Archive for the ‘hair’ category

When it snows

February 15th, 2010

Dandruff is a tricky thing to get rid of. Over many years I’ve tried many things: special shampoos; special diets; scalp treatments; and even homeopathic tinctures.

Fish Oil tablets worked for me (when I remember to take them) (and they make my finger nails grow). If you want to try fish oil too then take note: sometimes fish oil tablets have already oxidised when you buy them. So if they smell or taste ‘off’ then take them back. Some brands have ‘no reflux’ which stops fishy burps. And capsules are usually flavoured with orange oil to mask the fish oil taste, but sometimes the orange oil isn’t that pleasant either. I guess I’m just suggesting you perservere until you find a brand of fish oil that suits you.

But then again maybe some other products will work for you. Have a look at TotalBeauty.com’s rundown of the highest rated dandruff products here.

Noir hair

January 23rd, 2010

I’m going to an awesome fundraising event (which some friends are organising so I’m totally pluggin it where ever I can right now).It’s Noir themed, and you can read all about it here and here. Basically, you follow and interact with a Film Noir detective story on twitter and online until the mystery location for the event is revealed.

So I was gonna spend all week practicing noir looks and give you guys tips too. I was thinking Jessica Rabbit, Veronica Lake and Lauren Becall. But since it’s been a busy week for me, and since Pursebuzz always has the best tips anyway, I thought I’d just share Pursebuzz’s latest hair tutorial, inspired by a Noir-esque Penelope Cruz at the Golden Globes. Beautiful and easy.

The fundraiser will be held on January 28 at an (as of yet) undisclosed, secret location in Wellington and will cost $10-$20 (depending on how much you want to pay).

Advice from a curly girl

December 10th, 2009

MeganWegan has the best hair ever – curly and bobbed with lots of shine and moxy. But it’s been a rough road for her. Here’s the story of her hair and advice for curly girls everywhere…

megan

When I was about ten, a girl asked me if my hair was a wig. Looking back, I can see why she did that, my hair was this horrible, curly, coarse, mousey mullet. And that stuck with me. I hated my curls. I pined for the hair I had as a child, wavey, glossy, blond locks. I was cute!

So, from the age of 13, when I grew out the mullet (and no, there exists no photos of that period of my life) til the age of 30, I had the same hair. It was varying lengths, and a multitude of colours, but it was almost always the same shape, and always always could be tied into a ponytail. I rarely wore my hair out, because it was too annoying, and too frizzy.

And then. Then I found Erin. I had been to Erin, at Glory a few times already, so I knew I trusted her. I knew I liked her. Not only did she like my curls, she knew how to cut them. And then one day I was sick of my hair. Horribly sick of it. And she said the magic words: “How do you feel about a shaggy bob?” And I felt excellent about that.

Until, that is, I saw exactly how much length she was taking off. More than half my hair. I’d no longer have the security of a bad hair day ponytail. I’d have to do it every morning, instead of just chucking it up. I had a fringe.

But here’s the thing. It’s so easy. It takes maybe five minutes longer than putting it up. Because it is cut for my curls, not in spite of them. It’s not a picture I saw in a magazine, that I wanted, that is impossible. I grew it longer for my friend’s wedding recently, and hated it. And it made me lazy, because I just could put it up again.

I spent 20 years buying expensive product. I don’t have to any more. I love Paul Mitchell Round Trip, but when I run out, I use a supermarket mousse, and it is fine.

So, ladies, the key is a good hairdresser. One who you trust, who understands your hair, and who will make you take risks. This is good advice for anyone, but especially for those of us with curly hair, because lots of hairdressers don’t get it. It took 30 years, it could have gone horribly wrong, but I finally love my curls.

In the news: The curly hair gene

December 8th, 2009

BackBlondeCurlyHairSmallApparently only 15% of Europeans have curly hair like me. Yet the chances of inheriting curly hair is 90%. I don’t quite get how that works.

But anyway, finally scientists have found the gene responsible for curls. Which means they can more accurately profile crims from DNA samples, AND create new treatments for straightening curly hair that don’t involve heat.

