Hair Care | Beauty and Fashion Tech

Hair Art Duet Brush

I love this straightening brush! The HairArt Duet Brush has ceramic plates that will retain heat and provide shine while you used the brush and your hair dryer to straighten your hair.

I found that the brush was quite easy to use—easier than a flat iron. Just like using a flat iron, it can get a bit tricky in back, but it was much easier for me to use in back than a flat iron is. I like the look better than that of a straight iron too. The brush allows you to straighten your hair without getting everything so stick straight that the hair is just flat. Basically, you can still have some bounce and body. The brush is also pretty effective for flipping ends up or under.

At $15, it is much cheaper than a flat iron as well!

Note: This review is based on a product given to me by a representative of the company. For more, please see my disclosure page.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Arbonne Hair Care Review

Arbonne is a Swedish Company that specializes in skin care and cosmetics. They also have a line of hair care products. Arbonne works through a consultant based system, so getting the products usually requires going through a consultant (Arbonne is a multi-level marketing MLM program). So, despite reading some rave reviews of Arbonne products, I put off actually doing any Arbonne reviews. Then I found some products on Amazon, so I purchased some. I am providing links to several different sources on there.

One of the first items I grabbed was an Arbonne FC5 Nourishing Daily Shampoo & Conditioner Set. I’m constantly looking for the perfect shampoo and conditioner and Arbonne made me rather happy with their FC5 items.

Arbonne FC5 Swiss Nourishing Daily Shampoo is color safe and moisturizing, without being too moisturizing—just what I was looking for. I have had oily hair lately, despite having highlights, and most shampoos formulated to deal with oil will strip color or make my ends too dry. So, the Arbonne shampoo was a decent middle road for me. The shampoo is fairly low lather, but not no later, and feels thick and rich. The smell is a bit interesting though, and was a bit strong for my tastes. It is kiwi, which I’m not a huge fan of. But it won’t keep me from otherwise using, liking, and recommending the product.

Arbonne FC5 Swiss Nourishing Daily Hair Conditioner is medium in texture. While the Arbonne conditioner doesn’t seem like it will detangle well when initially applied, it does a bang up job at it when rinsing. Like the shampoo, it also provided a nice middle road for me. I felt that I got sufficient detangling and moisture, yet my hair did not quickly get oily like it would with many other moisturizing brands. The scent from the conditioner was also not nearly as strong as it was with the shampoo.

Overall, I ended up with soft silky hair. The Arbonne FC5 hair care combo also did a great job at smoothing. I was able to blow my hair straight much easier with it than I often am able to do with other products. So there is another bonus. Arbonne products can be on the expensive side, but the shampoo was a good average price in my opinion. The conditioner container is a bit small for the price point, but you also do not need to apply as much of it to get decent conditioning.

Popularity: 1% [?]

DHC Light and Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner

I love DHC skin care products, especially their olive oil cleanser (read previous DHC cleanser review), but they have many other nice products as well. Lately, I have bee a fan of their hair care items.

New at DHC (or at least new to me) is their Light and Smooth Shampoo and Light and Smooth Conditioner . This combo has been perfect for my fairly normal hair that tends to get rather wavy when I want it it straight. The shampoo is moisturizing enough to smooth things, while the conditioner is light enough to also smooth, but not make my scalp oily, which is a problem for me lately with heavier conditioners. DHC Light and Smooth conditioner is also one of the best detanglers that I have used in awhile, which surprised me, considering the “light” in the name. But the light texture runs through the hair well and keeps tangles at bay.

DCH offers free samples with every order and if you get their catalog, it also always includes samples. If you want to try their olive oil skin care, also check out the DHC Olive Essentials Mini Set .

Right now, there is also free shipping for new DHC customers on orders of $75+

Popularity: 1% [?]

Total Beauty’s 10 Worst Hair Straightening Products

This material, syndicated from Total Beauty, is a bit interesting to me because I don’t really agree with their take on the shampoos/conditioners listed as long as you have dry hair. I suspect that the low ratings come from people with normal to oily hair hoping to get some straightening from them. Unfortunately, often the ingredients that best smooth hair do add some oil. Anyway, here it is:

10 Worst Hair Straightening Products

Want to get rid of frizz or curls? Steer clear of these products

Looking for a smooth, sleek, straight style? Well, don’t attempt one using any of these hair straightening products. TotalBeauty.com readers say the ones on this list left them with poufy, frizzy or worse — greasy — hair. Check them out so you know what to avoid.

See products

No. 10: L’Oreal Paris Vive Pro Smooth Shampoo, $3.99

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 6.5

It “made my hair knotted and frizzier than before I had showered…”

No. 9: Dove Smooth & Soft Anti-Frizz Cream, $3.29

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 6.3

“When using as directed, my hair looks great for about two hours after styling. Then poof [frizz]!”

