Conditioning rant

You know you're desperate when you start watering down your conditioner... As in, putting water into the bottle, swishing it around frantically and hoping you'll be able to brush through your hair later. 

Welcome to my world. I fly on Thursday for Rock N Roll New Orleans... I've never been more excited to stay at a hotel! ha

Sometimes I'm a little snotty about what kind of conditioner I use, but that girl is gone.
 I know I could cut my hair and make my life easy, but I did that once as a kid and balled for days. No ponytails, no braids, no nothing. Not to mention I looked like a freak...Then you actually have to do it everyday!

 Maybe that's why all the royalty wore wigs back in the day...
(actually it was because head lice was so prevalent and so they just shaved their heads and threw on wigs)
 but didn't all the pioneer ladies have really long hair? How did they do it without conditioner...? How did they do it period?

My mom used to call it cream rinse... 

but according to my research, that's different from "conditioner"... it's more of a detangler. I guess that's my biggest hurdle...

If I could have any conditioner in the world... it would be Frederic Fekkai's. I was fortunate enough a few years ago to get my hair done at his salon before the Oscars and I gotta tell ya... the stuff is amazing.

 A good friend of mine used to always splurge on Redken All Soft

and you know what... it really does make your hair all soft.

But back here in reality... I'd just be happy with even an average conditioner. The packets my dad sent me are great for the shampoo half... but the conditioner is pretty much worthless. It's some "clarifying" kind, it says... but all I know is that my hair isn't "all soft" and it definitely isn't easy to brush through. I know Pantene gets a bad rap for "coating" your hair but the stuff works wonders for me. Too bad I haven't seen any of that in months...

According to my research conditioner can be credited either to Ed Pinaud back at the worlds Fair in 1900... or Sir Darren Emilford as recently as 1980! Either way I should just be glad I wasn't born before then and shut my mouth I suppose.

Oh and just for kicks... take a look at these
Pretty sure Ali Larter is in this one... Teen Spirit commercial

And this one is just comical - Salon Selectives escapee commercial

Conditioner will definitely be my first purchase... and I might even treat myself to a little Frederic Fekkai :) 

"Glistening" or Greasy - either way it's in!

Does he look worried to you?

That's because he is...

As many of you know, I travel a lot for a living. 

My year of nothingnewforayear has been partially because of this travel, and most importantly the abundance of toiletries I had accumulated thanks to many hotel stays, but today I realized it's also the reason I was able to make it the last 8 months. 

As I squirted out the last of a tiny hotel shampoo bottle and made my way to the inventory basket to find it's replacement, I was surprised to find, I'm running dangerously low. 

As panic slowly gripped my airwaves, my brain kicked in (shocking... I know) probably sheerly out of survival mode and last 8 months flashed before my eyes. Thank you Hollywood for creating a scene we've all seen in the movies... the attack of an empty shampoo bottle...

During the holidays I wasn't traveling as much and so I've become painfully aware of how much I rely on hotel toiletries... Thankfully I was home for a few days - thank you mom for having a nice little array of options for me to indulge in while I was there... but reality has hit. Guess I'll be venturing more into the dry shampoo world... Haven't really dabbled much with that so if you see me in the upcoming days and something looks a little off - you'll know why.

And I thought conditioner was always going to be the problem!

Guess there's no better reason to hit the gym :) Free, crappy shampoo. Hopefully all my diligently saved conditioner will help... say a prayer.

P.S. According to Harpers Bazaar... "glistening" hair is in for Spring 2012 - the new buzz word for greasy? ha - maybe this all happened for a reason :)

See for yourself!
"Glistening hairstyles for 2012"

sheer blonde, sheer joy

I was born the year of the dog, and apparently that has something to do with pessimism :) Well yesterday I was bitter about the crap conditioner I'm stuck with for a week or more until it runs out... but along with the bad, comes some good. Since I can barely brush through it after conditioning with the can't-be-gone-soon-enough Samy conditioner, usually I have to augment with a leave in conditioner. Seems wasteful I know. So here's the deal, the leave in spray isn't technically a "conditioner" I guess. It's a "leave-in nourishing spray". Call it whatever you want, just don't let me lose it...

I'm actually so impressed with this product I'm afraid to look more into it. You see, it has a sticker on it from Big Lots.

