I love these....

and not for the reasons you think!

Click here and then come back to me....

Up front I apologize...this is probably politically incorrect, rude, unacceptable to some...if so, close out now.  No hard feelings. 

My interpretation of the Easy Summer Styles:

1.  The Spout:  Really?!??!  I thought this was just an attempt to get that in-style feather look without having to pay for the actual feathers!

2.  The Daily Double:
Contestant: Alex, I'd like 80's Do's for $600, please.
Alex Trebec: Thank you, Contestant!  Your answer is: Two ponytails and a Poof.
Contestant: The Daily Double....he, he, he....I used to wear my hair like that when I was 12!!!

3.  The Twists:  Ma, Pa is looking fer ya out at the barn.  Think he needs some cows milked...I mean, unless you're on the beach or at the lake or some other body of water - then this look is totally acceptable!

4.  The Sidewinder:  I do this when driving down the road, out of boredom.  And I've never quite been able to take a piece of hair from the ponytail and wrap it around and make it look that good...and I have a TON of hair!

5.  The Cheerleader:  Actually, The I dream of Jeannie would be more accurate!  If you actually wore this while cheering (or any other activity) your mom would yell "You poke your eye out"!!!!

No really, you CAN do this at home, really...

This is a weird week.
I've been lazy and antsy all at once.  Weird, right?
I get up later and later.  I've started skipiing hte Avachi Boost Spray, for the sole reason that it takes a minute to spray it in and that minute is necessary for attmpting to get out the door on time!  I haven't done dishes once.  I've only done one load of laundry - well, 1 1/2 loads...second one is dry and in the dryer but not folded or hung up.  I'm not busy at work.  I'm tired but I imagine if I laid down, I'd jump back up really quickly.
Huh?!??! 

Anyway....my hair.  It looks great today...see? Nice and shiny and healthy....yay!

This weekend is going to be a huge challenge for so many reasons...Florida water, Florida humidity, travelling in general, Florida heat, and, I'm afraid, most of all: LAZINESS....!!!!

Who's that girl with the Fake Crown and the curlie ques?

I am currently a broke-ass-biotch. 
Seriously. 
I am. 

I spent $$ on Miranda Lambert tickets (which was a great show, by the way and totally worth all the sweat I produced to see her in concert.).  I spent $$ on this and that and lunch and things are somewhat tight.  So when Saturday rolled around and Chris and I wanted to spend a little time with nature, I knew I'd need a drinking beverage.  What do I LOVE to drink?  Go ahead and guess what the poor-not-so-little-broke-girl- with-too-many-bills likes to drink....Crown Royal and diet coke (or cranberry and lime, but today, diet coke)!  So...instead, what does she get?  Fake Crown, of course!  Honestly at this point in time, I have no idea what the actual name of the stuff is called since it's been in and out of so many coolers that the cheap ass wrapper has long been gone but it's a Canadian Whiskey and a HUGE bottle of the stuff costs the same as the teeny-tiny bottle of Crown....so broke girl, she gets the Fake Crown. 

Now add to that Fake Crown and diet coke, some fishing, some friends and some four wheelers and you have yourself one hot mess!

Saturday morning, Chris and I got our stuff ready to go to the Camphouse for the day/night to fish and hang out with a couple of friends.  As I wandered around the house, I noticed the murky gray clouds forming outside...hmmm, bet the humidity is kicking today...so after my Avachi wash and condition, I go to the vanity where I would normally painstakingly blow dry and flat iron my hair, but not today.  Instead today, I cheat...sort of.  I put some Avachi Kiwi Miracle Oil in my hair and then I put in some B&b gel (WHAT?!?!? It's the first time I've cheated since I started this experiment and...well, read on) and then as it dried a little I didn't like the way it was going, so I went back to the shower, squeezed out a dab or two of Nourishing Avachi Conditioner, put it in my hair and left it.  I left the house with wet hair...oh stop with the shock...I was saving time!

