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SHOW ME YOUR BOBS

1. Rose McGowan as Amy Blue in The Doom Generation (1995)

2. Kathleen Robertson as Veronica in Splendor (1999)

3. James Duval as Dark Smith in Nowhere (1997)

4. Debi Mazar as Kozy in Nowhere (1997)

5. Kelly Macdonald as Mike in Splendor (1999)

6. Haley Bennett as Stella in Kaboom (2010)

how do you decide on a favorite? when i was a kid, i would ask my mom every day what her favorite color was (mine was orange). god, i probably stressed her out so much. every day she would insist, same as always, that she didn’t have a favorite color. i remember one time i kept asking for so long that she broke down and said brown, but only because if you mix together all the colors they would turn a muddy shade of brown.

i really couldn’t wrap my head around the idea of not having a favorite back then, but now? everything is a little bit my favorite. what’s my favorite color now? i don’t know! what’s my favorite band? who cares! what’s my favorite season? well that one’s easy, springtime. some things, i know. like my favorite haircut: the bob. i love how it looks on others mostly, but when i rocked a lil microbob from 2016-2017, i loved it on myself, too. there’s something about the compact shape- a bob will frame the face in a way a pixie or shag could never. it shows off the neck, the jawline. it’s androgynous in a classic and understated way, and yet, bobs can also be glamorous. gorgeous. bobs will always have a special place in my heart. some things never change, even when other things change 10 times a day. like who’s my favorite director? god, it’s tough. David Lynch, obviously, but oh, maybe John Waters…no wait, it’s Alfred Hitchcock- or wait, Gregg Araki?

you know who LOVES a bob? Gregg Araki. there’s bobs all around in his movies. think about it! The Doom Generation is the obvious one with Rose McGowan in those iconic blunt bangs but hello? Splendor? Kathleen Robertson has the most fabulous little crop: middle parted and cut right at the lip. when i had a bob, this is how i wore it. Brian Molko-style. so cool. so short it barely counts. but don’t be fooled- a short bob is very much still a bob. speaking of short, in Splendor, Kelly Macdonald as Mike sports a very cunty, sharp-edged style cut well above the chin. it’s hugging cheekbones, really. The variety! It’s bold! It’s unexpected! It’s a BOB, baby!

one of my favorite unexpected, unconventional takes on the style is what i lovingly refer to as the Boy Bob. the Boy Bob is long enough to fall into the face and tuck behind the ears, but the layers are cut a little shaggy so it doesn’t feel too neat or cookie cutter. i already mentioned Brian Molko of Placebo, probably the most notable example of the Boy Bob, but we have another example right in front of our eyes- James Duval, Araki’s beloved it boy, starring in all three of the films making up his Teen Apocalyptic Trilogy: Totally F***ed Up, The Doom Generation, and Nowhere. in Nowhere, we see James as moody teenager Dark Smith, tucking his perfect bob behind his ear so he doesn’t light it on fire while he smokes his cigarettes. hot.

what’s your favorite Gregg Araki bob moment?

xoxo, fig

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the girls are growing out their layers (and so is everyone else)

my girlfriend is probably my biggest style inspiration. she was the one who taught me to appreciate the simple artistry behind a classic t-shirt and jeans and she was also the first one to get me into long, formless layered haircuts. think Jane Birkin or Fiona Apple.

has anyone been able to resist the temptation of the shag over the past few years? it feels like everyone has some version of the 70s mop with shaggy bangs and face framing curls. well not my girlfriend. she always politely declines heavy layering at her stylist (no, i’m not her hairdresser) and has grown out a magnificent waterfall of loose strawberry blonde curls. recently a large portion of my clients seem to be following suit. is it the natural progression of the trend cycle? if it was popular in the 60s and 90s, i guess it only makes sense for the 2020s to be next. as stress levels rise, finances get tighter, and the world gets crueler, adopting a hairstyle that doesn’t require frequent upkeep or daily styling can be a huge gift to yourself.

