November 4, 2009
Posted by copley
The Halloween holiday has put us in the mood to do some role playing. Whether it’s experimenting in our mad scientist labs or whipping up cauldrons of witch’s brew, we are getting serious about preparing potions from scratch. And it’s clear from all the comments and emails pouring in that we are not alone. We want to know what has worked for you, and what hasn’t, so we can all save time and money in the pursuit of the perfect Make Your Own cosmetic concoction. We’ve gotten a conversation started in the community area and are waiting for your recipe contributions. The best one will get a Halloween treat with a time-reversing trick! Read more...
November 1, 2009
Posted by marta
Anyone who has tried to buy Earthly Delights Tropical Rain shampoo (one of my Five Best Shampoos) and who doesn’t live within spitting distance of the Whole Foods in Chelsea NYC will now it to be frustrating and unrewarding experience. Trying to search for Earthly Delights online will throw up websites with signs on their doors saying “we are not the Earthly Delights shampoo guy”. Even Whole Foods distributes to only a few stores in New York. Well, we thought let’s do the world a favor and stock it in the TIA shop.
After quite a bit of sleuthing, we tracked down a phone number and spoke to someone for whom the concept of ecommerce was completely foreign. He didn’t even have a computer. This clearly wasn’t going to be a happening thing. Then I got the idea that something very similar to Tropical Rain would be easy to make, after all the formula is very simple: Distilled water, sage, rosemary, nettles, wheat germ soap, horsetail, essential oils of neroli, cinnamon and coconut. So I set about trying to track down the ingredients. The exercise ended up raising some questions as to what is really in Tropical Rain. Read more...
October 12, 2009
Posted by copley
Chris Rock has been making the rounds to promote his new documentary “Good Hair,” about the seriously complicated hair care customs of the African-American community. His film delves into the $9-billion industry that has evolved around this culture’s attainment of the “European” look, since the natural nappy look just isn’t cutting it. According to some reviews, the most entertaining aspect of “Good Hair” is its investigation of the history and practice of hair relaxers, which commonly use sodium hydroxide. After wowing us with its power to coax tight, kinky hair into long, luxuriant tresses, the film shows sodium hydroxide burning a hole through a raw chicken carcass and completely disintegrating an aluminum can that had soaked in a sodium hydroxide solution for several hours. Read more...
September 6, 2009
Posted by copley
Although it helps to be whisked away in private jets to finesse the locks of Rod Stewart, Melania Trump, and Paloma Picasso, there’s more to being a celebrity stylist than hanging with the jet set. The role of a celebrity stylist means being a brand, being an innovator, and being a source of trust. Since the age of 15, Melissa Peverini- M’lis to all who know her- has been working in a hair salon. Having graduated from sweeping hair off the floor to cutting and coloring as a master, her career has steered her through extensive training overseas with the world’s top stylists and into the upscale hair venues of New York and South Florida. Read more...
July 12, 2009
Posted by marta
No one wants shoulder snow (especially after reading Kate’s explanation of the origins of the yeast feast on your scalp), but who wants to be a slave to Head & Shoulders. For a natural alternative, we created a dandruff shampoo formula that also removes product buildup. I’ve been trying this out and my hair has never felt cleaner – a result that I attribute to the moringa oil, an amazing natural cleanser. It also looks super healthy and somehow brighter.
All you need to do is get some shampoo as a base – preferably a simple botanical one without any crap in it. I used Aesop’s Sage Scalp Cleansing Shampoo. To this, I added apple cider vinegar and apple juice for scavenging dandruff, moringa oil to add cleansing power and a huge number of nutrients for hair and scalp health, lemon juice as a buildup remover, and rosemary for its antiseptic qualities. So grab some sudser and follow our step by step guide. Read more...
