Oils? For my Hair? Really?

Yes! Really! Oil treatments are the best thing you can do, on the outside, for you hair.  Using oil treatments has many benefits. Different oils offer different perks in maintaining the health and shine of your hair. And even the regrowth of your hair, and the removal of your balding patterns!!

  Stimulation! Stimulation to the scalp helps to increase the blood flow to your head. Increase of blood flow= growth of hair. Only if you stimulate everyday. A quick massage to the scalp while bathing, or in the shower everyday will help wake up the hair follicles as the blood flows more freely to your scalp.

 What I like to do is flip my head upside down and massage different oils into my scalp that are all beneficial in different ways. Flipping your head over will create more blood flow to the scalp and massaging the scalp will only give that much more stimulation the hair follicles.

  Some oils you can use and the benefits they provide:

CHI Organics Olive Nutrients Silk Oil 2oz

Olive Oil- Vitamins B, D, & E are the most important ingredients in the make up of olive oil and the most important in the aid of regrowing your hair and getting rid of balding patterns. Regrowth of your hair is absolutely achievable if you massage your scalp everyday with olive oil.
   People with thick, coarse hair benefit the most from applying olive oil treatments to their hair and scalp. The healthy fats in olive oil help replenish shine and luster to damaged hair.  Olive oil helps to strengthen the root of your hair resulting in the prevention of age-related hair loss.

Coconut Oil- is made up of several minerals and vitamins that are great aids in the prevention of hair loss and the reversal of damaged hair. It has been and effective and inexpensive choice for many people.  Not only does it condition your hair but it helps the regrowth of your hair and the prevention of further hair loss.

HERITAGE STORE Coconut Aura Glow Massage Oil 8 oz 

Castor Oil- is one of my faves! Due to the omega 9 fatty acids in castor oil, your hair can be shiny, your scalp healthy, and your hair regrown! This is an excellent choice of oils to add to your daily hair routine.

 Before bed, apply castor oil, in it's raw form, to the entire area of your scalp. Cover with a cap and a clean towel. Sweetdreams! Do not remove until morning. When you wake, wash the castor oil out of your hair with a mild shampoo.  This should be used about once a week and after about 5-6 applications you should notice a significant difference in the growth of your hair.

HERITAGE STORE Castor Oil 8 oz

Thyme Essential Oil- Got dandruff? Get Thyme!  Thyme essential oils are beneficial in the treatment of  itchy scalp due to bacteria or fungus (dandruff.) Massaging Thyme Oil into your scalp will help stop progressive hair loss.

Rosemary Essential Oil- It's like magic to the regrowth of your hair. It's a great source of vitamin B, iron, and calcium which aid in strengthening dry, brittle hair, and preventing and treating scalp problems such as dandruff and psoriasis.

Pomegranate Seed Oil- Is an excellent moisturizer and aid in repairing damaged hair. It has become a very common ingredient in a variety of shampoos and conditioners.  This oil does it all to help keep the health of your hair in optimal condition. It plays as a protectant to your hair shielding it from the everyday environmental pollutants.

Mix and match some of these oils to find the most beneficial recipe for your hair. Take the castor, coconut, and olive oils in equal amounts and mix them together. Warm them for a bit, then massage the mix into scalp for 5-10 minutes making sure to fully nourish the scalp.

Don't just fully depend on conditioners and moisturizers for healthy hair and growth. Ignoring a healthy diet can only leave you with disappointing results. A protein rich diet with a weekly oil routine will insure the health, thickness and luxury of your hair

Does Having a Certain Blow Dryer Really Matter?

Actually it does. You see rows and rows of hair dryers that have so many features you want to tear your hair out just trying to decide right? I've reached the point where I enjoy doing all my shopping on-line. You don't have to bother with crowds, or lines, or even making a decision. You can type in exactly what you want and it will come to you. How I  mean this is you can search for hair dryers by typing in the exact features you want and boom you have a narrowed down list to choose from.  Choosing a blow dryer doesn't have to be stressful, but you do need to choose wisely. Look for these features and you can't go wrong:

