Happy Wednesday everyone! Today I’m excited to show you the second video from our shoot with Aussie last month. In this video, I’ll be using the Aussie Split End Protector on my friend Jen, then following up with a blow dry and curling iron style. Pay attention to learn little tips on how you can keep your ends healthy!

Visit the Aussie site to learn more about this, and other Aussie Stylers.

I have been meaning to write about make up and non-hair beauty products for a while. I even filmed a tutorial with Jake a while back that was accidentally erased and never re-shot. So, I thought I’d do a little series of a few tips and products I love.

Want to know a confession? I’m not really that girly.

I mean, clearly I’m super girly…what with all the lipstick and ruffles and heels I wear, but would you believe that I really don’t do all the girly stuff that most of my friends do? I do my own nails 99% of the time, I don’t get facials, I don’t get waxed  (tmi?), I don’t tweeze my eyebrows and I rarely wear perfume.

I do love beauty products though. I could go to Sephora, MAC, NARS or even the beauty aisle at Target and look at every single product they sell. Reading what each product does, investigating new colors of lipstick, etc. So let’s dish about my favorite products shall we?

In this post, I’m going to talk about the face. Specifically skin.

So, to be honest, I’m super lazy about washing my face, and I generally just use baby wipes to wash off my make up. Any dermatologists/estheticians out there disgusted by this? Is it bad? I don’t know, I was using some Neutragena wipes for a while and they didn’t seem that different. I can’t be sure, but I think I use Pamper’s brand. That just made me laugh to type.

My favorite facial scrub is from Keihl’s. It’s their Pineapple-Papaya Facial Scrub. Get ready to see a lot of Keihl’s products on here. Their skin stuff is the best there is.

Next is the Keihl’s Avocado Eye Cream. This stuff is so rich and refreshing. My friend Linda gave me a tip to keep this in the refrigerator. The cold eye cream feels like heaven under my eyes. Those old bags of mine…

My favorite daily moisturizer is also from Keihl’s. I really wish they were paying me to say this. My only complaint is that daily moisturizers almost never come with an SPF higher than 15. I would like to see 30 in my daily SPF.

Last but not least (and also not Keihl’s or a baby’s butt product!), Burt’s Bees Night Cream!

This is everything you want in a night cream. It is so rich and thick and I wake up the next morning feeling like I should put on some diamonds to match this fancy skin of mine. This is way too heavy to wear during the day (it’s shiny), but it doesn’t make me break out at all and it really is just so awesome. Even Jake uses it to fancy up his face. Burt’s Bees has a day cream that is great too, but it doesn’t have SPF and I find that I just plain need that in my face skin’s life.

What are your favorite moisture/face wash products? Do you use Burt’s Bees or Keihl’s?

Next week I’ll be posting my “Two Minute Make-up” routine.

My hair (pre red) looking all big thanks to mousse and approx’ fifty other volumizing products.

Back to the volume series! I’ve been putting off the next few posts, because I was thinking of maybe doing some tutorials to help guide the way, but it turns out I’m super busy right now and I don’t want to keep you waiting any longer.

Let’s talk about products, shall we?

Products for volume (cheering and high fives)

The best products I’ve found for volumizing have come in two forms; mousses and sprays. They are light and airy, and have a nice way of coating the hair with the right amount of grab/hold to lift it off of the roots, just where it should be. I use handfuls of mousse sometimes on really fine hair before blow drying. I swear to you, guys…people tell me their hair wont do this or wont do that, and then I get a couple handfuls of mousse/spray/other products and they are saying “my hair has never done this before”. So, maybe not for every day wear, but try using more product if your pea size isn’t getting the job done?

I love mousse.

I love volume spray.

I feel like I’m constantly repeating myself with product recommendations, so maybe click on my “products” tab and check out the ones that I love the most.

(little known fact, dry shampoo gives my hair TONS of volume. I don’t even know if it’s supposed to give volume, it is the product that keeps on giving. I would bring it on Survivor as my luxury gift. For sure.)

If you are having trouble getting lift and volume, you will want to avoid creams and gels. Sometime they work, I love creams, but when I’m going for the most volume, I’ll go for a Morroccan oil for smoothing I would get from a cream after my hair is dry instead. Gels and creams will weigh the hair down. They are both generally (but not always) heavy. Again, some of you might be able to get fabulous lift while using creams and gels, but I’m saying for maximum, go with mousse or spray. If you want the hold from gel AND the lift from mousse, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to choose which one is more important to you.

One last thing about mousse, is that you don’t have to have curly/wavy hair to use it. A lot of people think it isn’t for them if their hair is straight, but it works wonders with straighties. Put it on towel dried (but no more dried than that or the hair will get crunchy) hair, then blow dry like you usually would. It might be a little harder during the blow dry to get a brush through it than usual, but that is a good thing! It means your hair will have hold and wont be so slippy and soft like you hate! Try it!

Is that everything? Try sprays, mousses and root lifts. Avoid heavy creams and gels.

Good luck out there.