sometimes it’s really the simplest shapes that carry the largest impact. as a stylist, i love complex and geometric styles, but i almost love the basics even more. just because the framework is uncomplicated doesn’t mean it’s boring. zooming in on the small details: weird twists and bends, blunted or pointy ends, free-moving locks and separation. it’s fun getting to pour more time into personalizing the cut, making sure it’s distinctly cool, not basic.

cool, relaxed, languid, laid back, loose, effortless, apathetic, on-the-go, nonchalant

like cirrus clouds, walnut wood, oil-painted mountains, a hot americano with a splash of cream, the grooves on a vinyl record

I Want You To Love Me- Fiona Apple

A Child’s Question, August- PJ Harvey

Feral Love- Chelsea Wolfe

Two-Headed Mother- Ethel Cain

Bloodhail- Have A Nice Life

Venus in Furs- The Velvet Underground & Nico

1. backstage from Genny Fall/Winter 2022/2023 collection at Milan Fashion Week

2. Fiona Apple

3. Jane Birkin

4. Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and the City

5. Donna Summer

6. Madchen Amick

7. Ethel Cain

8. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen

xoxo, fig

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solar eclipse

A partial solar eclipse will occur on Saturday, March 29, 2025, with a magnitude of 0.9376. While the moon's central shadow will miss Earth, preventing totality, it will still be a significant eclipse. The eclipse will occur at 8:50 AM UTC, with a direction of 82.99° E and an altitude of 0.80°.

Thursday, March 27.

springtime is my favorite season. the long days, the crisp air, the technicolor sunsets, the buzzing energy. i eat it up.

i don’t know about you but this week has been…weird. hasn’t it? it’s hard to enjoy the changing seasons when the world feels like it’s crumbling around us. if you’re a stargazer, you can take your pick of blaming it on venus, mercury, or the moon. in case you’re feeling blue: here’s some inspiration to look at the world with a different lens.

Read

Penance by Eliza Clark

Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes

The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk

A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan

Watch

Rope (1948)

Vamp (1986)

Showgirls (1995)

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

Splendor (1999)

Paprika (2006)

Viva (2007)

Listen

Placebo- Without You I’m Nothing

Ladytron- Witching Hour

Challengers (Original Score)

Brian Eno- Another Green World

Grace Jones- Island Life

Nancy Sinatra- Start Walkin’ 1965-1976

Lou Reed- Transformer

T. Rex- Electric Warrior

The Horrors- Primary Colours

Suicide- A Way of Life

Unknown Pleasures

the smell of wet dirt and tomato vines

combing through the Rookie Mag archives on a nostalgia bender

hand painting tabby cat-inspired highlights in my hair, deciding i don’t like them, and dying it back

bringing a book with me to work and reading in between clients

popping a carton of king coconut water in the freezer for 30 minutes in the afternoons

making veggie sandwiches (tofu banh mi & “pastrami” reuben)

fig’s tofu banh mi

slice a block of extra firm tofu in half and slice off 4 square shape pieces about 1cm thick. season generously with garlic salt, pepper, and lime juice. air fry for 20 minutes until outside is crispy and golden. shave carrots into strips and soak in a bowl with garlic salt, honey, and red vinegar. slice a fresh bolillo in half and spread with kewpie mayo and sambal olek (you can use sriracha in addition or instead). assemble sandwich with tofu on the bottom, followed by fresh cucumbers and pickled carrots. top with torn cilantro and thinly sliced jalapeño.

slice sandwich in half.

fig’s “pastrami” reuben

toast or broil two slices of bread (rye or sourdough is best) until they are crispy on one side. heavily dress the soft sides of the bread slices with spicy brown mustard. cover one slice with folded or torn slices of Unreal Corned Beef and top with two slices of swiss cheese. Toast or broil for 5-8 minutes or until cheese is melted. layer raw sauerkraut onto the remaining bread slice and stack on top of the cheese and fake meat.

slice sandwich in half.

xoxo, fig

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Goodbye, David

Wednesday, January 15th

have you heard the Oscar Wilde quote, “everything in the world is about sex except sex. sex is about power”? i always recite a stupid offshoot of this, “everything in the world is about hair except hair. hair is about texture.” in the overlap between these two sayings lives the memory of David Lynch in my heart.

