Home Maid Simple

Tag: Hair

  • Donating Hair

    Donating Hair

    Goodness I feel it’s been awhile since we’ve chatted. School is winding down for the kids, but that means life is picking up for me. More kids, more entertainment ideas to come up with, and just more awareness around the house will be required these upcoming months. I’ve got some great summer ideas coming up for you, but today I want to talk about my 2 awesome oldest.

    Princess V and Princess C decided one day last week they wanted their hair cut. We’ve talked about it often before, usually concluding that Princess V wasn’t quite ready to emotionally let go of her hair, and mom being emotionally attached to Princess C’s hair.

    This time though, we said OK! I took Princess C out just the 2 of us one Saturday morning, to cut her hair. We weren’t just going to let it fall to the ground though. Oh no! This girl wanted to donate her hair to help kids without hair. We’ve recently told her how at 1 years old about a 1 inch patch of her hair just fell out. A diagnosis of Alopecia Areata had Mark and I vowing to grow her hair out forever like Rapunzel. After 6 years with no recurrence though, choosing to give her hair to someone who may be currently suffering a similar disease was most definitely an option.

    We started to get a little sad when the first pig tail began to be cut, but by the end she was all smiles again and asking for a picture with the hairdresser. She couldn’t wait to come home and send her hair out to someone! 
    total length cut – 12 inches
    The following week Dad took Princess V for a haircut. She was hoping for about the same length as her sister, but a miscommunication occurred and her hair came out much shorter. I received a phone call from her just in tears. Not sure what else to do I texted her best friends mom and asked if she could let her daughter know about the hair cut and to help her be brave in school the next day. 
    Through a big awesome support system including her BFF and teacher, she went to school and came home not nearly as upset as the first day. 
    total length cut – 14 inches

    Despite her look, Princess C is excited about donating her hair. She was just tired of waiting for Prinecss V to put a smile on. We finally got a beautiful smile from her and lost the other smile. Kids.

    So where are we donating their hair? I’ve heard some unsatisfactory things about an organization we use to donate to, so we did some more research. We’ve decided to send the Princesses hair to

    This non-profit works to help kids who may financially be unable to afford wigs, cover those costs. Did you know it costs approximately $1800 to complete one hair replacement? That’s quite a bit for hair, but what a boost of confidence hair makes when you’re already suffering an illness. If your hair isn’t long enough to donate, or you prefer not to cut it, please consider making a monetary donation instead.
  • Elsa and Anna Hairstyles from Frozen

    Elsa and Anna Hairstyles from Frozen

    This post contains affiliate links

    Are your kids still obsessed with Frozen?  Mine are, though we definitely aren’t watching it as frequent anymore. The songs, clothes and hairstyles are still a big hit however. I was thrilled when I came across these easy tutorials for Anna’s and Elsa’s hairstyles!  Check them out, and then visit Zulily for their current Frozen Sale.

  • Hair Springs – a new Hair Accessory and a #giveaway

    Hair Springs – a new Hair Accessory and a #giveaway

    I received products mentioned in this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

    In an effort to be more present in my children’s daily lives, I’ve taken to doing their hair more often. I have some fun memories of my own mom brushing out my hair, and putting it in curlers at night. I remember complaining that the curlers hurt every time, but loving the outcome the next morning.
    Then there was one summer we spent at my aunt’s and I recall how fun it was to sit with my cousins in their mom’s bathroom while she put pretty ribbons in our hair.

    Over the weekend I decided to try out a new product called Hair Springs that I thought the girls would really enjoy. These are fun little springs with colored beads in the end. They are both functional and cute – just what every little girl and mom wants!

    My girls all have very different types of hair, so we did a bit of a test to see how well and in what ways the Hair Springs would work best for each of them.

    1. Princess V has some thick, but beautifully straight hair. She doesn’t like to do a lot of fancy things with her hair, so we do a lot of ponytails. With her thick hair, it often leaves weird little bubbles of hair on the top of her head. Our hope was the hairsprings would help tame the hair bubbles, while giving her a simple colorful addition to her ponytail.
      As you can tell the Hair Springs helped pull the bubbles back so the front of her hair was more smooth. Success!
    2. For Princess C we weren’t sure the Hair Springs would do much. Her hair is much more thin, though she has a lot of it. She is my flip flop child – some days it needs to be fancy, and others she wants it simple. So we tried these out with some pig tails. It’s a fun hair do that really matches her personality! The Hair Springs seemed like they might not stick in her thin hair, but they did. 
    3. Princess R now – well she is a riot. She cut her hair once…or maybe even multiple times, I’m losing track at this point with the many hair and scissor incidents we’ve had. She always wants something really fancy, but until just recently her hair has been too short. I decided for her hair the Hair Springs were going to work better as decoration then functional. I’ve seen a couple different crown type styles lately, and decided to see if I could recreate one without using a tutorial (because that’s just how I roll). Oh my word, her crown turned out so perfect, and the Hair Springs added a nice touch to look like jewels on the crown. 
    One thing you should know about the Hair Springs is that they can easily get stuck in the hair. I probably won’t use these on a day where I know the kids are going to be extremely active. However, for days like church, these are going to be a nice addition to our hair accessories. 