(for mousse I like to go for medium hold. Sachajuan, Redken and Garnier are my favorites)

The shampoo/conditioning process is very important in creating volume. It’s actually almost more important to know how to properly shampoo/condition so that you can prevent weighing down your hair. It is so easy to overdose on heavy conditioners thinking you’re repairing your hair, when you’re actually caking on more and more build-up, causing small tiny hair. So sad y’all.

So, here are my steps for the best, most volumizing shampoo to create enormous hair.

Step 1: Use a good shampoo, of course! A volumizing shampoo is always a plus, or a clarifying shampoo to remove product and pollution build-up. Be careful with clarifying shampoos though, they can strip your hair. You don’t want to use them more than once a week or every other.

Step 2: Shampoo thoroughly. Get all that dirt and grime out. I’ve mentioned before that it is good to shampoo twice if your hair is extra dirty or hasn’t been shampooed in a while. You don’t want to use much shampoo each time, just about the size of, or a little bigger than a quarter. You usually wont get much of a lather the first shampoo, and when you get a big lather the second time around, it means the hair is clean. While you’re shampooing, really make sure you scrub every single inch of your head. I’m surprised how often I see clients that have very dirty hair underneath, and really only rub in a small circle with their palm on the top of their head. They skip out on the scrubbing with the pads of their fingertips and they don’t get the sides, nape or crown properly cleaned! Lots of detail, but make sure you scrub!

Step 3: Avoid over-conditioning. This one is extremely important in preventing flat hair. To apply conditioner the right way, put a small amount in your palm, then start at the bottom of your hair and work it through upwards, combing through the strands. I don’t even put it at the roots, because my natural oils moisturize that part and the conditioner will only weigh the roots down! The next part is vital….rinse like crazy. A lot of people get out of the shower with slimy hair, it should be soft, but not slimy. Rinse well!

Also, I would say not to use a moisturizing conditioner unless your hair is incredibly damaged or over-processed. A moisturizing conditioner will be too rich and too heavy. Think Pantene Pro-V. I know it is a really good detangler, but it is too heavy and it will pull your hair down like crisco. All conditioners will be moisturizing to a degree, so again, unless your hair really needs the extra moisture, I’d go for a lighter volumizing one.

So, here is a short list of my favorite volumizing shampoos. (conditioners from all the following are good too, but this post is a little more focused on the shampoo!)

Q by Heather: I’m a lifelong blondie and just recently took the plunge into red.  Everyone keeps telling me that red fades the fastest, so what do you recommend for preserving the color so I can extend the time between colorings as long as possible?

I have very fine, soft, limp hair, and have found a color-safe volumizing shampoo/conditioner that I LOVE, so I’d prefer to continue using those, merely adding color protecting products to these products and not replacing my shampoo and conditioner.

A by Reagan: Going from blond to not blond is tricky. Blonds tend to have more porosity than everyone else, so the color fades the fastest. It’s also true that red fades faster that other tones, so you are in double fade fast mode. Here is my recipe for preserving color…

~Use Shampoo for color treated hair (which you’re doing Heath! Good job! Can I call you Heath?)
~ Shampoo less often. Remember how much I like dirty hair? Here is another perk to dirty hair…shampoo strips your color little by little every time you do it. So the less you do it, the less you are stripping! I don’t want stripper hair!
~Use a color depositing Shampoo once in a while (maybe once a week? once every other week?). You have to get one that closely matches your color level. I recommend this one.

*Note* I posted this picture of Christina Hendricks because she is a natural blond who went red when she was just a little girl! And also I posted this picture of her because Madmen is my favorite show and her character is the main reason for that..

With this edition of “Hair Answers” I won’t be posting a question. I have had several emails about this, so I’m going to do a general answer to hopefully satisfy the many questions I’ve gotten about hair loss. This is one of those topics that I felt a need to bump up the list because it is one that is actually a real problem, rather than “I want to look exactly like Scarlet Johansson and I don’t so my life sucks..” <-that isn’t really a real question I’ve gotten. Don’t get your feelings hurt!

Back to hair loss….

The majority of my clients suffering from hair loss, are losing it in relation to having a new baby, but there are many reasons for alopecia. Sickness, surgery, weight loss/gain or anything else causing emotional or physical stress. I’m not an expert (or a doctor) with making your hair grow thicker and more quickly, but I am an expert in hiding bald spots and figuring out the right cut. I have a client who was very sick and her medication caused her hair to fall out in clumps. She has several bald spots that were causing her a lot of stress, but together we have figured out a great way to conceal them! I’m telling you, no one knows she has bald spots. Not her boyfriend, not her friends. No one other than me and her mom.

The Pregnancy Fringe is what I call the short hairs all around a woman’s hairline after she delivers a baby. Most women lose a lot of hair in the front, and those baby hairs stick up straight and can look kind of funny. The best way I have found to deal with the pregnancy fringe, is to angle or cut bangs in the front. Blow dry your hair down into your face to force the hairs to lay down, the bangs/angling will cover up those little fringies. Use a product with hold (I recommend a wax) to keep those babies in place. The worst thing you can do is pull your hair all the way back with no part. It draws attention to your new strange hairline and all your baby fine front hairs. Don’t do this. And if you insist on it, don’t come crying to me when people ask you how old your new baby is when you aren’t even with her/him.

