natural curl routine

A couple months ago I was contacted by Original Moxie to see if I was interested in trying their hair products.  I've had a pretty natural hair routine for quite a while, so I was excited to see a company making natural products specifically designed for curly hair.  They use essential oils in their products too, which obviously was exciting as I was already adding Cedarwood essential oil to my conditioner to help with hair growth. I've been trying to be extra nice to my hair these days because I lost a ton of volume from being on birth control, and I think some of my curl as well.  As silly as it sounds, I have a ton of my identity wrapped up in my big hair, so losing some of that has been frustrating.  My hair stopped falling out once I stopped the pill, but about two weeks ago it started coming out in droves.  It was like I was 14 all over again, pulling handfuls of hair out when I'd rake my fingers through my hair.  I'd like to kindly recommend to my hormones that they stop messing with my hair.  My hair feels about half as thick as it did 2 - 3 years ago, so hopefully things will stop freaking out on the hormone front. Part of me hates that I have so much of my identity tied up in my big hair.  It never occurred to me that I could lose it.  I've always had big curly hair.  In a way it's a security blanket.  When I cut my hair off a couple years ago I felt so not myself, I couldn't wait for it to be long and big again.  It took so many years of fighting the big poofy hair as a kid and teen that now that I'm finally in love with it, it's hard to deal with having it just fall out.  Boo hiss, hormones.  I've been doing all I can to keep my hair happy, so I was excited to try some natural products that are made for curly girls.
These three products are my standard shower routine products.  I've been avoiding regular shampoos for quite a while now, since shampoo strips hair of its natural oils, so I usually only wash with shampoo on occasion, but I was interested in seeing how the no-foam shampoo worked.  It doesn't lather at all (as you can probably assume from the name), so it's a bit harder to work it through the hair, but it definitely doesn't make my hair feel stripped at all.  In the past when I've used other normal shampoos my hair feels so dry and stripped out after I shampoo, and I feel like I have to condition like crazy to get it back to feeling right.  Right now I'm kind of going half and half with the no-poo thing.  For days when I have lots of product in my hair I like to have a little help getting that gunk out, so the Get Clean! no foam shampoo is nice.

I always always always always condition.  Mostly because I can't get a brush through my hair any other time than when there is conditioner.  I like to put conditioner on and let it hang out while I shave, then brush the tangles out of my hair and rinse.  I usually like using their Intense Quench conditioner, but when I don't feel like I need a ton of conditioning power I use the Featherweight conditioner, which is a lot lighter.  Their conditioners aren't quite as "slippery" as other conditioners I've used, which is because they use butters, oils, and other nutrients to condition, rather than chemicals which give that slippery feel.  It makes it slightly more difficult to comb tangles out, but I much prefer having my hair conditioned naturally than having a bunch of weird chemicals that only make my hair feel slippery, not actually condition it.  I've also been preferring the Intense Quench because my hair is currently colored, so I like to give it as much conditioning love as possible to keep it happy. After I get out of the shower I spritz a bit of Twist Mist in my hair and diffuse to dry.  The other day I forgot that this is 100% natural oil and my brain decided to spray it on my hair like it was hair spray and holy cow my hair was SO oily.  Whoops!  It's amazing for getting a bit of shine, but because it's all oil, it's definitely better used in moderation.  
These are a few products I use, but not all the time.  I actually love the Sweet Poof spray.  It's perfect for the 2nd or 3rd day when the curls have been slept on and are a little flat and sad.  I actually decided to test it to see if it really did volumize, by using it on one side of my head and not the other and it was really funny how lopsided I looked.  Definitely works to boost curls up and re-volumize.   Another couple products I occasionally use before blow drying are the Oasis moisture gel and the Everyday Leave-in conditioner.  The leave in conditioner is also nice for applying to second-day hair to give it a little boost, and the Oasis moisture gel is another great one to apply before I blow dry to give my curls some buoyancy.  
These two products I've only used a little bit.  I really like the Lux Locks for adding some shine to the ends of my curls.  I used the Emollience Pre-Treatment overnight (they recommend applying overnight or at least 15 minutes before washing), and it took me two showers to get it out of my hair, haha.  Super penetrating moisture.  I think next time I do it I'll just do it for 15 minutes instead of overnight.  I liked it though!  I'm always on the lookout for good deep treatments to occasionally give my hair some love.  These are the only products I've been using for the past couple months, and it's been nice to have products that are designed to work together and on my specific hair type.  Before that I was just using random stuff I found at the health food store, and old tressemme products I've had for about 8 years.   If you have any questions about my hair routine that I forgot or skipped, let me know and I'll try to answer them in the comments! 
Original Moxie is celebrating Earth Day this weekend with a sale, so you can get 30% off any order over $30 using the code EDAYOM14.  I'm also doing a fun giveaway next week with Original Moxie, too, so stay tuned!
This post is sponsored by Original Moxie and I received products to try and use. All opinions and thoughts are my own. Thanks for supporting those companies which keep Delightfully Tacky alive and kicking.

