If you visit a Sally Beauty store today, you might notice that things are looking a little greener in there. New summery green window posters, you ask? Nope! It’s because the Pure Elements by Zotos starter kits launched today.
Pure Elements is a new amazing line of good for you and good for the environment hair care products. They’re free from sulfates, parabens, silicone, animal-derived ingredients, gluten and artificial colors and dyes. Plus, Zotos manufactures them with on-site wind power from two wind turbines, which currently generate enough clean, renewable energy to meet more than 60% of their energy needs. Fabulous, right?
To celebrate, we’re giving away a kit of your choice to four lucky readers. Just leave a comment on this blog post between now and Sunday, July 3, at 11pm cst. Winners will be announced Tuesday.
Limit one comment per person. CONSUMER DISCLOSURE: NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Open only to legal residents of 50 US states and DC, 18 or older, who have Internet access and a valid email address prior to 7/1/11. To enter, access Sally Beauty Blog at http://sallybeautyblog.com/ from 10 am CT on 7/1/11 to 11 pm CT 7/3/11 and post a comment to the Pure Elements blog entry and provide your screen name and valid email address. Entries must be received by 11 pm CT on 7/3/11. Limit one entry per person.4 prizes to be awarded in random drawing on or about 7/5/11. Prize is a Pure Elements Kit. Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received. Void where prohibited by law. For official rules and winner’s list (after 7/5/11), visit http://sallybeautyblog.com/ or mail request to: Sally, Attn: Blog Promotion, PO Box 490, Denton, TX 76202. Sponsor: Sally Beauty Supply LLC.
Summer is officially here and it’s time to start thinking about summer hair care! Just as you would put sunscreen on your skin to protect it from the sun and damaging effects, you should use a leave-in conditioner to protect your hair from the sun, chlorine, and salt water. Ion Swimmer’s Leave-In Conditioner is specially formulated for this purpose. It will also prevent your hair from turning green from chlorine exposure.
Hair tangled from a day spent splashing in the water? Again, Ion Swimmer’s Leave-In Conditioner to the rescue! It’s an easy detangler, and adds shine and hydrates hair at the same time. Hello multi-purpose product!
Even if you use the leave-in conditioner for protection, your hair can use a clarifying treatment after swimming in the pool or saltwater. It will remove build-up and any green discoloration. Ion Swimmer’s Clarifying Treatment is safe for color treated hair.
On Wednesday I told you about a fabulous contest Sally Beauty is holding to celebrate the launch of our new Ion Keratin Smoothing Treatment. If you haven’t checked out the details be sure to visit here.
Today, I wanted to share a little bit about the product. I had the opportunity to watch the process from start to finish on my office mate, Jennifer. It truly is amazing stuff! It took her hair from frizzy (Sorry, Jennifer) to smooth, shiny and healthy looking. Here are her before and after pics:
See what I mean?
Now for the details:
Minimizes frizz 90% – 100%
Reduces curl up to 50%
Can be used on all hair types
Contains wheat germ & argan oil
No Formaldehyde added
Lasts up to 6-8 weeks *
*results vary on hair type and frequency of shampooing
Have any of you tried it yourself or plan to? Check out this video for step-by-step instructions. As always, if you have questions we’re here to help!
Ah summer. Flip-flops, Dreamcicles and days at the beach. Remember when we thought we were good with just a smear of zinc oxide across the nose and baby oil everywhere else? Yeah, that’s hardly the case today. I have replaced my zinc with lotions and creams that help protect my skin, hair color and even manicure from the sun.
I put sunscreen on every day. EVERY DAY. This is no longer just for a day at the beach, ladies. Before I put any makeup on, I start with a daily lotion with SPF in it. My esthetician convinced me to try a tinted lotion with SPF 60. Yeah, that felt like I covered my face with butter and I don’t recommend it. I stick with Beyond Belief Vita C + 15 SPF moisturizer. It’s light and 15 SPF will keep you covered during your commute to the office or trip to check the mail.
I also color my hair and as a working mom/housekeeper/dog walker/personal chef, I simply do not have time to color more than I already do. So it is very important for me to keep my color as long as I possibly can. I use color protect shampoo and conditioner, but I also use color protect styling products. Yup, they have sun protection for your hair. These help prevent your hair color from fading, therefore extending the time between coloring.
