Because I Care

Ladies, two times in the past month, I've experienced a deep feeling of unbelievableness. (It would be fair to say that this has possibly happened more than two times, but two times that I can remember thinking, "What in the world?! How does she not know this?")

I've blogged about how much I despise the getting ready process. Well, there are some days that if I've worn my hair straight the day before, and if I don't have the pillow-induced bald spot at the bottom of my part, then I don't wash my hair. That's right. Some mornings before jumping into the shower, I check to see if I can get by without washing my hair. Then I pull it into a high ponytail with a headband. After showering, I do any needed straightening with my hair dryer and round brush. (I have very fine hair that does not do well with a Chi, unfortunately.) Once all the weird kinks are removed, I turn my head over and sprinkle baby powder in my hair, concentrating on the roots. The baby powder absorbs all of the grease and it looks like an freshly washed and styled head of hair.

I just assumed that all women knew this trick, as I've been doing it since college. But two times in the past month, I've discovered that my assumption was incorrect. If you don't know this beauty trick, you should. File it away for future use. I've been told by my students that there is such a thing as dry shampoo, and it only costs $15. It works just like baby powder. Though I'm tempted to try it, a travel size baby powder costs $1. That's a big difference for a frugal gal.

While we're on the subject of hair, I believe it was the great Dolly Parton who once said, "The higher the hair, the closer to God." Now, being from Texas, that is the gospel truth. Well, almost. There's some other stuff, too. But many girls are born with the need for big hair. I was. I remember feathering my bangs in the bathroom when I was about 11. Oh, glorious!

Over the past years, I've worked on my strategy for creating big hair. When I wear my hair curly, a pick and enormous amounts of hair product is appropriate. But when I wear my hair straight, any teasing done with a pick loses its pouf within an hour. Imagine my delight when I was introduced to Dust It. This little bottle is heaven for my hair.

Lifting up sections of hair, just sprinkle this magic dust onto the roots and rub in. Then using a pick or backcombing comb (which I love!), tease the hair. It creates just the pouf that I love. Actually, it's very reminiscent of Sarah Palin's 'do. She's my hair idol for straight hair. (Shaun White, Olympic snowboarder, is my curly hair idol. I'm going to figure out how to get those curls!)

One last beauty tip...I love my toenails painted all summer long. However, I do not like the drying time. I always mess up the polish. Or at least I did before I learned this trick. Once toenails are perfectly polished, spray Pam on them. Yes, non-stick cooking spray. It dries the nail polish instantly. I double-up paper towels and step on them before spraying. Then, I wipe away any that's on my toes. As I finish getting ready for the day, any Pam that didn't come off dries and makes my toes soft. It's a win-win!

Okay, one more. I learned this one from my grandmother. Need fingernail polish to dry quickly? Before painting your nails, fill a bowl with ice water. Once your nails are polished, stick your hand into the bowl. The cold water helps the polish dry! True, you could use Pam, but it might be tricky once one hand is greasy.

I'd love to hear any beauty tricks from y'all!