Think you’ve tried every frizz-kicking trick in the book? Think again! NaturallyCurly.com, the online oasis for curlies since 1998, provides some unique and unconventional methods of fighting frizz, even in the most humid weather:

frizzy hair	A natural fabric softener can be a great way to make your curls less frizzy. Simply use as any other conditioner and apply after shampooing. Keep some dryer sheets in your purse to use in a pinch and stroke the dryer sheet in a downward motion. Dryer sheets are also great for eliminating static cling. Breast milk is a natural deep conditioner, it contains the appropriate amounts of protein and fat to condition hair and reduce frizz. It also packs essential vitamins and minerals that help combat dry hair. Fill a spray bottle with breast milk, spray locks thoroughly and proceed with your normal hair washing routine. Take one cup of flat, room-temperature beer and work into hair after shampooing, then rinse with cold water. The vitamin B and natural sugars in beer add body and shine, while acting as a natural setting lotion that increases resilience, vitality and hold. Apply KY Jelly just like any gel. Don’t worry: this remedy isn’t x-rated! Use sparingly or mixed in with other products. This paste will condition each hair strand section by section; simply smooth through curls with your fingers. Rinse, and behold silky, restored, beautiful hair. You can also apply to dry hair to define curls and smooth frizz. Leaving the house without knowing the weather report can trip up even the most prepared frizz-fighter. Stay a step ahead of the weather with NaturallyCurly’s Frizz Forecast™.  The Frizz Forecast provides the humidity conditions for your specific area, as well as high and low temperatures for the day.
ABOUT MICHELLE BREYER:
Michelle Breyer Michelle Breyer co-founded www.NaturallyCurly.com, a website for curly hair that she launched with her business partner and friend, Gretchen Heber. Spending most of her life as a journalist, Ms. Breyer never dreamed she would develop the leading source of information for specialty beauty products. It was the Texas humidity that inspired both Ms. Breyer and Ms. Heber to search for information to help them manage their curly hair and find appropriate beauty products. They were frustrated by the dearth of information on curly hair, and the lack of products on the market. One of their curly hair rants, at a brunch, was the inspiration behind NaturallyCurly.com. They launched the site in September of that year with the help of a 14-year-old Web designer. They see unlimited potential for their venture. More than 50 percent of the world’s population has curly hair. Ms. Breyer’s personal experience with her curly hair, and as the mother of a curly haired daughter, has helped her recognize the challenges faced each day by those with curls and kinks. With a deep personal connection, she can relate well to the community, and is a role model to inspire others to learn to love their curls and kinks. Ms. Breyer lives in Texas with her husband and daughter.

Flickr.com user Lin Pernille ♥ Photography

If you are plagued with dry, brittle hair, you might be slacking on the deep conditioning. One of the best dry hair treatments to regain the shiny, healthy hair you once had is to deep condition with a heated head wrap. Even if you use a weekly conditioning hair mask in the shower, you could still benefit greatly from a deeply penetrating conditioning treatment.

It’s no secret that heat causes the hair cuticle to open and further draw in the healing and restoring ingredients in conditioners and hair masks. This is why women spend long hours and lots of hard earned dollars perched under bonnet dryers at the salon when they have a special hair treatment. Professionals know that the elevated temperature will allow the treatment to work much more deeply, leading to amazing results.

Luckily, for those of us who don’t have countless hours (not to mention endless funds) to spend at the beauty parlor, Michelle Reuven, a long time perm and damaging hair product addict, found the answer. She invented the Hair Therapy Wrap after stumbling upon heated gel packs meant for relief from aching muscles.  A light bulb went on when she realized she could wrap them in a towel and have 30 minutes worth of cordless, comfortable, and even heat on her head, forever freeing her from the bonnet dryer. Her little at-home craft project provided such amazing results that she decided to go into business and make them for all women who were on a time and money budget, but still desired strong, healthy shiny hair.

Another great thing about the Hair Therapy Wrap is that you can use it with any hair conditioner, hair mask, or hair oil. Simply apply your favorite dry hair treatment to your hair before putting on this unique heated hair wrap. We love this Steam Creams & Oils Hair Oil. It’s super natural and smells amazing, giving a bit of an aromatherapy treatment while hydrating your hair.

The Hair Therapy Wrap is really easy to use since the whole thing can be popped in the microwave or the gel packs can be heated with hot water. The few minutes of prep time will provide your thirsty hair with 30 minutes of warmth, so it can really drink in what it needs to get as lustrous and beautiful as ever.

