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Hair, hair, everywhere

Since I’ve gotten back into pageants and become a local titleholder again, my life has moved into the express lane. Talk about zero to sixty in five seconds. 

One thing that sets you apart in this world is the crown and sash. If I’m walking around as Mrs. Capitol Hill, I can’t have my hair in a greasy bun, because I worked out and didn’t have time to wash and fix my hair before an appearance. Or if you are the unofficial hair and makeup artist for the state queen that night (ahem Mrs. DC, LOL) So, I’m in the process of learning — yes still learning, each time a little more — what works in a pinch and what is best for big events (full blowout and extensions always).

My hair, as I’ve gotten older, has hit a growth limit. It never really grew much longer in reality. Maybe a few inches or so. My hair stylist speculates that this could be due to all of the heat styling that I’ve been doing. In my previous life as a communications specialist at a research center for an Oil and Gas company in Houston, I barely blow dried it. I often slept on it wet and wore it in waves or a pony. So, it likely wasn't damaged as often and grew a bit longer. The point of my story is that I don’t have much hair to work with for big pageant hair — even to hide extensions under!

I wanted to share some of my solutions that I’ve discovered along the way. I hope they can help you in your busy life whether for pageant appearances or just rushing to work!





Sock bun

This one is not new. I know this! Also, if you didn't know that I used one of these -- my hair isn't magical! Lol! These were super popular a few years ago. I was wearing them on and off, but I reintroduced them to a new spot on my head this spring. If you move them up a few centimeters, they look classy and chic. I was placing them squarely on the back of my head at an angle. This is fine except in photos you can’t see anything but sleeked back hair. And, you bump it on everything!! They’re perfect if your hair is clean, but you don’t have time to fix it. Fluffy and clean hair covers the bun best. I have four sizes and depending on the event is how I decide on the size. 



High Ponytail
For a Houston/New Orleans girl now in The District, anything that helps with humidity is my friend. These always look chic, especially if you have thick hair place. Some of my sister queens (Looking at you Mrs. Quantico) have fabulous lush locks. I have a sad 4-strand pony. LOL. I was clipping my extensions in for events and getting major headaches for a while. But that is until I discovered the pony clip! So, now I have a separate extension for ponytails. It looks so lush. It saves so much time. You can have semi-damp, post-workout hair and still be ready for an event in basically as long as it takes you to put makeup on and go! 


Full, clip-in extensions
This one is for when I:
1.) have time and care about how my hair looks, and 
2.) it’s an important event or function. 
For a while, I was using these for everything to avoid using heat on my real ends. The extensions, while real human hair, hold a style for multiple wears. So, I can semi-prepare my hair and then as long as I keep it either curly or straight, I can just clip them in. (I’m in a straight phase right now due to the humidity and heat, because my own hair won’t hold the curls. So look out for curls coming to an Instagram account near you come fall. LOL.) Oh and by the way, I’m just going on feel and blind faith that they aren’t showing most of the time. Lola don’t kill me! Lola is my amazing blowout artist. She has informed me I need to wash my extensions more. 🙈

Halo extensions
This one is on my “To do” list. They are attached to a fishing wire, so you add them in like an elastic headband and pull your hair out around the wire. These really are used only to add volume and a small amount of length. For me, it’s the volume that I need. This one is a great cheaper option for a small appearance or events or date night with your boo that you want to be able to just have some voluminous waves. 






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