Hair Today: Flat Iron Beauty Trends For Tomorrow

       Coarse frizzy hair with unmanageable waves has been an insufferable problem defying  most skilled stylists  attempting  a workable solution without creating a deleterious effect. Women have wept bitterly at the prospect of a humid  day.  When all hope of sleek, shiny, smooth manageable hair seemed a remote possibility a drum roll is heard and a slew of new flat irons rise to the challenge.
      Researchers have garnered much information as to what transforms  frizzy, dry and unmanageable hair to straight and shiny.  Some  evidence suggests  an optimum temperature  will control locks without frying your frizz  and worsening its texture. What temperature  and which heat delivery system is still hotly debated---pardon the pun!  Desired results are accomplished  in various ways by each of the new products.  Let's examine what the current trends have wrought.

The newest and fairly expensive flat iron is the Eclipse by Ghd (aka good hair day) .  Retailingat $245, is it worth the price?  Here are the claims:

• styles faster  and with less heat
• handles all hair textures
• creates gloss and shine
• heating system uses optimum heat of 365 degrees
• no loss of heat using heat sensors with three hating zones in each plate
• uses universal voltage
• 30 minute automatic shut off
• 2 year  limited manufacturer warranty

      My curiosity caused me to purchase the above flat iron online to provide a first hand account.   My hair was easily straightened with fewer passes and its texture remarkably improved.   It took  30 seconds for the flat iron to reach the optimum temperature of 365 degrees and remained consistent throughout. Only the passing of time will tell regarding the condition of my hair and whether this pricy iron will live past its 2 year guarantee. I will provide future updates.  This is so new there are no reviews as yet.

      Another interesting flat iron is the Maxiglide Sonicglide.   It claims to be able to      metamorphosize  your frizz into smooth straight hair in one step.  It retails at $100.

• Each  plate on this flat iron has detangling pins that are ceramic coated acting like a fine comb.  
•  Sonic vibration and a steam burst system to smooth out split ends.  
• There are extra flat plates 
• Uses nano ceramic technology to prevent heat damage to your hair.
• 1 year limited manufacturer warranty 

     The steam creates negative ions with even heat distribution to create a silky, shiny finish with a temperature range of 234-428 degrees.  This flat iron was created by celebrity stylist Masood Max.  Reviews are mixed at the time of this post.

     The last next greatest latest flat iron is the Babyliss Pro Nano Titanium 1 1/4 " Flat Iron Straightner retailing at $220.

• Uses a heat delivery system called Advanced Surround Heat.  It produces the desired results 40% faster, reaches a temperature of 450 degrees, and eliminates the damage made by multiple passes.  
• This model offers a 4 year manufactures warranty.

     The above are the most promising new-bees on the flat iron horizon so far, in my opinion,  but once again only the passing of time will tell the tale of the next great flat iron!

The new "Electric Slide"  is no longer a a dance routine  but  a hair care ritual!


Botton Line:  The good news is that with its increased popularity, flat irons have improved over time. 

The Value of Truth In Relationships

     Truth  supersedes all other  attributes in a personal  relationship.  It is the bedrock upon which this special connection must thrive.   Failure to be forthright undermines its stability  and defines the authenticity of  its members in a way that demeans them. Lack of credibility will disintegrate all trust.  The relationship becomes history.
     Richard Pryor, the late and great American comedian, actor, film director, writer and uncompromising social critic once said only three types of people tell the truth--- kids, drunk people, and anyone who is  f______g  pissed off.  If you have ever been any of these three, you  are aware being honest  is a challenge.  In a significant relationship it  takes even more courage and due diligence for those involved to maintain this truthfulness.   Here  are some  obstacles we may encounter while trying to sail on a steady course:

• We sacrifice our happiness for the sake of another.
• We are overwhelmed with self-doubt with regard to the  inability of another  to accept the truth in an appropriate manner. 
• We detect a lack of the tools, experience or desire to interact in a  personal level in others. .
• We discover  egocentric behavior  impedes another persons  ability to listen with objectivity   invariably bringing  the topic at hand back to themselves.
• We are dealing with someone who may have a tendency to become  defensive and interpret a desire for a serious dialog as negative criticism making communication unattainable.  

      All of the above are red flags detracting from any meaningful interaction.  They indicate a need for relationship  revision otherwise  demise is eminent.  Over-reactions to circumstance  may indicate an inability to accept each other as equals and/or a lack of investment in the relationship.  Self-sacrifice can lead resentment, anger, jealousy and self-abandonment.
      There is no room personal growth within this type of social interaction if these adverse effects persist.  What exists is a misrepresentation of each of the participants.    When either of the participants  have  continually been compromised or been mistreated,  it becomes necessary  to dissolve the association .  Temporary pain of loss  it is better than living a lie. We need to live a life that makes us happy by seeking out relationships  that serves us truthfully.

