Search Results: Michelle Breyer

Jada Eley decided to start an online store, she went into it with the mindset of a shopper.

She looked for items that she would be interested in buying. And she made sure to offer plenty of samples because she likes to try things before she buys them.

In December 2006, the Ohio curly launched Beautylookingglass.com, an online boutique offering everything from toothpaste to baby products.

“It’s something I really enjoy,” says Eley, who works as a chemist for a food company. “I like helping people find quality products, and it’s nice if I can make a living doing it.”

Eley says the idea for Beautylookingglass.com came from her own frustration finding quality products. She started researching ingredients in her scientific journals and searching for the hottest products containing some of the best ingredients — ingredients such as shea butter and natural botanical oils. It made sense to create a place that sold the products she discovered.

Beautylookglass.com sells a variety of quality products, including Einstein Lip Theory Cooling Relief, top, Marvis Toothpastes, and Little Twig Baby Wash.

“I wanted to create a boutique filled with the best things I’ve found,” Eley says. “It just went from there.”

Some of her personal favorites include the Marvis toothpastes, the LaLicious line of body products — especially the Sugar Souffle Scrubs — Philip B Chocolate Body Wash and Maura Peters Cocoa Tarte candles.

“I have a chocolate fetish,” she says. “I just take the lid off and smell it.”

Eley has made sampling an integral part of her business. She provides up to three samples with each order.

“I’m a big believer in sampling,” Eley says. “I like the idea of seeing what you’re getting. That’s how I found a lot of the products I like.”

Beautylookingglass.com is offering NaturallyCurly.com members a 15 percent discount. To take advantage of this discount, use the promotion code NATCURL.

In mid-March, MSNBC reporter Alison Stewart received an e-mail from a viewer. The message wasn’t about the Emmy-award winning journalist’s abilities, but rather her signature dark ringlets.

“I’d like to see Alison with a lot less hair,” said the e-mail.

That day, Stewart read that e-mail on the air. Her public response: “My mother always told me to worry about what’s in my head, not what’s on it.”

In an industry where conformity is the rule, Stewart’s willingness to stray from the norm has made her a positive role model for curly women everywhere. The e-mails she receives most often are from fellow curlies looking for advice, and she always writes back.

“You really have to examine who you are and what’s important to you,” she says. “If someone is asking you to wear a jacket, does it really change who you are? No. But I realized that my hair is really a part of who I am as a black woman. I never in my life desired to be like everybody else to fit in.”

That’s not to say that Stewart always embraced her hair’s natural texture. As an African-American woman growing up in the ’70s, she relaxed her hair. When she went away to college, she made the decision to go natural. And she’s never looked back.

She began her career as a political reporter for MTV News, reporting and producing for “Choose or Lose” election coverage in 1992 and 1996. She was a recipient of a Peabody Award for her production work in MTV’s first election coverage.

“MTV is a place where anything goes,” she says. “You were free to be yourself. Curly hair was a positive on MTV. I didn’t really have career hair shock until I took the jump to CBS News.”

She was a correspondent for CBS News’ “Sunday Morning” and also reported for “48 Hours,” “Weekend News” and “Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel.” From there she went to ABC News, and then to MSNBC in July 2003. During her tenure at the network, she has served as a daytime anchor and as host of the network’s daily news show “The Most.” She also is a contributor to “Today.”

During her journalism career, Stewart says she made a conscious decision that she wouldn’t let her curls become an issue. That’s not to say that she hasn’t been approached over the years about straightening her hair.

In fact, she recently did a pilot for a show, and the stylist wanted to straighten her hair.

“I said, ‘I’m on TV everyday with crazy curly hair. This is who you hired. I don’t really understand why you’d want to straighten it,” she says.

Stewart says that while it’s annoying, this kind of attitude only rarely makes her angry.

“I remember reading about a well-known anchor who said she straightens her hair because she said it was more professional,” Stewart says. “That one really ticked me off. It sends a bad message.”

“I wish there were more women who felt they could be themselves on TV rather than an idealized version of who they should be,” she says.

Stewart says this issue isn’t necessarily limited to women. She recalled when CNBC anchor Ron Insana shed his toupee in 2001 — a move that gained him national recognition.

“He was much better-looking without it,” she says.

Stewart says her curl confidence comes in part from having found a stylist who knows how to work with her curls, and finding the right products to enhance her ringlets. She has been going to Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue for years, and is a big fan of Curlisto Structura Lotion and Control II Gel.

“I just run my fingers through my hair, put it up, go to my morning meeting, put clips in and diffuse it,” Stewart says of her daily routine. “That’s it.”

“I have found a way to have it look professional and still be true to who I am. On weekends, it’s a lot wilder. My husband loves it that way. He tells me not to put stuff in my hair.”

But she admits that she still has moments of insecurity about her decision to wear her hair curly. She recently asked a high-level journalist friend whether her curls were holding her back in TV news.

“I said, ‘Let’s get real. Should I straighten my hair?’ She told me to just be myself. That’s more important. It’s something I intrinsically knew. I just needed confirmation. But I’ve thought about it. I won’t lie.”

Stewart says she sees progress in her industry as the ideals of beauty become broader. But she thinks there’s still a long way to go.

“When I see the first news anchor with braids, that will be really big!”

Many curlies aspire to achieve second-day hair, while some of us would just be happy to make it through the day with our waves and ringlets looking shiny and defined.

That’s where curl rejuvenators come into play. Also called curl boosters and curl revitalizers, this category of products serves several functions. They can re-activate your styling product; they can moisturize and refresh the hair; and they can quickly zap frizz.

“It’s absolutely something that every curly should have in their arsenal,” says stylist Leo Freeman of Trilogy Salon in Valley Village, Calif.

Some people might use water in a spray bottle to revive their curls. But this actually can be drying to curls and waves, making them frizzier.

“You need something to help defrizz and moisturize,” says Kelly Foreman, creator of the Mop Top and Fuzzy Duck lines of curly hair products.

Most revitalizers contain different ingredients designed to refresh, moisturize and define the curls. Many contain magnesium sulfate (epsom salt”>, which helps to perk up curls and re-activate styling products. They also contain humectants such as glycerin, botanical oils and honey. And some use polyquateriums and silicones to zap frizz and add definition.

“Everybody has tried to put more gel on when your hair is dry, and it gets sticky, crunchy and gunky,” Foreman. “You don’t have a pretty curl. My Mop Top Detangler & Refresher adds the moisture element, without being sticky and gunky.”

The Mop Top Detangler & Refresher contains ingredients such as sea botanicals, aloe, glycerin and honey.

“The best ingredients for curl boosting I have found are the salts (magnesium sulfate, sea salt, etc.”>,” says Marsha Coulton, founder of the Curl Junkie line. “Striking the right balance is important. Just a touch too much oil or other ingredients can weigh down hair or cause hair to be too dry. Experimentation is key!”

Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue uses Curlisto Glow & Shine in the middle of the day for weightless shine and a more finished look.

For great second-day hair, Kim Wicks of Missouri’s Frontenac Salon suggests flipping your hair over, spraying in a little Devacurl Set it Free underneath, flipping it back up and doing a light mist all over. She also finds that a little Devacurl B’Leave In can be applied to dry hair to revive curls.

In addition to perking up the style, Freeman says the right product can help freshen up the hair so you don’t have to wash it as often. She uses Devacurl Mist-er Right on her second-day curls.

“The first day after you wash it, it looks good,” Freeman says. “But on the second day, you don’t necessarily want to douse it and start over. With a curl revitalizer, in addition to extending your product from the previous day, you’re re-moisturizing your hair.”

Make sure the product you use is water-soluble so it doesn’t build up. And don’t use more than you need or it could weigh down the hair or cause frizz.

“If certain curls look good already, leave them alone because you don’t want to risk taking away the definition and causing more frizz,'” says Stacey Canfield, creator of the Blended Beauty line.

For people who have twists, coils or locks, curl rejuvenators are a must because they help keep the scalp and hair moisturized and refreshed.

“Spritz each lock or twist as needed,” Canfield says.

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Rejuvenators

Jessicurl Awe Inspiraling Spray

CurlFriends Rejuvenate Texturizing Mist

Blended Beauty Kick for Curls Aloe Juice Spritz

Curl Junkie Curl Fuel Curl Enhancing Spray

Curl Junkie Curly Boost Curl Enhancing Spray

CurlFriends Rejuvenate

Curlisto Protein Boost

Curlisto Curl Replay

Curlisto Glow & Shine

Ojon Revitalization MIst

Ojon Hydrating Styling Cream

Ojon Animated Styling Cream

Oyin Greg Juice

Mop Top Detangler & Refresher

Fuzzy Duck Detanger & Refresher

Devacurl Set it Free

Devacurl B’Leave In

Devacurl Mist-er Right

Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz

Matrix Curl.Life All-Day Reactivator

Redken Fresh Curls Curl Boost

L’Oreal technique Nature’s Therapy Perfect Curls Defining Spray Gel

Mizani Moisturizing Silkening Liquid-Gel

FX Special Effects Curls Up Curl Reactivator and Defrizzant

Samy Get Curls Re-Energizing Potion

Curly Sexy Hair Curl Reactivator

LA Styles Curl Re-activator Spritz

ISO Bouncy Spray

Ouidad Summer Shield Beach Spray

Ouidad Botanical Boost

Aveda Light Elements Reviving Mist

Tigi Catwalk Camera Ready & Defrizzer

Tigi S-Factor Papaya Leave-in Moisture Spray

Paul Mitchell Round Trip

Oyin Greg Juice

For centuries, the Yawanawa tribe of Brazil has used deep orange urukum pigment to bring harmony to their lands, protect them from evil and purify their bodies and minds. They also have used it to block the sun, keep mosquitos away and to draw intricate geometric patterns on their faces and bodies.

In recent years, Aveda’s Peter Matravers has gone to great lengths to bring urukum — derived from the seeds of a tree indigenous to the area — back to his company’s manufacturing facility in Minnesota to help color red lipsticks and haircare products.

Grown in the foothills of the Andes Mountains, the Brazilian urukum is harvested and the pigment is extracted in raw seed form by the Yawanawa tribe. Then it is transported down the Amazon River to a city where it is trucked across Brazil to Sao Paulo — a distance roughly equivalent to traveling between New York and California.

“It took me 26 hours to get to the destination, and the final approach to their village was an hour-long ride in a hollow canoe,” recalls Matravers, Aveda’s vice president of research and development. “Because it was heavy, we had to bail water out every time we went over rapids, and we had no life preservers. It was very interesting.”

In their quest to develop the most effective skin and haircare products, companies like Aveda and Ojon are traveling the globe, turning to indigenous cultures to find ancient tribal remedies. At the same time, these companies want the communities to be a part of their success — a concept called benefit sharing.

“We have a global sourcing person whose primary job is to advise us on novel ingredients with high performance as well as a social aspect,” says Matravers. “Aveda products have to be high performance, and we also need to do something to help people socially and economically while we’re making the product.”

