1. What you loved as a kid is probably what you should be doing now. Not professionally necessarily, but because it will fill your soul. Take a music lesson, dance around your house, paint a picture, read about space exploration, volunteer. Our “purpose” is to enjoy our lives.

2. The more sure I have been about a “sure thing” the harder it has come crashing down. Marriage, jobs, plans for the future. I said I would never get a corporate job. I said would never move out of Boston. I said I would never have kids. So glad I was wrong about it all.

3. Sharing your age is empowering. I bet some of you thought I was quite a bit older than 33. I bet some of you thought I was quite a bit younger than 33. I eventually realized that it doesn’t matter. Hiding my age was one of many ways in which I was dimming my own light.

4. A good opportunity is only a good opportunity if it’s good FOR YOU. I got offered a great job at that very famous & respected ad agency in Portland, OR shortly after moving to Los Angeles. People thought I was crazy for turning it down, but the timing wasn’t right. I still don’t regret it.

5. You can change anything you want. You really can. There is always a way out. On the other side of that change might not be exactly what you are looking for but I can guarantee you’ll be closer to finding it. And it’s better than the daily haunting of “what if?”.

6. If someone drains your energy rather than fills it up. If they only take and don’t give. If their side of the text message bubble is a 1,000x the length of yours. If you know everything about them and they know nothing about you. That person is not your friend.

7. Serendipity is created. You’re not going to get discovered sitting on your couch watching Lost. You’re not going to get clients by never putting yourself out there. You certainly won’t become a famous writer / artist / choreographer if you’re not producing any work.

8. Don’t have heroes. At this point I have met and even worked with a lot of mine & let me tell you… They’re faking it for the gram. They’re in debt. Their marriage is falling apart. Their teammates hate them. They don’t know what they’re doing.

9. Most of the people you see as “lucky” have greatly benefited from their privilege. Behind the scenes they have had money or relationships that helped them fall upward. The world would be a better place if they acknowledged that.

10. Everyone you know is going through something. Comparing pain is futile. Their worst day ever feels just as bad as your worst day ever. Choose to respond with kindness and compassion even if it seems like not a big deal. One day your big deal may seem trivial to someone else.

11. Listening is more important than giving advice. The impulse to be right, or to save someone, is worth training into submission. Listening is hard but you can work at it just like you do anything else. Silence is OK. Discomfort is OK.

12. Being willing to be wrong, publicly and often, has grown my career more than any professional accolades I have worked hard to earn.

13. You should assume that people are generally good, but also understand that their motivations for everything are selfish. When you accept that, you’ll experience a lot less suffering.

14. You can make your own family. Your own traditions. Your own rules. This can look like what everyone else does or it can look totally different. For example: we go on vacation at Christmas. It’s awesome. Did you know you too can opt-out of holidays? You can!

15. People are going to judge you no matter what you do in life. Might as well do whatever you want and get judged for that than trying to be someone you’re not.

16. Health feels like a physical thing but it’s also spiritual and relational and emotional. Get right in every area of your life and you’ll feel so much better.

17. Love does not equal a good relationship. You can be in love with someone but if you can’t trust or communicate with them, it will never really work. Neither of you will have your needs met.

18. (If or when you are able to break the paycheck to paycheck cycle): Spend less than you earn. Live below your means. Budget (see #19). Save every month even if it’s $20. Buy things used. Your bank account and the environment will thank you.

19. Budgeting is great for your peace of mind. Also, you can budget for self care! And other things you want but don’t necessarily need. I started using YNAB again recently and it has restored my financial confidence. I have budget items for live music, DIY projects, & more.

20. Go to therapy. Get a coach. Get a coach AND go to therapy. Improving yourself is the best investment you can make.

21. I try not to be preachy about the not drinking thing, but nothing has made more of a drastic improvement on my quality of life than quitting alcohol. You don’t have to be an addict to quit. And you don’t have to be “sober” to just… not drink.

22. Be the person who responds. I can’t tell you how many intros I get to people who never even reply back. You’re not going to get an opportunity that you haven’t put yourself in the running for. I think for some folks counting themselves out feels easier than rejection. Stop that.

