The Greek Goddess Look

When they say what goes around, comes around they really mean it! It may have taken thousands of years for Greco-Roman styles to become popular again (toga party fashion excluded), but thank goodness it did. It brings us back to the simplicity of classic beautiful elegant design. Gladiator shoes, maxi dresses and beautiful draping and braiding in clothes topped off by a classic Grecian hair style can be seen every where you turn.

Maybe if all us women band together and embrace this trend our men will too! I personally wouldn't mind if there were sexy Spartans on every corner. Think of the money to be made in full body waxing....

But enough of that mindless banter and back to the topic of Greek Goddess hair. To get this look I would suggest a curling iron between 1" and 1.5 " for soft big curls. Another great option is buying a set of hot rollers. I know...soo 80's right? But once you get the hang of hot rollers you can set your hair in just a few short minutes, and get dressed or whatever while they set.

Once you hair your hair curled, flip your hair upside down and shake, using your fingers to mess the curls. Use a wide toothed comb or large pick to gently back comb the root area for volume and texture while your head is still upside down. Don't flip your head over yet! Before you do use a workable aerosol hairspray all over and finger through your hair separating loose curls.

Pull your hair up in sections and pin in place leaving random loose curls loose. Use a firm hold aerosol hairspray to set the style in place.Pull it all up or just part of it up.Or leave a side pony tail. Putting it up in sections leaves you the option of stopping at any time when you feel it looks right. Controlled messy is the key here.

Accessorize with a braid or twist the sections as you pin them in place. There is no set pattern of design for this look which make it easily creatable since you can rework it until it looks right.

Be Back Bloggin Soon!

To those few who may be checking back on my blog I wanted to say thanks and don't give up on me yet!

Ive had alot of family drama going on that has my mind wrapped around it. Plus its summer break from school so adjusting to everyone being home all the time is kind of stressful. (I'm sure the moms out there can relate)My Grandpa has been on and out of the hospital so Ive been running there alot. But I consider it a blessing, not many people my age have their grandparents around and all 4 of mine are still living.

But I do have alot of drafts started I need to finish up and publish, but every time I try to do it someone needs something from me as usual. But I am making a definite effort to get my blogging rolling again.

Take care all and be well!

Flat Iron Wars: Chi vs GHD

If you've researched flat irons both CHI and GHD probably have come up as the most known names in the industry. Heres the scoop on the real history behind the iron wars.

Farouk Systems USA came out with CHI irons. They were by far the best styling tool that had ever been manufactured. Every stylist owned a CHI iron. Alot of time and effort went into the research and development of the CHI iron. Then sadly one day Farouk Systems USA was sold and product manufacturing was outsourced. Cheaper quality irons resulted from the manufactuer changes. Problems with electrical wiring shorting out became synonomous with the once hailed and renown CHI brand.

Enter GHD> GHD stands for Good Hair Day.Much simpler and way more catchy than cationic hydration interlink ! GHD marketed its irons to 2 places.BSG which is the main supplier to most professionals and Sephora. Every BSG store you walk into has a mannequin head and a GHD iron. GHD representatives come and stand by the head and pressure stylist to try the GHD while bashing CHI for its problems.

I have 2 of the original CHI irons and I have tried the GHD irons more than once and argued with the reps over the quality difference I see in my original CHI irons and the GHD irons. The original CHI Irons are the basic black ones that say Global Beauty System on the side.I never thought for the life of me I would find another iron I was satisfied with! The GHD does not compare to an original CHI iron in any way shape or form. Anyone who has an original CHI will tell you this. Now the more recent CHI irons are a sad disappointment and the GHD irons blow those ones away.

GHD irons are not exactly cheap either! You can expect to pay between $200 and $300 for one. I have heard from an inside source that the PACKAGE ALONE costs the company about $11 which is of course passed on to you. Makes you wonder what was skimped on to afford such expensive packaging! I would rather have $11 worth of quality instead of a box I am eventually going to pitch.

I decided if my CHI irons die I need to be prepared to purchase a replacement.Over the past 2 years I have tested tons of irons because I decided I do not want to risk a bad CHI and I don't want a GHD. I am not impressed by their pushy sales tactics nor their irons and fancy boxes.So I set out on a mission to check out every flat iron I could get my hands on.

