HairBoutique Blog

Do you know if your hair is damaged?  Sometimes hair damage can creep up on an unsuspecting hair consumer and may not become obvious until pointed out by a professional hairdresser, friend or when hair starts acting up.

(Image by Goldwell - All Rights Reserved).

Recent consumer hair surveys have indicated over 95% of women and over 85% of men say they have hair problems they deal with on a daily basis.  A common base of all hair problems is related to hair which is damaged in some manner.

What are some of the most common symptoms of damaged hair?  Listed below are some of the most obvious:

1.  Split Ends
Depending on the length, type and texture of your tresses you may or may not be able to easily see your split ends.  If your hair isn’t long enough to pull towards your eyes you may not see splits, yet they may be there.

Can short hair get split ends?  Of course.  Hair of any length can develop split ends which is often one of the first and most obvious signs of damaged hair. (more…)

Do you have gorgeous eyes and want them to pop?

Why not work with your favorite hairdresser to create a haircut or hairstyle designed specifically to amp up your gorgeous peepers?

Listed below are some haircuts and hairstyles which will draw attention to your eyes:

1.  Short pixie, cap or crop like those worn by Victoria “Posh Spice” with strategic layers and short or super “baby” bangs. With a short cut like this your eyes will be the center of attention.

2.  A medium length bob like the one worn by Jenny McCarthy with hair side-swept and worn sleekly to one side with a panel of hair appearing to create an “arrow” along the temple directly other eyes down right towards the eyes.  Jenny also wears this hairstyle with brow-skimming heavy bangs.

Either type of Jenny McCarthy style “frames” the face and draws instant attention to the eyes and brows.

3.  Below the chin layered shag with layers cut strategically to draw attention up from the chin towards the eyes and sleek side-swept bangs.

4. Medium or shoulder length hairstyles with texturized and layered bangs and lots of fullness along the crown.  When the hairstyle has volume right behind the hairline it will draw attention “up” the face and towards the eyes. (more…)

Have you heard of all the different “poo” treatments for your hair?

The word “poo” is actually a shortened version of shampoo.  Poo is often used to reference no-poo, pre-poo, diluted poo and post-poo, to name a few of the more popular poo combos.

The poo treatments are very popular in some segments of the hair world because certain types of hair require special no-poo as well as pre and post poo treatments to keep tresses strong, healthy, soft and with minimal damage some shampoo treatments have been proven to cause.

What is a Pre-Poo?

Pre-poo isn’t a new concept.   Jennifer Aniston made news many years ago on Friends when she revealed she often utilized different pre-shampoo nourishment oils on her naturally wavy tresses to keep them shiny and soft.

Pre-poing involves utilizing some sort of a pre-shampoo treatment (hot or lukewarm oil, conditioning creams or protein masks) applied to hair and/or scalp before applying actual shampoo.

Some hair consumers only apply a pre-poo treatment to the most damaged sections of their hair while other apply it from the scalp to the roots. (more…)

Have you heard the popular saying “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”?

Unfortunately I am still suffering through the last vestiges of the cold/flu/virus that attacked my dry-as-a-gulch sinuses in Las Vegas and sadly did not stay in Vegas. If only it had.

Most of the machine gun hacking has subsided and I’m starting to feel mostly human. Well except for the runny nose - which - keeps on running.

Even though I’ve used Puff’s Plus by the pallet, all the edges of my nose are fire engine red and hurt like the devil.  I have tried just about everything to soothe it from slathering on Jergens to a wide range of super softening creams.  Nada.  The agony of a tissue brushing back my nose is more troubling then the constant dripping of my nose.  YUCK.

Yesterday I was beside myself with the drippy nose and burning nose skin when I grabbed for Karin Herzog’s “Choco2 Day & Night Cream”.  The signature black Karin Herzog tube was laying on the edge of my nightstand and in a burning skin moment I squeezed out a good amount and slathered it all over nose.

Yes I looked a little like i had stuck my nose in a bowl of whipped cream but I could care less. I was shocked when the chronic stinging instantly stopped.  WOW.  This stuff is good.  Really good.

Already a fan of the entire line, Karin Herzog’s Choco2 has become my new favorite.  If it can instantly soften my irritated nose with a few dabs - imagine what it will do for my skin on a regular basis?  Exactly.

Scientists have discovered a new use for human hair waste which includes utilizing it as a type of nutrient for container plants.

Vlatcho D. Zheljazkov, Juan L. Silva, Mandar Patel, Jelena Stojanovic, Youkai. Lu, Taejo Kim, and Thomas Horgan of Mississippi State University recently published a research study in HortTechnology designed to determine whether commercially available non composted hair waste cubes would support plant growth in horticulture crops as a sole source of nutrients.

Agricultural crop production relies on composted waste materials and byproducts, such as animal manure, municipal solid waste composts, and sewage sludge, as a necessary nutrient source.

Studies have shown that human hair, a readily available waste generated from barbershops and hair salons, combined with additional compost, is an additional nutrient source for crops.

Although human hair has become commercially available to crop producers in the past couple years, it has not been proven to be an exclusive source of nutrients in greenhouse container production.

The Mississippi State University scientists compared the productivity of four crops: lettuce, wormwood, yellow poppy, and feverfew, grown in commercial growth medium using untreated control, non composted hair cubes at differing weights, a controlled-release fertilizer and a water-soluble fertilizer.

Results showed that, with the addition of hair waste cubes, yields increased relative to the untreated control but were lower than yields in the inorganic treatments, suggesting that hair waste should not be used as a single source for fast-growing plants such as lettuce.

Zheljazkov suggests that, “once the degradation and mineralization of hair waste starts, it can provide sufficient nutrients to container-grown plants and ensure similar yields to those obtained with the commonly used fertilizers in horticulture.

However, it takes time for the hair to start degrading and releasing nutrients, as is reflected in lower yields in the hair treatments relative to the inorganic fertilizers for lettuce and wormwood.”

Because of possible health concerns, further research is necessary to determine whether human hair waste is a viable option as fertilizer for edible crops.

For more information refer to the following publications:

New Use For Human Hair

Human Hair as a Nutrient Source for Horticultural Crops