Gradient hair

I have had a pink underlayer for about a year and a half.  I love it.  That's how people know/remember me.  I always hear "I love your pink hair!".  Lately I have noticed  (around here anyway) pink hair is becoming a trend and people are popping up with it.  As much as I love my pink hair I decided I had to change it, do something so it was different, and not just pink hair.  I decided to try a gradient look.  And I am LOVING how it turned out!

Here is how my process started, and the items I needed to do this-

At the top left you see my Special Effects Atomic Pink (mixed with the Tresemme conditioner).  I mix my dye with conditioner for 2 reasons: 1) it helps you use less product, and 2) it aids in not staining your tub/sink.  The little bowl is Atomic Pink and Pimpin Purple mixed, with a little conditioner in it as well.  I started with plain Atomic Pink up top, moved on to my mix about half down, and then used plain old Pimpin Purple on the ends.  I did not mix Pimpin Purple with conditioner but I should have! I almost permanently stained my tub. 

Here is everything in my hair-

At this point I was a little upset because it didn't look like it was going to turn out well.  It did though!

I absolutely LOVE the way it came out!  I still have my pink, but now I have some pretty kick-ass purple too.  And it was so easy to do.  Thinking about it was actually harder than doing it.



Sock bun curls (and other hair related things)

I was perusing Pinterest a few days ago ad came across a picture of the most beautifully curled hair.  The lady said she had used a sock to do it.  I'm not much of a hair person so I have never heard of sock buns before, and even if I had I don't think I'd know you could use a sock to curl your hair!  It sounded pretty neat (and no heat is always a plus!) so I decided to give it a try.  I'm not going step-by-step or a tutorial, I'm just showing you what it looks like once the bun is in place, and what my results were.

My hair is sort of psycho.  Some parts are pretty straight, others have a wave, and some others have curl.  I typically wash only 2 or 3 times a week (I have dry ends), condition every day, and then apply a curl enhancing leave-in conditioner, some gel, and then I "plop" my hair.  (I use a long sleeve tshirt to tie my hair up on top of my head-sounds weird but works MUCH better than a towel.)  After I'm dressed I take my hair down, diffuse it a little, and then do my bangs and I'm done for the day.  Sometimes this all seems like SO much effort!  I was hoping sock bun curls could give me a break! This is what my hair usually pretty much looks like:

I forgot to take a picture after I had just rolled my hair into the bun, but here is what it looks like after I slept on it last night:

And here are the results, what my hair looks like today:

I REALLY wish I had someone to help me take pictures!  Taking a picture, over your shoulder, in a mirror is hard work!  I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with how my hair came out today.  I don't know if maybe I got it too damp, or it was just the way I rolled it, but it was way curlier on the ends than the first time I did it.  Speaking of which, here's how it turned out yesterday:

 I know you probably don't see a big difference, but yesterday's curls were softer and not so tight.  I guess it just takes some playing around to get it right, and I will try it again at some point.  My hair is pretty long and rolling it made me want to scream all sorts of naughty words.

I'm always looking for different ways to do my daughter's hair so I tried this on her too.  First picture is her bun after sleeping on it and the 2nd is how she wore her hair to school today.

I wish I had her hair!

Have you ever tried a sock bun, or sock bun curls, before?

I am also thinking of slightly changing my hair.  It seems everyone is showing up with pink hair these days, so I gotta do something different.  I'm going to add some purple to it.  I haven't decided if I'm doing my tips, if I'm just doing a few sections, or if I'm going to try a gradient look.  I'm leaning more towards gradient, but I've never done anything like that before so I need to be sure I think I can handle it.  I need to decide fast because I plan on doing it this weekend.