A Dryer That Cares About More Than Hair: Remington Heat Defense.

I dry my hair a lot.

We aren’t just talking every few days, no. We’re talking almost every single day, and that’s usually because I’m sweating my rump off skating, or running, or swimming, etc…. being athletic really makes you have to wash your hair and subsequently dry it as well. I am the type who keeps a dryer FOREVER, so when my last dinosaur fizzled out in a puff of smoke, I went shopping at the Tar-jzay for a replacement.

Now keep in mind, I bought my last hair dryer back in the early 90′s, so there were quite a few more models out there now than back then. I was in over my head, then I thought “What about a dryer that dries hair & is environmental?” OK, no I really didn’t think that…. till I saw the box for the Remington Heat Defense hair dryer.

 

The side of the box had all the usual hair dryer speak….1875 watts, Cool shot, ceramic ionic, and also said, “Everything you’d expect from a hairdryer with all the protection of heat activated micro conditioners! The specially designed outlet grill of this dryer is infused with heat-activated micro-conditioners that actually release into the dryer’s air flow. These micro-conditioners are transferred onto the hair, helping to prevent heat damage and enhance healthy shine!” , but it also listed Eco settings.

According to the box and the Remington website, “This setting saves energy while still drying your hair beautifully.” Now that sounds awesome to me. Who knows how much energy I blow through (see what I did there?) in a year of drying my hair?? In this economy, saving as much as I can would be a win in my book.

The dryer also came with a diffuser and a concentrator, something most dryers didn’t have standard in the 90′s. Top all that off with the cool purple color and we had a winner!

I’ve been using it for a while now and my dry times have seriously shortened. SO easy to dry my hair now. Also, I have dried it on both the regular settings and the Eco settings and I have not noticed any time difference between the two. Now I just leave it on Eco and roll from there! I’m sitting here with perfectly dried hair wishing my old dryer had died sooner, and at $22 from Target ($21.99 online at the Remington site) I didn’t blow a wad of cash on it either!!

Go try it!

Friday Flop: Bb. Texture Hair (Un)dressing Creme

Not long ago I had my first time: The first time I ever returned an item to Sephora. For as long as I’ve been a loyal customer, I’d had yet to take advantage of their excellent return policy. Until I met Bumble and bumble’s Texture Hair (Un)dressing Creme.  

This stuff is supposed to give you that messy, undone look. Being a hopeless hair hopper (this time last year I had a pixie cut, now it’s a shag), I’m constantly in search of the “perfect” hair (aside: Doesn’t exist, at least not for me). When I hear about a styling product that promises something beyond the stick straight look everyone else seems to be sporting, I’m on it, so when I ran across this stuff it seemed just right. I made a special trip to the mall to get it, so I’m extra disappointed that it sucks.

And suck it does. I don’t know who decided that making your hair look like you hadn’t washed it in a week was a good thing, but that’s what this (Un)dressing Creme does. I swear I looked like I was wearing a cheap wig. My hair was dull, sticky, and I couldn’t get it into the shape I wanted, the shape that it normally goes in after I blow it dry with nothing in it. I realize the description says it adds some “grit,” but I use a product called Dirt that gives me some texture and separation without actually looking (or feeling or acting) dirty. I played with using less to see if if it looked less grimy, but no go. Oh, and it is strongly perfumed. It’s not a bad smell, just a bit strong for me.

It may help to mention here that I wash my hair daily because I cannot stand the way my hair looks when I don’t. You may love it; in that case this just may be the stuff for you. I’d give you mine but I took it back and got a great lipstick instead.

Featured Photo Credit

Got 2b Guardian Angel Is A Smooth Move

Hi. This is my hair.  No, this is not my hair just on Halloween, or at a costume gala, or even on a dare….. This is actually my hair looking pretty normal—you know, for me. It has been hot pink enough to glow under a black light. It has been golden blonde on top and jet black on the last four inches or so. It has been long, it has been short, it has been a lot of things. Damage? Oh yeah… I got that in spades, so while I was shopping with my eldest the other day, I started thinking, “Man, I do some pretty crazy stuff when styling & dying my locks, maybe I should look for something to help mend and alleviate the damage I do?” to which Eldest turned to me and also expressed, “Mooooooom! I need something to flat iron  my hair and keep it smooth!” (Just imagine that being said in a whiny teen whine.) So together we start pouring over the hair care aisle when we happen upon this little gem: Got 2b Guardian Angel Flat Iron Balm.

According to the bottle, (and several stylists I have been faithful to…), hair doesn’t like heat. Temperatures above 425 degrees make your hair brittle and split. Use high heat long enough and you end up with major breakage! Yikes! This balm claims to moisturize and insulate each and every little hair on your head to not only keep is healthy, but smooth too. I looked at Eldest, Eldest looked at me and we both looked at the price tag. It was refreshingly UNDER $5, so we chucked it into the basket and finished our shopping.

