Blonde Babes

I absolutely love blondes and I've been one almost my whole life. But I have noticed that a lot of blondes have the most damaged hair! Stereotypically Blondes tend to have the driest and most fried ends! Because of my experience with damaged blonde hair and not wanting that stereotype anymore I've compiled a list of tips and tricks for getting and keeping blonde hair looking sensational and healthy! So today I'm going to share them with all of you! Enjoy!! 

1. FIND A STYLIST THAT SPECIALIZES IN BLONDES: Many stylist have that one color or cut that they are just bomb at, and anything other than that one style just doesn't turn out well. You must remember this when getting your blonde done. It's easy to slap on an all over color on someone's head, but knowing where to place foils and how thick the weave needs to be is a whole other art in itself. Find someone who has done a lot of blondes and look at their portfolios to see if their work is similar to what you're wanting. Don't be afraid to ask a stylist if she has a lot of experience doing blondes or to ask the salon to set you up with someone that specializes in blondes. You'll thank me later for this piece of advice! If someone isn't great at blondes that could mean the difference between damaged hair or a nice pretty blonde! You also need to be patient when going blonde. Especially if you're really dark to begin with. You want your hair healthy and pretty not fried! It's better to go in a few times or wait a few weeks in between colors to reach the color you're wanting rather than damaging your hair to get it done in one day! 

2. COMMUNICATE WHAT YOU WANT: Blonde is such a vague term. If you type in blonde to google you will get a million different pictures come up and hardly any will look the same color. This is why I always bring pictures to my appointments and encourage my clients to do the same. If you have a picture of exactly what you want it will be pretty hard for the stylist to get it wrong. Also talk to your stylist about your hair. If there are certain parts that don't take color well or that never get colored and you want it colored make sure the stylist knows. Another thing I always ask my clients is if they pull their hair up in pony tail a lot because that will change the placement of my foils. It's the little things we forget to ask about or tell that really affects the end results! I've always said the Number one key to loving your color every time is communication between you and the stylist! Don't forget that! 

3. TAKE CARE OF YOUR HAIR: like I said before Blonde is one of the most damaging colors, but it doesn't mean you have to have damaged hair. I used to be one of those damaged hair blondes but not anymore! Let me share my secrets with you! I take a lot of vitamins! My favorites are prenatal pills, biotin, and fish oil. I just buy the cheap no name brands at target and they work great. I tried the real expensive brands like hairfinity and it works hair skin and nails but the target ones worked just as good or better for me so I decided to save money and just get those! I've noticed a huge change in the health of my hair since taking them though and suggest you take vitamins right away if you don't already! I also try to minimize the usage of heat on my hair! Chances are if you straighten or curl your hair everyday you're going to have pretty fried ends. Try out some new hair styles like braids or buns instead of breaking out the straightener! But be careful when pulling your hair up a lot because your pony tail will break your hair. Try using scrunchies (so 80's I know but they don't damage your hair) or find similar hair bands that will keep the elastic off your hair. Another trick I use to keep my hair healthy is I only wash my hair 2-3 times a week and before you say Ew hear me out. If your hair gets greasy after one day it's probably because you wash it every other day or even everyday. When you wash your hair you are stripping it of its natural oils. So that means when you wash it that often it makes your hair overproduce those oils to try and compensate. It will take you a couple weeks to train your hair to not get oily so fast but it's worth it! You're hair will be healthier I promise! On those days it just gets too greasy though I like to use a dry shampoo or baby powder! My favorite dry shampoo is Bed Heads Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo. You can get it online or email me and order it directly from me and get 10% off until the end of December! Make sure you rub it in really good though so you don't have a white scalp! Now this brings me to my next tip...

4. USE GOOD SHAMPOO & CONDIONTER: Now I know Suave says they are salon approved, but to be blunt it's crap. If you want you're hair to be healthy and nice you have to use good product! I cannot stress this enough and it goes for any hair color!! Buy your shampoo and conditoner from your salon or ask your stylist to get you some from the beauty store! Trust me it's worth it to spend a little extra money to get good stuff! There are tons of different brands out there and they have many that are specifically for blondes! Try out a few different brands, but get the small bottles before you commit to one and get the huge bottles! 

Personally my favorite brand is Colorproof! I use the "Super Rich Moisture" Shampoo and Conditoner but they have all different kinds to suit everyone's different hair needs. You can order yours at colorproof.com or email me and order it directly through me  and get 10% off any colorproof product until the end of December. 

5. BALANCE YOUR PRODUCT USE: it's good to use product in your hair, but not too much. When you have a lot of product build up in your hair (especially when you're only washing a few times a week) when you take a brush through it your ends will just start breaking off. This is especially true with hairspray! I try to keep it simple and not go too crazy with product, but I definitely have a few favorite products I use almost everyday on my hair! 

