From Morocco to your mane

Hi gorgies ! I am happy to report I’ve got another fab product to share. As you may recall from a few months back I was having winter hair woes and got a Moroccan mask to jazz up my look. Well, I took it to the next level a few weeks ago and snagged myself some DermOrganics Argan oil. I have to say – IT IS GENIUS ON SO MANY LEVELS!

Argan oil is an oil extracted from a tree indigenous to Morocco. There are a number of products that feature this precious, exotic and highly nutritious oil.  I’ve heard from a few friends that they’ve tried Argan oil and that it did wonders so of course I had to get after it. I tried DermOrganics on the advice of my stylist and I was not disappointed. I’ve been using it for a little over two weeks low and totally digging the results. Heres the deal ~

- It makes your hair silky and shiny

- It protects your hair from the damages of sun, environment and the daily wear and tear of styling

- A little goes a very long way

- Despite the fact that its oily, it doesn’t make your hair greasy. It actually has some sort of drying property – and it cuts down your blow-dry time up to 30%. Hallelujah!

- It smells delightful

- It can be used for split ends AND can also be used on nail cuticles!

I can’t say enough for how much I love this. I have a friend who is also a huge fan of the Argan Oil product Josie Marin puts out – hers is meant to be more versatile that DermOrganic - for use on skin, nails, hair. Its pricier than DermOrganics – $48 compared to $28 (at the salon I go to) but from what I gather its great.

 

Either way you slice it, its gotta be a win. I am sure there are other great product s out there that will do the trick too. I bet Whole Foods or places like that may even carry a non-cosmetic version of this that could probably be used similarly. I hear its good to eat too – and tastes like peanut butter. I wouldn’t go eating the DermOrganic stuff- that’s definitely enhanced with other elements for hair – but you get the point!

Bangs follow up – then I need to talk about something other than hair!

Sheesh. I am realizing that all I’ve talked about the past few posts is hair and I don’t want to come off as a one trick pony. I did put a little teaser into my last post and I got a comment asking me to divulge my strategy for wearing moisturizer whilst having bangs and not letting them look greasy from rubbing against the lotion all day.

The first most important thing is to make sure you put your moisturizer on as soon as you get out of the shower – allowing for maximum time to absorb before you style da bangs.  I am alllllways in a rush so for me there is usually only a 10 minute drying time between shower and styling.

From there I give my bangs a good blow dry – I blow them up, then side to side, then use my flat brush to give them a little volume by slightly curling the brush under my bags while I blow dry. I finish with a dry hairspray (Paul Mitchell right now - my sister turned me onto it and it’s very light).

Now – the trick is, when you work all day and plan to go out but you think your bangs look kinda EH here’s a good tip. Take a flat brush, sprinkle it with baby powder and run it through your bangs. You will be amazed at how great they look! This works well for the crown too for extra body.  Sometimes this makes your hair a little staticky so I do still finish with a dry hair spray to get rid of any static clingers. I also hear that you can actually run a dryer sheet over your hair to get rid of static but I’ve yet to try this. It makes logical sense though. I will keep you posted if I do attempt to prove / disprove this myth.

There is also a Bumble and Bumble product that is supposed to be amazing.  I haven’t gotten it yet but it’s definitely on the list. Its Bumble and Bumble Hair powder.  They make it in a few different shades to match up with your color. This seems to be a genius idea to me.  It would help out in a pinch in the morning if you oversleep and don’t have time to wash your hair. It also claims to help with volumizing fine hair and aiding those with oily hair. Its also good if you overdo it on product and want to get your hair back to square one and not have it look greasy or too weighted down.

I’ve used several Bumble and Bumble products and been happy with them all so I am sure this one will not disappoint!  Given that I decided to continue on the path with bangs I do think this would be a good investment. My husband may leave me if I spend any more $$ this month on products or things that he would consider frivolous and I would consider a necessity.  Unfortunately this will have to wait until February when I can build the case to purchase a few new products…. WILL I MAKE IT THAT LONG? Happy marriage or gorgeous tresses? Ahh good wifey wins for today.

Bangs – hit ‘em or quit ‘em

I have been having this debate inside my head for a good six months now. I have been sporting bangs for quite some time and for the most part, I really like them. They do come with some serious baggage though.

I will start with the Cons first -

• My hair grows so fast that within 3 weeks they are overgrown. They look fine but they start to get into my eyes and irritate me. This means more visits to the salon. Even though a bang trim is free, its a 20 minute drive and another thing on my to do list
• I have a face lotion / grease conundrum. Do I not apply lotion to my forehead so my bangs do not get greasy? Or do I have perfect bangs but not do my daily age prevention regimen? I have found a trick for this HOWEVER lets save that for another post
• Bangs make your face look rounder. Its just a fact. I happen to have an oval shape face which is good – but when you are carrying a few extra pounds as I am right n0w (sigh…..) you do not need anymore help in the fat face department
• My husband doesn’t like them. This is a con but certainly not a deal breaker – as I am a woman on a mission. It’s my head, my hair and my face. I do take his feelings into consideration but for now – Bangs: 2; Ryan: 0
• THEY TAKE FOREVERE TO GROW OUT! And they look awkward and mullet-y as they do so

Now for the Pros -

• I think they are dead sexy, and they are super trend-o. They are really complimenting my style right now
• They give your ‘do a sense of purpose – its a very specific cut and style. It makes styling very simple and you feel more coiffed having them. When I dont have them my hair is just chilling out and feeling a bit plain. I feel far from plain with my bangs
• I get compliments out the waaaazoo when I first get them cut. Virtually everyone I run into comments on how much they like them (except my husband, poop)
• They turn a ponytail from boooring to banging (pun intended). I really love ponies with bangs. Such a cute combo and totally going out appropriate

So based on sheer math, bangs lose.  I really do like them but I am a hair chameleon. I actually just spent time looking for a pic without bangs and realized that goes back almost to my wedding. Therefore I do think I will grow the suckers out. I just cut them last week so my impatience may win out but I do think I want to go for the change. What do you think?

With bangs (and Rybo) ~

Hair update

About a month ago I posted on my hideous train wreck hair that was in desperate need of professional intervention. I saw my friend Grant for a cut a few weeks back and told him of my hair desperation. He hooked me up with a Moroccan hair mask (ooooh faaaaancy) which made my hair so “silky smooth” in the words of Scrappy Coco / Zohan.

In all serious, it did make quite a difference and I continued my quest for shinier, healthier winter hair by purchasing the deep conditioner Grant recommended to me.  The product I’ve been using is Soma Reconstruct Deep Conditioner. The website boasts that it “promotes shine and gloss to dry hair with immediate visible and
touchable improvement”.  I have been using it for several weeks now and I can tell you this is a true story! It’s also made from all organic ingredients which is why I theorize it works so well!

The moral of this post – if you are going to spend some scratch on a higher-end conditioner,  go with what your stylist recommends or with a conditioner that gets a lot of great ratings on your trusted beauty websites, even if it costs you a few extra bucks. I was spending $19 a bottle on Paul Mitchell and there is no comparison between that and my new conditioner.  The $5 extra bucks were well worth my investment. Now to tackle my next issue – my WHORE-rendous roots. I look like a $2 street-walker. Luckily I am seeing Grant on NYE so I look SMASHING in the insane amount of photos I am likely to snap!

(Photo courtesy of SOMA’s website)