PRODUCTS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

Keep checking this section from time to time because you’ll find new product news all the time – things that may help you tame, enhance, or bring life back to your hair.

The Green Wars

Organic ingredients are hard to prove. But not if you have a USDA certified seal. So what’s a food stamp doing on shampoos and conditioners? Whatever it is, hair product companies want it. Not only that, they want to be first to have it.

You couldn’t miss this tempest brewing in a series of articles originally reported in Women’s Wear Daily. It’s back to How Green Is My Valley, or in some cases, organic farm.

Like the 600-acre organic farm run by Horst Rechelbacher, the founder of Aveda. Home turf for his new line of products under the Intelligent Nutrients brand. Rechelbacher says this is the first hair care line to bear the USDA Organic Seal. And all that seemed plausible enough, knowing this pioneer’s persistent warnings about dangerous, damaging-to-health formulas that exist in the beauty industry. With typical missionary zeal, he cultivated his own organic seeds, harvested crops, and with both food and cosmetic chemists, developed products out of rice, soy, nuts and seeds. Ingredients that can act as efficacious surfactants (cleansers) without the harsh chemicals. Something that was impossible to do until now.

Not so fast, say the founders of Tela Beauty Organics, who claim they launched the first hair care line with the USDA Organic Seal. Launched in April, the seal appears on two of their products, versus 11 of Intelligent Nutrients. Rechelbacher shot back that the two Tela products (a hair smoother and a styling/treatment item) were “easy” and that cleansers, conditioners and hair sprays are far more difficult to create.  Easy? Philip Pelusi, the hairstylist responsible for Tela, says it took more than 30 years to create these two products, working with an herbalist and chemist.

In the race to be first, what’s getting lost is that the science is moving forward, and that there are, and will continue to be, alternatives to petrochemicals in our hair products. And that’s a good. Now, along comes Ken Pavés, who isn’t claiming to be first at all, but is launching a Healthy Hair collection of products on July 9 on HSN. You may remember Ken Pavés for Hairdo Clip-In Extensions in partnership with Jessica Simpson. Now, with Healthy Hair, he’s formulating hair care that is ammonia- and paraben-free, made with 100% essential oils of white gardenia and citrus. You won’t find petrochemicals, formaldehyde or propylene glycol in them, either. He’s also not claiming to bear the USDA Certified Organic Seal, merely that he works with a lab noted for green manufacturing.

The thing to watch for: not every product in each collection is totally organic. Healthy Hair, for instance, does not formulate its aerosol sprays in the same way. And, as mentioned, the Tela line only has two certified organic products, with 4 more slated by the end of this year. Right now, you’ll find the seal on Healer, a leave-in treatment to protect and repair damaged hair ends, that includes ingredients like argon oil and shea butter, tomato and pomegranate; and Encore, a frizz-tamer and smoother. Doesn’t mean there aren’t good ingredients in the other products. Think about organic apricot and water celery, carrot and forsythia. And all paraben-free items in the Tela line contain the Organic Core Blend, composed of 35 USDA and Oregon Tilth Certified organic ingredients. You can find the line at Barney’s New York and certain products have been sold on QVC.

Rechelbacher’s Intelligent Nutrients line claims that all items are 100% certified organic, except for two made for color-treated hair. The Intellimune Seed Oil Complex, formulated in every item, is an anti-oxidant, anti-aging blend of black cumin, pumpkin, red grape, red raspberry and cranberry seed oils. The line consists of shampoos, conditioners, scalp treatments, styling creams and gels, balms and stylers.  You’ll have to wait until the end of this year, however, and then watch for it in selected stores and salons, spa chains, and perhaps a few free-standing stores in Minneapolis, New York, and Toronto.

Yes, it all does sound good enough to eat. And like food – it ain’t cheap! Prices for organic hair products range from around $22-$50 each. Reason? It’s expensive to produce; not every beauty/hair company can go out and start its own organic farm. The hope is that someday, pricing may trickle on down the food chain.

Smile When You Style

Redken sends this great advice for super-smooth blow drying and easy-to-do flat ironing. The tips are great (I’m adding my own 2¢ worth, too), and the products are certainly worth a try. Remember, Redken started as a pros-only line, so they know all about taking good care of your hair. With a little practice, you’ll be stylin’ like the pros!

