March 2000
Revised 5/01/07
March 10,
2000
Psoriasis & Eczema Scalp Help?
Question
Dear Karen
I have severe scalp itching. My dermatologist told me
that I have psoriasis. Another doctor first thought that I
might have eczema of the scalp. Do you know of any good
products to help relieve the itching, irritation and scaling?
Also, my dermatologist told me that my smoking cigarettes may
have caused the condition. Have you ever heard of this
before? I think it is pretty unlikely.
Thanks,
Jaye
Answer
Dear Jaye,
To find more info on scalp psoriasis you can
contact the National Psoriasis Foundation and send them email.
The
bad news is that both cigarette and alcohol consumption on a
daily basis over a period of time has been proven to contribute to
the development of psoriasis.
Several studies have suggested a link between cigarette smoking
and psoriasis. American, Norwegian and British studies have shown
that smokers and ex-smokers appear to have an increased risk for
developing psoriasis.
Whether it will develop on the scalp or some other
part of the body is not specified in the information that I could
find about cigarettes and psoriasis.
There is good news about treatment options for
psoriasis and eczema scalp problems.
Luxiq
(Betamethasone Valerate) Foam was officially approved by the US
FDA in 1999 for use on the treatment of the treatment of dermatoses of the scalp which includes the basic three kinds of
scalp dermatoses: psoriasis, seborrheic dermatitis and eczema.
An estimated 3.5 million Americans have scalp psoriasis, marked
by redness, scaling, severe itching and irritation.
Luxiq is manufactured by Connetics
Corporation.
This new prescription steroid foam can effectively
ease the severe irritation, itching and scaling of scalp psoriasis
and eczema for million of people. The advantage to the Luxiq
foam is that it is convenient to apply and invisible.
Luxiq has been reported to avoid the mess and
difficulties that were inherent in previous versions of steroid
creams that were on the market.
Luxiq
contains betamethasone, a medication that has been available for
years in lotion form. In its new foam incarnation Luxiq does
not leave a greasy residue that the creams left.
With Luxig you massage the foam into the affected
areas of the scalp, towel dry and then style your hair the way that
you normally would.
Any dermatologist should be able to prescribe
Luxig or a generic substitute for you to use on your scalp.
Does Luxiq work? In one study of 172 patients, 72 percent
treated with Luxiq had complete or almost complete clearance of
their psoriasis outbreak, compared with 47 percent who used an older
form of the betamethasone lotion.
The price for Luxiq ranges from about $50 to $60 for a 100-gram
bottle.
Best wishes,
Karen
March 9,
2000
How To Do French Braids?
Question
Dear Karen
Is there any material on the web that can teach me how to French
braid my girls hair?
RJC
Answer
Dear RJC,
To find info on French braiding you can do a
search on one of the search engines and try typing French
braids.
The Hair Boutique has an article (Tip
255) on how
to do French braids including step by step instructions.
Hope that helps.
Best wishes,
Karen
PS. I tried to email you privately but your AOL mail account
bounced several times. Unfortunately I seem to have the most
problems sending personal responses to AOL mail.
March 8,
2000
Fast Drying Shampoo Damaging Hair?
Question
Dear Karen
I am always rushed for time and about 3 months ago I got
addicted to Redken's Active Express Flash Wash shampoo.
At first it really seemed to make my hair dry a lot faster
than normal. It seemed to work really well with either my blow
dryer or when I would just air dry my hair.
Then I noticed that while my hair was drying faster, my hair
started to feel a lot drier in overall texture.
I originally tried the product to avoid using my blow dryer as
much since the product is supposed to work just as well for air
drying as blow drying.
I talked to my stylist about this and she advised me to stop
using the Redken shampoo because she felt it was drying out my
hair. She agreed that the texture felt different.
She did not seem to know how the product works or if this was
actually the cause of the new dried out texture.
Do you know what is in the Redken product and if it is causing
my drying problem?
Tom
Answer
Dear Tom,
The Good
Housekeeping Institute actually published a study about some of
the fast drying shampoos.
GH actually tested your product, Redken's Active
Express Flash Wash, against a product that was not supposed to dry
faster (Suave Protein & Balsam shampoo).
They found that the Redken really did work and
really did dry the hair faster than both the Suave and the other
tested product, J.F. Lazartigue's Rapid Drying Shampoo.
Redken won the fast drying race clocking in at 27.5 minutes
compared to the J.F. Lazartigue, timed at 35 minutes, and the
Suave's 55 minutes.
It has been proven that Redken does dry faster. According
the GH, Redken works by utilizing a blend that includes fruit acids
and an extract of witch-hazel.
The Redken product is designed to lock down the hair's cuticle
layer so that water is not easily absorbed.
It is also supposed to speed up water run off. GH compared
the formula to helping water run off a duck's back.
It is possible that your hair is becoming much drier as a result
of the special ingredients that are included to minimize water
absorption.
It is also possible that your hair is becoming drier from other
less obvious habits such as the weather or your own body's current
overall health status.
Some people do experience drying results from continued use of
fruit acids.
It is hard to say for sure, but I would certainly agree that your
stylist knows best.
