Beauty Thread 2015

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by Stevie W

Congrats on making that kind of change. Not everyone can do what you did. That shampoo is pretty good. Check out Redken and Pureology for shampoos that do the same kind of thing

Stevie

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm always on the hunt for a great shampoo so will definitely check them out.

Has anyone tried Phyto Phytargent shampoo? Jamie Lee Curtis recommended it an an interview.

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by mandie123

A great fb group is "going grey and loving it". I'am also doing the same and stopping the highlights.

I'm not on FB but found some great info on You Tube.

How long has it been since you dyed?

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by BunnyHop

Congrats on successfully making the break!

For me, shifting a habit permanently is really hard. Growing out my bangs took forever, drove me crazy and I almost gave up a million times. Now that they're gone? Love it, and won't be going back.

.

Thanks. Growing out the color is the same. There are times when I want to give up but I know if I just stick it out I will be happy with the end results. It helps that my hair feels a lot softer and looks a lot healthier now that I'm not having it done everyone 5 weeks. The time and money that I'm saving helps too.

[Demeris]

Originally Posted by TracyQ

Hi Ladies--I thought I would come back and give you an update. It's been 20-weeks since I last dyed my hair. I decided not to cut my shoulder length hair (gray and short would be too much change) so it's going to be a while but so far I really love my grays. I've had mostly positive feedback but some negative too. When I first told my hairdresser she tried to talk me out of it but then she realized that I wasn't going to change my mind and she talked me into some blond highlights. I hated the highlights so I won't be doing that again.

I've found so much great information on-line. Who knew there was a whole movement of women going gray and video taping it for all to see .

Shampoo: My hair dresser recommended Clairol Shimmering Lights Shampoo which I bought and hated. I did a little research and bought Aveda Blue Malva Shampoo and conditioner and really love it.

A big thank you to everyone who replied to my original post. If it wasn't for all your great advice I probably would still be dying my hair.

Congratulations! I'm impressed that you're keeping your hair long as it grows out. I cut mine very short simply to avoid a lengthy two-tone period.

Now that my color is all gone, I've decided to let it grow a bit longer. I want to be able to style my hair--maybe an A-line bob.

I was worried about the silver turning yellow, and I found this (it came from Great Britain and took three weeks to arrive:

Touch of Silver


When I went in for my last trim, I told my hairdresser about the shampoo.
She gave me great advice: use it once a week and use my regular shampoo the rest of the time. If I noticed build up, because these purple shampoos leave a residue, I was to get a clarifying shampoo and use it until the build up was gone, then I could go back to the 'Touch of Silver.'

[TracyQ]

Originally Posted by Demeris

Congratulations! I'm impressed that you're keeping your hair long as it grows out. I cut mine very short simply to avoid a lengthy two-tone period.

Now that my color is all gone, I've decided to let it grow a bit longer. I want to be able to style my hair--maybe an A-line bob.

I was worried about the silver turning yellow, and I found this (it came from Great Britain and took three weeks to arrive:

Touch of Silver


When I went in for my last trim, I told my hairdresser about the shampoo.
She gave me great advice: use it once a week and use my regular shampoo the rest of the time. If I noticed build up, because these purple shampoos leave a residue, I was to get a clarifying shampoo and use it until the build up was gone, then I could go back to the 'Touch of Silver.'

Thanks for the link. My hairdresser gave me the same advice about purple shampoo saying to use it once or twice a week.

I really dislike the two-tone look but I don't look good with short hair. I had my hairdresser cut layers so that helps. Socially this was a good year to grow out. We only have one wedding to attend this summer (I have an appointment with my hairdresser the day of the wedding and will get an up-do to hide the two-tone as best as I can) no graduations or other major events.