Flickr.com user Kinnéidigh Garrett

Spring has finally sprung, and cute spring hair trends are popping up in store windows, magazines, television, everywhere!  As the days get longer, and a rainbow of blossoms begin to cover every tree, we find ourselves putting away our winter clothes and accessories, and start donning ourselves daily with pastel skirts, sparkly sandals, and flowers, flowers, flowers. Hair accessories are a really fun and easy way to add a little spring to your step and the options are endless.

Flickr.com user ★Debs★ One hair style that is perfect for spring, and simple enough for anyone, is braids. From a few mini braids that add a little texture to the hair, to long loose braids that tumble over your shoulders, there is a style for every occasion. Seen all over the runways of New York Fashion Week, braids are a sexy, sophisticated way to dress up your hair for day time picnics or evening cocktail parties. If time is on your side, you can experiment with French braids, either on their own or combined with another hair style, like a bun. If French braids are not your forte, you can just braid random sections of hair and use hair pins to hold them in place. From classic Dorothy braids, with a straight middle part, to more complex milk maid braids that wrap around the head, there are plenty of ways to include them into your “hair style wardrobe.”

Flickr.com user il_miss_whit Headbands have been a hair accessory staple forever, but over the past few seasons they have gotten cuter, edgier, and glitzier than ever before. From scarf head wraps to jeweled head bands, designers have been getting really creative using materials like feathers, bows, flowers, and precious stones to garnish their spring collections. For a dressy day time do, pair a beaded headband with loose waves. This will add sparkle to your outfit, and will make less than perfect hair look instantly polished and done. If you are going out for a night on the town and want to be a little more daring, adorn your up do with a feather head band that will add a pop of color and interest to your hair.

Spring is a time for new beginnings and rebirth, so why not take that idea and apply it to your beauty routine? You don’t need a drastic change to feel refreshed for the new season; just a tiny little alteration to your hair style can make you feel completely transformed and gorgeous.

Hair styles that look easy and natural are the way to go with men. If it looks like you’ve spent 4 hours curling and crimping your hair, chances are that he’s not going to like it. Playing up your current hairstyle is a cheap and easy way to get what you want. The key thing to think about is; you want it to be touchable and soft. Over working your hair is a no-no so don’t over-think it! Hair styles to consider this Valentine’s Day are:

Source: Flickr user Albert Brendenhann

Short hair styles: If you’ve got the pixie cut, smooth and sleek is the way to go. Blow dry your hair and use a smoothing serum to get the perfect look that exudes confidence.

Shoulder length hair: Soft waves are a sexy trend this spring. Use a medium barrel curling iron to create soft waves from the crown to the ends. You can use a light hair spray for hold, but beware; using too much hair spray will make it crispy. Another great style is the blowout that will blow his mind. If you’ve got layers in your hair, use a round brush to add volume, or hot-rollers to create voluptuous locks that he won’t be able to stay away from.

Long hair styles: You can go two ways with your long locks, sleek and straight or long, heavenly waves. For the straight look, channel your inner Reese Witherspoon, blow dry with a flat brush and use a smoothing serum to tame frizz. Tousled waves require a medium barrel curling iron with a touch of spray. I’ve found that blow drying your hair before trying to get waves; can sometimes make your hair go flat, so air drying your hair can help create natural curl. A great reference for long gorgeous waves is Marisa Miller (who nailed the tousled waves look at the Super Bowl this year), Rachel Bilson or Gisele Bunchen.

Men generally, don’t like a face that has been caked on so accenting your facial features is the best way to go. My beauty advice is to pick one part of your face, like your eyes, lips or cheeks, and sex them up. To get more bang for your buck a lip and cheek stain is a great beauty buy. Tarte has a genius stain that you may use for either your cheeks to make your cheeks delicious or for your lips for that “come-hither” look. Either way, you can use this product over and over again to achieve different looks as a multi-functioning cosmetic. I recommend this in Cloud 9 or Tickled by Tarte for a flirtatious look. I also love Benefit’s Benetint or Lorac’s Sheer Wash lip & cheek tint for a dark, erotic look. If you’re playing up your eyes a risqué smokey eye is best. Bronze eyeliner is a hot trend for spring that can pair well with a romantic smokey look. If you’re playing up your lips, there’s nothing better than an alluring red for Valentine’s day. Duwop’s Pure Venom in Pure Berry do the trick and exude style and sultry to drive your man wild.

Remember ladies, it’s your time to spice it up and shine, so take a little extra in your busy schedule to prepare. After all, getting roses and chocolates has never looked sexier with that pout.

