Many of you left comments or sent email asking questions about these two Tracy Turpen photos. You wanted to know what shoes I’m wearing and how I get my hair to look like that. So we’ll talk about it!
First, the shoes. I was wearing periwinkle and dark purple for one outfit and lavender with a dark purple scarf for the other outfit. So I knew I wanted an “off color” shoe. I was on the hunt for a dark red shoe, and I found the Nanette Lepore Sweetheart pumps on Piperlime. They were a splurge, but I just love them. It became quite the frustrating deal, though, because I found the shoes but couldn’t find my size. Anywhere! I called actual shoe distributors for one of our local stores and they didn’t even have them in my size, which is a big ole size 10, by the way.
Piperlime ended up being completely sold out of the shoe, but on a hunch, I checked Piperlime the next day. There they were. All stocked up on the Nanette Lepore Sweetheart pump in every size imaginable. So I knew it was meant to be and I snatched up those size 10s quicker than you can say, “holy gorgeous shoes, Batman!”
Now, the hair. I’ve always had thick hair. It’s also got quite a bit of wave to it. When I don’t take time to deal with it, especially in the summer time, it’s got quite a bit of frizz to it. I got a few comments on the length of my hair and how it doesn’t seem manageable. I’m assuming you mean it’s hard to manage my hair and a baby.
Because I have so much hair in terms of thickness (length, too, but it’s particularly thick) it is so much easier to wear my hair long. My hair rarely gets greasy or oily. I can wash it on Monday morning and then I don’t have to wash it again until Thursday or Friday. I wear it down for two days and wear it in a ponytail for the other days. And it still looks okay.
When I wore my hair short, I had to wash it every single day because sleeping on it would cause little pieces to stick up or there would be flat spots all over it. Also, those of you that have wavy or naturally frizzy hair know that it is very hard to get all the kinks out of it if it’s short. So I wear my hair long. When it’s long, I can embrace the waves. It took me 4 years to get it this long– and most of it grew during the pregnancy and right after Hudson was born.
So how did I get my hair to look like that for the pictures? I went and had my hairstylist do a great blowout for the pictures. I’ve done it the way she does by myself, but not since I had the baby. Here’s how to get the look:
- You need 4 arms. I’m not even joking. Someone needs to stand behind you and work on the back while you work on the front.
- Sorry. Â No, seriously. You need 3 round brushes.
- Work from the bottom/underneath part of your hair to the scalp. Moving in sections with the round brushes.
- Wrap a small section of hair around the round brush and pull, turning the ends under as they get through the brush. Repeat this action until the hair is dry and the curls are pulled out. Now wrap the entire section of hair around the brush and leave the brush in your hair– and let go of the brush. On my hair, it just stays there– stuck in my hair with my hair coiled around it. Then I move onto the next section of hair with a different round brush and repeat all of this. At one time, I may have 2 round brushes stuck in my hair while I’m working on a new section.
- Pull a round brush out of your hair as you need it and your hair should be in a coil like wave. Do this to your entire head working from the underneath to the top and you should have bouncy waves all over.
- Pull through the waves with your fingers and use a small amount of hairspray.
This is what it looked like just before I left the salon last week.
That’s all. It’s so hard to explain exactly what you do in words instead of by demonstrating.
When I do all of this to my hair it takes about 35-40 minutes. It also lasts for an entire week. Nothing has to be touched up with a curling iron or flat iron. All you need are frizzy hair and 3 round brushes!
It’s so long too!! I love it! Did you take prenatal vitamins – Is that how it’s so long? You may have talked about this already. I might have to start popping them if that’s the case. Your hair looks so healthy! I wish mine would hold a curl like that for more than a day!
Once I get kicking on those prenatal vitamins, I am definitely going to need this method of blowdrying. You might have to do a demonstration though- althoughI think I understand. Round brushes will definitely stay in my hair though. Like you, I do not wash my hair much. Neither does Jessica Simpson! Hee.
These shoes are to die for! I saw them before also, but Piperlime is still out of my size too. I am going to keep checking. They look gorgeous on you! And the pictures are amazing!!
SO jealous that you can go that long without washing! I try to go a couple days in between washings, but my hair gets SOOO greasy. I can usually wash and wear down one day but the next day it’s up in a greasy ponytail.
My hair is pretty thick too, but no curl or wave whatsoever… you have beautiful hair!!! and beautiful shoes, and a beautiful baby, and beautiful pictures! 🙂
Gorgeous! I would give my right arm for your hair! Ok, maybe not my right arm, how about my left?
OMG, those shoes are AMAZING. And so is your hair. I just love your hair. Mine will not do anything like that no matter what–it’s gorgeous!
You have such beautiful hair. One more question: What do you do with it when you sleep? Put it in a pony or just leave it down?
Your hair is beyond gorgeous! I wish that I had the commitment to actually get up early enough to do my hair during the week. This morning I woke up with good intentions, added my product, blew it out straight (no round brush) and was getting read to throw hot rollers in when I realized I was late already. So today I have super volume with no style and it is one hot mess!