David was a man who knew good hair, and i attribute this to his understanding and whole-hearted appreciation of texture. Lynch’s top “ten” textures (there are a…few…extras) are as follows: skin, smoke, oil, dirt, wire, broken glass, sweat, pistols, blood and saliva on concrete, cars, exhaust, teeth, and “a million different things”. it shows in his all his work.

he was an artist of so many mediums: film, paint, text, sound. i consider him a hair artist as well. Lynch tells a story through his characters’ hair is like no other. let me tell you, it’s damn hard to capture hair in pictures and video, let alone capture it well, but David Lynch always does it perfectly. Blue Velvet, Lost Highway, Eraserhead, Wild at Heart all have stunning examples of storytelling through hair and texture, but Twin Peaks will always have the most special place in my heart.

Twin Peaks is the most abnormally normal small town in America, where the people worship denim, hot coffee, and hot rollers. Laura Palmer, with her blonde bouffant and curls, is the beloved homecoming queen. when she’s murdered and wrapped in plastic, her golden locks lose their lustre and take on a greying quality, but in the Black Lodge where she is still alive, trapped between worlds, her hair is larger than life: dramatically swooping into her face, the blonde curls reflecting blinding red and blue lights. the changes happen subtly onscreen but they’re not an accident. the same is true of Dana Ashbrook-as-Bobby’s 90s teen dream hair which shape shifts from bad boy to little boy as he reveals his loving naivety in his journey to understand his father. the swirls above his eyes jump up to expose more of his face, which really does make him feel more youthful, more vulnerable. hair is a language, and no one can speak it as fluently as David Lynch, even if the man never picked up a pair of shears in his life. he juxtaposes the similarly slicked back styles of Dale Cooper and Josie Packard, one of whom is on a mission to uncover answers, while the other is doing more covering up than anything else. who else would think to wrap that up in a shiny, structured hairstyle that reflects the ultimate desire for order in a world hopelessly rife with chaos?

i’m very sad he’s gone.

there are still films of his I need to watch, like Inland Empire and Mulholland Drive. i think about him every time i crave a cigarette, which is almost every day even though it’s been years since i quit. i think about him when i paint, when i meditate. he’s visited me in my dreams. this world is ugly but Lynch’s work challenges the ugliness with pure, unadulterated beauty. it’s all around us, even now.

1. David Lynch

2. David’s Top Textures

3. Sheryl Lee as Laura Palmer, Twin Peaks

4. Isabella Rossellini as Dorothy Vallens, Blue Velvet

5. Joan Chen as Josie Packard, Twin Peaks

6. Jack Nance as Henry Spencer, Eraserhead

7. Patricia Arquette as Alice Wakefield, Lost Highway

8. Lara Flynn Boyle as Donna and Lenny Von Dohlen as Harold, Twin Peaks

fix your hearts,

fig

[scssrd]

Intentional Frizz- It’s just volume, baby!

1. Natasha Lyonne

whimsical and undone curls with their own agenda. does Natasha even know how cool she is? does she even care?

2. Donna Summer

the original Bad Girl, of course she’s been fluffing up her curls since forever. her hair holds romance, lust, party girl energy.

3. Margaret Qualley

frizz queen. it’s really giving christian horse girl who sits behind you in class but she makes it look hot.

4. Alexa Chung

she probably stayed up too late club-hopping with Alex Turner to brush her hair, poor girl. Alexa Chung was such an inspiration to me as a teen. I could never pull off the shorts over tights but i can pull off frizz so i’m happy.

5. Robert Smith

it’s for the boys too. mess up your hair! you’ll look moody and brooding and a little bit (a lotta bit) 80s.

6. Andy Warhol

do I even need to explain?

