Category — Hair

We’ve all seen the celebs who seem to be constantly sporting that straight from the salon hair everyday. How is this possible? Hair looks and feels great when you leave the salon chair, but how do we keep it like that until the next visit?

Here’s how:

1. Start in the shower with your shampoo and conditioner. Using products that are meant to heal and repair hair are great once in a while, but don’t use them everyday. Keep shampoos and conditioners basic and light so that you don?t weigh hair down. This will help maximize your volume later as you style.

2. After towel drying hair, spritz it from the roots to the tips with a volumizer. Also, it can be helpful to reapply a little extra volumizer to individual sections of hair as you blow dry.

3.Section hair off when blow-drying to get the most volume. Start by drying the lower, underneath section first and work your way towards the crown.

4. Finish the look with a shine or sleek product but only use a small amount. Work the product in your hands first to emulsify it, then add it to the ends and work up your hair. Stop before getting too close to the roots.

If you still find that you’re not achieving the volume you really want, consider adding some hair extensions. These come in all hair types and shades now and can add instant volume by either being sewn or glued in. Talk to your stylist if this is an option for you.

No matter your style, color, or texture, we all would like hair that is healthy and looks good, plus most of us would prefer not having to spend a lot of time getting our hair that way. Here are some hair must-haves that will shorten your styling time and keep those luscious locks looking and feeling good:

*Goody Quik Style Paddle Brush – For around $12, this easy-grip paddle brush will cut down on drying time for your hair. The key is the tiny bits of towel that are imbedded between the bristles and help to speed up the drying process.

*Nexxus ProMend – This is a must have for most of us. This wonderful serum helps to seal split ends caused by daily styling, heat processing, and coloring. A small amount worked into dry ends will make the split ends disappear and help to heal some of the past damage.

*Neutrogena Triple Moisture Mask – Once a week, work this into your hair after shampooing and squeezing as much excess water out as possible. Leave in for about 10 minutes while you finish the rest of your shower and then rinse. This amazing mask will help repair damaged hair, restore vital vitamins and nutrients, and leave hair feeling silky soft.

You can find all of these or similar products at Amazon for discounted prices.  With the help of these three amazing products, you will do less damage to your hair while styling and repair past damage over time.    Remember that healthy hair is beautiful hair!

There is just something incredibly sexy about beautiful hair. No matter what style you like to wear your hair, keeping it healthy is a must. The majority of us has experimented with hair color, used heat styling products, swam in chlorine, or spent too much time in the sun. All of these things combined with other environmental factors can do some serious damage to hair.

In order to combat and repair some of that damage, start by using some quality products. Don’t confuse quality with price. There are a lot of inexpensive products on the market that can do wonders for your hair. Suave, Pantene, Fructis and Neutrogena all have quality hair care products that range from $2 to $12.

Start with a shampoo geared towards your hair type. If you are finding flakes on your little black dress, try Frustis’ new line of anti-dandruff shampoos for different hair types. The contain microbeads that help to exfoliate the scalp build-up that causes a lot of the flakes. Follow this up with a quality conditioner containing vitamins and nutrients that will help to replenish hair. For a weekly conditioning treatment, try Neutrogena’s Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask.

Once out of the shower, remember not to brush wet hair but use a wide-tooth comb. Avoid styling products with alcohol since they tend to dry hair out even more. Many smoothing gels and serums come with added vitamins that help hair stay soft, look for these as an alternative to gels and sprays.

Finally, be sure to have hair trimmed regularly. This not only eliminates dry, dead ends, but also encourages new, healthy hair growth. So, however you style your hair, keep it healthy and sexy!

Free Beauty sample:  L’Oreal Everpure shampoo

How to get it: To request your free sample, simply click the link below and fill out the short form.  Easy!

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This link goes to the Loreal Facebook page where they are running the promotion. It won’t last long.   Please share this page with a friend !!

I  strive to find the best free makeup samples and beauty samples from around the Web every day.  But because they are often fulfilled by other companies and not by me, I cannot control the quantity of the samples available, or the length or terms of the offer. In other words, get ‘em while they last!

The most important tip for quick and easy hair is to allow your hair to be itself. The more we fight what nature has given us, the more frustrated we get and the longer our daily hairstyling routine takes. It’s just a rule of human nature to want what you don’t have sometimes and envy the perfect tresses of your best friend, but just remember that she is usually just as envious of your hair as you are of hers. Your hair is what it is, so start learning to work with it instead of against it.

Experiment once or twice on a day at home with this and see what you get. After your shower, gently comb out your hair, flip your head over, give it a gentle shake or finger toss, then flip it back over. Notice where it naturally wants to part and land and go from there. No matter what your hair type, take a little dab of Biosilk and work it through you hair, starting at the ends. Allow your hair to air dry and see what you get. Learning how to use this as your starting point and accentuating your natural beauty will take significant time off your daily beauty routine. Plus, a natural beauty is always more attractive.

Our project was perfect for a rainy day in the first week of summer.  We added dazzling color accents to long hair.  The product we used was called Splat, which we bought at a local beauty supply store for about $10. It can also be found at many stores online such as Amazon.  The instructions were easy and the kit included the bleaching agent as well.

First thing we did was select the strand of hair to be colored. On our first brunette model we selected one strand of hair (it looks like two in the photo, but it just separated a little when she flipped her hair back). The hair was about 1/2 inch square on her scalp, and about an inch and a half above her ear. We did not want it in the very front, nor did we want it showing at her part.  Using the product in the kit, we bleached the entire strand all the way up the length of the hair to about 1/2 from the scalp. This would make it blend better from color to natural instead of a sharp cutoff if we had done it right at the scalp.

