Why can't commercials this side of the Pacific be as touching as this? Thought I'd share this since it's wonderful and I am currently loving Pantene's new NatureFusion line.  Lightweight yet moisturizing shampoo combined with the best conditioner I've ever used, it's a winning line!  Full review coming soon, but for now:

 

 

I loved watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 until they moved to the new house, and Kate started doing the spiky thing to her hair and started looking like a oompa loompa.  Sorry Kate, but you have to lay off those tans!  They are not becoming!

So according to Kate, thousands of women wants to copy her hairstyle.  Well, if any of those women are TotalBeauty readers, or have any style sense for that matter, they'll know to definitely avoid her hair.  Really, it's not flattering on her!!  From too brash highlights that clashes with her orange skin, to how severe the bangs lay across her face, everything is just wrong.  Don't get me started on those weird spikes!  I'm all for cute short hair styles, but I think Katie Holmes, Posh Spice and Rihanna provide better examples of cute short cropped hair.

I hate dandruff.  I've suffered from dandruff since I was little.  It's been an on-and-off thing, but recently, it's become really bad.  Sometimes I'll have a huge dandruff break out for a few weeks, but it goes away.  This time, it just refuses to leave!

In the past, Head and Shoulders have worked well for me.  I just go back on it, and voila, dandruff gone!  However, I've been using Head and Shoulders for a while now, and the dandruff just keeps coming back like some serial stalker.

I'm not that into DIY home remedies, so I googled up online what else was available, and saw that Neutrogena makes a shampoo for dandruff called T/Gel.  I've seen that in drugstores, but never knew exactly what it was.  Now I do!  I checked up the store weekly ads for the drugstores around me and saw that Rite-Aid was having a BOGO 50% off deal for Neutrogena products, and off I went!

Now why did I go with T/Gel instead of any other dandruff shampoo?  I saw that T/Gel also helps other scalp problems aside from dandruff, including psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis.  Now, I'm looking at pictures of scalps with each problem, and I still can't identify what I have.  Perhaps my problem isn't fungal, which causes dandruff, so I grabbed T/Gel just in case I have seborrheic dermatitis or psoriasis.

I've just washed my hair, and so far it's been good.  I bought the Stubborn Itch Control formula, which contains coal tar to treat scalp flaking and itchiness and menthol to cool and calm the scalp.  I also bought the matching conditioner since it contains 3% salicylic acid, which is also good for dandruff.

So far, my concerns and dislikes are quite minor, so minor that it definitely does not deter me from using the products again.  The shampoo has a warning label that says it could discolor your hair, especially bleached hair.  I could always stop bleaching my hair, so that's not such a big deal.  There is also a fairly strong fragrance to the product, which I think is added to mask the scent of the active ingredients.  The conditioner doesn't really moisturize my locks, but you can always just massage the conditioner onto your scalp, and use your normal conditioner near the tips of your hair.

Some of you guys may wonder if coal tar is safe or not.  According to both the National Psoriasis Foundation and the FDA, coal tar is safe from 0.5% - 5%, with no scientific evidence proving that it's carcinogenic.  Some people get freaked out about this sort of things, but bleh, practically everything is carcinogenic in high doses.

I'll definitely come back in a few weeks and tell you guys if my dandruff problem lessens or worsens!  It just really sucks at work since we all wear dark blue lab coats!  There's no way you can disguise dandruff when you are wearing dark blue every single day as part of your work uniform!

Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo, Extra Strength

$9.49 by Neutrogena at drugstore.com

Extra Strength Therapeutic Shampoo #1 Dermatologist Recommended Brand

• seborrheic dermatitis
• psoriasis Neutrogena® T/Gel® Extra Strength Therapeutic Shampoo is recommended by dermatologists to effectively control even the most resistant scalp conditions with twice the amount of active ingredient as T/Gel Original Formula.

• 1% Coal Tar

 

Neutrogena T-Gel Treatment Conditioner

$6.29 by Neutrogena at drugstore.com

Fights Itchy, Flaky Scalp

• Extra control when used with a therapeutic shampoo
• Controls the symptoms of:

• Dandruff
• Psoriasis
• Seborrheic Dermatitis

 

For almost 2 years now, I've been dying my hair red.  While it's been fun, it's definitely time for a change.  The thing is, while red is ridiculously hard to maintain, it's also ridiculously hard to completely remove!  Unless your stylist completely bleaches out your hair with super strong bleach, you'll most likely end up with some rusty orange when they apply a blonder color.

My stylist loves me, so she's not going to damage my hair just because I suddenly want to go light brown with blonde highlights.  So we're calling this a work in progress.  The base is a dark brown mixed with just a little red so it'll blend, and the blonde is still a tad on the orange side.  It'll fade eventually so that by the time my next hair appointment comes along, it'll be ready to go honey blonde!