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we have to talk about cream cleansers

happy november! we’re officially in the throes of fall and, boy, does it feel good. honestly, october was rough for me. i had quite a bit of personal drama to attend to and amidst the chaos, i ran out of my favorite hair wash. this led to me stealing my girlfriend’s shampoo and conditioner (which isn’t my favorite) unfortunately resulting in a series of bad hair days, ultimately making my october even worse. thankfully we’re past it now. 

in retrospect, i’m oddly grateful for the opportunity to do a little “pepsi challenge” with my haircare. i’ve always battled against my hair’s limp and lifeless texture until I began using my current holy grail product: Trader Joe’s Hair Wash. Hair Wash is a cream cleanser, not technically a shampoo. but isn’t that all a shampoo is: a hair cleanser? well, not quite. shampoos work completely different than cream cleansers (sometimes also called co-washes), which is why they can leave your hair feeling very different. after using traditional shampoo and conditioner, my hair will dry stick-straight and very frizzy. even styling product doesn’t add much texture. cream cleansers like Hair Wash actually bring out some movement in my hair, adding a hint of wave and flip to my otherwise very boring texture. i’m usually a wash-and-go kinda guy, so i love being able to air dry my hair after using Hair Wash and end up with a result that actually looks like i tried to look good. low effort, high impact is what i’m all about.

now, for the record, my girlfriend uses very good shampoo and conditioner. it’s not like i stooped down to Head & Shoulders level. not at all. we’re talking LOMA nourishing shampoo and moisturizing treatment. lots of aloe in both. tons of natural moisture. hydrolyzed protein, even. these are products i recommend to clients who are dead set on using a shampoo and conditioner, so where did i go wrong this last month? sure, there are really great quality shampoos on the market, but 9 times out of 10 i will prefer a cream cleanser and i’ll tell you why: it all comes down to the science.

let’s talk pH! hair has a relatively low pH, around 3-4 on the litmus scale, meaning it’s acidic. when that pH rises, the cuticle of the hair (aka the scales on the outer surface of each strand) opens up. this weakens the hair, making it more prone to frizz, split ends, and breakage. shampoo works by raising the pH of the hair, therefore opening the hair’s cuticle, and then cleansing any oils, products, skin cells, etc. from the inside and outside of the hair using detergent. detergent is what makes soap bubble up- a lot of us associate this sensation with the feeling of being clean but don’t fall victim to bubble’s charms! detergents are entirely too harsh to be using regularly on hair. it’s simply overkill. shampoo strips your hair of all the oils- it doesn’t discriminate between “good” or “bad” oils, nor does it leave a baseline level of natural oils behind to nourish your hair and scalp. the idea is that you follow up with conditioner, which is acidic and will smooth down the cuticle at the same time as it adds moisture back in. if you use a conditioner with a good amount of moisture and protein, your hair should end up feeling decently soft/shiny but it will still be slightly weakened after being put through the pH circus.

here’s the thing, i know most of you reading this probably use shampoo and a lot of you probably have no problems or complaints so far. i’m not trying to tell you that your shampoo is evil and will make all your beautiful hair break off. maybe you’re one of the lucky ones who’s pretty happy with your current routine. and congrats if you are! i always say the key to good hair is trial and error- everyone has different hair and preferences so if you like how it’s working it’s okay to stick with it! but if you’ve never found the right shampoo for you, maybe that’s because shampoo isn’t the right product for you at all. maybe you’re dealing with damaged hair, or maybe you just feel like your hair needs a few days to settle after being washed. maybe it feels too flat, not enough volume. or maybe it’s frizzy and hard to style. maybe it simply gets oily too fast! enter cream cleansers.

