Search Results: Michelle Breyer
Move over, argan oil and shea butter. Stylists are all abuzz about the latest miracle hair treatment: bull semen.
After reading about sperm-based facials, one British stylist began chatting away with her clients.
“When a client asked where she could get a sperm-based hair treatment done to feed her protein deprived locks … I was speechless,” the stylist said on Stylecaster.com.
She did some research and came across a “Aberdeen Organic Bull Semen Treatment.” Hari’s, a salon in London, is offering clients a conditioning treatment made out of bull’s semen. Hari’s has been one of London’s top salons for over 30 years and prides itself on offering some of London’s most exciting new treatments sourced from around the world.
It has become the most talked about treatment in London. Touted as “Viagra for Hair,” this 45-minute treatment ranges from £55 to £85 ($90-$138 U.S.”> and uses semen from Aberdeen Angus bulls. Hari’s combines the sperm with the root of the protein-rich plant Katera. The protein-enriched potion is massaged into the client’s hair after it has been shampooed. Then the client is put under heat so the treatment penetrates the hair. The final step is the blow out, which gives the hair an awful lot of body, as well as shine.
“I have been searching for an organic product with a lot of protein because that is what hair is made of and that is what it lacks when it is dry,” says salon owner Hari Salem. “The semen is refrigerated before use and doesn’t smell. It leaves your hair looking wonderfully soft and thick.”
Salem told media that he tried hundreds of products—including wild avocados and truffle oil—before hitting on bull semen as the elusive element in a formula for making hair look gorgeous. His salon also offers such treatments as Kerastase Hair Rituals and mind-soothing Indian Head Massage.
Salem says the treatment repairs, restores and brightens any hair. He says he has no shortage of customers.
“It will be an ongoing treatment as long as the bulls perform,” he says.
According to CosmeticsDesign.com, the trend may actually have started with Norwegian based company Maritex, which stated that it was the main producer of Cod sperm for use in cosmetic products.
The company suggested that the sperm successfully binds water in body lotions and make-up, with the company said to have sold seven tons of processed cod sperm for use in cosmetics in 2002.
However, the motive behind the Hari’s salon’s decision to use the controversial ingredient was more scientific, with the protein in the semen thought to actively complement the protein contained in hair molecules.
Bull semen may be the latest attempt by hair manufacturers to find pure forms of protein that match the hair protein quantities in order to create the most effective hair care treatment. With the bull semen and Katira plant extract mix giving an almost instant and odorless finish, the treatment may be the start of big things to come, says CosmeticsDesign.com.
Because semen has to be refrigerated in straws until use, it could be a while before it becomes a staple in hair-care products. And with its high cost, the ingredient would be aimed at the premium hair care market.
According to Mintel data, other unusual animal ingredients are being used in Asia and Latin America, with many companies incorporating placenta ingredients into skin care products, according to CosmeticsDesign.
Sofface cosmetics, based in China, has created a make-up base that contains sheep placenta, while the Guangzhou Sisder Health & Beauty company has based an entire skin care and body line using the same ingredient.
And that’s no bull.
The stylists at Bubbles and Salon Cielo have always led the way when it comes to developing new Cibu products for their salons. So when they told the company they wanted products for curly hair, Cibu listened.
“That’s our philosophy,” says Jenn Mapp, Cibu brand manager for The Ratner Group, which owns 56 Bubbles and Salon Cielo locations as well as 800 Hair Cuttery salons. “We listen to our stylists.”
After two years of research, development and testing — and countless hours spent on NaturallyCurly.com — Cibu is launching its Spring Roll collection this month. Spring Roll products add moisture to all hair types. They’re also designed to shape curls. The line includes Hydrating Cleanser, Hydrating Conditioner, Hydrating Masque, Soft Curl Gel and Shaping Creme. The products can be mixed together to get customized looks.
“To come up with the products in the line, we surveyed our stylists,” Mapp says. “We went back and forth to find styling products that would be the most comprehensive. The stylists also asked their clients. They have the final say on everything.”
The company also goes out to its salons’ 850 stylists to test the products and get feedback on what needs tweaking before it hits the market.
“They do hands-on testing,” Mapp says.
The products all are sulfate-, alcohol-free and paraben-free, and formulated to hydrate. All Cibu Spring Roll formulas include a blend of naturally derived emollients, proteins, humectants and moisturizers. In addition to Cibu’s signature combination of bamboo, water lily and lotus flower, each Cibu Spring Roll product contains aloe vera, awapui, kukui nut oil and a nutrient blend of vitamins A, C and E. All the products are packaged in 85 percent recycled materials.
The bottles all are recycled from other bottles, and the products never are tested on animals.”
While Spring Roll is intended for waves, curls and kinks, Mapp doesn’t want to pigeonhole the product line because it also works well on any hair type that needs moisture and hydration.
Cibu products are sold exclusively at Bubbles and Salon Cielo locations as well as online.