Since I was there, my stylist taught me to curl my hair with my new flat iron.  I was complaining that I was able to get curls on  my left side, but always failed on my right, so she went through my whole head with me.  Don't know if I completely love the curls on me, but it's definitely an option I can play with!

 

There's tons of debate on the beauty/hair blogging/forum world about how often one should wash their hair.  But I think this debate is going to live up the gossip blog world pretty soon!  Why?  Robert Pattison on Perez Hilton.  Apparently, Mr. Hottie Vampire says:

"I don't really see the point in washing your hair. If you don't care if your hair's clean or not then why would you wash it? It's like, I don't clean my apartment ’cause I don't care. I have my apartment for sleeping in and I have my hair for just, you know, hanging out on my head. I don't care if it's clean or not."

- Twilight hottie Robert Pattinson tells TV's Extra

http://perezhilton.com/2009-03-27-quote-of-the-day-475

2009 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter - Arrivals

I think it really depends on

1. The climate and environment you're in - If you live in a humid climate where you seat from every surface, including your hair, you'd probably want to wash your hair daily.  If you live in a smelly environment, you'd want to wash it too so it won't smell.
2. Your natural hair/scalp type - If you have a oily scalp (like me), then you'd want to wash it daily.  But if your scalp is fine, and you have dry hair, you can probably go at least 2 days without washing your hair.
3. What activities you do on a daily basis - If you sweat a lot, or work in mud/trash, then yes, wash your hair so it won't smell.  Or if you work around kids that throws up, then yes, wash your hair!
4. What products you put in your hair - If you have tons of oily heavy crap on your hair, and it feels gross, then use common sense and wash it out.

 

I personally can't go more than 2 days without washing my hair.  I'd love to be able to go a week so my hair color would stay on longer, but my scalp just will not allow for it.  After a day of not washing my hair, it gets very oily and makes my hair super smelly and limp looking.  Some people say those natural hair oil makes their hair shinier, but on my hair, it just looks duller and gross.  Plus I will get dandruff if I don't wash my hair constantly.  I test that statement out already; for a while, I would wash my hair every other day or every 3rd day, then I went 1 week where I washed my hair daily.  Guess when I had dandruff and when I didn't?

So really, it depends on YOU.  I asked my stylist about her thoughts, and she said although washing hair less frequently would help the color last longer, it's OK if you wash your hair everyday, as long as you use a good conditioner.

Anyhow.. I don't think I would be anxious to hug Robert Pattison any time soon, knowing that his hair is smelly.  I like my boys to smell clean like soap!

My friend just had an fmylife.com worthy moment.  His/her mom popped in and asked him/her what he/she was up to for the night, to which he/she responded, "nothing.  I'm just going home for the night."  The mom replies, "oh, well i'm going out to dinner and then leaving for chicago tomorow.  I'm kind of worried.  I'm having more of a social life than you."

Burn!!!

I don't think he/she reads my blog anyways, so hopefully he/she won't be too mad if I post this up.  Anyhow, I'm loving my hair right now.  My nose didn't feel like getting assaulted by the killer L'Oreal Everpure conditioner today, so I reached outside my shower and grabbed something else.  What did I end up grabbing?

This:  Pantene Pro-V Red Expressions Conditioner, Color Enhancing, Auburn to Burgundy

I got it at my local CVS because it was on sale, and I've read a lot of good reviews on Pantene products.  I got the red one since my hair is dyed red, but do note that this does not contain any color depositing ingredients.  Whether or not it really makes a dye job last longer is debatable.  I bought it because honestly, there was too much other conditioners to choose from the Pantene line, so I just reached for this.  The bottle was red and again, it was marked on sale.

I'm glad I got it though, because it works just as well, if not better, than other salon brands I've tried.  The moisturizing and conditioning level reaches that of Joico's Moisture Recovery Conditioner. My hair just feels so soft, I can't help keep my hands off them.  It glides on my hair smoothly, and it feels like it's coating every single strand.  The fragrance is very soft, a typical "Pantene" scent that smells clean.  When you wash it off, your hair still retains a nice good slip.  My hair styled easily, and I just want to keep on touching it!

The ingredients are below for those that likes googling all the chemicals up.  I know I do, though i limit my searches to the first 5 ingredients.  Most of the time those are the ingredients that makes up the bulk of a product.  The rest are just fillers, preservatives, coloring, and/or ingredients-thrown-in-for-marketing-purposes.  From what I can understand, this contains a lot of silicones, which are great if you want nice soft hair!

Whether or not this really helps my color last longer, I cannot say.  It is however, a really great conditioner for a reasonable price, and they're always on sale at local drugstores.  =D  So why not, right?

