While we often blame the weather for common skin irritations, many of us don’t realize that dry, red, broken-out skin isn’t only a consequence of winter weather – stress can also play a big role.
Given the current economy, coupled with bitter, windy weather and drying heaters and radiators, it’s no wonder our skin is in serious need of TLC. Below, Dr. Ellen Marmur, the Chief of the Division of Dermatologic and Cosmetic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center New York, provides skin-saving at-home tips – perfect for the cold winter months when our stress levels seem to reach …read more

A recent episode of Oprah looked at beauty secrets from around the world. One tip was that many Japanese women drink a daily dose of collagen to keep their skin healthy and beautiful.
Since that show, Oprah fans have been flooding the internet with questions:
Does is it really work? (Where can I get some???) Are there any side effects?
One product is NeoCell’s Super Collagen Powder. A scoop mixed with water or juice and taken twice a day is the ticket to healthy, beautiful skin – the same way that was shown on Oprah.
“A daily ‘collagen cocktail’ is one of the …read more

Do you know what grabbing means? It is when your hair is particularly dry, and you color it, and you get the shock of your life when your color job is done, because it is WAY darker than it was supposed to be in the dry areas, or it can have a green, orange or purple cast to it. You can even see this happen pretty subtly, when your hair color is darker at the bottom than near the roots, it doesn’t have to be a dramatic problem. Color gone wild. What’s a girl to do?
Tracy asks …read more

A couple of weeks ago, when I was talking about Paul Mitchell’s newest line, Gail asked me a question about salon products that are available in grocery and drug stores:
Is it true that Paul Mitchell products (and other ‘designer’ hair products) sold at grocery stores and big discount stores are NOT the same formulas that sell in beauty salons? Or is that all hype?
This is called diversion, and is a major problem within the industry. Most of the time the product is authentic, but it is occasionally is counterfeit (flea markets, mostly). The most likely problem with …read more

Suzzann asks:
I do like glazes, and especially like that they fatten up my super baby-fine hair so that I get a little more cooperation in the styling department. But I have a question–in cases like mine, where one has both high and low-lights, what glaze color should you go with if there isn’t no-color, clear glaze offered? The glaze that matches your lightest color, so it won’t mask your darker tones?
Suzzann, yes, when doing temporary or semi-permanent color, especially to touch up and brighten color to extend the life of your color job for a couple more weeks, always go …read more

I promised I would get back to Gail on the music part of the Aerobic Striptease video.  Well, I finally made it all the way through the routines and went back to the menu to see what features I might have missed, because I thought I read somewhere where you could choose your music.  And you can.  You have a choice of music styles – hip-hop, rock and techno – none of which are overly wonderful, but they are ok.  And you can toggle through them using the audio button on your DVD remote, which is nice.  It would be …read more

This is the 2nd part of an article in response to a question from Tisco.
There are other factors that can really affect your skin from the inside, the biggest one is nutrition. And I don’t mean that eating chocolate or pizza is going to give you zits. If that were true, boy, I would have been a big ol’ pit of them way before I was! If you are not eating a well rounded diet, your skin can suffer for it. Drinking plenty of water will make a difference as well. I have been doing …read more

Tisco left a question for me: Can you give any suggestions as to what I can use to get rid of my acne? I have an oily face but it is really very dry after I wash it in the morning. During the day, I need to apply powder again as it becomes very oily. Would be grateful for your suggestions.
Believe it or not, acne and dry skin can really go hand in hand. Very basically, what happens is that when you wash your face with harsh products designed to clear up your skin, you chemically remove and …read more

Gayla says: I’ve searched high and low and would like to know if there is anything “home remedy type” (not the expensive salon treatments) that can be done for blonde hair and rust. We live in the country and my hair takes a beating. And I am getting SOOOOOO Tired of being told that I have beautiful red hair. IT’S BLONDE!!!!!! Whaaaaaaa
Gayla, at least you are being told your hair is beautiful! Life could be worse! Ha ha! That isn’t very helpful, I know.
Rust stains in your hair are most likely due …read more