The first Cibu products were introduced in May 2004. The line now has three collections: Classic, Shang Hai and Spring Roll. Although Bubbles and Salon Cielo salons also sell other brands such as Kerastase and Pureology, the Cibu products now rank No. 1 in sales at those salons.
“It’s gotten to the point where Cibu products bring new people in rather than just capturing clients in the chair,” Mapp says.
The products’ Asian-influenced packaging and names evolved from the original logo and extracts inspired by the Far East. From that, came products such as Sticky Rice Pomade, Shang High Volumizing Conditioner, Miso Knotty Leave-in Detangler and Wok This Way Sculpting Sauce.
“Cibu was inspired by a place where wellness is part of the landscape — The Far East,” Mapp says.
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Texture was the focus at Premiere Orlando 2009, a prestigious hair and beauty trade show held June 7 and 8 in Orlando, Fla. Unfortunately, the focus was more on how to change natural texture than how to enhance it it.
Every other booth seemed to offer a new keratin treatment to straighten curls and kinks. Since gaining popularity over the past two years, keratin treatments have taken the curly world by storm, with a growing number of hairdressers forgoing thermal reconditioning in favor of this hot import from Brazil.
Although the keratin companies’ booths attracted their fair share of crowds, there was plenty of interest in curls and kinks as well. Companies such as John Paul Mitchell Systems, Aquage and Tigi showcased curly styling techniques at their booths, as did Deva.
Fueled by curlies who want to work with their natural texture, a growing number of stylists are interested in working with waves, curls and kinks. NaturallyCurly’s new site, CurlStylist, attracted plenty of attention from stylists and beauty school students interested in learning more about working with texture.
Another hot product offering this year was argan oil, with several companies showcasing products containing this oil from Marrakesh. The oil, which is said to have restorative and age-defying effects, has become one of the latest miracle ingredients in the beauty industry because it is high in vitamin E and essential fatty acids. It is believed to help all sorts of skin and hair conditions. MorrocanOil, which offers a wide range of haircare products containing argan oil, has become the leader in this niche, and they had a huge booth at this year’s show.
As always, the show had its fair share of over-the-top displays, from models adorned only with balloons to gravity-defying hairstyles showcasing the latest styling products. Both male and female models bared plenty of skin, including bare-chested male models painted silver. And the decibel level, with techno music blasting from every booth, was in the stratosphere.
Summer is upon us, and many of you may be needing a vacation. In these tough economic times, you may be tempted to stay close to home. But there ways to go to your dream destinations without breaking the bank.
Vacation rentals through sites such as HomeAway.com allow you to rent a whole home in destinations around the world for about half the cost of a hotel, and they come with added perks such as full kitchens that allow you to dine in and save even more money.
Check out some of HomeAway properties around the United States, along with our tips on how to care for your curls once you get there.
- Destination: Cape Cod, MA
- Accommodations: Two-bedroom, one-bath waterfront cottage
- Curl Rx: Expect classic Cape Cod summer days with temperatures in the 70s to 80s, with light, salty, breezy nights. Hot, humid days are uncommon on the Cape, which means less of a battle with frizz. But you should still protect your hair from the salt and sun with leave-in conditioners and hats.
- Destination: Sanibel Island, FL
- Accommodations: Two-bedroom, beachfront condominium
- Curl Rx: Get ready for hot, humid days in this gorgeous beach-front destination. June is the rainy season, with showers and thunderstorms continuing through September. So break out your best frizz-control products and a leave-in conditioner, and always have a Plan B, whether it is a fun headband or a colorful barrette.
- Destination: Seattle, WA
- Accommodations: One-bedroom luxury condominium in the heart of Belltown
- Curl Rx: Although Seattle is known for its rain most of the year, summer temperatures hover around a pleasant, dry 75. So a gel or styling cream will keep your curls looking beautiful as you peruse the Pike Place Market.
- Destination: Coronado Island, CA
- Accommodations: Four-bedroom, 3672-square-foot housewith a pool. Walking distance from the ocean.
- Curl Rx: Get ready for near-perfect curl conditions, with days in the 70s and cool nights. Make sure to protect your ringlets from the sun and surf with UV protecting products as you enjoy some of the country’s best beaches.
- Destination: Hanalei, Kauai
- Accommodations: One-bedroom, 1-bathroom house near the beach and mountains
- Curl Rx: Balmy tropical weather means bringing your frizz-control products. Also, protect your locks from UV rays with protects that offer protection. Wear a hat or a leave-in conditioner when you’re on the beach.
- Destination: Bar Harbor, Maine
- Accommodations: Three-bedroom, 19th-century farmhouse on the Maine coast
- Curl Rx: The warmest month of the year is July, with an average maximum temperature of 80 degrees. Although heat won’t be an issue, you’ll be close to the ocean, so prepare for some humidity. Bring along some leave-in conditioner and a good humidity-resistant styling product to keep your curls frizz-free and beautiful.
Even in these challenging economic times, HomeAway.com believes you deserve a summer vacation. You deserve the right to de-stress, reconnect with your family and travel in style. That’s why HomeAway has launched its Save Our Summer Vacations initiative to petition Congress for a National Vacation Day. The company is also sponsoring a contest to reward the person most deserving of a vacation.
