You don't want "nothing" with the hair on those Glam Girl dolls!

I love dolls;  and I love hair extensions. No brainer here - you already knew that. So you can well imagine how excited I was when I saw Schwarzkopf Professional  Glam Girl dolls .
The difference between these dolls and your ordinary Barbie is the fierceness of their hair - styled by  eight British Hairdresser of the Year nominees --  including newly crowned winner Mark Leeson.
The hairstyles on the dolls range from jumbo braids to trendy short cuts, bobs  and in colours like pink, purple and red.
Of course those Glam Girls are wearing extensions too (wooo hoo)  and were autographed by the stylists for a Schwarzkopf promotion that's now on. Check their twitter page for more (twitter.com/schwarzkopfpro) .
Looking at the photos of the dolls reminded me of my childhood experience of colouring the hair of my favourite doll Suzie.
I was not yet nine and I recall so vividly mixing a bowl of red Kool Aid and water  (don't ask me how I got that idea) and applying it to Suzie's hair . Listen to me people Suzie rocked out that red hair -- hey, you got to start somewhere right? Ha!
I wanted to share some of creativity that came out of the British Hairdresser of the Year show - as seen on the dolls,  and to congratulate Mark Leeson on a job well done.
Leeson , one of the UK's respected hairdressers was a British Hairdresser of the Year nominee in 2011 and 2012. He has a passion for colour, as you can see in the pics, and has a reputation for having the finest finishing skills in the industry.
*Photo credits: bhaundoneglamour.com, https://www.facebook.com/HairdressersJournal and http://www.markleeson.co.uk.

Hairdresser Angelo Seminara 

Hairdresser Darren Ambrose

Hairdresser Hooker + Young

The work of Mark Leeson, British Hairdresser of the Year 

Another Mark Leeson creation 

Mark Leeson's Glam Girl creation 

The King of Colour and 2014 British Hairdresser of the Year Mark Leeson . 

Hairdresser Mark Hayes

Haidresser Errol Douglas 

Bijoux Soprano Unprocessed Natural Brazilian Remi hair - a review

I have to tell you about an awesome pack of Brazilian hair I found at my beauty supply store. I guess after years of buying hair extensions one develops a knack for selecting quality hair. I mean I knew nothing of this hair -never saw a You Tube video on it nor read a review. I just saw it in the pack, asked the girl at the counter for a closer look and I was sold.
I bought the hair in a 14 inch and in its natural dark brown colour. My plan was to use one pack to make clip in pieces. And though it looked like my own straight-from-the-scalp hair , the magic was really in wearing two packs. It was full, bouncy and blended well with my own hair.
I bought the hair at beginning of the year but held off on blogging it until I tried it for a while.
By month three, and tired of the dark hair, I ombre- or lighten- the ends.   Those extensions  really responded well to my hydrogen peroxide and baking soda home concoction.
I wore the hair for two months more - taking down and reinstalling the hair  every month - when I started noticing how dry and thin the hair got. If I am going to wear the hair again I will skip the bleaching altogether.
Ladies, this hair does not tangle nor shed and does well with co washes.
Overrall , I wore the hair for  close to seven months. I believe that had I not bleached it , it would have gone so much further. They say remi in the pack is inferior to the Remy bundles; I disagree. At least there is nothing inferior about this hair!

Photos show the original colour of the hair when I bought it and the ombre.

Bey's super short bangs

A lot of my friends and readers  have been asking my opinion about Ms Bey's latest hair outing. I want to begin by saying that the woman makes helluva lot more money than I do which is why I expected so much more from her. The style of wig - super short bangs and long hair is now trending, but on Bey it does absolutely nothing. In fact, it is downright ugly on her. Bey looks better with wavy hair and layered or longer bangs. Compare her short bangs to Katy Perry's . Both are rocking the same look but,  this time, Perry wins in the hair department .

All about the Hair Crush

 I have a confession to make - I have a hair crush on  US first lady Michelle Obama's new hair do. Have you seen it? Full, bouncy and honey blondish  (4/30 for my weave wearing friends). My favourite part?  All made possible with hair extensions.
Now every time I identify hair pieces, weaves or wigs on a woman , I always get told that not every woman wears extension. It's a fact that I acknowledge; but given the schedules of today's woman, hair extensions are more common than they were in, say,  my grandmother's day.
A woman with the schedule of Mrs Obama could hardly keep up with the  "fried, dyed and laid to the side" on the daily .
It was on Mrs Obama's trip to China recently that really made me take note of her hair extension. I knew that since her husband,  US President Barack Obama, came into office, photos of Mrs Obama have always shown her healthy naturally grown hair.
But those China photos. It was the way the part in her own hair seemed to be just slightly off as it got to the middle. As women we all have done crooked parts in our hair; but there was something just a wee different about  hers. Look at the photos yourself.
Now I want in. I want to know if this brilliant unit was the work of Mrs Obama's  hair stylist Johnny Wright .
From  my observation, it seems designed to be worn much like a half weave/wig  - to allow her hairline to breathe and wear out but with a natural part that makes for a seamless look.
I am also feeling the manageable length.  This is definitely a unit I would wear.

