I am in love with two curl-enhancing products from the TIGI Curlesque hair care collection.

My friends with pin-straight or crazy curly hair are always quick to point out how fantastic it is to have wavy hair. Theoretically, the waves enable me to wear hair that’s either curly OR straight, depending on my mood.

Since the grass is always greener, particularly when talking hair, I have coveted both the super straight and super curly variety. While I love the sleek, blown-out look, I don’t have much time to muss and fuss with blowing out my hair. And when I try to get the curl going,  I end up with the wavy-in-all-the-wrong-places look that often includes a bit of frizz.

With a little help from the tremendous Jonathan, co-owner of Blush Salon in the tony neighborhood of Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, I now have an easy, no fuss way to give my boring waves a little boost.

In freshly washed, still damp hair, apply about two pumps of Tigi Catwalk Curlesque Leave In Conditioner. Then, work about a half of a palm-full  of their TIGI Catwalk Curlesque Lightweight Mousse into the hair, concentrating on the middle and ends. Scrunch up the hair to get the curls to form and let it air dry.

According to Jonathan, the addition of the leave in conditioner prior to the mousse helps weigh the curls down slightly, giving them a beautiful, slightly elongated shape without frizzing or kinking them out.

The end result is soft, flowing curls.

I love the simplicity. The process adds only a fraction of time to my morning routine.

Dsiclosures: The TIGI links are Amazon Affiliate links. The TIGI products tested were purchased by me.

Photo by jeferonix on Flickr

Right in the heart of hipster heaven sits Woodley and Bunny Salon and Apothecary, a recent Best of New York pick for “Prime Cuts.” And next Thursday, June 3, from 5 – 8 PM, send your main squeeze over to get a $10 Telly Savalas for the summer.

After you drop off your dude, take your favorite main squeeze (you know, your dog) down the block to Dog Addiction for a $20 shave down. (Check out the awesome video on their home page, and yes, I could watch it forever.)

Hair from both buzz cuts will be donated to Matter of Trust, a fantastic organization that is aiding the clean up the Gulf oil debacle using hair. Human hair, dog hair, goat hair, it all absorbs oil! (Hence why we shampoo!) And Matter of Trust is creating booms out of the donated hair to help sop the crap up. It’s pretty damn awesome.

Shave down both your lovable mutts for a great cause!

Woodley and Bunny is located at 196 N. 10th Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For appointments call (718) 218-6588.

Dog Addiction is located at 243 Berry Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For appointments call (718) 599-1656.

Frederic Fekkai is my go-to hair care line when I do something naughty to my hair.  I became a full fledged beauty editor when his salon really hit big and his product line was first launched, so perhaps I have a soft spot for anything Fekkai related. But nostalgia aside, his Protein Rx (Amazon affiliate link) line, infused with a milk and soy protein complex, saved my hair when I made a misguided attempt at henna.

So, when finances began to get tight, I decided to try my hand, once again, with at-home color. This time, however, I was going to spend a little more and go for the good stuff. I was going to go with Fekkai. It’s a bit of a financial commitment $30 a pop, but I’m still saving coin.

Frederic Fekkai’s color system (Amazone affiliate link) uses the brush-and-bowl professional method for application. The consistency of the color is much thicker than the usual at-home, squeeze-the-bottle brands. It definitely helps ensure a more even coating.

But–and this is a big but–it’s hard to manage the brush-and-bowl application on your own, particularly when trying to reach the back. To ensure even coverage, I recommend partnering up with a pal for a hair color party. Or, you can have your significant other do the work. Manly Man Husband could have quite a career as a Fekkai colorist.

The scent of the color is much milder than the usual at-home suspects, and the color definitely did less damage to my hair–no breakage or dry, split ends in sight after use.

However,  after about four weeks, it seemed like the blond color I chose was turning brassy. Another color application (roots for 30 minutes, whole head for 5) seemed to remedy the situation, but once again, at the end of 4 weeks, the color went back to the brass. So, I decided to switch my color from blond to red because the brassiness was getting on my nerves.

I have to preface this with a disclaimer–red refuses to stay in my hair. Even when I have it salon done, permanent red will simply wash right out. When I was in college, my stylist gave me a gorgeous red color that promptly turned pink after a week.

So armed with my hard-knock red-head knowledge, I decided that I would not wash my hair for FIVE days to try to let the color set. I bought his at-home glaze to use to try to keep the color vibrant and protected. I even left the color on for 15 minutes longer than the directions recommend (based on the helpful advice from the Bloomingdale’s sales woman).

