Easy Deep Conditioner for Hair

Olive oil is known for its benefits as a food substance because it is flavorful and is known to help lower cholesterol.  It is also terrific as a topical application for skin and hair.  I love making this easy conditioner recipe listed below and using it a couple of times a week for a deep conditioning hair treatment.

Olive oil is biologically closest to sebum, which is the oil naturally produced by our bodies.  Why don't we just leave the natural oils there?  Well, that sounds great, but unfortunately sweat, bacteria, and skin cells tend to collect in the oils present on our body, so it's necessary for us to take a shower or bath, grab our favorite soap, and get squeaky clean.  Unfortunately, soap tends to strip those natural oils and can sometimes leave us with overly dry skin or hair.  That's where conditioners and lotions come in.

This is another beauty tip that was given to me by my brother.  Use this 2-3 times a week (or less, depending on your hair).  Keep it in the shower for easy use, and make sure that you blow dry your hair afterwards to help the conditioner "set."  Otherwise, you may seem to have an oily residue on your hair. 

OLIVE OIL DEEP CONDITIONER:

1 bottle of inexpensive conditioner, your choice

1 teaspoon of olive oil per 8 oz. of conditioner

(Example:  If your bottle is 12 oz., you will need 1-1/2 teaspoons of olive oil.  If it is 16 oz., you will need 2 teaspoons of olive oil, and so on.)

Open the conditioner and squirt out just enough to give you some "shaking room" in the bottle.  Add the olive oil, and shake for 1 minute. Store the conditioner in the shower or wherever you wash your hair.  Apply liberally to freshly shampooed hair and allow to sit for 2-3 minutes.  Try to keep away from scalp.  Rinse well, then blow dry.  Blow drying is a MUST in order for the conditioner to set. 

That's it!  This conditioner will leave your hair silky smooth and well conditioned without spending a ton of money! 

Fifteen Minutes or Less, Frump to Fab

My eldest brother was a stylist and cosmetologist.  When he was still alive, he frequently did fashion shows and passed on quick-fix ideas to me.  He had to make people fabulous with only minutes to spare and developed techniques that he depended upon to make it happen.  He passed these ideas on long ago, but I've found most of them to be rather timeless, and I've used them repeatedly to make my life easier. 

This is one that I've passed on numerous times, and with the holidays coming up, it's time for me to post this one yet again.  So here it is, the 15 minute Frump to Fab routine for when you MUST get out the door quickly and look fantastic. 

Clothing:

• Crisp/starched white shirt  that is on the longish side to come over hips; leave untucked (You can even snag one of hubby’s button-downs, but leave the collar unbuttoned; any other solid-colored shirt will do in a pinch.) 
• If no white shirt, try a button-up shirt over a tank top or camisole. Leave the shirt unbuttoned. 
• Dark jeans or pants  (Boot cut or straight leg is preferable)
• Heels (any type; boots, high heeled sandals, or pumps)

Jewelry:

• Chandelier/dangle/hoop earrings
• Delicate necklace to peek out of shirt at neckline or, conversely, very long, flamboyant necklace to wear outside of collar with more understated dangle/post earrings....or no necklace at all.  Remember, less is more.

Hair:

• Piled up, sleeked back in a ponytail, or if not long enough for that, swept back away from the face with a headband or styled up and back away from the face.
• Tip:  If your hair looks oily/greasy and you don't have time to shampoo try back combing near the hairline then spritzing with hair spray.  Most hair looks dirty because it separates into strings.  Back combing separates the strands and gives the illusion of fullness.  Hairspray usually contains alcohol and will serve to dry out/mop up some of the oil.  

Makeup:  This is the 3-minute makeup routine.  It assumes that each item is the correct shade for your complexion and is of good quality.  It doesn't have to be expensive.  It just needs to be in good condition.  You will need:

• Foundation/powder
• Blush
• Eyeliner (black or brown; brown for daytime, black for night)
• Mascara (black)
• Lip Gloss/tinted gloss (you can use a dot of sparkly eye shadow in the middle of the lower lip along with Vaseline or even Crisco in a pinch)
• If there is time, groom brows and shape them with a brow pencil or brow brush. 