We stopped at our favorite produce stand, got some gas for the truck and turned up Highway 43 towards the camp house...and all of the sudden, we are surrounded by this wall of rain.  It was awful.  It rained so hard that even the people who turned on their flashers AND lights could not be seen. 

But we drove on...and then we stopped at a box and picked up a movie since you can't fish in the rain (technically you can but I will not).  As soon as Chris climbed back in the truck, it stopped raining.  Oh well...The Lincoln Lawyer will wait.  Then we went by the Twice the Ice machine to get Twice the Ice for Half the Price (or at least that's what I like to say...not sure if it's actually true...) and continued our journey to the camp house. 

By now, my hair is mostly dry and has been pulled into a knot on top of my head, a couple of ponytails and a bun.  And it's been down and I've messed with it considerably.  Upon a quick peek at my hair in the mirror before we head to the pond, I see that despite all my fussing, my hair actually looks decent.  Now, at this point, you might say "well, duh, you cheated". 

But I'm gonna go with "It was the Avachi". 

So, anyhow, we went to the pond and fished for a few hours.  We got sprinkled on, we sweated, I laid down on the wooden pier and took a nap, we ran from wasps, sweat some more and then we started drinking.  A couple of friends showed up (4 hours later than we thought, but at least they came) and the drinking continued.  We packed up our bait and tackle and our fresh catch (11 thankyouverymuch bass and catfish) and headed up to the camp house to clean the fish, cook dinner and DRINK. 



Not really sure what type of fish this is, but he seemed to enjoy the Photo session...no worries he lives to swim again (we threw him back to catch another day)



Again, I sneak a peek at my hair in the truck mirror...hmmm, not bad looking but I bet it smells like sweat and fish!!!  And I was right - it did.  But it looked good. 



So we cleaned fish, cooked and ate dinner, drank some more, and then rode 4 wheelers (Kids...don't do this at home!) until 3 in the morning! Would you believe that my hair looked good when we came in?  It smelled atrocious but it had held the curls and even curled a little more.  And I had little ringlets all around my face...my old products would have done that to an extent...but then I cheated so...

Fast forward to Sunday afternoon....we got home only to discover that our AC was not blowing cold air and the temperature in the house was steadily rising.  We had a birthday party to go to for our nephew and both needed showers..."great, this is gonna suck".  Well, Chris is the lucky one.  He shaves his head so he had no hair worries.  But I cringed, thinking "wonderful, now I'm gonna have to go to a family event with funky hair, hmm, oh well". 

So I hopped in the shower, washed more of the funk out, conditioned AND I was heavy handed with the conditioner, using extra and combing it through with a wide tooth comb (that I keep in the shower) and letting it stay in for a little longer than normal before I rinsed.  Then I rinsed and towel dried and added a little more of that Avachi Nourishing Conditioner before heading off to sweat.  I also added some Avachi Kiwi Miracle Oil before leaving the sweat box (aka my house). 

My hair felt amazing!  My hair looked even better! 

So, I guess Avachi is getting some kudos for this weekend on my head, 'cause I was not nice, did not play fair and had less than stellar conditions to work with...and still it was good.  And I got compliments...na-nanny-boo-boo!!

Important Info that YOU need to know...

Ha! Kidding....sort of, but I made you look!!

I started this part a while back and then dropped it, but it makes sense to tell you...so here it is.

I get my Avachi products from Beauty Works in Tuscaloosa, AL and you can too!  You can call them at 205-556-3183.  They have a Facebook page HERE with all of their info on it including brands they carry (sorry no web page).  They can and will ship to most anyone in the United States and can sometimes special order items for you.  So, if you want it, call them!