23. Read books. Abandon the book if it’s not good and start a different one. Try fiction. Try nonfiction. Get your books from the library. Build a collection of the books you want to return to at home. Give books. Run away from anyone who pokes fun at your love for reading.

24. Work towards being self-sufficient. It took me until this year to see the value in being able to fix things around my house, understand what’s going on with my car, grow plants, etc. More than anything else, these skills have been huge confidence builders.

25. Indulge your kids’ imagination. Sometimes it feels like I am the only parent willing to be silly and pretend and play with the kids and chase them around. Connecting with them and making memories is way more important than how I look to the other adults (which is: ridiculous).

26. Prioritize mercilessly. Whose needs & opinions matter most? For me, the respect of my kid is more important than anything/ anyone else. If I can stand before her with confidence and integrity in the choices I’ve made, then it feels like I am doing everything right.

27. Accept that your parents and most “adults” around you will never change. Adjust your expectations, behavior, etc. accordingly. Work to understand where they are coming from. Love them anyway. (And be happily surprised if/when they do change!)

28. You are not your work. Let me repeat, you are not your work.

29. Value isn’t just monetary. For example, if you’re negotiating compensation for a new job, think of what other levers you can pull if you’re not agreeing on salary. Title and/or bonus, but also flexible hours / work from home, extra vacation days, education stipend/ training.

30. Exercising is a lot easier when you really like what it is that you’re doing. It’s worth the time and money exploring different forms of movement to find the one that motivates you to keep showing up.

31. None of the time I’ve spent wondering about the big “why”s of life have been a waste. I’m probably further than I have ever been from understanding the meaning of it all, but I am more grounded than ever in my own version of faith (energy, karma, spirit, connection).

32. We have so much to learn from animals and Mother Nature.

33. I’m here for a good time, not a long time. I regret nothing.

I like to think that it would be no surprise to anyone who reads my emails (or especially my tweets) that the health of my mental is tenuous at best.

But while it feels obvious to me that I don’t have it together, I do feel like on this day it’s important to call it out explicitly.

Because I am in the fortunate position of having a (very small) platform online for my work there’s a thing I get told a lot: “you’re killing it!” And I always say “thank you!”… before uncomfortably moving the conversation forward. But what I really want to ask is “why do you think that?”

Many of the things I consider my most meaningful contributions to the marketing industry, for example, have resulted in just as much alienation as visibility. Everyone loves to fav someone who is bold on Twitter!… but no one actually wants to book (never mind pay) her for a speaking engagement to share more. Radical ideas be too radical.

And if you were to look all the way behind the curtain, the things you might see as me “killing it” have actually been killing me. At times quite literally.

The constant travel over the past 10 years has ravaged my body. And I had a brutal postpartum sickness that I am only finally starting to heal from 3 years later. While my business has grown and is doing well by most standards of measuring new businesses in their first year… I am on track to make about the same amount of money I made 10 years ago. For double the work. Which, as the primary earner in my household, isn’t a great position to be in.

I believe in the investment my partners and I are making in Current Forward. I know I’m getting my health back on track. My family is happy and the roof is still over our heads. The future actually IS fucking bright. By some measures I probably AM killing it. But you can see where 99 days out of the past 100 I have not felt like I’ve been “killing it”.

How many of us feel like we are “killing it”? How many people that I see killing it or praise for killing it are actually on the same struggle bus as me? I’m starting to think that the gap between the greatness that others see in you, and the way you actually feel, is where mental health is found and built. I can’t know what’s true for you all, but on this Mental Health Day I wanted to share that I’m still very much a work in progress.

Tell us about yourself.

My name is Kaitlin Maud. I’m a solopreneur currently based in Los Angeles. When not working, I am usually found at the gym, consuming some sort of media, or traveling. As of June I’ll be taking on my biggest project yet: a baby girl!

What do you do?

