Hair

It’s Wednesday’s Body Beautiful with Jeanasina coming to you LIVE from the re-vamped, state-of-the-art, new and improved, gloriously informative, Megsmakeup!
I received an e-mail from L’Oreal entitled “Beauty on a Budget”. “Find out which of our products are beauty award winners…” I went directly to the NEW shampoo and conditioner they were featuring exclusively for color treated hair which was the new EverPure Sulfate-Free Color Care System! They have 3 categories for this new line which has about 5 options of products within each particular hair desirability factor to use to either moisturize, volumize and/or smooth your color treated hair!  I decided to look into the smoothing products; the shampoo and conditioner! The product line strongly suggests you use the complimentary products TOGETHER for optimal results! That's just what I am doing!
I have been using Pureology – by far the best shampoo and conditioner I have ever used for my ba-zillion year old colored blonde locks which was HIGHLY recommended buy my current hair stylist professional!  I love the Pureology smell and I loved the way it has changed the condition of my frazzeled hair but I DO NOT love the price!  When I saw that the  L'oreal EverPure line was sulfate free and that many reviews I read on other websites RAVED about this shampoo (especially former Pureology fan-club presidents) I decided to try this tonight!  I went to Target on my lunch hour (they actually had this new product mixed in with the more expensive known name brands Target carries rather than in the 'inexpensive' section where the other shampoos under $10.00 reside.  I chose the ‘smoothing’ line shampoo and conditioner ($6.99 each) and now,we are going to have a hand’s on experience with this new product!  Velcro on your terry cloth wraparound and let’s get this hair washing party started!

Gigi here, with a Deeply Discounted and Deceptful Drugstore Deal!

Before I get to the "good stuff," kindly allow me to vent about some things I detest seeing on myself: Gray hair, occasional strands of-gasp!-white, and roots. My grandmother's red hair remained intact until she was in her late sixties. My mother was nearly a full-fledged brunette until then. On the other hand, my brilliant natural auburn, the hue which caused people to stop me in the middle of streets in downtown Pittsburgh, was, sadly, not as long-lived . . . sing three verses of Springsteen's "Glory Days" here.

What can be worse than gray hair? Hair coloring! Please stop and consider the ingredients if you've never used it. Peroxide is generally included to literally strip your own inherent pigment, to be replaced with a man-made version. Sometimes it is combined with ammonia (yes, as in scrub-the-bathroom-floor-ammonia), which causes the hair shaft to swell in order to accept stain. Yes, you may hav e thick, radiant tresses immediately after coloring, but your hair has been forever changed for the worse. The texture is only temporary and you will spend the remainder of your time caring for it.

Megl here! I'm filling in for Katie today and I'm happy to do so because today's hump is on a brand that I'm a huge fan of! I am also a die-hard Marco Pelusi follower. I've seen his genius first hand and he has gotten absolutely crazy positive reviews on megsmakeup before Marco's previous raves

I was over the moon when he let me know he has a gloss out. I can't get a brush through my hair without his anti-frizz leave in conditioner and I'm pretty new to the world of glosses. I have really fine hair that's dry and brittle on the ends but can get uber oily around the scalp. Gloss and shiners translated to "oily" and "limp" in my mind. I was all "OMG Marco! I can't wait to try it!" But inside I was nervous because I am a total newbie and wasn't even sure how you work a gloss. Marco, being not only a hair guru but teacher to so many stylists calmly explained it to me "After you blow dry, you need to make the hair look healthy and shiny, take a TINY amount (about the size of the tip of a q-tip for my fine tresses).Work it through your hair, it will detangle and control fly-aways and promote sheen

The Master had spoken. He said this to me while working on a woman in his chair at his signature salon. I felt even better when his client said " Oh, you'll love it! It's great! It makes my hair look so good. I always get compliments that my hair looks fab when I use it." It wasn't that I doubted Marco, it was that I doubted my hair. How can a girl doubt Marco? He really does think of everything. This is the Rolls Royce of glosses. It has color guard and sunscreen and vitamin e and silicone and its water soluble. He really is an expert on color so does everything he can to jam pack his products with all the goodies to keep your lock vibrant and protected. It's not a huge bottle but when used properly will last 6 months. It also is not sticky and made my hands feel great! It's just a quality product and I am now THE GLOSS QUEEN! After I give myself a blow out I grab for this gloss and I'm very happy with the results. If you suffer from any dull or dryness I would recommend you try his leave-in conditioner and finish off with this gloss. You'll be having many a great hair day!

