HOLY GUACAMOLE! Helping your hair recover from the sins and stresses of Summer

Do you find yourself in need of hair recovery from a summer-long binge of sun,wind, chlorine filled pools and salt water beaches? Beauty Wonkette surely does.  Before you head weeping to your stylist (and if you weren't weeping when you got there, you will be after you see the bill....hehe), try his totally natural, organic, CHEAP treatment.  Bottom line:  it can transform the driest, most damaged hair into glossy, “is that a mirror or your hair?” type shine.  Beauty Wonkette would not lie to you.  So what’s in it, you ask.  A laundry-list of never before heard of lotions and potions?  Nope. There are only two ingredients: avocado oil and aloe vera juice.  That’s it.  Aloe Vera juice, available at many organic and heath food stores, contains hair-loving amino acids and proteins, making it the prefect antidote to dry, frizzy, or damaged hair.   Avocado oil is high in anti-oxidants and hair-streghtening proteins, and is also a natural humectant, which keeps hair moisturized.  Buying tip: make sure to purchase the purest form of both, avoiding any added flavors, sugars or starches.   To apply, create a mixture using a ratio of one part avocado oil to two parts aloe vera juice, and saturate dry hair from root to tip.  The longer and thicker your hair, the more of the mixture you’ll need.  Comb through to ensure even distribution, and cover with a plastic cap. Let it sit on you hair for at least 30 minutes before shampooing as normal.   Warning: use of this mask may lead to girls standing behind you and applying lipstick.

Time to undo the damaging effects of summer....

Beauty Wonkette had an awesome summer (and hopes you did too).  The weather was the best it's been in years; perfect for playing in the sun, swimming, boating, beach stuff in general.  But now, Fall is almost upon us.  Beauty Wonkette has always loved Fall; loved going back to school, loved the colors, the crispness in the air.  You too?  No doubt, it helped if you were one of those kids wh got straight A's during your years schooling :D.   BUT nothing could have prepared you for the distressing post-summer strands we all see every Fall.  Loaded with chlorine, over-exposed to the sun and washed one too many times in hard water, your hair screams for so much more than a clarifying shampoo—it cries for a major makeover.  The summer months also sabotage the hair by blocking haircolor penetration.  Well my fellow wonkettes, NOW is the perfect time to start undoing the damage we did over the summer (Beauty Wonkette will address other "summer damage" issues in future posts, too, so DO stay tuned).

Do not despair!  Beauty Wonkette is here to help you make magic on even the most hard-hit of hair.  Malibu MakeOver is a 100% vegan wellness treatment from health-based beauty brand, Malibu C.  In just two simple steps, Malibu MakeOver’s all-age appropriate formula works on damaged, discolored locks, turning them into swingy, shiny strands.  With this safe, gentle hair helper in your arsenal, back-to-school season can be one when you look GORGEOUS.
 
The professional but uber-easy to do at home treatment starts with a Crystal Gel Normalizer, a mix of freshly activated, antioxidant vitamin crystals which gently pull cloying pool chemicals, malicious H20 mineral deposits and perturbing product buildup to the scalp’s surface where they can be rinsed clean away.  The second step in your MakeOver kit is Miracle Repair Power Protein Builder, a gentle gel which uses plant proteins to restore the inner hair structure only in the places it has been damaged, strengthening strands against further harm.  The healthy hair that’s left behind is “totally transformed in terms of tone, texture, vibrancy and health,” attests Malibu founder and CEO, Tom Porter.  “It’s truly an amazing difference in hair!”
 
Malibu C’s two-part Malibu MakeOver treatment is free of chelators, parabens, propylene glycol and is full of food-grade, 100% vegan, natural ingredients.  So what are you waiting for?  Malibu Makeover is readily available with a quick Google search.  Even if you haven't seen a classroom in decades, you'll be ready to move to the head of the class!

Calling all Beauty Wonkettes who suffer breakouts!!! This Suds For You!

Do you suffer breakouts? You've tried every blemish potion on the market. You've endured painful facials. You even changed your diet. You aren't alone. Beauty Wonkette gets more email about this problem than almost any other.

Beauty Wonkette went to work and may have found the real culprit - or at least ONE of them - behind your breakouts.

Hint: Look up. No, not your forehead. Higher.

It's your hair. Shampoo, conditioner and styling products can contain pore-clogging ingredients that may worsen acne. Enter Kairos Acne Care, the first hair care line that treats and prevents breakouts. The products are designed to purge pores and curb oil production. (And make hair silky and shiny.)

Get splashing with balancing shampoo and conditioner to detox strands and wash away product buildup. As you rinse, let the later wash down your face (eyes closed!) so the potent salicylic acid can banish blemish-causing bacteria. Finally, polish your look with the noncomedogenic styling aid of your choice. Bonus: Some users have told Beauty Wonkette that these products even cleared up acne on their backs and chests, too.