Thin hair and bald spots are a little trickier, but aren’t hopeless cases. The first thing you want to do is tell your stylist about your situation and ask for a cut that creates fullness. Most likely this will be a haircut with minor graduation, not anything choppy or severe. Avoid anything too long.

Now I want you to be open minded to my next few suggestions…..

Hair powder. This bumble and bumble product (above img) is a life savor. You can buy it in a shade close to your own and spray it to cover up bald spots or too much scalp showing through very thin hair. It is unbelievable how natural it looks. If you are self conscious about bald spots or extremely thinning hair, you really need to try this product.

Extensions. You don’t have to spend thousands on the permanent extensions, but if you have thin hair you might want to invest in some clip ins. The client I mentioned earlier uses some just for thickening, along with the hair powder, and I swear you would never know she has lost half of her hair. Really. It’s the type of situation where we both cry and hug each other at the end of an appointment.

Highlights. Subtle highlights can add more dimension to your hair. It makes it look fuller. Pretty much on everyone! But careful not to damage your hair with over processing!

Eat Healthy, take care of yourself, take vitamins and get enough sleep. These are the best ways to keep your hair growing in healthy. But if you are really concerned about severe hair loss, you should see your doctor.

Guys, I’m not going to rest until everyone I meet has better hair than they did the day before.

Goodnight.

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Q by Michelle: I have a 9 year old daughter with very curly hair that is just above her shoulder. When she is active within 5 minutes her head/hair begins to smell like little boys dirty socks. The smell is horrible and only goes away if she shampoos. She is starting PE this year in school and she really does not want to smell in school. Any tips on any products that might help. Thanks

A by Reagan: Ok michelle, I’m wondering if she shampoos her own hair, or if you help her. Because the first (and most simple) reason I thought of for this, is that maybe her hair isn’t being properly shampooed. It’s likely since her hair is very curly, she probably has a lot of volume and it’s easy to feel like your getting a really good, squeaky clean lather when in reality the shampoo might not even be getting to her scalp! The build-up and dirt that isn’t getting cleaned will be the cause of odor. Again, this is the most simple cause I can think of, but I wont be surprised at all if it is the culprit. Have your daughter (or help her) shampoo her hair like this:
1~make sure hair is totally wet before putting in shampoo
2~put shampoo in your hands and rub together
3~scrub, scrub, scrub scalp and hair. Really make sure you are getting underneath her hair and touching the scalp. Did you know you aren’t even supposed to get much of a lather with the first shampoo? if you do, then you didn’t let your hair get very dirty, or you are using too much shampoo.
4~rinse repeat. the second shampoo is supposed to lather a lot. that means the hair is clean!
5~condition ends and rinse

You can try a variety of shampoos if you haven’t already, and you might try sending her to school with a dry shampoo in her backpack to spray after gym. They have a nice fragrance similar to regular shampoo and they soak up odor.

I hope these suggestions help, but if they don’t, you might want to take your daughter to a dermatologist. Just in case. Good luck!

I can’t believe you guys like my hair! I’ve gotten more than a few emails asking for my hair’s step by step.  I guess I can’t feel too cool, because apparently I have a very common hair texture, and it can take a little bit of time to figure it out. I flat ironed my hair every single day for probably 5 years before one day I accidentally air dried it and someone gave me a huge compliment. My head then immediately communicated to my hair the following conversation…

Brain- “Hey hair, what do you say we take it easy on the damage and 45 minute daily styling?”

Hair-”I thought you’d never ask.”

…And I (we) never looked back.

Here is my hair’s step by step:

Step 1~Shower. Maybe. I’m only going to say this once (except I think I’ve said this more than once) I usually shampoo once every 4-5 days. Please like me anyway.
Step 2~Towel dry.
Step 3~Apply product. I use all or some of the following: Redken Outshine (A cream), Redken Full frame (a mousse), Garnier Wonder Waves (a miracle spray of beachiness), It’s a ten (detangler and leave in treatment),  L’Oreal Proffessionel Architexture (a wax) and Redken Anti snap. I genuinely use all (and others on occasion) of these products. I’ll start out with a cream after I towel dry, then wonder waves spray or a mousse, then I continue to scrunch until the cows come home or until my hair is dry, then I rub some wax in my hands and scrunch again!
Step 4~Scrunch more. Just do it and stop complaining.
Step 5~Maybe blow dry my fringe (bangs) if I feel like it or need to. I’m going to do a bang/fringe tutorial soon
Step 6~Dance.
Step 7~Wear for 4 or 5 days with no regrets. And maybe use a little hairspray.

*guys, this was really hard (I swear I accidentally wrote “haird” when I meant hard) for me. I guess it’s because I do my hair different every day! Sometimes I leave the house with nothing in my hair, sometimes I use everything on this list. I guess I don’t like to be chained to anything, but these products I’ve suggested really are what have been consistantly great for me. I hope it helps and that you have all the hair success you always dreamed of. And if you don’t then I think you should repeat step 6.

Love,
Reagan

Also, please forgive the picture. I had a hard time finding a decent picture that wasn’t the side of my head.