HomeAway is giving people the opportunity to share their story for the chance to win a $10,000 vacation getaway. Two runners-up each will receive a $5,000 trip.
As part of the contest, consumers can submit a video or photo explaining why they deserve to have their summer vacation saved by HomeAway. The entry period runs from today through July 2, 2009, when the public will have the chance to vote on the person they believe most deserves a vacation. The voting period ends July 16, 2009, when a panel of judges will select the winner from the top 15 vote-getters based on creativity, originality and effectiveness at expressing their need for a vacation. Winners will be announced on or around July 28, 2009.
Melba Tolliver
Melba Tolliver, the first black woman to anchor a major TV news show, will be one of the speakers at an upcoming celebration and discussion of black hair.
The event — “Heads Up! A Soulful Celebration of our HAIRitage” — will gather women and men of all ages for an evening of dialogue, film and performance at 6 p.m., May 20, at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts on the Long Island University campus in downtown Brooklyn.
Heads Up! will salute natural-hair pioneers, accomplished professionals and everyday folk. Attendees are invited to bring along a “Natural Inspiration.” Admission is free, and all hairstyles and viewpoints are welcome.
Farah Jasmine Griffin
Panelists include Michaela Angela Davis, a critic and writer on urban style, race, gender and hip-hop culture, Columbia University English professor Farah Jasmine Griffin, natural haircare expert Ademola Mandella and actress Dominique Morisseau. Anu Prestonia, founder of natural hair-care salon Khamit Kinks — the event’s sponsor — will speak and present a mini bridal hair show.
Tolliver will read from her upcoming memoir, “Accidental Anchorwoman: Chance, Choice, Change.” Tolliver stopped relaxing her hair 38 years ago while working as a reporter for WABC-TV. Her new afro was deemed unsuitable and she was told she’d either have to straighten it or cover it up while on assignment for the White House wedding of President Nixon’s daughter, Tricia. When she failed to comply, she was banned from the news studio set until supportive viewers demanded her reinstatement.
Khamit Kinks is offering NaturallyCurly readers a chance to win a gift bag with three Khamit Kinks hair oils, three of Anu’s Body Butters, a “Heads Up!” pin and a $50.00 gift card. To enter, send an email to headsup@naturallycurly.com.
The Curly Girl Challenge is well underway, and dozens of people already have submitted their stories.
Lorraine Massey, co-founder of the Devachan Salon and author of “Curly Girl,” launched the Curly Girl Challenge on NaturallyCurly.com to find three more curlies to add to “Curly Girl 2,” the sequel to her popular book.
She’s looking for people to share their curl truths and their experiences about using Deva products in their quest to accept and love their curls. Massey says, “‘Curly Girl 2’ will be written by all of you, metorphoriCURLy speaking!”
This challenge is not about who does it fastest or longest. We encourage you to try the products and share your results. If you have already been using Deva products, you are also welcome to join this challenge, which runs through May 31.
This is what some some of the entrants had to say:
Join the fun! Tell us why you deserve to win the Deva Curly Girl Challenge.
Taylor Swift
It’s hard to think of Taylor Swift without thinking about those beautiful blond ringlets. But those signature curls once were the bane of her existence, she said in a 2008 Twist magazine article titled “My Frizzy Hair Nightmare.”
In the article, Taylor explained she used to cringe every time she looked at her hair in the mirror. She reported that once she hit her teen years, she felt like her frizz got worse every single day. She also told Twist that everyone around her seemed to have salon-perfect tresses.
“All the cool girls in school had straight hair,” she said. “All the cool girls would get out of the shower and their hair dried perfectly straight, naturally! And I’d get out of the shower and my hair would curl up and look really frizzy! Because of that, I straightened my hair in junior high and high school — felt like I had to do that to fit in.”
Going straight with her hair wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Taylor discovered it took her hours to transform her curls into bone straight, frizz-free strands. She soon decided it just wasn’t the effort.
“I realized if you’re lucky enough to have something about you that makes you different, embrace it,” she said in the Twist article. “I started letting my hair go curly, and it turned out to be something that set me apart.”
When Swift does her own hair, she adds a little product and lets her curls bounce. To control frizz, Taylor applies a defrisant, smoothing spray and/or anti-frizz serum to her hair right after she gets out of the shower.
Taylor said that sometimes her hair frizzes up while she’s performing because of the hot lights and because she gets hot and sweats. No worries for the blond performer. She has learn “to love her unruly locks” and doesn’t let it get in the way of her performing. Taylor just lets her curls be what they are.
Wil Baker, left and Dave Karlak, right, founders of Max Green Alchemy
Max Green Alchemy wants to prove that consumers need not compromise performance when they buy natural and organic styling products.
Scalp Rescue Texture Paste, Scalp Rescue Sculpting Gel, Scalp Rescue Styling Gel and Scalp Rescue Pomade are designed to provide the latest looks without parabens, PVP, silicones, wax or other synthetic additives. Instead, they combine plant-derived ingredients with traditional botanical extracts, vitamins and essential oils.