Right now by far my favorite winner for new #1 iron is Infrashine. They are a relatively new company and their irons are just emerging as a major player in the tools department. I tried out an Infrashine iron at a hair show the beginning of May in Cleveland Ohio and haven't stopped thinking about it since. No preconceived notions it just felt right to me.

So June 1st I was at a hair show in Nashville Tennessee, and was sitting having a cocktail with some of the vendors( they all know me cause I'm a hair show roadie )

And guess who I had the privilege of meeting! A man named Paul who is one of the big wigs at Infrashine. When we started talking I had no idea who he was. I asked what he was selling at the show and he meekly replied "oh we sell tools, stop by if you wanna look at any" So stupid me starts to say "well I may do that I'm in the market for a new iron, and the Infrashine is my fav right now!" And I continue to brag on my Original CHI irons. So he starts to tell me about the history of Infrashine.....They made the original CHI irons! When Farouk was sold, the developers got together and came up with an even superior iron and named the company Infrashine. There is actually a little sensor inside that detects when the iron needs heat and deliver heat within 1/16 of a second. Paul had tons of irons disassembled so you could see the actual guts behind the machine and I was highly impressed with the design of the infrashine irons.

Paul actually gave me an Infrashine Redline Iron for free (I love free stuff!)and told me to pass on my unbiased opinion of it. I got home and have used it for 2 weeks straight and I actually gave my mom one of my original precious rare original CHI irons, which is something I thought I would be buried with.

I do not carry nor sell this product.I am not pushing you to purchase this iron because it benefits me in any way. The iron is AMAZING. The people seem great and down to earth which is a definite bonus in my book!

So in the battle of CHI Vs GHD..........Infrashine wins in my books

Here is the link to the Infrashine website, If you are in the market for a new iron I highly reccomend you check them out before making a big purchase.

http://infrashine.com/

Adventures With A Crimping Iron & A Four Year Old

This is Aislyn Blue my youngest of 3 kids.My oldest is a girl as well and when she was little I was really into the braids and clips and unique updo type hair do's.Anything unique was my motto back then.

With Aislyn, I tend to let her locks flow more freely and I love the natural look on her.Maybe I am drawn to natural beauty more due to ageing and fading youth myself.

But the chronic stylist in me couldn't resist trying out my newest crimping iron on her.

I used my Conair infinity deep waving iron.I really love it.The temperature goes up to 395 degrees!

I find that important when using a crimping iron.If it isnt hot enough to wave in 3 or 4 seconds, your hand get tired out before your done, and you apply less and less pressure causing the waves to be less defined.

I rubbed a little anti frizz serum through her hair and crimped it in sections about 4 " wide and 2 " thick starting at the nape area.

I sprayed each section with TIGI Rockaholic Fun Times Flexible Hair Spray and crimped my way down from roots to ends.

I just used my fingers to separate the waves a bit and place them where I wanted to go.

She is a hairy little thing as you can see and the whole process took about 15 minutes.

Were going on day 2 and her hair still look great!

Amazing New Updo's At The Cleveland Hair Show

This was one of the hair models who was kind enough to allow me to take a photo of her outside between shows. And yes that is her hair around her neck! Ive posted some random pics from the cleveland fashion focus show in the sidebar, but I forgot my camera so they are crappy cell phone pics.




The front is done with a loose french braid across to the side, I couldnt get a good pic of it on my camera.
I love the messy yet polished look of this do. The hair around the neck may be a bit much for every day wear, but the shape of this look is divine.A refreshing change for the everyday curls of the average updo.

Lemon Juice To Lighten Hair

Everyone has heard of using lemon juice and laying out in the sun to streak your hair.

Lemon juice on its own will do nothing to your hair as far as color goes.When mixed with UVA/UVB rays from the sun lemon juice will have a lightening effect on the hair. This process takes about 5 hours sitting in the sun to work so make sure you use a good sunscreen!

Lemon juice is naturally acidic in nature. Alot of hair care products use citrus extracts to help balance the pH of hair.The natural pH of hair is around 5. pH is measured on a scale of 0 to 14 with 0 being extremely acid in nature and 14 being extremely alkali. A pH of 7 is considered neutral.Lemon Juice has a pH of about 2. So if your hair is on the alkali end of the pH scale, the acid will balance out the pH levels in your hair leaving it softer and more manageable.

