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.