Tools You’ll Need:
• Wide-tooth comb to evenly disperse product and untangle hair
• Round medium-sized boar bristle brush or nylon/boar bristle combination brush to help blow-dry sections.
2¢: I also like the round brushes with holes in them, for faster drying. Some people like flat paddle brushes.
• Blow-dryer with an ionic feature to seal in the cuticle and lock in moisture for high sheen (not recommended for fine hair). Get one that has at least 2 heat settings: high heat for initial drying, low heat for finishing, plus a nozzle attachment.
• A flat iron creates a sleeker, smoother finish and keep ends from curling under. If you choose to use a flat iron after you blow-dry, use on hair after completely dried and make sure it has ceramic plates to diffuse heat with maximum results and less damage.

7 Easy Steps For The Perfect Blow Out:
1) Apply a blow-dry product, like Redken satinwear 02 blow-dry lotion or straight 05 straightening balm to hair and use a wide tooth comb to evenly disperse product.

If you hair has special needs, look into these products:
− Fine Hair: Add volume with thickening lotion 06 body builder
− Limp Hair: Give maximum lift at the roots with guts 10 volume spray foam
− Unruly hair: Smooth it down with align 12 ultra-straight balm

2) Use high heat setting until 80% dry, working from the scalp to the ends using fingers to disperse heat throughout the hair. For added volume, flip hair upside down while drying.
2¢: Keep the heat a good arm’s length from your hair, and keep the hair MOVING. I continually rub-a-dub the hair at the roots while I’m doing this. It’s a technique I learned by watching the pros. Makes it dry faster, too!

3) Clip hair into 3 sections: 2 on the sides and 1 in the back.
2¢: Not enough for me! If your hair is long, the back of your hair is the hardest to do. Separate that section into at least 3 horizontal areas, and begin at the bottom. I also separate the sides into an upper and lower section.

4) Using the nozzle attachment, blow-dry each section one inch at a time using a thick, medium-sized boar bristle brush and low heat. Keep the airflow pointed down the strand to prevent unwanted fly-aways.
2¢: Never allow heated air to flow UP the hair shaft. Cuticle doesn’t like it. Remember, a cuticle that lies flat delivers more shine.

5) For each section, start drying hair at the scalp Move down to the mid-length of hair. When the mid-length is dry, finish the ends.
2¢: Your scalp should be dry by now, don’t hit it directly with the heat. Be sure to maintain tension on the hair, and as you near the ends, just move your wrist into a downward position.
− For ultimate heat-styling protection, try spritzing Redken fabricate 03 heat-active texturizer on each section to create texture and dimension.
2¢: Protection is always good with heat.

6) To finish the look, touch up each section with a flat iron. For added heat protection, re-apply fabricate 03 heat-active texturizer on each section before flat iron use.
2¢: Always use a product on your hair when flat-ironing!
− For additional control and frizz-free shine finish with forceful 23 super strength finishing spray

7) Before heading out, spritz on some vinyl glam 02 mega-shine spray for instant gloss and a glam finish!
2¢: Always good to gleam-up before you go out!

To add even more movement and bounce, Redken session stylist Patricia Morales suggests “Roll two velcro rollers in the front two sections of your hair after your blow-dry is complete. While the rollers are in place, apply your makeup. Then, let the rollers down and you’ll have beautiful waves with extra movement and lift in the front.”
2¢: I’d do one at the top, and one large roller at each side. It won’t add too much curl because your hair is dry, but it will give you that bounce!

The Redken Super-Stylers

Super Boosters

If you think your pigment-free hair is kind of wimping out, fear not! Products called volumizers can give you just the lift and life it needs. Here are some of the newer ones on the market, as well as one I mentioned in the book (Aveda). But I say, if a product works, it works!  Get ready for more oomph to the ounce!  These products are focused primarily on one thing, so if your hair seems lifeless and dry, you’ll need to moisturize. If you’re looking for shine, look elsewhere. But if you want va-va-voom-volume, these instant body builders can do the job.

