Growing out a pixie- Update!

Obviously I'm horrible at keeping this blog updated. FAIL. But, I wanted to try to give you a hair update- because I know a lot of ladies out there go through the awkward grow out phase and would like to see someone else’s progress.

I officially started growing out my hair in February, and it is now October. That’s 8 months of growth thus far. There are days I feel like I've gained a good amount of length, and other days when I feel like I'm at a stand still. I've had some major hiccups along the way that kept my hair from obtaining good growth (like trims that went to far and major breakage). But, all in all- after looking at before and after photos- its obviously I'm getting somewhere. I guess you just cant rush these things.

Starting point: February 2012 (Blonde and Orange)

Present day: October 2012 (Dark Copper Red)

As you can see, I went red and I love it. I get bored easily, but a copper red is a perfect color to add some spice without going crazy! Red is hard upkeep, but it forces me to treat my hair better- which is what I needed from the get go.

One of the best things is I can now pull my hair into a pony tail- although it looks a little silly. I can also braid my bangs and side pieces if I'm feeling fancy. I can do it curly- although there are days where the curl ends up looking more Golden Girls then Beachy goddess.

Beyond what I can do with my hair- the biggest difference is the health of my hair between when I started and now. I have a long way to go, but it’s SO much better than it was. I still suffer from mild breakage, but that will happen until I'm able to cut off all of the hair that was tortured by bleach (about 2 inches more). My hair is much more naturally shiny, manageable, and soft. It basically feels like normal hair when its wet- and not like rubbery, spongy disgustingness. Doing the Protein treatments (I'm using Color Professional Protein Filler- which you can buy in clear (for all hair colors) or in your specific hair tone), and not bleaching has worked wonders to help the integrity of my hair. I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll have all the damaged hair trimmed off, and be working with totally healthy hair!

According to this grow out chart- I'm just about to #3. I guess that’s pretty good considering I started right at #1!

I'm confident that at the end of the year, I'll be able to reach my goal of this:

Another couple inches on my top layers, and I'm there (!!!)

I just read this wonderful blog about another lady who grew out her pixie cut and is now on the other side! Give it a look. I was really encouraged to keep pressing on!

Unity

People get tattoos for a lot of different reasons; decoration, remembrance, symbolism, or even rebellion. For me, tattoos are mile markers. Back in the Old Testament, whenever God would do a miracle, bless his people, or show favor on them, they would resurrect a monument out of stones as a way to remember what God had done. Not only would they see it and remember, but their children and children's children would see the stones and know what God had done. Well, building a stone monument isn't really practical in this day and age, and since I've always loved the art of tattoos, my way of resurrecting a monument for years to come is placing it on my body.

I just recently got a new tattoo, and I've had a few people ask me to give its meaning. I knew I had wanted this tattoo for a while, mainly because it symbolizes probably the most tangible miracle my family has ever experienced as a unit. Theres a lot to it, but in a nut shell, God did an incredible emotional and spiritual healing in my family two years ago. I'll spare you the gruesome details, but for years my family had been demonically oppressed, and riddled with habitual sins that were passed down from generation to generation. We didnt even realize it until 2 years ago, that each of us had dealt with the same sins, almost to a T. From sins in our personal lives, to sins in our marriages, each one of us had been struggling with the same issues. But, because of shame and guilt, we had never told each other what we had been going through- or even admitted that we were struggling. God began working in my Dad, older sister and my hearts (separately) about our family and the generational sins that had been oppressing us for so long. God began opening up the doors in our personal lives to seek restoration and healing- but our family as a whole still had so much bitterness and pain covering it. My Dad decided it was time to cut to the source and called a family meeting during Christmas of 2010. We all sat down and hashed everything out. We confessed sins, asked for forgiveness, wept together, and rejoiced as God began to break the chains that had been holding my family captive for so long. We realized that Satan had pinpointed my family as a target to destroy- and was doing everything he could to prevent us from uniting together. Satan was working so hard because he knows God has amazing plans for us- not only individually, but together as family. We could no longer allow Satan to break us apart with bitterness, anger, discord, back biting, discontent and shame.

In the last half of 2010 going into 2011, God did miracle after miracle in my family. He broke through years of secrets, bitterness and anger in my parents marriage and my own marriage, he allowed forgiveness and healing to flow between us girls and my Mom and Dad, and he started the restoration process of bring my family back together. The work he's doing in my family is still not finished, but he will be faithful to complete it. We are imperfect people trying to love each other, and so we'll always have bumps in the road. But I can honestly say that for the first time, our family is united. I believe by Gods grace and redemptive power the generational sins that have plagued my family are broken, the lies, secrecy and bitterness are dissolved, and we as the Barron family can walk in complete and total freedom through Jesus Christ’s blood! And you know what? God can do that in your family too. My family isn’t something special. God's healing power is for all who are willing to except it and walk through the refiner’s fire to come out the other side as pure gold. God wants to move in each and every family. He wants to restore what has been broken!

