Glamour Puss 5: 'Tis the Season to be (a) Hottie......

[PRlady]

Me either. Ah, those determined Semitic genes.....

[PrincessLeppard]

Can anyone suggest a good hair texturizer? My mom helped with deciding how to wear my hair for the wedding, but even with braids, my hair wants to come out! "It's too sleek!" "Well, Mom, many people pay $500 for keratin treatment to get sleek hair..." The grass is always greener.

The best texturizer in the world has been discontinued, and I don't care if it's your wedding or not, I'm not sending you any of my sekret stash.

I would talk to the people at Sephora; I've heard the Bumble & Bumble texturizer is really good, and when the aforementioned stash runs out, I am planning to try it.

[Matryeshka]

The only good thing that came out of my hair dye experience at Ulta was the discovery of Carol's Daughter products. I think it's for African Americans, and it is bar none the BEST shampoo and conditioner I've ever used. Costly as hell--about $25/bottle--but worth every single penny.

Any of you with any Jewish heritage that comes out in your hair, BUY THIS PRODUCT.

Being a natural blonde is so expensive.

[Anita18]

The best texturizer in the world has been discontinued, and I don't care if it's your wedding or not, I'm not sending you any of my sekret stash.

I would talk to the people at Sephora; I've heard the Bumble & Bumble texturizer is really good, and when the aforementioned stash runs out, I am planning to try it.

Fair enough. Although they still might sell it on ebay, so maybe a name?

Speaking of hair washing regimens, I'm on the other end of the financial spectrum. I'm not sure if I need to turn in my glamour puss card, but for the past few weeks I've been washing my hair with...baking soda. Yup, I've gone "no poo." I got tired of having to depend on prescription anti-fungal shampoos to make my hair look even remotely nice and figured, I have 4 months until the wedding, let's give this a go. The first time I tried this earlier this year, it didn't work well, but this time I boiled our very hard water before adding the baking soda. I'm not sure how that works, but it seemed to have done the trick! One tablespoon per cup. Wait until it's cooled down to add it. I learned the hard way.

Pour/squirt/spray the mixture onto your scalp only, then massage it in really well. It actually feels pretty nice when you do this, very smooth, although obviously there is no sudsing. My skin/hair is pretty oily so I can let it sit in my scalp while I soap up the rest of my body, but some people wash it out right away so it isn't too drying. For "conditioner," apple cider vinegar mixed with water at approximately same dilution is used the same way. Yes, you'll smell like a salad while your hair is wet, but the smell does go away when it dries. It doesn't exactly make your hair more "manageable" (ie, easier to comb) but I use a bit of jojoba or coconut oil, or even some regular conditioner on my ends and that works fine. Air dry if you can, although blow drying has been going okay for me the past week.

I've read that many people have an initial oily period on the "no poo" regimen, where their hair freaks out a bit and turns into an oil slick before settling into a nice balance. Anywhere starting week 1 to week 2, and lasting for about a month. I've finished my first month and my hair has been so much nicer than it was before from day 1, so maybe I got lucky. Supposedly, going "no poo" is best for people with naturally curly hair, but I have straight hair and it seems to be working well for me too. My hair still gets oily after 3 days of not washing, but it doesn't look and feel nearly as greasy. Plus NO FRIZZ. I mean, sure, I have Asian hair so I'm not supposed to frizz, but normal sudsy shampoos and of course blow drying will visibly dry out even my hair the day of a wash.

If you like your shampoo to smell flowery, you can always add a drop of essential oil to the baking soda solution, but I don't miss it too much, and Alf really hates perfumes so he hasn't been complaining either.

[PrincessLeppard]

Fair enough. Although they still might sell it on ebay, so maybe a name?

Pretty sure I bought it all . but you can look. Pantene Spray Wax. Bed Head had a great one, too called something like Beach Waves, but that's discontinued as well.

I use Wen cleansing Conditioner, which is not a shampoo. The trick is to scrub, scrub, scrub.. A lot of people don't and that's probably why they have the oily problem.

[Anita18]

Pretty sure I bought it all . but you can look. Pantene Spray Wax. Bed Head had a great one, too called something like Beach Waves, but that's discontinued as well.

I use Wen cleansing Conditioner, which is not a shampoo. The trick is to scrub, scrub, scrub.. A lot of people don't and that's probably why they have the oily problem.

Hmm, looks like Amazon still sells it, but I bet it's at least twice the price it used to be.

I did think about buying Wen too, but baking soda is a lot cheaper.

[PrincessLeppard]

Yes. It used to be about six bucks.

[IceAlisa]

Me either. Ah, those determined Semitic genes.....

Yeah, well. My Semitic genes lost the battle with my husband's Semitic genes. He looks like a European white boy but I thought my son would take after me, (falsely) assuming that darker skin tone wins out. Nope, pale as a vampire on a diet. I think it's a lot safer to have darker skin tone in terms of sunburn and skin cancer.

[PRlady]

Yeah, well. My Semitic genes lost the battle with my husband's Semitic genes. He looks like a European white boy but I thought my son would take after me, (falsely) assuming that darker skin tone wins out. Nope, pale as a vampire on a diet. I think it's a lot safer to have darker skin tone in terms of sunburn and skin cancer.

