Cruise on Smooth Street: 8 Tips for a Perfect Blow Out

Cruise on Smooth Street: 8 Tips for a Perfect Blow Out

Whether you want to wear your super-straight locks down, braided, swept up, or curled, you need to start with silky-smooth base of hair
and that means blow drying, most of the time. Salon stylists can usually wash and blow-dry your tresses, but in this economy, that kind of pampering may be best left done only occasionally. You can get the same results at home by following a few surefire guidelines:
Tips #1-4: Prepare Yourself
As always, start with clean, well-conditioned hair, primed with a heat-protecting conditioner or serum. This will keep your strands from getting too hot and starting to fray…
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Win in Winter: Cold-Weather Hair Care Tips

Win in Winter: Cold-Weather Hair Care Tips

With November just around the corner, colder weather is about to hit. For most women, fall and winter can mean lots of great things. Boots, stylish coats, holiday parties, presents, time with family, and cuddling up with a sweetheart in front of a crackling fire – what’s not to love?
Yet winter, with its snow, sleet, and rain, can wreak havoc on your locks. So here are a few fall and winter hair care tips for keeping your mane in tip-top shape throughout the colder months.

Stay moisturized
 Especially important for kinky or curly hair types. Winter weather is already…
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Preventable Hair Loss: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of Trichorrhexis Nodosa

Preventable Hair Loss: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment of Trichorrhexis Nodosa

Most women know about alopecia and female pattern balding, the two most commonly-cited culprits for female hair loss. More and more people are starting to learn about trichotillomania, the underpublicized hair-pulling disease. However, too few people know about a very prevalent and completely preventable hair condition called trichorrhexis nodosa (pronounced “TRICK-or-EX-iss no-DOE-sa”).
Trichorrhexis nodosa is a disorder marked by weakening and clumping of the hair shaft, so that an individual strand of hair affected by this condition will have thickened nodes or bulbs alternated with thin, weak points in the hair shaft. These changes in thickness lead to easy breakage…
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Consumer Alert: Know Your Brazilian Blowout

Ladies please be aware! Recent government tests have found that getting popular Brazilian Blowout hair straightening treatments may pose serious health risks, including breathing problems.
After many stylists and customers complained of breathing problems and even hair loss, government agencies in the US and Canada obtained samples of the product and ran tests to determine what ingredients could be causing these illnesses. What they discovered was that the Brazilian Blowout solution – which manufacturers claim to be “formaldehyde free” – actually does release formaldehyde into the air.  And yes, that is the same formaldehyde used by funeral homes to preserve…
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Trichotillomania: Very Personal Losses

Trichotillomania: Very Personal Losses

For the majority of people, a full head of hair is something to be prized, an indication of beauty and health. For others, hair is to be sacrificed, to maintain a humble spirit and balanced soul. However, for millions of men and women suffering from trichotillomania, otherwise known as “trich” (“trick”), hair can cause real anguish, as – regardless of their attitude toward their locks – these people suffer from an uncontrollable urge to pull their hair out by the root. It is estimated that between 2 and 4 percent of Americans suffer from this disease, and yet there is…
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Contouring: How to Sculpt the Face You Want with Makeup

Contouring: How to Sculpt the Face You Want with Makeup

Every woman has a few features she wouldn’t mind changing, whether muffin tops, scarred legs, or an absence of hips. And for most of these problem areas there are simple fixes: girdles, high-heeled shoes, pantyhose, and even padded underwear have long been staples of the female camouflage arsenal. But what about facial features? What if a woman wants her nose, cheeks, eyes, or chin to look different, but does not want the danger and expense of surgery?
The easiest, safest way to solve these types of problems is with facial contouring, using little more than everyday cosmetics. Here are a…
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Homemade Beauty 101: Make an Easy Clarifying Shampoo

Baking soda makes a great gentle cleanser

When your hair seems bogged down by styling products or dirt, or just won’t seem to come to life like it used to, you probably need a good clarifying shampoo. Clarifiers strip away all the dirt and residue other shampoos, conditioners, and hair products leave behind, freeing your hair to have body, movement, and even a brighter color again. Yet some store-bought clarifying treatments can be expensive, not to mention harsh, sucking all the moisture out of locks, as well as stripping your hair color. So here’s a recipe for a simple, homemade clarifying shampoo that’s guaranteed to leave hair…
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5 Truths About Transitioning from Relaxed to Natural Hair

Considering going natural, so you can rocks locs like India Arie, an Afro like Jill Scott or one of our 70s sisters from last week, or riotous curls like Tracee Ellis Ross and Rachel True? Before you take the plunge, here are the five most important things you need to know about natural black hair and making the transition from relaxed to natural.
1. You’ll have to cut it. There, we said it. It’s out there, and like ripping off a Band-Aid, it’s best to get this statement confirmed and carried out right away. Although many women dread the thought…
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18 Ways to Spice Up Your Bath for Simple Aromatherapy Skin Care

18 Ways to Spice Up Your Bath for Simple Aromatherapy Skin Care

As the week draws toward its close, the stresses and weariness of the week can build up. Deadlines and frustrating co-workers, mounting chores, and even small troubles can build up, until you just need a nice soak to relax and forget all your troubles. But did you know that certain herbs, added to your bath, can help even more? The following herbs, spices, and natural leaves give great aromatherapy and skin care benefits, without the expense of essential oils or fancy bath treatments.
The Rejuvenators
To get rid of fatigue and stress at the end of the day or the…
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Top 5 All-Natural Oils for Dry Hair and Skin

Top 5 All-Natural Oils for Dry Hair and Skin

Nourishing your hair, skin, and scalp with natural oils doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank with fancy, specialty products from online shops or health-food stores. Some of the best moisturizers on the market can be found on your grocer’s shelves. Here are just a few of the top, reasonably-priced beauty oils:

Olive oil: A great all-purpose moisturizer. Use to give hair great strength, sheen, and suppleness, especially as a hot oil treatment for dry hair. Just make sure to rinse it out, as olive oil is one of the heavier products out there. For skin, simply smooth in a…
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