What Would Rapunzel Do?

Hello Lovely Locks..Its Friday once again and you know who I am… Beckie!

I always feel like I can’t surprise you readers with our Certified Fabulous topics, unless you only read on Fridays but that wouldn’t be good! So as you know, we’ve been sharing our go to shampoo and conditioners this week.

I believe the first time I took the plunge and colored my hair I was 17.  Back then it was just for fun and well , to see the reaction on my parent’s faces.  Now it’s more of a necessity.  Yes, my dear friends, I have officially inherited my Mother’s gray hair.  Technology has come a long way in the hair color realm.  I’ve noticed that my hair doesn’t feel as fried or dried out.  Using good products helps a little too.

In the past couple of years, I’ve noticed with hormone changes, child bearing and age that I need to step up my hair care a bit.  I’ve realized that not all shampoos are created equal.  It’s important if you do color your hair to find a shampoo that is sulfate free.  Shampoos with sulfates in them will strip the color from the shaft. One of my favorites is, of course, Aveda’s Color Conserve shampoo and conditioner.  With its aromatherapy smell and nourishing ingredients, it makes my hair happy and manageable.

Another shampoo that came recommended by my hair angel, Mandy, is Pureology’s Hydrate Shampoo and conditioner.  Again, I can’t say anything bad about this product.  

It’s awesome!  As women, we always want our hair to smell good and let me tell you, it’s like heaven in a bottle.  As I’ve mentioned before, I do a lot of traveling.  Sometimes I’ll forget to throw in my personal shampoo and have to use “hotel” shampoo and I can totally tell the difference.  My hair feels dry and practically depressed!

I know that the other girls have talked about using Keratin oils too.  Since my hair is thin and long, just using conditioner, especially in the colder months, isn’t enough.  So back in July, I received a sample of a hair serum that is hands down the best!  It’s from Obliphica.  This serum is derived from the Sea Buckthorn fruit and helps restore the damage that we do to our hair every day.  I use it every time I wash my hair and can definitely tell when I don’t.  I would recommend this product to anyone that blow dries, curls, straightens or any other way you can abuse your hair.

So until next week… here are some fun facts for you.

Hair Facts:

The numbers of hairs on the head vary with the hair's natural color. Redheads have about 90,000. Black, 108,000. Brown, 140,000. And blondes not only have more fun, they have more hair too. They have about 140,000.

There is an average of 1,000 hairs per square inch. I guess that means the bigger your head is, the more hair you have.

Be good to each other!

Cheers


beckie b

We all have had bad hair days

Greetings Grayce here!

We all have had bad hair days I think I have used this excuse to get out of work...maybe one time!!!

Interesting info about the hair found on the head serves as primary sources of heat and cooling as well as protection from ultra-violet rays. The functions of hair in other locations are another topic!!!

Hair can be so much fun - We can cut, color, curl, perm, straighten, braid, put it in a pony tail put it up or down crop it, style it in any way we like. You can always change your hair.

My own hair has been short or long in braids or cropped. I color my gray; this has been an ongoing process about which products to use.   

One day walking thru Grand Central Station I noticed a woman with wonderful sheen to her hair it was salt & pepper mix but had a beautiful cast of color. And of course, like a stalker I had to follow & ask her what she uses.

She recommended Aveda Clove Shampoo

I fell in love it gave my hair a fabulous shine and a warm glow. Perfect!!!

Ideal for natural brunette and honey blond tones Made with organically grown clove, a detoxifying herb that also enhances warm tones, and organically grown coffee, which enriches brown hues and provides astringent benefits to your scalp.  

·       With organic clove

·       Inspired by Ayurveda, the ancient healing wisdom of India

·       Gently cleanses hair and scalp

·       For brown and honey shades

 I also used permanent hair dye and another great find was the 




Moroccan Argan Oil Shampoo

This shampoo is wonderful I have fine straight colored hair and this give me lots of fullness and body I could style my hair however I wanted. My hair had a fabulous shine and it cleaned without stripping the color. 

This rare formula by Organix has a centuries-old history of providing natural vitamin E and antioxidants while renewing your hairs cell structure, sealing in shine, and creating lush softness

This rare formula has a centuries-old history of providing natural vitamin E and antioxidants while renewing your hair's cell structure, sealing in shine, and creating lush softness. A precious blend of Moroccan argan oil which instantly penetrates the hair shaft restoring shine and softness while strengthening. Derived from the southwest region of Morocco, argan oil protects from styling heat and UV damage while creating soft, seductive, silky perfection.

Have fun with your hair

Enjoy the journey!