If your stylist thinks that the product is causing your hair to
be dry you may want to lay off the product for awhile and see if
there is a change in the overall condition of your hair.
If your hair does not change after switching to another product I
would recommend do some further investigation to the causes of your
dry hair.
Best wishes,
Karen
March 4,
2000
Searching For A New Hairstyle.
Question
Dear Karen
I have had long hair all my life.
I will soon graduate from college and start my life as an RN.
I think I want to cut my hair. Someone told me there is
a disk you can buy and scan your face into and try all the different
hair styles,
before you actually go under the scissors.
Can you help me please? Thank you so much.
I love your web site and all the great info I can find.
BRT
Answer
Dear BRT,
Hi,
Congratulations on reaching your goals of becoming
an RN. That is great to hear.
Yes, there are several software programs that you
can buy to do some advance "hairstyle imaging" to see how
you would look in different styles. I think it is great to
take your time, do lots of research and look into buying a software
module that lets you see how you look before you go any further with
your change.
While I always encourage people to wear their hair
in the style that is best for them, I think it is always a good idea
to take your time if you plan on making any hairstyle changes that
are drastic.
If you are used to wearing your hair one way and
then suddenly change, it may be more difficult for you to adjust.
Many long hair experts recommend that if
you've had long hair for many years, you should move from long
hair to shorter hair in a series of steps to give you time to get
used to new styles.
I think it is great that you want to buy a product
to do your own research. One product that I have used with
great success is the Cosmopolitan Girl software. You can
usually find the Cosmo Girl imaging software at the local CompUSA or
similar computer store.
I encourage you to take your time with making a
drastic switch and consider all possibilities. You may want to
try wearing your hair up in a bun or French Twist for a week to see
how you feel about a shorter look.
Best wishes,
Karen
March 3,
2000
Prom Hairstyles - Elaborate Or Simple?
Question
Dear Karen
My mom and I are having a disagreement about my hair and how
I want to wear it for the Prom. I want to wear my hair in a
very unusual style with lots of knots and tiny braids and lots of
jewels.
My mom told me that I should stick with a style that is more
similar to how I normally look with my curly bob style. My mom
told me that the more complicated that I make my style the more I
will regret it.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Thanks,
Megan
Answer
Dear Megan,
I agree that it is important to not go to far from
your normal look. You are going to want to remember your Prom
for a long time and I suspect that you will want photos as
keepsakes.
Think about the photos. You may regret
changing your look too drastically for the Prom and may wish you
stayed closer to your normal look.
You can certainly dress up your style and achieve
a great look but why not wear your hair in a way that is
complimentary to your normal hair?
Also, another point. The more complicated you make your
hair the more risk that it will not stay put the entire
night.
Proms are often all night events and your hair needs a style that
is easy to readjust. A style that has lots of unusual twists
or knots or braids may flop and then be impossible to recreate as
the night goes on.
So while I agree that it is nice to have a beautiful style, I
would also agree that it is best to not go to far out from your
normal range and to select a style that will survive dancing and
partying and can be easily adjusted.
Best wishes,
Karen
March 2,
2000
Please Send Photos Of Hairstyles For My Prom.
Question
Hi,
I am trying to find a great new style for my hair for my
prom. Could you please send me photos to my email address so I
can look at them and then decide what style to wear.
Thanks,
Melissa
Answer
Dear Melissa,
My apologies but it is not possible to send you
private photos. Although we would love to accommodate all the
many email requests that we get on a daily basis, unfortunately, if
we tried to send photos to everyone that asked, we would never have
time to update the Hair Boutique site.
We prefer instead to share information with
everyone who visits Hair Boutique by posting information in the
various hair articles about Prom, the galleries and columns like
AskKaren.
Please read the March 1st AskKaren column
below. I have provided several ideas and tips on how to find a
great hairstyle for your prom.
Best wishes,
Karen
March 1,
2000
Finding The Perfect Hairstyle For The Prom.
Question
Dear Karen,
My prom is coming up in May and I am desperate. I have
no clue of what to do with my hair and how to wear it. I want just the
perfect hairstyle to wear. I don't know what I want to do with
my hair so please send me photos of hairstyles and email me lots of Prom hair
suggestions.
Thank you very much,
Lara
Answer
Dear Lara,
I know that the Prom is a big event and you want
to look your best. However, there are literally dozens of ways
that anyone can wear their hair for their Prom.
It doesn't
matter if you have short, medium or long hair or whether it is curly
or wavy or straight. Hair can be handled in many ways to get
the outcome you desire.
I really understand your concern from finding the
perfect do but I want to encourage you to relax and try not to
stress about your hair.
My apologies but it is not possible to send you
private photos. Since you are not sure what style you want
there is no guarantee that I will be able to guess what you
like. Also, if we tried to send photos to everyone that asked
we would never have time to update Hair Boutique.
We prefer instead to share information with
everyone who visits Hair Boutique by posting information in the
various hair articles about Prom, the galleries and columns like
AskKaren.
There are a couple of ways that you can find your
perfect hairstyle for your Prom.
