Enter to Win Some Tigi Hair Product Swag

Who loves free hair products? Yeah—I thought you might.

 

I just got a heads up that Universal Motown is holding some very cool contests of the day. Each day they give away some awesome goodies to those that enter and they thought my lovely readers would be interested in the hair products goodies they’re giving away tomorrow (June 5^th).

 

 You could win yourself a Tigi S-factor styling kit filled with some fab Tigi hair products. I love the Tigi line of hair products—I’ve used the styling wax and the spiking glue (works awesome for scrunching curls!) and have not been disappointed.

 

Tigi’s S-factor line is all about smooth, silky and shiny hair. Who doesn’t want that? So if you’re in to free hair care products (and who isn’t?) get yourself over to the Universal Motown website and enter their daily contest for some free hair swag.

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Are you just as excited about the Sex and the City movie as I am? I cannot wait to see what Carrie and gang get up to on the big screen. In celebration of that this week’s celebrity hairstyle is none other than the ultra stylish Sarah Jessica Parker.

You can see the hairstyle here.

Now it’s no secret that Sarah Jessica Parker’s hair is naturally curly—you can’t fake waves like that. But fear not—this hairstyle tames those wild waves and is actually achievable by both straight and curly haired beauties.

Curly hair—If you’re starting out with curly hair apply a smoothing balm to your damp hair. Section your hair into manageable sections and blow dry the roots straight to about 4 or 5 inches from the root. With the mid-shaft and ends use your fingers to gently soften your curls. Run your fingers through sections of your hair while gently pulling on the hair to relax but not rid yourself of those curls.

Curls may be fine as is with a little addition of some styling wax or may need a little touch up with a curling iron such as the Hot Tools triple barrel curling iron (see recommended products).

Straight hair—If you’re starting with straight hair add a volumizing mousse to your hair and blow dry you hair until completely dry. Take on to two inch sections (depending on the thickness of your hair) and create awesome waves via the Hot Tools triple barrel curling iron. Finish off with a little light styling wax to define those funky waves.

Recommended Product

The Hot Tools triple barrel curling iron is not your average hair iron. The unique two barrels on the bottom and one wavy plate on top actually creates fabulous waves in your hair without all the twirling. By pressing a section at a time into the large barrel you instantly create big, beautiful waves in your hair that a regular curling iron just can’t do.

HOT TOOLS 3 Barrel Professional High Heat Waver with Gold Barrels (Model: 1175V2)Price: $39.95 USD

Welcome to our first edition of The Her Hairstyle Blog’s monthly blog carnival. Every month I’ll be bringing you awesome links to other blog’s post centered on a specific topic.

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This month�s topic is beauty product reviews. While they say true beauty comes from the inside there�s no denying that we are a society obsessed with making ourselves pretty on the outside as well. Nothing wrong with that! So in the spirit of primping our outer selves I bring you beauty product reviews from around the blogosphere.

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Don�t you wish you could �try on� a hairstyle or new eye shadow collection before you shell out the cash? Sveinung Skoglund from iExtreme Makeovers has a great article on using free virtual makeovers from the internet to do just that. You can try on celebrity hairstyles or the latest shade of lipstick by uploading a photo of yourself to these free online programs. Great fun!

 There are nearly as many hair care myths floating around as there are hair care products. As a former hairdresser it never failed to amaze me the bogus hair care tips that that my clients took for truth. Yeah, like gooping mayonnaise in your hair is going to make it healthy. It might make it crave bacon, lettuce and tomato to complete that sandwich but healthy? Please!

The best defense against unhealthy hair is good old fashioned facts. In the spirit of putting these B.S. myths to bed for good I’m tackling five of what I consider to be the top hair care and hair care product myths out there.  This week’s podcast will separate the fact from the fiction when it comes to hair care.

Click on the link below to listen to or download this week’s podcast.

pod2-hair-myths1.mp3

  Did you find any hair care myths that you previously thought were true? If so share them (don’t feel bad–we’ve all been fooled by at least one in our lives!)

Today’s Hairstyle of the Day is Thandi Newton

Thandi is showing off some shiny curls in today’s hairstyle of the day. Those with natural curl take note—look what a great layered hair cut can do for your hair type!

The hair is cut shoulder length when wet to allow for “spring up” once it dries and long layers are added to take out the extra bulk and carve some nice shape into those thick and curly locks.

To style apply a generous amount of a curl defining cream to really lock in those curls while banishing frizz. Attach a diffuser to your blow drier and gently scrunch curls into place. For mega volume flip your head upside down while scrunching—gives those roots some added volume.

When your hair is dry coat the palms of your hands with a small amount of styling wax and scrunch again to remove any fly away hairs and promote shine.

Recommended Products:

L’Oreal Kerastase Nutritive Elasto-Curl Definition Forming Cream for Thick, Curly Hair 125ml/4.8oz

Kate Hudson is the latest celeb to attach her name to products they think we can’t live without. Kate’s contribution to capitalism is a cruelty-free & eco-friendly line of hair care products. Environmentally friendly hair care products are turning into big business these days so Kate Hudson teamed with stylist David Babaii.

The line of hair care products promises to be gentle on the environment because the shampoos and conditioners are free of sulphates and petrochemicals.

I do admit that Kate has some great hair, so if this is the stuff she uses on it then it might be worth a try. If I can get my hands on some I’ll be sure to review it and post an update.

I’ve often wondered if celebrity product lines were just overpriced average stuff that gets attention because of the name attached to it. What do you think? Are celebrity products worth their often higher price tags? 

These day’s everyone is going natural. We want organic food, eco-friendly cleansers and beauty products with a conscious. But when your personal style is on the line are those all natural hair products really good enough? Today we examine various all natural hair products to see if they’ve got what it takes.

