Category Archives: Hair

My Mother’s Day Beauty Wish List

Sunday will mark my first Mother’s Day ever. How weird it’ll be to be one of the women celebrated on this day. Weird, but pretty awesome.

If you’re new to the mom title, you can totally relate to the fact that it’s extremely difficult to squeeze in beautifying. You’re too busy fussing over everyone else. Showering is an accomplishment. Being able to blowout your hair, apply an actual makeup “look” and keep up with brow shaping, bikini line grooming and all of that stuff is pretty much a thing of the past. Am I right?

It’s led me to start fantasizing about beauty products and treatments even more than usual. So, here are the six items I’d treat myself with, if I were doing the shopping…

Tocca-Liliana-EDTNo. 1: Tocca anything.

I’ve been using the new Tocca Crema da Mano Luxe in Bianca, $20, which smells divine – it’s a blend of green tea and lemon – and the tube is gorgeous. But, I’m also hoping get my hands on their newest fragrance, Tocca Liliana Eau de Parfum, $68. It’s inspired by The Great Gatsby (what isn’t these days) and includes notes of Italian bergamot, gardenia, white peony and sandalwood.

Watermelon

No. 2: Watermelon Vodka-Tini Body Duo at The Huntington Spa, $190 (Regularly $240)

This delicious duo, a special treatment the spa is featuring for spring, includes a 30-minute watermelon/basil sugar body scrub followed by an hour-long massage that involves sparkling citrus cilantro lime oil. If that doesn’t sound like heaven, know that the beautiful spa is housed in the fabulous Langham Hotel in Pasadena. I might never come home if this gift comes my way.

Marc Jacobs Honey

No. 3: Marc Jacobs Honey

While this fragrance doesn’t launch until summer, I’m already adding it to my beauty wish list. How can I not. The bottle is seriously cute. Continue reading

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Beauty Problem Solver of the Week: Redken Curvaceous Curl Dive, $19

Redken-Curvaceous-Curl-DiveThe Product: Redken Curvaceous Curl Dive, $19

Why: 60 percent of us have curly hair. I’m one of them. My hair is long and wavy. That’s why I was psyched to give the Redken Curvaceous Curl Dive a try. It’s a deep conditioning treatment designed specifically for, duh, curly hair.

What does it offer your curls that other deep conditioners might not? Good question. It contains sugar crystals, which attract moisture to help reactivate the shape of waves and curls. Moringa oil, which deeply hydrates strands to keeps curls full of bounce. Along with the hydrating ingredients you’ll find Keralink, a snazzy trademarked protein that strengthens hair, and amino acids, which protect the surface of hair to keep it shiny and healthy-looking.

Does it work? Continue reading

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Do You Need A Shower Filter? I Did.

aquasana-shower-filterGrowing up as a blonde in Southern California, I was always dealing with my hair turning green from chlorine when I filled my days swimming. But this winter in New York I started to see that familiar pea soup hue return, and with no pool in sight. It wasn’t pretty.

My colorist, Summer Parham, Redken artist at Cutler Salon in New York, noticed too — aside from the green tone, a chemical reaction started to make my highlighting foils puff up like little pillows on my head. Scary! Parham had seen this before and instantly knew that a mineral from my shower water was absorbing into my hair and causing a chemical reaction. Since I live in a 100-year-old apartment building, it was probably coming from the pipes, but Parham explained that this is common with minerals in well water too. Whether it was chlorine, copper, iron or magnesium — all potential culprits in changing hair color either green or orange — the solution was the same. I needed a filter on my shower.

I chose an Aquasana Shower Filter, $55 and it was a cinch to install. And it worked! My color lasted longer than in has in months and I feel better about drinking the water as I shower too (come on, you do it too, right?!). Parham also suggested, as another option, to use a chelating shampoo like Pureology Purifying Shampoo, $25  one a week to remove minerals that can build up in your hair.

Has your hair ever mysteriously turned green?

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Q: Can My Anti-Aging Face Wash Be Ruining My Hair Color?

washing-face

Question: I’ve noticed that my hair color fades around my hairline faster than the rest of my hair. Why does that happen? — Kymberly

Answer: “If your hair is turning an orange hue as it fades around your hairline, blame your face wash,” says Summer Parham, Redken artist at Cutler Salon in New York. “The worst offenders are anti-aging or anti-acne cleansers, since they usually have a high concentration of acid that strips the color down,” Parham explains. Protecting your hair is actually really simple and you don’t need to switch cleansers or anything crazy like that — just create a buffer between your hairline and the suds by wearing a terry cloth headband, I like the American Apparel Unisex Flex Terry Headband, $6. It comes in tons of cute colors and will catch the cleanser before it has a chance to get to your locks. “If instead of turning orange, your color fades or starts to look hollow (not the dense saturation you see immediately after your dye), you probably need to switch to a more full-coverage color,” says Parham. If you dye at home, switch from a demi- or semi-permanent haircolor to permanent. Try Clairol Perfect 10 By Nice ‘N Easy, $13. If you go to a salon, ask your colorist to add some grey oxidizing drops to the formula, like G.O.D Grey Oxidizing Drops, $10, to lock in color and prevent fading, suggests Parham. Luckily, either way you don’t have to sacrifice your hair color for a favorite face wash.

Image via: lisabonnici tumblr

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