BellaSugar

DIY Spa Treatment: Hot Oil Treatment For Dry Hair

BellaSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:00:22 -0700

Hot oil treatments are a fast and easy way to help restore elasticity, shine and moisture in dry, over-processed hair. They should instantly make your hair look and feel healthier, and they can be done anywhere from once to twice a week depending on the condition of your hair. I found this at-home hot oil treatment recipe from the Long Locks Hair Care Cookbook and have been eager to test it out.

Although I haven't tried this exact combo of ingredients yet, I have created a wonderful DIY treatment from a blend of jojoba oil, avocado, geranium oil and soybean oil. I loved the results, but found it to be fairly messy - and I didn't love the feeling of mashed-up avocado in my hair. That being said, feel free to add in fresh avocado, or a little jojoba oil if you desire. This recipe is simple, neat (you can bring it right into the shower with you) and it doesn't require a ton of ingredients. You'll need:

1/2 cup of soybean oil

8 drops of sandalwood oil

8 drops of geranium oil

8 drops of lavender oil

For three step-by-step directions, read more.

STEP 1: Pour all of the ingredients into an empty measuring cup and mix well.
STEP 2: Warm the contents in the microwave for about 20-25 seconds, making sure it doesn't get too hot. Then, evenly apply the mixture to damp hair (paying special attention to the ends), comb through with a wide-tooth comb and wrap hair in a hot towel for 20 minutes.
STEP 3: When you're finished, shampoo hair, rinse well and skip using a conditioner.

Source

Victorian Secrets: How Your Great-Great-Grandmother Got Pretty

BellaSugar — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 08:00:19 -0700

Did you take yesterday's beauty history quiz? If you haven't, be forewarned: I'm about to reveal all the answers, along with some other oddball facts about the lengths to which Victorians went to look pretty. Are you sure you can handle reading about the lard-based beauty treatment? If so, then read more

First of all, here are the answers to the quiz.

What did women rinse their hair with to make it soft and shiny?
Rum and rosewater, my friends. Victorians used to wash their hair with a frothy mixture of egg whites, then rinsed it with a blend of rum and rosewater.

What was the name of the first commercial deodorant?
Mum's the word. Invented in 1888 in Philadelphia, Mum was the first commercial anti-stink product. Although its popularity decreased in the States, Mum continues to be sold in the UK.

When were women not supposed to wear cosmetics?
That would be when they were menstruating. Unfortunately, the idea of women being tainted or "unclean" during their monthly cycle meant that Victorian women were told to keep their faces free of any sort of cosmetics. (How cruel it would be if this were still the case, as I need concealer most when I get those monthly chin zits!)

What did some Victorian women consume in an attempt to lighten their complexions?
Yum, yum! Guess what's for your dinner, ladies? Chalk! Yep, chalk. Is the popularity of indigestion tonics during the Victorian era mere coincidence?

To make their eyes bright, what did some women do?
It hurts my eyes to even think about it, but they washed their eyes with lemon juice or orange juice.

How did women create rosy cheeks?
They pinched them, essentially. And to get red lips, they'd gently bite them.

Finally, here's a bit more trivia from the Victorian era:

Rimmel was founded in 1834 in London; it specialized in products such as violet water, ylang-ylang perfume and Aquadentine, "to Whiten the Teeth and refresh the Mouth."
Vaseline was around back in the day, offering a soap with this catchy slogan: "The best emollient in the world must be the best basis for toilet soap."
A men's hair oil called Macassar Oil was very popular. Its tendency to rub off led to the development of the antimacassar, which is basically a cloth to guard sofas and chaises from oil blots.
Cucumber-infused lard was used as a hair treatment. This made-at-home concoction involved several steps, including heating six pounds of lard and mashing cucumbers into it with a mortar.

Source

Tea Tree Oil Products, Part III: Hair Care

BellaSugar — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:59:57 -0700

Welcome to my third and final post in this tea tree oil products series. Today I've picked out a few very special hair and scalp products containing tea tree oil that are designed to correct dry, itchy, flaky unbalanced scalps, as well as lackluster, brittle hair. If you have any favorites of your own, please leave a comment and let me know more about them!

Paul Mitchell has a whole range of tea tree products. One that I've specifically heard a great deal about is his Tea Tree Hair and Scalp Treatment ($11.99). It has a great invigorating sensation and smell and is believed to soothe, calm and moisturize the texture of the skin on your scalp as well as condition, repair and protect your hair.