Because of this emphasis on performance, the company’s products have developed quite a following in the curly world.
“We love Max Green Alchemy for curly hair because it doesn’t feel like there’s anything in the hair, but it gives good curl definition,” says Nicole Lengerich, a stylist at Dio Salon & Spa in Colorado Springs who specializes in curly hair. “My curlies love Styling Gel. I think it’s so good that they’d use it even if it wasn’t natural.”
San Francisco-based Max Green Alchemy got its start in 2004 when Wil Baker, whose background is in finance, teamed up with David Karlak, who has a marketing background. Both had an interest in natural products and believed there was a need for products that “respect consumers’ internal and external environments without sacrificing effectiveness.”
The name “Max Green,” says Baker, is a philosophy which reflects the duo’s vision.
“Alchemy is what we do as a company,” Baker says.
“We saw a gap in the market was for natural products that were still sensual,” says Baker, who telecommutes from England. “We wanted people to have an experience when they used them, and be products they would use even if they weren’t into natural ingredients.”
The cosmetics, hair and skin care industries use more than 7,000 ingredients derived from natural or synthetic sources. As many as one in seven of these have harmful or toxic effects on the skin or body, ranging from minor skin irritation or contact dermatitis to carcinogenic implications, Baker says.
Baker and Karlak spent a year developing Max Alchemy’s first four products: Skin Rescue Cream, Scalp Rescue Shampoo and Conditioner and Chap Defense Lip Balm. The line launched in early 2005 at the Natural Products Expo, and was picked up by Whole Foods Market within half an hour.
“It was an indication they liked what they saw,” Baker says.
Whole Foods helped the fledgling company set up a distribution network, and it was “like a rolling snowball,” Baker says. Today, Max Green Alchemy products are sold at 250 resellers in the United States.
Products have been added based on customer demand. The line has grown to include lotions, cleansers, bath products and hand and foot care. Male-oriented shaving products currently are on the drawing board.
“We ask people what they’d like us to bring them,” Baker says. “That really steers our thought processes about what we’d like to develop next. The sky’s the limit!”
The styling products were developed because of the gap that existed for effective natural styling products that perform like their chemical-laden cousins. Many “natural” products rely on petrochemicals to provide hold. Texture Paste is designed to add define and detail to chunky styles; Styling Gel is a soft hold gel; Pomade adds shine and moisture and Sculpting Gel is a strong-hold, humidity-resistant gel.
“There aren’t many good natural styling products out there,” says Baker. “We thought we could do better. We’ve taken natural styling products to the next level.”
The company has strictly complied with the Food & Drug Administration’s standards, rather than cutting corners, Baker says. The company sources as many organic ingredients as possible. The ingredient panels on products, in literature and on the site specify which ingredients are organic or are sustainably wildcrafted.
“Since we source organic ingredients from global suppliers, ingredients meet various organic certification standards,” Baker says. “We hope that a comprehensive organic certification scheme will emerge. However, our company mission is to provide the finest quality personal skin care products using ingredients of 100 percent plant origin.”
“We get a lot of calls about ingredients, and we’ve developed a reputation for our knowledge about the subject,” Baker says.
The company has been lauded by natural living publications such as Vegetarian Journal, Herb Companion, Skin Deep and Organic.org. In 2008, the company won the Best Cruelty-Free Personal Product award from PETA for its Scalp Rescue Shampoo. The PETA Proggy (for progress”> awards recognize animal-friendly achievements in commerce and culture on behalf of their members and supporters.
“By making you aware of protection issues and providing you with accessible alternatives to products that hurt animals, Max Green Alchemy is contributing to a more compassionate and humane way to live,” says Ingrid Newkirk, president of PETA. “Their innovative and progressive contribution sets the gold standard for other companies to emulate, and we applaud them for their foresight, initiative, creativity and kindness.”
Max Green Alchemy also has received recognition from mainstream beauty publications such as Elle, which this month named the company’s Scalp Rescue Conditioner as the best “green conditioner.”
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This Earth Month, hug a tree — or better yet, plant one!
April is Earth Month, a time when everything looks a little greener as we focus on environmental sustainability. Individuals, communities and companies take this opportunity to launch and recognize their green initiatives.
For example, hair-care company Aveda is dedicated to raising $3 million for global and local clean water projects by holding 6K walks, which are meant to be symbolic of the average distance women in developing countries walk on a daily basis to get water for their families. Origins is launching the “Return to Origins” Recycling Program, which facilitates a nationwide recycling effort of cosmetics packaging. Beginning March 29, you can bring your bottles, tubes, caps, jars, and compacts —regardless of brand — to the more than 450 Origins retail stores and department store counters nationwide, where dedicated recycling receptacles will be set up for drop off.
We’ve compiled a collection of “green” articles on NaturallyCurly to help you look good while helping Mother Earth.