This sud's for you. ; )

HAIR TRAVELS: Amazon Beauty secrets

YES, YES, YES !!! Beauty Wonkette vacationed in Brazil. But, alas, she didn't make it to the rain forest. Now, apparently, in the Amazon rainforest, you may not have the luxury of an everyday shampoo session. But no matter - bringing the Amazon to use is easier than bringing us to it. With Amazon Beauty Rahua, your shampoo and conditioner will transport you there instantly by way of the unique Rahua nut ingredient that fortifies hair. It's 100 percent natural and will definitely help you channel the beauty of tribal Amazonian women.

WAIT !!! There's more! The Brazilian wonderland has another native hair product for dry hair sufferers: Amazonia Preciosa Brazil Nut Nutritive Hair Mask from Surya Brasil. Named after the Preciosa tree, the products have essential oils that emit an exotic and ohhhhh so seductive fragrance. Beauty Wonkette doesn't have dry hair, but this stuff smells so incredibly good that she had to try it. Only you're a truly oily haired girl, this WILL work for you. And that fragrance - OMG OMG OMG - this stuff will stimulate your senses as well as your hair follicles.

HAIR TRAVELS: go east young Beauty Wonkette...

Beauty Wonkette has had her eye on this for QUITE some time! While the Japanese surely have a hold on sushi and eyelash curlers (Shu Uemura, of course), they also have a few hair tricks up their sleeve that - fortunately - they are sharing with the rest of us. New Japanese hair care system OOKISA incorporates natural botanicals like white peony tea and lily as well as Japanese lime and camellia oil. The Nighttime Follicle Renewing Serum is Beauty Wonkette's favorite product in the line. It contains a blend of bioflavonoids, vitamins, and patented Procapil, proven to nourish the hair shaft and thicken hair. It is LOVELY stuff.....

check out the line at http://www.ookisa.com

HAIR TRAVELS: calling Casablanca...

Next up in the Beauty Wonkette travelogue...

Yes, Beauty Wonkette has sung the praises of the line before. With a well deserved cult following, Moroccanoil products have become a must for any exotic-ingredient-loving wonkette. The products use Argan oil harvested under a free trade program to strengthen and recondition each individual strand. If you can't get to Casablanca, slap some of this on your hair, grab the popcorn, and watch Bogie navigate the city...

HAIR TRAVELS: reinvigorate in the Caribbean

Beauty Wonkette is back from her international travels.... 'Twas great and although I love the good ole USA, the fact that the only traveling Beauty Wonkette is going to be doing for the next few months is INSIDE the United States, she's a little bit bummed atm. In any case, to help escape the doldrums of a mundane schedule with little or no time for exotic escapes, Beauty Wonkette has decided to bring you some bringing globally-inspired hair products. Cleanse, condition, treat and style your hair with these and both of us may feel just a teensy bit better about not traveling any exotic locales for a little while. Just wait till next year though...

Okay - first up!

Launched last year, and inspired by Caribbean notes of zesty citrus, clean florals and warms spices, Hair Rules is a line of products developed for all textured hair, designed to be easy to use and effective. The line's Wavy Mouse bares the brand's wavy logo that will remind you of your college spring break ;-)

Fight the urge to eat this !

Before we start, here's a Beauty Wonkette warning: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WHILE HUNGRY. Yes, it is that delicious and amazing effective. I've wanted to try this forever and finally did this weekend. My hair looks AND feels fantastic. You have simply got to try this - courtesy of the great John Masters....

John Masters' DIY Hair Mask

1 mashed organic avocado
1 Tbsp. of organic extra virgin oil
1 Tbsp. of almond or jojoba oil
2 egg yolks
Contents of vitamin E capsule
1/2 Tbsp. of wheat germ oil
10 drops of favorite essential oil (optional).

Apply to clean wet hair, wrap in hot towel and leave for 15 minutes. Rinse well.

HEADS UP! PRIVATE SALE...Keratase is discontinuing 10 products....

Kérastase is discontinuing ten products. While Beauty Wonkette is deeply saddened that some of the liquid gold of hair products are disappearing from the market, Beauty Wonkette is thrilled that they are now on sale. Receive 30 percent off your purchase at the brand's website when you type in "VIP30" at checkout. Beauty Wonkette suggests the Bain de Force, a fortifying shampoo for weakened or fragile hair and the Bain Aprés-Soleil, a balancing shampoo for sun-exposed hair, both of which are $22.40 each (down from $32). Get other serums, creams, and gels until April 10, when the sale ends and these products are gone forever.

http://www.kerastase-usa.com/_en/_us/conso/products/privatesale.aspx

Etailer of the Week: Arcadia Aromatics

Yes, Beauty Wonkette knows that today is Saturday and she promised to do an Etailer of the Week feature every Friday. Sigh. It's just a leeetle bit late though....