I am a Strategy consultant and coach. I work with primarily with lifestyle brands and creative professionals to help them solve complex problems. Think Olivia Pope, but my process involves a lot more research, trendspotting, and brainstorming and lot less murder. My areas of expertise are wellness, arts & music industry, digital, & youth culture, so the majority of my projects and clients fall into those buckets. I also get hired for workshop facilitation and giving talks at companies and conferences, both of which I really enjoy. (I’m still trying to figure out how to explain all of this to my parents!) Prior to starting my own business I worked as a Brand Planner in the advertising industry.

Why did you go into Advertising?

I went to art school for college. At that time I felt extremely insecure about my future as a working artist, so I pursued coursework and ultimately a career that I hoped would be creatively stimulating but also economically viable… If I could go back and yell at my 20 year old self I would! I would never tell someone now to choose money over passion. But in the end it all worked out. I took quite a liking to the communications field, and other aspects of the “corporate world” that I would have otherwise never been exposed to. I realized business can (and should be) creative and that the artistic process translates very well to business processes.

Who are some women that inspire you in your life and work?

I make it a point to surround myself with women that inspire me in life and work. And I would encourage everyone else to do the same! There are so many great female role models out there, but when those role models are people you know personally, the admiration is more like inspiration. It becomes actionable. Some of the great ladies in my life who keep me motivated are:

Melissa Dowler — Melissa used to be my boss at an ad agency, but she left the industry to start her own film production company. She has directed a few documentaries now in addition to commercial videos and she is doing a lot of great advocacy work for women in the film industry in general. She’s a great mentor who to me embodies authenticity and following your bliss.

Madeline Timm — Maddie is my fitness coach, but is also a huge inspiration to me as a working soon-to-be mom. She has been a great support and motivator throughout my pregnancy and seeing how much she has grown personally and professionally after the birth of her son has inspired me. In addition to coaching she also does fitness modeling and is a competitor in the CrossFit Games.

Nancy Baym — Nancy was kind enough to meet with me for coffee when I was in a period of transition living in Boston and working at an ad agency. I was considering changing directions with my career to pursue research in a more academic setting and she gave me great advice. She and I have kept in touch through social media and I keep a close eye on her work. Nancy studies internet and entertainment — two fields that I also do a lot of work in. And she’s a kickass mom!

Christen DeLaney — Christen is a friend from Boston who moved out to LA around the same time as me. Also like me, she came out with the intention of growing her own business and she has been knocking it out of the park. Her jewelry line CAM can be found in Nordstrom and Free People. She’s also super dedicated to her spiritual and fitness practices and I admire how she weaves it into her life and work so seamlessly.

What are you passionate about?

I am passionate about a whole lot! If I had to narrow it down to one particular theme though, I would say I am most passionate about education. I am a voracious learner. I spend the majority of my non-work time reading and talking to new and interesting people. I love to try new things. As for what drives this passion professionally, I love to share knowledge with others as a coach and consultant. I am passionate about helping women in particular learn, grow, and build their confidence. I believe everyone has something to teach and something to learn.

What is the most helpful piece of advice someone has given you?

My mom taught me that you can always change or un-do anything in your life (except having a baby). I’ve made a lot of changes over the years when things haven’t worked for me — I’ve moved across the country, left jobs, ended relationships. But when it came to starting a family, I listened to her and waited until I was absolutely sure it was what I wanted. I still don’t necessarily feel “ready”, but I am confident in myself that I will be able to figure it out. And that confidence only came from many years of adapting to those other big changes.

Why do you do what you do and what do you love most about what you do?

I am continually evolving my “what I do” and finding new ways to bring my work to life in this world. But ultimately my why has remained the same — I want to inspire people. Not inspire them because of who I am as a person or anything, but to serve as vehicle for others to get to the information or people that will give them that “ah-ha moment” as Oprah calls it. I want to surface ideas people may have never heard of or been exposed to. I want to introduce them to new and different cultures or ways of doing things. I love opening people’s minds and getting them to think out of the box. This is a critical part of the creative process and I thrive when I’m in that role.

Are there challenges you have faced in your work specifically because you’re women? If so, how did you overcome them?

Oh, yes. Advertising in particular is still a very male dominated field and it’s pretty common to encounter sexism. It’s not usually personal or intentional, but cultural and systemic (which, in my experience, is actually worse).

