Hair

I’ve been lucky enough to get the chance to visit a lot salons in Los Angeles, but one of my favorites is Warren-Tricomi on Melrose.  It had been awhile since I was there, but recently, I headed over for a cut and color and it was every bit as great as I remembered. (more…)

“New Year, New You,” is a common theme. But aside from new eating habits, a new workout plan and a list of things to organize in 2011, the new you can often include a new look. And for me, that usually means a new hair color.

I look at hair color as a fun way to change things up — and it’s way less of a commitment than a haircut. If you don’t like the results, there’s no need to spend a year or two growing it back out — you can usually just color it back to its prior state!

That said, I’ve met a lot of people who want to take the plunge but are afraid they won’t be able to pull off their dream hair color. Those people have said to me, “You’re so lucky; you are one of those people who can pull off any hair color. I’m sooo not.” Well, I’m not either — and I have the bad-hair-color photos to prove it. My secret weapon? A good colorist, specifically, celebrity hair stylist Marco Pelusi of Marco Pelusi Hair Studio in West Hollywood.

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Truth is- despite hair oils being a dime a dozen these days, I’ve never really gotten into them.  My hair is very healthy (if not borderline oily) and the few that I have tried just seem to weigh down, and grease up, my locks more than anything else.  So when I started using the new ALTERNA Bamboo Smooth Kendi Oil Pure Treatment Oil – it was more by accident than anything else.  I had gotten a sample from an event and left it at my boyfriend’s place. On mornings when I didn’t have time to shower, I would use some on my hair as a styling aid since I didn’t have anything else at his apartment. That’s when I noticed that not only is it a fantastic styling tool- holding my style all day- it also make my locks super soft- and never oily or greasy.  The oil also immediately controls frizz (pesky bed head) and makes the styling process so much easier- producing bouncy voluminous curls. Needless to say, I’m a believer!

Alterna Bamboo Kendi Pure Oil Treatment  also acts as a color protectant which is important for me since I have demi-permanent colored hair. At $24, it’s incredibly reasonable for the high end Alterna brand and also comes as a spray.

Campy? Yes. Forced? At times. Entertaining? You bet.

Recently, I got a sneak peek of “Burlesque,” courtesy of Sebastian Professional, the official hair product used in the movie. (Plug: See the beautiful limited-edition box set below.) Sebastian Professional Re-Shaper is my favorite heavy-duty hairspray, so of course, I had to see what they did with the hair in the movie … asap.

I hate to have gone into the theater with low expectations, but frankly, the track record for these star-driven vehicles is not exactly well, stellar. (Remember “Crossroads” and “Butterfly”?) Surprisingly, with Christina Aguilera’s voice as the true star of the movie, I managed to ignore the film’s flaws — mostly rushed, unrealistic scenes or bits of dialogue, although there were some really witty lines and touching moments in there, too — as I anticipated her next song-and-dance number. I mean, imagine having a front-row seat and a zoom lens during a Christina Aguilera concert, complete with multiple wardrobe and hairstyle changes, and flawless makeup … priceless, right? (more…)

Say bye-bye to inconvenient hair appointments! Last night, I got a taste of the new Blowout Bar at the Argyle Salon & Spa (located inside L.A.’s landmark Sunset Tower Hotel), where hours are being extended to accommodate clients in the morning and evening.

I stopped by the salon after work to check out their blowout menu, which features four types of blowouts: the Argyle Signature ($40), the Hollywood Blowout (glam volume!, $40), the Beachwaves Babe (finished with a curling iron, $50), and the Polished (finished with a flatiron, $50). (more…)

Recently, I took a ill-timed, direct red-eye flight from Los Angeles to New Orleans for a wild wedding weekend, only to regret not taking a nap before the three-and-a-half-hour trip. (Anyone who was there during Halloween/Voodoo Fest weekend might know that it was practically impossible to check in to your hotel early.) Unfortunately, this was my first time in The Big Easy, and wandering sleep-deprived through the French Quarter at 8 a.m., fueled only by a cup of chicory coffee and a plate of beignets, was — well, not so easy.

Imagine my elation when I literally stumbled upon the charming Kinetix Spa and Salon (formerly Ofadean). On a whim, I asked owner Michael Mikolajewski if there was a “quiet room.” He smiled and gently said the prettiest word I’d heard all morning, “Yes.” I then asked if he could accommodate me and my delirious husband, despite the fact that the salon was bustling with some of what must have been 100 bridal parties in town that weekend. Again he said, “Yes.” (He really had that southern hospitality thing down.)

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Since I usually end up showering twice a day, I’m always on the lookout for shampoo and conditioner duos that are gentle on hair, but still get the job of cleaning and conditioning it done well too.  (And it’s also important that it’s gentle on colored hair because the darker shade I have in my hair fades fast enough already).  My newest hair obsession is one of the shampoo and conditioner duos from B. The Product.  I tried out both Shampoo Perfected and Conditioned Perfected and together, they leave my hair looking great.