No. 8: Got2b CrazySleek Hot Smooth Flat Iron & Blow Dry Lotion, $3.89

TotalBeauty.com average reader rating: 6.2

One reader says, instead of straightening, this product “made my hair CURLIER…”

Want to see what’s the worst? Click here!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Rare Elements Pure Shampoo and Essential Conditioner

rare elements pure shampoo Rare Elements Shampoo is a low lather, yet quite rich shampoo. Low lather is always nice because there is less concern of stripping color, but sometimes it just doesn’t feel like it is cleaning. With Rare Elements, it still has a rich, thick feel to it without high lather, so it still feels like your hair is getting clean. The accompanying conditioner is also rich and does a nice job of both detangling and deep conditioning.

I used several sample packets of the Rare Elements products over several days and ended up with very soft, silky hair. It also helped keep things relatively frizz free while I was traveling in humid Nashville. I liked it enough that, despite a bit high of a price tag, I very well might order some. The conditioner in particular does a great job without having to leave it on really long.

The products are sulfate and paraben free, and the fragrance is natural. Speaking of fragrance, Rare Elements shampoo and conditioner have a natural woody, outdoorsy scent to them. I didn’t mind it, and actually tend to prefer such scents, but it is a fairly strong fragrance that some may not care for. Beyond that, they are great products!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hair Care Routine For Dry, Fine, Color Treated Hair

I have been asked about my hair car routine. For starters, I have fairly dry, color treated hair, that is straight and has a fine texture. As a result, I am usually looking for both moisture and volume, while trying to preserve my color.

Here are the main points of my routine:

To preserve color, and because my hair is dry, I shampoo every other day.
I use a volumizing shampoo. Volumizing shampoos work to add body to the hair shafts, hence providing more overall volume and body. If you have fine hair, regardless of whether it is dry, normal, or oily, a volumizing shampoo is the way to go.
Although I use a volumizing shampoo, I often will use a daily moisturizing conditioner.
Once each week, I use a deep conditioner and leave it in as long as possible before rinsing.
For extra conditioning, I use a leave in spray conditioner. These not only provide some great extra conditioning, they also help prevent frizzy hair, and provide protection from heat appliances. If there was one hair care product that I couldn’t live without, it very well might be my leave in conditioner!

In terms of styling, I love my flat iron, but it can be quite hard on the hair, so I try to limit my use of it. When blow drying, I use the medium setting and put up with the longer drying time in order to prevent damage and keep things smooth. I shoot it with a blast of cool air when finished to set in the style.

Also, a word on color: I purposely highlight and lowlight my hair instead of using an all over color. This allows me to go longer in between color sessions, which also helps keep my hair from getting over processed.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Contest! Win a Set of Products From the New Aveeno Nourish+ Hair Care Collection

UPDATE: THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. Congrats to Christie (3/7/2009, 7pm comment) who won the drawing! Christie, I am sending you an email to get your shipping address!

AVEENO® NOURISH+ Hair Care Collection is the first ever hair care line from AVEENO®, and Beauty and Fashion Tech readers are among the first to have the opportunity to try the products before they become available to the public in late April!

AVEENO® NOURISH+ Hair Care Collection sponsored the glam.com VIP Touch Up Lounge at the Leeza Gibbons Oscar party where glam.com viewers got a behind the scenes look at celeb hair touch-ups provided by AVEENO® NOURISH+ Hair Care Collection. Here is information about the line:

AVEENO® NOURISH+ Hair Care Collection is a revolutionary hair care line from AVEENO^® that combines nature + science to nourish damaged hair back to life in just three washes.

How it works: AVEENO^®’s exclusive Nourishing Wheat Complex has a positive electrical charge, which attracts to the negatively charged damaged parts of the hair follicle. When the complex is attracted to the damaged areas, it delivers the right amount of proteins needed to help moisturize and repair dry and damaged hair.

The line consists of: NOURISH + MOISTURIZE Shampoo and Conditioner, NOURISH + REVITALIZE Shampoo and Conditioner, NOURISH + VOLUMIZE Shampoo and Conditioner, NOURISH + SOOTHE Shampoo and NOURISH +Condition Leave-In Treatment.

To enter to win a shampoo, conditioner, and leave in treatment: Leave a comment by noon central time on Wednesday, March 11, 2009, stating why you like Aveeno products or why you would like to try the new Nourish+ Hair Care Collection. You don’t have to say much, but you must answer the question. Just saying “hi” or leaving a couple of irrelevant words won’t get you an entry!

On March 11, 2009, I will randomly draw a winner and will notify them by email. I will also post the winner here. The winner must respond to email within 3 days or the prize will be redrawn. One entry per household. Duplicate household entries will be deleted or disqualified. Good luck!