For Aveda, this philosophy can be seen in its travels to the jungles of the Peruvian Amazon to get Morikue from 150-foot-high Brazil nut trees for hair conditioners, which provides 1,000 families of Brazil nut collectors with income and allows them to stay on in their homeland rather than migrating to bigger cities for work. It can be seen in the rose geranium fields of South Africa, where black families have found a way to stay on their land and revive their communities after the devastation of Apartheid. Today, each bottle of Aveda’s Color Conserve Shampoo and Conditioner contains certified organic rose geranium essential oil from one of these South African farms.

And it also can be found in Northeastern Brazil, where traditional communities of babassu women have gathered in the daily ritual of nut-breaking for more than four centuries. Attracted by the quality of the babassu nut oil — which is used in many of Aveda’s hair-care and makeup products — and the sustainability of the women’s craft, Aveda partnered with the babassu women in 1996, helping them earn a living and financing the construction of a babassu processing facility, a soap-making facility and a paper press. With support from Aveda, the babassu women have also created a pharmacy project to produce local plant-based medicines to cure the community’s diseases.

One of Aveda’s most recent discoveries is tamanu oil, which was discovered on the South Pacific Vanuatu islands — a chain of 70 islands scattered across the Coral Sea. Aveda’s global sourcing person noticed that the indigenous people had long, well-controlled curly hair.

“He began asking questions and they began sharing their beauty secrets,” Matravers says.

On the Vanuatu islands — where nobody had ever heard of Aveda — tamanu nuts drop from the tall branches onto the soft sands of the beach. The nuts are processed into an amber-colored oil, which offers intensive moisturizing and soothing properties for hair, skin and scalp.

He brought back the oil, which was sent to Aveda’s investigative research department to look at its functionality and chemistry. A prototype was created and tested against the leading ingredients in the industry to measure its success. In tests, they found that the oil improved curl definition, reduced frizz, moisturized and strengthened the hair.

“It helps us not only confirm what we see on people’s head in a test salon but allows us to quantify the results with numbers,” Matravers says.

The entire process took about three years. In 2006, Aveda debuted tamanu oil with the launch of Damage Remedy Hair and Scalp Renewal and the Outer Peace acne products. It is now found in several Aveda products, including the recently relaunched Be Curly and Hang Straight lines.

“There are many ways of making a curl beautiful, but the Aveda way is probably the most meaningful way because we give back to the community while we’re making the product,” he says.

In the case of Ojon, an entire company was built around an indigenous ingredient.

Eight years ago, a relative of Canadian ad executive Denis Simioni brought him a baby jar filled with brown paste she had purchased from an Indian on a Honduras street. He nearly threw it in the garbage, but instead stashed it away in a bathroom cupboard where it remained for two years.

Then one day his wife, Silvana, went searching the bathroom for a product to repair her over-processed tresses. She found the forgotten bottle of paste and cautiously applied it to her hair.

“It totally revived it,” Simioni says. “I couldn’t believe how shiny and soft her hair was.”

Simioni became determined to find more of this miraculous paste made from ojon palm nut oil. Before long, he was on a plane to Honduras on an adventure that would rival something out of an ‘Indiana Jones’ movie, complete with spiders, snakes and sharks.

A few years and countless trips to to Honduras later, Simioni has built one of the world’s hottest and most unique hair-care companies. Launched in December 2003 with the popular Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment, the company now sells a number of shampoos, conditioners, styling and styling products made with Ojon oil.

With the success of its ojon-based products, the company is tapping the native populations to find new ingredients for its products.

“They have a natural remedy for every beauty concern you could imagine,” Orr says. “That’s basically how he sources everything. He talks to them about their methods and what they’re using. Denis is bringing them to the mass market.”

For example, one can look at the company’s new Tawaka collection of hair and skin-care products, which contain savage cacao, Alula, Achotie and other rare ingredients native to Honduras. Savage cacao has the anti-oxidant equivalent of 204 pounds of blueberries; Alula leaf is used as an anti-inflammatory as well as to create eye drops to sooth and reduce redness; and Achotie seeds are boiled and used as an antiseptic for skin rashes and snake bites.

Matravers believes that companies like Aveda help the community’s maintain their traditional way of life by creating a sustainable livelihood.

On Vanuatu, for example, Aveda teamed up with Tahitian Prince Ariipaea Salmon, who has worked to provide economic empowerment of his indigenous communities through Pacific Tamanu, a company dedicated to supplying natural plant resources to international markets. As a part of his business, he opened the Vanuatu Convention of Biological Diversity Trust Fund, which is dedicated to raising money for the islands’ schools. Five percent of all sales of tamanu oil are automatically placed into this fund.

“Aveda is trying to give them opportunities that enable them to protect their lifestyle,” he says. “They can supply us with the ingredient we need for mutual benefit.”

Ojon has taken a similar approach in the rainforests of Honduras. Company officials have worked closely with Mopawi, a non-profit group dedicated to promoting sustainable development in the native Miskito and Garifuna populations in La Mosquitia in eastern Honduras.

Mopawi works as an advocate for the Miskito (called “Tawira” in their native language”>, reviewing any proposed development projects, and approving only those that they deem to be in the best interest of the rainforest and its native people.

De Silva is proud of the fact that Ojon pays the Miskito 250 percent of the original market price for ojon oil. In 2004, production totaled 30,000 liters, providing the Miskito with an increase in income of 450 percent benefiting over thousands of people.

The company also set up the Ojon Scholarship Fund to benefit disadvantaged school children in the ojon production area of Rio Kruta and the vicinity. This Fund encourages youth to further their studies and develop leadership skills by giving them access to higher education.

Ojon also holds annual meetings in the rainforest with all of the producers. traveling from village to village to listen to concerns and get updates.

“Denis asks them what they need,” says Ojon spokeswoman Allie Orr. “He wants to preserve their way of life.”

Winter can be a great time for curlies, as frizz-causing humidity plummets along with the temperatures.

But the cold weather, along with indoor heating, also can wreak havoc on those curls and kinks in other ways, leaving them parched and brittle. That’s why deep conditioners should be a staple for curlies in cold climates.

“Winterizing your curl regimen is key as we move into the cold months, and deep conditioners are essential to moisturizing tender fragile strands,” says Titi Branch of Miss Jessie’s Salon in Brooklyn, which will introduce Miss Jessie’s Rapid Recovery Treatment later this year. “Cold winds, overheated homes and a lack of humidity rob curls of their moisture, which in turn creates a curl’s worst enemy— frizz!”

Deep conditioners are valuable, however, because they penetrate, hydrate and revitalize curls, making them smoother, softer and more manageable.

“It is like oxygen for the hair,” says Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue in New York. “For example, when you plant a flower in your apartment, you must continue to give it water to keep it hydrated and growing. We must do the same for our hair. Deep conditioning treatments are a necessity, not a luxury.”

Kelly Foreman, creator of the Mop Top line for curly hair, says she’s had people ask her if she’s cut her hair after a deep conditioning treatment.

“It’s all because my curls are happy,” says Foreman, who is introducing a deep conditioner to her line in March. “My spring factor and curl definition is best when my hair has more moisture.”

Creme rinses (the type you put on after you shampoo and rinse out in 5 minutes or less”>, or detanglers, as they are also known, just coat the hair. They do not penetrate into the hair to help minimize damage. They do a good job of smoothing hair, making it shiny and helping to remove tangles, but that is all they do.

Deep conditioners tend to be thicker and more moisturizing then daily conditioners, although a good daily conditioner can be left on the hair a little longer to deep condition it. Botanical extracts, such as jojoba, or coconut and avocado oils, also can be used to deep condition the hair.

All deep conditioners are not created equal, stresses Jonathan Torch of the Curly Hair Institute in Canada. There are truly therapeutic deep conditioners, and then there are cosmetic conditioners that leave a silky feel but do nothing to repair or hydrate the hair shaft.

“Simply coating the cuticle will not cure the dehydration properly,” Torch says.

Shai of Capella Salon in Studio City, Calif. recommends testing the elasticity of the hair to see if it needs strength or moisture. If the hair snaps easily with the stretch test, he suggests a conditioner that rebuilds the hair with protein, such as Kerastase Vita Ciment Pro Treatment. If the hair has some elasticity, he recommends a more moisturizing deep conditioner.

Many deep conditioners contain large amounts of protein, which can be drying for some curlies, says Jessica McGuinty, creator of the Jessicurl line of products. If that is the case, opt for a deep conditioner with little or no protein, or alternate between a protein deep treatment and a moisturizing deep treatment.

It is best to use a deep conditioner once a week, especially for hair that is chemically treated, colored or relaxed, says Lucie Doughty, editorial director for John Paul Mitchell Systems. For “virgin” hair that is not subjected to heat styling tools regularly, every two weeks may be adequate in the winter.

The most effective application is to apply a generous amount of the deep conditioner to wet or damp hair that has just been cleansed. Concentrate on the ends, which tend to be more fragile and dry, Branch says. In some cases, the conditioner can be left on 5 to 10 minutes while you’re in the shower, so the steam helps the conditioner penetrate into the hair.

For more damaged hair, leave it on longer — 15 minutes or longer.

Most deep treatments are more beneficial when used with heat, McGuinty says. The heat temporarily swells the cuticle and allows the conditioner to better penetrate the hair shaft. For optimal results, pile the hair into a cap and sit under a heated dryer. Or use a micro heat cap.

Skip the heat if your hair has been colored within the last two weeks because it can cause the color to leech out, McGuinty cautions.

If you’re strapped for time, Shai recommends putting in the deep conditioner, covering it with a hat and going out for a jog or walk, gardening, cleaning, etc.

“Your body heat will give the conditioner the extra boost it needs to make the hair feel softer and bouncier,” he says.

After you rinse the conditioner out, do not use a towel to dry it. The rough texture of the towel will undo some of the benefits of the deep conditioner, roughing up the cuticle and inviting unfriendly frizzies, Shai says.

Christo stresses that deep conditioning treatments must be used on a regular basis.

“Treatments are temporary, just like everything else in life!” he says. “They are an ongoing process.”

