Teen Woman Dies From Hair Color

Well, this is certainly tragic and very alarming for those of us that color our hair. I just read a story about how a teen woman in Scotland, who according to friends had dyed her hair many colors before, died shortly after applying a hair dye to her hair.

The seventeen year old girl had applied the hair color to her hair about twenty minutes before she started to get violently ill. She began apparently tugging at the hair foils (sounds like it may have been a highlighting hair dye kit) and saying “no, no”.

She got sick, and then her friends had to hold her down. She went limp. The emergency medical services were called and she was rushed to a hospital, but it was too late. She died and could not be saved.  It is unclear now whether the hair dye she used was tainted with something or whether she simply had a very violent allergic reaction to chemicals in the hair dye.

Currently, the death is listed as unexplained. I will follow up when I hear more on the outcome of the autopsy, which undoubtedly will be done.

Hair color is a big concern for me. I used so many different hairy dyes when I was younger. I’ve only recently switched to natural hair dyes without all of the toxic chemicals in them in the last two years. Not only is my hair healthier and I’m not breathing in the chemicals for days afterwards, but I don’t get the burning scalp feeling that you get with so many chemical hair colors.

Many, many ingredients in commercial hair dyes have been linked to cancer as well as neurological disorders and other health conditions. It’s just not worth it any more when you can get some great, natural alternatives today that do just as good a job of dying your hair.

It’s the dark hair dyes that have the most worrisome ingredients in them, and those are the ones you want to avoid most – although lighter colors also have harsh ingredients.  Listen to your body. Do your lungs and nose burn when you inhale the fumes?  Do you feel nauseous when you are around these chemicals?

If so, then your body is telling you these ingredients are toxic. This is a tragic story, absolutely tragic.

Get Fuller Hair with This Blow Drying Method

I recently went on a long overdue trip to the beauty salon to get my hair cut. It had been almost six months, and my hair was becoming a haven for split ends, and it just looked too long and straggly. In my misguided attempt to grow my hair out, I totally avoided the barber’s shears for too long.

Every time I go, they seem to take off just a little too much length for me. Even if I say half an inch, I end up coming out with at least two inches cut off the bottom. Not that it’s all that bad – of course it makes your hair look way healthier. However, it makes me leery of going because they just take too much off.

At any rate, this last trip I learned a valuable lesson about how to blow my hair dry and give it much more body and a prettier shape. It was some sort of method the stylist called over brushing or combing – something to that effect.

I’ve always had a hard time with getting more volume around the crown of my hair. I asked her how to remedy that. She said it’s really important to get a high quality large round brush.  This helps to lift the hair away from the root and create more body and volume – it also reduce blow drying time which makes it better for your hair since there is less heat contact.

She showed me how to take the round brush and dig it under the crown of the hair and the top of the head. She said to then take it over to the OPPOSITE side of where you normally part your hair.  This creates more volume and  more body because you are blowing it dry for a few seconds in the opposite direction of where the part will ultimately lie.

It really does work too. I had a nicely rounded crown, and it had noticeably more body than when I just blow dry everything in a straight forward way, straight down and out.  This way, I get the volume at the roots and it helps my hair look fuller throughout the whole day.

I also added a little Bumble and Bumble hair spray for a root boost – it’s a thickening hair spray, so it helps to naturally boost the roots and create the illusion of fuller, bouncier hair.

Dermatologist Shortage Continues

The shortage of dermatologists continues to be a problem in many areas of the United States. So, if you’re currently a pre-med student, maybe you have a new incentive to become a dermatologist or skin specialist!  You certainly would have your pick of clients right now.

I remember when I was younger (in my teens, yep a while ago), and had my pick of several dermatologists when I started having big issues with acne breakouts.  It was easy to call up and get an appointment. Granted, you may have a week’s wait, but you could usually get in fairly quickly.

Now, many patients are on months long waiting list just to get checked up for routine stuff. More concerning is that people with more serious issues such as suspicious spots on their skin that could be cancerous, may be having just as tough a time getting in for a look.

Apparently a lot of people are graduating with their dermatology degree and are moving away from places like the midwest and south in favor of moving to places like California, Oregon and the pacific northwest (which is desirable for a lot of people for a variety of reasons).

