“So Jo. Why would you share something like this with us?” you might be asking.

Two reasons. The first, because I read an article on Beauty Brains called Can you train your hair to be less oily? and secondly, because enough people have asked me about my hair that I feel like I should come clean about my secret.

So here is the story behind it.

During the summer of 2006, I dyed my hair a reddish-brown and every time I washed it, I literally saw my money going down the drain. I decided that if I didn’t wash my hair, I wouldn’t lose my color (brilliant, right?). So I stopped washing it. On top of it not only being a hot summer, I was taking dance classes, meaning I was sweating more than the average bum. Needless to say I was a greasy mess, but I put up with it so I could save my hair color. After slowly pushing the time in between washes, I am now able to go a month without washing my hair.

I know that sounds gross, but here’s the thing. My hair looks less greasy than yours does after 4 days. I don’t mean that to come off as being mean, it’s just that you can’t tell that it had been a month when you look at me. Bonus: my hair is softer than it’s ever been.Un-bonus: that’s actually a problem (what girl complains about that?) when it comes to styling my hair. I don’t typically use product, so I rely on my natural pomade to keep my coiffure up and my victory rolls tight.

So yeah, you can “train” your hair to be less greasy. I did and you can too. Think about it.

Tips if you want them:

• It takes time to train your hair. If you normally wash your hair every 3 days, push it to 4. Then push it to 5. Then push it to 6. Then push it to 7. Keep pushing!
  Accept the fact that your hair will be greasy. But hey, guess what? It’s just hair. You can still function as a member of society if you haven’t washed your hair.
  Figure out how to wear your hair so it’s less gnarly. Start wearing it up. Find a big headband. Use a scarf. Get inventive.
  Remember, people aren’t really looking at you that closely. You might have some shine, but people won’t think less of you as a person, and if they do, clip ‘em! Don’t worry about them, focus on the goal.
  It takes a while, but hang in there, it gets better.

Cheers!

Question & Answer time!! How long has it been since I washed my hair? How long does it look like it’s been since I’ve washed my hair? When your hair looks like this, how many days has it been for you?

Chime in. I’ll post the answer in a few days.

A few weeks ago at Lindy on the Rocks a fellow dancer made me think about the things we wear every day and why we wear them. So I was asked “why are YOU so dressed up?” and felt two things: a little embarrassed that it was pointed out and freaking proud as hell that I stepped up my game enough that someone noticed! I have not been known in the lindy scene for how I dressed, but after meeting a lady by the name of Sharon Davis, I finally was motivated to pick up my game. One can only spend so much time in the company of someone who dresses really well before you notice how unstylish you yourself are. And for the record, wearing something cute should never feel like a “strange” thing to do!

The long of the short of it, that comment got me thinking about dressing up and what that means. I like dressing up, but I don’t like the time it takes me. But just like anything, the more often you do it, the easier it gets. Q: And really, why should “dressing up” be reserved for special occasions only? How about just because you’re done with work, or because it’s Tuesday, or because you needed something to wear with a fab pair of shoes? Ooh, or how about because you spend your life in sweaty rehearsal clothes and you’re over it!

I was immediately inspired to create this list. More and more I am starting to believe in “dressing up” regularly (for no occasion at all) and I think you should too!

So why dress up? Here are 25 good reasons.

Because life’s too short.

Because we’re only young once. You’re more lovely than you know & have a rockin’ body and one day you’ll look back at yourself and wish you had! Don’t miss your chance!

Fashion is a way to express yourself. What does your gear say about you? That you were rehearsing? That you’re into vintage?

You might run into a totally hottie. You don’t want to look like a scrub, do you?

Other people notice that you’ve got your “game clothes” on. Maybe they dig what you’re doing, maybe they don’t, but your effort is recognized.

You might end up on a website (Swingfashionista anyone?)

You deserve to look good!

Perfect practice makes perfect, so if you want to look good, you have to practice putting outfits together until it’s a piece of cake. No need to throw the towel in.

Gorgeous clothes and unique accessories are an awesome conversation starter.

