Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Conditioner Voted One of the Best Products of All Time by Marie Claire

Marie Claire, one of my monthly reads, voted Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Hair Conditioner one of the Best Products of All Time.

That's pretty high praise, don't you think?

They went on to say that it was considered one of the "industry classics," and “by detangling and preventing breakage, this lightweight hydrator helps hair grow longer and stronger.”

Have you ever tried Pantene Pro-V Beautiful Lengths Hair Conditioner? Would you agree with their assessment, or are they way off base?

• Read More......

For the Men Fridays: Billy Jealousy's Ultimate Travel Kit

My husband travels a lot - both professionally and as a vagabond motocross racer. One thing he always has is a full travel bag full of things that I've picked up for him specifically for travel. I'm always replacing them and making him report back on how much he liked something, or what product he's using now. Believe me, he's never owned so many skin care products until he met me. Of course, he's never had such great skin, either. I take full credit.

So I was excited to see a complete travel set from Billy Jealousy: Introductory Travel Kit ($36 value) exclusively at one of my favorite stores, Ulta. You've got a nice little assortment of goodies in this kit, including:

• White Knight Gentle Daily Facial Cleanser: contains essential moisturizing agents to provide necessary hydration while cleansing skin. The white, foaming formula cleanses without stripping the skin of essential oils. SLS-free, Paraben free, no fragrance added. 
• LiquidSand Exfoliating Facial Cleanser: Less penetrating than a scrub and more powerful than a face wash, this gentle cleanser removes dead skin cells, dirt and all round grime. Colorant –free, SLS-free.
• Hydroplane Super-Slick Shave Cream: A rich, technologically advanced cream that keeps you looking sharp and feeling cool. This shaving cream cools, heals and conditions the skin with its micro-silicon beads, while natural citrus oils condition, moisturize and purify skin.
• Fuzzy Logic Hair Strengthening Shampoo:  This shampoo contains two DHT blockers (DHT causes hair loss) Menthyl Lactate and Peppermint Oil creating strong, healthy and thick hair. The powerful shampoo also contains Cocamide MEA, which is a coconut-derived cleanser and moisturizer as well as Panthenol, a provitamin conditioner.
  
• Cashmere Coat Hair Strengthening Conditioner: This hair strengthening conditioner is infused with peppermint as well as DHT blockers to restore strength, volume and hydration to keep your hair lookin’ healthy.
• ILLICIT Pearlized Body Wash: Created after the huge success of the ILLICIT Eau de Parfum, this body wash is infused with citrus bergamot, tea, ivy, ginger and sandalwood. The hemp seed oil softens and sooths the skin while Cocamide MEA, a natural derivative of coconut oil cleans and moisturizes and Vitamin E conditions.

Grab this if you've got a wandering man in your life. Wrap it up and throw it under the tree, or stuff in a stocking. He'll be impressed that there is something else out there for dudes that isn't Axe or Ivory soap.

Available at ULTA Beauty for $24.00

• Read More......

Total Beauty: The Eight Worst Hair Shampoos

8 Worst Hair Shampoos

Be kind to your hair. Avoid these.

Before you fall for promising packaging, see why readers gave these shampoos a thumbs down See shampoos

No. 8: Bumble and bumble Seaweed Shampoo, $16

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 4.4*

"It does have a funny smell and my hair doesn't feel clean after use."

No. 7: PHYTO PhytoSpecific Optimal Hydration Shampoo, $24

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 4.3*

"For the cost you can buy another better shampoo; it's just not worth it."

No. 6: Burt's Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar, $5.99

TotalBeauty.com average member rating: 4.2*

"It was pretty difficult to get enough lather to completely get my hair clean, and I ended up in the shower for way longer than I wanted to be."

Want to see No. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1? Click here.

• Read More......

Taming the Curly Beast: Matrix Sleek Look Shampoo and Conditioner

If something out there claims to help make my curly, nappy hair sleek, you know I'm going to try it. Not that I expect any hair product to magically straighten my hair, but I like to know that I'm helping out my flat iron by putting good product on beforehand.