The article seems to assume nobody wants curly hair. That’s pretty mean. But I’m not really one to comment, as someone who has fought my curls all my life.

Read the article here (from the telegraph.co.uk).

PS I did a little google-ing and one of the scientists involved is a Kiwi girl. Still can’t make sense of the percentages though.

Review: Excell 10 hair colour

December 6th, 2009

excell10Hey pretties. Just a quick review because I’ve got not much good to say about this hair colourant.  It made heaps of my hair fall out!

Excell 10 is a L’oreal product that colours hair in only ten minutes. It was on special when I bought it and came with a free timer, so I could accurately measure colouring time.

Even though I followed instructions extremely closely (because chemicals freak me out ever since a bad salon experience), from the very first rinse my hair was washing down the drain in handfuls.

Luckily, I’ve got a lot of hair. But it’s still disconcerting watching heaps of hair come out every time I wash my hair.

On balance, it does only take ten minutes. It is easy to apply. Comes with three washes worth of conditioner. And is inexpensive. But I’m definitely going back to good old herbatint.

If you are colouring at home, check out these great tips on totalbeauty.com. Like, don’t wash your hair before colouring, set up a three-way mirror, etc etc.

Buying a flat iron?

November 21st, 2009

I adore pursebuzz. Here’s her latest video on choosing and using flat irons for straightening or curling, flipping or twisting, and so much more! Heaps of great tips and advice.

Redken Shampoo Amnesty

November 13th, 2009

Have you noticed these signs outside hair salons recently? Looks like a pretty good deal. I can recommend Redken Fresh Curls.

SHAMPOO AMNESTY


TRADE IN YOUR


SUPERMARKET SHAMPOO OR


CONDITIONER TO RECEIVE


$10.00 OFF


A REDKEN PROFESSIONAL


SHAMPOO OR CONDITIONER*


*Limit two products, terms and conditions apply, see in salon for detail

Quick tip to get rid of nits

November 10th, 2009

I read this recently, and have to share…

If your kids have nits, you can kill the nit eggs with your straighteners. The eggs can’t survive the heat.

Isn’t that brilliant! As a nit-infested child, I single-handedly introduced The Super South Auckland Nit that were living on my scalp to an unsuspecting country town. My family moved from Mangere to a quiet little farming community when I was about ten, and two weeks after I started at my new little school the nits were rampant and a letter was sent home to parents declaring a state of emergency. Hehehe. I actually left that school another two weeks later, leaving a trail of nit combs and horrified country folk behind.

I miss those days of nit shampoo and cracking nits. But at least my cats has a few fleas.

Review: Dry shampoo. That’s right, dry shampoo!

October 12th, 2009

We’ve had a fair amount of discussion here at ppp on greasy hair and I’ve collected a few great tips. I have a fringe and don’t like washing my hair that often so I now wash my fringe separately (instead of washing my whole head); pin back my bangs over night so my forehead doesn’t grease it up; and have talc at the ready.

batiste tropicalBut life has changed for me somewhat, having discovered Batiste Dry Shampoo. It really is like a shampoo in a can.

The idea is that you spray the can at your hair, just like you would with hairspray, wait a moment and then brush. Perfect for between washes and emergencies.

It sprays a fine powder that absorbs the grease immediately and leaves hair feeling soft, clean and completely degreased.

And it’s great for curly-haired girls like me. I spend ages straightening my hair and usually wet hair products ruin my straightening. But since this is a dry product I can spray it any time and my hair will remain straight.

I use it on just my fringe, or all my hair depending. And I love it. I bought the one with the tropical fragrance and it smells devine.

You can by it from Radius Pharmacy and probably others. It’s about $20 for a big can, but if you want to try it before investing in the big can, a mini-can only costs $9 and is the perfect size for handbags.

And the winner is….

October 10th, 2009

Thanks for all your entries in the Super Stick hair remover comp. You guys came up with so many awesome characters with moustaches. But there can only be one winner…

Tania!

Tania, congratulations and I’ll email you shortly to get your delivery address off you.

btw, I generated the winner by picking a number from random.org.