So while I was hoping for more serious questions (to answer WITH the more fun questions), I did receive fun, personal questions.

I received a few emails and comments about my hair and how I wash it, style it, etc.

First of all I only wash my hair (at most) 2 days a week — sometimes less.

Please don’t be disgusted, I promise I’m clean!

My hair does not have many natural oils and if I were to wash it every day it would become dried out and brittle. Even after 5 days without a wash, my hair doesn’t look oily. For example, the Casual Friday pictures I posted yesterday? My hair hasn’t been washed since Tuesday. I’ll probably wait until tomorrow morning. If I were to wash it every day it would become extremely dry and unhealthy and I’d look like someone who left her finger in the electric socket.

Anyway, I love baths, so that’s what I do to wash my body. If I don’t have time for a bath I go old-fashioned and just use a washcloth and soap to clean myself.

When I do wash my hair, I use a moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Sometimes I put a small dollop of Selsun Blue (or other similar product) in my shampoo, as well. My skin (and by proxy, my scalp) in general is very prone to dryness, so I like to take all precautionary measures — you can never be too moisturized!

If I’m wearing my hair straight and curled-under, I blow dry my hair upside-down with a wide paddle brush. After it’s dry, I use hot rollers all over my head, using wide sections. I have very thick hair, so I have to utilize all rollers. Some people may only need a few. I like big, soft curls and recommend using sections of hair that are about as thick as a pencil. I go around the crown of my head first (top layers) and then do the bottom two. Some of you may only have two rows of rollers.

For waves: my hair is naturally a bit wavy, so this is a bit easier for me than it will be for those of you who have straight hair. I blow dry my hair upside down scrunching it up with my hands toward my scalp. I do not dry it all the way through. I scrunch LIGHTWEIGHT curl refining gel through. Do not overdo it; I use a dollop the size of a pea.

I then pull my hair into a high ponytail and scrunch all the hair into a bun. Using two pony tail holders, I wrap them around the hair making sure the crisscross over the hair in multiple areas. I let my hair sit like this overnight or while I’m watching TV, doing dishes, etc. If you are pressed for time, you can blow dry your hair while it’s wrapped like this.

Once it’s mostly dry, I take it down and use a curling iron on a few key sections. Sometimes I like the way the hair falls naturally, but when I’m looking for a more polished look, I take about 10 small sections and independently wrap them around the curling iron — like this (technique is shown a bit before half-way point). Use wider barrel curling iron for looser waves, and a smaller barrel for tighter waves.

I like to curl the hair in multiple directions so that it looks natural.

That’s it! Let me know if something was unclear — it’s hard to describe something on a step-by-step basis when you are so familiar with it!

Also, I’m really hoping some of you come out of the woodwork next week and bring up some communications/relationship or balance issues you are struggling with. For those of you struggling with balance in your lives, try the following exercise from my first post ever.
Try a self-evaluation exercise (adapted from Natalie Gahrmann):

1. Draw a large circle on a piece of paper and divide it into 8-10 pie wedges.
2. Label each section with an area of your life that is important to you. Examples: family, friends, health, work, recreation, money, personal growth, spirituality, romance, physical surroundings and more.
3. Rate your satisfaction in each area of your life. Think of the circle’s outer edge as total satisfaction and the center of the circle as total dissatisfaction. In each wedge of the pie, place a small dot to indicate your relative satisfaction in that area of your life. (For example, if you are just moderately satisfied, place your dot in the middle between the center and the edge.
4. After rating your satisfaction in each pie wedge, connect the dots to create a new outside perimeter for your circle. If you were to roll your circle like a wheel would it roll smoothly or be bumpy?
5. To have a balanced life, tend to the areas where the greatest gaps exist. The key is not to focus on each individual area of your life but to focus on your life as a whole. (Changing your perspective of your life is another important tool to gain balance.)

Balance is a continuous process. As you evolve you’ll find new ways to integrate the different aspects of your life into a whole. How you combine your significant other, children, and work is a personal process.

Everyone’s chart will look different- and that’s OK! We all rank our priorities differently. But how does your satisfaction look? Are you content in the areas of your life you’ve labeled as ‘most important?’ Notice the areas in which you ranked lower. Are you OK with this? Do you know why this area of your life carries a level of low satisfaction? Identifying these areas is the first step in boosting that satisfaction level! Think about why this may be a problem area for you and brainstorm a few short-term and long-term goals that might help you reach satisfaction in this area.

Does this help? Do you have any other questions or need any other help in this process?

What about other communications/relationship/balance concerns? Trust me, I can help!