Shampoos, Conditioners and Keratin...Oh My!

Happy Wednesday Fabulous Readers!

It's Jessica and we are talking about shampoo and conditioners.

This is a beauty product that we all HAVE to buy, so it is important to choose one that will work for your hair type. My hair is VERY thick and it is VERY long, also frizzy. It use to be stick straight when I was younger, but I have ruined it with two perms and countless dye jobs. Oh the things we do for beauty...or experimentation...hah

So I usually look for shampoo and conditioner that has a lot of moisturizing, smoothing and keeps frizz out! I never blow dry my hair but I do straighten it from time to time and occasionally will curl it so sometimes I will even look for heat defense type products. There is always a lot to choose from and I have tried all of them I am sure. I feel it is always good to switch the shampoo and conditioner you use so I tend to do that every time I need to buy a new shampoo and conditioner. I will sit in the isle and read all the products forever debating over getting the smoothing shampoo or the deep moisturizing one...it can be overwhelming. When I rotate my purchases of shampoo and conditioner I will buy a cheaper one then the next time go for a more expensive one, I don't have a reason really for doing this, it just makes me feel better!  Suave has always come through in a pinch and I also have liked Head and Shoulders in the winter. I think it's important to buy shampoo/conditioner based on your need at the time because as the seasons change and your skin changes so does your hair.

 

A few new products on the shelves I would liked to talk about, and that is currently in my shower are: Dove Nutritive Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo. This shampoo is "a unique blend with non-greasy natural almond and mineral oils that are so fine, they are rapidly absorbed to deeply nourish and replenish essential nutrients". It is a nice shampoo and I love the smell and it cleans very well...ya ya shampoo it does it's job. What I really care about and think is SO important for someone with hair like mine is the conditioner! I need moisture, and LOTS of it! So instead of buying the normal conditioner I opt for the deluxe version, which in this case is the Dove Nutritive Therapy Nourishing Oil Care Daily Treatment Conditioner. Claiming it's "dual-action formulation gives three times the nourishing power of our regular conditioner".  It squeezing out two colored liquids, the white stripe–contains "conditioner that seals cuticles to lock in nutrients and smooth frizz" and a gold stripe–with "weightless nutri-oils, that deeply nourish and replenishes essential nutrients without a greasy feel.

Instant deep nourishing power of a treatment in the time of a conditioner." That is right up my alley and let me tell you, it was AWESOME! It looks cool coming out, kind of like a toothpaste with a gel and paste combined. The oil stripe does as it describes, deep conditioning to smooth out frizz. The scent of course is great and this pair works well for me and my hair type. I am happy :)

My next new fave, currently in my shower...I tend to go crazy with buying different shampoo/ conditioners as I see ones that catch my eye...even when I am fully stocked. Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy shampoo and conditioner. This company actually has a ton of awesome sounding products and I get a little overwhelmed looking at all of them because I want to try them all! I had my eye on their Moroccan Argan Oil collection since Grayce used it and talked so much about it, but as I was in the isle reading the bottles I noticed they came out with a new Keratin line.

Keratin is all the rage right now and if you don't know what that is I will tell you (with help from my online source  www.keratintreatmentforhair.com). Keratin is a very strong protein that our hair, nails, skin and teeth are made out of. The amino acids with their unique properties are combined together to form keratin which can be hard and inflexible (like hooves) or soft like your skin. This depends on the levels of the various amino acids. Most of the keratin that we deal with everyday is actually dead. Our hair, skin, and nails are formed from dead keratin cells our body sheds regularly as new cells push up from underneath. If we are trying to keep these dead keratin cells in good condition, they will work as an insulating protecting layer for the delicate new keratin below them. Generally speaking, the thicker the layer of keratin, the healthier the hair or nails are; outside dead cells protect the living cells at the core.
By moisturizing the external layer of keratin you will keep it healthy and also prevent it from cracking and splitting, whether the keratin is forming your nails, hair or skin. Keratin is a basic protein presented in our hair, skin and nails. Since the salon treatment is often called Keratin straightening treatment, consumers assume that keratin is related to straight hair, but this is not correct.

When Keratin Treatment for Hair is performed, a salon professional applies solution that instantly infuses the hair with keratin, repairing all damage and flaws within the hair. Keratin increases shine and reduces frizz, but does not directly straighten the hair itself as many people believe. After the application, the cocktail of various chemicals is added to your hair, and that creates the straightened effect by semi-permanently altering the hair’s structure.