Water, Stearyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Cetyl Alcohol, Behenamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Panthenol (Pantene Pro-Vitamin Complex), Panthenyl Ethyl Ether (Pantene Pro-Vitamin Complex), Prunus Serotina Bark Extract (Wild Cherry), Dimethicone, Glutamic Acid, Benzyl Alcohol, Fragrance, EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Caramel, Red 4, Green 5

*Sales at my local CVS is the death of my wallet.  I can resist gorgeous items at Sephora or the Nordstrom counters, but once you put a big "Sale" sign, I cannot resist.

Do you guys ever buy products because the packaging is pretty?  Or what about when there's a big sign that says "NEW!"  Yea, i fall into those scheme-y marketing ploys too easily.

During a drugstore run, which always ends up becoming a raid, I saw these pretty silver lavender tubes of hair products with the words "NEW!" in big bright bold red letters on the display, and I became enchanted.  I didn't really care about the "sulfate-free", but the buzz words like UVA/UVB filters caught my eye.  On top of that, the scent said, "Rosemary Mint".  I love love love Aveda's Rosemary Mint shampoo, the smell, the feel, the everything, so I just get really excited when I see "Rosemary Mint."  Plus CVS was having a special on it where it was a dollar off, so basically, the conditioner was screaming "BUY ME!  BUY ME NOW!!"

Oh, I didn't get the shampoo since I'm having some scalp problem, so I'm just using Head and Shoulders.  So for the time being, I just get to play with conditioner.  Anyhoo..

I first sniffed it at the store, and while I didn't detect any rosemary or mint fragrance, the fragrance didn't seem too bad.  Besides, it was on sale, it's not a big tube, and CVS has a great return policy, so yes, i bought it.  I took it home, jumped in the shower, and.. my excitement was pretty much killed...

by the fatal fragrance.

Have you girls EVER used men's skincare lines, like Nivea for Men?  Or perhaps you've noticed how strongly scented your man's skincare is?  It's this ridiculously strong allergy-inducing smell, but you can't get away from it because you've slathered that fragrance in the form of a moisturizer all over your face.  Yes, I've borrowed my hubby's moisturizer before when I forgot to stock up but was too lazy to go to CVS/Sephora/Nordstrom.  It abosrbs well and it's got SPF 30!

Sorry for digressing.  Back to L'Oreal's fancy sulfate-free vegan conditoner in the really pretty silvery lavender tube.  It smells like that.  My allergies started, and my nose just so sooo clogged up from sinus.  The smell is just that awful and strong!  I was thinking, maybe it'll really smooth out my hair!  Well.. I wouldn't say it was awful, but it's not the most smoothing conditioner I've used.  I prefer silicones in my condtioners smoothing down my hair cuticles, and it doesn't seem like this conditioner contains any.  My hair didn't feel that moisturized either.

BUT, I did notice that without styling my hair, there were less fly aways, and my hair just behaved on its own.  There weren't random puffs in my hair that I sometimes get.  My hair also didn't feel dry or coarse, so maybe it is somewhat smoothing my hair without that nice slip I like.  That made it a new territory.

As for the smell, my nose has been desensitized.  I still don't love it, but it doesn't bother me much anymore.  Plus I misplaced the receipt, and in all honesty it's not a horrible conditioner.

Overall, this conditioner is at a B, so 3.5 Watermelons out of 5.  It's not a pricey conditioner, but I don't thik I'll buy this again.  Below's is the shpeel from directly from drugstore.com.  I can see, aside from the pretty packaging, why it's such an attractive product to sell and to buy.  It's got all the buzz terms now!  Vegan, non-drying, sulfate-free, natural, blah blah blah.  I've copied the ingredients from CVS.com on the bottom as well.

L'Oreal EverPure Smooth Conditioner, Rosemary Mint

$6.99 by L'Oreal at drugstore.com

Sulfate-Free Color Care System

• Anti-Fade System
• UVA/UVB Filters
• NoDrying Salts
• Natural Botanicals
• 100% Vegan

Ingredients:  Aqua/Water, Cetearyl Alcohol, Glycerin, Behentrimonium Chloride, Cetyl Esters, Isopropyl Myristate, Quaternium-80, Polysorbate 20, Parfum/Fragrance, Methylparaben, Camphor Benzalkonium Methosulfate, Polyquaternium-37, Paraffinum Liquidum/Mineral Oil, Benzophenone-3, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Limonene, Chlorhexidine Dihydrochloride, PPG-1 Trideceth-6, Linalool, Rosmarinus Officinalis Oil/Rosemary Leaf Oil, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Citronellol.

