Short, Long, Straight, Curly.......I've got it all.

I've been growing my hair out forever.  Okay- not really.  It just feels that way.  I've been growing it out since February 2012.  A couple of disastrous haircuts have extended the process.  So life goes.  But it's finally getting some length to it.  *Phew*

February 2012-April 2013

I've scoured the internet (read: pinterest and google) for tips on growing hair out and any ancient Mayan secrets.  One of the best things I've ever read about this is by Maybe Matilda when she was growing out her pixie cut.  It really comes down to two things---> patience (ugh) and taking extremely good care of your hair.  And being pretty flexible and creative with your hairstyling.  I am not a talented hair person by any stretch of the imagination, so trust me when I say these are easy to pull off.  :)

You have to embrace bobby pins & bandanas, learn to mini-braid, and steal your man's hat.

One of the biggest challenges is not being able to use heat.  My hair does this flippy wave thing that can only be tamed by my blow dryer and a flat iron.  But.....if I want happy, healthy, long Rapunzel hair, I have to save the heat for special occasions.

Now that I've got a little length, I'd like to try some new styles.  But............There's that pesky rule- No heat.  That means no curling irons.  Not a big deal- I kind of suck with curling irons.  But I do like curls and curly hair.  I've done the perm things and NO- NEVER AGAIN.  One of my sisters rocks out with a curling iron and makes me look fabulous.  She's not nearly close enough to be able to run over and curl my hair whenever I want curls, so I did what I always do.

I searched Pinterest!!

I may have a slight pinning problem.

Another thing I love- vintage/retro anything.  I'm not sure why I never put two and two together, but I have (re)discovered.........RAG CURLS!  

Here's why you should try them:

1. They are soooo easy once you get the hang of it.
2. They last forever (until you wash your hair.)
3. You will get tons of compliments.
4. You will feel like a vintage vixen.

I went to Va-Voom Vintage to get an easy peasy rag curl tutorial.  I chose her because I like her technique and because she and I have similar hair lengths.   (And she has a pretty sweet blog and truly embraces the vintage life.)

The process........tied up, let down, pinned back.

I have started working on my nearby sister (I have 3 sisters total) to get her to try these rag curls too.  Her first question was "Don't you have to sleep in them?!"  Yes, yes you do.  But- they aren't poky, or hard, or stiff.  Your hair is tied up in rags, so it's really not that bad.  I had no trouble, and I can be fussy about sleeping comfort.  Maybe she will let me do a feature blog on her so I can get pictures of the whole process and not just a bunch of selfies.

I'm not going to get into the whole blow by blow of how to do this- go to Va-Voom and see what she does.  She does it way better than I can at this moment.  I will point out that with my shorter hair, the curls were initially kind of tight, mainly because they don't have the weight to pull them down.  I ended up using some bobby pins and pinning them up in a messy coif.  It was pretty cute, although it doesn't show up well in the photo.  After awhile, I pulled out the pins and let it relax. 

Curly Girly

I love my curls.  I was really sad when I had to finally wash my hair and go back to my straight, vaguely wavy hair.  It almost made me think about the perm road, but........the chemicals...........*shudders*.  I ended up with poodle head the last time and it took forever and days to grow out all the sad damaged hair.  

I will stick with my occasional rag curls and I am really going to enjoy seeing what they do as the hair gets longer.  I am also really looking forward to trying out some other vintage styles as I get more length to mess around with.  I can't wait!