Hair Styling Tools

It used to be that combs actually made out of bone were a well sought after commodity.  But because they are now considered “illegal”, handmade combs are being made out of a 100%  organic resin by the name of phenolic resin laminate. 

Why use a “bone” comb?  The main reason is because the comb is durable and made to withstand high heat.  This means that you can use the comb for styling with heat such as when you using your hair dryer or hair straightener.  It also can be used with hair coloring products.    Other benefits include:

1. No ripping out or snagging of strands of hair
2. Detangles both wet and dry hair easily
3. Creates shine by spreading scalp’s natural oils through the hair shaft
4. Will not create static or frizz
5. Removes flakes and scaling on the scalp

An outstanding manufacturer of this smooth resin comb is NuBone.  The NuBone comb is available in different sizes and designs to handle a variety of styling options.  Some of these varieties include: cutting combs, weaving  (metal tail sectioning) combs, fine-tooth combs, detangler combs, and rake tail and detangler combs.  What makes the NuBone comb special is that it is hand cut, sawed and polished, and most especially will last for years.  Due to their high heat resistance, these combs are ideal for use popular hair straightening techniques:  Brazilian Keratin Hair Straightening, Japanese Straightening, and Traditional Flat Ironing.  Some stylists have literally replaced some of their styling brushes with the NuBone comb because they can use the wide-tooth comb for building body, the medium-tooth comb for general styling, and the fine-tooth comb for smoothing and finishing the style.

Finally, the care of this unique handcrafted hair styling tool is simple.  Wash with a mild detergent once a week and if necessary, use a soft-bristled toothbrush to remove any hair product that may have built up between the tines of the comb.  Just rinse the comb, dry with a towel, and your comb is once again ready for use. 

Usually it is in our 40′s when we start noticing that there is definitely something that needs to be done to add some pizazz back into our hair.  Whether it be a new hair style, or just using some haircare products to bring the hair back to life, it ultimately boils down to the fact that we are trying to look younger.  So what hair styling tip is the beauty world suggesting?  According to Colleen Moody from online “Real Beauty”, face-framing streaks not only give definition to your cheekbones, but they will also make you look younger.  You might want to try multi-dimensional hair colors to blend in any grays that you might have.  Most important to this process is the fact that you need to use a leave-in UV protectant that will protect your hair from the sun as well as preserve the color.  Try Potions International Super Serum for this and you will be glad you did.  (Photo courtesy of Exposay.com)

Did you know that in your 4o’s and 50′s your hair starts to feel coarse and lose some of its shine?  As with most anything these days, there are products that will take care of this and we are so very fortunate that this is the case.  It’s hard enough to face the aging process as it is, but with a little help here and there it just seems to make the transition easier.

As for haircare products to handle that lackluster looking hair, I definitely would recommend two products.  The first is Potions International Power Construct.  This moisture rich creamy conditioner has some amazing natural ingredients that result in exceptional looking hair.  Pure Carrot oil, purified essential oils from the Mango and Olive butter, along with other vitamins and marine extracts all work together to recondition the skin of the scalp, hair and body through oxygenation and stimulation.  And, the icing on the cake is that the beta keratin oil ingredients strengthen any weak hair.  When used on a weekly basis, you will start seeing results in no time.

So what can you use on a daily basis?  Once again, Potions International is the answer.  They have a super product that coincidentally is called Super Serum.  Suffice it to say that this product blows other serums and oils right out of the water.  Not only does it control frizz but it repairs your hair, provides heat protection, creates shine, has UV protection, and is alcohol and paraben free.  This product is enriched with organic Argan oil and simply penetrates and absorbs almost instantly into the hair.  This does not leave your hair feeling greasy and has a wonderful fresh scent.  As with all of Potions International products, they are made in the USA.

Is it time to replace an old styling brush, or are you looking for something new to accomodate a new style or cut?  

Shopping for a new brush may not be as simple as you would like for it to be, but if you take some of the following tips and suggestions  under consideration, it might save you some time deciding what is the best brush for you.  Some of the considerations in shopping for a new brush are what hair type you have, the length of your hair,  what style you are trying to achieve, and what exactly will the function of the brush be.

HAIR TYPE

Boar bristle brushes are probably one of the only type brushes that provide benefits for almost every hair type.  This natural bristle brush was designed to clean, condition, and polish your hair.  While the paddle type boar brush is great for brushing through your hair and attracting dirt and dust (meaning it cleans your hair), it also provides a benefit of polishing and conditioning your hair.  This happens as a result of the density of the fibrous bristles, which automatically pull out any dirt and dust.  