Check out the Hottest Earth Friendly Beauty Blogs
See How Beauty Companies Have Embraced the Earth
Understanding Organic: What You Need to Know
5 Simple Ways to Stay Stylish and Save the Planet
Debra Small
In the early 1990s, Debra Small was in beauty school when she began creating her own concoctions from existing products.
.Then a funny thing began to happen. While her fellow students had no customers to work on, she usually had several waiting for her out in the lobby.
“It was because of my products,” says the St. Louis entrepreneur. “I got so much feedback from people telling me I was doing things their stylist wasn’t doing.”
.Even after she became a color specialist for a large hair-care company, she still spent her free time mixing and creating her eco-friendly combinations.
That’s how HPO Spa Products — short for “Happy People Only” — was born. She launched her company in 2006 with her Hair & Body Shampoo, Body Lotion and Spa Hair Conditioner. All products contain organic ingredients such as avocado, honey and wheat protein, as well as essential oils.
To get the word out about her products, she began consulting with salons and launched a web site. She also reached out to adoption agencies that worked with biracial children and put on free seminars for children from foreign countries.
Small became natural herself in 2005 when she wanted to test products on natural hair to see how temperature and humidity affected it during different seasons.
“I was chemically relaxed since I was a teenager, so it took a lot of courage to do that,” Small says. “Now I love being natural. I love that I can have different textural moments — straight one minute and twist outs the next.”
Small still does hair two to three days a week at her salon, New York, New York Hair Design. It provides her with a perfect environment to try out new products on a variety of hair types.
Small spends much of her time and energy on HPO, constantly researching ingredients and other product lines to make sure her products are the best they can be. She says her bathroom looks like a beauty supply store because of all the products she buys for her research.
HPO hair products.
HPO now has 15 products for hair and body, many created based on customer feedback. She originally created Happy Scalp, an essential oil blend, to deal with her own excema. She began using it on friends with bad dandruff and they got amazing results.
Simply Curly Conditioning & Styling Pudding, one of her most popular products, was the result of Small’s interaction with a customer at Whole Foods Market demonstration.
She told Small her conditioner was like “crack in a jar,” and asked her to mix something up to style her natural hair. She initially called the styling cream Curly Diva, and it has since evolved into Simply Curly, the newest product in the line.
“At this point, I don’t think the line needs anything new,” Small says.
She likes to mix products together to get different looks. Her favorite combination is Twisty Locs mixed with Butter Drops, which she uses to create a spikey look. When she goes curly, she uses Spa Conditioner with Simply Curly.
Small says her products work for all hair types, and even those with no hair. She says bald men like them because it soothes razor burn.
When she’s not cutting hair or working on her growing hair-care company, Small dedicates a lot of time to philanthropic endeavors. Her Bertha Bar, a soap with a peace sign on it, was created in honor of an aunt who died of cancer. All sales from the bars benefit her company’s wig fund, which goes toward buying wigs for women with cancer. She also is involved with Locks of Love and Hats off to Cancer as well as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After Hurricane Katrina, she donated crates of hair and body products for people who had been displaced to the St. Louis area.
“I’m all about giving back,” Small says. “Every day, I thank the universe and thank. I may be just a little guy, but I believe that if you really work from your heart and do what you love, everything works out.”
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Gap recently announced the winners of its third annual Casting Call contest, and the winner was — curls and kinks! Three out of the four winners had curls or kinks.
Three-year-old Jaci Rae, 3-year-old Caleb and 8-year-old Kellen are beautiful proof that texture is here to stay. That doesn’t take away from the beauty of 10-year-old straight-haired Jovana — the fourth winner.
“This year’s contest was bigger than ever before,” said Pam Wallack, president of BabyGap, GapKids and GapMaternity. “We had more entries, more participation with in-store photo events, more buzz and tougher choices to make when it came time to select the finalists. We’re proud to call these delightful darlings the next faces of BabyGap and Gapkids.”
Gap received photos of more than 900,000 children. To give parents a hand with the contest, Gap hosted 40 photo-taking events at BabyGap and GapKids stores across the nation, offering parents an opportunity to have a free professional photo taken of their child.
After receiving the photos, judges narrowed down the pool to 20 finalists — 10 babies ages four and under and 10 kids ages five to 10.
Voted opened on Dec. 8, and people were encouraged to vote for their favorite, with one boy and one girl being chosen from each category.
Jaci and her adorable curls were first spotted at an in-store photo event near her hometown in New Jersey. “Her gorgeous hair caught the attention of not only Gap, but the thousands of Americans who voted for her,” Wallack says.<.p>
Caleb, a budding athlete from Illinois, can be found with his Spiderman collection and his WALL-E robot.
Kellen, an 8-year-old Floridian, is a talented gamer who loves to play video games. When Kellen was at the San Francisco photo shoot, he was showing off his break-dancing moves, doing upside down head-spins, jumps and twists, keeping the whole crew entertained.
Curls have been around since the beginning of time. In honor of Man Week, we thought we’d showcase some of our favorite curly icons through the ages — men who wore their curls with pride rather than cutting them off.