Products to try

Deep Conditioners

• Curlisto Deep Therapy Masque
• DevaCare One Condition
• Curly Hair Solutions Pure Silk Protein
• AG Deep Reconstructing Treatment
• Blended Beauty Herbal Reconstructor
• Curl Junkie Guava & Protein Deep Fix Reparative Conditioner
• Cutler Intensive Conditioner
• Elucence Extended Moisture Repair Treatment
• Curl Junkie Hibiscus & Banana Deep Fix Moisturizing Conditioner
• Hamadi Shea Hair Mask
• Jessicurl Weekly Deep Conditioning Treatment
• John Masters Organics Lavender Avocado Intensive Conditioner
• Mixed Chicks Deep Conditioner
• MyHoneyChild Coconut Papaya Hair Paste
• MyHoneyChild Olive You Deep Conditioner
• Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment
• Yanai Van CurlHeal Intensive Conditioning Treatment
• Kerastase Masquintense
• Kerastase Elasto Curl
• Bumble & Bumble Deep Conditioner
• Redken All Soft Heavy Cream
• Redken Smooth Down Butter Treat
• Redken Extreme Rescue Force
• Pureology NanoWorks Restorative Hair Treatment
• Frederic Fekkai Insealate Winter Protection
• Frederic Fekkai Thermal-Restore Insulating Treatment
• John Paul Mitchell Systems Hair Repair Treatment
• John Paul Mitchell Systems Super Strong Treatment
• John Paul Mitchell Systems Color Protect Reconstructive Treatment
• Aussie Moist Deeeep 3 Minute Miracle Moisture Treatment
• Neutrogena Triple Moisture Daily Deep Conditioner
• Joico K-Pak Penetrating Deep Reconstructor
• Phyto Phytocitrus Vital Radiance Mask
• Phyto Phytokarite Hair Treatment Mask

Oils

• Jessicurl Oil Blend
• Curl Junkie Curl Rehab Oil
• Arbre de Vie Shea Hot Oil Treatment
• Wen Fig Oil
• Wen Sweet Almond Mint Oil
• Wen Tea Tree Oil
• PhytoSpecific Revitalizing Treatment

Homemade Deep Conditioners

Mayonnaise-Avocado

1 small jar of real mayonnaise

1/2 of an avocado

• Mix in a medium bowl and squish together with your hands until it’s a minty green color. Smooth into hair all the way to the tips. Put on a shower cap or wrap your head with saran wrap.
• Leave on for 20 minutes. For deeper conditioning put a hot, damp towel around your head -over the saran wrap. if you have really long hair and only need deep conditioning at the ends, cut the ingredients in half and apply only to the ends and just wrap them.

Mayonnaise

1/2 cup real mayonnaise

• Comb the mayonnaise through your damp hair, then wrap your head in a towel, let it penetrate for 20 minutes. Shampoo.
• Special Note: Make sure the mayonnaise is real mayo and NOT salad dressing. It will dry your hair out.

Ravishing Rosemary Conditioner

Rosemary essential oil

• Add a few drops of rosemary essential oil to the palms of your hands; work through out your entire hair.

Tropical Conditioner

1 avocado (peeled and mashed”>

coconut milk

• Combine mashed avocado with some coconut milk. Mash together until it’s smooth and about as thick as shampoo. Comb it through the hair and let sit for 10 -15 minutes, wash out.

Egg Conditioner

1 teaspoon baby oil

1 egg yolk

1 cup water

• Beat the egg yolk until it’s frothy, add the oil then beat again. Add to the water. Massage into the scalp and throughout your hair. Rinse well.

Banana Deep Conditioner

1 mashed banana

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

• Mix ingredients together, apply to dry hair and leave on for 30 minutes.

Apple Cider Softness

1-2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

3 cups distilled water

• Pour over your hair as the final rinse. Will leave your hair soft and is a great hair care conditioner for all hair types.

Super Duper Deep Conditioning Hair Treatment for Damaged Hair

1 cup mayonnaise (room temperature if possible”>

1/2 cup olive oil

3 egg yolks

• Blend all ingredients together in a bowl.
• Apply thoroughly through your hair extra at the ends.
• Pile hair on top of your head and cover with a plastic shower cap and then cover with a towel to keep the heat from your head.
• Leave on for at least 10 to 20 minutes and then rinse out. DO NOT shampoo afterwards. Any oil that clings to your hair after you rinse it out will continue to condition your hair until the next time you shampoo it out.
• It should make one to two treatments, depending on the length of your hair. For best results, use it immediately after making it without refrigerating first. The fats and oil will penetrate your hair follicles better if it is not cold.

Sources: Associatedcontent.com, recipezaar.com

How to Professionally Deep Condition Your Hair at Home

So, is your hair dry, unmanageable, brittle? Sounds like you may need a conditioning treatment to get your hair back into shape! This easy, step-by-step plan will teach you what products to use, and how to apply conditioner like a pro.

1. Gather the supplies you will need. (Deep conditioner, wide-toothed comb, three towels, plastic cap or plastic wrap, shampoo, 4 hair clips”>
2. Comb hair to remove tangles
3. Shampoo with your favorite shampoo, rinse and towel dry.
4. Part your hair from the front to the back of the neck in a center part. Next, part your hair from tip of ear to tip of ear. This will give you 4 sections. Clip each section up. Using these sections will make it easier for you to know that you haven’t missed any areas when applying conditioner.
5. You can start in any section you like. Part through the section, starting at the top of the head by using your little finger. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it still gives you an idea of where you are applying. Make part about 1/2 inch wide, moving from one side of section to the other horizontally.
6. Hold slice up and away from the other hair and apply a thin coat of conditioner, starting at the scalp and working it to the ends. You don’t want big globs of conditioner visible on hair, just a thin film that you can see and feel. When you have applied to the first slice, bring it over and lay it on top of your head. If hair is shorter, just let it stand up and away from the other hair.
7. Continue down the section making your parts and applying conditioner. When a section is completed, bring hair down from top of head so its not in the way of the other sections. Move on to next section, applying in the same manner,and complete the entire head.
8. IMPORTANT: When applying, be sure to apply to scalp and hair, not just hair. Your scalp gets dry too, and needs moisture as much as hair.
9. Place plastic cap or plastic wrap on head, making sure all hair is tucked in. Do not clip hair up if longer, just pile on top of head.
10. Now you have a few options to choose from. If you have a hood dryer (like the ones you sit under in salons”>, you can sit under it for 15-20 minutes with heat set on medium. Or you can use a Micro Heat Cap. You can also toss a towel in the dryer to heat, and wrap it around your head, leaving for same amount of time. If the weather is warm, go outside and sit for the amount of time needed. You can even do a little housecleaning, to raise your body temperature, and generate heat to your scalp. Heat opens up the hair shaft, and along with the ingredients in a deep conditioner that work to open it also, you’ll get very good penetration and results with the extra heat.
11. When time is up, remove towels and plastic from head. Rinse, rinse, and rinse some more. Use as cool of a water temperature as you are comfortable with. Anything cool or cold will not only rinse away excess conditioner, but it will help to close the hair shaft, trapping the moisture from the conditioner inside. It does take a lot of rinsing, but it is worth the time.

Source: PA.Essortment.com

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This article was originally published in February 2007 and has been updated for grammar and clarity.

A frustrated mom recently posted on CurlTalk in search of her child’s curl type.

“My 2-year-old daughter has hair that’s straighter in front and tighter in the back,” she said. “When it is drying, the hair looks beautiful. But after a few hours, it puffs up big time. I think she is a 3c or a 4a, and there is a spot in the middle of her back that is kinkier — perhaps 4b. I don’t know!”

Another mom lamented the fact that her daughter — curly at two — now has straight hair.

“I’d looooove to have some of her wave back,” she says.

When the hair begins to sprout from your little one’s head, it can be a confusing mix of curly tufts and frothy waves, with a few straight strands mixed in for fun.

Determining the hair type of an adult can be difficult enough. But for kids, it can an especially complicated endeavor — a task made more difficult by the ever-evolving nature of children’s hair.

During childhood, hair is a work in progress. Ringlets at two may turn straight by four. Stick-straight bobs may go curly when puberty hits.

Follicle shape determines curl type. But the follicle shape can change, and often does change over time.

In general, a child’s hair texture changes every five to seven years, said curly expert Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue in New York.

“The final curl pattern is almost impossible to predict as there are so many factors that affect the hair,” says Jonathan Torch of the Curly Hair Institute in Toronto. “My job is to make sure that whatever the curl type, there should always be a great style to match.”

A CurlTalk mom talked about her daughter’s curls at three, which straightened out until she was 10.

“It started curling and it hasn’t stopped!” she said. “She now has beautiful 3b/4a hair, and I am so jealous!”

Between 13 and 15, the hair goes through its most dramatic changes.

“I have witnessesd all kinds of weird, obscure curl formations and hair color changes during puberty,” Torch says.

The best way to determine a child’s current curl type is to wet the hair, run your fingers through it and allow it to bounce. The texture will determine the best cuts and products for the hair.

“The styling techniques stay the same, but the styling tools must change,” Christo said.

TV reporter Lolita Lopez was interviewing for a job at a New York television station when the discussion veered away from her journalism experience.

“They thought I was great, they loved my work, but they wanted me to straighten my hair,” says Lopez. “I said ‘This is who I am.'”

Although she doesn’t know if her curls were the reason, the station told her she “isn’t the right fit for us.”

Lopez got a job at New York’s CW11 News, where both her reporting talents and her curls are more than welcome.

“I wear my hair down and keep it curly, and I’ve never been questioned about it,” she says. “My news director has been so supportive. She embraces my curly hair. She feels like it’s a part of me. That’s Lolita.”

Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue, right, cuts TV news reporter/anchor Lotita Lopez’ curly hair.

Lopez is one of a handful of TV reporters and anchors who dare to wear their natural curls on air. Most are told they must straighten their curls and kinks, whether they want to or not. In one case, an anchor in the Northeast wore her hair curly one night only to be deluged with calls from unhappy viewers who preferred her with a straight bob.

Because few curly TV personalities wear their hair curly, straight hair is what viewers have become accustomed to. Women like Lopez are doing what they can to change that.

“I don’t shy away from who I am,” Lopez says. “I hope I send the message that you can be your own person, from the way that you talk to the way you wear your hair.”

Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue, right, cuts TV news reporter/anchor Lotita Lopez’ curly hair.

Lopez says she has always been comfortable with her curls, even when others haven’t. She was born in Santurce, Puerto Rico, where most curly headed women get their hair set in rollers and don’t wash it again until they go back to the salon.

“Wearing your hair naturally curly is almost unheard of there,” Lopez says. “There is a perception that straight is better and classier.”

Growing up in Houston, Lopez says she dreamed of working in television. She was a video camera junkie, who would play host on camera at birthday parties. She loved watching the news.

When she was younger, the Harvard graduate wore her curls long and one length, with the front pulled back. She never thought twice about her hair.

“It wasn’t until I got my first job that my hair became an issue,” Lopez says. “People would say ‘We really like you but we want to see you with straight hair.”

At one job, she had to continually fend off bosses who wanted her to straighten her hair.

“Nobody was writing in to complain and nobody was giving me any good reason why they wanted to do it,” Lopez says. “I felt like they wanted to give me a cookie-cutter bob, and that’s not me.”

Lopez joined CW11 as a general assignment reporter five years ago, and has worked on everything from politics to entertainment. She was appointed weekend sports anchor in 2005, and she covered the Mets as an on-field reporter for games broadcast on the station. She also works as a news anchor at the station.

Lopez gets her hair cut by Christo at Christo Fifth Avenue and wears it in long, face-framing layers. She says she wakes up, sprays in a little Curlisto Protein Boost and is out the door.

“I wear it down and keep it curly,” she says of her hair. “It’s never been an issue here. In fact, the idea of straightening my hair popped up once and my news director said ‘No. This is the way she is. I love the curly hair.'”

And she’s gotten plenty of positive feedback from viewers. When she’s been out on

a story, she hears from young curly women who tell her how much they love seeing “one of us on TV.”

“In a small way, I hope I show people that you can look professional for any kind of work with curly hair, whether it be Corporate America, TV or Wall Street,” Lopez says.

Leesah Sophia B doesn’t think the story of Inky Loves Nature is all that exciting.

She couldn’t find any attractive, organic, vegan, environmentally friendly hair and body products for women of color with natural hair.

