In honor of Harry Potter’s new movie being released today, Bionic Beauty posted a magical Harry Potter Manicure and Pedicure! BB’s post inspired me to further the Harry Potter hysteria, and here is a post to honor two Harry-Curly heads, Hagrid and Hermione.

A year ago we created a poignant hair “Lock-umentary” that can be read at both Tracy’s website, Dandelion Mama and here.  The progress that her hair made would make any Gryffindor proud.

The Three Week Naturally Curly Challenge:

Tracy takes a before picture and starts her 3 week journey. (She compares herself to Hagrid.) Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many ways to share your experiences and gather great information about naturally curly hair via NaturallyCurly.com (and straight-haired folk can benefit from all this information as well)!

Being a curly-head is not just a hairstyle, it’s a lifestyle. You’ve been there, tried that, replicated every passing curl trend and now you’re ready to tell the world – well, the curly community – which products, sites, styles and celebs are the best.  Naturallycurly.com, the online oasis for curlies since 1998, is giving its curly community the chance to voice their opinion with the Best of Best Survey. Read the rest of this entry »

Hi friends!  Since it is Friday I wanted to take a break from the daily review post and share some of the most popular posts statistically at Mythbuster Beauty.   I also wanted to call attention to Mythbuster’s Link Love page!   Recently we have added some newly found favorite beauty sites (Aging Fabulous , The Makeup Divas  and We Heart This) and hope you will take some time to discover them for yourself.  Great beauty advice knows no boundaries. 

• Deep Conditioning: How to Feed your Hair
• Bare Escentuals VS. Drug Store brand Mineral Makeup
• Drug Store Mineral Makeup: Maybe Not So Good
• Wonderful Facial mask recipes: Kitchen Cupboard Beauty
• Unwanted Facial Hair: What’s a gal to do?
• Mythbuster Beauty Reviews Baby Quasar and Baby Blue
• Week 3 of Naturally Curly Hair: No Blow Frying
• Does your makeup make you look older?
• All About Retinoids: Considering Retin-A
• My personal favorite post:  Season Finale: The 3 Week Naturally Curly Challenge

And totally not relevant to beauty blogs, if you love Craig Ferguson, head on over to Nenette’s post at LifeCandy, I luuuuuuuuv Craig Ferguson — and so do you… and laugh yourself silly!

Have a wonderful weekend and big hugs all around.  Jen   

Last week I received an email and in the subject line it read, “PLEASE HELP ME!”:

Hi Jen,

I really need some help and I was wondering if you could help me out. I have really REALLY thick curly hair. It’s longer than shoulder length (about half way down my chest). I am so sick of looking at my hair this way. I was never taught how to manage my hair properly because my mother has the exact opposite of what I have (so I blame my father for my torture. haha.) I’m so sick of looking at it that I want to cut….I want it all done. I want to do a short hair style but is there one that you would recommend? (pictures would be helpful so I can take it to a salon) Thanks so much for your time. – S

My first reaction is empathy, deep, sincere empathy.

Dear “S” you are not alone,

I just got your message and would love to help you.  Have you spent any time on the naturallycurly.com website?  If not, if you could go to the http://www.naturallycurly.com/hair-types page and tell me what kind of specific hair type you have.

I am a 3A, and it sounds like you might be a 3C or possibly a 4A.  There are a lot of wonderful techniques and products that I would love you to try.   If you can, visit your library and check out the book, “Curly Girl,” by Lorraine Massey, the curly girls BIBLE! Read the rest of this entry »

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Hair Product Challenge: Frizz Fighters These product reviews reveal which formulas tame fine, thick, wavy and curly hair … and which are a waste of money

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Tuesday April 22nd has been designated as “Earth Day“ for 2008. Thousands of individuals and organizations will be taking action to a make positive, healing impact on our world.

This past January, I was able to meet a fascinating and extremely smart woman named Diane MacEachern. Diane MacEachern is the author of, “Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World.” Her book discusses the fact that women make the majority of all purchases, and by their purchasing choices, can make a significant difference in what is being manufactured and protecting our environment.

The Big Green Purse Shopping Principles:

1) Buy less.
2) Read the label.
3) Support sustainable standards.
4) Look for third-party verification.
5) Choose fewer ingredients.
6) Pick less packaging.
7) Buy local.