One example from a couple of months ago- I had an agency client whose client on the brand side of the project didn’t respect women in business/leadership. Flat out. I am not positive where his bias stemmed from exactly, but rather than tackle the issue head on, the agency opted to bring on an older white male to the team to present the research and strategic recommendations to the client team so that it would be received more favorably. It was uncomfortable and sort of messy for me to not have the opportunity to represent and take ownership of the work. But what do I do, you know? There’s no real handbook for this. What would you do?

I’m facing new challenges now as I enter motherhood. Growing a business and growing a human simultaneously has presented unique scenarios that I haven’t exactly known how to navigate. For example, when is the appropriate time to let clients and prospects know that I’m expecting? I worry sometimes that my baby will be seen as a liability and not an asset, but at the end of the day I have to trust that if a client or project is really a good fit for me, my parental status will be a non-factor. I would be lying though if I said I wasn’t concerned about the future and balancing family / work.

As for how I am overcoming sexism? Well, I’ve started by educating myself and becoming more aware of the dynamics and biases at play especially in business. This has helped me be a better advocate for myself, which I hope will have a ripple effect on the women I coach and the women I work with and mentor. I try to be conscious of the media I consume and share — is it mostly male voices I am amplifying? This has made me a more vocal supporter of and collaborator with female-first publications (like yours!). I’ve also joined communities such as Innovation Women in the hopes of securing more speaking opportunities on gender-balanced panels at conferences. These practices are all small, but they add up and add up exponentially as more women see and adopt them themselves.

Are there any particular people who you would absolutely love to collaborate with on something?

An exercise I’ve done for my business a couple of times now is profiling my ideal (target) customer. What problems is she facing in life/work? How would she find out about a business like mine? What type of services and products does she need from me? The person I always use as my ideal customer is Jenna Lyons — the Creative Director for J. Crew. I would love to collaborate with her on Strategy work for the brand or even work with her as a coach!

What would be your advice to girls and women?

Never settle. In relationships, in jobs, in your health or in any other aspect of your life. “OK” or “good enough” is not good enough. When you stop growing, learning, trying… You might as well be dead.

What are the elements that you believe make up a good research design?

• Clear objectives
• Working hypothesis
• An approach that includes, ideally, a balance of both qual & quant methods
• A very specific target and a sample size that is big enough to show trends/patterns, but not so big that it is unmanageable for your time/efforts

What are the most important skills that you believe an aspiring researcher would need to have an order to be successful in this field?

• Creativity: ability to make something out of nothing (eg. designing a test with little to no budget or with a fast turnaround)
• People skills: the ability to approach and build a rapport with anyone/anyone
• Listening skills: a great researcher is VERY comfortable with silence
• Discernment: know when a source is reputable & valuable or when you’re being led down a rabbit hole

What actions do you suggest an aspiring researcher take to get started in this field?

• Practice makes perfect — you’ll learn a lot just diving in and doing some research! — ask more senior team members to review your discussion guides and give feedback or offer to shadow them & take notes
• Observational skills — practice observing your surroundings & drawing out insights. Every time you think “I wonder why people…” start looking into it. See if there’s already research done that you can read and learn from, or come up with a hypothesis and find ways to test it in every day life. Get curious and poll your friends… that sort of thing. Curiosity is your best friend.

I’m sorry to hear you lost your health insurance. That sucks.

The first 2 years and three months that I was self-employed I lived without insurance. During that time I also had a number of needs that required medical attention including but not limited to clinical depression and pregnancy. I learned a lot from navigating the system from the outside and now that you are an outsider, too, maybe you can take a couple tips from things I discovered along the way.

First and foremost: CASH IS KING.

More than any of what you are about to read below, you need to know this. Medical professionals have separate rates for patients who don’t have insurance. Those rates are, more often than not, extremely reasonable, because you are paying them as a provider directly. Even lesser known than the “out-of-pocket rate” is the reduced rate that many medical professionals also have (or agree to) for patients paying cash. You are entitled to request these rates (in writing) in advance of any appointment or procedure and please know that it is NOT an unreasonable request! You’ll be amazed what you’re able to learn simply by asking.

Second most important: PREVENTATIVE CARE is your new priority.