“I saw all these cute products aimed at Caucasian women, but not women who looked like me,” says Leesah, (aka Miss Inky”>. “I was looking for a product, I couldn’t find it, so I decided to create it. It’s a typical story.”

But Inky Loves Nature is far from a typical company.

Launched in the summer of 2005, the company now sells seven natural, vegan products designed to make people “look good, smell good, feel good, be good and do good.” The products have names like Self Love Body Scrub, Warrier Queen Cleanser and Magical Melanin Moisturizer, and are available in a variety of scents. One of the stars of the Inky line is Nappaliscious Nutritious Scalp Butter, which is loaded with nourishing and scalp-stimulating ingredients.

“I wanted to be more pro-active and contribute to the world and my community,” says the British native, who now lives in New Bergen, N.J. “With a sprinkling of some peace, love and positive energy, I just blended it all together and Inky Loves Natural is what came out of the oven.”

Leesah says she became a vegan herself at a young age because of her emotional connection to animals. She says Inky is just an extension of who she is and how she lives.

“I am a woman of color who is a vegan and who buys and uses organic ingredients/products,” she says. “I wanted to use products that encompassed all those elements that I’m interested in and involved in.”

All Inky products are at least 97 percent naturally derived, and 70 of the ingredients are organically grown. They also are free from parabens, dyes, sulfates, proopylene glycol, alcohols, mercury, formaldehyes, silicones and mineral oil. She’s also a “cruelty-free approved” manufacturer.

Leesah says she has been surprised by the growth of her company, and the diversity of her customers.

“When I first started, my assumption was that the customers would be like me — women of color who like to wear their hair in natural textures,” she says. “But they include men and women of all ethnicities. Right now, it’s about the conscious consumers.”

This year, she plans to add new products and continue working on the causes that are important to her. She wants her company to be one that empowers people to do good things.

“In my heart, I would like us to be a company that contributes more in every way — from hiring ex-female prisoners to helping animal organizations in Africa to planting a fast-growing tree with each sale,” Leesah says. “You should know that advocacy, the environment, peace and love, with a pinch of animal and human rights issues thrown in, are Inky’s thang.”

Everybody wants options when it comes to their hair, and women with curls and kinks are no different.

While you might like to wear your hair wavy or curly most of the time, sometimes it’s nice to have a straighter, sleeker look.

But when it comes to straightening your hair, say the experts, there are right ways to do it. And there are wrong ways.

“Straightening the hair is not an easy technique, and it requires a lot of practice,” says Jonathan Torch of the Curly Hair Institute in Toronto.

If you want the option to wear your hair both curly and straight, the cut is important, says Christo of Christo Fifth Avenue.

“The hair must be cut for versatility, with angles that frame the face,” Christo says. “And the bottom line must be reversible and cut with slide angles in every direction, so when you blow it out straight it will look just a good as it does when it’s curly.”

Since all methods of straightening can stress the hair shaft, it is crucial to keep the hair healthy and moisturized.

“Make sure your hair is in good condition before you start,” says New York stylist Rodney Cutler of the Cutler Salon. “Sexy hair is not enough. You need sexy, healthy hair.”

The Blow Out

To temporarily straighten curls, there’s no easier way than with a blow-dryer.

“When you blow dry, you’re not locking yourself into one look,” Cutler says. “It’s less damaging and more cost-effective.”

Make sure you use products designed to work with the heat to protect the hair and lock in the style. There are a number of products on the market especially for blow-drying, including heat-protectant stylers. When applying the products, pay special attention to the ends.

Get the right tools for the job. Invest in a good ionic or ceramic dryer. A good dryer cuts drying time and reduces heat-related damage. Make sure you have a nozzle.

“A nozzle is key because you’re directing the heat from the roots to the ends,” Cutler says.

Round natural-bristle brushes are the preference of many stylists. The more bristles, the better. Some stylists like to start with a flat paddle brush until the hair is 70 percent dry, finishing off with a round brush.

The hair should be about 50 to 60 percent dry before you start blow-drying it, says stylist Cynthia Cheslock of Practically Frivolous Salon in St. Petersburg, Fla.

“If you make more than two passes with the blow-dryer, then the hair is too wet and you are just boiling the water on the hair,” Cheslock says.

Separate the hair into small sections, using a clip to keep the other sections out of the way. Start at the back of the head, since it is the thickest. Hold the dryer at least 12 inches away from the hair shaft, and hold it an angle, pointing it down on the hair shaft — not on the scalp, says curly hair stylist Shai of Capella Salon in Studio City, Calif. This will force your hair cuticles to lie flat, making your hair shinier and smoother. You can tilt your head slightly to make this movement easier.

“Dry the hair following the way the hair grows, to create more shine,” Shai says. “Blowing hair against the natural direction it grows creates frizz and damage.”

Make sure you keep either your dryer or hair moving at all times. Overheating your hair happens easily and can damage it.

Stretch each section with a round brush.

“The key is in the tension, the heat and the cooling,” Torch says. “While you’re pulling on a piece, direct the heat of the blow-dryer toward the tips to seal the hair into that position.”

Don’t try to wind your hair round the brush starting at the tip of your hair. The key is to start with the brush half way up the hair and keep turning your brush gently around until you reach the tip of your hair. That way, the hair naturally curls round the brush when it gets to the tip.

If your hair is short, you can simply place your brush at the roots of the section of your hair, and blow the hairdryer up so that the hair strands curls around the brush. Keep turning the brush so that the hair curls around the brush.

Let each strand cool before releasing the brush and letting the hair fall. Repeat the process on each sections of the hair until all the hair has been straightened.

Tame flyaway hair with an anti-frizz serum or pomade. Place a few drops in your hand, rub gently to distribute it, then apply it to your hair.

Blow-drying takes patience. It can take 45 minutes to straighten shoulder-length curly hair. For special occasions, it may be worth it to pay for a professional blow out at the salon.

“You will never be able to get the same results at home because you do not have four hands or the over-head angle that stylists have,” says Amie Zimmerman of the Dirty Little Secret.

Finessing the Flat Iron

To get the hair extra sleek after you blow it dry, flat irons can be highly effective tools.

“It’s just going that extra yard,” Cutler says.

Buy a high-quality iron. such as an ionic or ceramic flat iron. The ceramic irons use consistent heat and negative ions to remove static and smooth frizzies. Ceramic irons flatten the cuticles of wavy hair and seal in moisture.

“Buy the best iron you can afford, because a bad flat iron can really damage the hair,” Cheslock says.

Before using any flat iron tool, always test the temperature first. Take a piece of tissue paper and moisten it (making it damp, not wet”>. Press the tissue paper between the heating plates of the iron and hold for a few seconds. A small amount of steam would be normal. But if there is any smoking, scorching or discoloration of the paper, the iron is too hot and the temperature needs to be adjusted to prevent the hair from burning.

Take 2-inch sections through the iron and work your way through the section, from the top to the bottom upward.

“Pass it through the hair in very fast motions,” says Christo.

After straightening each segment, allow it to cool. Once it’s cooled, pass a comb through it to break the hair apart and give it a smoother finish.

Chemical Straightening

If you are ready to go to extremes to get straight hair, you can visit a salon to get a chemical relaxing treatment. Make sure you select a salon that is experienced with relaxers.

“With a chemical process, the success is determined by the qualifications of the technician,” Torch says.

Do some research before selecting a salon. Make sure they work with a lot of clients with your hair type, and that they’re well trained in chemical services.

“Leaving the cream on too long can result in hair that’s relaxed, but badly damaged,” Christo says.

There are three basic types of hair relaxers: sodium hydroxide, guanidine hydroxide and ammonium thioglycolate.

One of the reasons hair is curly is because of hydrogen bonds between the proteins (keratin”> that make up your hair; these bonds are weak and can be enhanced by water. Relaxers simply break these disulfide bonds and cap them so that they cannot chemically reform.

Sodium hydroxide is the strongest type of relaxer, and is often called the lye relaxer. It is a very strong, harsh chemical, and can only be used on coarse, extremely kinky hair. The pH level is between 10 and 14, which means it has the most potentially harmful relaxer. If not used by a professional, it can cause the hair to break.

No-lye relaxers are either guanidine hydroxide (a combination of calcium hydroxide cream with guanidine carbonate”> or ammonium thioglycolate “thio.” These have a pH of between 9 and 9.5, and are considered to be less damaging than the sodium hydroxide or lye relaxers. However, it is still vital to give your hair the same care that you would give your hair with a sodium hydroxide relaxer.

One of the hottest trends in chemical straightening is the thermal reconditioning straightening treatments. After shampooing the hair and applying a protein solution, a cream or gel-based thio solution is applied to the hair to soften the hair and disassociate the sulfur bonds inside the hair shaft. Small sections of hair are thermally restructured with a flat iron at a very high temperature (over 300 degrees”>. Next, a neutralizer is applied and the hair is pulled straight.

There are several drawbacks to thermal reconditioning. The service takes several hours and costs several hundred dollars. It also requires periodic touchups to the new growth. And it works much better on softer, wavier textures than on coarser, kinkier hair types. Some people who have lightened or color-treated their hair also should stay away from thermal reconditioning.

Those who embark on this process must realize that once the hair is straight, it’s straight for good. For those who blow-dry their hair straight everyday, it can make life easier by cutting blow-drying time.

But some curlies find that their options are limited. Stylists recommend blowing your hair straight for a a few weeks or trying on a straight wig before you have it done to make sure you like the look.

“It is not reversible,” cautions Christo. “If you want your hair curly again, the only that can be done is to cut off all your hair and start from scratch. At our salon, we may turn down certain requests for this chemical process out of concern for our clients’ hair. Because, after all, we love curly hair.”

Before straightening the hair, Diane Da Costa, author of “Textured Tresses,” suggests clients try a less-drastic chemical service like a softener or texturizer that loosens the curl rather than straightens it.

“This can make it easier to blow-dry or flat iron the hair straight,” Da Costa says.

With any chemical straightener, the hair will tend to be more porous and will need extra moisturizing and protection when being blow dried or heat styled. Use gentle cleansers and deep condition once to twice a week.

Stylists caution that you should never use a thio straightener on hair that has been straightened with a sodium hydroxide straightener. It can be like giving your hair a chemical haircut.

“Layering on different relaxer types can definitely cause breakage,” says Titi Branch of Miss Jessie’s Salon in Brooklyn.

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Quick Tips for A Great Blow Out

1. To straighten hair, begin by shampooing, conditioning and towel-drying hair.
2. Apply a heat protectant product to your hair, paying special attention to the ends.
3. Place a quarter-size dollop of straightening balm in your palm. Rub your palms together to distribute the product over your hands, then massage it evenly through hair.
4. Comb through your hair with your fingers while gently blow-drying it on a low setting. This removes excess water.
5. Pull your hair into three sections, two at the sides and one at the back. Clip the two sides up.
6. Select a small portion of the hair from the unclipped section to straighten.
7. Using a thick, round brush and beginning at the roots, gently pull the brush through the hair to the ends while blow-drying it. Pull the hair away from your head, stretching and straightening it as you go.
8. First pull the brush through the underside of your hair so that you expose it directly to the heat of the dryer. Once that area is mostly dry, switch to the top of the hair.
9. Keep the tension consistent and evenly distribute heat over the section of hair you’re working on. This ensures uniform hair texture and prevents overdrying of certain areas.
10. Once that portion of hair is straightened, continue selecting and blow-drying small portions until that section is dry and straight.
11. Repeat the process on the two other sections to straighten your entire head of hair.