Johnny Wright

Renpure Solutions Cleaning Conditioner - A review

In my last blog  I talked about the importance of taking care of your own hair  while wearing extensions. So it was quite timely when the folks at Micon Marketing Limited sent me two bottles of its Renpure Solutions Cleansing Conditioner for review. Great minds!!

You know fond I am about co-washing my hair from time to time as opposed to shampooing, right?

Co washing, or conditioning washing the hair, is effective for locking in moisture in the hair that you'd usually lose when you shampoo.

Try this experiment -  Shampoo your hair and after you have rinsed, feel the texture of your hair. Condition your hair and then tell me what you think of your hair's texture. Big difference !

Co washing also eliminates dry hair and leaves the hair feeling soft. Plus you can wash your hair every day if you want to, since your natural hair oils aren't being stripped by shampooing.

I received Renpure Solutions Cleansing Conditioner in the Sweet Pomegranate and Rosemary Mint flavours.

I opted to use the Sweet Pomegranate  because I loved its fruity smell.

On the bottle users are advised to squeeze 12 pumps of the product; but you can get away with using more since it is not as thick like the type of conditioners we have grown accustomed to. 

I wet my real hair (which is relaxed)  and applied the product and it felt silky as I massaged it. There was no lathering and even after I air dried my hair it remained soft. For my natural hair friends,  I also tried the product  on  the natural hair of my two sons and their hair too was soft to the touch and easy to comb.

The second time I used Renpure Solutions was on my hair extensions in. Ladies, I have to tell you that this product worked so well with my Bijoux Soprano  Remi weave hair. No tangling, no dryness.

Renpure is for damaged hair and contains hydrating keratin loaded with amino acids and protein to repair damage and restore strength.

 The product is also free of sulfates, parabens, dyes, gluten, phthalates, propylene glycol and is colour safe. I like that  Renpure  worked  not only to repair any damage in my own hair but that it also kept my hair extensions manageable. and silky. Win win, ladies !  If you try it, please let me know how it worked for you.

When hair extensions become dangerous

Met three friends this week who complained about losing their hairlines to hair extensions. Then my friend Laura sent me a link on Facebook about actress Countess Vaughn 's lace front wig  horror story and eventual infection.
Okay ladies here's the deal: There is nothing evil or dangerous about lace front wigs or hair extensions for that matter.  Rather it's the application of the hair that leads to danger . Like everything else there is a right way to apply it and a wrong way.
Applying a hair weave with glue gives a flat, believable look that is void of the bumps and lumps caused by poorly done sew-ins. And I know some of you love gluing your lace fronts for a realistic growing-out-of your-scalp look.
If you swear by hair glue  I am sorry to burst your bubble but the glue is the poison! Some are made of latex so that if you are allergic to latex, you're asking for trouble!
Even if you are latex tolerant,  glue blocks your pores; and if you don't know how to remove it from your hair, you can end up pulling out clumps of your hair along with the glue. Lace wig wearers often have to coat their area with glue to ensure a firmer bond.
Constant use of the glue , according to my research , can  lead to dermatitis and even anaphylactic shock - an extreme and several allergic reaction,   symptoms of which include hives, flushing of the skin, asthma, alterations in heart rate.
 If you're going to use a lace front wig try it without the glue and glue tabs and instead attach wig clips on either side of the ear for a secure fit. If you're doing a weave,  try a sew-in by a professional hair stylist  since he or she will be basically sewing  the wefts of extensions  on cornrows. And by all means give your hair a break sometimes and buy the right products to maintain healthy hair. It makes no sense to take care of store-bought hair and neglect your own.
Look, I love hair extensions as much as you  all do; but there will come a time when we all would want to wear our own hair. What would your hair look like then?

Model Naomi Campbell's hairline prior to wearing lace front wigs

Naomi Campbell's hairline following constant lace front glue use.

Countess Vaughn

If you're trying a weave, do a sew in instead. 

The last word on Beyonce's Grammy hair - hopefully

More than a week later I am yet to get over the rave over Beyonce's Grammy wet hair do;and even worse the pride her hairstylist Neal Farinha took in creating it.
Happy New Year by the way - this being my first blog for the year.
My friends went crazy inboxing me on Facebook to find out my thoughts about the do. Obviously it all started with an awful blonde wig with platinum tips that looked even more tacky when dry!
 I was disappointed that this woman, Beyonce, known for her awesome quality wigs, would go for such a   curly bob that clearly belonged to a ratchet!
I laughed myself silly when I read Farinha's interview in one magazine which told of how he got the look - lots of water, salt and oil....armmmmm, anyone can create that look in their bathroom and still come out better than that stringy mess. A lot of people joked that B

 looked she should be on the WWE roster with that wet hair. I say don't insult those wrestlers. Have you seen Roman Reigns' hair lately? Now that is how you do wet locks!
So what is my take on Beyonce's Grammy do? NEXT! On that night Miss B,  through her hairstylist Farinha,  certainly gave a lot of women reasons not to wig or weave it.  Don't believe the hype ladies.
Missed the slippery mess. Look at these photos.