Well...d'uh...and Serum!!!

This started as the simplest of ideas. No, I take that back...this started as the desire to have something to write about, but no clue what to write about. It hit me tonight while I was in the shower...I was thinking about the shampoo and conditioner that I use and that it would be great if I could get more people to  know that it worked as well as it did, when it hit me...why don't I write what I know? Beauty products! As I stood there washing, rinsing and repeating, I was astounded, albeit disappointed, that I hadn't thought of it before. I walked into our room where I saw my husband sitting and playing a game on the computer when I explained to him that I had wanted to start a blog, but for the longest time didn't know about what. He looked at me, as though he was considering the thought, when I looked up at him from my desk (which is directly in front of his...no really, they are touching front to front) and said, "The answer is right in front of you". He smiled and said "Beauty products". The answer should have been obvious to the both of us, being that I have so many different products, from so many different manufacturers all over my desk, in my bathroom, and even along my dresser top. I get great joy in trying different things and seeing if they do all they claim. Sometimes I am thrilled, sometimes just pleasantly surprised, others I am aghast at the blatant wrongness of a given product. This blog is going to be a way to help save all of you grown up girls the trouble that I go through every time I try something new. Have something you have heard of and wonder if I have tried it? Leave me a message and I will see what I can do! I'm always willing to try new things, and will give each new product a reasonable amount of time to do what it claims.

So lets get down to brass tacks...my favorite beauty product. The one that if I had to take only one bottle of product with me somewhere, it would most likely be this one. My saving grace...

I have wavy hair that is sadly very short right now. The length alone makes it impossible to style. I only wash my hair every other day if I can help it (makes it MUCH easier), generally running a quick flat iron over it to smooth it out. This would be much more work if I hadn't started using Super Skinny by Paul Mitchell. (As a disclaimer, I am a licensed cosmetologist and I went to school at Paul Mitchell the School in Orlando, FL. This in no way means that I ONLY use Paul Mitchell, in fact, I only use three Paul Mitchell products consistently. I just felt that I ought to say this out the gate, to avoid any future confusion. Onward!)

There are two type of Super Skinny, serum and relaxing balm, I use the serum and find that it works best for me. One pump to the palm of your hand, rub it between your hands, then work through your hair from tips to root. The key to this is following with heat styling. The bottle doesn't say as much, but it was something that I picked up from years of using the product. One of my favorite benefits from Super Skinny is that it improves dry time. When my hair is longer, I find that I reduce my average blow dry by at least 7 minutes. This is major. It also improves "slip" causing the hair to move more like what you would see in a Pantene ProV commercial. (See?! It IS achievable...just not with Pantene. Aaaaaaanyway...) Another great side benefit is using a drop on two in the palm of your hand and smoothing it over styled hair. This reduces fly aways and gives incredible shine.

This product comes in three different sizes,  8.5oz, 5.1oz and .85oz (perfect for purses and for fixing fly aways on the go). I typically purchase the largest, as I can get several months from one bottle. The bottle in the picture was purchased towards the end of December and I siphoned some off to give to a friend some when I first bought the bottle. You can get it at many national retailers, including Ulta as well as any Paul Mitchell Focus and Signature salon. 

As an aside, never purchase any professional hair, make up, or skin care product from any where but a licensed salon (Ulta has a salon inside, so they can technically get away with selling both higher end professional products as well as drug store brands). I know we hear this a lot, but I cannot stress it enough. Any products found in grocery stores, drug stores, or larger retailers have been diverted. Its a major problem for the makers of these products. I know it SEEMS like you are getting an incredible deal, but diverted product are usually expired, tampered with (watered down or cut in some way), or sometimes they have even "fallen off of the back of a truck". It sucks for the companies that work at producing higher end products and it can cause harm to your health, skin, or hair. 

/rant

On that note, thats all for this post. Feel free to ask anything in the comments, I will answer the best that I can! Next time, I will tackle something different, and I will TRY to post twice a week, but I can't make any promises!

Until next time my lovelies! Stay beautiful.