Your Stylist's Chair: A Judgement Free Zone

Ok. Confession time. I am always telling my friends and clients not to snip their own bangs. "Just text me, and I'll do it for you!" is what I tell them. So.. yeah. I totally just took a razor to my hair. Not so much the bangs as the whole thing. Before you judge me, keep in mind that 1. I am a trained professional 2. I was bored, and 3. It totally looks cute.

Why am I announcing this big no-no that I have committed? I guess I'm trying to illustrate the point that even your stylist does silly things to themselves sometimes. They probably do things to their own hair that they would never dream of doing to their clients. Example: That year my hair was basically platinum blond. This is why most of us (at least the cool stylists I know) would very much prefer that you just come clean with us when the quick bang trim you gave yourself at home isn't as awesome as you had imagined. Don't walk around with your bangs bobby pinned to your head. Just let us fix it, and know that we've most likely done the same thing at one time or another.

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In other news:

Wild Orchid Salon will be having and taking part in some great events in March! We don't have all the details yet, but expect an update on our SXSW Feather Hair Extension event at The Marq, and our party the following week where we will showcase the new Granado Minerals Spring Collection and jewelry from Stella & Dot. Yay!!

Please feel free to email me if you have an idea for an event. We love collaborating!!

Skin, Hair, and SXSW.. an epic battle.

In three weeks and two days Austin will become the crazy madhouse that is SXSW. I am anxiously awaiting that magical week when I can just walk along any downtown street and stumble upon loads of free music. My hair, not so much. My skin, not a fan either. It's gonna be rough out there. Heat. Dust. Sun. What is a girl (or boy) to do?

Rule #1 -- Sunscreen
This might seem like a no brainer, but I can not tell you how many times over the last decade that I've called Austin home that I have kicked myself for leaving the sunblock at home. I mean if you plan on doing anything for SXSW, you will have to deal with that big fiery ball in the sky. So slather it on. Many times.

Rule #2 -- Water
Again, this seems obvious. Let me just remind you of what you'll be dealing with. Free parties that start around noon, walking all over downtown and the east side cause parking is a mess, lots and lots of beer, and our old friend from earlier.. the sun. The last thing you want is to have a great day at the beginning of the week, get all dehydrated, feel like hell the next day, and ruin your experience. For the love of Pete, just bring a big old jug of water with you and keep filling it.

Rule #3 -- Scarf/Bandana/Hair Elastic
Ok kids. It will be hot. You will get sweaty. Your hair will feel like straw at the end of the day if you don't take care of it. I'm all for looking cute while running around in the chaos, but you can totally still be cute while being nice to your hair. I would suggest washing and drying your hair and using as little product as possible. A nice leave in conditioner is great, and some even have an spf. Put it up in a ballerina bun or tie a pretty scarf in it to keep your hair from getting windblown and frazzled.

Need examples?

Remember these very basic rules, and maybe this year your hair and skin won't be mad at you after SXSW. Healthy hair and skin is happy hair and skin, and happy hair and skin is pretty hair and skin.

Who can write about hair when it's Valentine's Day?

Oh Valentine's Day.. It always gets here whether we're ready or not. (Get ready cause it gets here tomorrow!) It has to be the most lovely yet stressful days of the year. You may have been asking yourself, "What do I get my Valentine?" or "Will he remember it's Valentine's Day?" or you might even be thinking "Oh yeah! It's Valentines Day." Whatever thoughts are going through your head, I say relax. Valentine's Day should be a time when couples look lovingly into each others eyes and remember why they love each other. A time for singles to remember that a little indulgence is good for the soul. And yes, a time for lots and lots of sweet treats!