I love those shoes and they added a great “pop” to the picture!
I love the picture of all your feet. It is so cute.
I can go about 3 days without washing, I love it. I don’t miss my really long hair but looking at your gorgeous long locks makes me reminisce a little. Beautiful my dear!!
Love the shoes!! Finding cute shoes in a bigger size is such a hassle, it’s definitely not fair. Your hair is beautiful. I have curly hair and when my hair stylist blows it out and straightens it is when it looks the best. I try to do myself and it never looks quite as good.
Those shoes are beautiful! And I wish my hair would last that long without washing – three days is its max.
Your hair is GORGEOUS!! Thanks for the tips. Love the shoes too. Im a shoeaholic. I will have to go check those out.
I just love your hair, it is so pretty. I completely makes me regret cutting mine so much (even though mine wasn’t that pretty).
Those shoes are ah-ma-zing! Great find!
My hair is the same way. I am currently trying to grow mine out because it is too hard to manage short. I cut it two years ago before my first day working in a high school because I thought it would make me look older. Umm, bad idea. Anyway…
During the 4 years it took to grew your hair out, did you have it trimmed? I feel like when I go to have it trimmed they end up cutting off way to much to make it “healthy”. It doesn’t helped that I haven’t found a great hairdresser in DC.
And those shoes are fab!!
I have very thick hair also and I am an idiot and I cut it super short in April, I have been sturggling with it ever since. I must wash it everyday. You have beautiful hair and the shoes are to die for.
Well, let me say that you and Mr. BEB both look great and beautiful in the pics. And I do love your shoes! But I’m gonna have to say the cutest feet in the pic are those teensy, tiny little feet with that little toe curled up on top of the other foot in the middle of you two. 😉 So, So sweet! xoxo
Thank you for the hair tutorial! I have hair like yours, and totally agree that it’s so much easier when long. Shorter may take me less time to dry, but then (I’m usually a flat iron girl) finishing it takes so much longer and lasts less time. I can usually go 3 days… 4 with a ponytail as long as I’m not doing anything exciting that day 🙂
Beautiful shoes, beautiful hair! I’m with you on the thick, naturally curly, naturally frizzy hair. My waves try to fight their way through daily. I still have not mastered blowing my own hair out with the round brush, but its always been a goal of mine. It always looks so amazing after they blow it out at the salon, that I dread washing it and trying to acheive the same look on my own. I love that you wrote out the steps you follow.. I’m going to tweak it for my shorter length hair and see how it turns out!
Your hair is absolutely gorgeous and adore the shoes!!!!!!!!!!!!
You are so lucky to be blessed with thick hair! I have very thin fine hair and I have to wash it every single day or it is a greaseball! I sometimes even have to wash it twice a day. I know they say that is bad for it, but I do what I have to do. Your hair is beauiful! I love the color and it looks so nice blowed out like that! Wouldn’t it be great to get a professional blowout every week! A girl can wish! Although I would need one everyday…not pracical!
I also have really thick and long hair with a bit of a wave to it. I wash it 3X a week right now though. I’d love to know how you get down to washing 1-2X a week! what products do you use?
Sigh…
those shoes give my belly butterflies!
AND YOUR HAIR! OMFG! AMAZING!
Love, love, LOVE those shoes! At first I thought they may have been from J Crew, they look super cute in those photos.
My hair is also super thick and gets frizzy in the summer months. (Actually, it even frizzes in the rain or when it’s snowing if I don’t cover it, talk about annoying!). I used to straighten but now that it’s long I find that it doesn’t puff out as much so I make due with using a bit of BioSilk and letting the waves take their own course. I agree that longer hair works better for this type of hair. I remember being in middle school and wanting my hairdresser to cut my hair short like Meg Ryan’s curly short bob in City of Angels. That was quite the reality check! Now I embrace my thick hair, especially since we’ll most likely have nice thick hair when we’re older as well.
The only problem I have is that I find myself having to sweep the floors more often because I find hairs everywhere, especially in the shower after I wash my hair.
Same hair here – just brown with blonde highlights… and I shed like a CRAZY girl! The humidity, is not my friend.
About four years ago I fell in love with hot rollers (like the really hot ones in varying sizes) – they work way better for my thick head of hair than a curling iron and I can leave them in as I’m doing the rest of the hair and then the curls stay for daaaaaays.
Can we just talk about how jealous I am that you can go that long without washing your hair?!? I wash mine in the am and it’s practically a grease pit by 10 at night! I am in love with your hair!
Oh my god, I said it last time but it is worth repeating. I love your hair!! My hair is not quite as thick, but it is naturally curly so I’m going to give your process a try. Thanks for the info!
You have GORGEOUS hair! I think I’ve said that many times before 🙂 I totally agree with you about longer hair being easir than short hair, even though that doesn’t sound right. I don’t even have thick or wavy hair, and I think it’s so much easier when it’s long. I am so jealous of how much body your hair has and how it holds curl and how you can go so long without washing it! I have very fine and oily hair that I could wash twice a day if I wanted to! It’s terrible!
hey girl.. email me your address and ill send you a gap/br/on/piperlime friends and family!!