Now, since I looooooove my eldest, I let her be the guniea pig go first. We took a photo of her with the product and what her hair looked like before being straightened. It’s already pretty straight, but you can still see subtle waves and frizz. Apparently, frizz is O-U-T out in high school this year. So she took the styling balm and disappeared into her bathroom to do the flat ironing.  While she was gone doing this I emptied the dishwasher, vacuumed the living room, dusted the bookshelves, solved string theory, started dinner, and then she finally waltzed back out!

This is what she looked like after. Her hair was definitely straighter, and it felt smoother. There was a definite lack of frizz as well. Eldest was extremely pleased. I said we needed to try it for more than one outing. She squeed in agreement and made off with the bottle for the next four days. During those four days we had hot, humid weather, windy weather, and rainy weather. (We live in Florida, so there was no way we were going to be able to get some cold weather.) Eldest flat ironed her hair each morning before going to her high school and I picked her up in the afternoons. Her hair stayed straight, shiny, and without frizz, even on the rainy day! It also stayed soft and shiny.

We’ve also been checking her split ends and noticed that even those had started to number fewer and fewer. Eldest is enjoying Guardian Angel immensely! Got 2b seems to have a winner here.  I know if I can ever pry the bottle out of her teenage clutches I may actually get to try it for myself, although I think I’d probably go for their other product, Guardian Angel Heat Protect & Blow Out since I use the hair dryer and the round barrel brush more than the flat iron. Either way, Got 2b Guardian Angel will be gracing my hair at my next derby bout! Who doesn’t love soft straight blonde hair with electric purple and acid green highlights!??!

 

 

 

Sparkly Soul Headbands

I have found the most amazing new headbands.  Has anyone mentioned Sparkly Soul to you yet?

Let me tell you about my former headband drama first… so you can see just WHY I appreciate Sparkly Soul so much.

Lets go way back in the time machine.  I am in elementary school… then junior high.  Active kid always running around.

Thick hair.  So thick I need 2 tough hair elastics to really wrap around my ponytail and keep it in place.  Put a headband on and it is sliding off—no matter what the brand – after just a little while.  Or sliding on back while I am running around.  In high school I went through more kinds of headbands than I can count with sports.  Believe me when I say nothing did the trick.  I had honestly begun to think that maybe some people just didn’t have a head for headbands.

The last year or so I have been using the really thin Goody ones.  I love Goody products… but even they only stay for so long.  I would use it to pull my bangs back on a day I didn’t feel like doing my hair.  (Ahem *most days*)  Or one of those rare days I was trying to work out.  Still, they always slide back eventually.  I just fix it and continue on.  Several times.

A few weeks ago I was preparing for my new workout gym routine and I saw a friend mention Sparkly Soul.  Curious, I looked them right up.  Not gonna lie, the glitter drew me in.  Huge fan of glittery things.  Sparkly Soul has “360 degrees of sparkle.”  They come in 11 sparkly colors: Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Orange, Ice Pink, Dark Purple, Light Purple, Red, Silver and Hot Pink.  I got mine in my two favorite colors.  Blue and Green.

I should mention they come in two sizes.  3/8 inch width and 5/8 inch width.  I have the blue in 3/8 and the green in 5/8.  And no matter what I do, they DO NOT MOVE!  I haven’t had to adjust them once yet and I have been wearing them for two weeks. Errands, the gym… treadmill, exercise bike, weights, Zumba, Pilates and even some aerobic classes.  They don’t slip.  (Nor do I get a headache from them as I have with other headbands that fit a little snug.)  And I have gotten tons of compliments on my sparkly headbands.

From their website: Sparkly soul was created by a marathoner and triathlete—for all the women who find their strength and soul while pushing themselves to their athletic limits.  I am IN LOVE with Sparkly Soul and will be purchasing more in the future.  The headbands can be purchased directly from their Web site.  The 3/8 retail at $15 and the 5/8 at $17.  Well worth the price.  I think you will be in love just like I am!

 

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review, however Sparkly Soul was kind enough to send me two headbands for an honest review. The opinions are all my own.

 

Friday Flop: My Precision Foam Colour Disaster

Show of hands.  Who dyes their hair?

My hand is raised high.

I started going a super slow gray at nineteen years old.  Nineteen.  Which means I have spent many years since bouncing between trips to the salon for a color and dyeing it myself.  Currently I am back on the kick where I dye it myself.

I have dark brown hair and like to switch up the color from time to time, anything in the range of lighter browns to the deeper reds.  (Side note, I have always wanted to go blonde but have never been able to muster up the guts to do so… pink too, but I’m afraid I long passed the age where I could pull that one off.)