In some keratin solutions the main component is Formaldehyde. This is a very dangerous chemical responsible for all the controversy regarding keratin treatments. Some experts claim that exposure to formaldehyde increases risk of cancer. In some salons, customers and hairstylists are required to wear filtered-air masks during the process.

(Treatment picture examples below)

So back to the Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy shampoo and conditioner. This brand, Organix, is sulfate and sodium chloride free, which as you might know is the best for color treated hair as it does not have chemicals stripping away the hair dye (mine is always colored). Also, if you have chemically treated hair, like a perm or keratin treatment you were probably told to use a sulfate free shampoo and conditioner to expand the life of the treatment. Containing an "exclusive blend of antioxidant rich cocoa nut oil along with lush keratin proteins to strengthen and soften the hair, while organic avocado oil and cocoa butter smooth the cuticle for straight, strong, tresses, adding a brilliant glow and luminescent shine". This line of shampoo and conditioner stays true to it's claims, has an awesome scent and overall I love it! It feels just like any shampoo and conditioner I have used...meaning I feel / see no difference between sulfur and sulfur free whatever so you can decide (by doing your own research and following your own beliefs) which you would like to use with out thinking one is more or less effective. My hair was super shiny and soft after this collection and I am am very happy using it! I hope to try them all!

I hope this was helpful to you, I care SO much for my hair because it is the one feature that makes me feel the most beautiful! Let me know if you have any questions, advice, tips or comments! I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions!!!

As always, Keep on Being Beautiful YOU!

Quality Cleansing

Good Morning, everyone! It’s Tara here, of course (it is Tuesday after all!)

I’ve been waiting patiently (and quite enthusiastically) for today’s post on shampoos and conditioners! As you’ll see over the next few weeks, I’m borderline obsessed with hair care products. This obsession began at my former salon in New York—John Masters Organics—which has since closed, sadly, so that Mr. Masters could pursue his hair care line instead. JMO was a clean air salon (the first in NY), which made for a very unique styling experience; and it was at this salon that I learned the benefits (for my hair) of certain cleansing and styling product ingredients.

It may be helpful to preface this description with my hair type—it’s fine (but I have a lot of it) and leaning towards dry. It’s also quite long, and I have never colored it. Ever. Unless you count Sun-In in the sixth grade…which was just plain silly.

Anyhow, I wash my hair once every two to three days, and before a big event I might even go longer! When I do wash my hair, I rotate between one of three shampoos (see below), and I never use the same shampoo two times in a row, in order to prevent residue build-up, which equates—for my hair—with drab, heavy, greasy-looking hair. I also steer clear of any sulfates (the second ingredient in many shampoos) as they leave my hair and scalp even dry-er than it is normally.

So the shampoos I rotate between (finally, you say!) are: Rahua, Neuma (Renew), and John Masters (Lavender Rosemary). They each serve a separate and very specific function for my hair—(Rahua-daily cleanse), (Neuma-gentler cleansing between the 2-3 days), (John Masters-deeper cleanse)—and each provide stellar results.

After cleansing, I use one quality conditioner, exclusively—Rahua. I haven’t found anything that compares yet. It leaves my hair silky, manage-able (no knots!), and very healthy-feeling, even post blow dry.

For the sake of not boring you to tears, I’ll leave it at that. To re-emphasize the point from yesterday, there’s no authority on "the right" hair care ingredients. Trial and error led me to "the right" products for my hair—and it might have to be the process that leads you to yours. In the meantime, though, I can’t recommend these products enough! And I’d love to hear your thoughts on them as well!

Until next week, adios, and happy shampooing!

Oh my thin straight hair

Sara

Good Monday Morning...
Shampoo and conditioner are very interesting topics.
There is a lot of commentary about what you should use and should not use in your hair.

I think it is clear to everyone who has ever tried different shampoos and conditioners, some work for your style hair and some do not....  So how do you know what type is good for your hair...

 I have really wanted to write some extremely informative piece that would help you to find the right shampoo and conditioner... but to be honest, I myself have not found the perfect product.

There is a lot of contradictory information about what you should use and what you shouldn't...

I have very fine hair, and I color it (right now it is red blonde and has tinsle in it :) ....  it does not curl.... it is the true definition of straight hair.

Right now I am using John Frieda Radiant Red Collection collection. It seems nice leaves my hair really silky and I think it does help the red stay...


Also I have used in the past the use his John Frieda Luxurious Volume Conditioner. Feels great, and my hair was always silky...

Tri Hair Reconstructor is an awesome leave in conditioner. It is recommended to use with color treated hair.  It does not weigh down my hair.  Gives lots of shine and definitely dangles.

Let me know what you think.

Sara