Unless you already have an established relationship with your dermatologist, you could find yourself having a hard time getting an appointment as a new patient these days.  If you have serious problems, you really may have to look around for a while or call your health insurance company to get some guidance on how to get in somewhere sooner.

You could also see if you can get a phone consultation, or you can go to a primary care doctor to have them take a look at the issue you are having with your skin. They can then refer you to a skin care specialist if needed, but sometimes they can take care of the problem without sending you to anyone. 

If it’s acne, remember you can find some of the best acne products at the drugstore.

Hydroquinone Skin Lightening Alternatives

Hydroquinone enjoyed quite a long reign as the skin lightening agent of choice in many different skincare products.  However, serious doubts about its safety began to come up after several years on the market. Especially for people who had used products with hydroquinone as the active ingredient repeatedly over the course of months or years.

It was actually linked to skin cancer.  The chemical itself contains carcinogenic compounds, but there is another carcinogenic aspect to using this ingredient on your skin. Apparently, the repeated use of hydroquinone actually increases the UV penetration when your skin is exposed to UV light.

This makes it more carcinogenic to get sun exposure on your skin where the hydroquinone is usually applied.  Adding that to the fact that it is already carcinogenic on its own, it makes it an absolute no-no ingredient that you should probably stay away from all together.

There are some alterntives to hydroquinone, however, they are not as capable at lightening the skin as hydroquinone is.  One of them is kojic acid. This is derived from a mushroom.  Becvause this is a totally natural alternative, there are no known health dangers associated with it at this time.

It is not as effective as hydroquinone, however, with repeate use, some do report that they have good results.  Another option is to use manual exfoliants on the face or other areas where you are trying to reduce the appearance of age spots, freckles and sun damage or melasma. 

Fruit acids may help to reduce hyperpigmentation as well.  Alpha hydroxy acid and other fruit derived acids, as well as acid peels using lactic acid or glycolic acid.  Glycolic acid is fantastic as an overall wrinkle reducing and age spot reducing agent when used regularly. It just needs to be used with much care and also you must avoid UV exposure for a few days after getting a peel.

Liposuction Good for Cholesterol Levels?

In a surprising outcome, tests done on liposuction patients – those that were average healthy weight as well as those who were heavier to begin with – actually showed a large drop in their trygliceride readings. This means they had great cholesterol readings.

When your cholesterol is high, you are at a much higher risk for things like stroke and heart attack, so having low cholesterol levels in your blood is really an excellent thing for your health.  When we are talking great numbers on patients who had lipo, we are talking HUGE numbers.

We are talking close to fifty percent drops, which is no small potatoes. Ok, so it’s in the low forties, but that is still amazing to me that a procedure that sucks the fat off your body can actually have that large of an impact – especially when liposuction is limited in how much fat it can take off of the human body.

It’s quite amazing, and no doubt will be yet another draw for women and men alike to go get the procedure done. Not only is it beneficial to your appearance, but it also may help your health. Now, there are still the downsides that there always were to this fairly serious cosmetic surgery.

You are put under completely for one. You also have to go through a sometimes painful and long recovery.  There are also the risks we talked about a while ago that have to do with the potential for the fat coming back in very odd places.

The fat does redistribute on the body, but many times patients have complained that now they have bigger arms if they got their belly done, or bigger thighs if they got their arms done and so on and so forther. The risks of the surgery itself are not anything to bat an eye at either. There are the inherent risks of anesthesia, which can be serious if one has an adverse side effect.  There are also always the risks of infection.

Warning : Stay Away from Botox Home Kits

There is an alarming trend that Doctors are warning women (and men) to stay away from. Apparently, Botox is now available in “Do it yourself” kits online, and women are flocking to these kits as a way to have Botox done without paying almost double the price in a professional’s office.

However, there are terrible things that can happen as a result of a non professional adminstering this product, and I’m kind of surprised that the FDA hasn’t stepped in and made this illegal to sell online.

You can scar yourself, temporarily or permanently paralyze unintended areas of the face or body, or even kill yourself if you do it wrong, so it’s important that a professional administer these types of treatments.  After all, it is a botulism bacteria that you are injecting, and it is deadly if it reaches the wrong areas of the body.

