Just One More!

I know what you're thinking. How many products can this girl have? She recommended over 10 products just for the pool/beach alone! She must be like one of those old women who lives in a shoebox stuffed with old trinkets, tokens and other useless mementos. Well... I will say that I do have a fair share of products BUT they are all essential (and discreetly stored in an organized manner!). So you too can make room for a couple more sun essentials but this time for your hair!

Yes sun can damage your hair, especially color treated hair. UV rays cause oxidation of the color molecules leading to fading and in the case of brunettes brassiness. If that's not enough the combo of sun, salt and or/chlorine (which is another color altering culprit) robs hair of essential moisture, weakening the overall structure and strength of hair. Therefore make a little extra room in your beach bag for Tela Guardian SPF 18, a natural, light-weight, leave-in hair milk. It protects hair with SPF and antioxidants while restoring moisture, nixing frizziness and improving manageability. Once your back indoors it is essential to wash your hair with a shampoo and conditioner/mask made specifically for post-sun care. Many professional, salon hair care brands like Redken or Phyto offer an after-sun range. My favorite is Kerastase Bain Apres-Soleil Shampoo, which gently washes out the above mentioned aggressors and purifies hair, and Masque UV Defense Active which replenishes and fortifies hair for silky soft and radiant tresses. Now your hair can stop being envious of your sun protection regimen for the skin!

Usage tip: To further protect hair (and your face!) always wear a hat. It shields and prevents UV damage and just one more fun accessory to throw into the mix!

The result: There will be hands who will long to run their fingers through those silky, shiny strands! Trust me!

Ageless

There are certain ironies in life that are totally unavoidable - taxes are due every April 15th, responsibilities only get more strenuous as you get older (side note: I find myself envious of the blissfully unaware children being pushed in strollers through the crowded streets with not a care in the world) and my favorite...your body ages everywhere! Oh yes and let's start counting the ways: besides the lines and wrinkles, there's the loss of the youthful facial baby fat, the jiggly arms, and who can forget the saggy, turkey skin-eque knees?! And then there's your hair. As you get older hair gets more brittle, finer, weaker and less dense. Sadly certain culprits like continually heat styling or multiple chemical processes only expedite the aging process. But thanks to all the great beauty inventions (I knew there was a reason I worked in this industry) we can now fight the system and turn back the clock! Are you with me?

Think the finest ingredients; caviar, algae, shea butter and mushroom extract to fight the good fight and you have Alterna Caviar Anti-Aging SeaSilk Volume Shampoo and Conditioner. Formulated without those nasty ingredients this sulfate-, paraben-, phthalate and mineral oil/paraffin/petrolatum-free system works on three levels to restore hair's youthfulness. A proprietary Caviar extract targets aging at the cellular level while the ColorHold technology protects against premature color fading as the Age-Control Complex fights oxidative damage for renewed suppleness. From the moment you lather this rich, luxurious shampoo, you will feel an incredible dense, creamy foam that envelops each strand for the most nourishing yet gentle experience. Continue this pampering treatment with the conditioner which weightlessly coats hair with essential moisture so that it feels touchable soft and silky smooth. Think of this experience as champagne for your hair. A day later and I'm astounded by the shine, mangeability (I didn't need any styling products!) and bouncy volume. I feel my hair getting younger...or at least more head turning!

Usage tip: My dear friends at Lock & Mane have graciously offered a few travel sets of these delectable product for my readers. So post a comment with your thoughts about this product, hair aging or what you use. Then a special, secretive committee (think the people responsible for collecting and tabulating the Oscar ballots) will enter your name in the randomized drawing. Be sure to leave me your email so I contact the winners for their mailing address. Trust me you want this in your shower!

The result: Vivacious, ageless, envious hair!

Deshabille No More

There a couple of ways to spend a perfect Sunday night - making dinner with a special someone as you hand feed each other, watching the latest Desperate Housewives (yes I'm a fan, albeit a bit closeted about it) over a bottle of vino or attending a poetry reading, as I did this past Sunday. While I sat and listened to the most soulful, core-stirring, inspirational words known to man, I couldn't help but notice the women in front of me. It wasn't her sweater or intent concentration that caught my eye. No it was her frizzy, deshabille, split-end screaming hair that distracted me from the evening's festivities. I literally had to sit on my hands to avoid interrupting the reading to tell her how to fix the hot mess on her head. With the plethora of amazing hair care products and especially one special treatment called a masque there's no reason to look like that!

Richer and more luxurious than your traditional conditioner, the masque nourishes and revives dry, stressed, brittle hair. Masques feature fortified formulas packed with moisturizing, strengthening and taming ingredients to reinforce hair from the cortex (the center/structural foundation of hair) while smoothing the cuticle (hair's outer layer). Imagine little packman's that replenish hair with it's essential building blocks (proteins) to rebuild from the inside out. Lipids and nutrients replenish hair while conditioning agents seal for shine and manageability. Hair is smoothed, softened and glowing. Depending on your price point I recommend either Kerastase Nutridefense Treatment ($58) or Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine Instant Melting Conditioner ($4.99). Both will restore environmentally stressed, heat damaged hair for glossy, shiny, advertisement locks!

Usage tip: Apply once a week from mid-length to ends. Leave on for a minimum of 5 minutes (basically while you wash your body, exfoliate and shave your legs - talk about multi-tasking!) or up to 30 min (wrap hair in a towel so that your head's body heat helps in penetration) depending on damage. Although rich, these products are weightless so if you apply a nickel to quarter size amount (dependent on hair length) your hair will maintain it's bouncy volume. In desperate need to cover your split ends like my fellow poet enthusiast? Use the masque twice week on ends only in lieu of conditioner for an instant seal!

The result: Touchable, velvet soft, luminous hair!

Model Hair

I have a serious bone to pick with the girls in the Pantene and Kerastase hair care ads. Their luscious, vibrant hair practically pour out of the magazine pages and suddenly I'm consumed with this competitive envy (normally reserved for bags and shoes my two greatest weakness; as my brilliant sis always says you can be wearing a garbage bag and still look amazing with the right bag and shoes). But back to my envy: as I lovingly gaze like a step-sister at the images I feel like I've been left out of an insider VIP club where tips for this touchably soft hair are exchanged like stock market insider info. Unfortunately an outsider feeling does not bring back fond memories. It conjures up the good ole' elementary school days when the cool girls wouldn't let me sit at their lunch table. Well I'm not going to be excluded anymore, move over mean girls I know how to get that gleaming hair!

We all know to get that perfectly in place, healthy hair you need serums to add shine, mousses for volume, pomades for control, moisturizing sprays to detangle and oh don't forget the once weekly deep treatment masque to nourish. Do you see where I'm going with this laundry list of products? Just think of the build-up caused by using them daily. What every Jennifer Aniston good hair day connoisseur knows is that every once awhile you need to give your hair a deep, deep cleaning to remove all that gunk. I rely on Pantene Clarifying Shampoo to discriminately remove the build up and restore my hair's natural brilliance. We all know the importance of exfoliating skin (if you don't we will cover that soon) to keep pores clean and remove dulling skin cells, well think of this as an exfoliating treatment for your hair. After awhile styling products will cause build-up inevitably rendering the products themselves completely useless. Hair is dull, lifeless and limp. You need to kick start strands and start with a clean slate. This clarifying shampoo revives and refreshes for that bouncy hair you adore.

Usage tip: Use no more than once a week and always be sure to follow with a moisturizing conditioner to avoid that straw-like feel.

The result: Positively radiant glossy hair that will make the Kerastase model jealous!