Recently in Hair Category

I'm pretty much the last person to mix-up my own hair mask -- why would I when Kerastase makes such fabulous ones!? Note that I'm fairly lazy when it comes to self-made remedies and usually the only thing you'll find in my kitchen is some cereal, milk, water, and lots of take-out menus (o the joys of living in NYC! Luckily my bf loves to cook so my kitchen is not a complete waste of space). I was very intrigued however when Kattia Solano, the owner of Butterfly Studio Salon who stocks only Kerastase and Shu Uemura at her hair salon, revealed that she had two fab recipes for homemade hair masks -- one for a dry scalp and one for an oily scalp. If a woman who has so many wonderful face masks at her fingertips sometimes opts for her own homemade concoctions, I say that's a frugal snob find at its best! See Solano's recipes below! 

Dry Scalp Recipe

• ¼ cup Avocado Oil infused with fresh Rosemary
  
• 1 tablespoon of Rosemary Essential Oil
  
• 1 tablespoon of Tea tree oil 
  

Mix avocado oil, rosemary and tea tree oil in a spray bottle. Warm up a cup of water, place bottle in cup of water for 5 min to warm the oil. Add a few sprays of mixture in small sections on the scalp. Continue to rub through entire scalp, massage for about 5 minutes. Leave on for 30 minutes or overnight. Follow with a good shampoo and conditioner; recommended twice a week.

Oily Scalp Recipe

• ¼ of White or Apple Cider Vinegar
  
• 1 whole lemon
• Lemon peel
• Essential lavender oil
• Sweet orange oil
  

Mix vinegar, with juice of the lemon. Scrape lemon zest in mixture and let soak for 5-10minutes. Remove the zest and add ½ teaspoon of lavender oil and ½ teaspoon of sweet orange oil. Mix well in a spray bottle. Take sections of hair and apply mixture throughout the scalp. Massage mixture on scalp for 5 minutes. Leave in for 15-20 minutes. Rinse out and follow with a nice shampoo and conditioner on ends only; recommended twice a week.

I have not personally tried this product but am very curious about it-- if you saw how much hair I lose each time I shampoo you'd understand. Yeah yeah, I know it's normal to shed and to grow back but I still want to know all of my options in case I wake up one day with a baldspot. The latest technology approved by the FDA is the HairMax Laser Comb (the French have been all over it for years!). It claims to stimulate the scalp and hair regrowth without pills, serums or surgery. A mere swipe of this miracle comb will ensure a full head of hair. Hair does not come cheap, however. This comb retails for (gulp) $495. Check it out here.

This summer, splash into the latest trend: mermaid-like waves. This glamorous yet laid-back style is perfect for all summer occasions, whether you're lounging on the beach in the Hamptons or hitting the town in Manhattan. I love nothing more than Rapunzel like waves cascading down one side of the face-- it's the ultimate sex siren 'do! Milla Jovovich and Angelina Jolie look super hot with the side swept finger waves.  I'm going to test this out myself and got some tips from Suki Duggan, owner of the Donsuki Townhouse Salon on the Upper East Side to DIY--

Suki suggests:
- Section hair into 1-2 inch pieces
- Rolling each section and pinning as you go. After the rollers have cooled, run a comb through your hair to get large, soft waves. A spritz of hairspray should hold the style for the day.

Photos from people.com

I love the modern shag! If bangs didn't require so much maintenance (and if I wasn't worried about hair in my face causing a breakout), I would jump at this cut. I know a lot of people have or are thinking about getting this look, so I asked Woodley & Bunny's co-owner and artistic director Erin Anderson for some tips to get the style and texture of the modern shag pictured on the above stars. Here's what she had to say!

• Get a great "shag inspired" cut from your stylist
• For this texture, layer Sachajuan Straight Out Gel with Sachajuan Ocean Mist. The Straight Out Gel provides moisture and smoothness while the ocean mist gives volume, hold and a matte finish.
  
• After product application, squeeze hair to press in product, shape with fingers or twist a few large sections and pin up. Diffuse or air dry.
• When dry, use a little Sachajuan Hair Wax to define and detail. 

For those not familiar with Sachajuan, they're Sweden's fastest growing premium hair care line and Woodley & Bunny is the exclusive U.S. distributor. Learn more here. 

