Phyto’s PhytoSpecific Extreme Shine Spray\n

Justin Bieber, fondly known as The Biebster or The Biebs created a major buzz on Tuesday, February 22nd.

Why?  He let his longtime stylist take a scissors to his trademark swooped hairdo.  He emerged from a session with the scissors  to showoff a shorter, sharper, edgier shagged up style.

Polls popped up everywhere asking the fans the big question of whether they loved or hated his new strands.

His new haircut was a key topic discussed today between Koda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford on NBC’s morning program.  Justin also popped into the Ellen Degeneres show on Wednesday, February 23 to show his shorn locks.

Ellen made a point of explaining that Justin donated his hair to be auctioned off for charity.  Can you only imagine how much it will fetch?

Ironically Biebs joins the ranks of many a celebrity who went through a major hair transition.  Some watched their careers soar while others watched theirs sink like a rock.  The media is asking the big question.   Will Justin Bieber’s new hair cut help or hurt his current career? (more…)

Celebrities are often applauded by the media for how fast they shed pregnancy pounds, diet into teeny bikinis or get instantly thin for a movie or music tour.

While nutritionists worry about celebrities diets triggering anorexic behaviors in young women, there is a new danger for women in their 30s and 40s known as orthorexia.

While anorexia is severe restriction of any type of food and bulimia is the need to immediately purge food binges, orthorexia is an eating disorder tied to obsession over the purity of the food that enters the body.

Orthorexics often avoid entire food groups in order to lose weight.  Many of these entire food groups are essential to eating a balanced nutritional plan,.

Nutritionists highlight celebrity fads such as the blood group diet, which is advertised by Cheryl Cole, and the Maple Syrup detox diet, used by Beyonce and Naomi Campbell as two diets which might trigger orthorexia in some people.  Those on the maple syrup diet consume little else, but sugary water. This has none of the protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals needed to remain healthy. (more…)

Even though Arlington Texas was hit in the early morning hours by an arctic storm which blanketed the area in a thick sheet of treacherous ice, media day for Super Bowl XLV was held as usual at the new Cowboys Stadium.

Mobs of media were transported across icy highways and herded into the arena where they were only allowed 60 minutes, counted down on a scoreboard, to interview the players from both teams.

(Image of Troy Polomalu of Pittsburgh Steelers – Head & Shoulders – All Rights Reserved)

The media didn’t have either a lot of time or a lot of new topics to talk about.  When all else fails, hair is a great topic.  And Troy Polomalu and Clay Matthews’ hair was a key topic today at Cowboy’s Stadium. The  Hair Wars of Steeler’s Troy Polomalu or Green Bay’s Clay Matthews continued to be a key topic.

So who really has the best hair between Polomalu or Matthews?   Of course everyone will have their opinions, but personally I think Troy’s naturally curly tresses spectacular.  Yes, Matthews has nice blonde tresses but when placed alongside those thick raven black Polomalu strands I think there’s no contest.

Head & Shoulders obviously agrees with me.  Which is why his thick natural curls netted No. 43 so much attention as they cascaded out from his Steeler’s helmet.  Head & Shoulders recognized that Troy’s Samoan hair is not only naturally curly, it’s very thick and truly magnificent.  Definitely a great head of hair to represent their famous brand. (more…)

One of the best perks of my work with HairBoutique.com is the opportunity to meet some of the most stellar people in the hair and beauty world.

A few months ago Christopher Box, or Chris, as he prefers to be known to his friends, reached out to me via email and invited me to visit his chic hair salon, The Porch, in uptown Dallas.

(Image of Christopher Box in front of The Beauty Box Salon in Dallas, Texas -December 2010 – Photo by Jeffry Hines for HairBoutique.com – All Rights Reserved)

After a long and engaging phone chat with Chris, we agreed to meet up for lunch to talk further about the world of hair and beauty.   On a gorgeous November day  Chris and I, along with HairBoutique.com’s Brigid, met at The Porch for an engaging meal.

The Porch is one of my favorite restaurants because of the relaxing atmosphere, always amazing food and great service.  Unfortunately the chic eatery is a bit of a jog down 75 from HairBoutique.com so I don’t get to go as often as I like except for special events like meet ups with new friends like Chris. (more…)

While there’s lots of great hair care information on the Web, there’s also a lot of misinformation which if not tempered correctly, can actually harm your hair in the long term.