Aveda Phomollient Styling Foam with Organic Honey Sounds pretty delicious, but it’s basically a styling mousse. Super light and airy, it squeezes out like a foam without that sticky foam feeling. Put 3-5 pumpfuls in the palm of your hand, rub together and apply to slightly damp (or dry) hair. Full of Aveda’s natural ingredients like Burdock root extract, marshmallow, rice bran oil and honey, it pumps up hair like a good weight trainer. Only weightlessly. What I really liked about it – there’s lots of play time. Meaning even if your hair goes completely dry while blow-drying, you can still change your mind, re-arrange the flow, and it goes right with you. In fact, even when I had finished styling, I ran my fingers through my hair to give it some lift, and it stayed right where I wanted it to. Without stiffness. I’ve been looking for a mousse I could love. This may be it.

Herbal Essences Set Me Up Spray Gel With a fusion of cactus flower and bamboo, I thought this would smell delicious. Maybe I just believed all those oooh, ummmh shampoo ads, not really knowing what cactus flower and bamboo really smell like. Okay, it didn’t get me. But the product itself was fine. I like the idea of a spray gel because it seems sheer-er and less gloppy, and you can point and aim at precise pieces. I did the whole head, on dampish hair, and this time I put rollers in right away to compress the cuticle and give hair more shine.  This doesn’t have the play time, dries rather quickly, so I kept spraying sections as I went along.  The good part is, even though it says use on wet or damp hair, once my hair was down and dry, I could spritz it on selected areas to give definition or soften the curl. Gave hair a nice feeling of fullness.

Garnier Fructis Style XXL Volume Root Booster They don’t call this “Extreme” for nothing!  Promising to make your hair “Xtra Xtra-Large,” this spritz-on puffed me out bigger than Puff Daddy. I let my hair go almost completely dry before using it, then sectioned it, and pointed it directly at the roots. After styling, I followed the instructions, flipped my hair upside down, then brushed it back when I righted my head. Ok, that’s not quite what they say to do, they say you’re supposed to flip your hair upside down and continue blow drying. But my hair was already dry. And BIG. Disco-hair big. But it took only a bit of brushing to calm it down, get it to go into a reasonable style, and feel like it would hold all day. That’s what they claim, anyway—“all day weightless volume.” So I gave it a test. Pulled it back into a tight pony tail, went out into the wind for about an hour, and tried the flipover technique with a round brush again. It seemed to remember its volume. Not total recall, but enough.

göt2b styltini double shot 24 Hour Hair Thickener I think I was more intrigued by the name than anything else, but that, and the bright packaging got me to buy it. Pumps into the hand like a very liquid gel, with instructions to distribute evenly through damp hair from root to ends. OK, did that, then blew-dry. One thing I noticed immediately, this product made my hair feel silkier, thicker, and – did I see some shine? After I was finished and the hair was completely dry, I stuck in some rollers for about 5 minutes. (Just because I never have a “finished” look after blow drying my own hair.) When I removed the rollers and brushed it out, it was just right.  Not too big, not too blah, but with nice, swingy body. And soft. Very, very soft. So this might not work if you have baby superfine hair, but it’s certainly worth giving a try. Check out their whole styling line while you’re at it. There’s “göt2b” something that will make limp locks stand up and take notice!

Going Nutty for Thicker, Shinier Hair?

Ojon, a brand based on a rare nut oil, is my latest “find.” It’s not that new. I’ve been avoiding it. I’ve written for the beauty industry long enough to be skeptical about products with “stories.” Ingredient stories, ok. Romance stories, no. And Ojon’s story is quite romantic. All about the Miskito Indians, rainforests, and an ancient native secret. Yeah, right.  Seems these people are called Tawira, which translates as “The people of beautiful hair.” It’s a good story if you like stories, and I finally was intrigued enough to buy three products: Ojon® Restorative Hair Treatment, Hydrating Thickening Shampoo, and Hydrating Thickening Conditioner.

First take: I liked the scent.  Sort of nutty-vanilla-y.  I applied the treatment, waited 20 minutes, then used the shampoo and conditioner. I noticed something different right away. Must confess, I’m not at expert at blow-drying my hair. Come on, you and I both know it takes three hands. I don’t know where my stylist gets his extra hand, but he does it right and I don’t. I use a big round brush and go through the motions, but my hair isn’t fooled. Then I sort of swoosh the hair dryer all over my hair to get it about 90% dry and stick in some big rollers. That works.  Except, somewhere between the round brush and the swoosh, I end up with scarecrow hair. Really. This time I didn’t. The hair seemed to hang together smoothly without all the frizz. After styling? My hair seemed smoother, silkier, fuller, with no static, no frizz.  Shine was good, too.

