BellaSugar

The Votes Are In: Best Shampoo Is Pantene

BellaSugar — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 11:00:29 -0800

Whoa, who knew that this year's Best Shampoo of 2008 would only win by a hair? Oh dear. Seeing that Frédéric Fekkai was just four votes under, we'll give the brand an honorable mention. And as for the official winner? Let's give Pantene some kudos for delivering good-smelling, feel-nice products that don't break the bank.

What's my favorite? I'm with you on the drugstore shampoo. My pick is Cristophe Beverly Hills, a natural, fragrance-free line, available at CVS, that makes my hair - and the beau's - feel fantastic. Now that you know this year's top shampoos, check out the rest of our Best of 2008 polls and outcomes now.

Three Ways to Have Healthy Hair This Summer

BellaSugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:30:11 -0700

If summer is leaving your hair frizzy, dry, or otherwise unpleasant, don't despair. Three simple tips, courtesy of star stylist Cristophe, can help your hair look its healthiest:

Protect. "The sun is probably the biggest enemy that we have during the summertime," Cristophe says. Just as UVA and UVB rays can damage our skin, they also harm our hair. Use a spray-on sunscreen for hair; Cristophe's Protect And Shine Spray is just $4.99, and it keeps your hair color from fading.

Condition. Using a deep conditioner once a week will help restore smoothness and moisture to dried-out hair. "The idea is obviously to be a little bit more in the conditioning and hydrating mode than you are during the rest of the year," he adds. I'll add that you don't need to spend a fortune to do this; just coat hair with conditioner and leave it on for about 10 minutes, and you'll get a similar effect.

Go natural. "Working with your natural texture is a good thing to do during the summer," Cristophe advises. "If you have really curly hair, you probably want to keep it more wavy - or at least leave in some of the movement instead of trying to get it stick-straight."

Source

Bella Interview: Cristophe, Hair Stylist

BellaSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:00:39 -0700

The only thing I love more than a famous hairstylist is a famous hairstylist who makes his hair-care products affordable. Such is the case with Cristophe, who creates some of Hollywood's most famous hairstyles in his Beverly Hills salon. While a cut with him costs hundreds of dollars, his unscented, sulfate- and paraben-free hair-care collection (glowing review here) is well priced and available at CVS. I recently talked with him about his philosophy behind his line, so read on.

Why was it important to you to do a line that doesn’t have any dyes or sulfates or fragrances?
My goal was always to make products that are performance oriented. Obviously the primary objective is to have a product that is good for you; we have these reports now that say things like sulfates are maybe not good for you. So this is really an initial move to see how the consumer reacts to this, if they would rather switch to a more natural product or not.

To find out why the man who commands $500 for a haircut decided to make his products affordable, read more.

You can charge hundreds of dollars for haircuts, so why did you decide to do a line that was more affordable?
First of all, I think that fashion is changing tremendously and we are communicating faster, so I think that there is a need for good-quality products. By that I mean if someone is wearing the new eye shadow from Chanel tonight, the rest of the country will hear about it by tomorrow. And most likely, most people have the buying power to do so.

So what I wanted to do was create a line that was competitive, where you could find the products just around the corner. That is why we decided to go to the drugstore because you can find it anywhere. The price is very affordable compared to, say, Kerastase, so pretty much anybody can buy it. But you still have to be willing to embellish a little bit on your hair as opposed to buying a drugstore brand like Pantene, which is essentially cheaper.

Is it true or is it a myth that drugstore shampoo and conditioners like Pantene are going to leave wax and buildup on your hair compared to something that is more formulated for a salon?
Well, I really don’t know about Pantene. All I can tell you is this: It costs me more to manufacture my products than what [drugstore shampoos] are retailing for. And so, if you get the ingredients in a bowl of shampoo, it may be the same - but some of them have 99.9 percent water and .01 percent of the key ingredient. Some other ones are loaded with chalk! So it does depend on the formulas, and the way they are formulated has a big impact on the performance.

Come back tomorrow for more of the interview!

New Product Alert: Cristophe Beverly Hills Purely Natural

BellaSugar — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:00:10 -0800

For those of you who pooh-pooh drugstore shampoos, I've got a line that might change your mind. Cristophe Beverly Hills is a posh salon that draws the likes of Jessica Biel, Nicole Kidman, and Cameron Diaz. Now the rest of us can afford a piece of the action thanks to Cristophe Beverly Hills Purely Natural, which just launched at CVS.

There's more to this three-piece collection than a fancy salon affiliation, though. None of the products are tested on animals, and all are free of sulfates, parabens, dyes and fragrance. So not only do you get the pedigree without the price, you actually get products that are gentler to your hair and scalp. But how well do they work? To find out, read more.

After my last drugstore shampoo debacle, I was nervous about trying the Christophe Purely Natural Daily Shampoo and Purely Natural Conditioner ($5.99 each). Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about-these are both fantastic. The shampoo cleans without drying hair, and the conditioner is awesome. It left my hair soft, smooth, and completely free of weight or residue. And while it might just be a coincidence, I let my hair dry naturally today, yet it has fantastic movement and shine.

Lest you think I am overly enthusiastic, let me relay a story: This weekend, my beau used the shampoo and conditioner. I forgot about it until he e-mailed me. Like that new Cristophe shampoo, he wrote. After I replied to say how happy I am that it's affordable, he replied, Wow. I was convinced that shampoo was like $30.00 or something.

So, don't just trust me. Trust a dude who rarely gets excited about shampoo.