Writing

Mostly things I got wrong first.

Parenting, overthinking, the app I hate and use anyway. And the receipts on my hair.

Is MONAT safe? The hair-loss claims, the lawsuits, the ingredients, fact-checked Don't get trickedIs MONAT safe? Hair loss claims & lawsuits, fact-checkedSomeone left a very sure takedown of what I use. I read it like a label — claim by claim, with sources.Read it → I think you're washing your hair wrong: the double shampoo method This passed.I think you're washing your hair wrongNot your products — your technique. Two scalp-only shampoos, conditioner from the mid-lengths down, and why your first wash barely suds.Read it → MONAT IR Clinical Thickening Shampoo and Conditioner This passed.IR Clinical shampoo & conditioner: my honest reviewThe wash I'd start almost anyone on: the minty smell, the day-5 hair, what it costs, and what I can't promise you.Read it → MONAT Gloss Mode Glow Drops dry oil This passed.Gloss Mode Dry Oil: my honest reviewA few drops on the ends, that's the whole job. The five-miles-of-wind test, what it did for shine and tangles, and what it won't fix.Read it → MONAT Rejuveniqe Oil Intensive This passed.Rejuveniqe Oil Intensive: my honest reviewOne bottle, four jobs. Technically a hair oil, I use it on my skin more. The price math, and whether it earns its spot.Read it → We don't do that here: they don't learn from what you tell them We don't do that hereThey don’t learn from what you tell them.Five things kids learn by watching, not listening: accountability, that help isn’t weakness, that cycles end, self-control, and that being wrong isn’t the end.Read it → Three Monat products that passed my label check: mascara, skin tint, concealer Everyday makeup3 makeup products that passed my label checkEveryday makeup with skincare ingredients: the three products I actually wear, and what’s on each label. Watch the 30-second reel, then read the labels.Watch it → Don't get tricked: false cause Don't get trickedFalse causeTwo things happen close together, so the first one gets credit for the second. Examples from home, ads, and the internet, and the one question that catches it every time.Read it → Don't get tricked: logical fallacies, one a week Don't get trickedLogical fallacies, one a weekExplained simply, with real examples from ads, social media, sales pitches, and home. Critical thinking for kids, teens, and the adults raising them.Start here → My Monat receipts, October 2026 Monat, plainlyIs Monat VIP worth it?The $10 signup, the $20 coupon you get back, the $84 minimum, the Flexship, how to pause or cancel it yourself, and the two-minute math on whether VIP or retail is cheaper for you.Read it → Our one-page chore guide for two boys, 12 and 14 Run our houseNo allowance. Paid for character.The real chore list by age, the good deeds that earn cash on the spot, the reward menu the boys built, and the two rules that ended the fairness fights. Free one-page guide.Read it → Don't get tricked: appeal to emotion, a feeling instead of a reason Don't get trickedAppeal to emotion: a feeling instead of a reason.The first in the logical-fallacies series. Real examples from ads, posts, and your own kitchen, plus the one-step test to catch it.Read it → November 2020, when my sister handed me the bottle AllergicAllergic to dry shampoo. Most of them, anyway.I'm allergic to almost every dry shampoo I've tried. My sister handed me one that didn't set my scalp off, and I've used it six years.Read it → Kay, long hair, black turtleneck, October 2026 BreakageThin, breaking ends. Mine, specifically.What it looked like in 2020, the routine I actually kept, the ends that finally held, and why my hairline looks fuller to me.Read it → Backlit photo of my hairline, which looks fuller to me than it did a year ago One year inMy hairline looks fuller than it did a year agoThin, breaking ends since my 20s. A year of bond repair later, my hairline looks fuller to me.Read it → Three photos of Kay: Nov 2020, Feb 2024, Sep 2026 ReceiptsNov 2020 to now.Same person, phone camera, no filter. Three photos, six years, and the routine that did it.Read it → Kay in a mirror selfie The irony isn't lost on meI hate social media. I'm building a brand on it.Both things are true. Here are the limits I actually keep so this app doesn't eat me alive.Read it → Kay on the couch When it's all too muchI get so overstimulatedThe day everything ran over, I snapped at everyone I love — and what happened in the car afterward.Read it → Kay under the pier at sunset The honest middleNobody's life looks like their gridMine doesn't either. The mismatched pillows are shoved just out of frame — and I'll tell you that every time.Read it →