BellaSugar

How to Texturize Your Hair With a Flat Iron and Hair Spray

Jaime Richards — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 06:00:32 PST

Whether your hair is straight, curly, short, or long, here's a quick and easy way to give your style extra volume and texture. All you need is some hair spray, a flat iron, and about nine minutes of your time. Check out my how-to now.

Would You Get a Brazilian Blowout?

BellaSugar — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:00:14 PDT

Curly-haired women who prefer straight and sleek styles will often go the distance to extend the life of their flat-ironed hair. Chemical straightening, a more permanent option, can help with the convenience of maintaining the sleek look - but at what price? Despite Oregon's Occupational Safety and Health Administration's recent report that the popular Brazilian Blowout contains 10.6 percent formaldehyde, some women are still opting for this straightening method. And heavy exposure to formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, could harm the health of salon workers. Knowing that even the "formaldehyde-free" formulas have more of the ingredient than is considered safe, would you still take the risk for straight hair? (For the record, we wouldn't.)

Be Blunt: 5 Easy Ways to Wear the Runway Trend

BellaSugar — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:00:00 PDT

Naomi Watts recently set off a mini-furor with her new blunt haircut. And if the looks on the runway are to be believed, they'll be one of the big hair trends for the upcoming season. But going blunt can be scary - especially if you have traumatic memories of grungy, stringy styles from the early '90s. So how can you wear the trend and look both pretty and modern? We pulled five of the most flattering interpretations of the look, using the runway for inspiration.

What's Your Favorite Hairstyle on Naomi Watts?

BellaSugar — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 07:00:00 PDT

Naomi Watts proves that a shoulder-length bob is one of the most versatile hairstyles around. Whether it's sophisticated like the sleek and straight look she wore at New York Fashion Week; effortlessly waved like she wore at a recent Target event; or pulled back in a half-up, half-down style, like she wore at last night's Mother and Child premiere in NYC, Naomi always looks like one hot mama. But if you had to pick your favorite hairstyle, which one stands out most on the blond actress?

Do You Prefer Taylor Swift's Hair Curly or Straight?

BellaSugar — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 11:00:08 PST

While we're accustomed to seeing Taylor Swift with her signature curly hair, she showed off a completely different style last night - almost to the point where she looks like someone else. Actually, her hair was styled this way for a photo shoot, and she just happened to stick with it for the evening. We're used to seeing Taylor with perfectly formed spiral ringlets, and there's no doubt she looks gorgeous with these pin-straight locks, but do you prefer the country crooner with curly or straight strands?

What Makes Curly Hair Curly and Straight Hair Straight?

BellaSugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 11:00:39 PDT

And wavy hair wavy? Well, as you may have suspected, it does have to do with genetics, but other factors influence hair growth as well. According to Proctor and Gamble, researchers do not completely understand why some hair twists and turns and some lays flat, but here are the most commonly accepted theories. Some are a little more scientific and others more commonsense.
Check them out when you

Last Night a Hairbrush Saved My Life

BellaSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:00:11 PDT

Readers, I have fallen off the wagon. I have a strange desire (during this particularly humid week) to blow-dry my hair straight. I know it's not the best thing for my hair, but this time I got a reinforcement: I bought Conair’s Infiniti Tourmaline Brush ($12.99) after realizing I no longer even owned a round-barrel brush.

I've had blowouts in swank salons where they hold a round brush upright at the end and pull it straight down to create a perfect wave at the bottom of your hair. The spiral openings in this Tourmaline-infused brush some how make it possible to do that yourself, without getting one strand of hair caught on the bristles (OK, or handle. I have a lot of hair). Do you guys have a Holy Grail hair brush?

Products to Perfect Your Blowout

BellaSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 11:00:09 PST

I am all about embracing natural beauty, but sometimes it's fun to change up our everyday look, especially for a special occasion. If you happen to have wavy or curly hair, getting a sleek blowout is a surefire way to feel fancy. To help you get this look at home, I've put together a list of must-have products that will help eliminate the damage to your hair while achieving the look.

Frederic Fekkai Technician Mask ($35) is the most moisturizing mask I've ever put on my hair. It protects against damage by closing and sealing the hair shaft. I won't let a blow-dryer near my hair without using this first.

Dove Advanced Care Heat Shield Styling Spray ($5) is a heat-protecting leave-in, and products like this are essential for a silky blow-dry. This thermal protecting spray will coat your strands and absorb the heat from your styling tools so that your hair follicles don't.

For two more hair helpers,

read more. I'm a fan of the T3 Tourmaline Hair Dryer ($200) As I've said before, the T3 dryer really is worth the splurge. It reduces the length of time your fragile hair is exposed to heat, and it blasts your hair with negative ions to smooth the cuticle and eliminate frizz. Finally, you might want to check out the Chi 1-in. Ceramic Flat Iron ($80). Ceramic irons actually lock moisture into your hair, rather than drying it out. Like the Tourmaline dyer, the ceramic plates seal the hair cuticle so that it is resistant to humidity and frizz.

Why Different Hair Textures Tangle (Or Don't)

BellaSugar — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 16:25:40 PDT

Oof. I just looked in the mirror and wondered how sitting at a desk all day manages to turn my hair into a rat's nest. And now I know! Jean-Baptiste Masson, a French researcher, has found that straight hair tangles more than curly hair does. As it turns out, it's a matter of physics.

After observing a group of 212 people over the course of three weeks, Masson created a mathematical model to explain the phenomenon. As News in Science reports:

Although curly hairs are more likely to come into contact with other hairs, he says straight hairs tend to have bigger angles between them when they connect. This second factor turns out to be the most important when it comes to tangles, Masson reported. It's the angle at which hair meets that most determines its likelihood of tangling.

You may wonder why a physicist would be studying hair. Masson's work was inspired by a field of science called polymer dynamics, and his findings may help other scientists develop Velcro-like products-and more likely than not, some new hair products, too.

Source

It's Japan vs. Brazil in the Hair-Straightening Wars

BellaSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:03:16 PDT

My best friend has thick, very wavy hair, but you'd never guess it from looking at her. That's because she goes in for Japanese thermal conditioning, a treatment that leaves hair straight for months. Now I have to tell her about a newer process from Brazil called escova progressiva. According to the New York Times, it can be used on most hair types, even color-treated hair. And now it has migrated from South America to the States.

"Right now, it’s blowing everything away," said Meryle Nemeth, the nuBest stylist who administered Ms. Epstein’s treatment, one of about 500 she’s done since February, when it became available at the salon [in Manhasset, NY]. "I've never seen anything take off like this as far as relaxing hair."

For details on this treatment,

read more Brazilian hair straightening takes up to four hours and costs between $150 and $600. The Times explains the process, which truthfully sounds a little... un-fun:

A stylist applies a solution made with active keratin, a protein akin to a component of human hair. Using a 450-degree iron, the hairdresser seals the formula onto the outer layer of the cuticle. The formula adheres to the cuticle’s inherently rough edges. Thus, it is said, it traps moisture, hydrating the hair, and adds a glossy veneer.

Buried deep in the article is this little nugget: "The formula often contains formaldehyde, a known carcinogen that can irritate the eyes and lungs if the fumes are inhaled." Yikes. Are you interested in getting this treatment done, or are you happy with your curls and waves? Source