I have long naturally brown hair with some gray and lots and lots of wave, closer to curls but now that I'm sporting the longer do the curl is more wavy.  I color my hair.  I have Brazilian Blow-out in my hair during the humid summer and Indian summer months of the South.  I use heat on my hair nearly every day.  I'm not big on stylish updos or using tons of products daily.  I like to be able to get up (late), wash my hair, condition it, dry it and do some light touch ups with a my trusty flat iron (and apply make-up and get dressed) in a short amount of time.  I'm not fussy, not plain, just like it simple.

One last thing before I go-go...

On Saturday, during the Khaki Disaster, I did mess with my second day hair a lot.  And it got a little sweaty, survived a little light rain, tons of ponytailing and de-ponytailing, even a few tears...and it still felt good when I got back home.  In fact, I commented on it to Chris.  Just ask him...well, next time you see him.

I did use the Avachi Power Clenz this weekend, when I finally got around to washing my hair.  You know, right before I went swimming.  Therefore, my opinion is that I have no opinion for now.

...but I did just realize that I have spellcheck on the blog...woot woot {fist pump}!

I’m coming to get you, this Estate Sale is awesome…(aka, The Khaki Disaster)

So Saturday, I was sitting at my house, enjoying leftover calzone and pondering the wonders of my second round of second day hair.  I was thinking “Wow, Avachi has my hair still looking and feeling good and it’s not a grease pit, wow” when my cell phone rings…it’s Cole and she’s all: “I’m at my second Estate Sale today and there’s so much stuff in here, it's awesome, I’m coming to get you”…alright, sounds fun and I’ve got decent enough hair, so I throw on some flip flops, kennel the dog and meet her out front.

As we pull out of the neighborhood, she mentions needing to run to the mall to buy some khakis for her new job.  Well, I remember that the day before I had seen some coupons in the paper for 20% extra off at The Large Department Store (which is the only place in our mall that is usually worth going into and that is sometimes questionable, but then I’m not a shopper, …) so I suggest running to my office to pick them up. 

Now, some background, my office is not close to the mall, granted it’s not that far either and it is in the opposite direction, but still, on a bad day, it’s 15 minutes from there to the mall.  On the way there, Cole notices some tornado damage (we live in Tuscaloosa, AL and April 27, 2011 is a day we will never forget) and is all “Whoa, I didn’t know it extended this far out of town” and I’m like “Yep, that’s pretty much the beginning of our damage area and you can drive the track all the way across town starting here” and she’s like “What?  No way.  I had no idea. I haven’t seen this yet.”  So I tell her we’ll head back to town that way if she wants to after we grab the coupons. 

**Knowing Cole and what she did after the tornado, finding out that she wasn’t aware of the damage outside of Alberta City and 15^th Street and even Rosedale, wasn’t too much of a shock.  She did spend many, many hours of many days doing volunteer work in some of the hardest hit areas of Tuscaloosa, but she was within a small area of town, she didn’t have tv (no power) and was more in clean-up and help mode than listening to all of the damage stories (which is more than anyone can comprehend all at once) and she’s seen a lot of the other damage by the mere fact that there is no way to go across town without seeing it, but out here, there’s no reason for the normal everyday traveler to pass by.**

Anyhow, on the way back towards the city, we took the back roads so she could see the path of the tornado.  Awestruck, amazed, shocked, saddened…all words that barely begin to encompass the emotion surrounding this little detour.  Then we finally wove our way to the mall, after having welled up with tears the closer we got to the mall…yes, I am retarded but like I said, it’s almost too much to comprehend.  So we park, I check my eyes and face for tell-tale signs of tears, pull my hair back into a low, loose pony tail and head inside to buy a pair of khakis.  Easy, right?

We walked from one side of The Large Department Store to the other and found exactly 2 displays with khakis and one of the displays was immediately ruled out due to the type of fabric – they were dress pants, not actual khakis.  And the second display, well, let’s just say that I’m pretty sure than in order to even try them on, you had to have an id stating that you were, in fact, above age 65.  So in an effort to hurry, we decide to ditch the 20% off coupons and move on to another store.  My hair went into a slightly higher, tighter ponytail.

