hair-related stories
Hair Washing for Workout Girls 101
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| Photo: Bert Hardy, Getty Images |
If you're washing your hair every day, you might benefit from sudsing up your locks a little less often, with a little less shampoo and conditioner or, perhaps, just a little differently. You, over there with the greasy hair? Yep, I'm talking to you, too. Because, even if your scalp is getting oily, daily washing with anything but a really mild shampoo can really dry out your ends.
There are some things you can do to get the most out of washing your hair and extend the time you can go between washes -- even if you're sweating it up. Sarah James of Hair Thursday agrees, saying, "With most top hair stylists in agreement, women can absolutely skip a day or two between washings! It's healthy for your hair, keeps color from fading and, most importantly, saves time."
Play With Your Ponytail
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| Nicole Richie and Jessica Alba have both embraced the braid. Photos: Getty Images |
Jessica Alba shows a style that can work for even the shorter-haired among us -- a French braid starting a little farther over than your part. Braid it across to the other side and tuck behind your ear or pin back into a ponytail. It'll keep your hair out of your face but make you look super stylish at the same time. One thing to remember -- this shouldn't be too precious. If it's a little bumpy and messy, it only makes it better!
Say 'So Long' to Swimmer's Hair
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| Photo: swimoutlet.com |
Obviously, you can wear a swim cap -- the tighter it fits, the better it will keep the water out. However, sometimes it's hard to keep all of your hair tucked underneath. Plus, you know, if you're just goofing around in the pool (not doing serious laps), it's kind of dorky.
Avoid a Hairy Situation With the Right Headband
When I'm working out, I don't want any distractions. My shoelaces have to be tied with equal tightness, my shirt and shorts can't be creeping up, and for the love of Pete, don't even talk about hair getting in my eyes. It's entirely possible that nothing infuriates me more than a chunk of hair that Just. Won't. Stay. Back.
As you probably guessed, I'm a firm believer in using the right accessories to keep the hair out of my face, and you're probably thinking that those nice stretchy headbands -- you know, the one that all the girls are wearing -- would be a great solution. And you'd be right except for one little problem. The shape of my head is not conducive to wearing those trendy little headbands. They either pop off (and boy, do those things fly) at the most inopportune moments, or I spend my whole workout adjusting and readjusting the band. (This has been the case since I was a child -- no Madonna-esque lacy bow headbands for me, I'm sad to report.)
But I'm an optimist, and I don't give up, so when I read the Fit Bottomed Girls' post on headbands (see! I'm not alone in my headband drama!), I was super excited. I was already familiar with the Goody Stay Put Headbands (the thin, flat version actually works quite well, but I still can't use the thick flat ones or the tiny round ones -- head to your local drugstore and take a peek; you'll see exactly what I'm talking about), but I'd never heard of Bondi Bands. But now I have, and I'm really, really happy about it.
Dry Shampoo - It's Back and You Need It
Over the last few months, I've been hearing more and more about dry shampoo. Maybe because everyone is trying to conserve water (or conserve money) by not taking so many long showers. Or maybe it's because more companies are making it easier to use, like the Oscar Blandi Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray.
I had a chance to try out Oscar Blandi's new Pronto Dry Shampoo Spray, and I've got to say, this is something that every girl who gets ready in a hurry after a workout should have. Trust me -- I used it after a serious sweat session, and my hair looked great, and it only took a few minutes for me to be ready to head out the door!This spray is super easy to use (spray it onto your roots in sections from about six inches away, let it dry, shake out excess with fingers, brush and style). It's designed to absorb oil and product (check), increase volume at roots (check) and strengthen hair and nourish the scalp (not sure yet, but I'm guessing it's doing something good). And, it has a fresh lemon verbena scent, which I really liked.
Carol Burnett - Her Top 4 Smart and Funny Fitness Tips
Fitness, Celebs & Entertainment, Reviews & Products
The secret to thin legs. How to plump up the appearance of a flat fanny. How to stay trim. What exercise does and doesn't count. Carol Burnett shared superb advice on all these topics.
I just saw the legendary funny woman last night and was fortunate enough to ask her a couple of questions. At 73 years young, she really does have a body most women would dream of at that age (including me). In fact, she's always had an amazing physique; just check out her old pics from The Carol Burnett Show!
Burnett is starring in Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett: A Conversation with Carol Where the Audience Asks the Questions and besides answering my questions, she answered some from the audience as well.
On the topic of how she keeps her legs so thin: "I shave off loads of excess hair each day."
-The ape woman population will benefit greatly from doing this.
Get Your Skin and Hair Ready for Winter
For many, winter is in full swing. The question is, have you taken care of your hair and skin as the weather changed? Temperatures dropped and with the heater going and everything, your house has probably gotten a little drier, meaning you need to take some extra precautions in order to stay your beautiful self!
For winter-friendly hair care, think about adding a weekly deep conditioning treatment, like Biolage's Ultra-Hydrating Balm. It smells yummy and helps get your hair back in shape. And, on a daily basis, think about a leave-in conditioner or detangler, like Healthy Sexy Hair's Soy Tri-Wheat Conditioner -- I swear, my hair has never been as soft as when I've used that.
As far as skin goes, different products should be used for different parts. Of course, you should always use a lotion with SPF 15 or so, just for daily sun exposure, but you should also consider treating your face with something soothing -- after all, your skin is dealing with a lot of changes with winter weather. Renee Rouleau offers a lightweight Stress Recovery Lotion that works for all skin types, ridding you of redness and uneven color. VedaMama has a fabulous Scrumptious body cream that's ultra moisturizing (and all natural) for the rest of your body, but if you're looking to save some cash, I've always had good luck with Eucerin's line of products.