Botox is only meant to go just beneath the surface of the skin – it is not meant to penetrate any further past that. People who are not experienced may go too far in the muscle, or may inject it in to the wrong area.  Also, they may end up getting things like a droopy eye or mouth because they put the needle in too deep.

Of course, the kit comes with a do it yourself video to watch, but is a couple minutes watching a video really any substitute for years of experience. Heck, even Doctors and professionals with experience can screw up the procedure, as has been evidenced by complaints from some clients and notorious horror stories.

I’m all for doing anything you can at home that is safe, but injecting yourself with a needle of Botox seems a bit extreme.  I like doing my own facial peels, microdermabrasion and other self administered treatments at home, but none involve a needle and a highly dangerous strain of bacteria that when used wrong can have devastating consequences.

If you want Botox, I’d advise you to stick with the original plan and go to a doctor.  Then you are in capable, experienced hands.

Revlon Grow Luscious Mascara Review

So I took a chance and tried out the new Revlon Mascara Grow Luscious mascara. I am still bummed that the L’Oreal Lash Out has been discontinued at so many stores, but I figure if I don’t branch out more, I may never find a comparable mascara to my beloved Lash Out.

So, when I was at Target the other day searching for something totally unrelated to mascara, I saw that they were having a promotion on the new Revlon Grow Luscious mascara for $5.99, and I decided to give it a whirl. If it sucked and I hated it, I could just swallow the six bucks, so no biggie.

Revlon Grow Luscious comes in a foil like tube with blue colors on it, so it’s definitely eye catching – good job on attention grabbing packaging Revlon!  It’s a thicker tube that I’m use to, but that’s fine because I’m more concerned about the type of wand it uses for application and the mascara formula itself, since those are the two components that determine how it’s going to plump and separate the lashes, as well as lengthen them.

I like a mascara that easily lengthens my outer lashes, and plumps the inner lashes, because this is how you get the effect of bigger eyes going.  When I first applied it, my heart sank a little (ok, that may be a little dramatic for simply mascara, let’s just say I was a little disappointed) when I first dipped the brush in.

The brush wasn’t as fine as I like it, so I thought it may not separate as well, but it did a fine job of separating the lashes as it applied the mascara. The formula of the mascara is good as well, but it seems to take quite a few dips to get enough on the application wand to get some juicy thickness going.

As with most other mascaras, this one took a few coats to get the desired effect for me.  But I liked the outcome. It’s not thick or clumpy, so it does apply well.

Now, does it apply as well as my treasured L’Oreal Lash Out? Heck no! But it’s a close second, and I guess that has to be good enough for now. L’Oreal, come out with another kick butt mascara again!

Glycolic Acid Peels and UV Damage

I love to do the occasional chemical peel on my face. I prefer more natural acids, like fruit enzymes and alpha hydroxies, but those can sometimes aggravate my skin since it is oily, so I will often opt for a lactic acid peel or glycolic acid peel. Lactic acid is a gentle acid peel that is excellent for those with acne or oily skin.  Speaking of acne and oily skin, here is an all natural acne soap you may want to check out.

It’s not as harsh as glycolic, and it doesn’t go as deep below the surface skin cells like glycolic does, so you can definitely not feel the same burning sensation, although you will feel a bit of that tingle that’s signature of the acid peel.

Glycolic acid is a pretty serious peel, and if you are administering it to yourself, you should definitely take precautions and make sure you are not too sensitive that you will have a reaction to it. I would recommend some sort of small patch test before you go ahead and slather this one allover your precious face.

Glycolic acid is superior for aging skin, because rather that physically exfoliating the excess dead skin cells on the outer layer of your facial skin, it actually dissolved them, and then moves on ot the next several layers of the skin and works on those as well. This is why the burning sensation occurs.

You should never leave a higher concentration glycolic peel on your face for more than three minutes. To do so, you are risking over doing it, and actually irritating the skin so bad that you could end up with some swelling and even scabbing. However, glycolic peels are excellent for really rejuvenating the skin and getting the collagen production ramped back up, so I’d recommend them every once in a while if you have aging skin.

Lactic acid and other more gentle fruit based acids may be better for those that are younger and are more or less trying to make their skin look fresher or help keep acne at bay. They are also good for softening acne scarring and helping to smooth out the complexion and make it appear more even toned and colored.

