HairBoutique Blog

Although I have spent many years fine tuning the art of having good hair, there are days that no matter what, I’m in the bad hair day zone.

Instead of letting it ruin my day, I usually spritz it with my favorite dry shampoo, fluff it up and wrap it into a bun.  I also will make it a point to add one of my favorite hair accessories so it neutralizes any less than wonderful feelings about how my hair is misbehaving.

Over the years I have also developed some great “bad hair” affirmations I say that help me reset my mind from feeling unhappy about my hair or appearance to feeling great.

I’m a big believer in affirmations due to the recommendation of a former fitness trainer who encouraged me to listen to affirmations while working out to help adjust my attitude.  For me, they work.  Do they work for everyone?  They may or may not, but it never hurts to give them a try.

Listed below are some of my own hair affirmations that I use when having a bad hair day, feeling blah about my hair or just in general. (more…)

I first heard about selling hair in O’Henry’s Gift Of The Magi. In the story, Jim Dillingham and his wife Della are a young couple very much in love but with very little money.  In fact, they are in such a bad economic situation they have almost no money for Christmas gifts for each.

In order to get her beloved husband the gift of a special chain for his prized pocked watch from his father Della sells her very long and gorgeous knee length hair to a man who wants to make it into a wig.

Meanwhile husband Jim sells the pocked watch to be able to buy Della a set of beautiful tortoise shell combs for her gorgeous hair.

(Image of Paulina Rubio - DailyCeleb.com - All Rights Reserved).

Although the couple is very sad to find the gift they bought for each other was useless since Jim no long had the watch for his wife’s new chain and she no longer has her hair for the combs which she sold to buy the watch chain.

Speed ahead to 2008 and the current economic crisis.  Selling hair to make money has again become an option for those with long and lush hair.    Besides selling hair people are also now selling blood and other appropriate body fluids. What will they think of next? (more…)

One of the hottest how-to hair tips in recent years was the suggestion, from the various hair gurus, that you bend over at the waist and blow dry your wet tresses “upside down”.

The key idea behind this reverse blow drying tips was that the heat from the blow dryer would be less damaging on the underside of delicate tresses. After all, hair endures daily wear and tear from the weather, environment, toxins and the rays of the sun. Why subject it to damage from a hot blow dryer?

The other principle behind the dangling head blow dry was the idea that it built a lot of lush volume throughout the roots and the top part of the strands. It also suggested that the underside of the hair would get totally dry, which can sometimes be a problem for some people with lots of hair.

But really. Should you blow dry your hair bent over upside down? (more…)

Social scientists like Barry Schwartz, Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College are currently studying the effects of information overload on the Web.

Scientists are looking into how the media has heightened the expectations of hair consumers to believe it’s relatively easy to achieve the same high fashion glam hairstyles that all of their celebrity idols are wearing.

As a result of the hairstyling info overload combined with heightened hairstyle expectations, hair consumers are literally exhausted and unhappier than ever with their hair choices.

The sheer volume of information along with the breadth of choices available to consumers, have only served to heighten their expectations to an unreasonable level. As a result of choice overload and unreasonable expectations it’s becoming even more impossible to be delighted any more.

Nowadays, the best consumer hair clients can even hope for is that a minimum level of expectations be reached. (more…)

I love the hairdressing profession and only wish I had more time to do hair since I have my license.

However, like any other profession, hairdressers may sometimes be misinformed about what is ultimately best for their consumer hair clients.

Also, hair manufacturers may push products onto their hairdressing clients with the promise that it’s the next hot hair trend when in reality it’s just a re-packaged process that has been around for many years.

Note: In this blog Jessica Simpson is shown wearing two different lengths of the HairDo clip-on hair extensions with pre-set curls and waves.

As 2009 approaches I have been reading more buzz about chemical perms in the professional hair media.

This is not an uncommon event. Each year there is a push to resurrect the long dead hair perm. When I see indications that manufacturers are pushing chemical hair perms I always feel the need to warn hair consumers to tread lightly.

Yes, under some limited circumstances chemical perm treatments may work for some hair consumers. These circumstances need to include the application of the perm by an expert hair pro with many years working with hair perms along with a head of the appropriate hair type, texture and hair condition.

It’s my opinion based on more than twelve years in the hair business that chemical perms should never be used for the majority of hair consumers. I have received too many unhappy emails from angry hair consumers who suffered hair damage ranging from minor to extreme as the result of a chemical perm. (more…)