My tattoo is pretty self explanatory. The doves which are holding onto the banner of "Unity" represent my parents. The four flowers represent each of us four sisters. This tattoo is way for me to remember what God did in my family. Its something I can physically show my children and tell them the story of how God restored what had been lost. Its a legacy for me to pass down. Obviously it will fade, and when I die, it will be buried in the ground. But for my life here on earth, I will have a monument that shows the miracle God has done and is continuing to do.

Worship background vocals

Most of you know that Ive sung on church worship teams for over 10 years now, and over that time God's brought me through a major attitude overhaul. If you've never been on a church worship team, it can sometimes be hard to understand the common prideful mentality that can plague the worship singers. Not every singer deals with it, but for the longest time, being on the worship team platform was a performance to me. A place to show off and do whatever I wanted to do. I saw my time on stage as an opportunity to 'share my talents' with the world, and totally forgot about the main part of worship- Jesus! 

I remember so distinctly how God gently, but firmly broke my prideful spirit and had to bring me to the point of understanding that it isn't about me! Worship is one of the most beautiful things we get to do as Christians. Its not about singing a worship song, lifting our hands, or clapping in a service. Worship is a live style that brings glory to Jesus. Worship is saying "God, You are good and I am not- so I give You everything I am and offer up my life as a sacrifice". Worship truly is an act of submission to God, and beyond that, a celebration of His greatness and love. There is nothing sweeter then ministering to God and showing our love for Him together with the body of Christ. It's a tangible way to stop and say "I love you, Jesus!". What an incredible thing.

Being on a church worship team is an incredible privilege. Its being able to use the talent God has given you to glorify him in a public setting, and lead others to the throne room. Its a huge responsibility, and God had to bring me through some tough lessons to finally get to the point where I take my job as a worshiper seriously. Suddenly, when its all about Jesus and leading the body of Christ into extravagant worship, you're own agenda doesn't matter.

With that said, over the course of the last year, God has been changing my heart even more towards worship teams. Mainly, the background vocalists on worship teams. I feel such a passion to see singers rise up and not just be great singers, but to become the worshipers they were designed to be! The singers on a worship team are truly the first example of worship that the congregation sees. They set the tone for worship, and are instrumental in setting the tone for the entire service. In Psalms 68 :24-25 is says "Your procession, God, has come into view, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary. In front are the singers, after them the musicians. Praise God in the great congregation, praise the Lord in the assembly..." In the Old Testament, the singers and musicians would go out ahead of the army, singing praises to God- worship was that important to winning the battle! "After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise Him for the splendor of His holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying: "Give thanks to the Lord, for His love endures forever!". As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated." 2 Chronicles 20:21-22. 

Being on a worship team is so much more then just using our talents for God. We are the front line of defense. We have the privilege to usher the presence of God into the sanctuary and see God move in peoples lives. We can pave the way for an incredible move of God- just like in 2 Chronicles. As they sang praises, God defeated their enemies. How incredible is that? We as worshipers can set the stage for a move of God like never before!

Makeup pictorial- Rusty Gold

So, I thought I'd try something new and do a makeup pictorial for you guys! Its my first time doing anything like this, so bare with me if its a little cray cray (that's crazy for those who dont speak ghetto).

This look is a little dramatic, but in my opinion extremely wearable. The biggest thing to remember is it will look a little off until its complete. The finishing touches (liner and mascara) make a huge difference.

Anyways, lets get this show on the road!

First and foremost, apply primer to your eye lid up to the brow bone.

Apply a rusty, red color all over the lid with a paddle brush. Blend it out softly into the crease.

Use a deep purple in the crease, and blend out into a wing shape with a small paddle brush. Its important to blend this carefully and keep working with it until your happy. You also might want to use a makeup wipe to clean up the lower edge for a crisp line.

Use a small paddle brush to apply a shimmery rose gold color above the purple up to the brow bone. Blend down and around the inner corner of the eye (in a "C" shape) as well.

Apply a shimmery champagne highlight color with a medium paddle brush on the inner corner (near the tear duct) and just at the highest point of the brow arch. (Sorry this picture is so fuzzy!)

Use a gel or powder liner to create a long wing. I used a black eyeshadow on an angled liner brush.

Use a black eye liner in the lower water line, and smudge down onto the lower lashes. Apply the deep purple on top of the black liner and blend.

Curl your lashes and apply several coats of mascara.

Finished!

I completed the look by applying bronzer as a contour under my cheek bones, along my temples and just under my lower lip.

I used a soft rose blush on my cheek bones and blended it softly into the hair line. I then applied a powder highlighter onto the tops of the cheek bones, my cupids bow and down the bridge of the nose.

On my lips, I kept it soft and neutral with a nude gloss.