It is now more important than ever to maintain your health. Spend a little money up front to stay well, because if you don’t it will cost you a lot more on the back end. This means eat extremely clean. Exercise regularly. All of those things that you know that you “should” do? They are now must-dos. I also invested in acupuncture, supplements and natural medicine, and massage as maintenance.

Quick tips:

1. Use 3rd party blood labs (such as Quest) and have the results sent to your Dr. rather than having tests done on-site.
2. Ask your eye Dr. to write your prescription for 2 years instead of 1. They will.
3. You do not need dental x-rays every year. Get them done every 2.
4. Go to a NP for sick & well checks. (D.O.s are also good.) By nature they have more hands-on experience with many different day-to-day issues and are more likely to want to treat root causes and find alternative remedies (less influenced by Pharma).
5. Ask your Dr. about alternative procedures and medicines as well as the relative costs of each before agreeing to next steps. Hold them accountable for giving you options with pros and cons for each.
6. Look for community clinics for things like therapy. Seeing a psychiatrist is extremely expensive, but you can see a student therapist or life coach in training for low out-of-pocket costs.
7. Depending on your state, talk to a Dr. about a medical marijuana prescription. If you’re dealing with anxiety, headaches, insomnia, IBS, or any other mild-to-medium annoying issue, it is worth looking into marijuana as a more affordable and sustainable alternative to a pharmaceutical treatment.
8. Consider becoming a member of a medical collective such as OneMedical. While you’ll still have to pay uninsured rates for each visit, for less than $200 a year you’ll get 24/7 access to on-call nurses, telemedicine, and more. You can see doctors in other cities without having to jump through a bunch of hoops, too.

That’s it for now! Take a deep breath. You’re not alone and we are all going to help you through this.

And if you have any tips for living life uninsured, please share them below.

I love the idea of doing a round-up of loves from the year. Somewhere atop the list of things I love would be lists, which also makes this a particularly fun exercise for me.

In light of what an absolute garbage fire 2016 was, we could all use a little more love. This year I personally had a lot of life change. I moved (twice). I made a lot of changes in my business (huge growth. huge downsizing.). Like you, I had to come to terms with the unfortunate reality that Donald Trump will be our President. And I had a baby. So the things that I loved this year — I latched onto them and let them carry me.

I consumed A LOT of media this year.

I had these visions of grandeur that I would use the time while the baby was sleeping and eating to read books! And catch up on administrative tasks! And finally finish B-School. Instead I watched A LOT of TV. I listened to a LOT of podcasts. I really just wanted things told to me while a baby slept (or didn’t) on me.

One thing I love about Mondays is that This American Life drops. If you aren’t already down with This American Life, resolve to get into it in 2017. I swear, my baby knew Ira Glass’ voice as well as my own when she made her way into the world. Then every other Friday we get #blessed with This Week Had Me Like — a podcast by @officialseanpenn about celebrities. Think E! meets your stoned bff. Then, usually on Monday or Tuesday (or whenever they post it), I listen to Did You Reddit?. That one I love not only because it’s about internet culture, but because 2/3 of the hosts are friends and former colleagues of mine.

On the TV front, 2016 is the year I joined #BachelorNation. HEAR ME OUT. You could not find anything more fascinating to someone whose job and life purpose is to study analyze people. The Bachelor franchise is like the craziest anthropological adventure I’ve ever been on. This year I also got into Casual. I watched a lot of Portlandia (still great! and still accurate.). But by far the best show of the year for me was Atlanta. The only word I have for it is daring. I feel like it should be required viewing for all. Other shows I loved included: Insecure, Last Week Tonight, Shark Tank, and more recently I watched The OA on Netflix and it was unlike anything else I’ve ever seen. I would recommend it if for no other reason than because it’s interesting.

Also from Donald Glover, we got a new Childish Gambino album this year and it was hot fire emoji! Again, so unique. A must-listen for fans of: Steely Dan, Jill Scott, Common. Also on the love list: new Bon Iver. For fans of: Bon Iver. Local Natives (who I just saw at Emo’s) put out a new album this year as did Amos Lee (who I went to LA to see at the Ace Hotel). 2016 was undeniably the year of Anderson.Paak and if you haven’t listened yet, stop reading now and do so. You can find these guys (and more!) on my Top Songs of 2016 playlist.

