At Home Conditioning Treatments

Pamper Yourself

Every brand of products has an "at home" conditioning treatment for you to purchase and utilize at home to keep your hair feeling it's best between visits to the salon.  You apply these in place of your normal conditioner once a week. 

When applying the treatment, squeeze out as much excess water as possible from your hair before applying, even using a towel to squeeze out even more water, if you like.  A damp sponge absorbs more than a sopping one.  Really work the conditioner through your hair, taking care to work the product through small sections, detangling as you go.  Leave it in for the duration of your shower.  The steam from the shower will open the cuticle layer (outer layer) and allow the product to penetrate more deeply into the hair shaft.  Rinse out just before getting out of the shower.


Preferred At Home Conditioning Treatments:



It's A 10 Miracle Hair Mask is one of my favorites.  I use it as my regular conditioner because my hair has been so damaged from all of the different colors I've had, but I only wash my hair twice a week.  This is a heavy duty product that is best used as a once a week treatment for finer hair.



Redken has a number of options when it comes to conditioning treatments:





Color Extend Rich Recovery is a protective treatment for color treated hair.  Using their Fade Resist Complex, UV filters, cranberry oil and strengthening ceramides, this product locks in your color and locks out environmental aggressors that weaken color.

Smooth Lock Butter Silk is an intensive treatment for dry and unruly hair.  This product uses Redken's Interlock Protein Network and smoothing Heat Fuse Complex, as well as almond oil and a thermo-activated polymer to give your hair the moisture and smoothness that you've been missing.  It will leave your hair smoother and shinier, with less frizz and more manageability.

All Soft Heavy Cream is a super treatment for dry and brittle hair.  It deeply conditions and transforms your hair by using the Interlock Protein Network and a Keratin Enrich Complex with omega-6 enriched argan oil.  It rebuilds lost protein and leaves hair softened with better manageability and shine.






Extreme Strength Builder Plus is a fortifying mask for highly distressed hair.  It uses Redken's Interlock Protein Network and Fortifying Complex to deliver protein and ceramides to fortify weakend areas of the hair, protect the internal strength and reinforce surface protection to enhance shine.








Paul Mitchell Super Charged Moisturizer is another reliable product that intensely hydrates dry hair to make hair softer, shinier and more manageable.






MorrocanOil is a brand that is building in popularity.  They've shown that their products are strong enough for the toughest hair problems.  Their treatments come in three varieties.





Weightless Hydrating Mask  uses argan oil to treat, hydrate and condition fine dry hair to improve texture, shine and manageability without being as heavy as some of the other options out there.







Restorative Hair Mask is for weakened and damaged hair.  It's rich in argan oil and vegetable protein to restore hair's strength and elasticity, leaving the hair softer and more manageable.








Intense Hydrating Mask is meant for medium to thick dry hair.  It restores the moisture in the hair by utilizing argan oil to hydrate and condition.







Pureology's Precious Oil Softening Hair Mask is for brittle and dull hair.  Their patented OleoAntiFadeComplex deeply nourishes and enhances hair's shine.





There are a large number of options in the beauty industry, and these are only a few examples.  Talk to your stylist and find out which one will best suit your needs.  Your hair will thank you for taking care of it more regularly.  Remember, it is a permanent accessory that goes with you everywhere.  Treat it right and it will take care of you.

Kelly Conner

Master Stylist, Licensed Massage Therapist

Regis Salon, Annapolis Mall
410-266-5551

Curling Irons

Styling Saturday

There are many options out there in the curling iron world.  Spring or marcel  barrel, corded or stove iron, barrel color, size and shape, and brand.  With so many options, how does one choose?  Let's start with the first set of options. 

Spring Iron

Marcel Iron

What is the difference between spring and marcel?  Marcel irons have a free swinging clamp which require the user to open and close manually.  Spring irons have a spring that closes the clamp tight around the hair to create an easier use for the user.  Most people feel comfortable with a spring iron because they have less to concentrate on  with the curling iron so they can concentrate on their hair more.  Some stylists feel more comfortable with a marcel because of how they can wind the hair into the iron.  Personally, I can't trust myself with a marcel because I have a tendency to grab for the end of the iron and most marcel irons do not have a protective piece over the tip of the hot barrel.  I will always burn myself, guaranteed.



Next options are corded and stove. The average person only knows of corded irons.  But the old school style of iron didn't have a cord because electricity wasn't free flowing.  Instead, you would place your iron in a stove and allow the stove to heat the metal of the barrel.  Presently, you can buy a kit of different size barrels so that you have a multitude of options to suit every type of curl you could want.