Speaking of sweet treats.. This weekend I had the pleasure of finally checking out one of my downtown neighbors the Tea Embassy. They had quite possibly the best idea ever, a tea and chocolate tasting! It was the perfect start to my Saturday. I mean really, I got to walk over there in the sunshine to meet up with a couple of girlfriends and be girlie for two hours. The owner and staff were so friendly and knew so much about tea, and they were the opposite of snobby. That's a big deal for me being a lifelong coffee drinker and tea imbecile. I even walked away with some very reasonably priced tea that I have been thoroughly enjoying this morning. If you are one of the many who has forgotten that Valentine's Day is tomorrow, get your booty over to Tea Embassy for some fancy chocolate and any kind of tea you could possibly want. They even have romantically themed teas like their chocolate and rose flavored Love Story Black Tea.

And on that yummy note, I leave you to enjoy this beautiful day. I'll be spending it with my Valentine who just happens to also be my favorite eleven year old ever. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!

How could I not love this kid!?

Three homemade ways to pamper yourself on a snow day!

Ah.. a snow day in Austin, Texas. What does one do on a day like today? Snuggle on the sofa? Yes. Watch girlie movies? Sure. Make a snowball and stick it in the freezer? Absolutely. After a while (if you're anything like me) that all gets old some time around mid afternoon. All this down time got me thinking. What can I do that does not involve getting dressed or having to go outside? Then it hit me. At home beauty treatment day!! *FYI- That sounded a lot like "Orange Mocha Frappuccino" in my head.

I'm always reading articles about homemade remedies and treatments and stuff, so I decided to try some out. First up, a milk and honey bath. I've seen lots of varying recipes for this one, but for the sake of not leaving my apartment I went with the simplest variation. One cup honey, two cups milk, and (because I happened to have it) half a teaspoon of lavender oil. By the time my fingers got all wrinkly my skin felt soft and silky. This treatment was so cheap and so easy! I will definitely do this one again.

The next treatment I tried was an oatmeal and yogurt face mask. It was so easy to make. Only three ingredients! I mixed a tablespoon of ground up oatmeal (a coffee grinder works great for this), one  tablespoon plain live yogurt, and a few drops of warm honey in a bowl. I left the mask on for about ten minutes before rinsing with warm water. The oatmeal gave the mask a some light exfoliation action while the yogurt soothed my sensitive skin. Success! I even used some chamomile tea as a homemade facial toner. Oh and I sipped some tea as well. Yummm..

Hey! It's that one time I pretended to be domestical.

All this gathering and mixing of ingredients started making me feel way too domesticated, so I decided to stop after this next homemade concoction. What better way to end my day of beauty with a soothing foot bath? This was super easy. I filled a plastic tub with warm water (enough to cover my ankles) and added a few drops of tea tree oil and lavender oil. I also sliced a lemon and placed the slices in the water. I don't know if the lemon helped, but it sure did look pretty! Sit, sit, sit. Soak, soak, soak..

So there you have it, Ana's recipe (or recipes) for a fabulous day inside.And you don't have to wait for the next snow day. I mean, let's face it. We don't get many of those in Texas. Give this stuff a try on your next day off or evening at home. If you aren't impressed, at least it was cheap.

Sometimes good people do bad things.. to their hair.

Yesterday was beautiful here in the ATX. What the heck happened between then and now? Oh yeah. A crazy storm that's covering a huge chunk of the US. Bleh! It was so cold this morning that when I was finally able to drag myself out of the womb-like comfort of my bed, I did the one thing I tell absolutely every single one of my clients not to do. I jumped into the shower and turned the faucet all the way to the left. Oh glorious shower of hot hot steamy goodness!

Janet Leigh, Psycho

Why do I tell my clients not to do this? Because it is murder on your hair. Not only does it make your hair a little more frazzled and generally more dull, but it makes hair color fade so much faster. Yikes! So there I was standing half asleep under this wonderful hot water feeling oh so conflicted. I never wanted that moment to end, but at the same time I could feel the moisture (not to mention the hot pink hair color I JUST DID) running down the drain.

After some soul searching, a conditioning treatment, and a cup of coffee.. I decided not to beat myself up about it. I guess hair care is kinda like dieting. You want to follow all of the rules all of the time, but sometimes you just have to let yourself indulge.