How To: Heatless Boho Natural Waves

SO I have really long hair (almost to my butt), so I am always trying to do my hair in cute ways that it looks "done" without heat. I have a rule where I do not use heat on my hair more than once per week. I have beautiful, silky, nourished ends, which is very, VERY hard with such long hair!

I also like to add some texture to my hair every once in a while. My natural hair texture is long loose waves, but sometimes, I just want it it look really full. I have a lot of hair, but it is very fine. Also, because my hair is so long, it is heavy and tends to just lay flat on my head.

Anyway, I really love that natural kind of kinky texture. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with it and would make my mom braid my hair into little braids every time I washed my hair. When I took my braids out in the morning, I would have super kinky, big hair. That was a cute look in the '90s when I was a kid (it looked like I took a crimper to my hair and just went NUTS), but this is 2014 and as a 27-year-old young professional, I need a more "mature" version of this style if I am going to keep rockin' it.

So I tried just doing regular braids that were larger versions of the ones I would do as a kid, but the texture wasn't right. It still looked too crimp-y. So then I tried rope braids and voila! It gives a texture that's more of a wave rather than a crimp and because you have to twist the hair to make a rope braid, I got some nice spiral texture, too.

In the photos below, I divided my hair into four sections and rope braided each section. I did not twist or wrap my hair super tight to try to keep the waves from being too tight. However, if the photos below is too much texture for you, just divide your hair into less sections or just do one large rope braid.

I have also included a video below which shows you how to do a rope braid if you do not know how to do one already. This video is how I learned to do it and she also has a ton of other great tutorials for all kinds of different braids and hairstyles.

1. Divide slightly damp hair into desired number of sections and rope braid each section. The more sections you have, the tights your waves will be. So if you want looser waves, divide your hair into less sections or do just one large rope braid. Again, I did 4 sections. Now go to sleep and let your braids work their magic while you slumber! (Please forgive my eyebrows - they are due for a waxing!)
Tip: You may want to add a little bit of frizz serum to your hair before braiding. I use the one by Paul Mitchell.

A close-up of the rope braids

2. In the morning, take out your braids. Gently run your fingers through your hair to separate it - it will still be twisted. I say gently because otherwise you will end up with a frizzy rats nest.
Tip: If hair is still a little damp, blow dry the braids BEFORE taking out the braids. Blow dry on high heat and low fan speed.

Look at the wonderful texture! Such a nice, easy change every now and then from the super sleek Chi straightened look. And it gives your hair a nice break from the high heat!

Also looks great in a cute pony. . .

Style it and makes a great down-do that translates well for a casual, but done office look

One more shot of the texture!

Video: How to do a rope braid by Bebexo

 

DIY Project: Dried Flower Petal Candle Holder

Every time I get flowers, especially from Joseph, I always want to keep them in some sort of way. I am a very sentimental person and feel very guilty about throwing things away that have meaning. However, I am also realistic and realize that I cannot have bunches upon bunches of stems of flowers that have been hung upside down to dry just lying around everywhere.

This issue of throwing away flowers came up again after my wedding. Flowers for a wedding can cost a small fortune and even though I think I got a pretty good deal for only $1275, that is still a lot of money to spend on things that are disposable and going to die.

After the wedding, we were stuck with every single centerpiece, along with the giant arrangements for the ceremony. People did not take anything home because they really had no way of transporting the flowers because they were asked not to take the vases. So, we got stuck with all of them.

We were going to donate all of the flowers to a nursing home or hospital or something, but being so tired after the wedding, we got lazy and the flowers started dying. I didn't want to donate almost dead flowers. Because the flowers were almost dead, I couldn't really send them away for preservation either. Besides, that is really expensive and we were tapped after the wedding! . . . And still are, sadly.

So my aunt, who is an interior decorator, sat down with me to try to figure out what we could do with the flowers so that they did not just end up in the dumpster. Upon brainstorming together, we came up with getting a tall vase from Michael's or Homegoods or wherever, and filling it with the dried petals. Then, top the filled vase with a glass candle saucer to make it a candle holder. So I got to work!

It was inexpensive compared to sending off the flowers for preservation, which can be $300-$1,500+

Materials

1. 10 lbs. (two 5lb boxes) of silica gel, which can be found at any craft store in the floral department. I think it was $16.99 per box at Michael's, but I used a 40% off coupon for each box, making the total cost about $20 for both boxes.

2. A tall vase. Again, I went to Michael's. The vase was $14.99 and once again, I used a 40% off coupon, which brought the price to about $9.

3. A glass candle holder saucer. Once again, Michael's. It was $2.99 - pretty cheap.

4. Flower petals - you don't need many. There is a lot of space between petals. However, you can stuff a lot in there as well. More on that later.

5. A candle

6. Hot glue

7. Shoebox sized airtight containers - 1 for each type of flower you have ($1.49 each at Big Lots - I needed 4) 

8. Colander/pasta stainer

Instructions:

1.  Dismantle your flowers and separate the different types of petals into different airtight containers
- Spread a thin layer of the silica gel on the bottom of each container before placing your flowers in them. 

2. Dry your flowers
- You cannot just stuff flower petals into a vase without drying them. You will end up with a brown slimy mess as they decompose and break down. Drying them with silica gel will not only preserve their color pretty well, but it also dries out the flowers by drawing out all of the moisture so they don't turn into brown slime. 
- Once your flower petals are in the airtight containers, cover the petals with silica gel. Make sure to shake the container a bit so the silica gel gets in between the petals. You want the gel to get into as many cracks as possible so that it makes contact with every petal. Otherwise, some of your petals will turn into that slimy brown goop I mentioned earlier. 
- Place the lids on your containers. Let your petals sit in the containers with the silica gel for at least 5 days. You can check on your petals to see if they are dry before the 5 days are up. Even though mine felt dry, I just thought I was better safe than sorry by letting them dry some more. 
-  Put a colander over an empty container and pour the petals and silica gel into it. You are not going to completely get rid of all the silica gel, but that's OK. Just get most of it off the petals. Keep the leftover silica gel - you can reuse it for a future project!

This is what the box of silica gel looks like - again, it is in the floral department of any craft store

Spread silica gel in the bottom of containers, then add petals

Spread the silica gel over the petals and shake - make sure to cover well!

This is what your petals will look like once dried and the silica gel strained into another container

3. Get your vase and start stuffing it by layering your different petals
- If you don't have a ton of flowers, that is OK! The vase fills up pretty fast if you don't press the flowers down into the vase. However, if you have a ton of flowers like I did, you can press them to the bottom to get rid of the air and empty space between the petals. My vase was kind of tall, so I used a broomstick to do this.

Look at all that beautiful texture!

4. Glue your saucer onto the top of your vase

 5. Get a candle - you're done! (I need to get a different candle, but I needed to take a picture with something!)

And that's it! It is a little time consuming and not something that can be done in a weekend due to the drying process. However, this is a very easy project that even the inexperienced crafter can do (in my opinions).   Also, this is a great way to get to enjoy your flowers from all of those special occasions every day. And, the best part, this project is a hell of a lot cheaper than having your flowers preserved - and they will last forever!