Stone Age: We weren’t around during the Stone Age, but if today’s caveman stereotype is any indication, curly hair was a hot look for prehistoric humans.
Samson
The Bible: Samson is a Herculean figure, who is granted tremendous strength through the Spirit of the Lord to combat his enemies and perform heroic feats unachievable by ordinary men, including wrestling a lion, slaying an entire army with nothing more than the jawbone of an ass, and destroying a temple. Through it all, he rocked his curls.
Emporer Hadrain
Roman Empire (AD 117 to 138″>: The Roman Empire reached its peak geographical size under Emporer Hadrian’s rule, and his curly hairstyle was the look of the day for Roman men.
12th Century: Sir Lancelot was one of the Knights of the Round Table. He is typically considered to be one of the greatest and most trusted of King Arthur’s knights and played a part in many of Arthur’s victories. He is perhaps most famous for his affair with Arthur’s wife Guinevere and the role he plays in the search for the Holy Grail. Long curls were the look of the day during the Middle Ages.
King Henry VIII
Tudor Period: King Henry VIII was known for his many wives. Maybe it was his curls that attracted them!
18th Century: Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States. He was military governor of Florida (1821″>, commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans (1815″>, and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy. Like many presidents of his time long curls were considered presidential, even if it was a curly wig they were wearing.
19th Century: Curly Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by the pen name Mark Twain, is known for such novels as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein, the German-born physicist, is best known for his theory of relativity as well as his wild curls.
Turn of the 20th Century: Charlie Chaplin was one of the stars of silent film. His curls peaked out from beneath his trademark bowler hat.
20th Century: Curlytop Jerry Garcia was one of the founders of the legendary band the Grateful Dead.
What would the ’70s have been without the Brady men and their Brady perms. They helped launch a perm explosion among men.
Fitness enthusiast Richard Simmons is known for his ‘fro as much as for his exercise empire.
We could choose rockers from any number of hair bands to celebrate, but we opted for Ted Nugent. You can’t think of Nugent without thinking of those long, wild curls.
Gene Shalit, the film and book critic on NBC’s The Today Show, He is known for his frequent use of puns, his oversized handlebar moustache, his colorful bow ties and his wild curls.
Kramer, aka Michael Richards, was known for his wacky personality and his crazy curls, which were his trademark.
Sideshow Bob Roberts
Since Sideshow Bob Roberts first appeared on “The Simpsons” on October 9, 1994. Voiced by Kelsey Grammer, he has become a pop culture icon, and so has his palm-tree-like hair.
The 21st century: The 21st century already has brought us many curly male icons, including teen idol Corbin Bleu, actor Adrian Grenier, comedian Carrot Top and the Jonas Brothers.
Kelly Foreman, center, didn’t want her daughter to dislike her curls as Kelly did when she was a girl.
When Kelly Foreman created the MopTop line of products four years ago, she wanted help her daughter embrace her curls in a way she hadn’t as a young girl.
But Foreman’s enterprise has become so much more, connecting her with people from California to New York who share a common bond and enabling her to have an impact on their lives. She has heard heart-breaking stories from women of all ages and ethnicities about the emotional scars they’ve suffered because of their curls and kinks. In one case, she met a woman who shaved off her curls and wore a straight-haired wig.
She has spent hours meeting with stylists who want advice about how to work with curly hair and has done mini frizz interventions at people’s homes.
Mop Top and Fuzzy Duck products are available in CurlMart.
“I am exactly where God has called me to be right now,” Foreman says. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity. I set out to create products and I’m changing lives. It’s truly amazing.”
Growing up with tight, corkscrew hair in humid South Carolina, Kelly Foreman was called “Fuzzy” by her classmates. She dreaded rainy weather and swimming pools, and subjected her curls to the ravages of blow-dryers, hot rollers and chemicals. Combs broke in her hair. Nothing she tried could tame her mane. Even her own mother struggled with how to manage Foreman’s frizzy curls, cutting it so short she looked like a boy.
Now a mother with three daughters of her own, Foreman launched the Mop Top line of products – a sulfate-free, alcohol-free, silicone-free line specifically designed for curly, frizzy hair. Fuzzy Duck, a children’s line of products for curly, frizzy hair, followed. She has since added a Pomade and a Deep Conditioner to the line.
In April, Foreman plans to launch her Leave-in Conditioner. She enlisted the help of NaturallyCurly members to name the product and got dozens of suggestions. She said the product already is getting rave reviews from testers, including a former Miss Texas who has begged her for more after trying it.
As Foreman has added new products, she continues to tweak the existing line to make the products more eco-friendly as well as compliant with European Union standards.
“With three daughters, I want to have the best, safest products out there, as close to perfect as they can be,” Foreman says.
While she works to expand her MopTop and Fuzzy Duck lines, Foreman has not lost sight of why she started MopTop in the first place.