• Look for a dryer with a higher wattage. (1700-1800 watts.) This will ensure a faster blow dry. You choose a low wattage dryer and you will be spending double the time drying your hair.
• Fine hair? You should look for a dryer that has a low heat setting. Fine hair is more fragile needing a more gentle approach. Higher heat will cause more breakage and damage to your fragile hair.
• Curly hair? Look for a dryer that comes with a diffuser attachment and a pick attachment. The diffuser will help you to have a more controlled curl and if you feel the need to straighten, the pick will help lessen the amount of flat ironing. It controls the air flow and directs it down the hair strand relaxing the curl in your hair.
• No matter the hair type, always check the heat settings for the dryer. With multiple heat settings you can control what is right for your hair type
• Does it have a cold shot? Depending on your style you will want this feature. The cold shot is for when you are finished with the heat. You hit the cold button and blow your hair with the cooler air. This will "set" your style in place.
• Do you feel exhausted after drying your hair? Weight is an important variable in your decision. If you have super thick hair that takes a while to dry, you don't want a heavy tool that will exhaust you before your day begins! If your hair is a bit finer and doesn't take as long to dry, you can get away with a heavier dryer. Just make sure your arms can handle it. You don't want to create more stress on your body.
• As with any product, the higher the price, the higher the quality. It's not about the brand. It's about the quality of the product. You don't have to spend oodles of dollars on a high quality dryer. Not at all. I'm only saying, if you buy cheap tools for your hair you will have more hat days than not.

If you buy cheap, and by cheap I don't mean inexpensive, you're only going to get the results allowed by the quality of the dryer. No body wants to hear, " you have to pay more for quality." Some cases it's true. In this case, you really don't have to break the bank to get a quality blow dryer, you just need to be a little more open to spending more than $20.

 You can find a major variety of hair dryers at hairproducts.com! From different styles, brands, and features you can choose the blow dryer best made for your hair!

Virtual Makeovers!

   Want a change? Stuck on what to do with that hair? Just don't know what will look good? Before going to the salon and "settling" for a style you and your stylist decide on, try out some do's! No for real. You can download virtual makeover programs online, upload a profile picture of yourself and play with 1000's of styles, colors, cuts, fancy up-do's, and much more! They are so much fun. You can actually see what you like before you go pay a couple hundred to settle on mediocre. The idea in getting your hair done is to be able to look in the mirror and say WOW! You can smile and feel confident under your locks. Let's be honest. Our hair controls a large part of our confidence. Am I wrong? It's like trying on clothes before you buy them. If they don't fit you're not going to waste your money. So why not try on your hairstyle before you go drop some dollars on it!
   You will spend hours upon hours playing with all the different features these virtual makeover programs have. You can go from subtle makeup to wild and crazy finding shades of shadows that compliment and flatter your eyes. You will also to be able to find that right shade of foundation and powder.
 Find hair colors that work for you and ones that aren't so good. It will teach you what you need to know about complimenting your features.
   Try on different haircuts. Again, find what flatters your features. Find a cut and style you know will look great with your face shape and you will be able to manage everyday. If you don't like spending a lot of time on your hair then you can find a cut you know you won't have to mess with too much.
    Getting married? Prom? Have a special occasion? With virtual programs you can try on many different up-do's and fancy styles that will best suit your hair and your occasion.
   The many different features and qualities virtual makeover programs have are well worth the monthly fee or registration fee to insure confidence every time you walk out of the salon!


 10% off when you sign-up to TheHairStyler.com! Use code 10FEBHAIR. Expires Feb 29.


   

Box color... BLAH!

For your hair's sake, your stylist sake, your sake, and even MY sake please don't use box color. Most of the time you are not going to know at all what results you are going to get. If you aren't a cosmetologist or haven't learned the chemistry of hair then you probably won't know what the heck you're doing. I'm not trying to be rude. I'm trying to save you time, money, and your hair.

Store Bought VS Salon Professional Products

Dove. Suave. Pantene ProV. Garnier Frutese. These are just a few of the words that make your hairstylist cringe when you tell them that's what you are using. Store brands will claim to have all the same ingredients such as honey, aloe and other natural herbs. The truth is yes they may have these ingredients but there is not a significant enough amount to be effective. This is how they get away with putting them in their ingredients list. In reality you might as well wash your hair with dish soap if you're going to use these store products. They have chemicals in them that eventually they will start leaving a waxy feeling build up on your hair strands. Yes, salon products do contain some chemicals, but they contain more of the natural, herbal, and helpful ingredients than your store brand product.
       Think of it this way, you go to a salon. You pay a significant amount to have your hair cut, colored, and styled. Using those chemically enhanced, store bought products is like washing all that money you spent down the drain. If your going to spend the money on getting your hair professionally done then why not spend the money on the professional products to help maintain that hair?
       I had an instructor in cosmetology school give us a demo on what comes off your hair when you use store products vs when you use professional product lines. What she did was take someones hair that strictly used store brands against someone who only used pro products. She took a section of each of the hair and skimmed the surface of the strands. The store brand had flakes beyond flakes of waxy build up falling off her hair. It looked like it was snowing!  The professional product hair had none.
       I have tried product after product in the professional line and I always go back to old faithful. Aveda! It is all natural, it smells great, it WORKS for your hair, they have a line for every hair type, and all their packaging is 100% recycled. Is it expensive? Unfortunately yes, however you get a lot for your money. You get a product that WORKS. You get a product that "a little goes a long way" so it will last you a long time. You can take your empty shampoo and product bottles to an Aveda salon and have them refilled for a discount! Im not selling you anything Im just saying check out the products.
www.aveda.com!