If you have normal to thick hair you may want to consider brushes that come with both nylon and boar bristles because sometimes a natural bristle brush may not get all of the tangles out.  Detangling with natural bristles is actually better for normal to fine hair.  If your hair is coarse and thick, a nylon brush may work best because it tends to be on the stronger side.   

HAIR LENGTH

Whatever your hair length is, is what typically determines the size of the brush barrel that you will need.  This is also associated with whether or not the brush you are looking for is for styling or just for your everyday brush-through once you are out and about and need to tidy up your style or if there is no style, just to detangle the hair.  Paddle brushes are great for the detangling of hair.  Round brushes are needed when using a hair dryer to style while drying your hair.  

HAIR STYLING

When it comes to styling your hair, thermal round styling  brushes are the best.  Depending on what the style is and the length of your hair will determine the size needed.  Round brushes come in a variety of sizes and types of bristles to accomodate all hair lengths and styling needs.  Typically a 1 inch barrel is the smallest and some of the largest barrel sizes reach in the 4 inch to 5 inch range.  Obviously, the smaller the barrel for the shorter hair up to the larger barrel sizes for the longer hair.  However, that is not to say that someone with shoulder length hair might want to use a 1 inch or slightly larger size barrel to make sure they get the hair to curl under or curl up.  The larger size barrels are going to give you volume. 

Outside of the round brush and the paddle brush, there are also brushes designed just for teasing your hair.  In fact, Spornette makes the Little Wonder which is truly the best brush I have ever tried for teasing my hair.  It surpassed any comb that I have ever used for this very purpose.

As with anything, a consultation with your hair stylist is always a good thing to do prior to you actually buying a new brush.  You want to make sure that what you are wanting to buy is actually going to do the job because in most cases a brush is a non-returnable item.

If you already own a boar bristle hair brush, then you know that most of them are made with wooden backing and handles.  And, if you understand the purpose of using boar hair brushes, you will understand that it is important that the cleaning of this type of brush is somewhat different than the cleaning you would do on a regular nylon bristle brush.

When using a boar hair brush, the bristles naturally latch on to sebum, which is that oily substance that is produced by your scalp.  Sebum can clump near the roots of your hair and clog the pores.  This results in giving your hair that greasy, dirty, unwashed look.  As you brush through your hair with a boar bristle brush, you are actually spreading the sebum that has collected at the roots of your hair down the length of your hair .  What this does is coat and protect your hair.  In time, sebum becomes your natural hair conditioner and helps to make your hair shine and stay moisturized.  So, what does this have to do with the cleaning or caring for a boar bristle hair brush?

The key to caring for your boar bristle hair brush is that you really don’t want to get it wet.  You will read articles online that say to use a mild detergent or shampoo and to let it air dry.  If you want your boar bristle brush to last, I strongly suggest that you don’t do this.  Think of your boar bristle brush as you would a fine piece of clothing that has to be “dry-cleaned”.  After all, boar bristle brushes generally cost more than nylon bristle brushes and I look at the purchase of one as a small investment to keeping healthy looking, shiny, hair.  All you really need to do is to purchase a brush cleaner that is made for removing hair from the bristles of your brush and one that has what I call the “mini dust broom”  on the alternate end of the brush cleaner.  In fact, Denman brushes makes just the type I am describing and have pictured here in this article.  The mini dust broom on the brush cleaner is designed to brush out the lint and dust that collects in between the bristles.  If you use this brush cleaner on your boar bristle brush on either a daily or every other day basis, you will be keeping the brush clean enough for continued use.

There are hair dryers that have 600 watts, 1300 watts, 1600 watts, 1875 watts, 1900 watts, and 2000 watts.   And there may be others, but who is counting?  The more important question is how much wattage does one actually need to dry their hair.  And, does it make a difference as to how much or how little hair you have?

Wattage in hair dryers is actually referring to the amount of power that is being output.  Consequently, an 1875 watt blow dryer is less powerful than a 2000 watt dryer, a 1600 watt dryer is less than an 1875 watt dryer, etc.  Knowing this, then the question is what works best on any particular type of hair or amount of hair?

