Hair product can be a girl's best friend, but when used incorrectly, it can look like you've stepped off the set as an extra in The Birds. Chaz Dean, founder of Wen hair care, explains a few things to avoid when applying your favorite products. (Full disclosure: Wen, a sponsor of the Miss America pageant, flew me to Las Vegas to attend the show over the weekend.)
- Starting in the front: Since hair is more thick and dense in the back, product should be applied there first and then lightly diffused through to the front. If you do the opposite, the finer hair near the hairline can actually look weighed down and greasy — not a good thing.
- Overkilling the volumizer: "The less volumizer you use, the better," says Dean. In fact, using too much can give the opposite effect. To get hair that's more wowza than weighed down, he recommends spritzing a volumizer into the hands first and then lightly applying it to the hair.
- Allowing cream products just "sit" on your strands: Dean likens cream-based hair products to sunscreen. Would you just let your SPF sit on your face? No, you'd gently work it into the skin. The same applies for your hair lotions and creams: gently squeeze and press them into your hair for optimal results.
The day before the Miss America pageant on Saturday, Chaz Dean, founder of the Wen hair care system (full disclosure: Wen flew me to Las Vegas for the weekend's festivities), sat down with a group of beauty editors to discuss his process for keeping hair in tip-top shape. Lesson learned: if, despite your best efforts to keep it in prime condition, your hair is looking a little less than fabulous, the problem may be easier to remedy than you think. To see what Dean says you might inadvertently be doing to sabotage your hair, just 