BACK TO BASICS // jeans one

On Saturday I take the stage for the grand Adventures in Oz production.  I haven't had the butterflies hit yet, but I'm sure in those moments before, standing in the wings, I'll get that rush.  It's been a while since I took the stage for a performance, but more than anything I'm feeling excited.  I love the whole process.  The transformation from normal person, getting done up in hair and make up, putting on a costume, and then taking the stage as someone else.  As a kid I'd wrangled my siblings and our neighbor's kids into learning and performing Cats, yes that Cats, for our very patient parents.  For years.  We even had seasons.  Summers were for playing outside, but once fall hit, we started rehearsing and making costumes and creating set pieces for our "stage."  I knew all the words and dance moves to every song.  I can still probably sing all of the songs.  I suppose it's a good drunken party trick nowadays.  I was particularly drawn to Bombalurina, and performing her sexy number was my favorite, probably a gateway drug to burlesque, I suppose!  

 

top(similar) + jeans + blazer(similar + similar)/courtesy of modcloth  necklace/courtesy of noonday collection :: glasses/courtesy of bonlook bag(similar)/courtesy of fossil :: shoes/courtesy of baliELF 
This outfit is just a slightly more fancy version of the first outfit in the back to basics series.  I'm unintentionally also remixing this blazer a ton during this series as well.  It's not really a standard basic, though a good blazer is definitely a solid basic.  I used to have a basic blazer but I don't know where it ended up.  I actually really like getting little boys' blazers from the thrift stores.  Their arms are too short, but I always roll up the sleeves anyway.  I love them because the fit is a little slimmer and they're slightly shorter. 

BACK TO BASICS // black dress five

This last iteration of the black dress is pretty "northwest girl."  90% of the outfits that don't make it on the blog are composed of this orange flannel and jeans.  This weekend has been gloriously sunny and warm, but it's supposed to start raining again on Tuesday, so bare legs will probably be going away until the next summer tease.  Luckily my next back to basics item in the series is jeans, how appropriate.   Dan and I took our bikes out to get beers on the patio of a local bar and it was so nice to just soak up the evening sun wearing shorts and a tank top without needing a sweater or coat to keep warm.  It's easy to forget how magical the summers are here when I'm stuck in the perpetual grey drizzle of the Pacific Northwest winters.  But as soon as the first warm day hits, everyone drags their shorts out of storage and walks down the streets with a big grin, knowing that this is why we slog through the rainy months.

 

dress(similar) + flannel(similar)/thrifted :: tank/courtesy of modcloth  shoes(similar)/kensiegirl :: backpack/courtesy of everlane hat/the north face :: necklace/courtesy of moorea seal 

BACK TO BASICS // black dress four

I know there's this thing where people think bloggers' lives are perfect and pretty and full of free product from sponsors and beautifully lit and shot by professional photographers, but the fact is, sometimes it's shitty.  Sure sometimes it is perfect and pretty and there is the occasional product sent by a sponsor, and yeah, sometimes the lighting works out, but not always.  Yesterday I was a hormonal crazy person who felt like a total and complete failure, sat in the car for 10 minutes trying to figure out where to take outfit photos, decided I was never going to take outfit photos again, got out of the car and stormed into the house, sat morosely at the computer, mumbled responses to Dan, told him he could take the car with his friend and then decided to take the car to grab these pictures instead, like an asshole.  It only took about 10 to 15 minutes to take the photos, but it was still a bitchy thing to leave without saying anything when I'd promised he could have the car.  The smiles in these photos were fake and uncomfortable.  I didn't take the sunglasses off because I didn't want my eyes in the photos because they were lifeless and angry.

Photos are lies sometimes.  Not always intentionally.  But sometimes we don't care to share the ugly backstory.  Real life exists regardless of if you can see the "realness" in the photos.



dress + boots/thrifted :: top/h&m :: necklace/gift :: jacket/courtesy of lulu's shades/courtesy of bonlook

BACK TO BASICS // black dress three

I've been so enjoying the heartfelt and honest discussion in the comments of my last post.  It's been a topic that I've been wanting to write about for months now, and have been slowly writing that post for a while, but after that ad campaign I couldn't put it off any longer.  Sometimes I get into phases of being "over" the blogosphere, but then I realize that the blogosphere is a place where we the people get to fight against what culture and the media tell us we should be or think or believe.  It's finally a place where those who don't have a seat at the table of the gatekeepers of culture get to have a voice.  And surprisingly there are lots of people out here who disagree with what culture deems right and proper and appropriate.  It's an amazing realization to know that you aren't as alone as you thought.  There are other people who've had the same thoughts, been through similar experiences, felt pain and joy, just like you.  It's empowering in a way.  You tend to dismiss your own struggles when you think that you're the only one with XYZ problem.  You think that you're the only one who doesn't have their shit together and that everyone else totally has things figured out way more.  There must be something wrong with you, something different.  But that's a lie.  And I love blogs for exposing that lie.  I love blogs for being authored by real people, not editorial teams.  For the authenticity of being a human being sharing his or her real story.   The more we read other people's stories, the more we realize we're all in this together and it makes us feel less alone and more interested in supporting one another through life, rather than tearing one another down.

 

dress(similar) + sheer dress(similar)/thrifted :: moccasins/minnetonka cuff(similar) + hat(similar)/courtesy of lulu's necklaces/courtesy of adorn by sarah lewis :: rings/thrifted + jewelmint