I had a little chat with my friend & trusted hair stylist, Val, while she did some magic on my hair, so I have a few hair tips to share with you today!

Even though only two of you asked any questions {thanks Randi and Beth!}, I think these tips are great for any woman to consider!

We all have this idea in our head of the perfect hair.

This is mine…

Isn’t it gorgeous?! And it looks so simple, right?! It’s probably not…

The first tip Val shared was a VERY important one, especially in this day of Pinterest and the pinning of great hairstyles everywhere…

Don’t base your ideal hairstyles off of celebrity photos – you might not have the same hair type and you have no idea how much time a stylist spent on it!

And to follow that up…

Evaluate your hair type – thin, thick, coarse, fine and so on – and make sure the hair styles you pick are the same type!

More than a few times I have found a hair style I love only to get frustrated as it just did NOT work with my hair {yes, I tried the “Rachel” haircut several times and it never looked like Rachel’s}. A lot of the “pin and twist” styles all over the internet right now just will not work with my hair because it is too thick and soft.

I also really want to be able to tease my hair to get a little more volume in the back, but the softness of my hair hurts me there too! I just had some highlights added today, so it may work better at this point. Uncolored, or “virgin,” hair will not tease well.

Don’t waste your precious time trying to duplicate hair styles what won’t work with your hair!

And now Val’s tips for moms trying to avoid the ponytail every morning…

If you want your hair to look styled, you have to take the time to style it! Life is not a movie – you can’t roll out of bed and have gorgeous hair! Just like you have to take time to put together an outfit in the morning to avoid being in your jammies all day, your hair will take some time as well.

But if you need to cut down on your “getting ready” time, Val says…

A great haircut goes a long way. If you don’t have the time to do a lot of styling every morning, get a good haircut every six weeks.

If you have long hair, you can wash your hair the night before to save on drying time in the morning! If I didn’t like my morning shower so much, I would do this more often.

Depending on your hair type, you can also cut down on the number of days you wash your hair. It can actually be better for your hair, but don’t try this if you have an oily scalp. I can get away with washing my hair every other day at some times, but not others, but I will tell you that it holds style better when it is a little “dirty!”

With short hair, though, you will have to wash your hair and blow dry it in the morning if you want volume. Not much you can do to work around that one!

What about a must-have hair product?

Val’s favorite product for all hair types is Moroccan Oil. It adds moisture to any hair without any heaviness. It also adds shine and detangles. I can vouch for this 100%. With long hair, it can be really hard to comb through, and in the winter, dry hair and static can drive me crazy! But Moroccan Oil has been a HUGE help for me and just a little bit goes a long way. I do not spend big money on hair products on a regular basis, but this is WORTH IT.

Please keep in mind, it is hard to give hair advice to each of you without actually seeing and feeling each individual person’s hair. Hair styles cuts are based on so much more than just what is cute – face shape, hair type and so on.

Take some time to figure out your hair type, find styles that work with it and spend a little time styling it at least once this weekend!