— Source: eHow.com

Tips for Making the Back of Your Hair Look as Good as the Front

1. After applying a straightening balm to damp hair, create four equal sections – two in front and two in back. Clip the front ones up and pull the back ones forward.
2. To blow a back section straight, tilt your head forward, place a paddle brush an inch below the roots to hold them taut, and aim the dryer above the brush for a few seconds.
3. Next, pull the brush forward around your neck (this curving motion creates body”>, placing the dryer in front of it until you reach the ends. Repeat until dry.

Straightening Products

AG Hair Cosmetics Insulate

Curlisto Straight Time Glaze

Cutler Straightening Cream

Ojon Leave-in Glossing Cream

Cutler Specialist Protectant Treatment Spray

Ojon Shine & Protect Glossing Mist

PhytoSpecific Integral Hair Care

Curly Hair Solutions ReMane Straight

Redken Straight Straightening Balm

Blended Beauty Straightening Glaze

Redken Fabricate

Kenra Platinum Hot Spray

Bumble & bumble Straight Control Freak Extra Extra Straight Hair Straightener

Biosilk Silk Therapy Smoothing Balm

Frizz Ease Straight Answer Straightening Spray

Alterna Hemp Seed Straightening Balm

TIGI Bedhead

Paul Mitchell Straight Works

KMS California Flat Out Straightening Creme

Rusk Str8 Anti-Frizz Anti-Curl Lotion

ABBA Straightening Balm

Tigi S-Factor Heat Defender Flat-Iron Spray

Got2B CrazySleek Hot Smooth Flat Iron & Blow Dry Lotion

Blended Beauty Straight Pearl

CurlFriends Shine Hair Gloss

Elucence Extended Moisture Repair Treatment

Text by Michelle Breyer

Photography by Ralph Barrera

The holidays are the perfect time to let your hair down, or put it up, depending on your mood. Curls and kinks lend themselves to either holiday look.

We gathered a group of five women with wavy, curly and kinky hair at Austin’s Anne Kelso Salon to show off some fun curly looks, as well as the hottest holiday fashions from The Garden Room.

The theme of the day was a touch of glamour. In some cases, that meant adding a decorative hair pin or jeweled accessory. In others, it meant taking the natural texture up a notch or two. Wavy hair became curlier. Kinky hair was teased out.

“You have a lot of freedom with curly hair,” says Jason Kirkpatrick, a curly hair expert at Anne Kelso Salon.

Big bouncy curls are back for the holidays, says Elysa Ross, a makeup artist and master stylist at Another Look Salon in Coral Gables, Fla. To get the look, she suggests using hot rollers or curly irons to repurpose the curls. Then use your fingers to create a tousled look.

Updos are easy with curly hair. One easy, pretty look is to put your hair in a ponytail at the crown. Then take sections of the hair and pin them up.

“It won’t necessarily come naturally the first time,” Ross says. “But it can be a sexy look.”

Special thanks to:

Stylists: Brooke Michie and Jason Israel Kirkpatrick

Makeup artist: Emily Collins

Anne Kelso photo shoot coordinator: Colleen Briggs

The Garden Room: 512-458-5407

Anne Kelso Salon: 512-467-2663

Photographer: Ralph Barrera

For those trend-setting, fashion-conscious women looking to make a statement with a head-turning style, Curly Hair Solutions unveils the Jonathan Torch Collection for Fall/Winter 2006-2007.

Whatever the occasion – weekend brunch, business lunch or a night out on the town – the Jonathan Torch Collection showcases the hottest hairstyles that capture the latest trends and suit everyone’s personal style. It draws on the hottest fashion and beauty trends for the season, emphasizing luscious curls, texture, and lots of movement. The styles emphasize looseness, and a new take on a classic, timeless look, often blending both modern and traditional techniques.

“No matter how busy your lives get, it’s important to pay attention to your hair and the impression it makes about you. Regardless of the occasion, event or location you’re headed to, choose a hairstyle that fits your type of hair and one that makes a personal statement about yourself,” says Torch, owner and creative director of the Curly Hair Institute. “A woman’s hair is just as important as her makeup or clothing in making a great impression, and it will be one of the first things people notice.'”

The Collection is made up of six distinct looks encompassing different parts of women’s lives, and include: weekend-playful, corporate professional, elegance, messy-sexy, Cultural, and ethereal-angelic.

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Curly Hair Solutions’ Fall/Winter 2006-2007 Collection

Many of these looks begin with the Skip Curl technique:

The Skip Curl styling technique provides ringlet style definition. Use a water-based style product like Curl Keeper from Curly Hair Solutions to control frizz and achieve maximum curls and volume.

1.

Begin with wet, clean detangled hair.

2.

Take a section of hair (the larger the section, the looser the curl”> and comb it through with a generous amount of Curl Keeper™.

3.

Twist it around the finger.

4.

Slide your fingers down the hair shaft sealing the cuticle but stopping and holding at the end.

5.

“Skip” the hair like a skipping rope in the same direction as you previously twisted the hair. Voila! The ringlet is formed.

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Weekend-Playful

Whether window shopping, boutique hopping, or having an eggs-benny brunch, the weekend is all about relaxing after a long week, and spending time on yourself. Your weekend hairstyle should be simple and natural looking, with loose, flowy curls to match your relaxed state of mind.

Get the look:

1. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper and the Skip Curl styling technique.

2. Allow a small section of bangs to gently fall over the corner of the eye. Make sure the curls are loose, so they don’t block your vision.

3. Begin drying the hair using a hairdryer and diffuser. While drying, use your hands to scrunch hair upwards.

4. Create added volume by lightly placing a section of hair from the left side of the crown over to the right side and vice versa.

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Corporate Professional

With the time constraints of getting ready in the AM, a weekday hairstyle should be styled close to the face, with structured, yet fluid and natural movement. Choose a style that makes you look and feel professional, confident and ready to impress everyone you encounter during the day.

Get the look:

1. While hair is still damp, begin at the bangs and comb hair towards the back of the head.

2. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper™ and the Skip Curl styling technique.

3. Begin drying the hair using a hairdryer and diffuser. Use a hair band to keep hair off the face while drying.

4. Finish drying hair by flipping head over forward by bending from the waist to let hair hang downwards. Diffuse hair in an upward motion to create volume and speed up the drying process.

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Elegance

Create a seamless transition of graceful style from your toes all the way to your head with very defined curls. Tonight’s the night to tame your curls into a look designed with timeless, elegant sensuality in mind.

Get the look:

1. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper and the Skip Curl styling technique.

2. Starting at the top of the hair crown and working downwards, slowly pin up one curl at a time.

3. Use a bobby pin in the middle of the curl so it is loose going up and the ends hang down.

4. Continue pinning up as few or many curls as suits your style. Use hairspray to keep the style and curls in place.

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Messy-Sexy

Grab your girlfriends and head to the swanky club everyone’s been talking about. Tonight’s the night to create a lasting impression on the dance floor, and a head full of messy-sexy curls will set the right mood. Let your curls hang loose around your face and shoulders and think flirty, fun and feminine.

Get the look:

1. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper and the Skip Curl styling technique.

2. Bend over from the waist and flip your head over to let hair hang downwards. Begin drying the hair using a hairdryer and diffuser.

3. Diffuse hair in an upward motion towards the hair roots to create bounce and volume control frizz.

4. Run fingers through hair to play with the curls to create a look that is loose and uncontrolled.

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Cultural

Different cultural backgrounds add a unique aspect to your hair colour and texture. Don’t shy away from your own natural beauty; instead, find ways to enhance the unique elements and make it an individualistic part of your identity.

Get the look:

1. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper and the Skip Curl styling technique.

2. While hair is still damp, twist or braid the front section (from bangs to crown”> towards the back of the head. Make sure to keep it tight and neat. Secure with either a hair band or clips.

3. Scrunch the remaining free hair to create lots of curls on the sides and back of head.

4. Create volume with the hair by playing with the curls to loosen the strands and curl definition.

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Etheral-Angelic

Femininity is fashionable again, so put it to use in achieving this hairstyle. Make a bold statement about your softer side with a style reminiscent of innocence, freshness and purity. Think of soft winds blowing through luscious long curls, weightless, and moving freely in the fresh air.

Get the look:

1. Begin with gorgeous frizz-free curls using Curl Keeper and the Skip Curl styling technique.

2. Dry hair using a hairdryer and diffuser. Separate hair into thick sections to create ringlets and achieve the maximum effect.

3. Shake head often to soften the hair and loosen the curls.

Simply Organic got its start five years ago when cancer struck several members of two close-knit Minnesota families.

“Our dads asked ‘What the heck is going on?” recalls Jeremiah Mostrom, sales director for the Pompano Beach, Fla.-based company and the son of one of Simply Organics’ co-founders. “They started doing research on health and wellness, and stumbled across the fact that there are a lot of ingredients in personal-care products that are questionable in terms of how they affect your body.”

One of the fathers had been a top executive with haircare companies such as KMS and Graham Webb. The other had a background in finance. And one of the mothers was a hairdresser. So they decided to use their collective talents to start a line of products without synthetic ingredients like sulfates, propylene glycol, DEA and parabens — products that would be healthier for hair stylists and their customers. I

A Sampling of Organic Haircare Products Shampoos Innersense Pure Essential Hair Bath Innersense Color Awakening Hair Bath Hamadi Ginger Soymilk Hair Wash Hamadi Honey Soymilk Hair Wash Hamadi Lemon Mint Hair Wash Simply Organic Moisture Rich Hair and Scalp Rinse Simply Organic Volume Hair and Scalp Rinse Kiss My Face Miss Treated Shampoo Kiss My Face Whenever Shampoo MOP C-system Hydrating Shampoo Dessert Essence Organic Italian Grape Shampoo Terressentials Lavender Garden Pure Earth Hair Wash Terressentials Cool Mint Pure Earth Mint Wash Conditioners Innersense Pure Inspiration Daily Conditioner Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-in Conditioner Shea Terra Organics Certified Organic Shea Butter Greenridge Herbals Jojoba Shea Hair Butter Hamadi Shea Hair Mask Hamadi Shea Leave In Hamadi Shea Spray Simply Organic Refresh Light Detangler Hair and Scalp Rinse Dessert Essence Organic Green Apple & Ginger Thickening Volumizing Conditioner Kiss My Face Miss Treated Conditioner Kiss My Face Whenever Conditioner MOP C-system Hydrating Conditioner MOP C-system Moisture Complex MOP C-system Styling Conditioner MOP C-system Conditioning Mist Mia Simone’s Boutique Aloe Vera Herbal Leave-In Treatment Styling Products Mia Simone’s Boutique Locs Coils Waves & Curls Moisture Rich Styling Souffle Innersense Quiet Calm Curl Control Shea Terra Organics Certified Organic Shea Butter Hamadi Shea Hair Cream Hamadi Shea Pomade Hamadi Shea Leave In Kiss My Face Hold Up Styling Mousse Kiss My Face Upper Management Styling Gel MOP C-system Texture Lotion MOP C-system C-curl

The Simply Organic line now includes four shampoos, four conditioners, five styling products and four treatments, with certified organic ingredients such as olive leaf extract, honey and essential oils.