Source: Flickr User Sifone

flickr user: Ardie96750

The round brush is usually used to give definition or add curl to hairstyles. You can stick to the basic rule of – the smaller the round brush, the tighter the curl. You can use the round brush during a blow out to add volume and some extra “oomph” to your hair. A larger round hair brush is better for longer hair as a smaller round brush for shorter hair. I personally recommend finding a round brush with boar bristles, it lasts longer and the bristles work through your hair perfectly without damaging.

The paddle brush is a fun one to brush your hair with. Not only is it great for straightening medium to long hair, but it smoothes as it lengthens and gives you a slight scalp massage. These brushes are great for styling layers, but they don’t add much volume to layers.

The vent hair brush is the brush with holes in the middle of the base of the brush. This enables air to pass through the brush to help for faster hair drying. They are great for detangling your hair and also boosting volume.

Cushion hair brushes are generally made for medium to long hair and can perform the same as the half-round brush. It’s great for day to day use and the added plus is that it also massages the scalp. You can achieve short cuts, round layers and textured outlines after styling with the cushion brush.

There are tons of brushes to choose from, so try to get one that feels comfortable in your hand that you feel best styling with. The brush and dryer can make all the difference and most importantly save time in your beauty routine. Since switching to the right tools to style with, it’s made my routine easier, cuts down time and looks more fabulous than ever. Bring on the complements! J

What are your favorite styling tools?

Here’s a handy step by step guide:

Sean James step one

Step one: Start with freshly washed, towel dried hair.

Sean James step 2

Step Two:  Spray RUSK thick throughout the roots of the hair.

Sean James step 3

Step three: Section the hair and blow-dry straight and full.

Sean James step 4

Step four: Wind vertical sections around the thickness of the curling iron, away from the face, meeting in the middle.

Sean James step 5

Step five:  Tilt the head over and shake out the hair with your hands.

Sean James step 6

Step six: Lift head upright and stretch out the curl with a RUSK speedfreak blow-dryer on low heat.

Sean James step 7

Step seven: Direct your ends to sit in a complimentary place, put some makeup on, and smile.

This is a fun and flirty look that can most anyone can accomplish with the right tools and products. It is easy and mistake proof, but still leaves the wearer feeling fit for the front cover of Vogue.

ABOUT SEAN JAMES:

Sean is a Los Angeles-based celebrity hair stylist. His work can be seen on the runways of Paris, New York and LA and red carpets everywhere. Celeb clients include Jaime Pressly and Emily Blunt.

Flickr.com user bdhq

During the Holiday season, hair trends that were hot in the summer are suddenly ice cold. Flip flops, sun dresses, and beachy waves are replaced with thigh high boots, pea coats, and glamorous up-dos.  If you think that big bouncy holiday hairstyles aren’t in your cards this winter, think again! Hair extensions can take your hair from flat to fab in an instant – after all – ‘tis the season for top notch tresses.

Hair extensions have gone from being a celebrity secret, to an available-to-everyone hair miracle. With so many types to choose from, the possibilities are endless. The most user friendly and non-damaging way to use hair extensions is to get a set of clip-ins. They come in a variety of lengths, textures and qualities, but if you can afford to go with the real human hair vs. the artificial, it will be more natural looking and easier to manage. Balmain Hair offers a wide variety of hair extensions to accommodate most anyone’s needs. Clip-ins are also a lot less commitment that the more permanent variety of hair extensions – and also a lot less expensive.

Clip in hair extensions

The best way to attach clip-in hair extensions is to tease each section of hair before clipping them in, this way you not only get more body, but with a quick spritz of flexible hold hair spray, they will be locked in for the night. Once they are securely in you can style them any way you want, but one of the quickest ways to get an amazing style is to take chunky sections and roll them around a super hot 2” barrel curling iron. This will give you bouncy volume with just a slight twirl that will also camouflage the break between your real hair and the extra pieces. There is nothing worse than obvious extensions, and this way, no one will be able to tell.

To dress it up for an evening event, add one of this season’s hottest hair accessories, like a feather head band or jeweled clips, or if you really want to shine, try a shimmering hair spray, like Frederic Fakkai’s Golden-Glimmer Gelee Mist to liven up your locks. You can also pin it up in a loose bun, just keep it relaxed and slightly messy like Lauren Conrad’s .

Clip-in hair extensions are easy once you get the hang of them, and if you use them correctly you can add volume and body to any holiday hairstyle!