•"It's a 10" -I love this stuff! It's a heat protect, leave in Conditioner, detangler, and the list goes on!! I use it every time I wash my hair! I only use about five or less squirts though and it gets the job done! 

•"MoroccanOil Treatment"- I took this straight from their website because it explains this stuff so well. "This treatment for hair completely transforms and repairs as its formula transports lost proteins for strength; fatty acids, omega-3 oils and vitamins for shine; and antioxidants for protection. It absorbs instantly to fill gaps in hair created by heat, styling and environmental damage." I use this every other time I wash my hair or when I feel my hair is especially dry! 

•"Osis+ Dust it by Schwarzkopf" - if you're in need of volume this stuff is for you!! It's so awesome to give you that body you need! You only need a tiny bit though!! A little goes a long way! 

•"Platinum Blow Dry Spray by Kenra"- this stuff is heaven in a bottle! It decreases blow-dry time which is awesome because who likes to sit and spend forever blow drying their hair? It also has a heat protection in it and helps detangle, smoothe, and soften your hair! It also Eliminates frizz and resists humidity! Not to mention it smells lovely! I use this every time before I blow dry my hair! 

You can find all of these products online or email me and order it directly from me and get 10% off everything listed above until the end of December! 

Now that I'm done giving you my tips and tricks to keeping your blonde hair looking awesome and healthy let's take a look at a few of my blonde babes!  

Tonya: 

Sheena: 

Nesha: 

Mandy: 

Lindsay:

Xx 

Lo

Beauties in white: Courtney Larson

I have known Courtney since kindergarten and she is one of the funniest, most talented, and sweetest people I know. I felt so honored that she asked me to be apart of her wedding day. I just love being part of close friends big days and getting to see their fairy tales come true! 

Courtney is one of those blessed people that has very long, thick, beautiful hair. And the color is natural too. Yeah can you say perfect? For her bridals I took all that lovely hair and put it in a nice updo. We incorporated a lot of braiding and curls and I think it turned out beautifully. She also had me put these cute white pearls in her hair and a white flower. I think it's such a great idea to incorporate the brides taste and style into their wedding hair by adding accents. I also think you can go way overboard with this as well! When deciding on what accents to add to your hair you need to pick a theme and color and stick to it! If you pick pearls and pink then stick to things that are strictly pink or pearls. When you start throwing in different colored Jewels or diamonds it makes it look messy (not the good kind of messy) and overwhelming. Be creative though and try things that work for YOU! It's your day after all everything should be exactly how you want it. 

For Courtney's wedding day we decided to do a half up style. I did a French braid from ear to ear across the top of her head to give her a braided headband look. I also pulled back pieces and crossed them in the back adding in the pearls again. We curled the rest of her hair and left it down. She was such a stunning bride. Just check out these pictures!! 

Photography by: dawn photography 

Xx

Braid it Baby

I've always been obsessed with braids and I usually like to incorporate all of my hair when I'm doing a braided style (Like in my last post) BUT today is a new day. I ventured out past my normal side braid or fishtail and tried a Braided Headband. Let's just say I might have a new obsession. 

I will admit I was a little unsure about how this was going to turn out so I set my expectations real low. And After looking at my hair in the mirror for a good five minutes I finally had a game plan. Here is a brief run down of what I did. (Full tutorial to come soon) 

1. I parted my hair down the middle and sectioned off everything from my ear forward on one side. (I clipped the rest of my hair back so I wouldn't get it confused with the hair I had just sectioned off)

2. I took the piece of hair I had sectioned off and started to French braid it starting at my part and going straight down to the end of my hair. 

3. When I was finished braiding I took the bottom of the braid straight back up against itself and over to the other side of my head. 

4. I tucked the end of the braid under my hair and behind my ear and then bobby pinned it in place. 

Easy right?? I was very pleased with the way this turned out and can't wait to start experimenting with braids more!  

*Send me your pictures of you trying out this braided headband style to sierrasbeauties@gmail.com and I might feature you on my blog!*

Xx 

Lovely in London

I've been in London the past week and it has been a BLAST!! I've strolled the streets of crouchend, rode the tube all over the city, strolled across the tower bridge, visited the queen at buckingham palace(wink wink), and ate some of the finest cheesecake & crepes on the planet. This is pure bliss. I've also walked around in the rain A LOT!! This means the beautiful curls and flowing straight hair I imagined in our pictures was definitely a no go. So instead my "go to" has been a braid! With the humidity and the rain it's been a perfect vaca style.

