Heat Index: Hot Hot Hot

How hot is too hot? In the last few blog posts we have talked about how to protect your hair, maintain healthy hair and last week what the essentials hair tools are. All of these posts have warned you about the damages that heat can cause on your tresses.

But why does the dial on your flatiron and curling iron goes up to scorching temps? How hot is too hot when it comes to your hair? These hot tools are essential in your hair routine, but they can cause breakage, split ends, and a crispy texture. Using a heat-protectant spray can help, it is important to turn down that dial to your hair’s desired heat!

Flat Irons

We love the sleek look our straighteners create, but it comes at a price. These hot tongs can burn the hair inside and out. It is crucial to never go about 400 degrees Fahrenheit. As soon as you go above the 400-degree level you’ll spot split-ends almost immediately. Around 451 degrees is when hair begins to melt. There is no reason to get near that number, no matter what style you’re trying to create. It is safe to stay around 290 degrees if you have fine, dry, fragile or damaged hair. If you have thick, coarse hair, stick with 300 to 350 degrees. If you use a flat iron regularly always remember to condition your hair with a deep conditioning mask once a week.

Curling Irons

A curling iron operates like a flat iron but creates the opposite effect. You can treat these two tools in the same manner. The 300 to 350 degree zone is the optimal level of heat your curling iron should reach. It is okay to go to a higher level of heat, like 360 to 375 if you are just taming troubled ends. However, if you are creating a more structured look and have to hold your hair in the iron for more than a few seconds, go with a lower temp, like 275 to 300 degrees.

Blow Dryers

The dyer, a timeless staple of the hair styling world, can cause much more damage than we would hope for. Unlike curling irons or flat irons, blow dryers rarely come with a degree-setting dial. The temps the dryer sends out can make the water inside the hair boil cause the outer coating to bubble up. This will give the hair a frizzy coarse texture. The key with blow-dryers is to keep it on the medium setting. Many women use the high heat setting in hopes to rush the drying process. However, dryers with high heat and low fans end up baking your tresses. It is important to purchase a blow dryer that has a powerful fan speed and combines heat, that way you don’t have to use a high heat setting to get faster results. A helpful tip is to consider only blow drying your hair halfway, then letting it air-dry from there on.

The Bare Essentials

 

The secret to crafting all hairstyles, apart from practice, patience, and products, is having the right tools. It is not necessary to spend an entire paychecks worth on hairstyling tools but it is important to have the right essentials.

Never underestimate the power of a good blow dryer. The more powerful your dryer, the better. A strong blowdryer, like an ionic or tourmaline, will speed up your drying time which will then reduce your hair’s exposure to damaging heat. Having an ionic or tourmaline dryer is was good option because they both produce negatively charged ions, which cause the hair cuticle to remain flat, eliminates frizz, and gives hair more body. My favorite blow dryer can be found here.

Flat irons can be blamed for destroying and drying out our hair. If you desire the sleek straight look invest in a flat iron that will provide the least damaging features, like a tourmaline iron. The tourmaline iron uses infrared heat that penetrates the hair faster than a normal flat iron. Meaning that your hair will spend less time passing through the damaging clamp. Another tip is to blow dry your hair straight and only use the flat iron as a de-frizzing tool. An inexpensive tourmaline flat iron can be found here and it’s pink!

Lastly, a good curling iron will last your years and years. Since you probably will not curl your hair every day it isn’t a big of a necessity to have either an ionic or tourmaline curling iron however, it couldn’t to purchase one with those features. A good size barrel would be 1 1/4 in curling iron. This is a good size because it can create loose waves but still gives you a defined curl. My absoulte all time favorite curling iron, I call him my Baby, can be found here. Baby is also very inexpensive!

Master of the Cut

Introducing the very talented Heather from Tangles Salon in Bowling Green, KY! I had a moment to talk to Heather the other day and she was kind enough to answer a couple of my questions.

