Winterizing Your Hair

  Who doesn’t love a bright sunny winter day in the beautiful northwest? Your hair for one. Dry, frizzy, lifeless. Hair at this time of year seems to alternate between clinging pathetically to our heads, and dancing about uncontrollably in a static halo. The sun has taken a vacation from warming our bodies, but is still sending us plenty of UV rays to remind us that he’s still around. The arid nor’easter is ripping down from the Fraser River Valley tangling hair and robbing it of moisture. We’ve all retreated inside and cranked up the forced air heat, which is basically like sitting under a blow dryer all day. Let’s face it, winter is one of your hair’s worst enemies. Here’s the good news: no matter what’s behind your winter hair dilemma, there are steps you can take to protect and replenish your hair.

  Let’s start with your morning shower. Nothing feels better on a cold morning than a nice long, hot shower. Unfortunately water is more alkaline than the acid mantle that protects our hair and skin. Basking in a hot stream of water for too long will strip your hair and skin of natural oil and moisture. Try limiting the length of your shower, and tamping down the heat. The cleansing agents in most shampoos will also rob your hair of moisture. Use a sulfate free cleanser such as Moroccanoil Moisture Repair Shampoo or any of the Pureology shampoos, and try skipping a day between shampoos. Your hair will feel better and your color will last longer.

  Most people will benefit from regular use of a thick, rich, moisturizing conditioner. If you have medium to thick hair you should use a thick, conditioning hair mask at least weekly. If your hair is very coarse it will have a tendency to hold oil at the roots, so start your application a couple of inches away from the scalp. You should leave the mask on for at least the amount of time recommended, but it wont hurt if you go longer.

  If your hair is very fine, thin, and flyaway avoid the conditioning mask-- it's just too heavy even for severely damaged hair. Instead use a regular conditioner every time you wash your hair, supplemented with a light conditioning leave-in spray. Colourmax from Pureology is an excellent choice, and has the added benefit of acting as a sunscreen. You may also add a dry oil spray. These mostly-silicone based products go on dry so they don't weigh hair down, but still offer a layer of protection against the elements.

  No matter what your hair texture, adding a natural vegetable oil to your regimen is essential. Olive oil works well, but I recommend argan seed oil. Simply put a few drops of the oil in the palm of your hand, rub until your skin glistens, then starting at the bottom and working upwards, run your fingers through your hair. You can do this before you dry your hair, between washings, when you come in from the cold, or anytime your hair looks very dry.

  One of the most problematic winter conundrums is static hair. The traditional approach is to use a boar bristle brush, but sometimes you need a more extreme solution. When rogue hairs just won't be tamed, grab a dryer sheet like Bounce and rub it lightly over your hair. What it does for the fibers of your clothes it will do for the fibers of your hair. No joke, it really works.

  When it comes to styling winter hair, a few quick product switches may be all you need to combat most problems. For starters try substituting a hair cream for your usual styling gel or lotion. One reason styling creams are quickly replacing gels is because they add moisture to the hair, make it more pliable, and give it better elasticity so it's less likely to break -- all extremely important in winter.

  In fact, when choosing any winter hair styling products including holding sprays, avoid high alcohol content which can be drying to hair. Likewise avoid putting fragrance directly on your hair since its alcohol content can also cause your tresses to look and feel dry and brittle.

  Most importantly, limit your time under a blow dryer -- good advice all year round but essential in winter. To do that and still effectively style your hair use a towel to gently blot your hair and let it air dry until 25% to 50% of the moisture is evaporated, then hit it with the heat, stopping the moment your hair is dry.

  To cut down on the proverbial "hat hair," pull longer locks into a pony tail high on your head, or push short hair straight back, before putting on the hat. Pushing hair against the way your style should fall will help it spring out with bounce once the hat is removed. To ensure that it does, carry a travel sized dry-hair texturizer that adds instant body. If you styled your hair with a cream product, adding just a few drops of water to your hands and rubbing them through your hair can refresh the style.

  For more product recommendations to fight winter’s maladies visit us at Envy: a boutique salon.

Expressions and Experise

Expressions and Expertise

Welcome to Expressions and Expertise, a new exhibition of Pureology looks that combine elegance with colour-treated hair expertise to offer you an array of effortless styles. A twist…a wrap… a knot… a tail. Each is taken to a new level of sophistication using Pureology products and professional artistry.