A few easy ways to achieve healthy, shiny hair!

Wouldn't we all loooove to have the hair in this picture?! I know I would:)! Well I can't make it that long 

but I can offer a few simple ways to help your hair in the direction of health and luster. 

•   Don't wash your hair everyday! I know I know. How can you go without washing your hair? It gets greasy and dirty. Let me tell you, if you start the routine of going every other day and work your way up to every third day you WILL get past that oily and dirty stage. What happens when you wash every day is you are stripping your scalp and hair of all it's natural oils so your body has to work harder to produce more. Most of the time this cause over production of natural oils.
• When you do wash your hair it is best to not wash in hot water. Cold water is best for washing your hair and it gives you a great wake up in the morning! If you just can't do the cold water add a little warm to make it cool or luke warm. When you use hot water to wash your hair that heat blasts open  your hair cuticle causing more damage and dryness to your hair. The cold or cooler water helps to seal your hair cuticle down creating smooth and shiny hair strands! Not to mention it will help save your color from fading faster.
• Condition, condition, condition! Every person's hair and scalp needs conditioner. Any woman that styles their hair everyday absolutely needs a moisturizing conditioner. Blow drying, flat ironing, curling, even products cause your hair to dry out. When putting conditioner on your hair, focus more on the ends because that's what is most stressed. Leave that conditioner on for 3-5 mins at least then rinse with cool or cold water!
• We all must style our hair. It's a curse. We have to use all those products, and irons, and driers, and everything else that causes more stress to our hair. It is best to use a styling spray or serum that will help protect your hair strands from all that heat used in styling your hair. 

Hair Color Chemistry

There are some specific and very important rules when it comes to coloring your hair. There is a basic chemistry to hair color not just slapping it on over the color you have. There are some critical points to keep in mind. Knowing your start point, knowing where you're going and what to expect from the process is the best way to ensure you will have the most satisfying results.

VIRGIN HAIR- is the most simple to work with.  Virgin hair has no artificial color present and has natural underlying pigments which means the natural color of the hair. Once the underlying pigments are identified it is simple to formulate a color to either enhance or cancel them out. You will achieve a much cleaner result.

PREVIOUSLY COLORED HAIR- is a bit more difficult to achieve desired results. It is very much doable if you let the pro's do it! First you must identify the underlying pigment in the regrowth (new hair or roots), then you will determine the existing pigment of the artificially colored hair. Depending on the desired color in the end you have to determine what pigments need to be used in the new color to create an even color from root to end.

First you want to identify your natural hair color level. There is an international scale used to determine the level of your hair. Levels start at 1 being the darkest black and 10 being the lightest blonde. Match just the new growth, or the roots, to the swatch below and find what closest resembles your natural color. Not necessarily the "tone" but the level of lightness or darkness. Tones could be warm(red), cool(ash), or neutral.

Below the natural levels you will find the underlying pigments you see in your natural hair color.

You need to also understand the color wheel: this shows how all colors are created from the three primary colors.

 PRIMARY COLORS (Inner Circle)         SECONDARY COLORS (Middle Circle)                                                                                                

   RED,                                                            RED + YELLOW = ORANGE

YELLOW,                                                      YELLOW + BLUE = GREEN

& BLUE                                                          BLUE + RED = VIOLET

                 
                          TERTIARY COLORS (Outer Circle)
                           YELLOW + ORANGE = YELLOW/ORANGE
                           YELLOW + GREEN + YELLOW/GREEN (LIME GREEN)
                           BLUE + GREEN = BLUE/GREEN
                           BLUE + VIOLET + BLUE/VIOLET
                           RED + VIOLET = RED/VIOLET
                           RED + ORANGE= RED/ORANGE


This color wheel is important because all hair color is made up of various amounts of the primary colors. It demonstrates which colors neutralize which. Find the primary color you want toned away and look directly across the chart from it to see what underlying pigments are needed in your artificial color.
 Each coloring process has it's own set of variables. I'd always, always recommend leaving this job to a professional!
   In coloring you can always take your to a darker color when it is light. If your hair is already dark and you want it light, depending on the level of lightness, this could be a multi step process and is more damaging to your precious hair. It was analyzed to me like this: you want a white shirt black, you put the dye on it and voila it's black. Say you want your black shirt red well you put that red dye on a black shirt, the shirt is still black. Same thing with your hair color. You can't just put a lighter color on your darker artificially colored hair. Color does not remove color. You have to remove that color with lightener(bleach) and go back over it with your toner that has the neutralizers in it.