Since you don't have a clue about how to wear your
hair the first thing I would like to recommend is that you do some
research.
It always helps to start with a big picture of
hair style possibilities and narrow it down to just 2-3 styles that
could really work for you.
1. Look at The Hair Boutique Prom section
for Prom hairstyle ideas:
For Prom hair styles check out:
A great start for finding good hairstyles is to go through magazines and find photos of hairstyles that you
like or think would work best with your type of hair and your Prom
dress.
You can also search through all of the Hair Boutique Prom articles which all
include sample hair photos for Prom styles.
2. Have A Pre-Prom Hair Planning Session
Invite a good friend or bunch of friends over and have an
all night Prom Planning party. Ask each friend to bring a
stack of their favorite hair and/or beauty magazines and then you
can all take turns looking at different styles.
Use multi-colored stickies or flags. Assign a different color of
sticky to each person.
Place the stickies on all the pages of the different hair and
beauty magazines that have styles that you like.
After you have all had a chance to look through all the mags and
attach your individually colored stickies then as a group go through
the styles and talk about what styles might work best for you.
This is a great way to narrow the options down to just one or two
choices. Your friends will have a more objective ideas on
what looks good for you.
If you or your friends have hair jewelry, bring it along and play
with different looks. Also, you and your friends can practice
some of the styles on each other.
3. Have A Pre-Prom Consultation & Take
Sample Prom Hair Photos
Copy any of the Prom Hair photos that you like from the magazines or
print out any prom hair photos from the Hair Boutique.
Take the photos you like to
your stylist a few weeks before your Prom and ask them if they can recreate the
look on your hair.
It is always good to plan a pre-Prom consultation with your stylist so
that you can discuss how you want your hair to look with your dress.
If possible you can even take your dress with you
A photo speaks a 1000 words and allows you and the stylist to have the same view of what
you want.
Some hair is harder to work with than others. For example, some
styles are better suited for curly hair while other styles are created for
straight hair.
It may be possible that the style you would like to have may not work with your
current hair length or texture, but the stylist can advise you of that.
You may want to combine a consultation with a practice appointment.
Basically after you and the stylist agree on one or two hairstyles you can
ask the stylists to create them for you as a form of dress
rehearsal.
Sometimes when you see the style on your hair you may decide that what
looks great in a photo is not the best for your face shape or hair
type.
4. If You Don't Have Photos Or Specific
Ideas Have A Practice Appointment With A Stylist
If you don't have particular styles or photos in mind another option is to make a "practice appointment" with
your stylist
several weeks before your prom.
At the practice appointment you
can ask the stylist to "practice" some styles on your hair.
This option is more risky because you will basically be
turning your hair over to the stylist and their likes and dislikes. However, if you are
adventurous and willing to take a risk, this is a good option.
Whatever you decide to do, remember to allow a lot of time for the appointments.
Chances are that many schools will have the same Prom dates as you and stylists tend to
get very busy this time of year.
5. Go With A Classic Style & Make It
Edgy
While I get many emails asking for help finding the "perfect Prom
hairstyle" it is important to remember that what works for you is the
best style.
A great Prom hairstyle does not have to be completely different or
original or new. Why not relieve a lot of hair stress and Prom worries
by selecting a style that is classic and easy to handle. Then you can
focus your energies on your skin, makeup and nails instead.
There are several classic styles that are timeless, always beautiful and
always worn over and over. These classic styles include the French
Twist, a variety of dressy braids and a basic simple bun updo.
 A
French Twist is the timeless and
classic updo for any type of event from a Prom to a wedding to a Spring formal.
Before you say that a French Twist is out of date, just check out some of the
celebrities that attend the various Golden Globe, Emmy and Academy Awards.
In every major dress-up event you will see some form of the Twist. This is because it is
very sleek, fairly easy to do and can be modified, modified, modified.
How do you modify it? You can add soft tendrils on the sides or your face
or around the
back of your hairline. You can also add draped bangs that fall softly on one side of your
face. 
The French twist looks great with some twists or hair knots created right at the crown.
The Twist is also perfect for adding flowers, hair sticks, butterfly clips, sparkly
barrettes other hair accessories.
Be creative with the Twist. Play with it to make it softer or tighter. Add one big loop
at the top or tiny twists near the front of the hairline.
The French Twist is not complicated, it just requires some
practice.
I encourage you to read my Dressy Hair Styles Part 1 article which includes several
variations of the French Twist. It also provides detailed instructions on how to create a
French Twist if you decide to create one at home.
If you have never worked with a French Twist before, you may want to go to a stylist
and watch them create one for you. Better yet, take a friend who can watch from the back
of your head and help you recreate the look at home.
6. Do Your Research & Planning In
Advance
To have the best hairstyle research and planning is the key. The
more time you allow yourself to plan and test hairstyles, the better.
I think if you spend some time searching through popular hair and beauty
magazines and the Web you can find some styles that work great for you and
your needs.
Remember that you have the option to dress up any style further with a jeweled pin,
tiny flowers, beads or other hair
accessories.
Have a wonderful time at your prom.
Best wishes,
Karen
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