Hair Chalking!

Have you ever wanted to color your hair but not want the commitment or damages from hair dyes? I know I have! I've always wanted to dye a chunk of my hair red, but since I have dark hair, I would have to bleach it before I dyed it. I wanted to avoid doing that because it would dry out and damage my hair. So, this led me to looking for ways to color my hair without the commitment and damage of dyes. I found ways such as using kool aid and hair chalking using chalk pastels. Today, I am going to show you how to do HAIR CHALKING! 

(Photo: My cousin chose red tips. This is before STEP 7.)

Here is what you will need:
- Chalk pastels (You can find chalk pastels at your local crafts store. I bought mine at Michael's Arts and Crafts Store for about $5. DO NOT use oil pastels. They will strain your hair and it does not work.)
- An old shirt (One that you don't mind getting dirty.)
- Gloves
- A hair clip to section your hair
- A water spray bottle
- Heat tamer spray
- A blow-dryer
- A straightener or curler (A source of heat to lock-in the color.)
- Hairspray (Optional)


Here is how to do hair chalking step-by-step:
1. Section off the parts of your hair that you do not want to color.
2. Wet with water the section of hair that you want colored.
3. Twist the strand of hair (This helps the color distribute easier and more evenly.)
4. Run the chalk downwards on the strand of hair (DO NOT go UPWARD. This will strain your hair and may cause split-ends.)
5. Continue STEPS 2-4 until desired.
6. Apply heat protectant and blow-dry your hair.
7. Once your hair is dry, curl or straighten your hair. The heat from the curler or straightener will lock-in the color.
8. Apply hairspray if needed.
9. Show off your colorful hair to the world! :)


Note: I would not recommend doing this every day, because the heat is not good for your hair. This should only be done every once in a while, for a fun pop of color! Also, the color may rub off on your pillow when you are sleeping at night. This has not happened to me yet, but I'm sure that there is a possibility of it happening. 
Anyways, thank you for joining me in today's tutorial! If you try it out, please let me know how it worked out for you. :) Until next time, belle séjour! xoxo, Chelly

(Photo: This was my first attempt, where I chose an orangey red.)

Nail Marbles!

There are many forms of nail art, and today I'm going to show you how to do NAIL MARBLING! :D Nail marbling is a fun, easy way to get a complex looking design without the complication! Let's get started!

Here is what you'll need:
- Room temperature water (I like to use bottled water that I keep outside of the fridge)
- A bowl or container (One that you don't mind getting dirty)
- Base & top coat
- White nail polish
- Two or more polishes that you would like to mix and match into the marble design (Upper center photo: I chose baby blue & baby pink for a cotton candy swirl. Lower right photo: My friend chose red, gold, and green for the holidays!)
- Tape
- Cotton swabs
- Nail polish remover
- Toothpicks
- Paper towel (Optional, but recommended to avoid a mess)


Here is how to achieve a marble nail design step-by-step:
1. Apply a base coat.
2. Apply 1-2 coats of the white polish (number of coats depend on how thick the consistency of your polish is.)
3. Apply tape to the top and sides of your nails to easily clean up the mess later.
4. Pour some room temperature water into the bowl or container. Fill up to a little more than half of the bowl or container. Do not fill it to the brim; this will cause a big mess!
5. Pour a drop of the colorful polishes into the water, one color at a time (keep the polish caps open to help you work faster.)
6. Using a toothpick, swirl or create a design in the polish. Work fast, because the polish dries out on top of the water pretty fast!
7. Dip one nail into the marble design that you have created. While blowing on top of the water (to dry out the polish), use the toothpick to gather up the excess polish and take your finger out of the water. 
8. Repeat STEPS 5-7 until all nails are done.
9. Remove the tape.
10. Dip the cotton swab into nail polish remover and clean up the sides of your nails.
11. Apply topcoat and VOILA! C'est finis!


Thanks so much for joining me for today's tutorial! Let me know if you guys try this out and how it went! :D
Until next time, belle séjour! xoxo, Chelly