Hair

circa 1989

I can’t lie; my 21st birthday was over a decade ago. Yes, it’s been a little weird for me to see teenagers wearing stuff I wore 15 years ago and to see makeup trends get recycled, but so far getting older has been pretty cool. I can eat brownies for breakfast if I want (which I did this morning); I’m better at real-life problem solving because of various experiences with work, people and life in general; and I understand myself much more than I did as a young lass of 21.

And although I still feel very young (a big YAY for both immature behavior and years of dedicated sunscreen use), I’ve noticed subtle changes year after year. My skin is a little dryer, there’s an occasional white hair on the top of my head and my hands look different.

So lately I’ve been exploring the world of anti-aging products.

If you’ve spent any time in a drugstore or a department store you may have noticed that everyone and their momma is selling something to tighten this, erase that, etc. etc. Although I try lots of products, I don’t always feel comfortable writing about it on the blog because I find it really hard to quantify the results. I don’t have a lot of wrinkles to start with and it’s often hard to see a real difference after only few weeks.

When I evaluate anti-aging products I think about the packaging, the texture and scent, what the active ingredients are and the price. It’s really hard to determine efficacy, and what works for me may not work for you, so please take it all in with a grain o’ salt. Now let’s get to the good stuff!

Hair Product Reviews – Phytodensium Anti-Aging Shampoo and Serum

Products: Pytodensium Anti-Aging Shampoo and Anti-Aging Serum
Price: $24 for the shampoo, $32 for the serum
Use: to strengthen weak and fragile aging hair
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: A

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while you probably already know that I’m extremely picky about my hair because it’s hard to manage. I figure, we wear our hair every day, so I can justify spending a bit more on hair products that I like.

Phyto is a brand I’ve been using for years. The love affair started in 2001, when I got my first tube of Phytodefrisant and a bottle of their Phytonectar shampoo for dry hair. I like that the products don’t have heavy silicones, are full of botanicals, and don’t strip my dry, colored hair. They recently released an anti-aging shampoo and serum, which I couldn’t wait to get my hands on.

What it does
Phytodensium is an anti-aging shampoo and serum that targets aging hair, and claims to help restore strength into weak and fragile hair.

Active ingredients include:
– Gatuline age-defense (derived from walnet extracts) to protect against free radicals
– Black currant seed oil as a source of oemga-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to regenerate hair
– Botanical protein complex to increase hair’s elasticity

What I liked about it
I shampoo just once or twice a week (the rest of the time I wash with conditioner…there’s a bunch of weird things you have to do with wavy hair to keep it happy) so I’m extremely picky. I like the product to be moisturizing, to not contain any heavy silicones, and to not strip my color.

Phytodensium shampoo delivers on all three of these demands. It cleans without being harsh, and leaves me hair and scalp feeling refreshed. It has a light, slightly floral scent that’s very pretty and it doesn’t leave my hair smelling too perfume-y, which I can’t stand.

The serum is a light, thin, non-oily liquid that I first apply into my palms with the dropper. I rub my palms together and then massage the product into my scalp and hair before styling. It has the same floral scent.

What I found interesting about this combo is that using both products relaxes the wave in my hair. It goes from a one-inch s wave to a one and half inch wave. I like the look or relaxed, beachy waves (think Giselle’s, long flowy locks) so I loved this nice side effect. And the effect is consistent, too, which is a minor miracle when you have hard-to-tame hair.

What I didn’t like about it
I can’t tell if these products are really helping to assist my hair in the anti-aging department. They smell great and give me a beautiful loose waves, but I can’t say for sure if my hair has become stronger or younger-looking.

The final word
I loved this shampoo and serum combo, and I would definitely buy it over and over again, but mostly for the gentleness in cleansing and the wonderful after-effect of loose waves rather than for the anti-aging claims. If you’re trying to avoid silicones, or are looking for products that loosen your curl, then it is definitely worth a try.

You might need anti-aging products if…

– You didn’t get an e-mail account until you took a class that required you to get one…in college.
– You own a mix tape that you made off of the local hip hop station; extra points if either Salt & Pepa’s “Push It” or MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This” is on it.
– You remember when girls did not talk about waxing or tweezing their eyebrows.
– Your O.G. “skinny jeans” were of the Bongo or Guess variety, and they were so tight that after lunch you could barely breathe as you sat in history class.
– You had or knew someone who had a spiral perm gone wrong.
– Your bullshit-o-meter is so finely tuned because you’ve heard it all before.