Natural Shampoos and Conditioners

One of the biggest differences you may notice when using a natural shampoo is the lack of suds it produces. This is because a truly natural shampoo should not contain the chemical detergents that cause the sudsing action in regular shampoos. This doesn’t mean they don’t work—for the most part they clean your hair every bit as well as regular shampoos. It just means you won’t get that big lather you’re used to.

One to try: Lush’s solid shampoo in “Ultimate Shine”

Exotic floral inspiration to make dull hair shiny
A lovely white shampoo bar with gold sparkly bits (not loads, just enough to leave a couple of sparkles in your hair), Ultimate helps hair shine by using spicy elemi and ylang ylang oils to balance your scalp’s oil production. Deliciously sweet violet leaf oil is said to relieve anger and anxiety so you can shine socially too. Now proudly SLS-free.

Most natural conditioners will work for normal to thick hair but their natural oils might be too much for very fine hair.

Hair Spray

Because aerosols cans are a no-no on many levels for the environment all natural hair sprays come in the liquid, pump bottle variety. This is ok for quick mists but if you use your hairspray as a styling tool and rely on the dryer aerosols for styling this natural hair product probably won’t pass the test.

Styling Gels

From the reviews I’ve read on various types of natural hair gels it seems this one is a winner. Most people say natural hair gels work just as well as the synthetic-filled drug store variety. So you can look good with a clean conscious—yeah!

Hair Coloring

The only all natural hair coloring out there is called hennas. I know these have improved a lot from the hennas of old but it’s still a bit like playing Russian roulette with your hair. Henna’s results are not always predictable and if you decide to color over them with a store bought or professional hair color the results can be disastrous. I remember when I was hairstyling a friend of mine, also a stylist, colored a client’s hair who had used henna previously and her hair turned a weird teal color—yikes. So if you need to color your hair and choose natural henna do a strand test beforehand and proceed with extreme caution.

We all like to use natural when we can and do our part for the environment but it sometimes means we have to give up the versatility and ease of those synthetic products. So if you have a hankering to go natural I say go for it but, for the most part, don’t expect them to behave like their chemically filled counterparts.

Tell us what you think—would you sacrifice your awesome but non-natural hair care products for the eco-friendly kind? Let us in on your views of natural hair care products.

Been down a hair care aisle lately? Frightening, isn’t it? The endless combinations of shampoos, conditioners, gels, mousses and waxes to choose from are enough to boggle the mind. Today we’re going to tell you what products do what and teach you when to reach for pomade and when to leave it on the shelf.

Mousse: Mousse is a foaming styling product whose sole purpose is to add body and control to your hair. You should be using mousse as a hair care product if you have fine or limp hair and want it to appear thicker or your hair style requires a lot of volume.

Curling Mousse: Provides volume and defines curl that is already there in your hair. This won’t create curls that aren’t there so those with straight hair need not apply.

Gel: This hair care product is short hair’s best friend. Gel works best for giving styling control to men’s hair styles or ladies styles that require a lot of hold. It also works wonders for those who have a little natural curl in their hair who want to scrunch style more curls into their hair.

Spray Gel: This is the perfect gel option for those with super fine hair that need hold in their hair care products. This product will give you all the hold you need but won’t weigh your fine hair down like heavy gels will. Also works for scrunching curls.

Styling Wax: This soft holding, pliable concoction is perfect as an alternative to gel for those who like the “wet” look but hate crunchy hair (which really should be all of us!). Hair wax is probably the single best styling product out there as it adds definition to all hairstyles, combats “frizzies” and creates sleek looks in seconds. Personally I think every man, woman and child should own a jar of this hair care product.

Pomade: Pomade is very similar to styling wax but with more hold. Use this if you want a wet look on naturally curly hair or if you want to define the layers in coarse hair.

Curl Enhancer: This product does just what it says—it enhances the curl or natural wave you already have. This is a good hair care product to use alone or in combination with a spray gel for scrunching in curls. What this product does not do is create curls in straight hair.

Anti-Frizz serum: This silicone based product coats the hair shaft and fights frizz like a super hero. If you have naturally curly hair you should always mix this in with a little bit of your favorite styling product to banish frizzies for good.

Hair Glue: Who knew it would come to this? For those who literally need to glue their hair in place this is the hair care product for you. Use this for extreme spikes, Mohawks and faux hawks.

Thermal Protector: This product creates an invisible barrier that protects your hair from damage due to heated styling tools. If you style your hair with blow driers, curling irons, flat irons (especially) or a combinations of these every day you need this.

Smoothing Cream: This creamy hair care product helps smooth out wavy or curly hair. If you’re going from curly to straight use this to help iron out most of the kinks during the blow drying phase. Follow up with a flat iron for the ultimate in smooth hair. If you’re planning on keeping curl in your hair don’t use this.

Root Boost: This very specialized product is designed to give lift and body just at the roots of your hair. This creates volume in your hair but leaves the rest sleeker. This is good for those who are prone to creating bubble-like styles with their hair or those with fine hair who need volume with soft hold.

Hair Thickener: This product makes hair feel thicker and is one of those hair care products most people should pass up on. Unless you have baby fine hair this product will probably just end up making your hair feel like someone stuck liquid gum in it.

Shine Spray: This liquid silicon product is meant to be used last on a hair style and gives a glimmering sheen to your hair. This is the perfect finish for updos or hair that has been straightened with flat irons.

There you have it—the most popular hair care products defined. Are there any others you’d like to know about? If I missed one (and lord knows I probably did) leave a comment and I’ll fill you in.

In the spirit of this blog post here’s today’s question—if you could only use one hair care product (excluding shampoo and conditioner. We’ll be nice and give you those for free) what would it be?