You'll see all kinds of sizes of irons, ranging from 1 /4" to 3".  Each barrel gives a distinctive look.  Logically, the smaller the barrel, the smaller the curl.  Also, the larger the barrel, the more volume you'll get.  The smaller the barrel you choose, the longer the curl will last.  If your hair has a tendency to fall within hours of curling your hair, you may want to try a smaller barrel iron.  The larger barrels curls won't hold as long, but they work great when you're just trying to get a "romantic curl" look.

BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium

Hot Tools Ceramic

There are a variety of barrel options now.  Most of the time, if you see different colored barrels, it's because they are made of different materials.  You have options of the standard gold barrel, ceramic, tourmaline, and nano titanium.  Ceramic seems to be a favorite because it has the ability to produce a softer heat than the original metal barrels do.  It also keeps the heat more evenly distributed throughout the iron because it doesn't get hot spots like the metal ones can. The Nano Titanium is also beginning to pick up in popularity.  I have a BaByliss C-Shaped iron that works well that is made from Nano Titanium.  With tourmaline, I had a flat iron once that had tourmaline plates and I didn't feel like it straightened well enough, but for less curly or coarse hair, it would be fine.  It might not have been the heat source that was the problem, but it felt like an inferior product to the CHI ceramic flat iron that I was used to.

Curling wands have also gained in popularity.  It's a straight barrel with no clasp to grab onto the hair.  You just wind the hair around the barrel to create a completely different look of curls.  Usually the wand is sold with a glove to protect your fingers when curling.  If you don't want to buy a separate iron for these types of curls, you can always wind your hair around the curling iron you already own.

The options for brands are limitless in today's world of variety.  Some of the brands I trust have been listed already.  Hot Tools makes a good curling iron with many different barrel materials in a large variety of barrel size options.  Another preferred brand is BaByliss.  I had a blow dryer from this brand and it was an amazing appliance.  It worked great and I would recommend the brand to anyone.  CHI is also a brand that makes a trustworthy product.  I use their blow dryer and flat iron at work.  They use ceramic technology for their heating elements.  There are store brands that function well enough to get you by if you haven't tried an iron that is of a better quality.  Revlon, Remington, Conair and Gold 'n Hot are brands that have irons that function well enough, but you may have to hold the iron on your hair longer to get the curl to set properly.
















You also want to make sure you have a proper setting spray.  It will protect your hair from the heat, while holding the curl in for a longer period of time.  One of my personal favorites is from Aquage.  This is a brand that you will only see in privately owned salons, not in corporate chains.  They have two options depending on how much hold you want.  For a softer hold curl, use Beyond Body Thermal Spray.  For a more intense curl with strong hold, use Working Spray.

Another brand that has good styling sprays is Redken. They also have a softer spray and a firmer spray. Their Spray Starch is at a hold level of 15 out of 25. It's a spray that helps to protect your hair from heat damage and eliminates static. It "starches" in the curl pattern of the iron you use.  Then, there is Redken's Hot Sets.  It has a hold level of 22 out of 25, and it will give you a much stronger curl, while protecting it from the heat of the iron. 

If you have hair that is very resistant to curl, you may want to choose a firmer holding spray to give it more staying power.  Finish with a hairspray to hold it in place.  One of the best I've seen, so far, is Sebastian Shine Define.  It is a flexible holding hairspray that gives curls shine, definition, and bounce.  It also helps to hold curls in for longer than other, similar sprays.  Other hairsprays work just fine to hold your curls in place, too.




I hope that this gave you more information than you ever thought there was about curling irons.  I'll have another post at another time that will give you tips and tricks on getting the curl you want.  Check out my Facebook page for more updates and tips or specials at the salon.  Kelly Conner, Hair Stylist

The 5 O'Clock Shadow

Men's Style Friday

 

Image Courtesy of ArtOfficialShop.com

 

Gentlemen, when you decide that you want that rugged, 5 o'clock shadow look, there is a way to make it look good and not like you just haven't shaved for days. Most important is keeping the edges neat. If you have some hair that grows sporadically on your cheekbones, you should shave that off and leave a neater line that edges your beard. You should also shave the excess off of your neck and leave a neat edge along the top of your neck, just under your chin. Take a beard trimmer and keep the setting at 1/8-1/4" to keep it close to achieve the rugged look of the 5 o'clock shadow. You will look just dishevelled enough to look like you just woke up that way, but just neat enough to show that you care about yourself and your appearance. Trust me, gentlemen, those whom you are trying to attract really do notice that kind of thing.