We folded tinfoil around the hair while we waited so that it wouldn’t get the product on the rest of her hair. Because her hair was so dark, it took the full hour for the bleach to lighten the hair.  Then we washed and dried it, and applied the color, also for the full length of time recommended.  The result was this girl-on-fire red hot streak of awesomeness!

Our next model beauty is middle school age beauty who only wanted the tips of her long locks dyed. This look is called a “Dip Dye” because it looks like you just dipped your hair into the color.  Her plan is to just trim off the ends when she wants to remove it when school starts up in the fall since her school dress code doesn’t allow artificial colors of hair expression!  Easy!  Her purple accents really grab a second look, and is especially cute with her long hair in a pony tail.

Waxing is a great way to remove unwanted hair from anywhere on your body, but let’s face it, the idea of ripping hair out isn’t appealing to anyone. To make waxing easier and less painful, try starting with quality products, including some type of topical numbing agent. Waxing kits come in all shapes, sizes, and styles.

Some brands to consider are Nair wax kit (it’s not like it used to be), Surgi, GiGi, and Satin Smooth. When buying a kit, it will normally come with the wax, applicators, waxing strips, a numbing agent (a spray, wipe, or lotion) and an after-wax skin soother (aloe-based products will also reduce redness). Before you wax, make sure hair is at least ¼” long but not longer than about ½”. If hair is too long, trim first. Be sure to clean the area with the pre-was cleanser provided which usually contains the numbing agent, then use a very small amount of powder to dust the area using a cotton ball or cotton swab depending on the area you are waxing. Apply the wax in the same direction that the hair is growing.

Try to keep the application even…not too thin, not too thick. Cover the waxed area with the strip and rub in even strokes in the direction the hair is growing several times. Be sure to leave a little of the strip at the end to hold onto when removing the strip. Now grab the end of the strip, gently hold the skin taught, and quickly, in one pull, remove the strip in the opposite direction of the hair growth. Avoid the urge to pull up and keep the pulling hand as close to the skin as possible. Pressing a wax free hand or finger on the newly waxed area will help to alleviate some of the pain. Tweeze any leftover hairs; DO NOT rewax the same area. Use the wax remover from the kit to get rid of any leftover wax or residue once you are done waxing and finish with a skin soother. If you run out of wax remover, baby oil will also work. When you have finished, use an aloe-based lotion or the after-wax serum in your kit to soothe skin and remove redness.

Whether you shampoo daily or are more kind to your hair and limit shampooing to two or three times a week, make sure to follow some simple steps to help out those tresses. Before hopping in the shower, run a brush through the hair. This will remove some excess styling debris or loose strands of hair and will get the scalp prepped for washing. As always, start brushing at the ends and work your way up…don’t just start at the scalp and go ripping through the hair!

Use a shampoo that does what your hair needs. If the hair is thin, use a volumizing shampoo; if hair is dry, use a hydrating shampoo. Then start using a smaller amount of shampoo. Most of us can get by with a quarter-sized dollop. Work the shampoo into a slight lather before applying to the hair. Be gentle while washing and evenly distributing the shampoo. Start the shampoo at the scalp to remove the excess oil and use a gentle circular motion. The shampoo will then work itself to the ends of the hair. Rinse immediately and it’s not always necessary to repeat, no matter what the shampoo bottle says. It just drys out your hair.

None of us feel like putting in the effort to look our best every day, but we also know that if we run errands with no make-up and that messy top-not of hair, we will run into every old boyfriend, neighbor, PTA member, coworker and family friend possible. In order to avoid those diverted eyes, try an easy hair fix that makes you look like you took some time before leaving the house…even though you didn’t.

• Braid it! We learned how to braid when we were kids, but don’t think to do it often any more. Add a deep side part and braid the front hair along the hairline. Use a bobby pin to secure the braid behind your ear or sweep it back into a bun. Want to keep the bangs out and free? Create one large braid with all of your hair and twist it into a low bun. It takes five minutes, but is a classic look. Use a couple bobby pins to tame those wild pieces popping out for a cleaner look.
• Run the blow-dryer through the hair for just a couple minutes and then run your favorite shine product through just the ends. The roots will dry as you drive, and you’ll look like you took the time to actually dry and style.

You are no longer a teenage cheerleader, so stop putting the ponytail on the top of your head! We all love the convenience of throwing our hair into a ponytail, but enough is enough. Pick up so interesting and fun large clips to use to pull your hair back at the base of your neck…it’s a ponytail in disguise! Or use clear or natural color ponytail holders to pull your hair back low and to the side.

Most of us would like healthy hair, but with all of the products and ideas out there, we’re not really sure what to do. Here are some tried and true ideas to improve the health of your hair.

Start by washing less. It sounds kind of gross to some of us, but your hair will start to produce less oil and be healthier if you limit shampooing to two or three times a week. The hair and scalp will adjust in less than two weeks and by the end of the month, you’ll notice a difference in the health of your hair.  In the beginning, try a dry shampoo or opt for the slicked back ponytail until your hair makes the adjustment.

Stop brushing wet hair! This breaks your hair and does more damage than you know. Opt for a wide tooth comb or a comb that has rotating teeth. Twice-baked is only good for potatoes, so limit heat styling products to just one. If you must blow dry, do it the night before and then curl or flat iron in the morning.

Schedule trims regularly. Hair should be trimmed (just a bit) every four to eight weeks to keep it healthy. It’s hair, just like the hair on your legs, it will grow back sooner than you think.

Finally, use a hydrating mask once a week, especially if you have chemically processed hair, to help prevent split ends and increase the healthy sheen of your hair. As with any beauty regime, start by improving the health of the hair, and you’ll be amazed at how beautiful it, and you, can be!