Save Your Hair this Summer!

My middle daughter is a brunette. She loves being a brunette. She wants nothing to do with highlighting her hair. Her biggest concern this summer is how to keep her curly locks protected and especially how to keep them from lightening up. So this post is for you cutie! :)

1. Soak it first. When swimming in chlorinated water, always soak your hair with tap water before jumping in. Think of a sponge. If you soak it in water first, then throw it into a bucket of bleach it is going to soak up a lot less of the bleach than it would if it was dry. 
2. Always use a shampoo designed for color treated hair. These products use the most gentle cleansers on the market to prevent "lifting" of deposited color. So even though your hair is not colored you want to use a the most gentle shampoo available.
3. Use a conditioner for color treated hair. Using a rinse out conditioner helps your hair to be less tangled, easier to comb or brush through and consequently less damage occurs to your ends. The more damaged your ends the lighter they will become. These types of conditioners typically have a sunscreen in them as well. 
4. Use a leave in treatment. Look for products that have sunscreen in them to protect your hair from UV rays. They also work well to help keep your hair from getting tangled.
5. Keep it covered. When possible wear a big floppy hat, a fashionable scarf, cowboy hat or a baseball cap when you are going to out in the sun for extended periods of time. The sun is your worst enemy when it comes to keeping your dark chocolate hair from melting to milk chocolate. 
6. Treat your ends. Apply a little argon oil in the evening before bed and braid it before bed. This will give your ends the much needed drink from a day of dehydration and keep it from getting damaged and tangled while you sleep. 

And before you do all that get a trim. Trimming the split ends will not only make your hair appear darker but it will keep them from splitting up higher. Below you will find links for my favorite UV hair care. Hope you are having a fantastic week and enjoying all this heat while protecting your hair! 

Thanks for stopping by,
Michon :)

Colour Fanatic by Pureology

BC Sin Protect
Shimmer Oil Spray

BC Sun Protect
Spray Conditioner

BC Sun Protect
Treatment

Reno's Keeping America Beautiful!

Happy Fourth of July Week!! WTHeck happened to April, May and June? I'm i the only one in a time warp here?! So this is not only the most blistering, hot week of the year so far, but it is a happenin' week here in the Biggest Little City! So many beautiful things to do this week! Here is a list of my favorites.

1. I LOVE this first one... Scheels is offering a flag exchange from now till the 3th of July! Just to make sure that we are all flying beautiful new flags for the 4th the American Legion will be collecting tattered and torn flags (to be disposed of properly) and giving you a new one for only $10! Available to the first 100 customers! Check it out!
2. Artown is in full swing as of today! This is one of my favorite events of the year! We get to enjoy every venue imaginable almost every day of the month for this awesome event. As with most hairdressers, I would be little more than a starving artist if it wasn't for my current occupation. Here is a link on how to get the app! You will have every event at your fingertips on your phone everyday! Happy Artown hunting! haha
3. Hump day is about to become a little less lame. Reno's newest food truck event is sure to help your mid week blues be a little easier to bear. The event takes place at the McKinley Arts and Cultural Center, next to the beautiful Truckee River. Every Wed from 5-8. 
4. I am super excited about Genoa's Americana Celebration. This small town girl loves the nostalgic feel of that quaint small town and all the old fashion, family celebration that goes along with it. The event is sure to be a huge hit. Get there early for best parking.
5. And if you are having a stay close to home celebration here is a great place to start looking for some ideas that are fun and creative to get your celebration off on the right foot! You have plenty of time to get the supplies needed for the celebration of the year right here! 

Those are my top picks for how to keep it beautiful this week and weekend here in the Biggest Little City. There are so many others that I didn't mention you should drop by Visit Reno Tahoe dot com to see a complete list of all the fun things going on this week.  Please stay safe and make sure you have some representation of red white and blue on your nails, in your hair or on your eyelids! 

Happy American celebrations!

See you next week! 

Michon :)

Painful Cracked Heels! What to do?

Hallelujah!! Summer is here!!
But along with it comes one of the things I struggle with every year, cracked heels.
I start wearing sandals and flip flops as soon as I have had my first pedi of the season and like clockwork, a month later, my heels are cracking and painful!
I consulted with a professional manicurist Kelly Holmes, and got some great tips on how to keep my heels, healthy and happy.
Kelly's top 5 tips for happy heels!

1. Moisten up your heels. Before going to bed apply heavy cream or ointment, such as Mango Extreme or Bag Balm, to your feet and then put on a pair of light socks to keep it on your skin through the night.
2. Exfoliate your feet. Purchase a little pumi stone from the beauty supply or your nail tech and scrub your heels in the shower every day to keep the build of dry dead skin from accumulating. 
3. Wear shoes in the garden. This isn't the most popular suggestion, but it will seriously decrease the amount of moisture being leached out of your skin by the dirt. Dirt is very drying to your hands and feet. 
4. Get a monthly pedicure. It is always a good idea to see a professional once a month to take care of those tootsies for you, offer suggestions on any problems she may see and just to plain ole  pamper yourself. 

Do you have any tips or tricks that you like to use in the summer to combat this problem?
I would love to hear them! Please feel free to comment below and share this with any of your friends.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you have a wonderful start to your summer and you are able to cool your heels and relax a bit! :)
 Michon :)

Kelly Holmes is a professional nail tech at Image Artistic Salon. She specializes in pedicures and is passionate about her profession. She is at the top of her class with sterilization and sanitation methods and continues to educate herself about the latest and greatest technologies in her craft. See her website here to schedule and take a look and "LIKE" her Facebook page to view examples of her work and learn more about her.