FINE, THIN, DAMAGED, or FRAGILE  CURLY HAIR: If your hair type falls under any one of these descriptions then a hair dryer with 1200 to 1500 watts is all that you really need.  You might also want to consider towel blotting your hair to remove any excess moisture and then when drying to use the slowest and coolest setting to prevent further damage.

MEDIUM STRAIGHT or TEXTURED HAIR: If you have either  of these types of hair and it is neither fine nor damaged, you can dry your hair with any wattage range depending on the speed that you are using or the desired style.

THICK or WAVY HAIR: Or, if your hair takes a long time to dry, a minimum of 1875 watts should be used.

Two additional considerations to keep in mind when shopping for a hair dryer is how many heat settings and how many speeds the dryer has.  At a minimum you want a dryer that has at least two heat settings.  If your hair is fine, thin, damaged, or fragile curly, you will benefit from cool or cold settings as these will prevent further heat damage and if you have fine hair, the cool air will plump up any limp strands.  If you has thick strands you should use the full heat settings.  The hot air blowing out of a dryer helps to create a style and the cold air locks the style in.  That is why so many hairdryers come with cold or cool shot buttons so that you have the option to easily press that button once you are ready to lock in a particular section of hair that you are styling with your hair brush while drying.  When it comes to the number of speeds you want in a dryer, you want at least two speeds.  The two speeds will consist of high and low.  If your hair is fine, thin, damaged or fragile, your hair will benefit from the slower speeds.  If your hair is thick or takes longer to dry, the speed needs to be medium to high.

Always take precautions when blow drying your hair.  You don’t want to over-blow your hair which ultimately means that if you are trying to style your hair and you are using the higher wattage along with the higher heat and faster speed, you risk not being able to properly set the style you are working on.  Additionally you are running the risk of overheating your hair.  So to take a couple extra precautionary measures, remember to keep the dryer moving around your hair and don’t hold the dryer extremely close to your hair. Lastly, always use  protective haircare products that you apply to your hair before drying.

Photo used above is courtesy of:  http://www.dreamstime.com/free-stock-photo-girl-blowing-dry-her-hair-rimagefree8108175-resi2740994

For many young women in today’s world, they have never experienced a life of getting up and getting ready for work or school and not had the luxury of being able to straighten their hair before they step foot out their door.  Straightening irons can probably be found in almost 75% of the households where a female resides.  And, let’s not forget the males.  There are many men who use flat irons to help with their hair styling needs as well.

There are obviously many benefits to owning a hair straightener.  Probably the most important one for those who want straight hair is the fact that they can straighten their hair anytime.  It doesn’t have to be just after you have washed and dried your hair, or even just after washing it (if you use a wet/dry model flat iron).  If it’s not time to wash your hair and you are tired of the curly style from the past day or two, all you have to do is plug in your iron, spray on some hair product and straighten away.  There are no chemical processes to use to achieve the end result, and if you use a quality professional flat iron, your hair will look shiny and there should be no traces of waves or curls once you are done.  I do want to point out that if really is important to use a quality hair straightener and at a minimum be sure it is a ceramic one.  You can actually purchase a ceramic flat iron for as little as $25 – $30.  While it may not have all of the bells and whistles that a more expensive professional model might have, at least you will not be ruining your hair.  Using a ceramic flat iron means that you will be getting even heat distribution across the plates so that there will be no hot spots to damage your hair. You will also find that they heat up quickly and are lightweight.

Straightening irons are available in a variety of sizes and finishes.  You can buy one with a plate size of 1/2″ all the way to 2 1/2″.  There are ceramic, tourmaline,  and titanium plates all of which are the best for your hair.  You can even buy them in animal and other assorted prints.  Some hair straighteners now offer the capability of curling your hair because they have rounded edges to the plates or the plate wraps around the edges of the iron.  When using the proper technique you can flip or curl under your hair.  In this case, your hair straightener becomes a multi-use tool.  Ah……the benefits of living in the 21st century.

Making that decision to finally take the plunge and let that gray shine on through is never easy.  Yes, it is an admittance that you are getting older (I didn’t say old), but on the other hand you can save some time and money by not having to color your hair every 4-8 weeks.  And, perhaps it’s time to take on that more dignified look anyway.  Who says you can’t have gray hair and be as well as look sexy?  In fact, just look at Jamie Lee Curtis!   So, just exactly what are the steps to growing out the gray?