One such piece of misinformation is a range of Do It Yourself (DIY) Scalp Scrubs created from a variety of natural ingredients ranging from white and brown sugar to Epsom Salts, bentonite clay, salt, sand or similar grainy substances.

(Image of brown sugar from Haap Media Ltd – All Rights Reserved)

While it might sound fabulous to whip up a great scalp scrub from yummy ingredients like brown sugar, yogurt, shea butter or coco butter, when you use ingredients which are coarse, they can actually damage the scalp, the roots and even the hair’s cuticle.

Not everyone will agree with my hypothesis but personally I have seen and heard of several cases where DIY scrubs would actually leave the scalp red, tender or even raw if scrubbed too aggressively.  (more…)

Often the changing of the seasons can usher in scalp and strand problems.  Once common problem is dry scalps which can result in itchiness, flaking and other issues such as limp or misbehaving tresses.

When the scalp is stressed the rest of the hair will suffer as a result.  It’s like having a crumbling foundation of a house.  No matter how great the rest of the house if, it the foundation collapses you know the rest of the story.

(Image of naturally curly model – Barbara Lhotan – All Rights Reserved – HairBoutique.com and Barbara Lhotan)

Natural Curls, Waves & Kinks Often Have Dry Scalp Challenges

Although all types of textures of hair can experience dry scalps, those with natural textures such as waves, curls and coils may have more challenges with a dry scalp from time to time because of the natural shape of their hair and the way moisture is naturally lost from their tresses.

Combat Dry Scalps Both Internally And Externally

You can combat dry scalps both externally and internally.  If you want to approach a dry scalp from a holistic viewpoint, you may want to design a program which combines both internal as well as external treatments. (more…)

On a scale of 1-10, is your hair stylist a technophobe or a technophile?

A technophobe is a person who dislikes or avoids new technology.  The technophobes of the world feel more comfortable with pencils, paper, flat file folders and dislike computers, text messaging or anything that is obviously wired.

(Image of the always adorable Janine Jarman creating one of her award winning hairstyles on last season’s Shear Genius 3.  Janine utilized Facebook and Twitter to encourage fans to vote for her as Fan Favorite, which she ultimately won – Image courtesy of BravoTV.com – All Rights Reserved)

A technophile is the exact opposite of the technophobe.  A true technophile thinks technology’s cool, can cope with its frustrations, and enjoys figuring out ways to use it to improve your life.

While it’s possible to be a great hairdresser and a technophobe today’s hair clients are transitioning to so many new technologies they are showing a preference for hair stylists who are technophiles.  (more…)

Hairstyles have been making waves throughout the history of the world.

However some of the most iconic hairstyles still in rotation in 2010 includes the following:

1.  The Bob – A very popular short haircut from the 1920s, the Bob hairstyle often linked to actress Louise Brooks, was considered extremely controversial for the times.  It created quite an uproar in the hair fashion world and many consider it to be one of the most iconic hairstyles of any period in American culture.

Although The Bob has ebbed and flowed in popularity over the years and morphed into a range of modified shapes, it is still a popular hairstyle close to 100 years later.  Now that’s hair staying power.

2.  Super short geometric haircut – The 60s issued in the era of Twiggy and her uber short haircut.  The supermodel’s super short cut has also been modified through the years and been reborn as The Crop and The Chop, to name just a few of the new names attached to versions of the Twiggy do.

3.  The flip – Another popular haircut which won fame in the the 60s was the flip worn by Sally Field in her role as teen queen Gidget.  You may know Sally as the mother on ABC’s popular Brothers And Sisters but back in the day she was rocking an iconic shoulder length flip hairdo which was all the rage at the time. (more…)

For most people it’s understood that you get what you pay for.  A headband (hair clip, barrette or similar) which costs $3.50 is not the same as a $35 dollar headband, a $350 headband, or even a $3,500 headband.

Differences Between $3.50, $35, $350 and $3,500

Why?  The $350 and $3,500 headbands will usually be unique in someway.  They will be custom designed by a “couture” or a name brand designer such as Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel or similar.  They will more likely than not be made of the finest hand picked materials (fine leather, silk, satin, etc) and will usually be hand sewn (by a human) and crafted including hand beading or similar.

There is even a major difference between a $3.50 and a $35.00 headband. (more…)