Bottom Line:  Make the most of each moment by surrounding yourself with those who value the importance of truth in a relationship with you.

Beauty Blast: Hair Botox

      The inspiration for this topic came about when  a friend  queried if Hair Botox is a joke.  No, it's very real, very new on the beauty scene and has great potential for  to improving  hair stressed out by coloring, heat treatments, straightening,  chemical additives and hormonal issues.  It also does wonders for coase frizzy hair.  It's touted as a kind of time machine and fountain of youth  that brings your hair back to life.   Supposedly, this product fills in the gaps left in your hair follicles by years of neglect thereby smoothing out your hair the way  Botox smooths away wrinkles minus the injections.  Cumulative damage and decreased keratin production as we age causes our hair to become severely weakened.
    Hair Botox contains caviar oil, B5, E vitamins and collagen complex which moisturizes,  and revives hair, repairing split ends, adding shine, softness and eliminating frizz. Wow!  And it does this without using formaldehyde or harmful chemicals.  Unlike previous hair straightening treatments, it  adds nutrients to the inside of the damaged cortex of the shaft cuticles.  It strengthens the integrity of hair from the inside out.  Hair Botox contains both  organic microspheres which help minimize hair loss and acid which exfoliates and helps with scalp conditions.  I have personally tried the Hair B restructuring cream instead of my usual cream rinse which made the texture of my hair softer but still required the use of a flat iron to tame my frizz.  This got me thinking about the latest trends in flat irons which will be the subject for my next blog.  I am anxiously  awaiting the delivery of one of the so-called latest and greatest ones so  I can  present you with a first hand account.
     If at home preparation appeals to you then look into Fiberceutic by L'Oreal.  It can be a bit pricey so try eBay where you may be lucky at an auction.  The kit contains a 15x15ml bottle of Hair Filling Serum, 500ml of Restorative Hair Sealing Treatment for Fine Hair and a blunt, flat syringe.  If you feel more comfortable with a  visual demonstration  before you begin there are tutorials on You-Tube where you can watch step by step instructions.
     L'Oreal says a treatment lasts about 10 washings but it might vary.  If cost is an issue you might choose to use it when a special occasion arises.  Check with your hairstylist and inquire about a special promotion going now or in the future.
     Rusk also makes a similar product that is touted as an anti-curl treatment using keratin.  It is available in an assortment of formulas for tinted, naturally curly, permed, highlighted, tinted and coarse hair.  It claims to remove frizz, create shine and improve the condition of your hair using amino acids derived from plant sources.
     There are other companies that claim to act like  hair botox used by professional hairstylists which are not readily available on the retail market.  This product is somewhat  new and it may take time before it becomes more common .  I will post more information as it becomes available.

     Are there any drawbacks to using these products?  Let me share what I've found out thus far:

•  The treatment time takes about 3 to 4 hours depending on the texture of your hair.  As you might expect, coarse hair takes longer.
• The treatment needs to be repeated every three months on average- more often if you wash your hair more frequently.
• You need to purchase a starter set to maintain you hair so that it lasts up until the prescribed time.  This set includes a shampoo, restructuring cream and a booster spray.
• A blower and flat iron is still required to tame your frizzy locks but the drying time is diminished by about 1/3.  If it took you 45 minutes to dry your hair now it will take 1/2 hour.
• This may not be cost or time effective but this based on individual need and bank account.

      Below are before and after pictures  illustrating  the possible effects of this treatment.
      Should you try it?  What have you got to loose?  Weigh your options and decide!  In the end, its whatever makes you happy?  Isn't that what life is  all about?

  Bottom Line: Wishing you good hair days with or without these treatments!
You can't deny that looking good helps you feel happy!

   