Saturday nights at a dance event aren’t the only time to celebrate.

Because that fabulous party dress in your closet cost too much to only be worn once. Check out this blog about cost per wear. Quick synopsis: expensive jeans worn 3x a week for a year are a better deal than a $25 dress on worn once.

It’s fun!!!

Even if you live in a place like Pittsburgh and you live in a sketchy neighborhood to boot (cough, cough), cities don’t become stylish without someone taking the first step. Someone had to start wearing clothes from the 80′s again to make the chic!

Dressing up helps you make fashion mistakes and get past them. Perhaps others can learn from your mistake. From me to you: check to see if your underwear stays in place by moving around a bunch. You’d hate to find out they gave you a massive wedgie at the US Open.

It can build your confidence. Dressing unconventionally forces you to develop the self-assurance necessary to stand out from everyone else.

Fashion is art. Don’t believe me? Check out this dress.

If you’ve got it (vintage style, confidence, killer legs), flaunt it.

If/when you have a 8-5 corporate job, you probably won’t have the freedom to wear whatever. If you’re not required to be in uniform, get crazy with it!

Awesome clothes aren’t reserved for the rich and famous. That’s why there are knock-off and affordable stores!

According to the Mayans the world will end on 12/21/2012 – that’s only 3 years and 102 days from now! Y2K was quite the let down, surely this will be too, but why not be on the safe side? Spend the next 3 years looking good!!

Carrie Bradshaw and Derrick Zoolander would not approve of your cheap jeans and UGG boots. You can do better than that. And deep down, you know I’m right.

Doing your hair (ponytails and basic braids don’t count) can give you a pass on the rest of your look.

Nothing beats self confidence. When you look good, you feel good. It’s hard to feel crappy when you look at yourself and you LOVE what you see.

It’s fun to have people ask you where you where you got your stuff.

You want to. That’s the only reason that matters.

First, what issues are you solving for?

> be realistic about your price point – what are you willing to spend and what is that number in US Dollars, Euros, and Swedish Kronor
> what general area would you like to stay in? To figure this out, look at a map of the city and find a district that you’d like to be in to help narrow your search
> is it close to public transportation? What line are you on? In general, it’s good to have a basic understanding of the public transit in a foreign country…..unless you’re in America (sans New York) then look at the freeway system…
> how long will it take me to get to T-Centralen to catch the train to the Arlanda Airport?
> will there be internet?

Figure out what matters to you the most and put them in order.

Let’s go back just a bit so you have a better idea of where I am coming from. After I dicked around for about 3 hours, I finally figured that I was willing paying around U$130, give or take U$30. I then typed “Stockholm hotels” into google (uh!!! Why didn’t I do this hours before????? Why (groaning)??) and saw that I had more options than I really wanted. From there, I located the tube stops, crossed referenced these with a map of subway system and realized that some of the hotels I had originally planned to stay at were no where near a tube stop. Cross them off the list.

I picked a bunch of hotels that were located near a tube stop and then slowly went through the process of entering in the dates of my stay, number of rooms, and number of people. Lots of places were booked solid, a number were enormously out of my price range, and a few hit the mark. In general I was rather impressed with The Scandic Hotels. There were multiple locations and most were rather affordable – I am talking between 750-990 SEK a night for two people! Sweet.

Other places that I thought about staying:

Anno 1647 – Mariagränd 3, SE-116 46 Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Story Hotel – a very artsy-looking place that stole my heart, was about 2000 sek, but a tiny bit too far from the Arlanda Express (in comparison to the hotel I ended up booking)
Nordic Sea Hotel – holy shit this place is cool! And it has an Absolut Ice Bar in the hotel (visited that last year….it’s really cold in there )
Nordic Lights Hotel – same kinda thing as above. Right by the Arlanda Express. Freakin’ cool.

So that’s why I know. After hours of pointless work, that I clearly could have done in 20 minutes, I learned that I am not very efficient at 6am but I can relish the thought that I just learned something that will surely help me in the future.