Diane asks women to take a $1,000 green spending challenge; shifting the money we already spend and purchasing eco-friendly goods and services. She also challenges us to cut down our use of daily household products by three. I am a poor example of cutting my own personal care items because of my beauty blogging obsession. However, I would like to point out that I have made some changes and switched over to some environmentally safe beauty and household products this year.

You might be saying, “Buying organic might be great, but it comes a hefty price, and my family cannot afford it.” Making eco-friendly consumer choices can cost more, but not necessarily. On her webiste, Diane lists her “Top 10 ways to be eco friendly on a budget.” She claims by making these changes we could save $20 – $50 dollars on our monthly budget.

There are several beauty companies that are making changes and becoming more eco-friendly by choosing not to use chemicals, preservatives, colors, and fragrances that can be harmful to our environment as well as our health. Many beauty companies are going green by using only recyclable and biodegradable packaging. Here are some of my favorite eco-friendly beauty companies:

Tarte -

To celebrate Earth Day, Tarte Cosmetics is offering 20% off of all purchases at their website.

Some of my personal favorite Tarte products are: Smooth Operator spf 20 foundation, Clean Slate Primer, Cheek Stains, and their double dose berry lip glosses. All of Tarte’s products are packed with healthy, natural ingredients and free of mineral oil, sulfates, phthalates and synthetic fragrances. To receive the 20% off discount, enter the Code: EARTH08 at checkout. This offer is good until May 2, 2008.

Jessicurl -

Jess McGuinty created the Jessicurl hair care line after years of using products that didn’t work for her curly hair. The Jessicurl line uses only ingredients that offer a specific benefit to curly hair, and adds no fillers. Jessicurl makes sure that none of their products contain any animal ingredients, and they do not test on animals.

Sukipure and Sukicolor -

Suki conforms to many of Diane MacEachern’s shopping principles, including being involved in many third-party verification groups, such as The Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics, The Organic Consumer’s Association, and The Green Products Alliance.
Suki’s formulas are 100% natural, and are ideal for those with sensitive skin. Suki only uses non-synthetic ingredients in her beauty and body care products.

What will you be doing to celebrate Earth Day 2008?

Three weeks ago Tracy M took a “leap of faith” into the naturally curly hair care method. This poignant hair “Lock-umentary” can be read at both her website, Dandelion Mama and here, and the progress that her hair made is absolutely gorgeous!

The Three Week Naturally Curly Challenge Saga:

Tracy takes a before picture and starts her 3 week journey.

Sorry, no brushing allowed.

Significant progress and some curl improvements made.

Co-pooing and rules for taking care of your hair and scalp.

One hair care line that I introduced to Tracy, and she fell in love with, was the Jessicurl line. Not only are Jessicurl’s products incredible, they are reasonably priced and all natural.  Register for Jessicurl’s newsletter to keep up with her discount offers and special deals.  This would be an excellent time to try her hair care line, and if you have any questions, just email Jessicurl’s stafff; they are the friendliest, coolest group of people on the planet!

Tracy (Dandelion Mama) recently posted a picture of her hair after using the naturally curly method for 2 weeks.  Her hair’s response is nothing short of amazing.  It is absolutely beautiful.   In addition to avoiding shampoo and brushes, I asked Tracy to stop using a hair dryer and any other damaging heat devices. 

Curly Girl Commandment No. 3:  Avoid Using Damaging Hot Hair Appliances.  No Blow Frying!

This was probably one of the hardest steps for me in following the naturally curly hair routine.  I always hated my daily ritual of blow drying my hair, using a straightening iron or curling iron, and then applying the final coat of hair spray.   Just the thought of the nasty aerosol hairspray smell gags me!   Not only is blow drying and straightening hard on your hair, it is very damaging to the scalp.   With the assistance of a microfiber towel, I can usually damp dry within a hour.   For those days when I need my hair to dry my hair faster, I use a Hot Sock Diffuser or a hair dyer with a diffuser attached. 

Jessicurl’s Hot Sock Diffuser:

This is one of my favorite tools to ensure frizz free curls. It fits on the end of just about any hair dryer and keeps the air from blowing your curls all around. It’s light enough and small enough to fit in your purse, thus making it great for travel. If you view the product demo videos on the home page, you’ll see how I use it. The Hot Sock rocks!!