We made our way through the mall to a smaller chain, known for casual wear, again, exactly two types of khakis on display…hmmmm…I’m beginning to see a pattern, I think?!?!?!  So at least, at this place, the khakis are cute and Cole grabs a couple of pairs in a couple of sizes and runs into a fitting room.  I, on the other hand, pull my hair into a new pony tail, do a little poof at the crown and wait.  She emerges…pair one, umm, no.  Larger size of pair one, ummm, no.  Pair two, ummm, no.  Larger size pair two, forget it.  It’s like these khakis were made for some oddly shaped gourd, not a woman! 

So we move on to another small chain store and much to our non-surprise, guess what?  They had 2 types of khakis!  Again she grabs a couple of sizes and dashes into the fitting room.  As I wander the floor and check out the cute new Fall line, pull my hair out of the ponytail and into a loose bun, Cole emerges from the fitting room, with this disgusted look on her face.  So I made my way over to her and laugh…hideous is the only word I can give for these khakis!  I mean seriously, what is the deal?  She’s not oddly shaped, in fact, I would think she’d be an easy person to shop for as far as sizing goes!  I mean seriously, this is getting ridiculous!  We should have had her try on some black pants or jeans to see if all of the pants were like that or just khaki ones!

So in Utter Mall Disgust, we race back across the mall, stopping in the Large Department Store again to oogle over some purses and sunglasses. 

“Well”, Cole says “let’s go to that store” pointing across the highway to the new Outdoor Shopping Village.  She says it in a tone of desperation, like this is it, the Last Destination on this crazy khaki hunt.  So we zigzag across the parking lot, cross the highway and squeeze into one of the too tight parking places. 

As we are walking from the car to the store, we both mumble about the fiery July heat and I pull my hair again into a new ponytail, catching up any tendrils that have worked their way loose from the bun, which was not many...as I type this I'm beginning to think this is just a nervous habit more than anything. 

We rush around the store, grab up the only pair of khakis we can find in the women’s section and when I say only, I mean the only pair that wasn’t capris or cargo or linen or men’s, girls or boys.  The only pair of khakis in the women’s section of this particular Larger, ObNoxiously Advertised Chain of Stores.  We hunt down the fitting room and Cole snags a room. 

I sit down on the conveniently located bench and begin people watching. 

Then I hear this loud mix of a laugh and a grunt and the word “Seriously?!?!?” (you know where the voice goes up at the end of the , uh-oh…what now?  Cole bursts out of the dressing room looks up and down the aisle and mouths the words “what the fuck” to me.  I immediately look down at the pants and actually think they don’t look too bad, actually they look pretty good…so in my confusion, I’m like “what?”…Cole walks over to me, lifts her shirt and shows me the closure on the pants.  They zip up and at the top they are supposed to have those 2 hooks that clasp together to hold the pants closed, only the hardware is only on one side (and here is where I should have whipped out the handy smart phone and taken a picture to load here, but I didn’t and it sucks)…there were no hooks to clasp into the closure!  And then she shows me the other pair of pants she had taken into the room with her and they are the same way!  What the fuck indeed.

As quickly as possible, we rush out of there, disgusted, tired of shopping and now sweating again in the heat.  I’m thinking we are about to head over to the Estate Sale, nope, “let’s go see if there are any townhouses for lease in B**** C****”.  So we journey across town, ride through that neighborhood and several others, stopping along the way to get some realtor phone numbers and flyers so Cole can inquire further into these places later.  It starts raining.  But there was one more neighborhood that I was sure Cole would love, but may not know about, so I pointed the Lexus (not mine, by the way) in that direction…we rode through it about 3 different ways and scooped up 2 new flyers.  Score!  At least we got something out of this disaster. 