When it comes to dyeing my hair though?  I am a pro.  Seriously!  Have never had a single problem, and I like to switch up the brands too.  OK, well there was that time with the Sun In.  That was a near disaster, but that’s another story for another time.

A few weeks ago I opened my mailbox and was excited to find a voucher for a free box of John Frieda’s new Precision Foam Colour.  Because you know, John and I?  Are like *that*.  (Or maybe I just signed up for a coupon…who can remember.)  At the store I chose 4R Radiant Red (for dark red brown hair – my current kick).   At Target it retails for $11.99 – pretty pricey for the cost of do it yourself hair dye these days but I told myself it could just be worth it (if I was paying and all).  The application is supposed to be as easy as shampooing your hair.  Mix the color, tilt the bottle, squeeze – out comes the foam… which you apply at the roots and then all over.  The website itself says: Simply massage the foam into your hair to achieve flawless coverage you thought you could only get at a salon. No drips, no stains – just gorgeous-looking hair from every angle.

Huh.

No drips, no stains.

Hmm.

Picture me in a tube top in my bathroom being dripped on everywhere faster than I could get it massaged into my hair – and my ears, arm and shoulder getting stained.  I was actually standing there in the mirror laughing at myself (because it was that or cry) … even my sink got stained.  Seriously, no idea what the heck happened.  And the smell.  I am fully used to the smell of hair dye but this one made my eyes burn.

After waiting the allotted time and washing it out, I did actually like the color and thought I might give it one more try next time.  Cut to two weeks later as the color starts fading from my hair in streaky pieces.  Full disclosure, yes I have been out at the beach and in the sun but it has never happened so fast with any other dye I have used.  I am maybe only a month out from dyeing my hair right now and not only has it really faded but I have grays popping up everywhere.  Really quite shocked.  Worst hair dye I have ever used.  Especially disappointing after seeing how much more they charge than other brands you can buy yourself (that work so much better).

If you want to give it a go yourself, certain colors on Amazon are selling for as low as $9.85 right now… but I don’t think I’d spend my money on this brand.

Solid Shampoo: Who Knew?

Great Care For Color-Treated Hair: Pureology

The most important part of coloring your hair is definitely selecting the right color, but a lot of people forget that what happens after coloring is equally important.  Combating unsightly fading and minimizing damage to your color treated hair is an intricate part of being a bottle blond, brunette or pink haired punk rock chick.  My secret weapon against faded glory and split ends for the past five years?  Awesome hair care products.

Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than shelling out big bucks to get gorgeous honey colored highlights in dark hair only to find that within a few short weeks those same two hundred dollar highlights have faded to a pallid off white color that are reminiscent of cast off Barbie doll hair that has been brushed one too many times.

Or so I’ve heard.

Pureology hair care products is a unique system of hair care that is specially designed for color-treated hair that fights both color fading and damaged hair.  These products are completely “vegan,” formulated with pure organic botanicals, and, most importantly, they contain zero sulfates.  Another great thing about Pureology shampoos and conditioners is that they’re super concentrated.  Most bottles contain about 80 shampoos worth of product, so don’t be discouraged by the price.  Using this stuff will most likely not cost you much more money than using drug store brands which mostly contain sulfates.

Sulfates?  Are very bad for colored-treated hair because they scrub the color right off of it far quicker than you would want.  Finally, if you need a moral reason to use a beauty product, you should know that Pureology is an industry leader in creating hair care products that promote environmental sustainability both through ingredient and packaging choices.

Bottom line, these hair care products protect your hair and your color until the next visit to the salon, and in the long run they’ll probably save you money.  This line also offers several different “custom” systems for color treated hair, so it’s worth checking out the consultation tool on their main website to figure out exactly what’s right for you.

My stylist suggested a great blend of the systems for my hair.  For example, I have wavy hair (which we all know is a euphemism for frizzy), so I use the Super Smooth Shampoo. In order to combat the damaging effects of adding very light highlights to my very dark hair, I follow up with the Essential Repair Conditioner. I’ve tried other products before this, drugstore and designer, and I can say with total conviction that in addition to protecting my hair and color, these products also make it easier and quicker to style my hair.

Which reminds me, Pureology also has a fantastic line of styling products.  My favorite one, something I cannot live without, is Root Lift, which, obviously, uh, lifts your roots.  It’s a light mousse that’s applied to the roots when your hair is wet and provides soft to the touch hair with durable volume.

Pureology products are sold through specific salons which you can find by entering your zip code at the bottom of their main site under “Find A Salon.”  You can also find these products on Amazon by searching “Pureology,” but be sure that you’re purchasing from a salon authorized to sell the products or you run the risk of buying expired, counterfeited or contaminated products.

Turbie Twist Hair Towel

This may be the dorkiest review I’ll ever write, but I LOVE this towel!  The Turbie Twist Hair Towel is awesome.