She was 30 before she began to accept her curls. Looking at her damaged hair, her hairdresser encouraged to wear her hair natural. He suggested she use moisturizing products to get it back into shape.So over the next five years, she tried a wide range of products — from inexpensive drugstore brands to exclusive salon brands. She also became a student of curly hair, reading everything she could on the subject. As she struggled to find the ideal combination for her curls, she began concocting product in her kitchen. One day, she called up a friend in the cosmetics industry and said, “Hey, I have a wild hair. Do you know anybody that could help me make some sample products?”
She said she had added incentive because her middle daughter had hair just like hers.
“I want my daughters to embrace how they were created,” she says. “If you were created with straight hair, that’s great. But if you were born with curly hair, that’s not something we should struggle with. I want people with curly hair to embrace this wonderful blessing we have.”
Check out other Spotlight stories here.
See more photos from the Oscars here.
The award season trend continued Sunday night at the Academy Awards, where luxurious waves and textured updos ruled the red carpet!
From Angelina Jolie’s luxurious waves to Alicia Keyes’ old Hollywood curls, stick straight hair was hard to find. Meryl Streep wore a curly updo. ABC host Robin Roberts wore a short, sexy ‘fro. Even Nicole Kidman, who has sported flat-as-a-board hair for the last few years, opted for a curly updo.
See more hair fashions here.
In years past, a handful of designers trotted out a few curls and kinks as a novelty. But most stuck to slick chignons, conservative bobs and other straight styles.
While those styles were still in abundance at the Fashion Week Fall 2009 Collections in New York, more designers than ever showcased waves, curls and kinks with their ready-to-wear fashions
At the Chris Benz show, it was curly bobs. Models at the Catherine Hostein show wore big messy waves. Models at the Herve Leger show sported curly ponies. Sexy waves were the look at Diane von Furstenberg. And big kinks strutted down the runway at Rachel Comey.
Stan Ades considers himself the average guy. He’s not into fancy grooming products or perfumey, musky scents.
“I’m not a metrosexual,” he says.
But Ades was frustrated by his daily shaving experience, which dried out his skin and left his sensitive face nicked. Shaving creams just weren’t working for him. So when he came across a shaving oil in Europe, he was game.
He loved it, and decided to develop his own shaving oil back in the States. Six years ago, he launched Pacific Shaving Company, selling All Natural Shaving Oil and Nick Stick. His products have become a big hit with women as well as men, including a number of celebrity shavers.
“Just 7-10 drops of oil covers my entire leg and makes shaving without soap easy,” “Our Seven Qtpies” said on the Family Review Network. “No nicks, cuts or dry skin. My legs were smooth and soft but not at all oily. Just a few drops really did cover a lot.”
So far, Ades says his products have sold themselves.
“When you find something you really like, you want to tell other people about it,” Ades says. “It’s kind of like the TiVo of shaving. Once you use it, you can’t imagine going back to life without it.”
Ades says oil is a better alternative than foams and creams for several reasons.
“It’s good for the skin, good for the wallet and good for the earth,” Ades says.
Shaving creams lather, and lather is air. When air gets trapped, less lubrication touches your face, resulting in nicks, ingrown hairs and razor burn, he says. Ingrown hairs are an especially big problem for those with coarse, curly hair. Oil, on the other hand, allows the blade to slide easily on the skin.
Oil is more economical and environmentally responsible, he says. For every bottle of shaving oil sold, Pacific Shaving plants a tree. He estimates tens of thousands of trees have been planted since he started the company.
The 1/2-ounce size of shaving oil lasts for 100 shaves, while the 2-ounce size lasts over a year.
“It takes up 95 percent less space than a shaving cream can,” Ades says proudly.
Because of its moisturizing qualities, it reduces the need for aftershave. The oil contains ingredients such as sunflower oil, bergamot fruit oil, avocado oil, meadowfoam seed oil, cucumber fruit extract, organic aloe vera leaf juice, kukui nut oil and tangerine peel oil.
And it’s travel-friendly, meeting the requirements of the Transportation Security Administration.
The Nick Stick works better than traditional styptic pencil. In addition to stopping the bleeding, the Nick Stick contains Vitamins A and E as well as aloe to heal the cut. Because of its healing qualities, many people use it on their cuticles as well.
“Getting nicks is inevitable,” Ades says. “You want to have it around for when you need it.”
Ades believes he’s made one of life’s more mundane tasks a little more pleasant.
“Shaving is one of those things you have to do,” he says. “If we can help make it more enjoyable, that’s great.”
The shaving oil and Nick Stick are sold at numerous retailers. Visit pacificshaving.com to find a retailer near you or to buy online.
Pacific Shaving is offering a special online deal for NaturallyCurly readers during the month of February. Type in “Curly” and get free shipping.
Check out other Spotlight stories here.
For centuries, oil from the Moroccan argan kernel has provided natural nourishing benefits for the hair and scalp.
Now argan oil — or Moroccan oil as it is sometimes called — is gaining attention in the haircare industry for its ability to soften unruly hair while offering protection from the elements.
Moroccan women prepare the fruit of the argan tree to make its prized oil.