  Envy: a boutique salon carries the full line of Pureology products.

You Are What You Eat

  Beauty comes from within. As a hair stylist I know this to be true in more than just a philosophical sense. At Envy we employ amazing products that allow us to repair damaged lackluster hair, but nothing compares to the results achieved through good nutrition.With the holiday season upon us there will be many opportunities for food consumption. With that in mind I would like to offer a little primer on what nutrients are essential for healthy hair.


Silica
  Silica is normally found in the skin of vegetables, such as potato skins, the husks of wheat (most beers are an excellent source of silica). It is also the fibrous stuff within food such as the fibers on the pit of the mango, or the fibers within the celery. Asparagus, celery, chickpeas skin, cucumber skin, green beans, leeks, mango, bean sprouts, pork rinds, potato skin, rhubarb, and strawberries are all great sources of silica.


Protein
  Hair is 98 % protein, and instantly responds to the addition of protein rich foods such as meats, eggs, cheese, seeds and nuts.


Vitamin B
  The B complex family includes thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, niacinamide, pyridoxine, and pantothenic acid, cobalmin, folic acid, biotin, choline, inositol and para-aminobenxoic acid. Scientific studies have shown B vitamin deficiencies in the diet can lead to hair problems ranging from mild to severe. Add B vitamin supplements to your daily supplement plan in addition to incorporating B complex food choices like green vegetables, beans, sunflower seeds, nuts and peas. Although less popular, raw wheat germ, brewers yeast, kelp and desiccated liver are also foods that offer a great source of rich vitamin B.


Vitamin C
  Vitamin C is a great antioxidant promoting tissue and cell repair and growth. It also strengthens the overall immune system, and assists in metabolizing B vitamins and amino acids into the body. Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, limes, melons and berries (including black currants) are power packed sources of C. Brussel sprouts, red peppers, kale, cauliflower, tomatoes and cucumbers are additional choices for adding vitamin C foods to your diet.


Vitamin A
  Whether you eat them raw or juiced, carrots are low in calories and chock full of great cell building Vitamin A. Also try sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, cantaloupe or apricots for super shiny locks.


Vitamin E
  Vitamin E is known as the "heart healthy" vitamin. It also provides lots of benefits for growing vibrant hair. Avocados, rice bran, nuts, dark green vegetables, legumes and whole grains are good sources of Vitamin E.


Vitamin K
  This lesser known vitamin helps to maintain healthy bones, teeth, gums, hair and muscles. Food sources of Vitamin K include seafood, dairy foods, figs, brewer yeast, asparagus, broccoli, lettuce, brussel sprouts, cabbage, dark green leafy vegetables, egg yolks, oatmeal, rye, soybeans, liver, wheat and yogurt.


Iron
  Healthy hair requires a balanced source of iron in the body. Acquire iron naturally by eating eggs, fish, liver, oysters, meat, poultry, whole grains, green leafy vegetables and blackstrap molasses.


Magnesium
  Magnesium deficiencies have been linked to hair problems. Incorporate a proper supply of this important mineral by eating foods that include dairy, meat, fish, fruits, nuts, brewer’s yeast, whole grains and green-leafy vegetables.


Potassium
  Bananas are the best source for potassium which is important in nutrient transfer through cell membranes and is essential in hormone secretion. Potassium is found in dairy, fish, meat, poultry, dulse, kelp, blackstrap molasses, and oranges.


Water
  Eight to ten glasses of water a day are absolutely necessary to nourish healthy hair. Chemicals, pollutants and toxins all get trapped in the body. Water helps all chemical wastes, pollutants, toxins and other impurities be whisked out of the body. When you keep yourself well hydrated and clear of toxins, your liver is free to help process all the proper nutrients that your body needs.


Essential Fats (EFAs)
  Along with proper diet healthy hair needs two essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6, that are not produced naturally by the human body.
  Omega-3 fats are found mostly in algae, cold-water fish, dark-green vegetables, hemp oil and pumpkin seed oil. Flax oil is consider the most concentrated source of omega-3 found in nature.
  Foods that supply omega-6 fats include borage, evening primrose oil, safflower oil, sunflower seeds, hemp seeds, corn and pumpkin seeds. Other foods rich in essential fatty acids include English walnuts, kidney beans, navy beans, soybeans, and evening primrose oil.
  Cold-pressed vegetable oils are also essential to a hair healthy diet. Lack of these oils causes dull, lifeless hair along with parched, rough skin. Add a teaspoon to your fresh daily salad and your hair will instantly benefit.