B. The Product is the creation of Los Angeles stylist Brandon Martinez.  (He’s currently working out of the West Hollywood location of Warren-Tricomi and gave me a fabulous cut last month.  If you’re in the L.A area and looking for a great stylist, I highly recommend him).  Both the shampoo and conditioner are made without sulfates, parabens, or sodium chloride and the shampoo has Argan Oil (to add shine and soften hair), a UV absorber (to stop color from fading), and Pro-Vitamin B5 (to condition and add volume.  The conditioner also has Argan Oil and Pro-Vitamin B5, but it also has Orange Oil in it to help seal your cuticles.  The duo leaves my hair so soft and shiny and knot-free, which is always a bonus with my long, prone to tangle, locks.  But I think my favorite part about them is the fact that both products smell exactly like a creamsicle.  Seriously, exactly.  They smell so delicious that I want to drink them in the shower instead of using them on my head.  And the smell lingers on my hair all day, which is fabulous.  I want everything I use on my hair to smell like this now.  Can we make that happen?

To read more about the B. The Product line, visit www.btheproduct.com.

I have long hair, so having a good blow dryer is an absolute must because I’ve found that not only do cheaper ones fry my hair, but they take a lot of time to actually get my hair completely dry.  (And if there’s one thing I do not want to wake up any earlier for, it’s to dry my hair).  For a long time, I had a T3 hair dryer and it did a great job, but last year it died a sudden and violent death when I accidentally dropped it onto a tile floor from a high shelf and since then, I’ve just been using one I bought at the drugstore.  Recently, I got the chance to try an Amika Tourmaline Ionic Hair Dryer and now that I remember what a difference a good hair dryer makes, I’ll never go back again.

I tested out the travel-sized version because I knew that if I liked it, I’d want to be able to bring it with me whenever I leave L.A., but even a smaller version packed enough power for me.  It uses tourmaline-infused ceramic components to give off maximum negative ionic and far infrared energy, which is a highly technical way of saying that using it helps to get rid of frizz, static, and significantly cut down on the time you’ll spend drying your hair.  (Yay!  That gives me more time to stop at Starbucks in the morning, which always makes my days better).  It also helps to infuse moisture into your hair, which is great because it stops it from drying out, which just makes it healthier overall.  I really forgot what a difference a good hair dryer makes – it’s like night and day when I use this one, both in drying time and in how much better it makes my hair look.  I think the elimination of the frizz and how smooth it makes my hair appear (I have straight hair) are my two favorite things about it, but you can’t beat a faster blowout either.  (And the fact that it comes in a giraffe pattern instead of boring black is really cute, too).

You can find out more about the brand (and read up on their extensive line of styling tools) at www.loveamika.com.

I’m not one to use a whole lot of hair products, but if I want my hair to be wavy and fuller, it’s kind of a necessity.  My new find is Prive’s Concept Vert Volumizing Froth.  It’s a really interesting product because it’s a non-aerosol mousse (something I didn’t even know was possible!)  By making it a non-aerosol, Prive has been able to drastically reduce the size of its bottle.  I’d say it’s about one quarter of the size of most cans of mousse that I’ve seen, which is great not only for the environment, but also for your closet space and for packing it in your luggage.

To use, all you have to do is apply a small amount to your palms and then rub them together quickly, giving the product about 5-10 seconds to froth up.  The process is kind of fun because it all of a sudden just sort of appears and foams up on your hands.  It’s like magic mousse!  Every single morning that I’ve done it it’s made me giggle, which I admit might mean that I’m easily amused, but still.  Who doesn’t want their morning routine to have a little fun in it?  Once the froth has produced itself, you just apply it like you would a regular mousse on damp hair and style however you’d like.  It adds some volume and body to my hair without making it crispy or sticking pieces together.  (I think I’ve mentioned here before how much that annoys me).  It’s also very environmentally friendly – the bottle is designed to be recycled and the product is never tested on animals.  All good things!  If my junior high self knew that one day I would be using mousse in the mornings again, she would be really laughing at me…

Who: Aida and Selma at Salon AKS

What: Natural, glossy highlights and face-framing eyebrow tweezing

Where: Salon AKS 689 Fifth Avenue, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10022, (212) 888-0707

When: Monday-Saturday

Why: Ever since the highlight disaster of 2009, I’ve been wary of anyone touching a hair on my head.  I come into haircut appointments now armed with a swath of pictures, and I haven’t gotten professional color in a year.  Highlight roots were a reality and after hearing someone describe my hair color honestly as “spotty,” I knew that enough was enough: it was time to get over my fear and ditch the two-tone color situation. (more…)