For two more tea tree oil products for your hair, read more

Kiehl's Tea Tree Oil Shampoo ($18) is recommended for those with normal to oily scalps. It helps soothe, stimulate, moisturize, nurture and condition the scalp. Simultaneously, it provides a gentle cleanse that won't strip your hair, so it's a good everyday shampoo.

Jason Natural Tea Tree Oil Hair & Scalp Normalizing Conditioner ($7.49) is a great product if you are looking to help cure an irritated scalp. Not only does it contain tea tree oil, but it's also got jojoba oil to lubricate and moisturize. Aloe vera gel and sea algae extract hydrate and plump up your hair fibers. For optimal results, use after shampooing with a tea tree oil shampoo, massage it into your hair and scalp, and leave it on anywhere from one to fifteen minutes.

Rachel Zoe Tweets About Her New Nail Polish Obsession...and More!

BellaSugar — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 07:00:12 -0700

The great thing about Twitter is that it gives us all a unique accessibility to celebrities. Take Dita Von Teese, for instance, who shared her favorite beauty items, from nail polish shades to lipstick to her bargain-buy foundation. Also known for her tweeting skills? Rachel Zoe, who brought us her warm-weathered nail polish pick in July. Since I'm a fan of the stylist's quirky personality and impeccable taste, I thought I'd give her Twitter page a look-see to discover what beauty items she's been using as of late - and just to make sure that she's not literally dying. To find out what bodycare items and nail polish shades she's been going bananas for, just read more.

You'll Always Have a Placenta in My Heart

BellaSugar — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:00:21 -0800

Gross (but useful!) Hask Henna 'n' Placenta ($2) for hair has been around forever, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that now there are placenta facials.

Placentas, also known as afterbirth, are full of protein, iron, and tons of vitamins and minerals, which, I will allow, make them excellent for the health of hair, skin, and nails. People have been using the placentas of sheep and horses as beauty aids for time immemorial, in fact. But guess what? We have a lot of nice ways to synthesize this stuff now, and you could also just use wheat protein and run-of-the-mill vitamins to get the same effect. I guess treatments like this are more natural, but to me, they're also gross. I used a placenta hair treatment once, and although it worked well, it was no better than some hot oil and a deep conditioner, and it smelled pretty funky. If you were offered a placenta facial, would you take it in all its "natural" glory?

Product Review: Phytonectar Pre-Shampoo Oil Treatment

BellaSugar — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 07:00:56 -0700

Sometimes I feel as though my hair is so parched that all the conditioner in my shower (and trust me, that's a lot) isn't going to do the trick. Unfortunately, most leave-in conditioners just weigh my hair down into an icky matted mess. So when I came across this Phytonectar Pre-Shampoo Oil Treatment ($30) I was excited.

As it turns out, I was excited with good reason. First of all, this stuff smells downright amazing - it's not even a touch perfume-y or sweet. The thick oil produced by the sturdy pump smelled herbal but not medicinal, with a hint of chamomile. Two to three generous drops warmed quickly in the hands, then massaged into hair from tips to scalp, is all you need. I like to put a little extra just on my ends to really soak them in the nourishing solution. If my scalp is feeling at all dry or itchy, a little bit of this massaged directly into it helps hydrate and soothe the skin.

This is meant to be applied 15-20 minutes pre-shower and then rinsed out, but I put it on at night and sleep in it, then rinse it out in the morning. A warning, though: unless your hair is genuinely dry, coarse, or frizzy, or you're having a freak dry spell, I would not recommend this product. The thick oil would weigh your hair down if it wasn't in need of a good quenching. But, if you're like me and sometimes you really need a super dose of hair-quenching moisture, this is just what the doctor ordered.

BellaSugar's Guide To Tea Tree Oil Products

BellaSugar — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:43:55 -0700

Tea tree oil is derived from the leaves of the melaleuca alternifolia plant which grows exclusively and in abundance in Australia. The leaves are distilled, pressed and can then be used topically or aromatically (inhaled). Tea tree oil can be found in many over-the-counter beauty, household and first aid items.

Take a look at my five-post roundup on tea tree oil for a more in-depth look at a sample of the wide variety of face, body and hair care products on the market today. I hope that you've enjoyed this series, so please let me know what you think!