But after simply rinsing the color out of my hair, I had a strawberry streak in the front right section as the blond peeked through. Poor Manly Man Husband thought he missed a pretty big spot, but the next hair wash was even more telling–more strawberry streaks, even after waiting FIVE days to wash it. However, the good news is, after about three weeks, it’s not pink. It actually looks almost natural. I am curious to see if the color rinses out in the next go-around.

For the price, it’s quite a financial commitment compared to the drug store colors out there, but I am still saving money with the DIY process. Even though I seem to be having some problems with the color at the end of 4 weeks (and I wonder if the brassiness of the blond had to do with the color rinsing out), it’s around the time that I should be re-coloring anyway, so it’s something I can live with.

The lack of damage to my hair is what blows his cheaper competition completely away.  For this alone, I think it’s worth the significantly higher price point.

The relentless blonding of my hair leaves it dry, brittle and pretty frizzy. Finding a shampoo that will hydrate and control the frizz is a challenge. My friend Ginger turned me on to Davines, a boutique hair care company from Italy, and their NouNou line for color treated hair, which includes their Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner (Amazon affiliate links). And now that I am down to the bitter end of the bottles, I am ready to talk about my results.

Except, I am kind of ambivalent about this one, and I am not sure why, since the results were definitely good.

For hydration, NouNou was amazing. I have one spot of hair, directly above my right temple, that turns into a mini-frizz ball immediately after a shower. If I don’t smooth it out with a little oil and a comb, the frizz ball remains a kinky, flyaway disaster. NouNou was the only shampoo and conditioner combo that tamed this mess. I also noticed less breakage and split ends over the past several months of using the product. But my color seemed to fade out a bit, although I suspect this was the result of using an “at home” (rather than salon) color and not a result of NouNou.

The shampoo is very lightly fragranced, but the conditioner smells so concentrated out of the bottle that I almost returned it. It’s not unpleasant (it has a sort of spicy scent) but it is strong. Luckily, the scent is not at all overpowering on the hair like it is in the bottle.

The bottles last a long time–my initial purchase was in July or August and I am only now running out (worth noting that I shampoo/condition every other day). I did however get some inconsistent lathering with the shampoo. Some days a little went a long way, other days I felt like I needed to use more product to get the job done.

I can’t really wrap my head around why this shampoo/conditioner combo is so hydrating. There’s a lot of ingredients to muddle through on the list, and the ones they highlight on their marketing material show up towards the bottom.

For example, Davines touts the use of Chestnut Milk to nourish and hydrate, and it comes mid-point on the ingredient list (which is not bad). But the third ingredient listed is glycerine, which a favored humectant in skin (and hair) care products because of its ability to hold moisture. I suspect that the glycerine may be more of a contributing factor to hydration than the Chestnut Milk.

The conditioner includes tomato extract to protect the hair from free radicals–and most cosmetic experts say it’s one of the strongest antioxidents out there.  Regardless of its antioxident properties, lycopene protects the skin from UVA/UVB rays. I don’t think its much of a stretch to assume it would do the same for hair. And sun exposure is often a culprit for color fading. So theoretically it could help there, although, as I mentioned, my color did experience some fading.

Bottom line, I this is a terrific hydrating shampoo and conditioner combo, which I would definitely buy again because of its great results. But I think Davines used a few beauty buzzwords whose contribution to these great results may be tenuous.

While every beauty brand sells on buzz words and great packaging, it’s the results that matter most. So for results for color treated, dry, damaged hair, yes Davines NouNou is definitely recommended for your arsenal.

Dear Ronie,

I love you with all my heart. Please don’t be angry. I am not cheating. I am just really really curious.

I have held back for close to a year now, but I can no longer resist the urge. I am sorry for not being stronger, but it has been calling me for too long.

If it breaks my heart, I will beg you to mend it. And even if it doesn’t break my heart, I promise I will always come back to you. You have given me some of the best color of my life, and for that I will always return.

Love,

NYCEsthy

PS-I haven’t done it yet, but I will soon. Will take before and after pics!

I have seriously needed new shampoo and  conditioner, and I have spent  the last few months  gazing longingly at Alterna’s Hemp Organics line at the spa. The stylists kept telling me how awesome it was, but I have had such unfortunate experiences with organic shampoos (including hemp based ones) that I was really skeptical. Last weekend, I took the plunge and purchased the repair shampoo and conditioner for my color treated hair.