Oh, you have no idea. The friend I was just visiting in Arizona had me walking 2 miles with her at 6 AM with her dog. Now, we're both early risers but that's a tad early especially this time of year. By 8:00 AM in December in Arizona she has to be out of direct sunlight; she's a natural redhead who's already had a minor bout with skin cancer. She re-appears outside with a hat, 100 SPF and so on late in the afternoon.

Never have I felt so lucky to be light-olive-skinned. And by the standards of my family I'm Nordic.

[CanuckSk8r]

If I remember correctly, PrincessLeppard, you love Wen. I have thought about trying it but am not sure since I love infomercials and am a daily shower and wash my hair kind of gal. I feel my hair and self is so icky and oily otherwise. Is Wen easier on your hair? I have coloured/highlighted blonde hair with a natural wave that I can either straighten or add some product and have a nice wave going on. I use pureology at the moment. But of course my supply is getting low.

My natural redhead niece has beautiful skin and doesn't burn in the sun (of course still use sunscreen). Her brown haired sister on the other hand... Sunscreen that one very often.

[IceAlisa]

Oh, you have no idea. The friend I was just visiting in Arizona had me walking 2 miles with her at 6 AM with her dog. Now, we're both early risers but that's a tad early especially this time of year. By 8:00 AM in December in Arizona she has to be out of direct sunlight; she's a natural redhead who's already had a minor bout with skin cancer. She re-appears outside with a hat, 100 SPF and so on late in the afternoon.

Never have I felt so lucky to be light-olive-skinned. And by the standards of my family I'm Nordic.

Yup, some people weren't meant to live in California, Arizona, etc. She should move to Seattle.

[myhoneyhoney]

I still have to try Wen... how different is it from co-washing?

[PrincessLeppard]

I have no idea what co-washing is. But I have very fine, very oily bleached blonde hair (occasionally with pink or purple highlights), and I use Wen almost every day. If I do skip a day, it's tolerable (I use a dry shampoo on those days). At the moment, my hair is ridiculously long ( for me) because Wen prevents it from breaking like it used to. I've used Wen for two years now, and for me, it is totally worth the price. And scrubbing.

[myhoneyhoney]

oh, oops, sorry, got stuck in the "pink hair" board lingo, lol. Co-washing is washing your hair with conditioner instead of shampoo. I started co-washing every other day a while ago and using regular color friendly shampoo just once a week for a deep cleaning. I don't use anything on my hair except for maybe some coconut oil or sweet almond oil for defrizzing so I'm able to get away with it. Now that I have pink highlights I'm really interested in keeping it in tip top condition, specially since I'm considering going completely pink soon. I really should just buy some Wen to try it out, huh?

[IceAlisa]

I borrowed my son's shampoo and conditioner today (Burt's Bees Baby Bee shampoo and California Baby Swimmer's Defense Conditioner)--my hair is ecstatically happy. Isn't it true that you should rotate shampoo/conditioners so that you get rid of the residue (or some other reason?)

Also, a very enthusiastic Nordstrom sales woman (girl, really) gave me a sample of Bobbi Brown BB cream. Is BB cream really better than tinted moisturizer? My Tarte tinted moisturizer has moisture, tint and SPF. What else is there?---Oh that's right, the CC creams!

[Veronika]

I was on the verge of ordering the Benefit Oxygen foundation, but I couldn't do it...I'm too cheap. I'm trying out the Boi-ing concealer instead. I hope it's good!

I think I've given up on high end mascara...I'm always disappointed.

[Andora]

I was on the verge of ordering the Benefit Oxygen foundation, but I couldn't do it...I'm too cheap. I'm trying out the Boi-ing concealer instead. I hope it's good!

I think I've given up on high end mascara...I'm always disappointed.

Boi-ing is awesome according to a few friends of mine. (I'm not concealer savvy)

I'm with you on high-end mascara. I'm happy enough with Maybelline lately. If Too Faced sold the lash fibers separately from its mascara set, I'd buy it, though! Essie's cheapie version is okay, but not great.

[PDilemma]

So my hairdresser of over fifteen years semi-retired to the Sandhills this summer. Like six hours away. I have someone new cutting my hair, and it looks good. But my previous guy had somehow magically tamed the tangles in my very fine hair. Never a problem for years with him. Not anymore. Dug out a knot so bad today I thought I was going to have to just cut out a chunk of hair.

Any ideas why this would change????

[Scintillation]

I still need to try Wen, but after getting my hair cut at a DevaCurl salon and using their products, I have found my holy grail of hair products. My hair looks and feels awesome, and I love their "no poo" cleanser. The cut I got has been the best ever too--the previous stylist was thinning my hair in the back and it completely wrecked the natural curl, but it's coming back.
One of my coworkers has had good luck with the Living Proof line of products, but they are also pretty pricey. Her hair is in serious need of damage repair though and she's willing to do whatever it takes.

And I tried the Benefit Oxygen foundation and did not like it, but I've never had good luck with any of their products. They always make my face feel like an oil slick.

After getting some $$ for Xmas I splurged and got the AmorePacific hydragel moisturizer. Ugh if I get addicted to this it will be bad. It's $100.

[IceAlisa]

Worst fashion of 2012. Has to be seen to be believed.