Source

Product Review: Arezoo Ingrown Hair Cream

BellaSugar — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 10:54:45 -0700

Arezoo Kaviani worked at posh Mayfair salon in London for years, where she had a constant client waiting list. After much success she decided to venture out on her own. She now owns a private salon kitty-corner to the world-famous Harrods department store. Her specialties are extremely gentle waxing and facials, but she is so talented that her one-stop shop also offers a gamut of alluring body treatments.

While in London, I had the pleasure of meeting Azeroo for a bikini wax - not an easy feat, considering her schedule is jam-packed with clients that include Gwyneth Paltrow, Claudia Schiffer, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon. I was dying to ask her if Jake comes in for a manly parts waxing or just an eyebrow shaping, but I resisted - I didn't want to put her in a compromising position or anything.

The one product she used that smelled great and cut the pain of a wax by at least half was her tea tree oil wax. She also handed me an ice cube before she began to help numb the area -it's kinda fun, actually! When we were finished, she recommended a terrific anti-ingrown hair product that I want to share with you.

Arezoo Ingrown Hair Cream contains no alcohol, but it does have tons of tea tree oil. That acts as an antiseptic and drying agent, so those nasty, itchy bumps don't form on your nether regions. It smells better than most products in its genre, and it won't thin your skin like other alcohol-based ingrown hair products do.

The cream works wonders for anywhere on the body suffering from cuts, scrapes, burns, or blemishes. Plus, men can use it as an aftershave. It costs £15, but since Arezoo has so many international clients, she's willing to ship any orders for a minimum charge of $5.

Model of the Week: Cynthia Kirchner

BellaSugar — Wed, 23 May 2007 08:00:12 -0700

It's Wednesday, which means it's time to meet BellaSugar's latest Model of the Week. Today, we're getting up close and personal with 25-year-old Cynthia Kirchner, a 5-foot-8 blond-haired beauty with stunning green-blue eyes.

Born in Hazleton, PA, Kirchner has four brothers, a sister, and a two-pound teacup poodle named - get this! - Bella. She started modeling in 2002, and in her very first week with Nous Models, she'd already booked ads Guess and Abercrombie & Fitch. She has since appeared on the covers of Cosmo and WWD, as well as in music videos for Enrique Iglesias ("Don't Turn Out the Lights") and Justin Timberlake ("Like I Love You").

Kirchner has also done catalog work for almost all major department stores, and her fabulous face has graced advertising campaigns for Express, Nautica, Redken, L'Oreal, Garnier, Target, Christian Lacroix, and Olympus. When she's not modeling she enjoys taking long walks, reading, writing, eating sushi and ice cream, and traveling to Paris and London from her current NYC residence. Cynthia is also pursuing a couple of hush-hush movie projects.

Read what she had to say about fashion on FabSugar, and to learn her beauty secrets and see some of her modeling highlights, including her Garnier Fructis commercial, read more

BELLASUGAR: What is your secret to beautiful skin and hair?

CYNTHIA KIRCHNER: A healthy diet and a good skincare regime. I eat a protein-rich diet with lots of raw foods like sushi, veggies, and carpaccio. However, I don't neglect carbs...I believe everything in moderation is ideal.

For my skin, I make sure to cleanse, tone, and moisturize daily and exfoliate every two to three days. I like products from France and Switzerland like Sisley and Mavala, but I use Oil of Olay as an alternative. For my hair, I wash it every other day and use protective conditioners from Kerastase.

BELLA: What is the one product that you can't live without?

CK: My eyelash curler.

BELLA: What is your guilty pleasure?

CK: Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream.

BELLA: What are your favorite drugstore products?

CK: Oil of Olay, Garnier, L'Oreal, and Jergens.

BELLA: Happiness is...

CK: When it comes to fashion, true happiness is having the perfect shoes to match any outfit. In my life, happiness is the sunshine after the rain!

Source

View 9 Photos ›

5 Tips For Getting Kristen Stewart's New Moon Shine

BellaSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:00:07 -0800

At the New Moon cast tour event this weekend, Kristen Stewart showed off a newly sleek version of her short haircut. It was dazzling in its shininess without looking gelled or greasy. Glossy hair like that doesn't just happen on its own, so I though I'd hunt up some tips to help all of us get similarly healthy, reflective tresses. I put together five of the best, so to find out how to get Kristen's shine, just read more.