The easiest, most cost-effective ways to take care of your hair and nails.
THIS REALLY WORKS | Had you told me that it would be this easy to get shiny salon-smooth hair without a professional blow out, doubting Thomasina that I am, there’s no way I would have believed you. But that was before I tried this one simple trick. Read more
MONEY WELL SPENT | I have a lot of hair. This is both a blessing and a curse. While I’m grateful that in all probability I’ll never go bald, my abundant mane is a royal pain when it comes to styling it myself. Not only does my mop take a discouragingly long time to blow dry, but the results never look polished because I can’t really work a round brush and dryer in tandem. Read more
MONEY WELL SPENT | If you colour your hair and occasionally need to camouflage your roots, there are plenty of inexpensive products that do a so-so job covering the regrowth (we have written about a few of them HERE). I say so-so because most of these cheapie crayons produce sticky (as in leaving hair strands clumped together), patchy (as in placing colour on the topmost layer of hair and not on the follicles underneath) results at best.
I was going on (and on) about this problem to my stylist, Heather Kopchia, when she jumped in to recommended Color Wow, a mineral powder she uses to touch up the regrowth of film actors she coifs. “You won’t believe how amazing this stuff is. You really can’t tell it’s in your hair.” Read more
EXPERT ADVICE | “Shellac is whack,” says my friend Joanna, channeling Whitney Huston. Joanna has the most beautifully groomed fingernails of any woman I know, so I pay attention when she tells me that shellac nail polish manicures, with their impossibly glossy chip-free allure, are a money pit because you need to have the polish professionally reapplied every two or three weeks. “The acetone used to soak off the polish is a problem, too,” she says, “When you use it regularly, even the strongest nails are going to rip or peel.” Read more
STEALING BEAUTY | As pretty as polished nails are, they need to be left bare occasionally to give them some air. About once a month, Allison Emery performs a “nail ritual” that consists of four basic steps: trim/file, cleanse, buff and hydrate. “Regular nail maintenance keeps your nails healthy and strong,” according to this beauty expert. “With a little TLC, nails that are dry, brittle or even splitting will be shining in no time.” Here’s how she gets the job done. Read more
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BEST BUY | Our wet, west coast weather may be nourishing for skin, but it’s murder on hair. The rain creates humidity, which leads to one of our biggest hair nightmares: frizz. For those of us with unruly hair, it is almost impossible to go without a styling product or we will end up “poofy” only minutes after we head out the door. If we want good hair days in Vancouver, we need reliable styling products. Read more
The finest gift of beauty I could give another woman would have to be the golden arches—not fast food but the perfect eyebrow. A nicely sculpted brow can open up the entire face. Even a woman who doesn’t wear makeup would find that a well-groomed eyebrow can enhance her beauty with very little effort. Read more
BUY RIGHT | Hairspray is often associated with our yucky prom ‘do or wedding hair. But every chic girl should have some on hand, and you won’t find a stylist willing to work without it because after you’ve laboured to create a great look, often the most difficult part is to keep it in place. Men can also use hairspray to hold their styles in a natural, relaxed way—especially good for photos or film.
Nowadays hairspray is not so much for stiffening your coif as it is for perfecting your locks, to rapidly remedy a bad hair day or to tame unruly bangs. Ever had lots of static in your hair and a halo of frizz floating above your head? Or have trouble recreating those perfectly relaxed flatiron curls your stylist showed you or that ultrasmooth blowout? Hairspray is the key. Read more
CHEAP + GOOD | While the newly minted Duchess of Cambridge was confident enough (after a few private lessons) to do her own makeup on her wedding day, she left her hair in the hands of professionals. That’s because she knows, as do celebrities who globetrot with hairdressers in tow, that it’s downright impossible to DIY a salon-calibre hairstyle without plenty of time and considerable schooling—and even then, most tresses will still look better if they’ve been styled by a pro. Read more
CHEAP TRICK | Dark roots with blonde tresses may be in vogue right now with glamorous evangelists like Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow flaunting them, but I am here to tell you that grey roots, as a deliberate style choice, will never be in fashion. Not now, not ever.
So what do you do with the grey in your hair? You could go all Patti Smith and let it show (an idea that does seem to have legs right now, if you read The New York Times beauty pages last Sunday)—or cover it up completely. For those choosing the latter and dealing with the unremitting tide of grow-out, there are two excellent and inexpensive stop-gap products to buy you extra time between dates with the colourist. Read more