This high, textured French twist is the perfect unfussy but fabulous updo for a New Year’s Eve bash. If it gets a little messy dancing or downing the bubbly, all the better.

To achieve this look from the Spring 2010 Louis Vuitton runway, first apply a nickel-sized amount of Redken Thickening Lotion 06 Body Builder to damp hair and blow dry.

Curl 1″ – 2″ sections of hair around a wide-barrel curling iron. Once curls have cooled, backcomb your entire head. Gather hair in the back, racking the front locks back with your fingers, and twist up to create a French twist. Secure with bobby pins. Use the picture above as your guide, pieces can be messy and falling out, it’s all part of the fun.

Mist with Redken Workforce hair spray.hair

Obviously, the price tag is a big barrier to a lot of women when considering what salon hair treatments she’s going to get. But another sticking point for many is – what’s in this stuff? At the store you can examine the ingredients, if you’re lucky enough to be able to pronounce them and remember what they all are. At the salon you’re kind of at the mercy of your stylist or stuck being the weirdo who wants to see the ingredient list. When you’re using “whole ingredients” to borrow a phrase from cooking, there’s no such worry!

Baking soda works wonders in your hair to remove buildup and improve manageability.  While your hair is dry before you take a shower, mix one tablespoon of baking soda with a cup of warm water, mix thoroughly and work it into your hair by hand and with a comb.  Then jump in the shower and rinse it out.

Apple Cider Vinegar also helps remove buildup, and gives hair the shine so many products are promising with harmful chemicals these days.  Mix two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar with a cup of warm water and work it into your hair.  Then jump in the shower and rinse it out. Or mix 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar with 1 quart of water and use as a final rinse after shampoo and conditioner.

Real Mayonnaise (that means no Miracle Whip) makes a great hair conditioner. It is basically made out of eggs and oil, so it’s no wonder! Dampen hair and apply a thick layer of mayo to your scalp and comb through to the ends of your hair. Leave on for 20 minutes before shampooing as usual.

Salt – No surprise it’s what gives you that coveted beach hair look, considering a main element of the beach is salt water. Add a tablespoon of salt to 4 oz of water in a spray bottle, spray on shampooed and conditioned hair and the salt water dries in your hair giving it that full-bodied sexiness.

[Source: Kayla Fioravanti RA, Chief Formulator and co-founder of Essential Wholesale; Image: CelebHairstyle]

What beauty statements do you think are too much for the workplace, and how do you think the nature of the workplace dictates those rules? For instance, how are these standards different at a law firm or a creative advertising agency? In New York or Tampa? Or… Portland.

An employee of a Portland International Airport bookstore, Powell’s, has recently been reprimanded by the Port of Portland, which leases the space to Powell’s for having pink tresses. In a customer service environment, dress codes based on the expectations of customers are perfectly appropriate. At Hot Topic (a US chain of punk and scene fashions) one might expect to see pink hair more often than at Brooks Brothers.

But, shouldn’t it be up to Powell’s, which apparently had no problem with employee Kara Garland’s hair color? And adding to the complexity of the issue, Kara also claims to have visible tattoos and piercings on her blog about the issue. Wouldn’t those have raised similar red flags among authorities if such displays were an issue? In her blog, Kara talks about body ownership.

“I don’t really understand how it could make anyone feel uncomfortable. I feel that if someone disapproves of me for having pink hair, they won’t like me any better with a ‘natural’ color because of my visible tattoo and piercings. Or because I work for Powell’s, any number of reasons really, all based on prejudices. I strongly feel that my customer service shines through any initial bad impression of me based on old stereotypes. Bad customer service is what drives people away, not brightly colored hair.”

As someone with pink hair of her own, (that’s me in the pic!) I feel I’m a bit biased on the issue. What do you think? Tell us in the poll at the link below.

What do you think of “non-natural” hair colors in the workplace?
( polls)

Heat styling – we all do it. Whether you curl your hair for special occasions or won’t be caught dead without your locks straightened within an inch of their lives. But are you doing it right? Here’s a crash course from Redken creative consultant Guido.

First things first. If you’re going to be attacking your hair with high temps, you’ve got to prepare. “For a blow-dry, apply a heat protectant cream or gel, like Redken blown away 09 protective blow-dry gel [or I use Satinwear], to damp hair and comb it through so it’s thoroughly distributed. You want to make sure that your mid-lengths and ends, which are the most prone to damage, are evenly coated,” Guido said. ”For curling or flat-ironing, mist a heat protectant spray like iron silk 07 ultra straightening spray or spray starch 15 versatile ironing spray on each section (hair should be dry) before you use your hot tool.”