How are you feeling today? I’m a little on the emotionally exhauasted side. I love watching movies and last night I saw a fantastic documentary called God Grew Tired of Us, which follows three of Sudan’s “lost boys.” The lost boys were the 20,000 children who were orphaned during the Second Sudanese Civil War. The story follows three refugees, John, Daniel and Panther, who find their way to America, where they experience electricity, running water and supermarkets for the first time. The film is so touching and well made (it even won an award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival) and I was teary through most of it. I thought about it as I was falling asleep last night and I’m still thinking about it this morning.

Watching it made me think what sort of impact that we can make on other people. I know that this lil’ beauty blog isn’t going to stop any wars or make any large scale global changes, but I hope that every once in a while I get to help you, even if it’s just to to make you laugh out loud during your day.

Have a wonderful Wednesday, friends.

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

Discovering the Bespoke Labs T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer was one of those rare life-changing beauty moments. Simply put, this hair dryer makes my hard-to-manage hair look fantastic, and gets the job done fast. I’m talking about clouds-parting-angels-singing-good!

(Oh, and for the record I’m no hair dryer blow out amateur. Before I started wearing my hair curly, I blew out my hair two times a week for seven years. Don’t even think about making me take out my round brush, because I can bring it.)

The marketing for the T3 hair dryer makes several better-hair-through-technology claims, which I initially thought was a bunch of broo-ha-ha. It’s made from “100% crushed Tourmaline jewels” which generate “Tourmaline negative ions” and “far infrared heat” which give you the benefits of both 1.) a quicker blow dry with at least “60% faster drying” and 2.) shiny hair because the “negative ions add moisture and sheen.”

Um…what? “It’s just a hair dryer,” I thought to myself. “I don’t expect it to take me to the moon.”

I’m usually skeptical of product marketing that tries to blind you with science, but after three blow outs with the Bespoke Labs T3 Featherweight Hair Dryer I have to say that this piece of equipment just might live up to its hype.

The Benefits of Ionic Hair Dryers

You’ll often see the key words ions, ionic, infrared heat and tourmaline. So what does all this mean to your sexy-maned self?

Apparently this new-fangled ionic hair dryer technology is everywhere, and there are several different companies that make and sell them at different price points. Some pricier ionic hair dryer brands include BaByliss, Sedu, and of course, the T3. Lower priced brands that you’ll find at Target, like Revlon and Con Air, make ionic driers too.

Ionic hair dryers are all about negatively charged ions. An ion is an atom or group of bonded atoms that have lost or gained one or more electrons, making them negatively or positively charged.

The presence of these negatively charged ions in your hair dryer supposedly make your hair smoother by both closing the hair’s cuticle layer to create a smooth surface and by sealing in the hair’s moisture.

I’ve also read that the T3 breaks up water molecules into smaller sizes on the hair surface, which make the water evaporate more quickly for faster drying and penetrate the hair shaft more easily for added moisture.

How is the negative charge created?

Different brands have different ways to create this ionic charge.

Some dryers have an ionic spray coating inside of the dryer’s barrel, and others use ion generators. The T3 relies on tourmaline, a gem that occurs in nature, to generate the negative ionic charge. When tourmaline (pronounced tur-muh-LEEN) crystals are warmed they become positively charged at one end and negatively charged at the other. The T3 actually has the Tourmaline injected into its parts (like the fan and the motor mounts).

Why is the T3 different?

Over time, other dryers with an ionic coated barrel may lose their ability to create a strong negative charge, as the air speed and intense heat can eventually wear off the ionic coating, causing the dryer to lose its ionic and infrared power.

The T3 is supposed to be different because the injection of the tourmaline into its parts allows the dryer a continuous source of ionic and infrared “juice.”

What’s the deal with far infrared heat?

The T3 also is supposed to damage your hair less because it delivers far infrared heat deep into the hair shaft, as opposed to the surface of the hair, to heat the hair gently from within.