so what is a cream cleanser? it’s basically a wash for your hair that cleanses using natural oils rather than detergents. the oils bond to everything you want to wash out of your hair (excess oil, product buildup, dead skin, whatever) and rinse clean out. these cream cleansers tend to have a pH that’s closer to your hair and skin, that way it’s not disrupting the cuticle so much. instead it actually leaves your hair smoother, stronger and shinier, especially with regular usage. the less your hair’s cuticle is manipulated, the better! the other benefit to cream cleansers is high moisture retention due to humectant ingredients that bring hydration deeper into the hair strand. this enhances your natural texture, leaving your hair  with more bounce to it, more body, more of those cool little twists and flips, basically all the fun parts of your hair that make you feel like you’re having a good hair day. and this is without the use of other products! Hair Wash has allowed me to cut back on styling products when it comes to my own hair and clients. yes, i’ve been stocking my salon with Trader Joe’s Hair Wash, too. it works so well on so many hair types and textures: curly, wavy, straight n stubborn, thick, thin, coarse, wiry, silky, cottony. and what’s better than falling in love with a miracle product that’s $4.99? seriously, what’s the catch?

let me tell you a little secret: Trader Joe’s Hair Wash is nothing new. in fact, it’s a blatant copycat of another cream cleanser on the market, Hairstory New Wash. most hairstylists love New Wash for a lot of reasons, but what really sets it apart is that Hairstory has a kickass affiliate program for stylists to make a large commission off online sales. this is a rare model in the beauty industry so i understand why many professionals flock to it, but honestly i’ve never been much of a salesman. i could probably be making a lot more money off of product retail sales but frankly i’m not interested. i’ve tried New Wash and Hair Wash and i can honestly say there’s not a huge difference in formula. New Wash and Hair Wash have a lot of similar ingredients: aloe, water, glycerin, evening primrose oil, sunflower seed oil, lavender flower extract, peppermint oil. they both are silicone free, sulfate free, paraben free, and detergent free. neither brand tests on animals. New Wash comes in a recyclable pouch, while Hair Wash has a plastic squeeze bottle. i do prefer the pouch but i still opt for Trader Joe’s Hair Wash for two huge reasons. one, it retails at $4.99 for 8oz, while New Wash is $46 for the same quantity. yikes. note: you do have to use quite a bit of product with cream cleansers- remember this is replacing both your shampoo and conditioner, so you don’t want to skimp. i have short hair and typically wash 2-3 times a week, and one 8oz bottle lasts me around 10 weeks. i'd much rather be spending $5 every couple months than $50. the second reason I prefer TJ’s version is the ingredient inclusion of hydrolyzed protein. hair is essentially composed of moisture and protein. protein deficiency in your hair can lead to stretchy strands over time. like literally stretchy. gummy, even. it's no good. once you get to that point, the answer is a big haircut or expensive protein treatments such as Olaplex and K18. don’t risk it, not when Trader Joe’s has your back for a fiver.

remember, i have nothing to gain from this. i don’t own stock in Trader Joe’s, i don’t make a commission on your purchase or anything of the sort. my love for TJ’s Hair Wash is earnest. i’ve even written Joe multiple love letters in the form of emails where i sing Hair Wash’s praises and beg him not to discontinue it. if i haven’t sold you already, this will be the cherry on top. this past week, when i was relying on my girlfriend’s bottles of LOMA to carry me through, i was able to take photos to compare the results of washing with Hair Wash versus good ol classic shampoo and conditioner. you can see exactly what i’m talking about: the picture from post-Hair Wash shows my hair twisting through the nape and bouncing to frame my face, while the post-shampoo picture reveals a much flatter reality. you know what they say- pictures speak louder than words.

xoxo, fig

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Edie Campbell for Marie Claire U.S.

Edie’s “chelsea girl” look pulls heavily from mod influences, sending us back to the 1960s in homage to the original Chelsea Girls, an experimental film by Andy Warhol. Edie’s haircut is simultaneously heavy and fluffy; square layers softly flutter around her face like dog ears while the bangs are cut to be both blunt and textured. A longer, more feminine take on the classic mod cut

[scssrd]

the return of britpop and the hair that follows

Tuesday, September 24.

these days i’m not much of a social butterfly. i’ve been behind on work for quite some time but when i’m not editing pictures for my portfolio, i’ve been reading and painting. both very quiet, solo activities. every sunday, my girlfriend and i go to Park Pantry, the most Long Beach diner there is, to people watch and get some time outside. a few weeks ago, while we were sitting on the patio, a normal-looking white man in a polo shirt walked by and complimented my haircut. it was then i realized Oasis must be getting back together.