Until next year…

Thank you to Alexdandra Franzen for the inspiration/prompt.

Yesterday my friend Nicole published an email with her advice for an aspiring “ad kid”.

Like fellow lady boss Nicole, I get A LOT of people who email me for advice. Since I don’t work at an agency anymore, I don’t often get asked about things like internships (read her post for advice on that!), but I do get asked about things like freelancing and how to make the transition in to (or out of!) the strategy world.

In the spirit of turning this knowledge share Nicole started into a little snowball, I decided to publish one of my emails, too. Below is my reply to a young woman feeling suck in her marketing coordinator role and wondering if she should go back to school.

SO nice to meet you! VCU Brandcenter is amazing — congrats are in order just for getting accepted. What an exciting time for you professionally. I know you’re probably feeling stuck, but the good thing is there are a few different options in front of you and options are GOOD!

Like you, I hit a point a few years into my career where I also debated whether or not I wanted to back to school for a Masters or even pursue a PhD. One thing that helped me out a lot during that time was meeting with people who I admired professionally to hear more about their background and asking them their perspective on getting an advanced degree. Where I netted out was that unless I want to work in academia or unless I need specific licensure for what I want to do, an advanced degree was not the best investment for me.

As a person that is potentially in the position of being one of those professionals who would be able to help you by sharing my background & opinion on higher ed., I will do that.

I went to MassArt and did their communication design program undergrad. I interned at Arnold and a couple of other places (a record label, an event decor co.), then went to work in the Marketing department at WBCN toward the end of college and following graduation. When WBCN stopped existing (a very sad time), I sort of bounced around until I landed a job at a trade org for the advertising industry. They hired me to manage their online community — social media, newsletter, blog, etc. (this was before it was even called “social media”!).

Lucky for me, at this time the demand for expertise in all things internet was going up — a lot. I got poached by a small agency about 10 months later. There I learned more about the strategy side of digital — not just the tactics of it. I learned how to conduct secondary research and I supported much bigger campaigns and projects. Then another 10 months later, a big agency snatched me up. I ended up staying there for almost 3 years in addition to building a small freelance business on the side. That big agency is where I really honed my skills as a more well-rounded brand planner — not just doing digital strategy, but getting thrown in to all facets of a strategy engagement: primary research, brief writing, etc.

The team I worked on there had people who had done things like Planner Bootcamp at Miami Ad School (not dissimilar to the program at VCU) and people who had MBAs or a lot more experience working at agencies as strategists. But you know what? I was never made to feel like they were necessarily any “better” at the work than I was. In fact, I learned that in some ways having too much education or training can hold you back. It is easy to develop a rigid notion of how things are supposed to go — what a brief needs to look like, what the best planning process is / isn’t… And the reality of our field of work nowadays is that THERE ARE NO RULES. So for me coming in as somewhat of an outsider with unique expertise worked to my advantage. I got put on a lot of fun projects like working with LeBron James, because they wanted someone on the team who was more tuned in to the culture/lifestyle of his brand, who was digitally savvy, and who didn’t try to attack every problem with a methodology.

Over the years I would say I learned 85%+ percent of what my peers learned in their schooling on the job. No one has ever faulted me for not knowing things as long as I am up front about what I do/don’t know and work hard. Branding, marketing, strategy — these are SUCH broad fields. No one could expect you to be an expert in all of it anyway! Besides, I decided that the people I want to work with/for, value me for having a creative, non-traditional background. Those who don’t aren’t a good fit. And having that background has also made me a better strategist. I think differently about the world and that is what my clients need — it’s why they come to me.

VCU is great. You’ll meet so many brilliant, likeminded folks and you’ll build a killer portfolio. But I would just say that if you’re going to go — go because it’s what you WANT to do, not what you feel like you SHOULD do. I am living proof (and a lot of the people who I respect the most are living proof, too!) that furthering your education just to get ahead in the strategy world is not necessary. All of the tools you NEED to grow and succeed in this field are around you. The tools you WANT?… well they might be at Brandcenter.