List of products used:

Two Faced Shadow Insurance

Pur Beauty by Numbers palette # 9, 10 and 16 (gold, rust and purple)

Wet N Wild Vanity palette (champagne highlight)

Color Theory baked shadow in Black

Generic black eyeliner

Avon Super Shock Max mascara in Black

Rimmel Natural Bronzer in Sun Bronze

Wet N Wild Color Icon blush in Mellow Wine

Physicians Formula Pearl Highlighter

NYX Lipgloss in Sugar Pie

In-between hair styles and update

Its been a little under two months since I started officially locking down and growing out my hair. Ive definitely obtained some good length, but I'm in that "MY HAIR LOOKS DISGUSTING NO MATTER WHAT I DO!" phase. This is the hardest phase to get through, because its so tempting jut to go get a hair cut for instant relief. But, I cant. I must stay strong!

Here is the process I've made in the last 8 weeks.

As you can see, I decided to dye my hair a dark brown. My natural hair color is dirty dish water blonde, and I regularly bleached it to obtain the pearl blonde color I had before. Bleaching was causing breakage, so I decided getting into a darker color range would be much healthier for my hair as I grow it out. The color is a little darker then I had originally planned, but its washed out a lot since it was first dyed.

Some days it feels like my hair has grown a lot, and other days it feels like it hasnt grown a bit. I think a lot of it depends on how I style it. As you can see, I've gained a fair amount of growth, but I have a long way to go.

In order to keep myself going on the grow out path, I find myself looking through chin length pictures a lot. Inspiration can be essential in keeping yourself chugging ahead instead of digressing back into pixie territory. Here are some of my favorites;

Growing out a pixie cut

As shallow as it sounds, my hair is been a huge pain point for me lately. I’ve been trying to grow it out, and have had major setbacks. So after my last trim (and almost breaking down in 'I hate my hair' tears), I decided that I had to buckle down and get this 'growing my hair out' show on the road. In hopes of keeping on track, I’m going to be documenting my hair progress here. Monthly I'll post update pictures, and hopefully give some advice, encouragement and ideas to any of you who are trying to grow out your hair as well.

I'm currently have a short/mid-length pixie. I've been trying since November to growing my hair out, but obviously it hasn’t worked. My hair grows well (I'd estimate 1/2-1 inch per month), but excessive trims or breakage is keeping me from obtaining length.

So, my plan of action is:

1. Stop getting so many trims. This doesn’t mean I'll stop getting trims altogether, but it does mean I'll only be going for trims every 2-3 months instead of every month. There’s a misconception that getting trims helps your hair grow faster. It doesn’t. Trims will help to stop split ends from running up the hair shaft, and can clean up rough or uneven edges while your hair grows. However, trims will not make your hair grow. Personally I cant afford to have all my growth cut off every time I want to clean up my ends. Instead, I'll only visit my stylist for a trim when the dreaded mullet hair gets to hard to handle.

Love you Scarlett, but seriously this is the worse hair EVER!

2. Start doing monthly protein treatments. On Monday of this week, I did ApHogee's 2-1 protein treatment. It really worked wonders on myhair. Since my hair is bleached, its become really fragile- to the point where its gummy and sticky when wet. Doing the protein treatments will help rebuild my hairs strength. By stopping the breakage problem, I hopefully won’t have to deal with a lot of split ends either. Im also using ApHogees Keratin 2 minute treatment. I will be using this weekly to rebuild any keratin I lost in between protein treatments.

3. Take Biotin as a daily supplement. There’s no hardcore evidence that Biotin helps your hair grow faster, but it does help the hair that grows be healthy. I've noticed a big difference in my hair growth since taking Biotin. You can find Biotin at any drugstore, and its usually fairly priced.

4. Only heat style when necessary.My hair is naturally curly, so having short hair requires a lot of heat styling. However, I’m trying to minimize heat styling by only washing my hair every other day, using a heat protecting spray and only flat ironing the really unmanageable spots. Once my hair grows past my ears, I hopefully will be able to stop heat styling and go back to a more natural wave/curl. Something like this;

5. Stop bleaching. This is a big one for me. I've been bleaching my hair all over for the past 6 months or so. Its time to stop. My hair is so damaged and stripping my hair is making it worse. At my next color appointment, my goal is to go back closer to my natural hair color (a dark blonde). I may even go a shade or two darker into the light brown category.

My goal is to have my hair at my jaw line by the summer of this year. According to this hair chart, I'm somewhere between 1 and 2.

The ultimate goal is to reach this length by next year.

I've got quite a ways to go, but I’m up for the challenge!

Here are pictures of my hair as of today. I’m having a pretty bad hair day, but its a good representation of my current length and style.

My last trim and dye job was 2/4/2012. My last protein treatment was 2/6/2012.

The current length of the hair at the top of my head is about 5 inches.

At the end of this month, I'll post a collage of weekly progress pictures!