When I used a full size towel to wrap my hair after a shower it just ends up coming undone and it’s just a pain. I’m 32 and have wrapped my hair in towels for no less than 25 years, but I’ve always thought that there should be something better

This year at Christmas in my stocking was a Turbie Twist Hair Towel from “Santa” which, upon my opening it, my mom waxed poetic about how great it was. Yeah, ok… Santa.

At any rate I was skeptical. I have hair a bit past my shoulders and when I tried it on dry hair it was awful, of course I know it’s for wet hair, but still. At any rate the next day when I took my shower in the morning I grabbed the Turbie Twist Hair Towel to take in with me.

It was great. I love it. I think my hair length may be the just about the longest that it will work on, but it’s hood-like in the back with a long tail in the front. That part gets twisted and then tucks into a little loop of elastic on the top near the back. The Turbie Twist Hair Towel stays tight and secure and for short to mid length hair, it leaves your hair nearly dry and ready for styling.  The Turbie Twist Hair Towel is also great for applying make-up as it keeps all your hair back and out of your face.

The Turbie Twist Hair Towel is available at Amazon for $17.45 plus shipping for a pack of six. Even if you wear one out every 2 months, that’s a year of wet hair wrapping convenience for under $20.

Two very enthusiastic hairdryers up for the Turbie Twist Hair Towel. It’s such a simple idea… and it works.

InStyler Giveaway: Part Deux

Hi there, me again with the InStyler. I can’t help it, I want the world to have good hair. What can I say? I’m a giver.

I wrote a review of the InStyler back in September. You can click on the link to read the original review, but let me recap how I love my InStyler. It straightens without giving me wonky ends like my flat iron does. It creates great soft Tina Fey-like waves. And it smooths and polishes my hair. I truly can’t say enough good things about it. My hair has a natural wave to it, but not enough to be cute, so I have to encourage my hair to be straight. The InStyler does this for me quickly and easily.

My one recommendation is to not buy it from the InStyler website. For some reason, they want to make you buy two of them at a time, and for the life of me I can’t figure out how one person needs two of them. I would buy mine from Amazon or somewhere else where you can buy only one.

Although I bought my own InStyler, when I told the folks at Tre Milano how I loved mine and was going to write a review, they agreed to provide one to give away to a lucky reader. But they actually sent me an extra one! So I am giving you all another chance to enter to win one. And just in time for the holidays!

To enter to win the InStyler, leave me a comment and tell me what you are doing this holiday season that you need good hair for. Could be a family portrait for your Christmas cards, could be a New Year’s Eve party on Diddy’s yacht, could be a trip to Target for tape and a box of wine while you wrap presents. We don’t judge here at Buy-Her.

Deadline to enter is November 22. A winner will be chosen at random from the comments received. Good luck and good hair!

Curls, Curls, Curls

So, I am this brown eyed, stringy straight dark haired gal, who married a guy with similarly dark features.  We had a baby boy of the same nature.  Then, someone threw a kink (heh)  in things and had me birth a naturally curly strawberry blonde, blue eyed freckled girl. You know, to mix things up.

Well, suffice it to say I didn’t know anything about curly hair. Especially curly hair that is only somewhat curly on the top layer, and really curly on the bottom layer, and rarely actually complies with my attempts to tame it. I’ve spent the last 5ish years on the hunt for something that could help a girl out.  Enter, Curly Sexy Hair Curl Power Spray Foam.

I am going to give you it’s actual description from the horse’s mouth:

“This lightweight styling foam energizes lackluster curls, providing definition, volume and flexible hold to fine/medium curly hair types. Its special ingredients contain Wheat Protein, Rice Protein, Avocado Extract, Ginger Root, which will fight frizz while supporting the curls. Leaves your hair soft and not crunchy. It also provides all-day humidity resistance, so your curls will be shiny and wave all day long.’

And? You know what? It’s all true. I mean Southern is not just my last name folks, it’s where I am from. It takes a lot of volume to impress me. Big hair is always in, in the south. And, for proof of it’s worth,  first I give you my girl a’ natural:

Do you see what I was working with? Bleh.  I found this product about 2 weeks ago, and  I made my girl let me try it right away. Immediately, her hair was so curly, wonderful, fluffy, and volume-y.  I knew I had to share the awesome that is Curly Sexy Hair Curl Power Spray Foam.  An after picture for proof:

The only thing I did was spray and scrunch. Amazing, right?  This photo was taken about 2 hours after I fixed her hair and we had been outside in 90+ degree sweaty heat doing her photo session with our friend Serena.

There was only one downside. She, upon seeing her voluminous new look in the mirror, proclaimed it TOO BIG and “FLOOFY”.

Yah. I am not sure we are actually related.

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