BellaSugar

10 Wilder Ways to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day

BellaSugar — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:00:39 -0700

While you can opt for a sophisticated St. Patrick's Day, there are some who'd rather choose a blow-out, green-beer-guzzling good time. With the latter comes everything sparkly, green hair, and look-at-me beauty accessories. See where I'm headed with this? Check out a few over-the-top ideas to add that extra special touch to your St. Patrick's Day reverie.

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Which Hairstyle Do You Like Best on Gabrielle Union?

BellaSugar — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:00:12 -0800

It looks like Gabrielle Union's colorist has been a busy individual. We've seen Gabrielle go from a dark brown hue to subtle highlights to chunkier blond streaks - all in the past month. From the Farrah Fawcett-style waves she wore at the 2010 NAACP Image Awards to the much lighter hue she wore just yesterday at PaleyFest, it's clear that Gabrielle isn't stuck in any kind of hairstyle rut. Which look do you like most?

Love It or Hate It? Katherine Heigl Goes Brunette Again

BellaSugar — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:25:00 -0800

Last July, Katherine Heigl colored her blond locks a reddish-brown hue. Back then, most of you said you prefer the actress as a blonde. And while Katherine's stint as a brunette didn't last all that long, now she's back at it - this time tinting her hair a deeper brown color. Are you loving this version?

Love It or Hate It? Kelly Osbourne's New Lilac Hue

BellaSugar — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:00:00 -0800

Gray hair on young people has been a trend of late, but Kelly Osbourne's just taken it to the next level by going lavender-gray. Maybe she was just trying to stand out from the other silvery-haired beauties in New York high society or, maybe, as one Sugar staffer suggested, her color just went too purple while her stylist was graying it, and she liked the results so much that she kept it. Either way, it's a subtle and surprisingly pretty way to wear an unconventional hair color. But what do you think? Was this a good decision, or do you think she should go back to being a blonde ASAP?

Has a Stylist Ever Talked You Into Something You Didn't Really Want?

BellaSugar — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:00:28 -0800

Here's the scenario: you're in the salon chair and you've requested a specific cut or color job. But then your stylist suggests something completely different altogether, and for inexplicable reasons, you cave under the pressure. (See photo of asymmetrical spiked hair with blond bangs for proof. Not horribly hideous, just not the Winona Ryder pixie I dreamed of.) I'm always willing to listen to my stylist, who's specially trained to adapt cut and color requests for my specific texture, face shape, and undertones. However, I've left the salon with goofy results more than I care to admit. Have you ever had a salon experience get out of control, too?

5 Insider Tips For Getting the Trendiest Hair Color

BellaSugar — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0800

Johnny Ramirez makes it a point to get to know his clients' personalities up and down in order to give them the best hair color possible, and judging by this sexy photo, I don't think there are many of us that would complain about getting to know this celebrity colorist. Johnny recently started his own blog, Box No.216, where he plans to document color corrections on video, all while focusing on getting the effect of natural hair color. Earlier this week I talked to the friendly stylist, and now he's sharing with us some of his expert advice on getting the trendiest hair color now.
Photo courtesy of Tasya van Ree

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What's Your Natural Hair and Eye Color?

BellaSugar — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 06:00:00 -0800

My friend always figures you can tell if a blonde is a "bottle blonde" if her eyes are dark in color. "It's just not natural for a blonde to have dark eyes," she'll say. While I am not studied in the many variables of genetics, is my friend's theory on track? Perhaps you're a raven-haired beauty with icy blues or you're always getting complimented for the way your red-haired tresses play up your hazel eyes. Whatever the case, help me settle this discussion with my pal once and for all. When it comes to the hair and eye colors that you were born with, what hues make you who you are?

Ask Bella: Will Dyeing My Hair Change the Texture?

BellaSugar — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 06:01:50 -0800

Recently, a reader wrote in asking for advice on coloring her hair:

I'm considering dying my hair. I've always wanted to do it, and I'm starting to get a few gray hairs - even though I'm only 23. But my hair is very soft and silky and I'm worried dying it will change the texture. Am I right to be worried? I have brown hair and would like to go a more reddish-brown color.

Hair dye works by using peroxide or ammonia to open up the hair's cuticle to either lift and/or deposit color. Essentially, it alters the hair's structure, which can cause a noticeable change in texture. But that doesn't mean you have to go around looking as if you've got a bad case of the frizzies. Find out my solution when you read more.

Silver Foxes Are Gettin' Trendy

BellaSugar — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:00:29 -0800

Going gray is part of the natural aging process, and while many opt to eschew any and all hair dye by letting nature take its course, a few young trendsetting women are actually using hair dye to go gray . . . by choice. Nineteen-year-old model Pixie Geldof is a fan, telling The Times, "I’d been blond for three years and fancied a change," she says. “I wasn’t thinking about the color, I just put on a bunch of toner one day, and there it was. It was rad," she adds. Pixie's not alone in her absence-of-color hue. The old-timey shade has been spotted on the heads of hip Londoners, and has been seen everywhere from the runways of Giles Deacon to Gareth Pugh.

"Gray has always been seen as distinguished on men," Bumble and Bumble's Neil Moodie told the paper. "But on women it’s seen as aging, which isn’t necessarily true - the model Kristen McMenamy looks incredible [with it]. Normally, if you bleach hair, you can put in an ash tone to stop the brassiness, and it goes a slight grey-blue, so it also has that punk element," he explains. Thinking about going gray yourself? Don't attempt to turn yourself into a silver belle at home. Head to a salon for the professional treatment. Otherwise, you could be in silver hell.

Scientists Find a Way to Take the Stink Out of Hair Dye

BellaSugar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:00:00 -0800

One major complaint about hair dye is the off-putting smell, and you can attribute that mostly to the presence of ammonia, a necessary ingredient that enables color to penetrate into the hair shaft. Since the invention of the first commercial hair color in 1909, hair dye has remained fairly unchanged, but now scientists at L’Oréal have discovered a way to take the stink out by use of an odorless substance called monoethanolamine (MEA).

MEA is nothing new. It's actually already used in non-ammonia hair dye formulations to darken hair within a level, but hasn't been strong enough to lighten the hair or cover gray - until now. That's thanks to the addition of a color-boosting mineral oil gel to the MEA, a formulation that L’Oréal has dubbed "Innovation No Ammonia" (INOA). "I can't say that replacing ammonia-based dyes with those containing monoethanolamine is an improvement for public health, though it will cut down on the noxious odor," the Environmental Working Group's Rebecca Sutton told Scientific American. L’Oréal, however, claims that the INOA leaves the hair in better condition since it doesn't compromise the integrity of the hair quite as much as traditional hair dye. Eventually we'll be seeing the product for at-home use, but first expect to find the hair color in salons early next year. Are you pumped for non-stinky color, or is safety still an issue?