Review: Twisted Scissors Chicago

Based on all the responses to my Instagram post this morning, it's safe to say that I'm not the only one who gets rather nervous whenever it's time for a haircut. I've had more than one haircut that ended in tears (which, thankfully, I've been able to hold back till I found some privacy!) I'd found a hairdresser I liked in LA, but after six years of relatively hair-drama-free bliss, we moved to Chicago and the process began all over again. I'm happy to say that after fifteen months in this city, I've finally completed my quest today at Twisted Scissors salon.

Trashy Diva Mahjong Annette

After a week of pre-wedding whirlwind action and another week of honeymoon food-stravaganza-ing, I have an enormous backlog of Things I/We Did to blog about! Today, I'm going with a dress that's been on my to-do list for weeks: my new Trashy Diva Annette in Mahjong. Spoiler alert: I'm obsessed. Bonus: these photos were taken after my wedding hair trial!

Wet Set 2: Electric Bugaloo

"The definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." –Frequently attributed to Einstein

After the complete disaster that was my first attempt at a foam-roller wet set, you'd think I'd've given up. Nope! Anyone who pursues a PhD in a field with such dismal employment prospects is used to tilting at windmills. Last week, I set my sights on curls yet again. And this time, it ended well!

At the end of my last hair-related post, I laid out a plan of attack. Then I did a little more research (a.k.a. watched a few more tutorials, read a few more posts, and got lots of helpful tips from the amazing hair wizards of Instagram) and completely changed my plan. Instead of using 1" rollers all over, I used 1" rollers everywhere except on the bottom layers in the back, as suggested by Miss Victory Violet. I got nervous that only rolling my hair up to my shoulders would make my hair flat at the roots, so I wrapped them all the way up. On the plus side, I was a little more methodical about sectioning my hair, especially at the top, so I looked slightly less insane with the rollers in.

I mean, my hair looked less haphazard. This facial expression is here to stay.

How NOT to curl your hair

The topic of today's post is Failure. More specifically, Miserable Hair Failure. I concluded a few months ago that my hair is simply uncurlable. I lived in LA for eight years, and always seriously envied the effortless-looking, bouncy long curls that so many girls in Southern California sport. I had tried a number of times to curl it with a curling iron, but it never quite came out right, and always fell flat almost immediately. For a long time, I blamed it on my ineptitude with a curling iron, but after a good friend (with A+ hair-curling game!) kindly spent an afternoon curling my hair, only to have it revert to form before Jeff could see her handiwork, I figured curls just weren't in the cards for me. It was ok. I'd made my peace.

Then I discovered the world of vintage style blogs, with their wet set pin curls and foam roller tutorials, and began to hope. I spent an afternoon watching hair tutorials on Youtube (a first for me!) and ordered pin curl pins on Amazon. When they arrived, I rewatched this Cherry Dollface tutorial and tried out a few experimental curls. It worked! They stayed in for the entire day. Someday, when it isn't 85 degrees INSIDE my apartment despite wintery OUTDOOR temperatures, I'll do my entire head.

I mean, they stayed curly when I took them out, even if my pinning skills were below grade level.