I looked at the clock, like it hadn’t been there in front of me the whole time….

it’s almost 5…

hmmm, guess I’ll make that Estate Sale tomorrow…

maybe…

Better late, than Never, right?!?!? (Mono still sucks)

So...hi there.  I'm really sorry about my tardiness in getting this loaded up, but as I previously mentioned: Mono sucks.

I took some pictures of the Avachi products that I've started this experiment with.  I grouped them according to use...because it was easier since I'd already put them in their respective places and walking back and forth and getting them into one shot, well, it was more that my mono striken, swimming thoughts could handle all at once.

So, first up...the shower products!

I'm using a daily Shampoo called Replenish - it's clear and smells clean, I really don't have another description for it, just clean, which is good since that's what it's supposed to do!  And for a daily Conditioner, I'm using Nourish, which is slightly yellow and has a faint flower smell, but nothing too overwhelming.  Together, they rock!  I love the way my hair feels - even when still wet.  It feels strong and healthy.  And it smells good, but again, not an overwhelming scent, just clean.  I haven't used the blue Shampoo, Power Clenz, yet; it's the once-week-to-get-the-junk-out Shampoo.  Kelly says it's great, and she rocks so...it's on her rec that I'm trying it.  Maybe I'll test it this weekend!

And here's the styling product pic:

That taller bottle is Boost, for volume.  I sprayed all over my hair, especially the underneath layers, when it was wet along with a few drops of the Shine (small bottle with dropper top, clear, whitish color) before using my Pink CHI blow dryer and my black and red CHI Flat Iron for touch ups (because I have no skill with round brush and blow dryer).  I should have taken a picture before I got to work and got all rained on...my hair looked good, felt good, acted right, you know, until it got wet in the rain, running to my car!!!

And actually, I'm now on Day 3 of the actual project.  I loved Day 1, Day 2 - I had second day hair because I was way too lazy to get up in time to wash, dry, style before work and now on Day 3, I'm still loving this combo of products.  Although, I can tell you from previous experience, that the Kiwi Plus volume line of products would be really enhanced by using the Boost before styling too!

P.S.  If you look in the Styling products pic, between the small round mirrors (don't know why 2 are out but whatever), you'll see the Avachi Dry Skin Therapy Lotion.  It rocks.  For Sure.

Mono sucks...

So I haven't mentioned this, but I have mono.
And it sucks.
I feel like doing nothing.
I know there are things to be done, but I can't bring myself to do them.
So...that said, I took a picture or two of the shampoos and conditioner, but not the styking products.  And I haven't written the blog.  Haven't had the energy to be "that girl" today...so I apologize...
~More tomorrow~!

Getting my Hair in order...

So seriously, the other day, I mentioned needing to get a hair cut, I wasn't kidding!  It had been way too long!  I had dead ends, split ends and a grown out do that was looking frightful.  So Saturday, I went to Beauty Works to get the situation rectified! I walked through the door requesting a cut/trim and ended up with a cut, touched up roots and highlights!  As much as I love some Hair Products, I hate the salon.  Which, in a way, is stupid since I have such access with Beauty Works...I think I just hate sitting there.  I mean seriously, I love the way a french manicure looks, but I absolutely HATE going to get my nails done.  While I am there I'm fidgety and thinking of the 50 things that i could be doing instead...and it never lasts as long nor looks as good as I want it to.  Anyway, I maximized my time Saturday, since I didn't have anything else to do, and went for the full works: cut, color and highlights.  And I must say, it looks pretty good!! **Woot, woot...props to Kelly!**