How I managed to get through life without the Fekkai Glossing Cream, I do not know.  Of course, I've read all about it on my fav. blogs, particularly Kristen from Beauty Addict.  But I always thought that I had so much cream/goo/stuff in my bathroom, I don't need another cream.

How wrong was I?

This cream goes beyond everything I've ever tried, and trust me, I've tried my share.  The Glossing Cream acts as a detangler, a refresher, a heat protector, and overall, a hair beautifier.  Yes, that's what it is, a hair beautifier.  It makes your hair beautiful.

I first tried it out in Sephora.  My hair was already dried and styled, but I still dabbed on a small amount to just see what the fuss was about.  My hair literally went from fab to uber-fab instantly.  It brightened and shined, and guess what?  It didn't feel heavy.  Normally when I put on hair-goo on dried hair, it makes my hair feel heavier and grody.  This did not.

So I bought the biggest bottle they offered, and tried it later after I showered, and before I blow dried.  Again, hair detangler and heat protector all in one.  Most of my baby hair were in place, rather than flying everywhere like baby hairs are prone to (did I mention that I have tons of baby hair?).  Plus my hair shined and felt so so so soft.  This was right after I had my hair highlighted, which meant my hair was actually drier and more brittle than normal.  I kept touching my hair through work, and wanted to tell all my coworkers to just touch my damn hair.  I didn't since that's kind of a weird request, and they already think I'm a weirdo.  =D  This also offers UVA/UVB protection, which is really essential for color treated hair.

Anyhow.. run, don't walk, to get this ASAP.  Your life will change in front of you.

Frederic Fekkai Glossing Cream

$20.00 by Frederic Fekkai at Sephora

 

Since it's a new year, it's time for me to change my hair color.  I really didn't know what I wanted, so when my lovely stylist asked me what I was thinking, I blurted out, "blonde".  Now, don't think I'm going for the weird asian-complexion with all over yellow hair look, because I think that's ugly and so does my stylist.  The trick for Asians and other warm-olive-skin-toned gals to do blonde is to go with highlights.  Bold highlights on the crown and thinner highlights framing the face with a darker base (brown, copper, red - it all works).

Since my previous color was plum red with pink highlights, my stylist had a her work cut out for her.  For those not familiar with red, it's one of the hardest colors to remove.  Plus I take really good care of my coloring to make sure the red stayed vibrant and bright (cellophane hair treatment, deep moisturizers, washing hair only 3/4 times a week, red depositing conditioners), so my stylist did somewhat of a color correction procedure to get the red out.  Here's the result, and can I disclaim that this is a work-in-progress?  The highlights are a mixture of blonde and copper, and my stylist kept 2 strands of pink because she knows I'll like it. She also put some highlights in my bangs, right where my part opens.  This helps give the illusion of a longer, less round face.  So next time you get your hair colored, think about that.

Here's some pix of the result

Top front with flash

Left side - without flash

Left - with flash

Top crown - without flash

 

The process:

Alien Helmet with enough foils to get HBO!

Click on them for bigger size pic.

What do you guys think?  Is the blonde too much?  If you're interested in my stylist doing your hair, let me know in the comment section or e-mail me.

I'd show the cut too, but I didn't get a good pic when I first had it styled.  It's been 24 hours since it was blow dried and styled, and I want to show it off when it looks uber good, ya know?  But I just got a trim.

 

Ojon Rub-Out Dry Cleanser

$10.00 by Ojon at Sephora

 

Does any of this apply to you:

1.  Have color treated hair

2.  Have oily hair

3.  Live an extremely busy lifestyle

4.  Want healthier hair

If any of those apply to you, then you must try Ojon's Rub-Out Dry Cleanser.  It's a dry shampoo, with talc as a main ingredient, where you can spray on your hair when it starts to look a bit flimsy, oily, and dirty.  You ask, "if it's just talc, why not just rub some baby powder on my hair?"  Well, you CAN do that, but unless you have platinum blonde hair, people will be able to see white powder all over your hair/crown.  It's not a pretty look.

I like Ojon's version more than Oscar Bandi's version solely due to the smell.  Ojon's version has a floral scent that stays on all day.  If you spray too much, the smell could be a tad overpowering, but at least it doesn't have a lemon detergent smell that I find Oscar Bandi's version to have.  Plus, this really works.  My hair gets oily really fast, yet I don't want to wash it every day because it will wash out my color faster, so this helps keep it looking clean.  The other plus side of it?  The volume you get for spraying this near your roots!  My hair was totally va-va-vooming without a blow out!  Sweet!!!

Overall, it gets 4 watermelons from me.  -1 watermelon for the smell that gets well, for the lack of better word, nauseating.

 

 

 

Sephora sells a small can for $10, and a full size can for $24.  Get it before I buy it all up!