Beauty On a Budget

She hovers over the bubbling pot of goodness, and sighs, content with her creation. The tea begins to gradually grow as she sprinkles in some turmeric, this causing the concoction to spark up. Just like the bubbles in the pot, the inside of my head is a bubble of ideas. A vast space of remedies and concoctions that I can recreate. I’m basically a witch in disguise.

I love the idea of creating things from scratch, it just leaves you with a feeling of fulfillment. I personally enjoy creating my own candles, experimenting with diy remedies (don’t ask), and my favorite, diy face and hair masks. But for the sake of this article, I’m going to elaborate more on a few of my favorite diy hairstyling techniques.

If you’re anything like me, I enjoy looking and feeling my best at all costs, but like most people, I’m not rich. That’s where the diy aspect comes into play. You’d be surprised at how easily you can create a face mask with just the basic things in your fridge. Or how most items in your kitchen are multi-purposed and can be used in so many other ways. The point being you don’t need to go out and buy expensive products. You just need an open mind and a little bit of a creative side.

Like most girls, I enjoy having more good hair days than bad. But a lot of time we don’t have just that, time. And let’s face it hair products and styling tools can be immensely overpriced. And excessive use of heat will only cause damage to your hair. So younger me discovered that there were alternatives around this. Who knew bobbing pinning your wet hair around your head would straighten it, braiding wet hair made waves, and my favorite, curling your hair using just your socks. Ok so maybe I’m a slight bit out of touch with the latest trends. Potentially others are too. So for those of you who are, I would like to share with you some of my secrets to getting your best hair leaving you with time to spare. *Winks*

This curling method is a fun and creative alternative to your normal hairstyling routine. All you’ll be needing is a few pairs of old socks and a pair of scissors! To achieve these luxurious curls there are two methods that can be used.

The first method will usually result in looser more beach wavy curls. First, you start by cutting the toe part of the sock off. Then you roll the sock inward until you have a doughnut shape. You then would place your hair into a ponytail, and split it into two separate pieces. Wrap both pieces around the doughnut, essential covering the whole sock with your hair. Finally leave this overnight or for multiple hours. When the socks are removed you should have beach-like curls.

The second method will typically result in more defined curls. You start off as you did in the first method, but this time you're making multiple (how many depends on your hair) doughnuts. You then take sections, one by one (the smaller the better) and wrap them around your doughnuts until all your hair is wrapped. I would then place a bonnet over my head, to prevent frizz, and then leave them in overnight. Violà. When you take out your “curlers” you should have beautifully defined curls.

Also by using the steps in the first method you can create your own sock bun. If you don’t have that fancy hair doughnut just use a sock as an alternative. It’s the same concept as the first method, but instead of wrapping the hair around the doughnut, you’re going to grab the end of your ponytail and then proceed to roll the doughnut up towards the top of your pony. This should create a semi (for all the ladies with thick hair, mine was very much lopsided) perfectly round bun.

That’s it. It’s as simple as that. No, this probably won’t be your everyday routine, but it’s a fun alternative to know if your hair could use a break.

Now that’s what I call beauty on a budget!