    Connect with My Hair Springs 
    Website  * Blog  *  Facebook

    GIVEAWAY!
    My Hair Springs wants to give one of my readers their own set of 6 Hair Springs!
    Open to US residents only. 
    Winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning email before a new winner is chosen. 
    This giveaway is in no way affiliated with facebook, or any other social media outlets. 

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

  • Styling Facial Hair #FathersDay

    Styling Facial Hair #FathersDay

    *I received products for review. All opinions are 100% my own and Mark’s*

    Ever since I’ve known Mark he’s had a thing for facial hair. I grew up with clean shaven men, so it seemed weird to me when Mark liked to sport around different facial hair styles. One of the first times we hugged, I remember his prickly whiskers tickling my neck. I remember just laughing at how they felt. 
    Well over the years, I’ve let him experiment, without too much feedback. We have a saying here “it’s your hair, do what you want with it”.  Which means I can cut or grow my hair how I want it, and he can do the same with his, including facial hair. Just check out some of these different styles he’s sported!
    Mark has obviously rocked out in some fun styles, and some crazy ones as well. The key for him, is having fun with it, and experimenting. I asked Mark for a few tips to share with you after he also tried out the H30 and H50 Razors from 800razors.com.  Here’s what Mark had to say – 
    – The number of blades doesn’t really matter. You need to find a razor that suits you, and then stick with it. (He found the 3 blade, H30, easier to use, while the 5 blade H50 was too bulky and missed a number of hairs).

    – Shaving is all about Moisturizing.

    – To avoid razor burn use the right moisturizer, facial or hair conditioner. I personally prefer and use Hair conditioner, and rarely if ever get razor burn.

    – Apply the conditioner, then the shaving cream and shave away. 

    – Remember to have fun with it, and try different experiments. If it doesn’t work out, you can always shave it all off, and regrow. 
    So to all the Dads out there, if you’ve ever wanted to try growing some facial hair like Seneca Crane (Hunger Games), now you know how an expert facial hair artist gets his looks! Although, ps. Mr Crane’s was painted on…but go ahead, give it a try!
    In a post about facial hair, I can’t help but also mention the Man Beard, recently made popular by Duck Dynasty. I am a fan of the show, but cringe every time I see those so called Man Beards. Mark has talked about growing his own Man Beard since we started the show, and I give him our usual response “It’s your hair, you can do what you want…..but don’t expect me to kiss you”.  
    If you have similar feelings to my own, razors would make a great Fathers Day gift! One thing we do love about the H30 and H50, is their cost comparison. These blades are American made, comparable to the Mach3 and Fusion razors, but for half the cost.
    *We received razors from 800razors.com to try out. All thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.
  • First Haircut {Wordless Wednesday}

    First Haircut {Wordless Wednesday}

    I’m one of those lucky moms who give birth to hairy babies. They always have a head full of hair. Prince L was no exception. Being our first boy, meant a haircut sooner than our girls got. Sunday night, Prince L had some Daddy bonding time.  Mark was needing a haircut, so he cut his own hair, and decided what the heck. Prince L is now sporting a cool dude haircut, that really makes him look more boyish, and older.

    It would also appear that his hair is going blond now. Maybe it’s just the lighting on short hair though.

  • The Girly Girl in me {Haircoverings Review and Giveaway}

    The Girly Girl in me {Haircoverings Review and Giveaway}

    I’ve told you all how I’m no girly girl.

    At least I wasn’t for a long time. I considered myself a tomboy. I enjoyed getting out and getting dirty. Playing with the boys. I have 2 older brothers that I always looked up to, and wanted to be like them.

    I don’t wear makeup. I’m not a very good hair-doer (unless I spend uber amounts of time I don’t have to get it right).   And, I’m just not very stylish. I’m working on that one though. I want more cute and fun styles.

    I want my girls to have a sense of fashion that their mother lacks. So they can put themselves together, look nice, but also value themselves for who they are, not what the look like. The joys of trying to balance life and values.