In a word, phenomenal! It is hydrating, shine boosting, and keeps my hair tangle free. Big bonus is that it is sulfate free, and the goodies (including white tea and avocado) are free from pesticides and fertilizers. Highly recommend!

I left you, dear readers, with a cliff-hanger at the end of
the first installment of Human Lab Rat, which detailed my failed attempt to
color my hair sans chemicals. 

With my hair the color of an oxidized penny, I pulled a hat
down to my ears and ran to the only place I knew could help—Frederic
Fekkai.  I stumbled through Henry
Bendels with my hippy-dippy hat covering half of my face, shoving past the
perfume Nazis to get to the back of the cosmetic section where I saw the
displays of Fekkai’s lux products. 
As I starred at all the bottles, a sweet voice behind me sing-songed “may
I help you?” 

I turned to her, wild eyed, and whispered, “I henna-ed my
hair.” 

Her eyes opened as wide as mine. “WHY would you do a thing like
that,” she was almost as mortified as me. 

“It’s breaking. My hair is brittle and breaking like straw,”
I was half way between laughing and crying, as I pulled my hat off so she could
survey the damage.

She took the bottle of clarifying shampoo out of my hands.

“You don’t need this, yet,” she said. “Don't worry about fixing the color. Right now, you need
to strengthen.”

She handed me two bottles of Fekkai’s Protein Rx Shampoo and
Conditioner, advising me to also get some of the Protein Rx Hair Mask and use
that once or twice a week to help with the breakage.

While I would have loved to get the bad-penny color out
with a good clarifying shampoo, my hair was already so fragile that I needed to
inject it with some serious vitamins before I could attempt to fix the color.

Fekkai's Protein Rx products were nothing short of a miracle. They contain
soy and milk protein, which reinforces and strengthens weak and damaged hair.  Within a week, my hair was much
stronger and no longer breaking off. 
After a month, the only tell-tale sign of my henna disaster was a lingering
greenish undertone, which was fixed with a professional color job (I will save
that five hour ordeal for an epilogue).

Now that my hair is Fekkai-ed back to health, the protein products are
side-lined in the shower.  Too much
protein can make healthy hair stiff. But I have my weapon in reserve should I
get the itch to experiment again.

Human Lab Rat is a new semi-regular feature where I
experiment with more extreme (i.e. not easily reversible) or unusual beauty
treatments and technology.

My pilates instructor, Nancy, has a head-turning mane of hair.
It is long, thick and luminous. The color is a striking and vibrant shade of
red, streaked with coppery highlights. It is the kind of color that is either
enviously natural, or the mark of a sensational colorist (the one that uses the
smallest brush to apply highlights with startling precision and unbelievable
patience).

I was having a bad-hair year.  My at-home hair coloring for the past two years left my
color less than dazzling—ranging from too brassy to too muddy.  I have been short of time and cash to
get my listless hair in the hands of a pro. I also wonder what all the chemical
processing has done to my hair, not to mention my entire body.

When I found out Nancy colored her hair—herself—with henna,
it was like hair manna from heaven. I could get gorgeous color from a product
that was not loaded with questionable chemicals. I ran to Whole Foods and
picked up a package of red henna that said it would turn my shade of blond into
a copper.  My dull hair was about
to get a seriously healthy makeover!

I raced home and ripped open the package, ready to get my
henna on. Then I read the instructions…. 
Since I bought the henna powder, I needed to mix it myself with water.
Distilled water, boiled in a non-metal container. And I needed a shower cap to
wrap my hair once the henna was applied. I needed a kitchen scale, to weigh the
powder out in ounces.  A tiny voice
of doubt starting ringing in my ears, as I hoofed it over to the drugstore in
search of distilled water.  I
called my husband.

“So, this henna stuff,” I choked out. “I have to get
distilled water. It needs to boil in a non-metal pot. I think I may be over my
head. This is a lot different than pouring the developer into the color and
shaking well.”

“You’ll be fine. How hard can it be?” he offered helpfully.
“We have an electronic kitchen scale under the sink.”

Of course, the next time he wants to buy something
ridiculous (like a kitchen scale we have not used in the three years since we bought it) and I say to him “when are we ever going to use XYZ,” he will
remind me of this very moment.

“I am kind of scared of the henna,” I shared with him.

“And you AREN’T scared of all the chemical crap you use!” He
was clearly done being my henna coach. 
But point taken—I got the goods and went home to mix up my concoction.

I measured and boiled and mixed and cooled. I pretended I was
a cosmetic chemist coming up with a marvelous new hair color “Devilish Red.” I
was getting excited again.