I was sent a bottle of Davines Momo moisturizing shampoo and a jar of the Momo revitalizing conditioner two months ago from a PR firm (at my request). I have not posted my review until today because I finally finished the products last week (as you can see!). To be honest I really didn't start using this until 4 weeks ago when the weather got warm and I started swimming with my son (almost daily). My hair became the texture of dried noodles and it lost its lustre (I do not dye my hair though am considering it as I have several gray hairs now-- yikes!). I also felt like I was losing hair though my stylist assures me swimming does not cause baldness. After 4 weeks of using Davines Momo exclusively, however, my hair is soft and shiny no matter how many hours I spend in the pool holding a 4 year old up so he can pretend he is superman. Will I buy more? Heck yeah!  I just ordered more from Beauty.com-- Momo Shampoo $20 and Momo conditioner $20 here.

I highly recommend this to everyone who spends time in the pool/sun/beach this summer, even if you have oily scalp!  I know you will love it as much as Madonna (had to throw that in there) and I do!

Beauty snob note to PR firms: *(Please contact us before sending unsolicited items to save your clients time, money and to guarantee a review!)

My inbox is inundated with pr pitches-- some are fab finds but many (like the Bling Strands above) are just plain weird!   It is made of metallic fibers you tie-in to your own hair and will lasts for weeks.  There are 24 crazy colors to choose from with an iridescent shimmer.  Hair may be washed and styled as usual.  I was told Bling Strands is excellent for weddings and special occasions (like 4th of July when you want to match the fireworks).  Find it here at Blingstrands.com What do you think?  Snob or Slob?

If you are looking for a bit of luxury for under $50-- try the 24K Gold Pomade (okay, so it's not a Cartier necklace but it's helluva a lot cheaper!) an innovative styling product that delivers such sparkle and rich gold glossy sheen, it could be called makeup for your hair (make up for the hair!  what will they think of next?).

This decadent hair treatment moisturizes, softens and protects hair while delivering an intense, metallic gold finish.  It promises to be lightweight and I hope it delivers, nothing worse than a head full of heavy "make up" in the dead heat of summer.  Price: $49.00 at Oribe.com

I went to a party at the Chateau Marmont for Tiffany & Co. hosted by Vogue last week. There were a ton of very fabulous people, like Melissa here. I pretty much accosted her so that I can take a picture of her chic and casual loose braids pulled into a ponytail. This is the absolute most perfect style for the summer and require very little effort. Let your hair take a break for the summer by retiring the blow dryer for 3 months. Just shampoo, conditioner and let it air dry. You can use a shining cream or gloss to smooth out the ends. Melissa did 2 very loose French braids on both sides and pulled it into a ponytail wrapped with her own hair for a polished look. Perfection!

From people.com

The past few days have been horribly dreary in NYC -- non-stop frizz-inducing drizzle and rain. I've been wearing my hair in a french braid, up in a tight bun, or in a braided ponytail because I don't have the energy to keep fussing over frizz after I spent an hour blow drying and straitening..so frustrating! Above Kate Hudson and Diane Kruger show off their loosely braiding ponytails -- how fab? When I try this look I don't look quiet as effortlessly fierce unfortunately, but I found that with some anti-frizz (Living Proof or Frederic Fekkai), some wax for beachy texture (Bumble and Bumble's Styling Wax is great..I've been using it since High School!), and a volumizer (like Jonathan Product Create Volume Thickening Foam), to add some soft waves and hold, it's pretty easy to achieve. The look is a life-saver when you need to look presentable, but the weather is just not corroborating with you!

 

If there's one thing women most often want to know when it comes to hair is how to achieve Blake Lively's loose, effortless curls. I've never been much of a fan of her on Gossip Girl (I'm team Blair all the way!), but I have to say that I too am a fan of her hairstyle. When I was in Spain I picked up an issue of French Cosmo and read about Barbar 1900 Cordless Combo ($145) and was immediately intrigued (includes both a 1" flat iron and ¾" curling iron on the same quick charging base). I've since been using it every time I add curls to my hair. Not only does it heat-up quickly (I only use the curler, I use a CHI to straighten -- it heats up to 356°F in less than three minutes), but the fact that it's cordless makes it amazing for summer when I'm traveling a lot more (no need to worry about voltage, plugs, etc...). As to how to achieve the look I've been following some fabulous tips that I got from Redken Session Stylists, Giovanni Giuntoli. See what Giuntoli suggests after the Jump!