One warning: Clearly labeled “Product contains nuts. For external use only,” Ojon may not be for those with nut allergies. I found, as I was waiting for the treatment to take hold, strands of hair found their way into my mouth.  Sure, you can pull your hair back, and keep your mouth clamped shut when you shampoo, but I just wouldn’t risk it. If you’re not allergic, look for it at stores like Sephora or on their website: www.ojon.com .  The small 1.35 oz Restorative Treatment is around $21, the 250 ml Shampoo $22, and the 250 ml Conditioner, $24.

I see where they have products devoted to nothing but shine, too. Could these be the magic shiners we’re always looking for?

• Ojon Shine and Protect Glossing Mist $28
Features Broccoli Seed oil and a natural Algae extract, similar in effect to silicone. Weightless high-glosser that combats humidity and fly-aways.

• Ojon Daily Intensive Shine Treatment $24
A serum that repairs hair while adding long-lasting weightless shine.

• Ojon Leave-in Glossing Cream $30
Lightweight and leave-in, it restores manageability and adds brilliant shine. To use after shampooing and conditioning.

All I know is, I’m gonna order one!

Brush in Shine

In the never-ending search to impart shine to our glorious grays, I came upon a brush that promises to do just that. It’s Goody’s add+shine Jojoba Oil Infused Brush. Rich in vitamin E, Jojoba Oil seals in moisture as it nourishes and conditions hair. Glide it through, using several brush strokes, and you should see added shine. With long-term use, it claims to help alleviate split ends and heal dry, damaged hair. The bristles are soft plastic and widely-spaced, so they’re smooth enough not to cause snags or breakage. (If you pinch a few bristles, you can actually feel the oil between your fingers – it’s very light, definitely not greasy, but it’s there.) Although the brush promises to reduce fly-a-ways, when I used it, I got an instant shot of electricity in my hair. The company says most women don’t, and it’s likely due to the winter heating in my house. (Heck, I can get static with any brush!) So I say, go for the gleam. Available in Styler, Cushion and Paddle brush styles, it’s about $11.99 at Target, Wal-Mart, and leading food, drug and mass market retailers.

give me strength!

Garnier Fructis is coming out with new products in 2008 that sound right for us. First, there’s going to be a new Garnier Fructis Strength & Repair collection – perfect for wimpy, weak-y gray strands. Remember, they need strength! The collection will debut with a shampoo, conditioner, a nourishing Melting Masque and a Deep Conditioner 3 Minute Masque – good for all you who are really, really rushed in the mornings.  On the shine-it-up-front, Garnier Fructis is also coming out with Shine Burst Shampoo and Conditioner. Haven’t tried any of these yet, but they sound promising. Because these are precisely the two areas where gray hair needs all the help it can get – strength and shine. Can’t wait!

did you say “oops” the last time you colored your hair at home?

If the first sight of gray has made you more determined than ever to cover it up, that’s perfectly natural. But when a good percentage of gray gets in there, it changes things. Suddenly, your little brown bottle doesn’t give the same results. All you know is, you want that color off your hair fast. Good news—there’s a new product out there called Color Oops. It comes in two formulations, extra conditioning and extra strength. What it does is use hydrosulfites to reverse the hair color process by shrinking the color molecules so small they wash away. Pretty unbelievable, huh? Since I don’t use color on my hair, I can’t say I’ve tried it. But I’ve heard good reports on it, and if my hair had turned a shade I couldn’t take, I’d be very tempted to reach for Color Oops. Look for it at certain drug chains, supermarkets and mass market stores like Walgreen’s, Longs, Raley’s, Rite Aid and Duane Reade. It costs about $12.99.

does your hair need therapy?