Check out this backstage footage of the show.

We were eager to find out how we could achieve this look at home, so we went straight to the source to get the scoop from Sean himself:

Step 1: Get a 3/4 in barrel curling iron and some hair clips.

Step 2: Take small sections the size of the iron and wind the hair back.

Step 3: Pin the hair into small “sausage” shapes.

Step 4: Continue all the way to the nape or back of neck continue down horizontally down the sides, then, set the hair set the hair with w8less hairspray by Rusk, and let cool.

Step 5: When set, remove pins and tip hair upside down, spray the roots a give a vigorous shake, mold and pin into the voluminous bouncy shape you would like. Try with different size irons for different size curls

The Finished Look!

Just five quick steps and these models were ready to hit the cat walk, some in less than five minutes! As you can see, this celebrity look can be achieved with just a few tools and steps so you can look run-way ready in no time! To read more about the show and Sean James, check out his Blog.

With all the talk of botanical ingredients in the beauty industry, it only makes sense to use these vitamin rich, and natural ingredients to make your own delicious deep conditioner that won’t break the bank like a trip to a pricey salon. A simple but effective recipe for extremely dry, over processed hair combines an avocado, banana, a few tablespoons of Extra Virgin olive oil, about 1/3 cup of honey, and a squirt of jojoba oil. Simply mix all the ingredients together and apply to dry hair. Cover the head with a shower cap to hold in the heat and let the organic treatment work its magic. It can be left in for as long as necessary, but at least for 20 minutes, to make sure it penetrates the hair deeply enough. After shampooing out the mixture, you will be left with shinier, softer, and more manageable hair.

Flickr user: Anna Gay

If playing chemist is too messy or time consuming for you, there are always deep conditioners that can be used in the shower. Jonathan Product has an awesome treatment for aging hair, called the Anti-Aging Restorative Conditioner.  Along with plant based ingredients like Basil Essential Water and Chardonnay and Moringa seed extracts, this conditioner works by restoring the protein that is lost during coloring and heat styling hair. Protein treatments actually repair the protein bonds and help reconstruct the hair shaft, producing less split ends and breakage. It is possible to have too much of a good thing, so it is important not to overuse these sorts of treatments. They are recommended for weekly use, and should not replace a daily conditioner.

The next product is an unbelievable mask that will turn even the most haystack-like mop into silky soft locks that would make Repunzel green with envy. Kronos Phyx is an overnight repair mask that uses T-Sphere technology to penetrate deep within the hair shaft to repair hair, restoring it back to its shiny, soft, and easy to manage self. When applying the thick cream it is absorbed into the hair instantly, leaving no sticky or gooey mess. This makes sleeping soundly much easier than with other conditioners that must be wrapped up in a towel all night to protect your sheets. Kronos Phyx is shampooed out in the morning and the difference in the look and feel of your hair will far surpass any expectations previously held. It truly keeps its word and gives life back to damaged hair.

Beautyfix Panelist Sean James took some time to show us the hottest hair color trend at Frank Studio in Santa Monica, CA.

“Instead of typical highlights using foils – have your hairstylist do Baliage. It’s where the hair color is painted on. It’s less stripey with more random placement, which makes it look much more natural,” says Sean James. “It’s all about having a little more of your natural color in your hair. It’s about accentuating your natural hair color and making it look sunlit.”

Working in sections, your hairstylist will paint on the hair color with a brush and gently place a piece of saran wrap on top of each layer.

Once the color is applied and your head is cover with plastic wrap, you sit under the dryer for a few minutes. Afterwards, you get a shampoo and conditioning treatment, followed by a relaxing scalp massage. Finally, after a little magic with the blow dryer, you emerge with gorgeous, sun-kissed (looking) hair.

About Sean James:

Sean has worked with celebrities such as Jaime Pressly, Jamie Lee Curtis, Rufus Wainwright, Emily Blunt, Rita Wilson, Lindsay Lohan, and many more. He works consistently on films, commercials, television, advertising campaigns, and he is sought after all over the world. Most recently, Sean was a member of the exclusive Balmain team as the US representative at Paris Fashion Week. He has been featured on the E! network, the Style Network, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and MTV’s The Hills. He has also been featured in the world renowned publications such as Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, WWD, The New York Times, and More, just to name a few.

Sean’s adventures in hair are ongoing and groundbreaking as he continues to have a drive to explore the new and exciting ways to express inner beauty through the ever growing medium of hair. Sean’s mantra as a true artist is “explore yourself and express your inner beauty.”