In the end you gotta do what’s right for you, but I hope that hearing more about my experience helps with your decision making! If you’d like to talk more, I actually do 1:1 coaching for creative professionals in addition to my consulting work. A lot of the clients I work with are like you — working in the communications field and/or in transition career-wise. I have more info about it on my website here: kaitlinmaud.com/work-with-me/ let me know if that would be something you would find valuable.

The best thing about this guide is that it also applies to neon hair, RGB hair, CYMK hair, bold hair, or any colored hair really. So in a couple of years when you decide to embrace a new hair trend, these tips should still hold up.

Before we begin, it is worth disclosing that I am not a hair professional. That being said, I was married to one and worked in salons for more than 5 years. Also, I have had a steady rotation of unnatural hair colors since 2003, so I learned a few things along the way.

1. Don’t wash your hair.

Stop washing your hair. The less you wash it, the less your color is likely to bleed. It is that simple. If you are like me, and you exercise a lot, try to cut down shampooing and invest in a dry shampoo & good conditioner. (More on this below).

2. Rinse with cool water.

If you do need to wash your hair, try instead to rinse your hair. Or at least alternate between rinsing and washing. Your hair does not need to be washed as much as you think it does, especially if you are conditioning it regularly.

The trick for keeping color looking fresh is to NEVER let warm or hot water touch your hair. Cool water only. The boring science behind this has to do with the cuticles of your hair. Warm or hot water OPENS the cuticles, so when you rinse your hair under hot water — color bleeds out. Cool or cold water CLOSES the cuticle, helping to keep your color locked in. A bonus for rinsing (or washing, if you must) with cold water is that your hair will also look and feel more smooth & shiny.

3. Use the right products.

Cheap products will strip your color and make your hair look like shit. The science supporting this has to do with pH balance and the awful chemicals found in most shampoos, which you can learn more about just from a quick Google. The TL;DR is that drug store hair products are made up of mostly water and damaging sulfates.

If you want to maintain your good looking color, you have to keep your hair healthy. I, personally, like to alternate between Davines and Oribe’s Gold Lust (which smells amazing). If you have purple hair, silver hair, or another cool pastel shade, I highly recommend Pravana’s purple conditioner. This conditioner can also help keep platinum blonde looking platinum. For dry shampoo, I like Oribe’s. (Some great tips on dry shampoo here.)

I met a girl recently who has her hairstylist mix up a conditioner for her that has a little bit of her color in it so that when she uses it, it deposits some of the color back into her hair. Awesome! I am still waiting for confirmation on whether or not that is actually a thing that works, but maybe ask your stylist if he/she can do the same for you?

4. Protect from the sun.

If you are lucky enough to live in a sunny part of the world, make sure you are protecting your hair from the sun! UV rays will not only damage your hair and scalp, but will fade your beautiful pastel color. Cover up with a hat or a bandana when you’re going to the beach.

That’s it. Have any other tips for maintaining pastel color? Comment on this post! And if you found this helpful, please pass it on to a pretty pastel haired friend.

These are the 3 best music articles I have read. Probably ever, but at least in the past year.

Businessweek: Genius — the Nickeback Story
Think Nickleback are a bunch of butt rock ass clowns? Think again. Chad Kroegr & co. are revolutionizing the music industry — starting with Canada.

Big Ghostface: Nothing Was the Same album review
To all of those asking “Who is the man behind Big Ghost aka Hands of Zeus?”, I ask: “who cares?” This song-by-song breakdown of Drake’s latest will school you on hip hop history and have you laughing so hard you cry. It’s where the thoughts most of us would dare not say out loud meet brilliant music criticism.

Vice/Noisey: Pull Your Head Out of Your Ass, Bon Iver
A compelling case for Justin Vernon to forge ahead with his Bon Iver project. Worth reading for the use of the term “bone iver” alone.

It’s a short list with something for everyone. Get familiar.

Unrelated: This is my first blog post in years. I am supposed to be doing freelance work, but it’s incredible the things you can find to do when on a deadline. Anything but work.