With all of the heat styling, cold weather-related moisture-sapping, and product swapping we do, our hair, nails, and lips often get the short end of the stick.
Hair Repair
I was at the salon a few weeks ago and popped into my colorist’s chair. She froze mid-sentence after spying the fairly fried hair framing my face and asked in a fairly quiet and measured voice, “What happened to your hair?”
I cringed, knowing full well that holiday events and multiple early morning hurried hair stylings for TV totally took a toll on my tresses. She made me promise to always use a heat protectant prior to flat ironing the heck out of my hair or wielding the curling wand. I think she took it personally that I damaged my locks.
I have used a thermal spray in the past but it made my hair sticky and dull, so the search for a new product was on. Kenra Professional, a brand I have had incredible success with, sent me a bottle of their brand-spankin’ new Luxe One Leave-In, an all-in-one miracle spray. This stuff started selling out the minute it hit the shelves at Ulta, so I was pumped to test it out.
The product provides heat protection up to 450°F, and I have learned the hard way that there actually is a perfect temperature for flat irons. According to Marie Claire, the ideal flat iron temperature is 365°F. Any hotter does more harm than style, and if you hit 420°F you start to melt the keratin in your hair. <SMH…guilty>
I used the Luxe One Leave-In on my hair prior to multiple styling sessions, both flat iron, and wand, and my hair turned out silky and smooth instead of frazzled and fried.
It smells great, makes my hair incredibly healthy-looking, and definitely restores shine. Tip- make sure to press the nozzle hard and quick to get a mist as opposed to a glob. You can also spray into your hands and apply to hair in order to evenly distribute, which I find works better! Use sparingly, it can be heavy if applied in excess.
Lip Love
I can barely wear liquid lipstick, much less anything matte. I just have consistently dry lips and need to reapply any lipstick about 50 times throughout the day because it wears off. I tried a new uber-popular lipstick product and while I loved the effect, I didn’t love how dried-out it left my lips the next day (Notice- I am not mentioning the brand because I believe it was operator error caused by shots of Fireball- I left the lipstick on throughout the next day while recuperating).
I received a sample of Bite Beauty Everyday Agave Lip Mask and smeared the Natural color all over my lips (and outside of my lip lines too- those feathery, fine lines can definitely age you). Leave it on overnight and I swear- your lips are like buttah the next day. They come in three shades- I am guessing that people wear the red/pink colors during the day in lieu of gloss or lipstick. They also sell a balm and a scrub- the balm is in my to-buy list but in terms of a scrub, brown sugar and olive oil from my kitchen works just fine and is a helluva lot cheaper.
Nailed It
I inherited fairly weak nails from my mom, and then lovingly handed them down to my children. My nails are a MESS- they chip immediately when polish hits them, and peel every time I take the polish off. Which means I want to leave the polish on to cover up the not-so-cute condition, which creates a vicious circle of ruining my nails with polish that dries them out.
I was at Walgreens the other week picking up yet another supply of cold meds (seriously, winter, pre-schooler germs and I don’t mix) and spied Essie’s new Treat Love & Color formula. I grabbed the shade “Daytime Dreamer,” which is a pale lilac and gave myself a mini mani when I got home. Within the first week, my nails had actually grown past my fingertips…which hasn’t happened in oh, ever. Their stats are 60% less peeling and 35% less breakage, and I am a believer. They just came out with new shades- my other top picks for spring are Mint Condition (crisp mint sage), Power Punch Pink (bright carnation pink) and Loving Hue (rose quartz with nude luster). For $10 bucks you get color that last and treatment for your nails.
Cheers to looking bright eyed, bushy tailed and healthy all over…even if you are still suffering from winter-itis like I am!
Disclosure: I received Kenra Platinum Luxe One for review purposes; all opinions are honest and my own as always.