Kate here! Buy this product! Ok ok...I guess I need to take a step back. It's Kate here, and I would like to be the first to welcome myself back to the wonderful and magical world that is megsmakeup! I am so sorry that I had to disappear for a bit. I am growing up and learning that the world is often a lot harder and sadder than it seems when you are young, and I found I needed to take some time for myself and my family to find my ability to laugh at it all again. But now I am back, ready to mock my 7th grade blue lipstick, first date waxing rash, black neck hair from a sloppy dye job and other such beauty mishaps with the only ladies who will understand, my fellow megettes!

So to start things off right, I have decided to review something I have wanted to since I first tried it, Shu Uemera's Art of Hair Moisture Velvet Shampoo. So to jump back in where I started...Buy This Product! I know it sometimes seems like a lot of the products we review here get excellent reviews (or maybe we just have divine choice in what we choose to talk about) but I cannot give this shampoo higher marks. When my hairdresser first used this on my hair, she was using it after painting straight bleach on my scalp and leaving it on for 45 minutes. She stopped washing me and said, "feel your hair," and I did. I would have fallen down if I were not securely stabilized in the death trap neck brace that is a shampoo bowl (seriously people...can we find some way to make those more comfortable...anything will do really). My hair felt softer and silkier and more luxurious than it had ever felt in its entire life, including after countless expensive deep conditioning treatments. And this was from only a shampoo. I immediately bought it of course, and I can say that it only gets better in time.

Sharond in for Katie for Wednesday Hump Hair Day!...

Years ago I was losing my hair at a rate that had me very concerned. After going to the doctor to see if anything was wrong and getting a clean bill of health, I really feared I was following in my aunt's footsteps who had lost all her hair including eyelashes and eyebrows. I quickly started researching products to help as I was planning to go down fighting. One product I found was the Nioxin line of hair products. I bought the complete set, used them faithfully, and still my hair filled the drain. I was soon diagnosed with thyroid disease and a little Synthroid corrected the hair loss problem. The one product of the line I still use today is the Nioxin Scalp Therapy for normal hair. I hope this information is helpful; perhaps my success is due to thyroid medication but I have heard positive and negative comments about this item.

When we think about it, our scalp is really an extension of our facial skin and we all know the amount of money and time we spend on caring for that. Like our facial skin, our scalp is susceptible to everything we come in contact with every day such as toxins, air pollutants, chlorine, sunlight, minerals and water pollution which can affect the skin and contribute to thinning hair and aging the scalp. Nioxin Scalp Therapy is advertised as a product to keep your scalp healthy.

Nioxin Scalp Therapy is a light blue, almost turquoise-colored thick liquid. The first thing you notice is a quite strong minty fragrance. The instructions tell you to massage into your hair and scalp and leave on for 1 to 3 minutes. After about a minute you notice a slight tingle that feels so wonderful on your scalp. I enjoy the tingling almost as much as the mini scalp massage given by my hairdresser. After rinsing and towel drying, your hair is easy to comb out so this item does have some detangling ingredients. I feel my scalp is more moisturized, less dry and has just a healthier feel after using it twice a week. My hair does have a slight minty scent for about a day after use. It isn't strong; however, people I am talking to have commented that I smell like mint, while others say my hair smelled so clean. This is something to keep in mind if you want your perfume to be what people notice first.

The natural ingredients in Scalp Therapy read like a health food store essential oil shelf: Salvia, aloe, yucca, calendula, geranium and melissa to just name a few. I didn't notice any mentha or fragrance in the ingredient list, so I am unsure where the strong mint scent comes from. You can buy Scalp Therapy in several different sizes and formulas at most salons, drug stores and internet sites. I find that my shoulder-length hair requires a quarter size amount to thoroughly cover the hair and still have enough to massage into the scalp. My husband, who has lost most of his hair, loves the way Scalp Therapy cleans the scalp and removes the hair follicular “bumps” that come from male pattern baldness. Another added benefit my hairdresser told me about is that this product makes a wonderful shave cream for your legs. I haven’t gone back to ordinary shave cream since. I love multi-tasking products that really work and this one does!

Nioxin! BUY IT HERE!