Heather, 26, is a Bowling Green native. She pursued her dream in becoming a professional hairstylist directly after graduating highschool. Heather attended Lindsey Institute Of Cosmetology located on 1056 Shive Lane. Soon after she graduated from cosmetology school she was hired at Tangles. At the Tangles Salon the atmosphere is friendly and relaxing. Heather has been working there ever since; developing a friendship with each of her clients.

In the podcast you are able to hear the sounds of the salon. Each unique sound defines the salon experience which adds character to the interview. Please listen and get to know your lovely neighborhood hairstylist!

Product Rave!

A must have product that every woman should have! Introducing It’s a Ten Mircale Leave-in Conditioner. The blue bottle spray is promised to leave your hair with these 1o miracles instantly.

1. Repair dry damaged hair

2. Adds shine

3. Smoothes and controls frizz

4. Seals and protect hair color

5. Flat iron spray and thermal protector

6. Detangles

7. Stops hair breakage

8. Creates silkiness

9. Enhances natural body

10. Prevents split ends

Now it sounds like this product is too good to be true, but It’s a Ten has it all. It is an ideal solution for smoothing hair, eliminating frizz, and restoring and nourishing tresses. This product can barely stay on the shelves in hair salons and it is even conveniently found in the drugstores. The 2-oz Leave in cost only $11 dollars. The money is well worth it because you are getting almost ten different hair products in one.

Spray the conditioner directly to your hair or to make the product last spray about 2-3 pumps into the palms of your hands. Rub your hands together to evenly distribute then glide you hands through the strands of your hair. Style and welcome all of the compliments. So hurry up and grab yourself a bottle of the miracle; your hair is begging you to!

 

The Lazy Girl Updos

Everyone has experienced the nightmare of a bad hair day. Instead of reaching for the usual baseball cap, next time, look to this blog for some insight into some alternate styles that will have you convincing everyone that your hair is picture perfect. From fancy ponytails to pretty braids, this blog will have you ready to take on the day looking fabulous!

Sunshine and Summertime

photo: http://ohhappyday.com/2011/07/the-perfect-sunhat/

With the temperatures rising and summer months rapidly approaching having healthy hair in the summer can be a little difficult. However there are a few tricks to keep your hair looking gorgeous in the hot summer months.

The sun’s rays are very damaging to our skin and as well as our hair. It is very important to protect your hair from the UV rays. These rays can break apart the pigment in your hair causing the color to fade faster and dry out the natural oils in your hair. The most effective way to prevent faded frizzy locks is to avoid sun exposure for any length of time. You can protect your hair with a umbrella on the beach or if you are felling trending a big floppy hat.

Since the June, July, and August are always the hottest months in the year, we tend to want to over wash our hair. We often feel sticky and sweaty more often than we do in other months, so you tend to wash your hair more often. Over shampooing can leave your tresses dry and brittle in addition to the sun naturally drying out your hair. Try to only wash your hair every two to three days, and use dry shampoo for in between.

Hydrating your hair is a key to a healthier head year round. Again the damaging UV rays will dry out your hair, so it is vital to hydrate your hair. Remember to drink the recommended 8 glasses of water daily. In addition to maintaining a healthy diet, treat your locks once a week to a moisturizing deep conditioning treatment. My favorite deep conditioner can be found here. There are many other conditioners that can also be found in drugstores.

Let it Grow

An average person has around 100,000 stands of hair and their average growth is one-half of an inch per month, according to Hairboutique.

Many women are always looking for an instant hair growth secret. To everyone’s dismay there is no miracle shampoo, lavish salon products or expensive hair gimmick vitamins that will give you long flowing locks immediately. The good news about growing long hair is that is it not very difficult.