What I liked about it

There are so many pluses to this dryer, but the best part is that it gets the job done fast, and now I get an extra an hour and a half every week. It used to take an hour to blow dry my hair with my old hair dryer. With the T3 the time is cut down to 30 minutes. And a good blow out on Sunday means that I won’t have to bother with my hair until Friday — so ultimately, I save 10-15 minutes per day. That’s at least 50 minutes over the course of five days!

Also, the results I get from the T3 are far superior to my old hair dryer, which left my hair birdsnesty and frizzy. I definitely get a smoother, silkier blowout with the T3.

There are a few tiny touches that I really appreciate. The diffuser is shaped perfectly for use with a round brush. There are also rubber “stoppers” placed on both side of the barrel. This keeps the dryer in place and prevents it from falling into the sink, which is what my old dryer would do all the time.

And did I mention that it’s extremely lightweight? So even if you have no upper body musculature a la Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen you can still get your blowout on, girl!

What I didn’t like about it

Obviously the price of this dryer is a big fat pain in the ass. I am still having a difficult time coming to grips with the fact that I spent $200 on a hair dryer, although that was money that I had previously budgeted for makeup. Also, the last time I bought a hair dryer was in 2001, so it was due time for a replacement.

A minor caveat: at 1800 watts, this dryer requires a lot of electricity, so if you live in an older building you may end up blowing the electricity out. My building is old so I knew there was chance of this happening, so I decided to test it out before I started using it.

First I kept my receipt in a safe place, just in case I couldn’t use the dryer and would have to return it. The husband and I turned off all the lights and appliances, and made sure that any open documents on the computers (which are always on) were saved. I then went into the bathroom and waited for El Hub to let me know when to turn the dryer on and off as he tested turning on different lights and appliances in the house. I was relived that the T3 worked fine, although I did notice that the lights in the bathroom dimmed a little bit when I put it on high heat.

One last thing — I’ve read on a few forums and reviews of instances when the dryer spontaneously died out or did not work. The product comes with a warranty, so take advantage of that and register your T3 either online or by mail once you bring it home. And always, always, always keep your receipt in case you need to return it!

The final word

This is an expensive product. There’s no way of getting around that. Makeup and Beauty Blog realizes there are times in life when you gotta count every last penny. So if you don’t want to throw down the money for the T3 (and who can blame you, it’s hella expensive) then check out Revlon Tourmaline Ionic 1875, which is recommended by the Good Housekeeping Research Institute and a mere steal at only $29.99.

And although the T3 is an excellent dryer, the mere use of it alone will not get you sexy, silky hair. It’s a hair dryer, not a Christmas miracle. To get a great blow out you’ll still need the rights tools and products (I use a round boars hair brush and Phyto Defrisant) as well as good technique.

Despite the steep price, I still highly recommend this dryer, so start a T3 fund if you think that it could work for you. It’s one of those rare beauty products that actually delivered great results and changed made my life for the better by making it easier. A Makeup and Beauty Blog winner!

Oh! If you want to see the T3 in action, here’s a clip I found of it from the Home Shopping Network. Why they used a model with stick straight hair is a mystery (they should’ve done the demonstration on the girl with the bride of Frankenstein do’ that’s sitting next to her) but I guess there are some things in the universe that shall always remain unknown.

Last night I ended up going to bed late once again! It wasn’t because I was up watching bad reality television – it was ’cause I found my journal circa 2001 while I was looking for some old CDs. I stayed up and read the whole thing. It was weird, I found entries from September 11, my first day at my old corporate job which I held for five years, living with crazy roommates, and meeting El Hubby. There were so many things that I wrote about that I don’t even remember happening!

When I finished reading it I thought, “Wow, am I that much of a mess? I just might be nuts!” Seriously, if you want to have a free and everlasting source of amusement, try keeping a journal, even if it’s just for a few months in your life.

Anyway, we are now off to conquer Monday! Gird your loins, ladies!

Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,

Karen

I thought this stuff was going to change my life. I really did. When you haven’t slept in a week and the paper pile on your desk has somehow erupted into a non-stop lava flow of things to do I guess you vulnerable to the enticements offered by a can of powdered dry shampoo. [Continue reading…]