“Organic beauty products become a part of the changes you make in your lifestyle to live better,” Mostrom says.

Welcome to the world of green beauty.

Beauty companies from large to small now are offering products with certified organic ingredients in response to consumer demand for healthier products that go on their body, not just on their dinner table. According to the Natural Marketing Institute, 45 percent of consumers believe that the personal-care products they put on their skin are just as important as the healthy and natural foods they consume.

“We like to say you can feel good about looking good,” says Evan Brody, marketing manager for John Masters Organic Haircare. “You can care about your body and the earth and still have fantastic hair.”

Companies such as Simply Organic, Innersense, Modern Organic Products and John Masters Organic Haircare offer organic haircare products. Kiss My Face recently launched a certified organic hair care system, with shampoos, conditioners, hair types and styling mousse. These products contain ingredients grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation.

They are tapping into a market segment called Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability (LOHAS”> — an industry estimated at $228.9 billion. LOHAS consumers make conscientious purchasing and investing decisions based on social and cultural values. They are interested in products ranging from green building supplies to eco-tourism to yoga.

Consumers are becoming more educated about natural and organic products and the dangers of chemicals, says Mia Licata, a retail marketing specialist at Kiss My Face, a full line of natural and organic personal care products available in the mass market.

“Consumers are driving it,” Licata says. “In the mass market world, there’s now a strong interest in organic products.”

Jodi Billet, vice president of marketing for California-based Dessert Essence, launched an organic, vegan haircare line a year ago and says “We can’t keep them in stock.”

The skin absorbs approximately 60 percent of any substance applied to it, and there is growing concern about ingredients in some personal-care products. According to industry experts, on any given day a consumer may use as many as 25 different cosmetics and personal-care products containing more than 200 different chemical compounds.

Most of the “organic” products contain certified organic ingredients along with other natural ingredients. They usually are free of ingredients such as sulfates and parabens or artificial colors or fillers.

“Natural and organic ingredients do the same things that we depend on chemicals to do,” Licata says. “Instead of chemically derived ingredients, we add things like chamomile and lavender. They are soothing to the scalp, and also make the hair more manageable. .”

Licata says Kiss My Face does make a line of skincare products that are 100 percent organic, called Obsessively Organic.

Modern Organic Products (MOP”> products are not 100 percent organic but contain as many certified organic ingredients as possible, says Leslie Jablonski, publicist for MOP.

The ingredients used in MOP vary by product, says Jablonski. For example, C-system Hydrating Shampoo contains certified organic mango and grapefruit extracts. C-system Texture Lotion contains certified organic elderberry, alfalfa and rosemary extracts.

“We like to put in ingredients that are more environmentally friendly, and our preservatives are food based,” Jablonski says. “We try to mix modern technology with old technology to make things as eco-chic as possible. What’s good for the environment is good for you.”

The organic haircare industry is attracting industry veterans such as Greg Starkman and Judie Maginn of Innersense, a completely natural, organic line of hair and skin care products. They launched Innersense this spring, using their 40 years of combined experience with companies such as Redken, Joico and Helene Curtis.

“We think of our company as a consciousness and a culture,” says Greg Starkman, co-founder and manager partner of Innersense.

Coming from the traditional haircare industry, they saw a need for products that were natural and gentle, yet effective. Technology, and the explosion of organically grown ingredients, have helped fuel the industry, Maginn says.

“In the past, natural products were available but the quality wasn’t there,” Maginn says.

Maginn says most of the ingredients in Innersense products are certified organic and wildly harvested. When there is a need to use other types of ingredients, natural ones are chosen, Maginn says.

“We’re not saying all chemicals are bad, but we are saying we can limit our exposure,” Maginn says.

When John Masters started styling hair out of high school in 1975, he didn’t think twice about handling harsh salon chemicals. But as he embraced organic foods, he began to investigate the dangers of chemicals such as sulfates and ammonia — staples in most hair dyes and highlighting treatments.

“I believe synthetics have a place in this world, but not in or on the body,” says the SOHO hairstylist, who stopped giving perms and began concocting natural hair products in his kitchen made from essential oils and plant extracts. He launched his line 1991.

“For my first wholesale order at Barneys New York, I filled every bottle by hand with a funnel,” recalls Masters

Today, Masters has a full line of organic haircare products — products like Sweet Orange and Silk Protein Styling Gel, Bourbon Vanilla & Tangerine Hair Texturizer and Honey Hibiscus Reconstructing Shampoo. The products are wildcrafted, Brody says.

“The way they’re taken out of the ground is more earth friendly,” Brody says.

Natural and Organic Market – Facts & Figures

• The natural and organic personal-care industry is expected to grow 26 percent a year to $11 billion by 2009, according to the National Marketing Institute.
• There currently are 82,000 chemical compounds used in consumer products.
• At least 39 percent of the U.S. population purchases organic products.
• Recent market research revealed that an astonishing 97 percent of salon owners polled said their customers would be interested in products based on natural and organic ingredients.
• Eighty-five percent of salon owners said they were concerned about their daily exposure to chemicals in the workplace.

Some Valuable Web Sites

The Organic Trade Association is the membership-based business organization for the organic industry in North America

Organiclinks.com is the global resource for organic information.

Environmental Working Group, which investigates threats to health and environment.

The Center for a New American Dream helps Americans consume responsibly to protect the environmental health and environmental justice for all.

The Beyond Organic radio show features everything about buying, growing, eating and cooking organic food.

At Safecosmetics.org, you’ll find alerts, tools and information you need to make sure you use safe health and beauty products.

Paula B.’s baby is only two years old and she’s already getting messages about what constitutes “good” and “bad” hair.

Kinky hair in its natural state is bad, according to many members of Paula’s family. Looser curls are good. And relaxed hair is great.

“My mother-in-law keeps talking about the relaxer that my daughter supposedly is going to ‘need’ when she gets in school,” Paula says. “I have a lot of misgivings about what’s to come. I’m afraid she’ll get pressure from people who aren’t comfortable with the way texture looks.”

Curl-phobia is prevalent in many families where children receive negative messages early on about their curls and kinks from aunts, grandmothers and other relatives.

“This is often the case with people who are brainwashed to think that straight is the only beautiful picture they want to see,” says stylist Diane Da Costa, author of “Textured Tresses.” “They may not like curly because they feel it is unmanageable and wild — something that needs taming.”

In some cases, their curl-phobia may stem from their own negative experiences growing up with curly or kinky hair. With other people, it may be a lack of experience with curly hair and how to care for it.

“My mother-in-law is always telling my husband that my daughter’s hair is a mess, and that we never run a brush through it,” says one Texas mother, whose husband’s family has no curly-headed members. “I think her hair freaks my mother-in-law out.”

In many black families, the issue may be cultural.

“It’s such a sensitive issue,” Paula says.

Women are taught from an early age that hair in its natural state is not acceptable. They often get their first perm before they’re out of elementary school, and never discover their natural texture until later in life.

“It really starts almost before a child is born,” says Paula. “People will speculate about what type of hair the child will be born with. People are afraid of what they’re not used to.”

“When children and parents share attributes, such as curly hair, the child identifies with the parent’s self-perception as well as the attitude of the spouse about the attribute,” says child psychologist Dr. Mary Lamia of “Kid Talk with Dr. Mary” on Radio Disney.

“Thus, a child’s self-image can include each parent’s attitudes concerning his or her own characteristics as well as judgments about the partner’s attributes,” Lamia says. “For example, if Dad laments his curly hair or if Mom teases Dad about it, the result in either case might be a negative effect upon the self-perception of their curly headed child.”

Cozy Friedman of Cozy’s Cuts for Kids in New York says she has had a lot of experience with moms who are afraid of their children’s curls — especially mothers of bi-racial children whose own hair is straight.

“The intimidation stems from the fact that parents with straight hair don’t know how to deal with curly hair, so the answer is that they need to learn!” Friedman says “The key here is education and practice. It definitely takes a little time investment up front. Once you take the big mystery out of it and embrace the curls, the phobia disappears.”

Friedman recommends that parents learn from a pro. Find a stylist who is well-versed in curls and ask her to teach you how to work with the curls, she says. Maybe set up an appointment to take lessons. He or she can show you different styling techniques and recommend the right products.

“The right stylist will love to help you,” she says. “We do this quite often at my shops, and parents rave about how it has changed their lives!”

It can also be helpful to buy books about the proper care of curly and kinky hair, such as Lorraine Massey’s “Curly Girl” and Da Costa’s “Textured Tresses.”

Da Costa suggests tearing out pictures from magazines of models with curly and kinky hair, as well as of celebrities who have wavy, curly and kinky hair. “People need visuals!” she says.

New York stylist Rodney Cutler says he has worked with parents who want a certain look for their child, even if it goes against their hair’s natural texture.

“They want to spend a lot of time on their kid’s hair,” says Cutler, who has two curly sons. “I’m really to the left of that. I think kids look best when they’re themselves.”

You have to know how to speak to your kids about their hair, says New York curl stylist Ouidad.

“I see mothers come in exasperated, throwing their hands up in the air and asking what to do with their child’s hair,” Ouidad says.

She often asks parents to sit in the waiting room so she can work with the child alone.

Children’s book author Natasha Anastasia Tarpley, who wrote “I Love My Hair!” believes family members need to be sensitive to how their comments can affect a child.

“If someone is constantly fussing with your hair, or telling you to ‘fix’ this or that about yourself, you’re going to believe there’s something wrong with the way you are,” Tarpley says. “We need to be conscious and vigilant about the messages we send our children, which means that we need to be conscious of our own beliefs and views of self.”

Denis DeSilva of Devachan Salon was dissatisfied with the diffusers on the market.

His Soho salon’s philosophy was “do not disturb.” Yet he found most standard diffusers he had tried would blow curls astray. For two years, he researched all the available technology as well as what competitors were developing. Nothing did what what he wanted a diffuser to do.

So he set out to create a new kind of diffuser.

Inspiration hit DeSilva while he was waiting to tee off on the 8th hole of Florida’s Doral Country Club, when he saw a seat shaped like a hand.

“All day long, my hands are in my clients’ hair,” DeSilva says. “As we dry curly hair, we put our hands into their hair to give it lift. Why not create something that does exactly what a hand does?”

Devaconcepts worked with designers and manufacturers for over three years to develop the new DevaSun Dryer and DevaFuser — a unique hand-shaped diffuser with 360-degree air flow to dry the hair all the way through.

“We had to create a better mousetrap,” DeSilva says.

For people with curls and kinks, a diffuser is an invaluable tool in their arsenal. Diffusers allow gentle heat to speed up the drying process without the wind of a blowdryer.