Now that you’re all prepped, are you going to go curly or straight? Curly girlies, take note when choosing what size curling iron to use.

“It depends on two things,” according to Guido. ”First, you need to decide what size curl you want to create. Second, you have to account for the fact that the curl will loosen throughout the day—you should choose a barrel that’s slightly smaller than the size of the curl you want. For loose waves, I find 1-inch curling iron works best. At first the curls might appear a bit too tight, but they’ll loosen up perfectly.”

Straight ahead for advice on keeping flat-ironed hair from looking lifeless.

“Apply a heat protectant product like iron silk 07 ultra straightening spray to each section before you flat-iron. Hair that’s continually exposed to heat without any protection will end up looking dull, damaged and lifeless. The other trick is to kick the ends out. Just turn your wrist slightly as you’re bringing the iron down to the end of the section. It gives you movement and texture, so hair doesn’t look so severe.“

[Image: T3 Limited Edition - Pink Overnight Hair Dryer]

It’s hard enough trying to decide what hairstyle to go for these days with so many trends around.

Is it time you had a bob? Join Kate Moss with a funky fringe? Or be really daring and go pixie short?

Instead of looking to your favourite celebrity for new trends, try focusing on celebrities that have the same face shape as yours. The shape of your face plays a big part in what will and won’t look good.

Follow my tips to get a new hair style that won’t only look fab, but is tailor made for you! (more…)

It’s time to ditch those hairbrushes as messy hair is officially in.

Messy, elegant messy, slightly messy and casual hairstyles are all the latest rage and they have redefined what is sexy, comfortable and appealing for 2008. 

Celebrities such as Alexa Chung, Kate Moss, Sienna Miller, and Paris Hilton have all be proudly parading their un-brushed locks. (more…)

THE NEW BLONDE FOR 2008

This season, just like the clothes on our backs, hair colour is all about being bright, bold and luxurious. Expensive looking colours are hot right now–such as honeys, golds and ice white blondes that are shiny and vibrant are set to be everywhere, this 2008.

Hair Colour Doctor and Channel 4’s Ten Years Younger hair expert, Lisa Shepherd, who’s also a massive lover of all things blonde says:

“This season is seeing a new blonde on the block! A much lighter, brighter and whiter Blonde says Lisa. “It’s very beautiful, full of shine and can work for a glamorous look (Sarah Harding) or ultimate rock chick chic (Pixie Geldof or Agyness Deyn)

I believe everyone can be blonde, but before you go tearing out a picture of Agyness asking for this colour there are things to consider first!

Blonde is without a doubt one of the most popular hair colours. There are so many shades of blonde available but not everyone manages to get it just right.

Firstly your hair needs to be healthy and in a good condition in order to take in the entire colour.

It’s also worth noting how high maintenance this hair colour is, it’s probably wise to let your hairdresser know how long you’re happy to spend on your hair and how often you want to revisit the hair salon. Then they can give you a style and type of blonde that requires the right amount of commitment from you!

During your consultation, your colourist will determine whether you should go for warm or cool tones to match your skin, this is important and will stop you from looking pale and washed out. Icy white is a very cool colour to go but we’re all aware of how brave it is. This is not a colour to try yourself at home! If you don’t want to go all the way the first time then ask your colourist for a full head of highlights using multi-tonal blondes like ice white, crystal clear and ash.

Blonde can lose its shine and turn brassy, keep it fresh by alternating your shampoo with a toner. Try Schwarzkopf Touch of Silver shampoo (£2.09, Boots), which balances brassy tones.
  Lisa’s quick tips for Blondes:

• It’s important to have regular visits to the salon to make sure your blonde is always looking its best.

• Keep your blonde looking refreshed in-between visits to the salon by using a good colour shampoo specifically for Blondes. Try Schwarzkopf Blonde me range.

• If you’ve spent years dying your hair blonde, then it’s probably prone to being dry and frizzy. Keep it looking shiny and silky with a few drops of serum everyday, I like Clynol’s illuminate smoothing shine treatment (RRP £8.75)

• If you’re finding it hard to keep up with the high maintenance that come with Blonde hair, ask your stylist to run some darker shades throughout your hair. This will make your roots look less noticeable when they start to show.

If you are looking for hair colour in Glasgow, then pop into our city centre salon for a 3D colour makeover.

If you have never been stuck thickly enough to have to call one of the help center numbers most of your appliances come with you probably won’t get the drift of what I am trying to say here. See, like most of you reading this I am not one of those who spend hours on the phone trying to reach the manufacturing company just to know how to turn the coffee-maker on. (more…)