Have you noticed after an afternoon at the pool your manicure or pedicure will look a little yucky? Yup, sun can fade dark colors and yellow lighter ones. There are a ton of topcoats with UV protection. Orly Polishield is a good one.
So there you have it, a small bit of summer advice. I would love to hear any other summer saviors you may have. Wait, is that the ice-cream truck? Got to go!
I’ll admit it. I’m in love with curly hair. I myself have stick-straight hair, and have a serious case of curl-envy when I see a head full of bouncy, shiny curls. How do they get their hair to look so good?
After several weeks of me nagging, he reluctantly agreed to test out the Mixed Silk™ products for me. After we had finished, his curls were so well-defined! They were gorgeous, silky, and shiny. I had never seen his hair look so good. My husband took one look in the mirror and said with sheer horror, “I look…too beautiful!” He then proceeded to BRUSH out his curls (a cardinal SIN for curly hair) in an attempt to return to his frizzy, wild-man state. So if you are like my husband and ENJOY frizzy, untamed hair, this product may not be for you. If, however, you have anything from tight spiral curls to loose waves, this product is the perfect way to let your hair down, and feel free to be who you are: a beautiful, natural girl (or guy!) with beautiful, natural curls.
I was reading a blog post the other day about a home remedy for toning down green hues on blonde hair. What was the magic home remedy? Putting Ketchup in your hair! It made me remember a few home remedies that I’ve tried myself. Quite a few were successful and some were not so successful.
There was the time that I washed my hair with beer to make it shiny. The shine didn’t impress me and my hair smelled like a fraternity party. I think I would have been better off using Diamond Shine Rinse Out Shine Glaze.
I’ve also treated my hair with eggs to make it stronger. Unfortunately, I didn’t read the part of the article about not washing the eggs out with hot water. Yep, you guessed it! My hair was full of cooked scrambled eggs. It was a gross mess! It took forever to get all the cooked egg out of my hair. I should have tried Hask Henna & Placenta instead.
When I was 15, I decided to condition my hair with a mayonnaise mask. It was supposed to make it stronger. Growing up, I lived in a Miracle Whip household and we didn’t have mayonnaise. So, I used Miracle Whip instead. My hair still came out shiny but my mom was a little mad at me, to say the least. KeraPRO Restorative Treatment would have been less messy and kept me out of trouble.
The one common thing that I remember the most about my adventures in home remedies was that they were very messy and smelly. If only I had discovered Sally Beauty earlier! Tell me about some of the crazy home remedies that you’ve tried on your hair!
I turned on my heater for the first time this past weekend and that first blast of hot, dry air reminded me it was time to start thinking about my winter hair routine. As temperatures begin to dip and we bump up the heat in our homes, our hair is being robbed of important moisture. Add the stress of heat styling and it can leave hair dull, brittle and hard to manage. I can already tell that my hair is getting on the dry side and it’s been less than a week. Yikes! Time to moisturize!
When your hair loses moisture it starts to look dull and frizzy. Even worse, it can begin to split and break. To repair this loss, I recommend a hot oil treatment, such as Ion Hot Oil Deep Penetrating Treatment. This treatment will help restore moisture and softness to severely damaged hair from over-processing, heat styling or environmental exposure. Simply heat the bottle or tube in hot water for two to three minutes then apply and rinse. You should see immediate improvement. However if this type of treatment leaves your hair too oily, opt for a hair masque or a reconstructive conditioning crème.
These weekly treatments will begin to reverse cold weather damage to hair while a good daily conditioner will help prevent additional damage. A daily conditioner shouldn’t be so heavy that it leaves residue. One n’ Only Argan Oil can be used before styling as a treatment and even helps with frizz. If you have very coarse or curly hair, it may require an additional leave-in detangler. They come in liquid and crème form. While you can use the sprays liberally, use the crème sparingly to avoid hair looking oily or disheveled. There are some daily conditioners that target specific problems that arise during winter months. For example, Miracle 7 Leave-in Conditioner helps prevent static electricity in addition to conditioning hair.
Heat styling can also rapidly damage hair. If you curl or straighten your hair with an appliance, you should always use heat protecting products. Beyond The Zone Turn Up The Heat Serum provides thermal protection from heat stress, while conditioning and smoothing.
