DIY BEAUTY…PART 2

Claudia’s easy peasy gray coverage team – complete with de rigueur ugly, old towel…

A short while ago I wrote about how, in the interest of time-saving, I’ve decided to try out doing my own beauty maintenance as opposed to going to professionals. My attempt at doing my own pedicure was a solid first try and it spurred me on. The next daunting task I attacked was coloring my stray gray hairs myself.

Please understand two things: First, I am absolutely NOT one of those women that knows how to do her own hair. I can barely blow dry it properly, I couldn’t do an updo if you paid me, and even my ponytails are feeble. Second, I absolutely LOVE my stylist, Kristina Peltier. She is a genius with everything having to do with hair and she is also my friend. I love going to the salon and catching up with her and watching her transform me into an improved version of myself. So doing my own hair, even if it was just covering the dumb grays at my hairline, was an unpleasant idea. I decided to just jump in.

For my intro into home hair color, I chose Clairol’s Nice and Easy Root Touch up. I liked that it had a color that seemed to match my own and I liked that it had the word “easy” on the box. The directions looked complicated, but when I actually read them they seemed pretty do-able. I put on the little flimsy gloves and got to work…

Let me tell you – it really was nice AND easy! Nice because it wasn’t a disaster and easy because well, all I had to do was this:

Gloves on.
Squeeze entire color tube into the little bowl.
Pour entire color activator into the little bowl.
Mix with brush thingy.
Brush mix on your grays with brush thingy.
Wait 10 minutes.
Rinse.

That’s it!!!! Seriously? I’m stoked. Not only am I going to save a ton of time, I also won’t have to walk around with mascara in my hair for weeks because I can’t get in for an appointment. Don’t get me wrong, I will always look forward to my big time hair appointments with Kristina – cut, color, highlights – but for our in-between gossip/grays catch up sessions, we’ll have to actually make a real plan and go out. Win. Win.

Claudia, WCM

THE CUTTING EDGE…

Claudia, happy with her long hair…

I have always had long hair except for three occasions when I chopped it into a shoulder length bob: at 6 (my Mom’s idea), 13 (jr high in the 80’s – I was trying to fit in) and 27 (bad break-up). In between, my hair was always – and has been since – long. Middle of my back long. Too long some people might say (Mom). But even though I know that it’s sort of boring and sort of ubiquitous (thanks to hair extensions and reality shows), I still love it. It’s “me”. For years it has made me feel comfortable and less “old”. But lately I’ve been wondering: Is it too comfortable? Is it making me look more old? Am I turning into one of those ladies that desperately clings to their old hairstyle even though it looks dated? In response to these questions, I’ve found myself noticing shorter hair more and more. Appreciating it on others. Toying with the idea of maybe, maybe cutting mine again. A “clavicut” perhaps? Something modern? I can’t make up my mind, so here’s my Haircut Pros and Cons list:

Against Cutting: CONS:

• My long hair is easy – I don’t have to style it.
• The new cut might make me look like a soccer Mom.
• I’ll feel naked without it.
• Without the length, I worry it will be boring.
• I’ll have the same hair as everybody else.
• I’ll hate it.

For Cutting: PROS:

• It will feel new.
• It could be even easier.
• I won’t look like I’m trying to be “young”.
• Change is good.
• I dream of being “cool and edgy” and there is nothing cool or edgy about my long hair.
• I already have the same hair as everybody else.
• I’ll love it.

There you have it – the least important thing that keeps me up at night. Usually, I think about a chop for five seconds and then happily revert to my same ol’, same ol’. But this time…something about the change of season and the end of a stressful summer has me craving something different and fresh. This time, maybe I’ll actually do it…

Claudia, WCM

EEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!!

Last week I looked at Miles’ hair as we were leaving the house and this happened:

“Wait, what is that? Miles, put your head down. No, stop squirming, I need to see in the light. Oh no. Maybe it’s just some dirt or something, let’s see is there any more? Oh, no. Rats! There’s more specks. Miles, seriously, stop moving, I just have to see…Ohnoohnoohno!!!!!!!”