Makeup instructions:   Dot foundation on forehead, both cheeks, tip of nose and chin.  Using both hands, blend over entire face, including eyelids and under eyes. Now’s not the time to be delicate; you’re in a hurry.  If you’re prone to circles under your eyes, use the slightly thickened foundation that is usually under the cap for concealer.  Lightly dust face with powder, if needed.  Next, apply blush to apples of cheeks, then lightly sweep blush over brow bones, toward outer corner of eye.  Line upper eye lids with liner at base of lashes and smudge slightly.  Line halfway under lower lid or omit.  Apply two coats of mascara.  Finish with lip gloss.   This gives a fresh-faced look and can be done in no time, but looks great.

Easy updo:   Pull hair up into a ponytail on top of head, and secure with an elastic band.  Apply mousse, a little gel, or even hairspray (in a pinch) to hair, even if it’s already dry.  Give it a short blast with a blow dryer if it’s still damp.  Use a small-barrel curling iron or the tiniest hot rollers you can find to make numerous curls.  Then, finger fluff curls, and grab chunks and pin into place around ponytail.  If middle part is short, leave curls to hang down in a cascade.  If no curling iron available, finger curl hair under in sections and pin in place around ponytail. 

The reason why this works is that it is a rather timeless, classic look.  A white or light-colored shirt over dark pants is  elegant, simple, and chic.  Leaving the shirt untucked covers any bumps, bulges, or things we'd rather hide, and gives a flowy look.  Piling hair up, and then using dangly/hoop earrings draws the attention upward.  If you use a long, flamboyant necklace, this elongates the look of the body and draws the eye up and down and provides a visually slimming effect.  Dark pants hide any lumps or bumps, and with wearing the shirt out, it can cover a waist band that might not fit so well at the top and provides, again, a visually elongated appearance.  The reason any heel works is that when we wear heels, we are forced to walk with our shoulders back, chest up, and head held up.  You can't slump in heels!  Our carriage and presentation can provide as much appeal as the rest of our appearance.  Ever seen someone walk into a room and immediately draw attention?  More than likely what attracted your attention is the way they carried and presented themselves, not necessarily flamboyant dress or makeup.... although some people have been known to draw a few gasps with a wild outfit!

As far as hair and makeup, here are the reasons for an updo:  Hair that is up and away from our face is more elegant and sophisticated than hair worn down.  You can hide a lot of hair flaws with an up-do.  It also reveals more of your face, which is important during a social event.  

The makeup routine above is fast and simple, and focuses on the main facial elements:  Eyes and lips. 

This is not the mega routine that's going to make you look like a fashion model.  It does, however, bring out your best attributes.  I try to keep basic elements around at all times because they're quick to pull together.  This method is just a way to be able to get going, have fun, and look fabulous without spending a lot of time.  

Now, go out and have a great time! 

Getting the Most Out of At-Home Hair Color

Have you ever tried to use at-home hair color only to have it not work for you?  Do you have gray hair that is hard to color, especially with at-home colors?  Here are some tips that may help you get the most from at-home hair color products. This is a long post but will be well worth the read.

My eldest brother, Roger, was a hair stylist and cosmetologist, and prior to his death years ago, he gave me some helpful hints.  Here are some with regard to hair coloring.  

Make sure that the hair color you choose is suitable for what you want it to do.  Read the box.  If you want gray coverage, you must use a permanent hair color.  If you see semi-permanent or demi-permanent, the color will wash out in a certain number of washes.  Some hair colors now just simply say they will last through X number of washes.  That’s a semi-permanent color.  Take that into consideration when purchasing color.  If it says lasts through 28 washes and you wash your hair every day, the color will be washed out, literally, by the end of the month.  This is great if you just want to try a new color without committing fully.  However, if you want gray coverage, you will be disappointed.  For me, semi-permanent color will literally wash out of my hair as I’m washing off the color I just applied.  Permanent hair color will not wash out or come off; you will only see root growth.  The color may dim, but the effect will stay. 

If you use any hair-styling products, this can affect how your hair absorbs the hair color.  Even if it’s just mousse or hairspray.  Hair product residue can account for splotchiness/spots after you’ve colored.  This is especially true for straightening, smoothing, or heat-protecting serums.  Most contain some form of silicone.  Read the ingredients listed in hair products.  If you see anything that ends in “cone,” that’s a silicone based item such as silicone, dimethicone, or simethicone.  Polydimethylsiloxane (or PDMS) is another term you may see.  These all serve to coat the hair shaft, smooth, and seal it.  Seal it?! That’s right.  That goes against what you’re trying to accomplish by coloring your hair!  You will need to do something that strips all product residue off your hair before coloring so that nothing remains to block color absorption.