If you are a fan of 12 step programs (and I am!), the term insanity is defined as, “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”  Before learning the naturally curly haircare rules, I kept doing the same hair routine over and over again, expecting a different result.   Guess what?!   It never did change, and usually just made things worse!   Breaking your old routine and trying something ”tried and true” really is an amazing experience.  Yes, I am a beauty blogger who is waxing philosophical, but I cannot help but draw parallels.

Tracy, your progress has been astounding!  You are not to be mistaken for Hagrid’s sister any longer. Your head of curls is to be envied!

Here’s to week 3!

Tracy M just started her second week using the Curly Girl Method.  Take a moment to watch her progress; she just received some new hair products from Jessicurl, and her hair is really making waves!   The first commandment was to stop using a hairbrush on your curly hair.  This post is addressing another important hair topic:

Commandment No. 2:  Thou shalt treat your scalp and hair separately.

Recognizing this concept is essential for taking care of naturally curly hair.  Your scalp and your hair have different care requirements.    

If you use a special scalp treatment (like one with salicylic acid), or medicine for your scalp, you can continue to use it.  First apply conditioner to the ends of your hair to protect it from the harshness of your shampoo or scalp treatment.   My favorite product to use on my scalp is DevaCare’s No Poo, which gives my scalp just the right amount of tingly cleaning while still being gentle on my hair.  I also love using Jessicurl’s Gentle Cleansing Cream, which cleans and leaves my hair feeling soft and conditioned, not stripped.  Oh and that Island Fantasy scent is yummy!

1. After rinsing your hair, apply your favorite conditioner onto the ends of your hair.
2. Apply a small amount of shampoo or scalp treatment to your scalp area only.
3. Massage shampoo into your scalp gently using the pads of your fingertips.
4. Rinse out thoroughly with warm water.
5. Either re-apply more conditioner to your entire head, comb through and let sit for 3+ minutes, or for finer-haired curlies skip to step #7.
6. Rinse hair with warm water.
7. Finish with a cold as you can stand rinse to seal the hair shaft.

After your cold water rinse, do not aggressively squeeze or dry rub your hair with a terry cloth towel.  Gently blot hair wet hair with a microfiber towel, and Jess would recommend leaving your hair dripping wet until you have applied all of your styling products.  By keeping your hair dripping wet, your styling products will distribute themselves better and help seal in more moisture. 

Jessicurl has also created a Stimulating Scalp Massage Oil, which is to be used on the scalp to soothe and stimulate hair growth.  Jess reports it gives “quite a tingle” and can be used either on dry or wet hair. 

“This stuff is seriously potent! A scalp massage with this will leave your scalp tingly all over, and your hair much softer. It’s even better when someone else does the massage for you! Spray it directly onto your scalp and massage it in. After a few minutes you’ll start to feel the tingle. You can leave it in for an hour and then wash it out, or wait until the next morning to wash it out. A warning to those leaving it in overnight, I’ve found that if I use it too close to bedtime, the peppermint smell keeps me awake at night. For this reason, it’s better to use it far in advance of bedtime if you’re going to leave it in overnight. It can be used on either wet or dry hair, but I find that using it on wet hair allows for better absorption into my hair.” 

There is nothing I enjoy more than a good scalp massage.  This scalp treatment sounds like a great way to soothe your nerves as well as stimulate your scalp. 

Here’s to another week Tracy! 

Curly Hair Commandment:  Thou shalt not brush out your curly hair!

Tracy (Dandelion Mama) committed herself to take the 3 week Curly Girl Challenge.   At her website, you can view her hair in all its glory and the transformation that will take place in the next few weeks.  After taking her picture, Tracy and her husband laughed at how much her hair resembled Hagrid’s hair, the kind hearted half giant/half wizard from the Harry Potter series. 

Tracy is a very brave woman to reveal the true nature of her hair.  I too have been traumatized for years from ridicule and comments on my own head of hair, and am learning to accept and embrace its unique qualities.  To be fair, I am going to post some pictures of my hair after being brushed.  My hair is much shorter than Tracy’s and I have kept it short since my mid 20’s because of my frustration with it.  Instead of running off to a dance club tonight, I sacrified my Saturday night activities to brush out my hair.   Heaven help my hair if I lived in a humid climate!  I imagine if I had the length of Tracy’s hair, we could easily be tagged as Hagrid’s siblings.

I must admit, I have missed the feel of the brush against my scalp.   But, after looking at these pictures, I have remembered why I started this curly girl method in the first place.   Keep it up Tracy and hooray for Curly Girls!