Fun Food Groups To Avoid
  Not all foods are created equal in their ability to help grow sumptuous strands. Some foods actually harm your body’s ability to develop lush locks. Eating dead foods can lead to lifeless hair. Sugars and starches, soft drinks, and bad-for-you snacks compose the dead food categories proven to trigger body chemistry imbalances.
  Caffeine, alcohol, nicotine and recreational drugs will also rob the body of important hair growing nutrients. Smoking has been conclusively proven to damage many important nutrients while nicotine of any type will destroy Vitamin C.
  If you can’t completely eliminate foods that are not good for your hair consider cranking up your hair vitamins and at least cutting back on the unhealthy habits

  Healthy hair is a great indicator of over all health. If you incorporate the foods listed here into your diet, you will not only look great you will also feel great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks


October’s wind has swept the floor,
December’s knock is on the door,
And so the time has come once more
To list the things I’m thankful for:

Friends and family far and near,
The man I’ve lived with twenty years,
Amazing clients,
Cutting hair,
A staff that’s skilled beyond compare.

Too many things to number here
Have happened in this latest year,
And all of them I’m thankful for.
I’m grateful as we start one more.

P. Bertels

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a great holiday.

Morocco comes to Envy

  We often get beauty product representatives popping into Envy. Having fallen prey to a good sales pitch on more than one occasion I cringe a little on the inside as their eternally cheerful faces appear in the doorway. Every once in a while, however I am introduced to a product that turns out to be more than just snake oil. That is how I feel about our new product line Moroccanoil. They had the genius idea to base an entire product line around argan oil.

  Argan oil, which is said to have restorative and age-defying effects, has become one of the latest miracle ingredients in the beauty industry. High in vitamin E and essential fatty acids, it is believed to help all sorts of skin conditions: dry skin, acne, psoriasis, eczema, wrinkles. Produced in Morocco the native Berbers slather it on their skin, hair, nails and even their babies. They eat it, too — drizzling it over salads and couscous, or using it to make amlou, a tahini-like spread of the oil, almonds and honey.

  Produced from the kernels of the argan tree, the oil is valued for its nutritive, cosmetic and numerous medicinal properties. The species Argania once covered North Africa and is now endangered and under protection of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) . Overgrazing by goats and a growing, wood-hungry local population have whittled the number of surviving trees down to less than half of what it was 50 years ago. The Argan tree grows wild in semi-desert soil, its deep root system helping to protect against soil erosion and the northern advance of the Sahara. UNESCO has declared 25,900-square-kilometers of land between the Atlantic and the Atlas Mountains the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve and provided money to manage the trees' preservation. Argan oil remains one of the rarest oils in the world due the small and very specific growing area.

  It takes several days and about 32 kilograms of fruit - roughly one season's produce from a single tree - to make only one liter of oil. The nuts, which look like a cross between a walnut and an almond, are picked out of the fruit of the squat, gnarled argan trees. Berber women first crack the shells with sharp stones. They then place the kernels between two Flintstone-size slabs of rock, grinding them into a brown paste, which resembles chunky peanut butter. The paste, kneaded by hand to extract the oil, transforms into a solid hunk and is sent to nearby factories where more oil is extracted by a press. Some is made into soaps, creams and shampoos.

  All argan sold today is produced by a women's cooperative that shares the profits among the local women of the Berber tribe. Women from the villages nearby are invited to work half days (so they can still tend to their families) in exchange for fair wages and good working conditions. Moroccan King Mohammed VI (who has been praised for his efforts to promote women’s rights) and the local government have established a fund for the cooperatives. Outside groups, like the government of Monaco, have gotten involved as backers. The cooperative has established an ecosystem reforestation project so that the supply of argan oil will not run out, and the income that is currently supporting the women will not disappear. The money is providing healthcare and education to the local women, and supporting the entire community as a whole. Eventually, the cooperatives should pay for themselves.

  Moroccanoil has utilized this amazing sustainable resource to create a haircare line that delivers incredibly healthy and shiny hair. Stop by Envy to see what has beauty editors buzzing.