Circus Animal Abuse

     As an animal activist and pet lover I am inspired by the ever expanding popularity of animal-free circuses.  Our present intoxication with  computer generated images of animals performing incredible feats is  relatively innocuous compared to the subjugation of animals in performing acts that are unnatural to them solely for our pleasure.  a good example are tigers forced to jump through fir hoops even though tigers naturally fear fire. Is it not possible to dazzle human beings without exposing animals to a life of tortuous enslavement in the circus?
      It has been reported that more than 17 European countries, nine Central and South American countries, all of India, Singapore, Taiwan, and Israel, have banned the use of some/or all wild animals from performing in circuses.  In the United States, more than 50 local governments have imposed restrictions on the use of pain in animal training.  Hardly enough!
      America needs to  arrest such cruel practices like the use of  electrocution prods,  piercing implements, shackles, whips, bullhooks and/or employ the custom of imprisoning animals in darkened rooms endlessly,  as well as similar "techniques",  to break their will.  Do you know that less than 100 U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspectors are assigned to monitor the 12,000 circus-related facilities in America?  Sadly, much of a circus animals life is spent in a cage during transport.  It is unconscionable to permit individuals to earn a living  by abusing animals. They do have a voice. We should speak for them but we refrain.  They do cry but many of us choose to ignore the plight of the innocents.  An honorable citizenry can challenge the above mentioned  pernicious practices by refusing to patronize  circuses using animal performers. Our attendance condones innumerable heinous  behaviors and  creates a  demand for more of the same abuse.
     Although it may be argued that some trainers treat their animals better than some pet owners,  the animals themselves have not chosen the life of servitude to which  they may have become accustomed.   We need to mobilize our elected officials so they become aware of our desires.   Animal shelters have reported  the ill effects suffered by  animal residents  who were rescued after surviving lives "on the road'.     Apathy will enable this affliction to endure .  To do nothing is a choice.  It promotes status quo.   We  are  compelled  to do everything in our power to commit  to the end of animal injustice.  Too many innocent souls have  sacrificed their short lives for the sake of an  archaic form of amusement.    Certainly the success of all-human circuses like Cirque de Soleil proves that the use of animal performers is totally unnecessary.  I will leave you with something  to ponder.  Every major circus in some way has violated the Animal Welfare Act in the United States.  The abuses perpetrated are too numerous to be covered in this blog!
     Enjoy the circus?  The animals don't!

Bottom Line:  How can we be happy with ourselves  if we  tolerate the suffering of innocent animals  for the sake of our amusement?

Anger Management

     What do you do when whatever you have chosen  doesn't work out the way you planned? What happens when you express your needs and you are rejected? You can curse the heavens or sit on the pity pot but nothing will be resolved and you won't feel one bit better.  Isn't that the goal?  To feel better?  Unresolved anger can give rise to depression and to other negative affects. Below are some  strategies you might employ to manage your anger.

• Absent yourself from  toxic individuals manufacturing all the drama. Remove the cause and the effect will dissipate.   If you stay with negative people it over shadows the positives in your life.  Seek out the company of those who are pleasant, kind and thoughtful.  
• Suppress your frustration  and redirect your energies in the pursuit of those activities that bring you joy and inner peace. Stop thinking about your anger. Long walks, reading a book, listening to music, following a hobby, chatting with a friend are examples of behaviors that can serve  to make you feel better.  It will help you to calm down and lead to rational thinking.
• Simple relaxation tools like deep"gut" breathing while repeating a calm word or phrase or employing some slow less intense yoga stretches may help.  Meditation and yoga have seen me through some dark times.
• Change your thinking and you can change your life.  "The world is out to get you" is an example of an irrational thought.  Recognize overly dramatic thinking as an obstacle and redirect your thoughts to more rational ones like reminding yourself that its normal to feel frustrated, disappointed and hurt when you don't get what you want.  
• Accept that there may not always be a solution to your problem so direct your energies into facing the problem. Make a plan to deal with a situation you can not change.  Do whatever will not stir up your anger. Sometimes stepping back for a time and having some distance is helpful.  Progress may be slow but logic will eventually prevail.  Give time time.

     The way you choose to handle your anger will vary in each situation but the end result should lead to a logical way of dealing with your problem.  Mahatma Gandhi once compared holding on to anger  as similar to holding onto a hot piece of coal. It serves no purpose other than to burn you.  Human beings make mistakes.  Some will let you down but  others who  lift you up. Some will be out of control.  Just move on for you own sake.  Anger is necessary and there will always be events and/or people that trigger it.  You can not  eliminate pain, frustration and loss but you can change how you let anger affect you.

     Life is too short to waste time and energy on unproductive activities.  Obsession robs you of happy moments.  Pick yourself up and move forward with like minded souls.  Forgive where and when  necessity for your own sake and allow yourself to evolve and become a better person.  Change your mind and you change your life.