The Matrix Sleek Look Shampoo/Conditioner duo does a great job at smoothing hair out and helping reduce volume. It's not going to make your hair straight or sleek, really. That part is up to you, but these products give you a great foundation to work with.

If you have naturally straight hair, this might not be the duo for you, but if you have curly hair that you're always working with, these realistically priced products might be what you're looking for.

• Read More......

Looking for Curls? Charles Worthington's Big Waves Line Can Help

Charles Worthington London has come up with a new line to help curly, wavy, and textured hair more manageable.

It's no secret that we are seeing more wavy hair these days, which is good news for us curly/wavy/crazy haired girls. We can occasionally take a day off from the flat iron. Maybe. If you're like me, though, you'll be hitting those tresses with some sort of heat iron, even if you're just creating those smooth waves everyone is taking about.

But back to Charles Worthington London's line. It includes a shampoo, conditioner, enhance spray, and definition creme.

The shampoo and conditioner combo I have tried, and I really like it. I think it would be suited perfectly for those who are really looking to add some wave or curl to their hair, versus those of us who are trying to keep that aspect of our coarse hair down. It adds great volume (which I really don't need), and helps it smooth out (which I really do need). Both products claim to help fight against styling damage, which we all need. It also claims help with frizz, but I didn't see much of that. To be fair, when it comes to frizz, I need heavy artillery, so I never have high expectations of a shampoo/conditioner combo. I look to styling products and heat tools for that.

If you're looking to increase the curl/wave factor in your hair, give this line a try. If you already have crazy curly/frizzy hair I'm on the fence about it. Maybe it will work great for you. Either way, good luck with getting those gorgeous waves that you're seeing in all the fall mags. I'll be strugging with them myself!

You can find this line at Walgreens and most other mass retailers for about $5.99.

• Read More......

Remember Aussie Hair Products? They Haven't Gone Anywhere

I discovered Aussie's Three Minute Miracle back in the 1980's when I used too much Sun In in my dark hair. I don't see Three Minute Miracle in their offerings anymore, which kind of makes me sad and also makes me feel old.

But there isn't enough time in the day to feel sad or old, so let's talk about what is new over in Aussie-land, shall we? Their new line is called Opposites Attract and is supposed to give you naturally beautiful hair with "staying power." The collection includes a shampoo, conditioner, and three styling products.

Opposites Attract Shampoo is formulated to help protect your hair while giving you a touchable style. I've tried this shampoo, and it is a very gentle formula which cleanses well while still helping to retain softness.

Opposites Attract Conditioner uses botanicals to help keep hair soft and smooth. Like many conditioners, this works best if you make sure you coat each and every strand of hair.

Opposites Attract Spray Gel is designed for all hair styles, curly or straight. It creates a strong hold that doesn't end up crunchy.

Opposites Attract Styling Mousse is another product I have tried recently. It works well for curly hair like mine and helps to detangle a bit and encourages shine (which is hard with hair like mine).

Opposites Attract Hair Spray is an extra-hold spray that is touchable as well.

Each product in the Opposites Attract line retails for about $2.99. Yes, that's all, just $2.99, which is really pretty amazing. You can find it at all the usual suspects: most mass market retailers.

• Read More......

Rethinking Drugstore Hair Systems: L'Oreal Paris Vive Nutri Gloss Shampoo/Conditioner

I was a bit skeptical when I first tried L'Oreal Paris Vive Nutri Gloss Shampoo and Conditioner, as I've gotten used to my Paul Mitchell Super Skinny line. However, I have been using this for two weeks, and I am very, very impressed! Makes my hair super soft, shiny, and helps with the frizz factor that I am forever fighting. While it's supposed to be for medium to long damaged hair that is wavy or curly, I would think even short coarse hair will benefit from this system. It won't weigh your hair down, and it won't leave a build up that is hard to get off.

Seriously, my only complaint is that the conditioner bottle won't sit upside down in my shower, and what kind of lame complaint is that? But I like to not have to shake it up and down and fight to get product out - I like everything to be easy and handed to me on a silver platter. That's just how I roll.

But this line has made me seriously rethink how I have traditionally approached drugstore shampoos: I obviously didn't give them enough credit. My stylist will be crushed that I'm not getting my supply from him anymore!

• Read More......