Yes, it was my biggest fear: Lice.

I practically had a panic attack. I jumped in the car and called Dilyn, who had her experience with the “Dreaded L” a few months prior. Once she talked me off the ledge, she directed me to the place that helped her: Lousey Nitpickers on Cahuenga near Universal City. I drove like a mad-woman with thoughts racing: Was it really it? Did I have it? Did Duke have it? How do we get rid of it? Ugh!!!!! Grossgrossgrossgross!!!!!

I arrived at the really cute Lousey Nitpickers shop in record time and burst through the doors all panicky and stressed. A few things hit me: It was really clean, the girls who worked there were smiling AND they had long hair! Clearly, they weren’t scared. Well, let me tell you, they were so mellow and easy and relaxed about the whole thing. They checked Miles and confirmed the worst. They checked Duke and me (twice!) and confirmed the best. Phew – just one head to worry about! They gave me detailed instructions on how to clean the house and a couple of bottles of repelling shampoo and conditioner and once Miles was done, sent us on our way with a 4 day follow-up appointment scheduled.

The clean up was a time-consuming drag and wearing my hair in a bun (just in case) was annoying, but for the most part it wasn’t as awful as I had expected, in part, because I caught it early. Here’s some stuff I learned:

• If you get it, go ahead and freak out, but not for too long –  you have a long road ahead of you and need to save your energy.
• You can do it yourself, but if possible, go to a place like Lousey Nitpickers – especially if your child has long or thick hair.
• Make the laundromat your friend. Because of the amount of laundry that you have to do, tossing it all in garbage bags and going to the coin operated place down the street is the best solution. It’s actually pretty relaxing – which is good after all the freaking out.
• Check your kids’ hair weekly – don’t wait for them to start itching. This is something I do on a regular basis because I’m paranoid and it helped. The Lousey Nitpickers lady said Miles’ wasn’t a bad case (i.e. nobody else in the house got it) because he only had it for less than a week.
• If you get the dreaded note home from school that someone in the class has it, start using the above shampoo/conditioner, or any other preventative one, every night for a week or so.
• Use a preventative leave-in conditioner, like the one above, every day. I used it all school year last year and Miles never had a problem. This summer I was waaay more lax about it and look what happened!

All right, after all this talk now I’m having phantom itches. Suffice to say, I hope you never experience the “Dreaded L”, but if you do, just remember: it’s annoying but you’ll be fine!

Claudia, WCM

TRY IT, YOU’LL LIKE IT…

I have always been a hair wash everyday kind of person. Even though numerous people have told me I should not do this (my stylist, my friends, various magazine articles), I continued to do it. That is, until a couple of weeks ago…

I was complaining to a friend about how long it took to get ready in the morning. Shower, hair wash, hair dry, get dressed, blah, blah, blah. The whole thing was a monotonous nightmare and I needed a way out that didn’t involve turning into a disheveled mess. My friend mentioned that she stopped washing her hair every day and not only did it cut her morning routine in half, it was making her hair look fabulous. I looked at her hair and sure enough: fabulous. My younger sister told me a few weeks prior that she also had stopped the daily wear and tear, and though it was a bit weird at first, eventually her hair started looking better than ever (this is saying a lot since my sister’s hair has always been ridiculously gorgeous). I decided there was nothing to lose and went cold turkey.

Day one was the worst, I kept feeling gross and greasy and EEEW. Day two, I used some Klorane dry shampoo (which I really love), did a little blow-dry at the roots and was surprised that my hair didn’t look so bad. With this minor triumph, I decided to push it and go to day three – shock of shocks – no yucky, greasy feelings and it still looked pretty good! Success!!!

Two weeks later, I am free of the endless getting ready cycle, I have more time in the morning and am getting a healthy hair boost in the process. I can’t believe how much this silly, small change has improved my life – I highly recommend it!

Claudia, WCM