“The invention of the diffuser is probably one of the greatest tools for styling curly hair, as it speeds up the drying time,” says Jonathan Torch of Toronto’s Curly Hair Institute, and creator of the Curly Hair Solutions line of products. “When styling curly hair, the more you fuss or move your hair when it’s wet, the more frizz develops and the more your hair expands. A diffuser is a simple yet effective controller of such movement.”

Although there are a number of diffusers on the market, there has been little change to their design over the past few decades. But that has changed this year, with several revolutionary new diffusers hitting the market by companies such as Devaconcepts, Hot Tools and BaByliss.

The BaByliss Pro 3500 Radiant Heat Dryer, introduced in July, distributes radiant heat through an oversized nozzle. The low airflow and radiant heat are designed to tame frizz and create glossy curls. A drying stand can be used to free up the hands as the hair dries.

Antony Popadich, a veteran British hairdresser who introduced the Sedusa Diffuser, began taking a closer look at the diffuser when he began exploring different ways to bring out the curl in people’s hair. Perms were a tough sell to many clients. Curling irons required some expertise. And existing diffusers were problematic.

“The universal diffusers tended to fly off the dryer,” Popadich says. “One day, in frustration, I said ‘Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?”

An idea began to crystalize in his mind about how to improve the design of the diffuser. He took an old diffuser and taped it to plastic plant pot with the bottom cut out. His brother-in-law had a manufacturing plant, and he asked him to create some aluminum spirals to put in the bowl to encourage curls. Because the hair is contained in the bowl, it prevents it from swelling out, while the aluminum spirals coax out curls.

He tried the first Sedusa prototype on his wife.

“I came out of the garage with this contraption, and she looked at me and said ‘No chance!'” Popadich recalls. “She said ‘You’re not getting near me with that contraption.'”

But he convinced her to let him have a go at her fine, straight hair, and the result was beautiful waves. They were both excited.

“We went to see a patent attorney,” he says.

Every day, in a variety of ways, children are getting messages about how they should look and act—from the friends they hang out with, from the video games they play and from the television shows they watch.

For parents, the challenge is to figure out how to counter the negative influences that come their way.

“A parent does have to make sure they pay attention to what’s appropriate,” says Dr. Mary Lamia, a clinical psychologist in Marin County and host of Kid Talk with Dr. Mary on Radio Disney in San Francisco/Sacramento.

So what influences kids the most? Children are most influenced by their peers — the people who tell them in the classroom, on the playground or on play-dates just how well they’re fitting in, according to Judith Rich Harris, author of “The Nurture Assumption.” Children act a certain way and dress a certain way as a attempt to gain acceptance from their peers, Harris says.

Whether it leads to blue hair or body piercing, peer pressure is a powerful reality and many adults do not realize its effects. Peer pressure can be found in groups as young as age two, when children will do things simply because other kids are doing them or because the kids tell them to. This can effect the child’s behavior, social and emotional development, eating habits, play time, and sleeping patterns.

“The No. 1 thing that influences the choices kids make is their desire to fit in with other kids,” Lamia says. “Children are self-conscious and they want to fit in and they don’t want to feel insecure. They do things that other kids do and wear things that other kids wear in order to be popular.”

It may come as a surprise, but parents are often as vulnerable to peer pressure as their children, Lamia says. They want their children to fit in, and may push them to be popular.

“Parents need to be worried when they find themselves succumbing to peer pressure themselves,” she says.

And by giving in, parents send a message to their child that they should give in to peer pressure if they want to fit in, whether that be the hottest styles or how to treat other kids.

“Part of the reason bullying happens in school is because adults are tolerating it,” Lamia says.

In addition to pressure from friends, kids also are heavily influenced by the media — movies, music videos and television. The average child spends three to five hours a day watching television, and they’re getting messages about how to dress and how to act from the shows they watch and the ads they see.

Sometimes you can see the impact of media right away, such as when your child watches superheroes fighting and then copies their moves during play. But most of the time the impact is not so immediate or obvious. It occurs slowly as children see and hear certain messages over and over.

Many of these messages are coming from the ads that bombard them on TV, on the Internet and on the radio.

Children are big business, and advertisers know that. American children ages 4 to 12 spent over $35 billion of their own money last year, and they influenced a surprising $500 billion of their parents’ purchases. The youth marketing research firm WonderGroup reported that parents are giving their kids greater financial responsibility, partly because parents aren’t around to help their children make spending choices.

“They have really taken over the minds of children, and they’re good at it,” Lamia says of advertisers. “Parents should be teaching their child about what marketers do and how they are trying to influence them.”

The advertising industry has funded dozens of studies on children designed to enhance their marketing effectiveness. Some agencies have even hired clinical psychologists and cultural anthropologists to record more than 500 hours of interviews and observations of children.

In some cases, the messages they may get from TV, music videos or video games can be downright dangerous. The programming may be overly violent, or overwhelmingly sexual.

A study by The Rand Corp. found that watching sex on TV predicts and may hasten adolescent sexual initiation. The study also found that reducing the amount of sexual content in entertainment programming or increasing references to possible negative consequences of sexual activity could delay their desire to engage in this kind of activity.

“They begin to think that being seductive is the way to be,” Lamia says. “They see that children get attention from other kids from dressing or acting like that.”

While parents don’t have total control over advertising, media or peers, they can help control the influence they have on their child. Parents need to set limits and be actively involved with the TV shows, computer games, magazines, and other media that children use. But this is only one step in helping media play a positive role in children’s lives.

They can limit access to the computer and television and can oversee what types of programming their children are watching. Lamia says she wouldn’t let a 12-year-old subscribe to fashion magazines meant for older women, such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour.

“You’re not being an overly cautious parent if you’re limiting their exposure to certain things,” Lamia says. “You’re being protective. It’s the same as limiting sugar. Limiting what you put in their heads is no different than limiting what you put in their stomachs.”

Because media surrounds us and cannot always be avoided, one way to filter their messages is to develop the skills to question, analyze, and evaluate them. This is called media literacy or media education.

Ultimately, the best thing a parent can do is to teach children to have confidence in their own opinions, and that they don’t have to succumb to peer pressure.

“In the end, if you do these things, you teach your child to be a leader rather than a follower,” Lamia says. “That’s what leadership is about—thinking for yourself.”

See tips for making better use of the media, next page.

Tips for Making Better Use of the Media

Make a media plan.

Schedule media times and choices in advance, just as you would other activities. A media plan helps everyone to choose and use media carefully.

Set media time limits.

Limit children’s total screen time. This includes time watching TV and videotapes, playing video and computer games, and surfing the Internet. One way to do this is to use a timer. When the timer goes off, your child’s media time is up, no exceptions. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 1 to 2 hours of quality TV and videos a day for older children and no screen time for children under the age of 2.

Set family guidelines for media content.

Help children and teens choose shows, videos, and video games that are appropriate for their ages and interests. Get into the habit of checking the content ratings and parental advisories for all media. Use these ratings to decide what media are suitable for your child. Be clear and consistent with children about media rules. If you do not approve of their media choice, explain why and help them choose something more appropriate.

Keep TV sets, VCRs, video games, and computers out of children’s bedrooms.

Instead, put them where you can be involved and monitor children’s use. If children or teens are allowed to have a TV set or other media in their bedrooms, know what media they are using and supervise their media choices. If you have Internet access, supervise your children while they are on-line.

Make media a family activity.

Whenever possible, use media with your children and discuss what they see, hear, and read. When you share your children’s media experiences, you can help them analyze, question, and challenge the meaning of messages for themselves. During a media activity, help children “talk back,” or question what they see. Do this during a violent act, an image or message that is misleading, or an advertisement for an unhealthy product.

“Talking back,” or asking questions about media messages, builds the lifelong skills your child needs to be a critical media consumer. Discuss how the media messages compare with the values you are teaching your child.

Look for media “side effects.”

Unless they come clearly labeled as containing violence, sex, or graphic language, parents often overlook the messages children are getting from media. Instead, be aware of the media children and teens use and the impact it could be having.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics

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Strategies to Combat negative Peer Pressure

The following are strategies young people can use to deal with negative peer pressure effectively:

Avoid putting yourself in situations that make you feel uncomfortable.

Choose your friends wisely. If you hang around with people who share your values, chances are you’ll never be asked to do something you don’t want to do.

Think about the consequences whenever you are asked to do something you are not sure about. Stop for a moment and ask: Will this activity get me in trouble? Will it be harmful to my health?

Be true to yourself. Think about the reasons why you are considering doing something you are uncomfortable with. Is it to gain popularity? Although there is nothing wrong with wanting to be popular, there are right ways and wrong ways to achieve it. If you change your behavior just to fit in with a particular group, you are not being true to yourself.

Learn how to say no. This is perhaps the most difficult thing in the world for many people to do, but it is an essential skill if you are to successfully fend off negative peer pressure. There are many ways to say no, some of them subtle and some of them a little more “in your face.”

Several examples are: “You see it your way. I see it my way.” – “If you are really a friend, then back off.” – “You must think I’m pretty dumb to fall for that one.”

When Pureology began adding ultra-tiny particles to some of its hair products, the products worked better.

“I didn’t know it was nanotechnology,” says Pureology founder and CEO Jim Markham. “I just knew it worked. We began using nanotechnology strictly from a performance point of view.”By using particles that were 15 to 20 nanometers in size — about 1/57,000th the size of a human hair — it improved the products’ ability to strengthen and moisturize the hair, to preserve color and provide thermal protection, Markham says. Pureology now uses nanotechnology in all of its shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers and reconstructors. The company recently launched NanoWorks, its super luxury category of products — all using nanotechnology.Markham says nanotechnology works especially well for curly hair, which tends to be dry. The nano-ingredients fill the hair with strength and moisture and resist humidity more effectively, he says.

“Nanotechnology is very much the future,” Markham says. Nanotechnology is a group of emerging technologies in which the structure of matter is controlled at the nanometer scale — the scale of small numbers of atoms — to produce materials and devices that have useful and unique properties. It is used in industries as diverse as computers, medicine and beauty. There is a growing awareness that smaller can be better and more effective, whether it be an Apple iPod Nano or Pureology’s NanoGlaze Styling Creme.

At the recent NanoBusiness Alliance conference in New York, Undersecretary of Commerce Phil Bond said that “nanotechnology has reached a tipping point.” This is no longer just hype and hot air, he said. And it is taking the beauty industry by storm. Cosmetics giant L’Oreal has been on the leading edge when it comes to nanotechnology. The company ranked No. 6 last year among nanotechnology patent holders in the U.S., ranking ahead of such R&D giants as General Electric, Motorola and Eastman Kodak.”At L’Oreal factories, high-pressure machinery fires droplets of material at the speed of sound to pulverize them into nano-size bits,” according to a Dec. 12, 2005 article in Business Week.

L’Oreal introduced its first product using nanotechnology in 1998. Since then, it has been used in higher-end brands such as Lancomeas well as less expensive, drugstore lines such as L’ Oreal Plenitude. And more are on the way.

Other companies, including Procter & Gamble, Estee Lauder and Christian Dior, also are incorporating nano-particles in their products. The reasons for the explosive growth of this technology is because the products are more easily absorbed into the skin and the hair. Italian hair-care company Alfaparf, which sells Milano Hair Power Nano Tech Solutions Exfoliant Gel scrub, says nanospheres function at the cellular level to deliver vitamins and stimulate cells.