Boost Your Beauty With These Foods
Fit Beauty Giveaway: AloSun Travel & Trial Collection
I am so excited to tell you about something new for Fit Beauty -- every other week or so, Fit Beauty will be hosting a giveaway. I have beauty, hair, and skincare products for you, gym totes, and other assorted goodies to help you look and feel your best!
I'm starting things off with a bang -- this week, our giveaway will have five lucky winners! We have five AloSun Travel and Trial Collections, each with five different products. Each pack is different, including five of the following products:
- Skin Buff Face & Body Polish
- Moisture-Lock Organic Body Oil
- Body Bare Penetrating Emollient
- Clarifying Hair & Body Shampoo
- Hydrating Hair Mask
- Lemon Lights
- Sea Salt Tress Texturizer
- Swimsuit Saver Shampoo
- After Sun Restorative Creme-Gel
I know, a lot of these products are geared more toward summer, but these are the perfect size to take traveling (all under 3 oz.), and you know you're going to want to take a trip somewhere sunny in just a couple of months, right? Or, save them for the first days of summer to give yourself a real treat!
- To enter, leave a confirmed comment below saying why you deserve to be pampered.
- The comment must be left before 5pm ET on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
- You may enter only once.
- One winner will be selected in a random drawing.
- One winner will receive one AloSun Travel & Trial Collection (valued at $15).
- Open to legal residents of the 50 United States, and the District of Columbia who are 18 or older.
Winners are notified by email, so make sure to check next week to find out if you're the winner!
Daily Fit Tip: Put an end to chafing
Trying to become a runner? Take some advice from seasoned vets and solve a common problem with something that's probably in your medicine cabinet.
Hair-raising truths about bad extensions
It turns out that a set of bad hair extensions don't just damage your appearance -- they can affect how you feel and the health of your hair as well. Improperly applied hair extensions cause undue stress on your natural hair, essentially pulling, tugging, twisting, and weighting down your hair. While some discomfort is expected when you get extensions put in, it shouldn't cause extreme pain. Extensions can cause the wearer to have headaches and pain. In the most severe cases, bad extensions can cause the natural hair to pull out of the scalp which can lead to a permanent hair loss condition called traction alopecia.
When you should eat LOTS of bread
Womens Health, Celebrities and Entertainment, Diet & Weight Loss, Celebs & Entertainment, Motivation, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Aren't we all dying to be told to eat some bread....lots of bread? Unfortunately...I recently dealt with a pretty disgusting reason to chow down on some firm crusted French bread. Ick, ack and yuck! There was a hair stuck in my throat, and I was going nuts! I know........gross! But it was true. Fortunately that's about the grossest thing I've dealt with in a while, so I suppose I should feel pretty lucky? Hmmm.
Anyway. I complained about it to some friends, and they too had experienced the same thing at some point. Very annoying. So I Googled the question and fortunately found an answer. Dr. Khaghn recommended drinking milk to break down the hair (which could take up to three weeks!) Or ... eating some bread which had a good chance of grabbing on to the hair and dragging it down. I chose the latter, and thank goodness it worked. (Now it's probably stuck in my stomach.)
So! If you ever are violated by a hair that won't go away ... find some milk and bread. If you ever want a great excuse to devour some white flour .. chow down on some hair!
Fit Beauty: Five tips for healthy, beautiful summer hair
It doesn't seem quite fair -- summer is when everyone is having the fun parties, and you want to look your most gorgeous, but between the sun and heat and humidity, it's hard to convince your hair to do what you want it to do. That doesn't mean you're forever confined to bad summertime hair, though -- we've got some tips (partly thanks to our friends at Fitness Magazine) to help you get the most out of your 'do this summer. Check them out, and be sure to let us know about your best summertime hair trick or product in the comments!
The upper crust in healthy hair
Womens Health, HealthWatch, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Nutrition & Supplements, Men's Health
Pizza is something that's typically reserved for my "reward day" (see earlier post). This is probably a good thing, since I'm just about the last person you want to have around when you order pizza. Why? Because I never eat the crust. Never have, probably never will. The crust is the best part, what's wrong with you? is typically what I hear from my buddies, but still I remain an anti-crust pizza eater. Strangely, I never thought that my almost Seinfeldian aversion to pizza crust could potentially have an effect on my hair.
Researchers from the University of Munster in Germany found that diet plays a significant role in hair-retention, and that crusts contain eight times more antioxidants than the rest of the pizza or loaf of bread. Couple this with a separate study highlighted in Men's Health, where it was discovered that antioxidant intake is vital to ensuring proper circulation to the scalp and the production of malanin -- the hormone that makes hair richer and thicker, and it becomes abundantly clear that there is, in fact, something wrong with not eating the crust.
Bye bye green hair!
Healthy Habits, Natural Beauty, Diet & Weight Loss, Fitness, Reviews & Products, Alternative & Green Health, Nutrition & Supplements
My five year old daughter's beautiful light blond hair has turned the most not-so-beautiful shade of green. Ugh! We swim a lot. We live in Florida, and that's what we do almost every day during the summer. Her hair has been pretty green for about two weeks now, and for about the same amount of time I've been looking for the special swimming shampoo that's supposed to get the green out. I checked three pharmacies, one Walmart, and two grocery stores with no success. How frustrating!
Fortunately, today I stumbled across the ultimate score in 'get the green out' shampoos at Target.. Suave has a cute little kids line of hair and body products that are tear-free, smell great, and sell for less than two dollars. And! They've recently added a special shampoo to the line which is designed to remove chlorine from cute little heads of green hair. It's called Suave Swim and Sport Flippin' Citrus 2 in 1 Shampoo for Kids. We've already used it, and we love it! So....if you are Going Green in a way that has nothing to do with the environment......give this stuff a try!