Oasis was never really my jam. if anything, i’ve always preferred Blur, but i can admit Oasis was onto something. no, i don’t want to talk about their music. does anyone really have anything new to say about Champagne Supernova at this point? god no. i just want to talk about their hair. if the band is coming back after all, wouldn’t their hairstyles, too?

i’ve always loved the look of mod styles. the heavy fringe, grown out sideburns, and wispy necklines always felt very androgynous to me. i don’t feel like myself when i’m wearing a style that feels too feminine or too masculine, and a chelsea or mod cut feels like the perfect mix of both. another feature of the mod i love is structure. it’s the best word i’ve found to describe this look. it’s not about bluntness alone, in fact it can still be more varied or textured. it’s about having a more definite shape, a shape that is cut into the hair and helped but not made entirely by styling. people are busy, and they don’t want to sacrifice good hair. they want to pay someone to give them good hair in the form of a cut that is easy to wake up and brush into place on the daily, maybe rake a dime-sized amount of styling paste through and call it a day.

with most of the hair on the top, sides, and back removed, either buzzed out of the way or gently razor cut to lay down versus stand straight up, it’s hard to wake up with bedhead. even in the slightly longer version of the classic britpop shapes, the mod cut, the layers build on top of themselves to create a certain amount of weight. that weight forces the softer hairs around your face to lay down and behave, perfect for people with unruly cowlicks or whirl patterns.

here’s some of my favorite britpop-inspired shapes:

1. credit to coiffeurstory on instagram.

soft and romantic whisps. gentle curls cut into a sculpted chelsea cut, showcasing the model’s head shape. seeing the outline of someone’s skull is very intimate, it makes the haircut very personal. as this grows out, it’ll take on the shape of the classic shag with lots of playful twists around the hairline at the face and nape.

2. credit to coiffeurstory on instagram.

sharp and jagged layers, cut and styled into spikes at the crown and bangs. heavy sideburns are cut to retain weight and substance around the ear which shows off the heavily-contrasted texture elsewhere. with mostly triangular and some square shapes, the haircut has a much more masculine finish despite the longer length.

3. Ian Brown of The Stone Roses.

a more mellow take on the mod cut, bordering on shag. the layers are more organic and fluid, creating curves rather than points. not spiky, but wavy around the face and nape. the bangs are cut square and heavily textured to avoid things feeling too blunt. very wearable, very 90s style.

4. Noel Gallagher of Oasis.

much shorter, cropped even, without the risk of looking bland or monotonous. the texture is accentuated yet effortless. it doesn’t look like he’s styled his hair much at all, but the cut itself is very interesting to look at. interesting and casual. not too loud or flashy. perfect for the shy mod.

5. Katie Sketch of The Organ.

a very gay take on a classic shape. almost a shaggy, chelsea-ish pixie. katie notoriously did her own hair, even styling it herself in this marc jacobs campaign. her natural hair texture makes this cut even better, the twists fight against straight lines and create a slanted and lived in vision.

xoxo, fig

[scssrd]

heat wave

Excessive Heat Warning. These conditions are expected to last until 8:00 PM (PDT) Monday, September 9. National Weather Service

Monday, September 9.

this morning the sun was red and sticky, pouring in the kitchen window and making our tiny house look and feel like hell. the weather never made sense to me. how can it drop 12 degrees one day to the next? allegedly this heat wave will be over by tomorrow but i doubt it. it does feel like summer’s last hurrah, though, which i suppose is bittersweet. here’s how i’ve been cooling off for the last week or so

listening party

Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass’s Whipped Cream & Other Delights

sounds like pansies, tulips, sunflowers in full bloom, icy mojitos and mint juleps by the pool, super tight shorts for men, fisherman sandals, sweet and sour, olive green with a pop of orange-red, the sound of a vespa moped honking

Elvis’ Golden Records (yes it’s a compilation- sue me!)