Then try Minardi Pre-Wash Therapy. Developed by the Minardi’s (the same team responsible for the great gray looks in the book), it handles fragile, fuzzy or frizzy gray hairs with tons of TLC. Loaded with super soothers like chamomile, aloe vera, safflower and jojoba oils, as well as proteins and panthenol (vitamin B5), it actually fortifies the hair as it moisturizes, leaving hair looking healthy and shining. Apply it all over your head, wait about 15-30 minutes. then shampoo. Don’t even need to condition afterwards. Your hair will be smooth, tamed, and, I’ve found, quite bouncy. Look for it at better salons (find their locations at http://www.minardinyc.com). An 8.8 oz jar is $36, enough for 8-9 treatments for very thick, long hair.

haircare goes anti-aging

Well, it had to happen. With the huge success of anti-aging skincare products, hair companies naturally thought it was a good idea to “borrow” some anti-aging ingredients from skincare formulations. Makes sense because gray hair is weaker. It needs fortification. (We call it firming in face-talk.) It needs deep conditioning (moisturization.) It needs energy (restoration) and protection. Now if you read the ingredient listing on your favorite night cream and your shampoo, you may wonder which is which!

Logics, a brand you can get in salons, has come out with Logics DNA Age Revitalize Nutrient Care: shampoos and conditioners formulated for three different types of dry hair. And guess what – they contain protein polypeptides, a key ingredient in anti-aging skincare. Along with Omega 6 emollients to provide great moisturization, and UV filters to protect hair from the sun. Which is good, if you read about how gray hair can “weather” in FAQ’s/ Gray Today.

Jonathon, a line you can pick up in Sephora, on QVC, at select Bath & Body Works, C.O. Bigelow, Pure Beauty, and Ulta, is introducing Ionic Balance, a collection of “anti-aging and restorative conditioning products” that don’t weigh hair down. Lots of anti-aging ingredients here: antioxidants, mineral peptides, and two ionic crystals, tourmaline and amethyst, said to enhance shine and emit infrared energy, increase scalp circulation, and promote hair growth.

Frédéric Fekkai ‘s new styling line Coiff is all set to protect hair as well, with strengthening Hibiscus protein, polymers, deep-conditioning panthenol, and rice and jojoba proteins to help maintain the hair’s moisture balance. Moisture balance? Where have we heard that before?

Frédéric Fekkai gets a little closer to those super expensive face creams with a new treatment launching in January, All Day Hair Plump. Priced at $95, it’s formulated to “plump up” and strengthen hair cuticles. With hyaluronate humectants (the moisture-grabbers), marine actin peptides (to repair hair), vegetable proteins (for strength) and protection from pollution and UV rays built in, it sounds like it will do all the things an upscale moisturizer would do. Apply in the morning to damp hair, leave it in all day, and it promises to deliver all-day moisture. It makes its first appearance in Neiman Marcus and Fekkai salons.

still coloring your hair?

If you haven’t made the decision to go gray yet, you’ll want to know about a new home coloring kit due to launch in February. Clairol’s Nice ‘n Easy brand has come up with Perfect 10, designed to work in 10 minutes. It’s a totally new formulation, developed to counter the most common complaints against haircolor products. For one, odor (it smells closer to a shampoo), and secondly, damage. Perfect 10 has lower pH levels in the lightening system to help protect the hair. Heralded as the first real change to haircolor technology in over fifty years, it will debut with 15 shades. Price: $13.99.

can’t get it where you live?

Sometimes, products mentioned on this site may be hard to find if you don’t live in a large city, or have plenty of beauty supply stores around. There’s a website that has a lot of them—at discount prices. http://www.adiscountbeauty.com I certainly can’t vouch for every product listed, and I advise you to be an informed buyer. I wouldn’t order a product if it doesn’t list benefits, ingredients, or the like. But there are reputable lines on this site (as well as questionable ones!). For instance, last look, I found Artec White Violet Shampoo, Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo, lots of information about Phyto Organics, and some really cute rhinestone headbands that add sparkle to gray hair, especially a thin dark gray rhinestone head band. I looked with doubt on products promising to remove green, red, gold and yellow tones from hair, simply because they provided no information. So be your own judge. I have ordered from this site before (ok, hair rollers in a size I simply could not find!), and it was delivered promptly. Once you do order, they also send discount codes for future orders. Worth a look.