    I was really excited to get to review a product from HairCoverings.com again (they sent my girls a pretty hat and flower clip last year).  This year I was looking more for me. I wanted something to add, that still kept me, me.  I’m pretty happy with this black scarf I received. Since it’s black I can pair it with just about any outfit for a little dressier feel. Despite it’s thin feel, it actually kept my neck nice and warm on a cold night.

    As you can probably guess, my oldest is quite the girly girl. I received the black scarf just in time to wear to her ballet recital. 
    Princess V absolutely loves dancing, and really enjoys her new dance studio (I was so glad we found one in the area thanks to TimeDog).  You can see she is quite the Diva, as she leaves the stage waving to her fans.

    I love the wide range of products I can get from HairCoverings.com as well as the reasonable pricing. I have a feeling I’ll be visiting them many times over the years for all my girly girl needs. 

    *I have to add though, working with their PR was a bit confusing at times, but everything fell into place, and overall I am happy to work with them. 

    20% OFF
    Home Maid Simple readers can get 20% OFF their order through 12/31/12 with code
    blog1231
     
     
    
    Giveaway
    1 Reader will receive a Surprise box of Hair Items worth $25
    Open to US residents 18+
    Use the Rafflecopter to enter
    Giveaway ends Dec 31st
     
     
     
    *I received products mentioned above to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
    
  • Wordless Wednesday – When kids get the scissors

    Wordless Wednesday – When kids get the scissors

    Thankfully this outcome turned out much better than our last scissor/hair escapade.
  • Haircoverings.com Review and Giveaway!

    Haircoverings.com Review and Giveaway!

    I had a wonderful opportunity to review Haircoverings.com.  An online store for all your hair needs!  We got to review a Little Girls Hat with Flower, and a Snood.  I love these products!!  I was never really a girly girl, but then I grew up and gave birth to 3 girls.  After 3 girls, well pink starts to grow on you, and you want to play with their hair all the time, and dress them up like little dolls.

    When I first opened the package with our hair accessories Princess V yanks off her hat gives it to Princess C saying “Here, you can wear my hat!” followed by “Mommy I want to wear that one!!”  So of course I put it right on her (just so you know, Princess C is perfectly content with the snow hat she was just given).  It was so cute, and she fell in love!  It also happened to be a nice day that day (the weather needs to make up it’s mind!), so we headed out to a park.  Isn’t she just adorable!
    One thing I really love about this hat, is it fits both girls and can be worn without the flower as well.  You can take the flower off and there is no tell tale place saying something should be there. Which also allows for interchanging flowers and bows!!  The flower also can be worn alone – at the top of a pony tail or just on top of a baby’s head (we did that this last Sunday and it was so cute on the baby’s head). The hat itself is beautifully crocheted, and the flower holds up to a baby yanking it off her head consistently.

    Next we got a snood. The name of this just really intrigued me.  I had never heard of a snood before (we’ll call that one on culture and lack of girly interest).  So I googled it.  Snoods are pretty cool! It’s what ladies use to wear to keep their long hair up, instead of having to make it all fancy! They seemed to mostly wear them with hats.  So it’s a historical thing, my kind of product! In todays society we simply call them hairnets.  I ‘m definitely preferring the word Snood to hairnet.  Now granted my hair is not really long enough for a snood to hold it up, but it still works wonders for me! I wear it when I cook to help keep my hair out of the food, and I can wear it when I breastfeed my baby.  You see, the baby LOVES pulling on my hair while she eats. I actually cut my hair to try and keep her from grabbing it, but no such luck, she still manages to get some.  These are also crocheted, but you can also buy some sequined snoods!
    Besides these products, haircoverings.com also sells hair rollers, mirrors, combs/brushes, scarves, turbans, bandana’s and headbands!  They really have all your hair needs in one place!

    Giveaway time!
    Haircoverings.com is giving one lucky reader a box of hair accessories worth $25!  You know you want this!  
    Open WORLDWIDE!!! Ends 5/2
    Mandatory Entry
    Visit Haircoverings.com and tell me which products you would like to try. Leave an email so I can contact the winner.
    Extra Entries
    (leave one comment per entry)
    1.d “http://www.HairCoverings.com” to your blogroll 
    2. Follow The Hair Coverings Blog on GFC 
    3. Follow The Hair Coverings on Networked Blogs
    4. Add the Hair Product Blog to your blogroll 
    5. Bookmark on on Delicious 
    6. Follow Hair Coverings on twitter: 
    7. Subscribe to Hair Coverings Blog feed 
    8. Fan Hair Coverings on Facebook 
    9. Follow Home Maid Simple on GFC (right side bar)
    10. Follow Home Maid Simple on twitter
    *I was not financially compensated for this review.  I did receive some hair products to use for the review. All opinions are my own.