The most crucial tip to growing your locks is to maintain healthy hair. There is no way to repair damaged hair, so in order for it to grow successfully you must start out with it being healthy. Bite your lip and snip away all the damaged, lifeless hair. It’s a bitter goodbye but without trimming off the split ends, your hair cannot possibly grow any long. If you leave your ends damaged, the more you style, use heat products, and color your hair the more fragile ends will continue to break off, thus making your hair shorter. According to womenshair.com you should trim your hair every 6 to 8 weeks. The regular haircuts will minimize hair breakage and maximize your growth potential.

Styling your hair can be very detrimental to the growth of your mane. Heated appliances like blow dryers, curling irons, hot rollers, flat irons and crimpers damage and dry out your hair. It is best to try to avoid styling with heat whenever you can. If you must blow dry, try to let it your hair dry until about 70% then you can use the blow dryer to finish it off. Always use a wide tooth comb when brushing through wet hair. If you use a regular hair brush you are more likely to tangle and pull out locks.

Perms, peroxide, and hair dye are ways that women severely damage their hair. If you are serious about growing your hair out, it is suggested to get rid of those habits. If you must color, use non peroxide color or 100% natural dye. Be sure to use a good shampoo and condition specially formulated to keep your color longer, which will result in less exposure to damaging chemicals in the end.

How you take care of your body is a direct result of how your body looks. This also goes along with hair. What you eat will effect your mane. With a well balanced diet, exercise and water your hair, skin and nails will appear healthier. Taking multivitamins can boost long locks. Vitamins that have folic acid, iron and other nutrients have been scientifically found to promote hair growth.

let your roots grow out

For the past year it seems as though every celebrity has rocked the new 2-toned hair trend. Ombre hair is having darker hair at the roots and gets gradually lighter towards the ends. This effect creates an effortless sunkissed-beached style that many people are demanding for.

The appeal of ombre hair started with brunettes who usually highlight their hair but wanted to maintain a more carefree natural hair color. So they began to grow out their roots. For the first couple of months your hair will look awkward growing out your highlights. Many celebrities will get face framing highlights so the darker roots won’t be so contrasting.

Although ombre hair has been mostly adopted by brunettes it hasn’t stop blondes from embracing the trend. Blondes keep their roots darker but it is a dirty blonde and towards the end of their hair they bleach the ends platiumn. Lauren Conrad ombres her hair this way.

Ombre hair looks good on just about anyone, however there are a few recommendations before you bleach the tips of your hair. Your hair must be long and have few to no layers. If you have a lot of layers the colors wont translate together.

Photos Sourced: http://sundaylovexo.onsugar.com/Celebrities-Ombr-Hairstyle-13493803

Don’t Ever Use Shampoo Again!

As Americans we love to shampoo our hair. On average we wash our hair 4.59 times a week which is twice as much as Italians and Spaniards, according to shampoo-maker Procter & Gamble. Washing your hair almost 5 times a week is way too often.

Hair stylist often scold their daily shampooing clients because daily washing strips the hair of beneficial oil and can be damaging to our hair. Since you are removing the sebum (our hair’s natural oil) our oil glands then compensate by producing more oil.

This is why many women complain that if they don’t wash their hair daily, it gets very oily. They do not realize that the reason why their hair gets oily quickly is because they keep washing away the sebum. Stop washing your hair every day. It is recommend that you only wash your hair two or three days of the week.

Introducing a hair miracle, dry shampoo, to help you cope with shampooing your hair less.

Photo by: http://allthingschic.net/2009/04/my-dirty-little-secret.html

Dry shampoo is a dry substance that absorbs the oils in your hair, essentially cleaning your hair without water. Dry shampoos have been around for ages but it has recently reemerged and gained popularity. The miracle spray can be used in between washes to try to lengthen the life of your blow-out.

Dry shampoos usually come in the form of an aerosol spray. My favorite and affordable dry shampoo can be found here. There are many different brands of dry shampoo out on the market now. A helpful hint if you are suffering from greasy strands right now is to sprinkle some baby powder in your locks to absorb the oil until you go out and purchase some dry shampoo.