Remember the disastrous hair experience I had? Well, I got it fixed. Let me tell you how that came about. I went to my stylist, Adrian, who works at Hair Junkie in Ottawa. Before I start on my story, as an aside, they recently started selling Bumble and Bumble products. I have read about this line, yet had not been able to find them in Ottawa--until now. Anyway, back to my story. The first thing he did was to admonish me for my past foolish actions. I was ashamed (my mom was there to emphasize her vehement opposition to me relaxing my hair myself in her trademark 'I told you so' recounting of events!).
Remember I wanted to colour my hair? Well, I did and ended up with a beautiful chocolate base with caramel highlights. Now onto the cut. I wanted a shorter Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, longer-at-the-front, shorter-at-the-back, spiky-at-the-ends cut. But he put a twist on the über-popular style: he made mine asymmetrical--longer on one side than on the other. The back, well that was an unnerving proposition. Because I had damage in the back, it had to be cut off. At one time when Adrian started cutting, I asked him, "What are you going to do with the back?", and he replied, "I don't know yet", and kept on snipping. It was at that time that I decided to put my faith in my stylist, after all I have been singing his praises all of this time, let's see what he's going to do. Well, he cut the back in such a way as to leave it with a little bit of length, enough to pass a small flatiron through, but succeeded in cutting off the damaged bits in the back. He then shaped the edges, so that the fact that I needed a relaxer touch-up did not impede the look of the style (now this last point is major, and anyone who relaxes their hair knows what I'm talking about!). Genious! If you are ever in Ottawa, you must visit this guy and tell him that Erica sent you, he'll be chuffed and you'll get a discount.
Needless to say, I love the style. In fact, I'm in love with my new style. When I saw it in the mirror, I looked at Adrian and I said, "I think I love you!". That's how overcome with emotion I was. It is so me--cheeky, stylish, funky, expressive and vivacious, all at the same time. Thank you Adrian for turning a hair disaster into the paradigm of swagger. **Kiss Kiss**
Now you know I'm not going to leave this story without telling you about the products that Adrian recommended to keep my style hot. Here they are:
Redken Extreme Iron RepairI have never been impressed by Redken and their monopolistic hold on Canadian hair salons, but Adrian told me that this is great for adding protein to my hair in order to strengthen it. It's lighweight and heat activated, so it is to be used before blow drying (a device I still have to purchase).
Moroccan OilWell, I have written much on this product and with every passing month, I love it more. I have begun to use this more frequently during the week to keep my hair hydrated without the buildup and heaviness of hair dressing or hair grease. What makes this product so good? It is made with Argan oil, which is fast becoming the miracle cosmetic ingredient. It has properties that allows it to be absorbed into the hair shaft quickly, moisturize (it is high in fatty acids) and improve elasticity over time. Use it a few times during the week on dry hair, or on wet hair that allows it to dry faster.
Moroccan Oil Hydrating Styling CreamYeah, luv this to bits. It can be used as a leave-in conditioner, and along with Moroccan Oil, can be used on dry hair to add moisture, and boy does it. By the time I'm ready to shampoo my hair, I can feel the softness of the hair--it's not brittle and dry. As an added benefit, it has the ability to soften new growth to the point where I don't have to fight with the unrelaxed part of my hair in the styling process (and ladies, do I need a touch-up!). It also holds styles without stiffness and helps with frizz. I don't know what I would do without this.
Bumble & Bumble DefrizzI use this on my ends when I style my hair. It protects against frizz and smoothes the hair shaft, while it adds moisture to those often-neglected, split-prone hair ends.
Bumble and Bumble SumotechI love this stuff: I love the name, I love the feel and it's perfect for piecing out my style. It provides a medium hold without the heaviness of a wax, the greasiness of a cream, nor does it dry out the hair. It is a bit sticky, but it does its job and does it well. There's also something about the name and the packaging that I can't get enough of. OK, so sometimes I'm a sucker for good marketing, but the product also lives up to the bill.
Moroccan Oil Gold Shimmer Shine
I love the way this stuff smells. It adds shine, sheen and a little bit of light oil so that your hair glistens in the sun. This completes the Moroccan Oil Quartet (I didn't mention the
Moroccon Oil Intense Hydrating Mask, which is absolutely fabulous!).