First of all, it is important to know that it takes about a year to grow out your grays.  So, it is not an overnight process and there still will be some coloring costs involved in the interim.  Secondly, the recommendation by most hair stylists is that you consider going with a shorter hairstyle .  Marie Robinson, color director at Clairol suggests you “get lowlights to make the transition easier.”  As we all know, gray strands of hair tend to grow out coarse and porous, and a result make our hair look more dingy.  This is where haircare products come to the rescue.  By using a gloss that helps to boost shine to your hair ( I recommend Potions International Super Serum), and a violet-tinted shampoo (I recommend Clairol Shimmer Lights Shampoo), the yellow tones to your hair will disappear.

How long has it been since you tried a curling iron on your hair?  If your anything like me, it’s been forever and a day for actually a lot of reasons.  One, I’ve been wearing my hear shorter for quite some time now, and secondly, I was still shying away from using them as I remember the good old days when I just didn’t want to take the time to use one except for special occasions.  Maybe, there was a third reason and that had to do with the fact that because my hair is on the fine side, I didn’t want to do anything additional that would harm my hair by making it drier than it already was and then breaking off at the ends.

Curling irons have come a long way in the past several years and now with the ability to get hair extensions for those who have short hair, and then for those of us who still worry about damaging our hair, the new technology used in curling irons have created more of a desire to use them.  Not only has curling hair with curling irons become more popular, I see women buying them in multiple sizes for a variety of hair styles they want to try out.   Obviously all of the entertainment shows on television and beauty magazines and blogs alike, are sharing all of the latest hairstyles so that we can decide what we want our hair to look like the next time we go for our salon visit or the next time we want to style our hair.

Most curling irons are now available in sizes from as small as 3/8″ all the way up to a 2″ barrel.  The smaller the barrel the tighter the curl and the larger the barrel the more body or wave will be your end result.  One of the latest features introduced in curling irons is the titanium barrel.  What I like about this one is that when I have demonstrated the titanium barrel curling iron I have found that the surface of the barrel is very smooth and it eliminates any snagging of the hair.   I also noticed that the curl takes faster.  Another great feature is that titanium is a very lightweight metal and the curling iron is extremely lightweight and so much easier to handle.

At a minimum, if you are shopping for a new curling iron, make sure you look at ceramic curling irons.  They cost a little more than the aluminum barrel ones but if you are going to use this more than once a week, the few extra dollars will be definitely worth it in preserving healthy hair.  Most all of the major brands now offer ceramic curling irons and try to get a professional model rather than your run of the mill discount ones at the local drug store or whatever discount store you shop at.

In addition to your traditional curling irons, there are so many different types out now that you can find one for almost any style you want.  Whether it be a spiral, ribbon, coil, triple barrel waver, or even the new curling wands, there is something for everybody.

Alright it’s time to rethink exactly what you are not doing for yourself in the way of working towards having a healthy head of hair.  If you are like me, you probably can reflect back on the days when it was all about finding the best bargain on a hair dryer and if it meant buying a $10.00 one from Walmart or Target, then that is exactly what we did.  And, unfortunately, many of you who are reading this post, may still be using that heavy, monstrosity, train sounding dryer on your hair.  Even worse, that hair dryer probably doesn’t have any of the new ceramic or ionic technologies that reduce the amount of time it takes to dry your hair and thus, protect your hair from overheat abuse.

Seriously speaking, aren’t you worth spending a little extra money on yourself to help with the betterment of the appearance of your hair?  It goes even further than that.  Why should you have to hold a heavyweight hairdryer in your hand every time you wash your hair and need to blow it dry?  It’s 2010 for heaven sake, and it is all about health issues which include less wear and tear on your body.  Just think you can be drying your hair with a dryer that actually weighs less than one pound and have it take less time, and most importantly, does not dry out your hair.

So I hope I have your attention because there are hairdryers out there that can be bought in the $20.00 to $30.00 range (yes, you are going to have to pay more than $10.00) that blow your archaic dryer (no pun intended) right out of the bathroom.  The brand of dryer I’m referring to is Hot Tools hair dryers.  These dryers range in price from $19.99 up to $100.00 for combination packages that include a flat iron.  Hot Tools hair dryers are known for their Direct ION TECHNOLOGY® , which is an active ion generating system that is in each ionic hairdryer.  This component artificially generates millions of negative ions.  These ions reduce drying time up to 40% and help reduce static, seal the cuticle, and make the hair shiny and soft.  What more could you want from a dryer?