Why We Love Vidal Sassoon

  Before there was Jonathan Antin of Blow Out, before there was Frederic Fekkai, before there was Jose Ebert with his scraggly pony tail and cowboy hat, before all of the modern celebrity hairstylists there was Vidal Sassoon. When you talk about Vidal Sassoon with a hairstylist, you will be hard pressed not to find one that gets a little misty at the mention of his name. To really understand why your stylist worships this man (and why you should too) we have to go back in time over half a century ago….

  In the first part of the last century hair was all about the style. People who could afford it would visit their beautician weekly to have their hair permed, fingerwaved, pin-curled, set, and generally tortured into a style that was currently in fashion. They then would try to maintain that style until they could make it back to the beauty shop where they where brushed out and shampooed. Then the whole cruel cycle would start again.

  Into this business of hair styling came a young Jewish boy, Vidal, from London. His family's poverty did not permit Sassoon to follow his first ambition, to become an architect. "I thought if I had to do hairdressing”, said Sassoon, “I'd try and be the best I could at it." As Vidal Sassoon developed a plan to cut hair geometrically in the 1950's, he was inspired by the Bauhaus Architecture and Design School. The early Bauhaus introduced a revolutionary design principal: form follows function. Simple, functional geometry placed the emphasis on the natural beauty inherent in quality building materials. The cut became the design, and styling that detracted from the cut diminished the design. First came the Five-point bob.

Then came the A-line bob.

  In the 1960's Sassoon's cutting technique liberated women from rollers, pin curls, and a helmet of hair spray. Mia Farrow's $5,000 Vidal Sassoon haircut for Rosemary's Baby (released in 1968) illustrated a new appreciation of the haircut.

  Applying intelligent and functional modern design principles to hair design, he invented the precision haircut, and because of this he will always be the father of modern hairdressing.

Vidal Sassoon 2009

 

 ' Hair is nature's biggest compliment and the treatment of this compliment is in our hands. As in couture, the cut is the most important element... haircutting simply means design and this feeling for design must come from within.'    - Vidal Sassoon

  Check out Envy: a boutique salon to see which stylists have Sassoon training.

Halloween is for scary costumes, not scary hair

  This year banish your frizzy, witchy hair with Pureology's new SuperSmooth system, professional color care for unmanageable color-treated hair in need of intense smoothing and discipline as a result of multiple chemical processes. The SuperStraight System has been reborn as SuperSmooth and includes reformulated favorites plus new smoothing essentials to transform hair.

  The SuperSmooth products employ the new thermal anti-fade complex, which protects hair from ulta-violet fading and heat styling damage. The line also uses sesame oil, camellia oil, and geranium to control frizz and intensify shine.

  Pureology's new system is now available at Envy: a boutique salon. Envy also has  great deals for those of you who were huge fans of the SuperStraight system: when you buy a retail size SuperStraight shampoo and conditioner recieve a SuperStraight flat iron protection spray free, and all SuperStraight liters are marked down 15%! Hurry, word is out and supplies are dwindling.

 

What's in a name?

  I have always placed a lot of importance on the naming of things. In the course of my life, I have whiled away many an hour (perhapse too many) in consideration of what I should call my cat, my dog, my business, my future children, my imagined summer cottage on Cape Cod. So, when it came time to name this blog for and about my salon Envy I mulled the decision slowly. After all, a name should sound nice to the ear, it should evoke emotion, and it should mean something. Suddenly, it came to me in a flash: 'The Golden Apple'!

  In a story from Greek mythology Zeus is preparing a wedding banquet for Peleus and Thetis and does not invite Eris. In revenge, she creates an apple of pure gold, inscribes it "To The Fairest," and rolls it into the hall during the banquet. Athena, Hera and Aphrodite each claims it, and Zeus orders that someone be found to settle the issue. Paris is chosen due to the virtue of being the handsomest man in the world. The result is a mythological beauty contest. Hera promises him greatness, Athena warlike prowess and Aphrodite the love of the most beautiful woman in the world. In the end Aphrodite gets the apple, Paris gets Helen, and the world gets the Trojan War and a line of condoms.

  We at Envy beleive that all women deserve to possess the Golden Apple, and so we dedicate this blog to them. The Golden Apple is, after all, for the fairest. Please join, future installments will keep you abreast of developements at the salon including promotions and special events as well as commentary on the world of fashion and hair.

 P.S. Check out our new website at http://www.envybellingham.com/.

                                                                                
Fondly, Patrick Bertels Co-owner Envy: a boutique salon