However overuse of lemon juice will cause your pH levels to get out of whack and end up too acidic. This can leave your hair feeling dry and damaged.

Lightening with lemon juice works best on those with already light hair. If you use it on hair that is darker and that has red pigments in it, you can end up with brassy orange streaks because the lemon lightening system just isn't strong enough to break through the red molecules in your hair.

If you do choose to use lemon juice to lighten your hair, make sure you wash it out well and use a good conditioner that does NOT contain other citrus extracts to keep your pH levels in check.

Also avoid using heat on top of the lemon juice.That means no blow dryers, no flat or curling irons, nothing. Think of how as kids you used lemon juice as invisible ink.Once the lemon juice on the paper was held over a heat source, it turned brown and showed up for reading. It will do the same thing in your hair which totally defeats using lemon juice to lighten the hair.Plus it is nearly impossible to remove that brassy effect without resorting to bleach and harsh chemicals.

Products like Sun In have the same problem when heat is applied so use carefully and wisely washing thoroughly after your sun time lightening session.

Gails Makeup Contest For May WIN COOL STUFF

OK so Gail from Oogle makeup and I have been working on getting the contest together for all you readers so make sure to head over to her blog and check it out!
Ive done the easy part(donating little gifts) and she is doing all the major work! I will be giving out a $50 gift card as well for the first place winner for you to spend at Erryns Health And Beauty! We just added hundreds of new items and hundreds more will be added before the contest end which is June 7th.
Enter to win and cool stuff for FREE !!!!!
Here is a video bit about the contest

Tangles Knots Tears & Kids Hair

Combing out tangles after a bath can be one of the most grueling tasks of the day.Tears, whining,bribes are issues familiar to any mom just trying to take care of your little ones hair.

Although kids shampoo's are tearless, they do lack conditioning and can leave hair full of knots and tangles. When your little one is able to avoid getting shampoo in his or her eyes, switch to a shampoo that meets the growing needs of their hair.Also don't skip the conditioner! Apply it from the nape down, let it sit for a minute or two while everything else gets scrubbed and rinse it with a cup of water down the back.Keeping the conditioner just on the back of the hair helps keep it from running into their eyes. You can also gently rough detangle the hair with your fingers while the conditioner is in the hair to help release some of the major knots.

After the bath you can use a leave in light detangling spray to help with the tangles.My girls both had/have long heavy hair and detangler does little to nothing for them. If you have this problem too, try an anti frizz serum like Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum.These products contain oils that help not only fly aways and static, but help the tangles slide out alot easier.

Use a good large cushioned paddle brush for detangling and a softer natural bristle brush for finishing when dry for the least painful haircare.

Tie it up! If your little one takes a bath before bed, use a soft scrunchy or pony tail holder that wont break their delicate hair and tie it into a loose braid or pony tail. This helps for the next morning to keep the knots down.

Little men have issues all of their own! Bed head, cowlicks and not being able to sit for more than 5 seconds to let you fix them up. A quick easy fix when you have to head out is keep a spray bottle around with half water and half soft hold liquid gel mixed together in it. Boys always think getting sprayed is a good time! A little hold to keep things in check and the water helps redirect the bedhead back to its normal position.

Of course your always going to have gum, candy and other sticky stuff to contend with along the way. Try using ice to harden the sticky goo and chip it away little by little.Or you can try a product with oil of some sort to soften the mess and help it slide out.Alot of people use peanut butter, margarine or mineral oil. I prefer the ice method so I don't have to wash the oil out after.

Lock up the scissors as best you can, but if you have older kids chances are, there will be experiments in hairdressing. It happens to the best of us.Try not to panic and cry. Its just hair no big deal, it grows and it gives you a good story to tell! Take lots of pics to show future boyfriends/girlfriends. And make a trip to the salon and get a game plan to grow it out.

Don't skimp on cheap junk products for your little ones hair. Time is money, and getting the right product for his/her hair will save you oodles of time, and save your baby oodles of tears. It is worth the investment to make both of your lives simpler.