Travelers have long wandered the road of Marrakesh in search of spiritual and cultural fulfillment. Along their exotic journeys there is the ancient and rare Argan Tree, growing only in the Berber region of Morocco. From the nut of these magical trees comes Moroccan argan oil, known for a thousand years for its incredibly rich benefits for hair and skin.
High in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, it is believed to help all sorts of skin conditions: dry skin, acne, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles. Moroccans slather it on their skin, hair, nails and even their babies. They eat it, too — drizzling it over salads and couscous, or using it to make amlou, a tahini-like spread of the oil, almonds and honey.
The oil was sold in Moroccan markets even before the Phoenicians arrived, but the hardy argan tree has been slowly disappearing. Overgrazing by goats and a growing, wood-hungry local population have whittled the number of surviving trees down to less than half of what it was 50 years ago.
Argan oil remains one of the rarest oils in the world due the small and very specific growing area.
The argan tree was first reported by the explorer Leo Africanus in 1510. An early specimen was taken to Amsterdam and then cultivated by Lady Beaufort at Badminton around 1711.
The tree is extremely well adapted to drought and other environmentally difficult conditions of southwestern Morocco. The species argania once covered North Africa and is now endangered and under protection of UNESCO. The argan tree grows wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion and the northern advance of the Sahara.
The plum-sized fruits are eaten by goats that climb the trees — women once harvested the fruits from goat droppings. Nowadays, modern technology eliminated this process for the most part. The kernels are stripped off the fruit by machine, and are cold pressed to express the oil. Cold pressing is a preferred “green” method that eliminates the need for chemicals in extraction and produces purer oil.
Unesco declared a 25,900-square-kilometer of land between the Atlantic and the Atlas Mountains and provided money to manage the trees’ preservation. Chefs and society matrons took up the cause, praising the culinary qualities of the oil and its anti-aging effect on the skin. There is also a ban against grazing in the trees from May to August, when the fruit ripens to a bright yellow and eventually the goats climb the trees, eat the fruit and expel the pits, which locals continue to collect.
Each smooth pit contains one to three kernels, which look like sliced almonds and are rich in oil. The kernels are then removed and gently roasted. This roasting accounts for part of the oil’s distinctive, nutty flavour. It takes several days and about 32 kilograms of fruit — roughly one season’s produce from a single tree — to make only one liter of oil. The cosmetic oil, rich in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, is used for massage, facials and as an ingredient in anti-aging cream. The edible oil is extracted from roasted kernels.
The oil, which is alcohol-free, is almost weightless and has the tendency not to build up on the hair. It softens thick, coarse and unruly hair, bringing shine to lifeless dull hair and skin. It is easily absorbed into the hair and promises to eliminate frizziness as well as providing intense conditioning to all hair types. It is known to promote hair growth by strengthening weak hair prone to breaking off, and with its rich vitamins and minerals, it promotes healing to the skin, nails and the hair shaft.
It is recommended for hair that has been damaged by chemical treatments such as colorants and over-styling with heat implements. The oil can be applied directly to the hair after a color treatment, or a few drops can be added to the color treatment. It has a balancing constituency that is useful to the scalp as well. It helps the scalp by relieving itching and dryness. It also protects against UV rays and other rough environmental conditions. The oil also reduces hair’s drying time.
While it is oil, it is so easily absorbed into the hair and skin that it will not produce oiliness. It is recommended to massage a few drops of the precious oil into the hair and scalp after shampooing. It can be patted on to a clean, dry face as a moisturizer and rubbed onto the cuticles and nail bed for healthy fingernails.
It also can be used to renew cell structure, as an anti-aging ingredient in harsh desert conditions for centuries and as one of the finer overall hair, nail and skin conditioners available on the market today.
Earthly Body has blended argan oil with deep-moisturizing hemp seed oil to create Marrakesh Oil— a unique hair-care elixir offering miraculous results.
Marrakesh Oil’s non-greasy formula absorbs quickly to give instant shine, leaving your hair beautiful and in a healthy condition for heat-straightening or styling. This unique haircare elixir which combines the nourishing properties of Argan Oil from Morocco with moisturizing Hemp Seed Extract. Marrakesh Oil provides moisture, shine and conditioning to the hair and protects while heat styling or straightening. The lightweight extract absorbs instantly and leaves no greasy residue.
Evangeline Lilly was among those who rocked texture at the Golden Globes. See more.
Stick-straight ‘dos were hard to find at this year’s Golden Globes. Instead, the red carpet was filled with texture, from Debra Messing’s curly pony to Mary Louise Parker’s long ringlets. Even the updos were full and luscious, like Sandra Bullock’s curly look. It was a welcome change from years’ past when a ringlet or kink was hard to find in the crowd addicted to flat irons.
Even the men were rocking their curls, including the Jonas Brothers, Adrian Grenier and Simon Baker.
Of course we would have loved to see such curlies as Kyra Sedgewick, Kate Winslet and Lisa Edelstein playing up their beautiful curls rather than straightening them. But there were plenty of straight-haired women who opted for curls, such as Demi Moore.
We think the Golden Globes serve as a barometer for a curly, kinky year.