Oh my goodness!! I am still in love with those shoes, and can I say they look even better on you than they do in the picture! I even showed Hubby the pic and he said they were super cute, yep, he did. And your hair. I try not to be an envious person (try, ha) but I admit. I have hair envy. Gorgeous. Have you been coloring/highlighting your hair for a long time? and What size round brush? I have to ask if I’m going to try to get my hair anywhere as pretty as yours. sigh =)
gorgeous shoes…i love when the universe aligns and online shopping just works itself out, don’t you?
I would kill for your hair. Literally, kill.
Unfortunately, mine is thin and stringy and I’m stuck with being jealous.
You really have gorgeous hair though.
You have gorgeous hair!! I love the shoes too! I too go get my hair done by my hair stylist when I’m going to get photos taken or going for a big event! 🙂
Ah! You are lucky it lasts so long between washes! I can go 36 hours … and then I have to wash! I do the same thing with multiple round brushes.
You left out one thing you need … tireless arm muscles! 🙂
Your hair did look really nice in the photos 🙂 I agree that having long hair is easier to deal with than short hair. I had long hair for most of my life, then got it cut really short (chin-length) in college. It was so much more work, even for someone who has stick-straight hair.
You have FABULOUS hair!
Erin–I think we’re kindred spirits…it seems like I’m constantly apologizing to my stylist for the endless amount of hair that’s on my head. It’s extremely thick AND coarse. No joke, my hair is as tough as a horse’s tail. Thanks for the step-by-step, I have a natural “wave” that appeared after college (my guess was hormonal changes) and my hair is uber long. I’m scared to try layers–but looking at your cut, I may have found new inspiration. I’m definitely going to give this a try–hot rollers look good for maybe 5 minutes and then it’s back to drab. Thanks so much Erin! xoxo
LOVE love the shoes and the hair! I would kill for hair like yours! So many people have commented that they have thin hair that gets greasy and won’t hold curl like yours does. I do too, but my stylist showed me Bumble and Bumble hair powder. B&B hair powder both absorbs grease after a day of work and gives thin/fine hair the texture to hold curl. Warning, though, no matter your hair color, get white or it will color your hands. To freshen up greasy hair at night–spray B&B hair powder around the crown of your hair. Let dry, comb out. Voila. To get bouncy curls: after blowing my hair dry upside down, I spray B&B hair powder in it, leave it for 5 mins, comb out the excess and curl it with a 1″ iron held parallel to the side of my head. It only takes me 5 min to dry the 14 hairs on my head, so the whole process only takes about 15 minutes.
I feel jealous right now for two reasons…shoes and hair. Love them both. I am not skilled with the round brush, but this post sure motivated me to learn!
I’m so jealous of both of those things. I would love to have thicker and a little wave to my hair. It’s just stick straight and NOTHING I do stays. It looks great when I leave home but by the time 3pm hits, it’s done. I would love to have hair like yours.
I’m getting my hair done and my goal is to keep growing it out… I love your length!
Those shoes… just STUNNING! Would’ve never guessed that you wear a 10! Glad you found them in your size!!!! They just MAKE that feet/shoe picture!!!!!!!!
Love the shoes! Those were good tips for the hair too!
We have the SAME hair and we style is the SAME way! I wish I could wear mine long like you, but it never looked good. Your length puts mine to shame, so beautiful!
You are so lucky to have such beautiful hair! Mine is wavy/frizzy but not as thick, so I have to wash mine everyday. But, I can attest to how much easier it is to manage when it is longer.
your hair really is great! I have a friend with hair like yours and I always have hair envy. you just can’t get that full look without thick hair (or hair pieces!). that said, my hair was reasonably thick and long while pregnant, but when I starting shedding hair at 3months postpartum, it was unmanageable- hair everywhere on everythinh! how did you deal with that?! I had to chop my hair. I was wondering, do you use hair powder? I have ordered some with the sephora fandf discount and am hoping it will help stretch out time b/t washings. for all who say they have to wash everyday- it is true that thick hair hides grease better and its much harder to hide with thinner hair (like mine)- but it takes a LONG (months) time for your scalp to stop overproducing oil (from stripping from daily washing). if you can get past that time(go as longas you can stand it b/t washing), you’ll prob be able to go at least 1 day b/t washings. that could be worth it in the end! you still cut your styling time in half!
just wanted to also say that your pics were so BEAUTIFUL and your baby is adorable! I told my husband we MUST have prof pic done SOON!
Looks like I only need one more round brush to achieve the look 😉
So jealous about the wash time! I know everyone says it’s bad for your hair, but I can barely go 24 hrs without washing my hair. Hopefully it’ll get less oily with time (I’m 22), but right now it’s a royal pain! You have beautiful hair!
what’s up ? this is the only blog I’ve come across today that’s actually got me to say anything about it.. figured that was worth a mention !