 I decided that when on vacation my hair will not do ANYTHING it normally does. I try and try to do different styles, but in the end my hair ends up in a braid or a bun. I decided to play it up a little this time and invest in some cute headbands, beanies, and hats. I also switched up my braids everyday too. A tight classic braid looked great in a high pony with my Lemons and lace head band and the next day I went with a clean fishtail braid and my wide brimmed sun hat from Called to Surf. The last braid I chose to do was a loose side braid and a beanie from H&M. I ended my braid higher up to give it a different look as well. I've had a lot of fun trying out different braided looks this trip and can't wait to get back home and try out some more elaborate styles! Braids are easy, yet still classy and when you add some cute accents like hats and headbands you can make it look even more put together. Next time you have a lazy day or don't know what to do with your hair try out one of these braids and put your own twist on it! 

High pony braid with my lemons and lace head band while strolling through crouchend London. *Head over to Lemons and Lace Instagram @lemonsandlace or website lemonsandlace.com and check out their other cute headbands. Mention Sierra's Beauties sent you over!*

Fishtail braid and my cute sun hat from Called to Surf at the London Eye! *You can also find Called to Surf on Instagram @calledtosurf or calledtosurf.com* 

Loose messy braid with my husbands H&M beanie at the London Tower! (Yeah I steal his stuff a lot) 

I would love to see your braided styles and feature some on my blog!! Send them over to sierrasbeauties@gmail.com 

Xx 

Beauties in White: Rachel Ward

Rachel was one of the sweetest brides I've worked with! A lot of brides freak out and stress on their wedding days making for a lot of tension, especially when getting ready. Rachel was completely opposite of that though. She was very easy going and calm. It really makes my

Job so much easier!! 

Rachel has a lot of beautiful, natural features so I really tried to highlight those when I did her makeup. I used the Naked 2 palette on her eyes and highlighted with a combination of booty call and chopper. I covered her eyelids with half baked and then used snakebite in her creases. It gave her the subtle smokey eye look we were going for. 

For her hair I did a tight clean French braid on the left side and braided that into an elegant side bun. We kept her hair very classy and neat. I really enjoyed doing this because "messy" hair seems to be the trend lately and no one wants elegant hair like this anymore! 

Rachel was such a doll to work with and she looked breathtaking. I was so glad I was able to be part of her big day!! 

Photography by: Callie Hobbs 

Xx

High School Beauties

You couldn't pay me to go back to high school, BUT I will admit I do miss dances! There's just something about buying a pretty dress, getting your hair and makeup done, and being fancy for a night that is simply magical and I absolutely love it! Okay I know it's not ALWAYS like that though. I've had my fair share of dance-Zilla moments (is that even a thing?) so I came up with some tips to make dances a breeze! 

•HAVE PICTURES OF WHAT YOU WANT: a high school dance isn't as big as a wedding so no need for a trial run (unless you absolutely want one) but do bring pictures to your appointment. Even though it's not THE big day you still want to be beautiful so make sure your stylist knows exactly what you want. Communication is key to getting the perfect cut, color, or style anywhere you go! 

•DONT BE AFRAID TO SAY "I DONT LIKE IT": I learned this one the hard way. I had my makeup done for prom and thought I had done everything right. I brought in a picture, I told the lady exactly what I wanted, and picked out the colors. But even then we still weren't on the same page. It was awful. I wanted a smoky eye and got bright blue glitter clear past my eyebrows!! I felt too bad to say anything though and now, still to this day, I hate those prom pictures! DONT BE ME (in this situation.) You are paying someone to make you beautiful and if you don't feel amazing you make sure they change it! 

•THINK ABOUT THE TIME: this tip is a combination of a couple things so first be on time!! Most stylist have their schedules booked right down to the last minute and you being late could throw them way off! Sometimes there are things out of your control though so at least call and let them know you will be late! The Second part of this tip is ask how long the service will take. You'll want to book it at a time that will give you time to get home, get your dress on, and anything else you need to do before your date comes. I've had girls come to get their hair done 30 minutes before their date was supposed to pick them up and we simply did not have enough time! So make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get everything done. 

•DONT FREAK OUT: I've had to remind myself many times that it's just a dance. The more calm and flexible you are during the day the better your day will go! 

Now Before I post all the pictures of my high school beauties I wanted to make sure everyone knows this is my gorgeous sister! I had to single her out because she is so awesome and I love doing her hair! She's also patient with my creativity skills...sometimes ;) 

Now check out my other cute girls! If you have any questions or want to see a tutorial on any styles please email me!! 

Hannah:

Maddie:

Chelsie: 

Mikayla:

Lexi:

Allie:

Addie:

Xx