If you start noticing that the flakes on your sweater aren’t coming from the sky, then it might be time to switch to anti-dandruff products. Look for products that contain Pyrithione Zinc or Coal Tar, as they are the most effective. Try Ion 2-1 Anti-Dandruff shampoo or the Ion Clear-T Anti-Dandruff to calm and heal itchy, dry scalps.
Do you do anything differently to your hair during winter? Please share in the comments!
Any woman who has been pregnant can relate to that moment when you suddenly can’t stomach everyday smells. I have never like eggs, but the smell became so offensive I not only banned them from my house, I banned my husband from consuming them period.
Unfortunately this nine month aversion wasn’t limited to food– one fateful morning the smell of my shampoo turned my stomach. So off I headed to my favorite Sally Beauty store where they know me and wouldn’t stare as I spent the next 45 minutes smelling everything in the store. I am happy to report I found some great pregnancy-friendly substitutes.
Aura Hypo-Allergenic Shampoo and Conditioner: First I want to remind everyone that fragrance-free does not mean it doesn’t have any smell. It simply means that they do not add additional fragrance. Luckily this shampoo and conditioner are formulated with some pleasant botanical ingredients and left my hair smelling clean and nothing more. It didn’t weigh my hair down and left it with a nice shine. I’m generally impressed with these products. The added bonus is that they are hypo-allergenic, keeping any pregnancy triggered skin sensitivities in check. There is also a styling gel. I didn’t try that, but I would say it is worth a shot based on the performance of the other products.
And while you’re shopping get the biggest pregnancy must – cocoa butter for your belly!
Queen Helene Cocoa Butter Belly Cream: A staple for the pregnant woman for obvious reasons. Some cocoa butter lotions go heavy on the vanilla, which can be too sweet. This one is very lightly scented but made me hungry for chocolate chip cookies. Honestly – it may or may not have been the lotion.
Move over, Miracle 7, there’s a new favorite in town. Just kidding! You know you’ll always be my #1. I just have to make a little room in my heart for the both of you.
So what’s this amazing new product, you ask? Well it’s not that new (It came out in June), but I just discovered it so I’m calling it new. (With more than 6,500 products to learn about and try, sometimes I get a little behind. Oops!)
Anyway, my new LOVE OF LOVES is the GVP Heat Activated Texture Spray. This stuff is Fabulous with a capital F. Why is it so great? One reason and one reason only: It gives me swishy hair. Those of you who were blessed with naturally swishy hair (Sister, I’m looking and glaring at you.), probably don’t understand how amazing this is. Let’s just say that for those of us whose hair texture tends to resemble cotton candy, discovering this is like finding the Holy Grail of hair products.
Here are the facts:
Compare to Redken Fabricate 03
Inspires texture and definition
Provides weightless control
Never sticky
$5.99!
So tell me… have you tried this product yet? If so, do you love it as much as I do? What about other products from the GVP line? Any favorites there?
I made a bad judgment call today. I knew the forecast called for monsoon type weather but when I got ready this morning I said to myself, “Self? Aren’t you tired of your ol’ rainy weather standby hairstyle? Why don’t you try a preppy, low ponytail instead? It will look fabulous!” (Does anyone else talk to themselves while they get ready?)
Anyway, it was a big mistake and then to top it off, I forgot my umbrella. Instead of looking like a country club princess, I look like a caddy that got caught in a downpour. A caddy with a bad, frizzy perm, that is. It’s frightening. Standbys become standbys because they work. Lesson learned.
Since I have naturally curly hair that I straighten every day, when it’s raining I have to have a totally different hair plan. Here’s what I do:
Since well moisturized tresses are the key to perfect tendrils without crunch and frizz, after I towel dry my hair I spray on Miracle 7 Leave-in Conditioner and then comb through with a wide tooth comb.
Next I add root lifter for volume and a few spritzes of light hairspray for hold without the shellac feel.
Then I lightly scrunch my hair with my fingers and allow it to air dry.
For me this is the only way I can survive a rainy day with any hopes of looking cute.
Do you change up your hairstyle to accommodate different weather? Do you ponytails actually work for you? Please share your rainy day hair routine in the comments.
