Lock & Mane

Our fashion loving readers are probably familiar with wunderkind style and fashion blogger who just happens to be 12-years old, Tavi. We follow the Tav regularly and find we like her front row reports better than some of the stuffy old standbys.
 
We were delighted to notice on Tavi’s blog the other day that she has taken to some hair-perimentation and decided to boldly go blue (we always say we support individualistic hair changes). You go girl. We  want to offer Tavi and our readers a few hair tips for how to deal with extreme color changes to keep hair healthy and looking fab.
 
You can’t hydrate too much. The chemicals in dyes and color agents strip hair of its natural moisture so after making a big change we recommend a daily moisturing shampoo and conditioner.  Since a daily routine may not be enough we also recommend a once a week mask to help maintain the hair’s protein structure.  Because colored hair can be so brittle keep heating tools at a minimum for the first two weeks after coloring.
 
Love the new do Tavi!! Keep being you.

We at L&M are thrilled to have beauty expert Nadine Jolie as this week’s guest blogger! Don’t forget to check out her wonderful site  for all things beauty-related! Thanks, Nadine! xoxo

We’ll admit it: we’re a little obsessed with long hair.  Specifically, with bouncy, flowing, Blake Lively waves that suddenly catapult us back to high school, when we were trying to grow out a disastrously dorky crop and yearning for the cool cheerleader hair that had all the boys captivated.  (Okay, the coquettish giggles and thigh-high minis probably helped them, too.)

Short styles are chic on the right people-like supermodels, or French women-but there’s something so All-American and sexy about cascading hair, and that’s why we’re thrilled that long (longer!  Longest!) is the big trend forecasted for 2010.  Long, artfully waved locks were all over the runways back in September, with the full-on makeup and “Check out this body!” confidence everywhere backing it up.  (Grungy this trend is not.)  Blame it on the economy, maybe, but we’re all in need of a pick-me-up, so fashion and beauty have flown to the rescue with doldrums-lifting prettiness and oh-so-girly softness.

Suave Professionals celebrity stylist Luke O’Conner says, “It’s a fun time in the hair world right now!”, pointing to the hyper-feminine 50’s and 60’s as inspirations for big, look-at-me ‘dos.  Meanwhile, Neil George, co-owner of celeb hot spot Neil George Salon cites braids (“Not slick, but romantic and textured, placed either high or low for different looks”) as an easy, popular style that’s uber-feminine and high on versatility.

Indeed, “versatile” is the other big watchword for 2010, and (we think) part of the reason that long hair is now so popular.  After all, you can wear it up, wear it down, channel your inner stick-straight Gwyneth, or curl it up with a large-barrel and spray for soft, womanly curls.  Many women are also in the process of growing out bangs and bobs from 2009, and longer hair represents a glorious ideal to reach for.

Explains Ric Pipino, celebrity hairstylist: “Longer, layered hair allows for a variety of styles:  from long and smooth to textured with a curling iron or heated rollers.  It allows you to wear your hair naturally down or you can tuck the length up and pin for hair to appear to be much shorter – which you can vary depending on your desired length each day!”

The inexpensive availability of at-home hair extensions further spurs on the trend.  Jessica Simpson’s mane man Ken Paves has a collection of extensions called Hair U Wear, while What Not to Wear’s Ted Gibson has released his own eponymous easy-to-use home versions.  If you have thousands to blow on the “real” thing, you can find a Great Lengths salon near you, and have real human hair heat-bonded to your own locks for both length and volume that’s impossible to identify as faux.  (And if you don’t want to put any effort in at all, just eat your veggies and pop some Appearex vitamins.  They’re designed to make nails grow faster, but we swear by them for hair.)

Because all trends need to have an absolutely random counterpoint, however, the one exception to the long and feminine rule are the insanely punk-y short looks you’ll find dotted about.  Rihanna is leading this attention-grabbing charge-and we wouldn’t expect anything less from her.  (Check out Elle.com’s gallery of punky then-and-now ‘dos for inspiration.)

Soon enough, everybody will probably be razoring and chopping away again, with conceptual, not-necessarily flattering styles inevitably eventually regaining the spotlight.  So, while we can, we’re stocking up on Elnett and pulling out the curling iron.  It’s a sexy, girlie moment-have fun with it!