Bottom Line: "The best fighter is never angry" ~ Lao Tzu

Finding Yourself At The Movies: One Step At A Time

     There are those who attribute their  shortcomings to the past which serves to entangle the believer in a quagmire of inactivity giving birth to depression.   In this instance,  there is little to be gained from analyzing  the past.  I recently saw the movie "Wild" that reminded me of the futility of extreme soul searching.  This flick is based on a book penned by Cheryl Strayed (not her birth name)  about her  internal as well as external voyage.  In this tragic tale, she takes a 1,100 miles hike across  the Pacific Crest Trail  along mountain ranges of the Mojave Desert into Washington State. Her humongous back back weighs her down and represents her past mistakes and hardships.  She carries it everywhere  immersing herself in intense pain symbolized by the body bruises they inflict. Initially, her purpose is  penance for sins  committed as a consequence of past hardships and to honor her mother who was a naturalist and an expert on the PCT. Eventually she learns that everything in her life has had a purpose or maybe not.  She learns to giver up he obsession with the past  and get on with her life.
     Cheryl, played by Reese Witherspoon,  is no super hero with any special skills.  She represents anyone whose screwed up badly and lost their internal compass.     We share her  past perceptions and her journey.  We learn about her resourceful mom Bobbi, played by Laura Dern, who left her physically abusive husband. Bobbi supports herself and her two children on a meager salary and food stamps and then dies from cancer  two months shy of earning her college diploma.  Shortly afterwards, our  protagonist begins a four year decent into heroine abuse and numerous extramarital affairs resulting in divorce and chronic depression. All background information is provided to us by the use of flashbacks which are Cheryl's remembrances.   Cheryl's inner spirit is so low she has nowhere to travel but up and so her introspection proceeds one painful step at a time.  After a lengthly examination of the past she then fast forwards those  thoughts and revelations  to bring herself to the present moment.

     "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment."- Buddha

        At the risk of redundancy,    there is very little benefit  analyzing  the past.We need to perceive who we truly are one step at a time without putting obstacles in our path. You can not un-ring the bell.   Hopefully, your survival made you stronger, wiser, resourceful. resilient  to withstand the challenges in life.  Let go of your preconceptions,  of comparisons with others, and have the fortitude to fight for the life you want!  You have been presented with a unique opportunity to live ever mindful of who you really are to yourself.  No longer judge yourself harshly and  forgive your shortcomings.  Heal and look forward eagerly to the infinite possibilities in your life.  
     The Dalai Lama said,  There are two days in the year that nothing can be done.  One is called yesterday and the other is called tomorrow, so today is the right day to love, believe, do and mostly live."

Bottom Line:  Celebrate the life you have and not the one you lost.  Live in the present.

    

Happiness Is

     Happiness can be elusive yet everyone continues to search for it.  The journey is idiosyncratic and never ending and the methods by which we hope to attain it are infinite. Here are some thoughts to ponder from those fellow travelers who consider happiness in various ways:

• Sweetness, in whatever form, helps to make challenging times bearable.
• I don't drown my sorrows, I suffocate them in chocolate.
• Coffee keeps me busy until it's acceptable to drink the hard stuff. 
• Life is short.  Buy the shoes.

   In line with some of the above thinking,  I would like to provide you with one of the ways I seek a little bliss.  Some favorite recipes serve me well  when life challenges every fiber of my being and I need to take a time out.  How about something that satisfies a sweet tooth?    Happiness is a state of mind, so change you mind and indulge in  guilt-free goodies that have some redeeming value.  I try to add something healthy to a decadent snack.    Below are two samples of my "time out goodies".  The first is a simple blueberry jam but you can substitute whatever berries you like should you care to improvise.

             

                                         Raw Blueberry Jam

                                          4 cups blueberries

                                          2 tablespoons raw honey

                                          2 teaspoons chia seeds

                                        

Soak chia seeds in 4 teaspoons of water for 10 minutes.  They will begin to gel in the water and provide a thicker consistency for the jam.  Blend all ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour or more then enjoy on some really good artisan bread or whatever you heart desires.  I love it on Quinoa pancakes with a few dark chocolate chips!

     My second recipe takes a little bit more time and some effort but totally worth it.It is a chocolate brownie made with black beans but you'll never know they're there--seriously!  The upside is they are very satisfying, the downsides are the  baking times and the thickness of the batter.  The solution are: 

 Make them while streaming your fav movie, series or exercise class ;-)

Use a heavy duty food processor to mix the ingredients really well.

 Canned beans are softer and easier to blend than fresh but the choice is yours.

                                              Clean & Fudgy Brownies

                                              2 cans of black beans

                                              1 1/4 cup pitted dates

                                              2 teaspoons raw almond butter

                                              1 teaspoon vanilla extract

                                              1/2 cup organic cocoa powder

                                              1 teaspoon ground chia seeds

                                   

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Start with one ingredient at a time and process each until smooth.  Most ingredients are very dense. Use a well oiled 8"x8" pan.  Bake for 90 minutes and you will be rewarded. I sometimes use parchment paper which makes removal from the pan a bit easier.

Bottom Line:  Never say diet! Improvise your way to health and happiness in a tasteful way!