for and style your wig (I haven't done anything crazy with mine, except for adding a few braids.)

The rule I've made for myself is that I can't buy another wig until I wear this one out in public OR if it's for a specific costume I'm working on. That said, I'm going to have to pluck up the courage soon, because I have my eye on a few more (you can see them on my aptly named I Want That board on Pinterest.)

Have you ever worn a wig (for a play maybe, or just for fun)? Am I the only one who yearns to have pink hair one day, blue the next, and long flowing locks on alternating Thursdays?