Hair

Stylemama here!  Do you believe in the perfect haircut?   I’ve always thought that the right cut could actually make me love my hair.  Makes me wonder, if I could love my hair, what else could I love?  The catalyst for change can often be found in the most simple of places.  We’ve all seen the Dove commercials right?  Can a haircut do that too?  Hell yeah it can, especially when it’s L.A. stylist Jeannine Brousseau doing the cutting.   The hottest A-list stars out there are sporting her styles.  If you are looking for a haircut that is as unique to your hair type and face shape as prints are to fingers, then look no further.

Thanks to our beloved Meg I got to experience all that and more.  Meg always tells us how lucky she is, but as we all know, because of her we are the lucky ones.  She arranged for a haircut of a lifetime for me with the one and only, Jeannine Brousseau.  Pretty amazing, right?

Within minutes of meeting Jeannine I knew everything about this appointment was going to be different.   This beautiful, petite woman exuded a quiet strength and confidence that told me I was about to get the haircut that so far seemed like nothing more than an urban legend.   

Her one chair, strategically placed in the center of her gorgeous salon tells each client just how important she is. Even though the consultation felt like a regular conversation, I could sense something bigger was taking place.  She asked all the right questions and skillfully read between the lines.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciated that.  Have you ever agreed to a haircut you didn’t want because you were uncomfortable, confused, or just too nervous to express yourself?  It’s literally impossible to do this with Jeannine.

As promised Sweetassgal took the big plunge on Saturday and got a complete hair makeover at the Elizabeth David Salon in San Francisco from a wonderful stylist and proudly my cousin...Troy Payne.  Troy, along with his partner Joselyn Podesto have opened a salon in the Union Square neighborhood that makes you feel like you can relax and be comfortable while still experiencing the highest quality of hair knowledge and technique in the city.  There is an air of unpretentious confidence that permeates the air as the delicious sounds of the city rise up to meet you on the fourth floor of a lovely old San Francisco building.  It's warm, airy, cozy and a sheer delight to experience a hair transformation here.  So much so that my sojourn ended with happy tears in the arms of my cousin.  I was reborn and I absolutely love my new cut and color.  I can still wear it in my natural curl and rock the wild look or wear it sleek and sophisticated when I'm in the mood.  Thank you Troy...I couldn't tell you that enough.

Jeanasina here...Yesterday I was in Walgreens to pick up a prescription when suddenly without warning, my eye drifted over to an end cap where there was a NEW display for Garnier Fructis products! Well...being the interested party that I always am, I thought that I should at least acknowledge the new display by going over and smelling the new products! One thing I know about Garnier Fructis is that their products smell SO GOOD! So I picked up the one remaining Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition shampoo on this display and had myself a long sense inducing inhalation of it! Have you ever noticed that Walgreens has these HUGE mirrors up high on the walls so that they can watch people at all times! I told myself that I probably should at least look interested in the product, as well as getting my daily free intoxicating fragrance fix! So, I read about the infusion of olive, avocado & shea ingredients and thought to myself, WOW...these are heavy duty good things! I thought, why not try it...I'm not working now and perhaps finding a cheaper hair product line wouldn't be a bad idea! Right?? Well, then I noticed the Triple Nutrition Conditioner and again, after smelling it with all my might, I thought I'll get this too and give it a real test! On my way to the cashier I passed the actual shelves where the entire line of Garnier Fructis was displayed, and I saw, yet a third product!!...Triple Nutrition Three Minute Undo! Oh geeze...I should have brought a backpack!

I think the entire subliminal draw and interest I was having to Garnier Fructis right now is also because I watched the first episode of Project Runway (I LOVE this show!!!!) and each time Heidi Klum talked about prizes she always mentioned Garnier Fructis and I can practically hear her pronunciation of the word “Fructis” in my head! She has to say that product line name like a billion times an episode because after all Garnier is the official haircare sponsor of the new season of Project Runway! If you go on the Garnier Facebook website you can see how the stylists actually use this line of products on the runway models!

Sweetassgal's going back to blonde!  That's right...after over one full year as a first time brunette I've decided to make the leap back to blondeness.  I have actually really loved being brunette and so have those who know me only recently.  My lifelong friends and family...not so much.  Between my hairs odd transformation from stick straight to curly and the dramatic color change they've all decided it's "just not Angie".  I'll miss the compliments on my blue eyes though.  Not sure why but for some reason I never got noticed for my baby blues as a blonde...maybe it's just too California typical to be a blonde with blue eyes.  I guess I'm cliché...who knew!?!?

What I won't miss about going back to blonde (besides the upkeep....$$$) is the dreaded Oscar the Grouch green tinge I'll get from swimming in my pool.  I'm a water bug and I could NOT live in the Sacramento Valley without it.  I'm in the pool almost every day and have been known to jump in around March just because I've missed it all winter long!  Much to my nieces delight I'm crazy Tia Angie who does back dives into the pool and doesn't give a flip whether or not I get my coif wet.  But all this time spent in the cement pond will definitely show up on my newly lightened locks.  What to do fellow flaxen haired water bugs?  No fear...Tia's got a solution that is simple, organic and totally easy!

First off you should understand how hair works.  The shaft of your hair is covered in a layer of cuticles that overlap each other to protect the inner layers.  These cuticles are opened by things like heat from your blow dryer and expose the middle layer of the hair to the copper that is present in pools which is what turns your hair green.  Contrary to what people think its NOT chlorine that turns your hair...but rather the metals that are present in chlorinated pools.  Many people spend money on special chelating (metal removing) shampoos to combat the problem but I'm here to tell you it's not necessary!  The first step to ANY problem is always PREVENTION!  A simple rinse over your hair with cold tap water will close the shaft and help keep those nasty metals from getting into your hair.  A quick rinse as well when you get out will significantly reduce any damage that could be done to your hair.

Already have green hair?  There's an all natural (and organic if you want it to be) recipe I found online at allnaturalbeauty.us that uses three simple ingredients to remove your broccoli colored hair.  Simply mix together...

1 Organic Egg
1 Tablespoon of Organic Olive Oil
1/4 of a Peeled Organic Cucumber

Combine all ingredients in a blender, spread through your hair and leave on for 10 minutes.  Do this once a month for maintenance and you can banish Oscar back to his garbage can on Sesame Street!  Be gone grouch!!!

Meg here! Or hair! Somebody just got a great Hair Day surprise! Congratulations Brooklyn007 you WON The Jonathan Beauty Water Purification System!  with this tale...

Ok, I've debated telling this, but have decided to "entertain" you all with my shower tale... (WARNING: ADULT MATERIAL TO FOLLOW!)

We have 2 full baths: the master shower and the guest shower/bath. Typically, we always just used the master shower, unless either of us felt like a bath. Well... The master shower has been out of commission for several months now because of what I am about to tell you...

I will NOT be letting you in on the explicit details of this story, but suffice to say, I was in the master shower with my husband... (fill in the blank). I was, uh, was showing him something... and then caved in the shower wall. Yep... the tiles just caved right into the wall. Talk about a mood killer. Needless to say, we haven't yet made the necessary repairs, and have since been banished to the guest bathroom. My husband made up some awful nickname for me, too. I won't share it here, but it was modeled after the drink called "Harvey Wallbanger". Oh the humanity... I can't believe I broke the shower wall.

So rest assured Miss Brooklyn007 not only will you have the wonderful memories of breaking your shower you'll have a wonderful reminder every time you get up in the morning and turn on the water!