Glycolic is great when mixed with lactic acid. One of my favorite acid peels is the Glycolac (the lac standing for lactic). It is a mix between these two very powerful acid peels, and although my skin may look like hell right after I use it, it looks fabulous in about one to two days.

Nail Salons and Cleanliness

When you really feel like pampering yourself and doing a whole body makeover feeling, nothing beats a good manicure and pedicure.  As with anything else, you, as the consumer, need to look for certain standards in the nail salon of your choice.

Certain types of implements are not permitted for use on your feet.  The disallowed implements for use are razors and cheese graters.  The reason they are not permitted is that these are considered invasive because they can spread germs by drawing blood from the consumers.

For buffing or exfoliating the heels, the only legal implements for use are pumice stones or buffing files.  They are only to be used on one customer.  After use, they have to be discarded as they can not be sterilized.

The concern about these instruments and the cleanliness required is because you could get a fungal infection or, worse yet, a more serious contagious disease, or a bacterial or viral infection.  The sanitary requirement for the pedicure bowls and filtration screen is to be cleaned every day with a disinfecting solution and the bowl, itself, must be cleaned between each customer.

As a consumer, you should see clean towels rolled up and stored in a closed container, covered trash cans and instruments for use on customers stored in a disinfectant solution.  The overall look of the salon should be perfectly clean.

The solution to clean the instruments must be used according to the manufacturer’s directions and not diluted.  After use, the instruments need to be cleaned first with warm soapy water and then immersed in disinfectant solution.  The container used for the instruments and the disinfectant solution must be covered with a lid.

If a customer does get a minor cut, the cleanup items have to be double- bagged or put in a biohazard container.  The salon is required to have rubbing alcohol to clean and treat minor cuts.
Another standard for nail salons concerns the use of styptics.

The styptics used to stop bleeding must be a powder or liquid form.  The nail salons are not permitted to use a styptic pencil that can be used by more than one person.

The requirement for the towels used in a nail salon is laundering in a washing machine with detergent and bleach.  For storage, they must be in a closed cabinet or container.
There are certain “red flags” that would indicate a nail salon is not a safe one to go to.

You should just leave a nail salon if you see dirty nail buffers or other tools or if they are soaking in dirty solution or containers.  If a nail salon uses products from unmarked containers, don’t get your nails done there.

Other signs to just leave are nail techs that stick their fingers directly into a container, can’t explain how they clean their instruments or salons that don’t keep a log book for cleanliness.  It’s up to you to be on the lookout so you can find an impeccably clean and certified nail salon.  This way, you can truly enjoy your experience and not worry about the risk of infection.

KeraPro Restorative Treatment for Very Dry Hair : Review

I may have just found my newest favorite dry hair treatment for when my hair looks tired and fried (even though I don’t bleach it or chemically treat it – go figure!).  It’s actually a very inexpensive treatment that is available at Sally Beauty Supply that I happened to try out one time when I had a really good coupon.

I had to buy a certain amount to get five bucks off, so I threw this cylindrical container of hair stuff in my basket, thinking I probably wouldn’t even like it that much.  At the time I bought it, it was under ten bucks. Now I see it’s a little more, but that’s not bad for how much you get and for how thick the product is.

It comes in a large jar, and a little bit of this super thick emollient hair conditioner will go quite a long ways.  It has a very pleasant scent to it, and I usually hate scented hair products. But this one was definitely pleasant without being overbearing.

The formula for KeraPRO restorative intensive dry hair treatment is made with keratin proteins and fatty (lipid) ingredients that help to coat and saturate the hair to make it softer and more manageable.

The first day I used this product, it was a pretty hot day.  My hair behaved amazingly well. I also noticed that it was really easy to comb through and usually my hair is a tangled mess when I get out of the shower.

My hair also looked smoother and more “calm”. It looked more saturated with moisture instead of dry. I did notice the effects wore off in about a day though. So I think that this would be good for people who like to wash their hair daily.

For me, I would like it to last another day or two since I’m not an every day hair washer.  But this product is a great intensive hair conditioner for a reasonable price. I would say it’s probably comparable to high end conditioners with the same idea, such as the argan oil treatments that are so popular now. I got just about the same results, so why spend more when you don’t have to?