sounds like denim, sweaty leather car seats, toasted bread for a good sandwich, walking to the park, first dates, drive in movies, ostrich skin cowboy boots, petting a stranger’s dog

Françoise Hardy’s Tous Les Garçons et Les Filles

sounds like a glass of white wine, marcona almonds, etat libre d’orange jasmin et cigarette pefume, swirling hair in the wind, lip gloss, second hand mary jane shoes with white socks of course, a well loved, dog-eared book, iced black tea

flash brew coffee

so much better than cold brew because it’s fully extracted, meaning it actually tastes like good coffee and not stainless steel*

*to me cold brew tastes too smooth, not enough contrast to show off the true notes. every cold brew tastes the same to me: cold, sterile, empty, artificial, and sweet and smoky like cold cuts.

use the same amount of coffee grinds (grounds? grinds?) as usual but cut the amount of water in half. replace the missing water with ice and stir till it becomes consistently cold. yes, the ice will melt and cool everything off. that’s what we want. add fresh ice and oat milk or creamer of your choice. works for pour over, aeropress, and traditional drip coffee pots. simple, but special.

love letter to hypochlorous acid:

use it on your face as a soothing and clarifying toner, to refresh your scalp when it’s feeling oily/itchy/dirty, feet and armpits to neutralize sweat and stop odor, hands as sanitizer spray, etc etc. you can use it on surfaces to kill bacteria, microbes, and fungus. you can even use it on your produce as a no-rinse cleanser! your body naturally produces hocl in your white blood cells so it is completely safe to use on even delicate skin around the eyes and you can even ingest it. yes it kills covid and mpox too…

here’s the thing about the summer: it’s disastrous for your hair. especially these heavy, swampy days where your sweat will turn dry shampoo to goo. skip the dry shampoo right now and use your hands to give your roots and scalp a little massage if you’re feeling greasy. your fingers will help distribute the natural oils more evenly, then you can spray your hair with water and scrunch to refresh your texture. i wouldn’t rely on a salt spray or jelly right now because paired with the high temperatures, it’s bound to dry out your ends a little bit. just good old water is all you need, hypochlorous acid for your scalp if you’re down (or desperate). and don’t be afraid to wash your hair more often as you sweat more! a dirty scalp is bound to cause problems down the line in the form of stunted hair growth, itchiness, flaky skin, etc.

let your wet hair cool you down as you air dry. and when your hair dries and you can’t stand it touching your neck? put it up. or back. claw clip, hairpin (pencil, chopstick, even), sweatband, scrunchie, clips, even slicked back if it’s too short for any of the above.

in

washing your hair multiple times a week (it’s hot, you’re sweaty, and it feels good to have cold wet strands falling on your neck- the wet look IS VERY IN)

claw clips > hair ties (less tension means less hair breakage and less achy scalp)

slicking your hair back (the wet look! is very! in!!)

undercuts, baby

out

dry shampoo (dry powder+sweat= soggy sticky product buildup. just wash your hair)

tight braids (give yourself some room to breathe)

blow outs (in this heat? hello???)

hot hot reading list: summer gothic

weird trend amongst the books i’ve read in the last month or so is that there has been a heavy floridian presence. why florida? absolutely no clue. here’s a list of some reading material (and one movie) perfect for your red hot florida summer

graphic novels

Wet Moon- series 1-7 by Sophie Campbell

(goths, gay girls, the best hairstyles you’ve ever seen, mismatched

friends, florida swamp, stabbings…?)

Night and Dana by Anya Davidson

(growing up and falling apart, the fine line between passion and obsession, nonbinary film nerds, special effects makeup)

novels

Gone To The Wolves by John Wray

(metalhead misfit kids outgrowing their small town, LA adventure, the 80s and 90s, intersectionality, cults)

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

(grooming, predatory high school teacher, confronting disgusting desire, gender-swapped lolita. cw pedophilia and molestation.)

film

Spring Breakers by Harmony Korine, starring Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, Rachel Korine, and James Franco.

(finding yourself, pushing limits, fucking up, bailing out)

xoxo, fig