This week, I want to call your attention to Arcadia Aromatics. The fact that Beauty Wonkette is obsessed with gorgeous, fragrant, luxurious handmade cold process soaps isn't a secret. I can tell you that Arcadia makes some of the absolute best out there. They're always gorgeous and she really does come up with some truly luscious fragrance blends. I adore her salt bars, which are NOT scrub bars (for the uninitiated), but soap bars to which one adds salt. The result is a harder bar that is just awesome in the bath or shower.

But, what won this etailer this spot is her unique and awesome solid shampoo and conditioner bars. OMG they are sooooo good. I do a fair amount of travelling for both work and play. Transporting a bottle of shampoo and conditioner has always been a pain. It became a more significant problem when the airlines enacted their anti-terror restrictions. Beauty Wonkette does not like waiting around for baggage since it seems to take as long to get your bag as it took you to get there in the first place. Investing in the incredibly efficient and deceptively roomy carry-on luggage used by pilots and flight attendants was a very smart move. But, was Beauty Wonkette supposed to walk around with dirty hair? Was she going to have to figure in time to shop for shampoo and conditioner in every town and hamlet?

I've tried other solid hair products that some gals have raved about. I tried products from a number of etailers, from LUSH (whose products I sort of hate) - didn't like any of them. Even with a apple cider vinegar rinse, I felt like they left a film on my hair and also left it difficult to style. Arcadia's are fantastic though. I'm not ready to toss my shampoo - conditioner stash and I still am loving conditioner only washing for 3 or 4 out of 5 of my hair cleanses, but these babies are invaluable for travel and last forever. Try them and check out those gorgeous soaps while you're out it. If you do, especially if the solid shampoo and conditioner totally replace whatever you are currently using, Beauty Wonkette would love to hear about it.....

Confessions of a shampoo snob....

Beauty Wonkette is a complete snob when it comes to haircare. The idea of using drugstore shampoo and conditioner on my lovely locks is just.... well, just forget it! It's not just snobbery though. My hair is long, I color it, and I use hot tools. I want to preserve my color, keep my hair healthy and bouncy and shiney and I don't like harsh detergents, etc. I've been using some great stuff that I buy online, and I have some other favorites as well, but they're costly. I don't care. It's worth it to keep my hair all pretty and stuff...

Unfortunately, I found myself out of town with no shampoo. (Yes, I forgot to pack it. I ALWAYS forget something...sigh) I had read good reviews about L'Oreal's new Everpure line, and they had it at the Target store that I went to to pick up all the other stuff I forgot.

This is GOOD stuff!

I don't think it will totally replace my usual shampoo and conditioner, but I like to switch around anyway. You will NOT find a better product, especially not at this price. Frankly, could spend a bundle and do alot worse. I was amazed that a sulfate free shampoo could produce such luxurious lather. I also knew by the way my hair felt wet that I was going to love this stuff.

So, if you're looking for a sulfate free alternative in your haircare, EverPure is a complete sulfate-free color care system that frees your hair from harsh sulfates, surfactants and salts that can strip and dull your hair. It goes beyond UV filters and conditioning ingredients to give color-treated hair the special care it needs. Plus, for all you vegans out there, it is 100% vegan. Three formulas are available, moisturizing, volume and smoothing. I used the moisturizing line.

DIY Color Depositing Hair Conditioner

If you color your hair, no matter how well you care for it, after a couple of weeks, your color will start to fade. I've tried various store bought hair depositing conditioners and hated all of 'em. I whined about this so much, that my hair stylist finally gave me the ultimate solution. Because I'm in a generous mood (and because I'm not planning on going into the hair coloring business anytime soon :D ), I decided to share.....

DIY COLOR DEPOSITING HAIR CONDITIONER

First, mix equal amounts of your color of choice and 10 or 20% developer (I use between 1/2 and 1 oz. of each).

Add an approximately equal amount of your favorite lightweight conditioner, i.e. about 2 oz

Apply to towel dried hair. Leave on for 15 minutes. Rinse.

N.B. If you only want a temporary color boost, similar to the packaged color depositing conditioner like they sell at Sephora, omit the developer.

Finally, don't be tempted to mix a batch of this stuff. It won't keep. Just make enough of one use.

In addition to being an awesome way of renewing your color, you can also use it to adjust your color. You can add more red, tone down the red, add depth, etc.

I have used the mixture with the developer maybe once a month in the past - the version without the developer, I've used a few times a week at times - this has NEVER DAMAGED MY HAIR IN ANY WAY when used with this frequency. YMMV, of course.