So....now that the state of the Hair has been addressed,  I can start this project with a clean slate.  A fresh start, if you will.  All of the Avachi products I have say color safe, which is another topic to add to my test.  What does my test consist of and why?
1.  Does using one brand have any benefit for your hair?  I want to know if there is any benefit to using only one brand.  you know, they always make a shampoo/condish and some sort of product to help with one thing, like volume or smoothness.  I need VOLUME and SMOOTHNESS, so if I stay in the same family of products will they work together better than mixing Bumble+bumble and Redken or will be be about the same.
2.  Does Avachi have the "it" of the big brands?  I've tried various products in their line and liked them for their smell, how well they work but the branding is sort of plain.  So, with a study of the products and how they work only, do they work as well as or better or worse than the big brands?
3.  Does my hair look/feel/smell good?  Plain and simple...do I get compliments?  Do I feel good about my hair? 
4.  How does my hair hold up to the products?  Has the color held longer or washed out quicker?  This one is self explanatory...just gonna test it for 6 weeks with only the Avachi brand.
5.  Is the green movement of buying within 100 miles of your home worth it?  Do I think supporting my fellow Alabamaians is worth how my hair looks?  Or will I go back to the "Hollywood" and "NYC" products? 
6.  Why? Why not?  I've tried several products, really liked them and I'm curious as to why they are not more popular.  The Kiwi shampoo/conditioner made my hair smell great, added volume, and did not dry my hair or scalp out. 

I'm not really certain what else I'll add to this little experiment in terms of why I'm doing it.  I'll just add it as I go.  And I've decided that tomorrow is D-day.  I am going to start the only Avachi tomorrow morning.  And I'll post a picture and description of each of the products I'm using tomorrow as well.  And maybe, I'll snap a pic of my hair today, As-Is, for comparison.  So until tomorrow....

An introduction...of sorts

I'm 30-something with long (currently) auburny-brunette locks. My hair is naturally wavy, but on the curlier side of wavy and I prefer to wear it straight ~ of course, since we always want what we don't have! 

My hair hates humidity and I live in the Deep South, so, hmm, are you beginning to see where my experimentation began?!?!?

So I've tried tons of products in even more tons of combinations, way too many to even begin to explain, remember and rehash - some so useless that i wish they'd never have happened in the first place!

I am incredibly fortunate in that my beloved boyfriend/husband/significant other (more on this as we get to know each other, but only 1 man named Chris), owns a Beauty Supply Store, which only enables my addiction!  He lets me try every new product that comes in the door, most times without question (i.e. he brings goodie bags home with new stuff in them)!!!  I know, Hair Heaven! 

About a year and a half ago, during a particularly dry spell for my legs, Chris brought home a lotion for me to try...Avachi Dry Skin Therapy.  It was love at first application.  This lotion was not greasy, slimy, gooey, stinky or otherwise unacceptable.  It has a wonderful smell and leaves my skin dewy fresh in minutes.  I loved it and for a while, I was content with just that one product in the Avachi line of products.  Then one day, I was wondering the aisles of the store and noticed an entire section of not only lotions and cleansing products for my skin, but also shelves of Hair Products {insert mental image of the clouds parting and angels singing here}!  What?!?!?  Oh my, I MUST try these.  So, I've tried a couple of shampoos here and a conditioner or two there, I tested a styling product once, maybe twice, but I've kept at least one Avachi Product in my shower since the introduction. 

So fast forward to the recent (past few weeks) past...Chris and I have started our own garden and we buy the produce we can't grow from a local farmer.  We also recycle cans and plastic bottles...so we are somewhat "Green" or "Tree Huggers" accoding to our friends.  Anyway, we were discussing the produce and whatnot and got on the subject of buying things made/produced within 100 miles of where we live.  It's something that's been done in various regions around the country, mainly among fellow "Tree Huggers", "Land Lubbers", "Green People".  And that got me to thinking about Hair Products.  I may have mentioned that outloud, can't remember, but Chris reminded me we had a local option and an idea was born.  Avachi is distributed by Friends Beauty Supply, in Trussville, AL! 

So...This is my Confessional as I embark on a journey of using only Avachi Products on my hair.  It won't be easy, but I think it'll be worth it.  Heck, maybe I'll even end up with Movie Star hair!  Maybe Avachi will contact me to be their spokeperson on a world-wode campaign...oh, wait, maybe I need to get my hair cut....