Even the gruelingly bizarre application process did not
deter my newfound excitement. Henna is not a smooth application process.  It’s goopy and sandy and impossible to
get out of a squirt container. You basically have to slop it on your hair with
your hands until everything is saturated. It sounds easier than it is.

Once applied, I put on the shower cap, wrapped that in a
towel, and settled down in front of the TV for a two-hour wait.  But I guess creating the new hottest
hair color is pretty exhausting and I fell asleep. For the entire night.

I woke up the next morning at 6 AM.  I wasn’t terribly concerned since I had
read that henna could be left on over night—the longer it sits, I read, the
deeper the color.

It took several washes to get the grit out of my hair.  When I finally blew it dry, my color
was…  Well… I was hoping for a
deep rich red with copper highlights. 
This was more like a lightly rusted penny—the red was more on the green
side. 

While the color was bad, the texture was worse.  I can fix a rusty penny, but not while
my hair was bone dry and brittle. 
It was so fragile that it broke off by simply brushing my fingers
through it.

Bottom line, henna appears to be much friendlier to thick, coarse hair.  If, like me, your hair is baby-fine, proceed with caution.  From what I have been told since my
misguided mission, putting henna over a prior chemical processes could have
contributed to all the damage. A patch test with henna is a must—you need to
know how your hair will react before slathering the grit all over your
head. 

Part two will explore how I finally escaped my henna hell
and brought my hair back to health.

I couldn’t sleep last night so I did a late-night viewing of
Tabatha’s Salon Takeover. I am not a reality TV kind of girl (gave up on them
after the late Anna Nicole’s fabulously trashy show was canceled on E!). I had
never watched Sheer Genious, so I was a total Tabatha virgin.

It is not the best reality show I have ever seen, but
Tabatha, apart from her unfortunate eyebrows, was a delicious blend of
compassion and bitch.  The salon
she took over was filthy, though it appears like it may be one of the cleaner ones
based on teasers for next week’s episode. Some real ewww inducing moments
included a stylist who never cleaned out his brushes and an area of the floor
littered with old nail clippings under the manicure station.  And there was petrified dog shit on the
floor the owner’s office.  Nasty!

Cleanliness in salons and spas is pretty much the most
crucial part of running an upstanding business. Particularly when waxing or
extracting…. Bodily fluids, people!

If you are getting a service at a new salon or spa, and you
don’t think it’s clean, walk out. If you are getting waxed or extracted, your
tech should be wearing gloves to protect both of you. If you are getting waxed
and you see the waxing tech double dip, walk out.  I don’t care what anyone says, double dipping is not
safe.  Some argue that the stick
never touches the skin, but that’s patently false.  If you are being waxed properly, the stick will touch the
skin. 

Many many years ago, before I knew better, I got my bikini
waxed at a small spa in the Village that was recommended to me by a
friend.  At the time, I did not
think anything about the double dipping, but after a few months of regular
waxes, I had the absolute worst in-grown hairs imaginable. They were everywhere
and so badly infected that they turned into actual boils all over my bikini
area. In addition to being horrific, it was incredibly painful.

I did not understand how it happened, since I used TendSkin
daily.  It turned me off waxing
until I went to school in February. 
That’s when I realized that the problem may not have been ingrown hairs,
but some sort of infection from a lack of sanitation…

There is just way too much nastiness out there to take any
chances.  If it makes you uncomfortable, walk away.

Although I returned from my way-too-short beach getaway over
three weeks ago, my head is still buried in the sand. Not only was fun and
relaxing to just hang out and build sand castles with my husband and daughter,
but it was the best beauty long-weekend ever. 

I already blogged about my shockingly great skin upon
return, and now I am pining away for gorgeously messy beach-tousled hair. I
just love how the salt water—hell, even just the humidity from the salt water—makes
my hair feel thicker and imparts a nice loose curl without any frizz.  It doesn’t require any effort to create
or any product to hold in the look. It just kind of materializes and
stays.  Honestly, I think I washed
my hair once in the four days we were gallivanting in the Atlantic Ocean. I was
not going to part with my beach hair.

I must pick up a new bottle of Bumble and Bumble’s salty
stand-by Surf Spray. It does mimic the salt-water-and-sea-air texture of hair
after a day at the beach, but overuse can dry hair out, particularly if you
chemically process. But for a once or twice a week dose of sexy surfer hair
when you can’t get to the shore, it does the trick.