Hair Care

Right on the heels of my foray into the world of Fango, the star of the luxurious Spa line by Borghese, I had the opportunity to sample Borghese Fango Active Mud for Hair and Scalp.  Similar to Fango Active Mud for Face and Body, this product utilizes volcanic mud from the Tuscany region of Italy to leech product buildup from the hair.

Apply the mud thickly over dry hair and scalp prior to shampooing.  Let it set for 5-10 minutes (like Fango Active Mud for Face and Body, there is no need to let it dry entirely).  Rinse the mud out of the hair and shampoo.  Used once a week, Borghese Fango Active Mud for Hair and Scalp removes product build-up, smooths hair cuticles, hydrates the scalp and helps hair retain moisture.  My hair must have been riddled with build-up.  After using this product only once my hair was instantly more voluminous and so SO SOFT!

This 17.6 oz. glass jar of Fango Active Mud for Hair and Scalp retails for $36.50 at Borghese, and is vanity-worthy if I’ve ever seen it! 

Leave my hair to its own devices, and I will look like a New Jersey mallrat circa 1988.  For years I’ve fought my hair’s natural wave, throwing product after product at the problem.  Most were a waste of my time.

Since a truly great straightening product is few and far between, I was thrilled to discover Frederic Fekkai Ironless Straightening Balm, part of the new "Coiff" line, ranks amont the greats.  Not only did this straightening balm calm my crazy waves, but left my hair with volume and texture.  So many products for straightening hair leave hair flat and lifeless.  Bravo, Frederic Fekkai!

This product retails for $25 at Sephora, Beauty.com and Nordstrom.

Yes, your local drugstore contains some of the coolest hair accessories to be used this Fall/Winter!  Many of my readers undoubtedly use Goody hair accessories already.  Perhaps without even realizing!  I know I swear by my Goody hair-clips to section hair while drying it straight, or to quickly twist it up off of my neck. 

Goody has released a new collection of hair accessories for this season.  Named "Haute Society", the new collection contains headbands with of-the-moment designs that make Goody a fantastic choice for inexpensive accessorizing.  Headbands ranging from stick-thin to extremely thick (image at left) are available, to suit a wide range of hair types.  I’m loving both the pin-striped and tweed headbands.  Goody even offers a sash headband that has a "Wonder Years" chic to it.  Best part?  The most expensive piece in the collection is only $6.99.  This is style anyone can afford.  Head over to Goody to check out the Haute Society collection, or head over to your local Target to see them in person!   

We all look forward to the holiday season.  Relaxing, quality time with friends and family.  Leisurely days of gift-shopping and eggnog sipping.  Everyone is just a bit nicer to each other and…. wait a minute.  What am I talking about?  As much as the holiday I described is precisely what we all fantasize about, it is generally not what we get.  The holiday season is crazy, hectic and stressful to many. 

Not to totally "Scrooge" out on you, but I have even worse news.  If you haven’t booked your appointment at the salon yet, you may be out of luck.  Everyone wants to look their best for those holiday parties and photos, so salons are booked solid.

That’s where Frederic Fekkai Hi-Lights Hair Mascara comes to the rescue.  While this mascara-style highlight applicator is intended to get the look of stunning highlights with no commitment, it can also serve as a fantastic touch-up for roots that may be looking just a tad dark to be holiday-ready.

I sampled Hi-Lights Hair Mascara in Cognac, and was surprised by how closely it resembled the look of real highlights.  The solution doesn’t leave hair stiff, and dries fast (so running fingers through the hair won’t give you a handful of bronze product).  I also wore it to sleep.  No color on my pillowcases!  It rinsed out easily the next day.

Frederic Fekkai Hi-Lights Hair Mascara is available in Gold (for blonde to light brown hair) and Cognac (for medium brown to black hair).  This product retails for $20 at Sephora, Beauty.com and Nordstrom.

Feeling it was time to return to my "roots", I visited my salon to have my highlighted hair dyed a semi-permanent brown.  This is nothing new.  Periodically I like to return back to my natural color, and give my stressed tresses a well-deserved break from the tortures of highlighting. 

Egads!  Due to a rookie error on the part of my stylist combined with my over-porous highlighted hair, my desire to get back to "normal" resulted in an Elvis-worthy black dye job. 

Thus began my quest to answer the age-old question…  How do you lift the color black?  I conducted some online research and read advice ranging from washing hair repetitively with harsh shampoos (or even–yuck–laundry detergent) to get the color to rinse out, to bleaching the hair and switching to a permanent color.  Not what I wanted!

Luckily, my stylist semi-redeemed herself with an idea.  One stylist referred to the process as "shampoo bleach" and another stylist called it a "bleach cap".  It’s a mixture of 1/2 shampoo and 1/2 bleach.  The solution is evenly scrubbed into the hair for only 5-10 minutes.  This is enough time to lift the color a bit, but not enough to do any harsh damage.  My once jet-black hair is now a deep chocolate brown.  Sure, it’s still WAY darker than my natural color, but I’m actually quite fond of it!  Plus, my hair is still as soft as silk, so I don’t feel like I sacrificed hair health to lighten my shade.

Just thought someone might find this useful!

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