Although companies first began dabbling in nanotechnology in the 1980s, use of the technique really picked up in the late 1990s.Pittsburgh-based Philip Pelusi is among the hair-care companies that have embraced nanotechnology.

“From the beginning, Philip’s focus was how to get protein and moisture into the hair shaft,” says Nikki Blahusch, product education director for Philip Pelusi. “

It was nanotechnology, without the fancy word. He was always working with the size of the molecule, making sure (the molecules”> were enhanced by science so they were small enough to penetrate the hair shaft. It can be applied to any product.

“For its Philip Pelusi’s Increase and Decrease, two products introduced in September, nanotechnology was used “from top to bottom,” Blahusch says. Pelusi also has gone back and tweaked other products within his P2 line, applying nanotechnology.

Blahusch says nanotechnology is important to Pelusi because it allows the molecules to be manipulated in important ways. More molecules can fit into a formula.”There are more ingredients per square inch in a bottle,” she says. “When the product gets on your hair shaft, it’s saturated with these tiny molecules down to its deepest level.

“The products also are able to better penetrate and repair the hair shaft, she says. “Everything we do — from using heat appliances to wearing your hair in a ponytail — damages the hair,” she says. “It causes broken spots on the cuticle, like potholes. If those potholes are not resurfaced and filled in, the hair will not look, feel and perform like virgin hair.

“And nanotechnology also allows ingredients to be combined in new ways. Philip Pelusi has combined a lightweight silicone and an amino acid protein molecule to create a “supermolecule,” Blahusch says. “That’s one reason why our Fade de Phy product will decrease hair fading up to 80 percent between visits,” she says.

Nanotechnology is being used in a many unique ways.For example, Farouk Systems recently introduced new CHI Hair Irons and Hair Dryers that incorporate nano-silver coatings on the exposed surfaces to disinfect and sterilize the tools to prevent the contamination of mold and bacteria between clients.

The silver nanoparticles — typically 5 to 50 nanometers in diameter — are being used in a variety of ways, including on ultraviolet dental lights inside the mouth to sterilize dental equipment, as a coating on chopping boards and to sterilize masks for use in hospitals.

Nanotechnology does have disadvantages. For one, it is very expensive. In addition, the tools necessary to do the research may not be readily available and may have to be built from scratch, adding further expense.

And some question the safety. Two years ago, a UK report commissioned by the British government and carried out by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering, extolled the virtues of nanotechnology while simultaneously warning about the dangers. Falling short of recommending a total ban on the production of nanoparticles, the report stressed that substances manufactured in nano form can have totally different chemical properties compared to their natural-sized counterparts. It has not been an issue with any beauty products on the market.

Blahusch concedes that nanotechnology is no “magic bullet.” But she believes it has taken hair-care to a new level. “Technology is advancing in every area,” Blahusch says. “Why should hair-care be any different?

Esenje Bonga has a simple philosophy: “If you can’t eat it, why would you put it on your body?”

It is with this spirit that she launched Kynk last fall — a Canadian company dedicated to helping people find natural solutions to their beauty needs.

Kynk’s flagship product is the Hair Honey, a natural hair treatment designed for curly, kinky and coarse hair. It contains avocado and herbal essential oils to moisturize and strengthen the hair. It works especially well on braids and twists.

“We are in the business of helping people live naturally with their beauty,” Bonga says.

It has taken Bonga most of her 32 years to learn live with and love her own coarse, kinky hair.

“As long as I can remember, it was the bane of my existence,” she says. “All through high school, people told me I had bad hair.”

As an African girl growing up in Canada, there were few resources for textured hair. From the age of seven, Bonga’s mother texturized or relaxed her thick, coarse, kinky hair.

“I had to deal with sprays and sheens and moisturizers,” Bonga says. “Washing it was a major ordeal.”

In her mid-20s, she was fed up. She had her roommate shave her head “down to the bone.” For three years, she went bald.

“It was some of the best three years of my life,” she says. “It was a very liberating experience.”

She decided to grow it back when she was preparing for a trip to Mexico.

“I was told that a single, black, bald woman in Mexico wouldn’t be accepted,” she says. “I figured Mexico might not be ready for Esenje yet.”

While it was growing out, she met a woman with Brazil with beautiful textured hair. She gave Bonga a recipe for a conditioner that consisted of mashed avocado, olive oil, honey and hair conditioner. She was told to put in her hair, wrap a towel around it and leave it like that for a day.

“Holy cow!” she said, recalling her first experience with it. “It was marvelous. It really strengthened and softened my hair.”

She began experimenting with the concoction, taking out some ingredients and adding others. She discovered she could get great results without adding the conditioner. But there were other drawbacks.

“I had a hard time walking around with a semi-rancid avocado on my head,” she says.

So she took the avocado recipe and modified it by using botanical oils instead of the raw ingredients. The result was Hair Honey, which she introduced in November. Because the textured hair market is small in Victoria, she added body products to her line — Toe Jam and Brazilian Polish scrubs and Pit Stop Deodorant. She is developing other hair products, including a shea butter pomade and a sulfate-free hair cleanser.

Word is spreading about Kynk Hair Honey, with orders coming in from as far away as Australia. It now is available in CurlMart.

With the help of her Hair Honey, Bonja is loving her natural hair.

“I get compliments on my hair,” she says. “I never had them before, unless I was wearing braided extensions. I actually feel that I have ‘good’ hair. even though I was told all my life that I had “difficult”, “rough”, and “terrible” hair — and I did! It was processed the whole time! Now, my greatest worry is finding a grey — and that is no worry at all. think silver hair is beautiful!'”

Over the past two years, CurlTalker LazyKerri has discovered many wonderful curly products—Pantene Curl Scrunching Gel and Aussie Gel + Water, Herbal Essences Humidity Defying Gel and Suave Professionals Firm Hold Gel.

“What do these have in common?” asks the Chicago curly. “They’ve been discontinued or reformulated! Although I understand they have their reasons, I really wish the companies wouldn’t keep doing this to us!”

LazyKerri’s frustration is a common one, especially for curlies who search long and hard for their “Holy Grail” products only to see them disappear from the store shelves.

“I’ve found replacements that work just as well, if not even better,” says CurlTalker Joy4ever of Bowling Green, Ohio. “But it’s always a shock to the system when you realize the product you worked so long and hard to find — after weeks or months of trial and error — is going to be gone forever.”

“Why are you gone?” one woman lamented on a beauty Web site when John Frieda discontinued Frizz-Ease 5-Minute Manager in December 2005. “I miss you more than my husband. Someone must put you back on the market for dandylion heads like me.”

In some cases, customers get downright angry when their favorite product is discontinued, as was the case when Clairol discontinued its Clairol Daily Defense Tender Apple Shampoo and Conditioner.

“I’m very upset and disgusted that Clairol decided to discontinue the product line ONLY because it ‘wasn’t making enough money’ for them,” one angry poster said on epinions.com. “It’s their ONLY product that makes my hair feel clean and soft when I finish. I bought these products faithfully. I tried their other brands they recommended and they did NOT give me the same results. They don’t care about what does work for people.”

Manufacturers say products aren’t discontinued without cause. There are several reasons why a product may disappear from the shelves.

“It takes a lot of effort and time to discontinue a product, so we don’t do so lightly,” says Dawn Blackstone, executive vice president of Graham Webb International.

The hair-care industry is a ‘what’s new’ business. Companies must continually add new products, and reposition existing lines, to stay on top of fashion trends and technological changes.

“We are in the fashion industry,” says Tatiana Jovic, spokeswoman for Canadian haircare company AG Hair Cosmetics. “As such, we are continually watching upcoming trends and developing products to meet the need. The challenge, of course, is to develop products that are meeting the needs of the current trends without being too ‘trendy,’ as trendy means it will be hot for a while and then the trend will move on, making your products obsolete.”

Companies also regularly re-evaluate their product lines to see what’s selling, and more importantly, what’s not. Jovic said AG continually analyzes sales for all of its products, looking at sales results over the years as well as consulting with its managers out in the field. In its 17-year history, Jovic said AG hasn’t discontinued a single product.

“It’s pretty simple arithmetic” says Jim Markham, founder and chief executive officer of Pureology, which also owns the Alterna line. “If you continue to add (new products”> to your line and keep things that don’t sell very well, you’re not very smart. If it sells well, you keep it. If it’s not doing enough volume to justify its existance, it’s discontinued.”

Blackstone says her company has thresholds for product revenue, and products that are consistently below the thresholds eventually are targeted for discontinuation.

“We want to make sure we are offering the most in-demand, productive products that warrant us carrying them and tying up inventory space and dollars,” Blackstone says.

Graham Webb discontinues roughly 2-3 percent of its products each year, she says. With the company’s recent redefinition of its Back to Basics line, it made a deliberate choice to streamline it and to focus on the big sellers and the items that had unique benefits for the hair and body.

Blackstone stressed that the company does take into consideration whether a product fits a unique need that makes it relevant to the customer, and that it is important to the line overall.

Karen Fuss-Zipp, vice president of U.S. marketing for Redken, says one of the main reason her company discontinues a product is because of improved technology.

“New technology allows us to relaunch and redevelop products,” Fuss-Zipp says.

For example, last year Redken discontinued its Color Extend line and relaunched and repackaged it with new technology. Redken’s discontinued Headstrong for fine hair because of lackluster sales. The development group had new technology and created the Body Full line to replace it.

“Sales quadrupled because it had advanced technology and a better fragrance,” Fuss-Zipp says. “It was a good way to bring advancements and a sense of newness to the consumer.”

In some cases, a product isn’t discontinued but rather repositioned. Redken’s Solid Water had become a huge hit among people with curly and kinky hair. It was discontinued, and will be relaunched later this year as as a product specifically for curly hair.

When a favorite product is discontinued, consumers have several options. Usually, the company will have recommendations for other products that have similar qualities. Stylists also are a good resource, providing advice on the best products for a particular hair type. Fuss-Zipp says Redken always tries to provide a good replacement product, or a combination of products that can be used together to create the desired effect.

“People shouldn’t give up,” Fuss-Zipp says. “Their favorite product is probably still around somewhere in a different form with added benefits.

Some discontinued products find their ways to Web sites like eBay and stores like Big Lots. For example, one CurlTalker found some of her beloved Daily Defense Conditioner at a Florida Big Lots store. The original Herbal Essence Shampoo is available on eBay — for $59.50 a bottle!

Sometimes, consumers go to desperate measures to get ahold of an old favorite. One fan of the original Clairol Herbal Essence Shampoo last year started a petition to get Clairol to bring back the original, fragrant dark green shampoo. People were asked to call a toll-free number or fill out an e-mail form on the Clairol Web site.

If there is enough outcry from consumers, a product may be brought back by a manufacturer. Fuss-Zipp says Touch Control Texture Whip, which was discontinued four years ago, will begin shipping again this month.

“People missed it,” Fuss-Zipp says. “People continued to ask for it. We re-evaluated our line and saw it as an opportunity to bring it back.”