If you don't know much about Big Lots, it's basically an overstock place, that often times offers good deals because the food has pressing expiration dates, or in the case of toileteries, the brands have discontinued the product... You see my dilemma... There's a good chance the rest of the blondes in the world didn't get a stab at trying this one out and so it didn't sell very well, therefore forcing John Frieda to pull it from shelves. I pray this is not the case... Maybe I should start making a case for a comeback next June... you know how Dr. Pepper and Coke made throwback cans, heck even Mello Yellow is back!!!

I guess we'll see... I may not have anymore of that great blonde conditioner, but maybe this will buy me a few more weeks in the rankings with my blonde friend Bethany :)

mixin it up

do you remember going to the gas station fountain machine and making "suicides"? I'm sure that's politically incorrect, but that's what we called them... You'd put in a little of every different kind of pop - in the same cup. Why did we do that? ha

Well I know personally, I have a hard time making a decision. What's for dinner? I almost always try to con someone into "splitting" something with me. Not as in split one dish... like... you order one thing, I'll order another, we'll split them, that way we both have options. And... if one of them isn't so good, you're not totally screwed. Well, it seems the "options" trend carries throughout a lot of things in my life. I guess I never really thought about it until recently, when I've started rationing my toiletries...

I like mixing conditioners. Not so much shampoos, or body washes, mainly just conditioners.

I guess it's kind of like a "suicide" for your hair - only in a good way? Some promise volume, others promise, shine, and if we can't get everybody on board and get it all... we mix! It's even to the point where, if I prefer volume that day more than shine, the volumizing conditioner goes in first... because it gets first dibs at the hair. Then the shine conditioner just in hopes? It probably doesn't even work!

Well, either way, this year I'm relegated to one conditioner, one application, and it's kind of getting to me. Chalk it up there with the rationing of my beloved perfume... But then my klutzy self did just get a brand new iPhone so... I guess I'll take my new iphone and shut my mouth....

The "nurdle" isn't necessary

All the commercials show a full brush length of toothpaste. Complete with that perfect little tip at the end (known in the industry as a "nurdle".)

Well... it turns out, it's too much. Like most things we Americans do, we over do it.

When I sat down and looked at just how much stuff I had under my sink the other day I started wondering just how long it would last me. But then it dawned on me the real question was, how long it SHOULD last me.

I admit, I tend to overdo it on the conditioner. With long hair, it seems I need more than the average hair length person...right? And I had cavities at my last checkup so I should use more toothpaste... right?

I'm wrong. It says it right on the box (well some boxes), and all over the internet... All we need is a "pea size" amount of toothpaste...

Instead of so much toothpaste, I should probably strive to use up all that floss I've been collecting over the years. Lord knows my Groupon dentist would applaud that lofty goal.

So... the pea size amount of toothpaste has been enacted in my house... and the race to run out of floss by the end of the year is moving along at a snails pace :)

Using less conditioner - that's going to be a day to day battle... and of course those bottles even encourage you to "rinse and repeat!" if necessary. So that's why I always run out of conditioner first...

FYI - Two of the big toothpaste brands got in a fight over the "nurdle". pretty comical.

The supplies...

In case there was any question... I took an inventory of what I have to work with for the next year. I don't know exactly how long this will get me through, but I'm pretty sure other people do with a lot less, so it will have to do.

After digging under the sink and sorting what was what, here is what I found for shampoo and conditioner.

I travel a lot for my job so the days I'm not home using this stuff - I use whatever is at the hotel. 

A lot of people asked about sunscreen...There's also one currently in my gym bag.

Originally... I, myself was concerned about the toothpaste dilemma...especially after my recent trip to the dentist. Looks like we're doing ok in this department too. What's funny about this picture is that if you had asked me if I had a preference on toothpaste brands I would have assured you I didn't... Clearly I do. ha!

I don't "do" my hair all that often. Just when I'm on camera, or the occasional night out... and yet I seem to have an awful lot of "hair products". I'm not sure this stock will look much different in a year, although not getting any larger will be a good start.

I'm an advocate for hydrating your skin - for sure. I'm a little concerned about this stock, but like I said, people do with a lot less...

In no particular order... these are the supplies I have to work with in the toiletry department for the next year... (minus the hair products, toothpaste and lotion - they didn't fit in that tub... and that's why I'm doing this :)