My love-hate relationship

... with my hair.

I really like being a strawberry blonde; I think it helps to separate me from the masses of blondes and brunettes running amok in the world today (kidding... sort of).  My devotion to my hair color is not representative of my feelings toward my hair on a whole.  Specifically, I have one main beef with my locks.

Simply stated, my hair hates volume.  For realz.  I'm one of those girls who can spent 60 minutes in the bathroom, perfecting my 'do and then step outside into moderate humidity, or God forbid, a drizzle, and I'm looking at a hairstyle flatter than the Midwest.  As a result, I pretty much have two options... curled ends courtesy of a curling iron, or stick-straight hair thanks to my straightener. 

 Straight.  Duh.
(Personal photo from 2007)

Curly.  Duh.

(Personal photo from 2009)

While both have their merits, I feel like I'm constantly falling to one of those two predictable defaults.  Plus, I coat both 'dos in a ridiculous amount of hairspray to lock the style in place, resulting in a totally stuff, unnatural, unmoving look, which is less than ideal.  I want a styling process that gives me some volume, movement, and body, but without being 100% curled or 100% straight, which I had written off as impossible with my hair.  Until now.

Enter: my new best friend - ConAir thermal ionic velcro rollers (and yes, my old pals hairspray and more hairspray).  I can't say enough good things about these little doo-dads.  They manage to give me some volume and curl without looking like a pageant contestant.  Plus I feel like the finished look is polished but doesn't look overly laborious, which is always a good thing.  20 minutes in these babies and a couple coats of hairspray make me one little happy camper.

(Personal photo with my new 'do from 2010)

Don't get me wrong -- I'm definitely getting my hair done by a professional for the wedding.  Nevertheless, I still have a good number of wedding-related events that I'd like to be able to doll myself up for, like the shower and bachelorette party.  This stylistic revolution gives me hope that I can look presentable as a bride-to-be at these upcoming events!

Have you ever had a hair-styling epiphany?  Share your secrets!