[Stevie W]

Purple shampoos are amazing.. but tricky to work with. 2-3 mins tops on your hair to remove yellow or red tones from blonde, white or gray hair. Depending on how long your hair is will affect the time!
I use Voce or I use the one from eSalon.. which comes either as shampoo or conditioner (YOUR choice). Both work really well. eSalon has several tonal enhanced shampoos-- dark brown, copper, lighter brown, gold-- for different hair colors.. to stretch the time frame out between hair colors. They also have a mascara wand like touch-up for roots too!
I love eSalon.com. Well worth the money and it's easy to have them adjust the formula (from a drop or two of color tweak to significantly more)

I have a lot of new stuff I am reviewing.. and it's driving me nuts as I try everything.. bec I have to "try" stuff for longer than 1 x to see if it works.

[Libby]

I have no luck getting my nails to grow. I take Biotin and vitamins and eat a healthy diet. I even saw a dermatologist who prescribed Nuvail but it didn't work. If I use nail polish hardeners, my nails will grow a little and then start peeling on the ends and crack across the edges. Anyone else have this problem and find a solution? Don't want to go the fake nail route.

[toaster]

Libby, I have no advice, only empathy! One thing I will say is that I try to minimize my use of nail hardening products...sometimes they seem to make my nails worse by increasing peeling, etc. I do like OPI's "Start to Finish" product (more so than their Nail Envy), and I will use that to give my nails a bit of protection, but I'll also try to go bare. Right now they seem to be doing a little better, but it never lasts!

[BunnyHop]

Originally Posted by Libby

I have no luck getting my nails to grow. I take Biotin and vitamins and eat a healthy diet. I even saw a dermatologist who prescribed Nuvail but it didn't work. If I use nail polish hardeners, my nails will grow a little and then start peeling on the ends and crack across the edges. Anyone else have this problem and find a solution? Don't want to go the fake nail route.

In terms of nail care, I strongly recommend loodieloodieloodie's blog.

http://loodieloodieloodie.blogspot.com/ Good advice, well explained.

As a former nail biter, I've got some advice/anecdotes that may or may not be helpful. Sharing just in case.

A good many years ago, I started growing my hair out longer just to see if I could do it, and growing out my bangs. (I've got fine, wavy hair that everyone always told me was too wimpy to grow long. They were wrong.)

Along the way I tried a lot of protective/helpful techniques to baby my hair, including not blowdrying my hair (letting it air dry, instead of blowing it dry after washing every day) and only washing my hair every few days (and using gentler products and way more conditioner.

Along the way, after doing this stuff for a while, I fell into a rather simple routine that didn't involve getting my nails soaking wet every single morning, and I realized my nails were growing in too hard/thick to bite.

I was astonished, but delighted, and did some research online (makeupalley's nail care board mostly, IIRC, but also Scrangie's blog). Based on that, I got some Nailtiques 2 nail strengthener and wore that by itself for a while til I managed to gain some length, then wore it as a base for color for a good bit longer (think I eventually used up a bottle or maybe two before I moved on to other products).

I also started using a good quality glass nail file to shape my nails, and I do find that helps keep my nails in good shape. The one I'm currently using is by NailTek (got it at Ulta), but Essie also makes a good one, if you can find it. Some of the cheaper ones are not as good quality, IMO.


I've been using Citra 2 (for soft peeling nails) for the last few months and have been very happy with it. I use at least two coats if I'm wearing it on its own, and tend to add another coat every few days til I'm ready to remove it.

If I'm wearing polish with color, I put on two layers of the Citra 2, then let it dry completely, add two coats of color, then another coat of the Citra.

I can't say that my habits and product usage will be helpful to you, I mostly mention it to say that it might be a good idea to see what sort of environment you subject your nails to.

For me, even washing the dishes without polish on can cause significant damage to my nails.

In recent years, I've mostly just worn clear polishes all the time, instead of color, life just got kind of complicated for a while, and for me, that's been easiest.

[sherry7899]

The humidity is turning my curly hair into a frizzy mess. I resorted to wearing it in a ponytail, but even that looks bad.

I have not straightened my hair in years, but I did it out of desperation. Even though I wear it up due to the heat, it looks much neater than the frizzy mess .

Can anyone suggest a heat protectant spray to use? I haven't bought anything in years, so I don't know what is out there.

I use a Sedu brand straightener, so it is effective without needing to go over the same sections over and over.

Thanks!
Sherry