Finally, let’s talk about gray hair.  It’s that stuff that crops up on your head like a sneaky traitor bent on letting people know you’re just not as young as you once were (wink!).  Some of us were afflicted with a family trait that causes premature graying. I have prematurely gray hair, as did my father and brother.  In addition, that gray hair often seems to be tougher, coarser, wirier, and so resistant to color that you couldn’t get it to change colors if you sprayed it with spray paint!  But you can!

In order to absorb hair color, the hair shaft has tiny scales that must open so that the dye can be deposited on and in the hair shaft.  At the end of the process, a conditioner and smoother is applied to seal the color/dye in place.  (It’s more technical than that, but it’s a general idea of how it works.)  If you are going with a lighter color, you must also “lift” the color from your original hair, then deposit the new color, via dye, onto the hair shaft so that it absorbs.  That same process is needed in order to get gray hair to absorb color and not be just gray.  The chemical (peroxide) that causes this change is said to have a certain volume.  You may see 10 volume, 20 volume, 30 volume, or 40 volume.  This determines how much original hair color is removed or lifted when the chemical is applied.  For example, 10 volume takes it up 1 level, 20 volume 2 levels, 30 volume 3 levels, and so on. 

Most department store products contain 10-volume solution.  Some contain higher volume and usually say so on the box.  However, the wording may not be consistent.  It may say volume.  It may say level.  It may say it comes out in X number of washes. My favorite hair color, Loreal Feria, lists “level 3,” which would correspond to 30-volume developer solution.  That’s what I need for my stubborn grays.  If you have hair that is normal, most hair colors will work for you.  However, if you have hard-to-color hair or gray hair that is nearly impossible to color and you don’t want to have to go to a salon, here is a trick that may work for you to get the most lift so that the dye works as it should.

It’s likely in your kitchen cabinet, and it serves a dual purpose.  Not only does it strip any residual hair care products off your hair, it opens up the hair shaft that it’s ready to accept and absorb hair color.   

It’s baking soda.  Yes, you read that right.  Baking soda.

And slightly “dirty” hair. That’s hair that’s been washed in the morning, allowed to do its thing all day without hair products, and then colored at night…. Or washed at night and colored in the morning.  You get the idea. 

What works best for me is to wash my hair in the morning using baking soda with a diluted vinegar-water rinse then color it that night.   I put the baking soda on my scalp, near the roots which have grown out, and massage the hair between my fingertips.  The point is to really rough up the hair and rinse the baking soda out thoroughly.  After that I use a generous solution of half white vinegar and half water to apply to the hair.  Massage through, then rinse.  The white vinegar and water neutralizes any residual baking soda. 

This is going to leave the hair feeling strange and dry, almost sticky.  This is good.  It means the hair shaft is “open.”  I recommend allowing it to air dry or dry quickly with a blowdryer and then put your hair up out of the way because you do not want to apply styling products.

A few hours later, I dye my hair.  This allows some natural oils to seep out and protect the scalp.  I apply the color to the roots only, let it sit, and then massage the color through the hair.  Follow the directions on the box of color to complete the dye process.   That’s it! 

Be aware, though, that you might just want to color the roots.  Hair that has been dyed previously already has a hair shaft that is open and will readily absorb color.  This is why some people buy the same hair color and then occasionally get a surprise darker head of hair than usual if they apply the hair color to the entire head of hair from roots to tips. 

I’ve seen some recommendations to add baking soda to your shampoo and scrub.  That works okay, but oftentimes shampoos contain moisturizers and smoothers.  These are the very things you were trying to get rid of, and this defeats the purpose of using the baking soda.  You can use a slight bit of nonmoisturizing dish soap to make a paste and apply to the hair, but only do this when you’re ready to color, as dish soap is very harsh and strips the hair even more.

So there you have it!  Using these techniques is not a fail-safe method, but it can help you get the color results you want to achieve, especially for hard-to-color or gray hair.  It’s an economical way to achieve a style you want, get results that are consistent, and avoid an expensive trip to the salon.