Little J Headbands

Fun colors!

If you've followed me for any amount of time here or on Instagram, you know I love a good hair accessory to add some pizzazz to a braid. I'm also a fan of small businesses and donating to a great cause.

Little J Headbands meets all of the criteria. I got one of their headbands a couple of years ago and recently added to my collection. There are a ton of color options and each headband allows you to customize the buttons by choosing from gold, brass, silver, or pewter, so no two are alike! If headbands aren't really your thing, they also have some cute scarf options as well.

Cute packaging (and yes, a pumpkin candle)

The creator, Julie, made Little J Headbands with the idea that even a little change can make a big difference. I am a huge fan of that, and it's something I try to convey all of the time. No one person is capable of enormous change individually, but the ripple effect of multiple people spreading kindness and consciousness makes a huge difference. A portion of each headband purchased goes towards ALS research. About 15 people a day are diagnosed with ALS in the U.S. alone!

Glacier blue with a woven fishtail

In addition to giving back, these headbands are versatile. My favorite way to wear them is woven into my hair/a braid, but I'll be trying some other ways out as well. The sage, burnt spice, and wine will be perfect for the fall (hurry up already), and I am looking forward to pairing them with sweaters once the weather gets cooler. The glacier color is a perfect match to the summer sky but is my favorite shade of blue so I'll weave it into my braids through winter too.

Be sure to follow along on Instagram @mydaintybeautifullife (if you don't already!) to see the ways I style these fun headbands, and let me know if you check them out!

Hair Care Routine

One of the questions I get asked the most frequently is what I do to my hair to get it long and keep it healthy. It's been a lifelong process of trying to figure out what works, and after two shoulder-length haircuts that were colossal mistakes (I just do not look good with short hair), I found some tips and tricks that helped me grow my hair out and keep it from looking like witch hair (this is a legitimate concern).

Hair care starts in the shower. First, I only wash my hair probably 3-4 out of seven days. Not only is it a huge hassle to do all of this nightly, but it also dries everything out, which is not great.

I've tried vinegar rinses, masks, and a million shampoos. I don't think it really matters what shampoo you use as long as it isn't a dollar bottle or one of those weird 6-in-1 deals that dudes use. I opt for either Pantene Pro-V or the Garnier Grow Strong shampoo and conditioner. Again, I don't see the point in paying $20 for a bottle of shampoo, but you do you. So I start with washing it and rinsing, and then I put on the conditioner and leave it set while I do everything else. Then rinse with cold water only. It seals your cuticles and makes it shiny.

Once I'm done with that process, I'll either scrunch my hair (more on that another time) or just typically opt to style it. First, do not come your hair wet. DO NOT. I just spritz on this USmooth heat protectant spray which is $20 but also lasts for like six months or more, and my hair's long. It smells amazing and essentially works as a leave-in conditioner as well as a thermal spray.

I leave my hair air dry (unless I'm going somewhere and only have an hour from the time I step in the shower until the time I walk out the door (I try REALLY hard not to ever have this happen because it sucks)). I don't wrap it in a towel. There was a period of time I noticed a lot of little breakaway fuzzies around my hairline if I wore it up, and that look is cute on babies but not on me, so no more of that. I might blast it with a dryer a bit the next morning if it's still a little damp, and then after that I just use my flat iron to smooth and flip the ends.

Ta-da!