By now you all know how much those of us here at A Girl’s Gotta Spa! adore spa treatments, we practically live for them.  But we can all agree that spa treatments are not always budget friendly, so I am always looking for ways to get the results of spa treatments without shelling out a fortune. Lately I’ve been experimenting with a few DIY at home (or in the sauna at the gym) spa treatments and I thought I would share two of my favorites with you.  I do have to warn you that you may get strange looks from a few people…just be prepared.

I love getting weekly deep conditioning treatments for my hair, but at about $50 per treatment and add in the  cost of haircuts and coloring–and I would be devoting a good portion of my monthly income to my hair. So instead of going to the salon for deep conditioning treatments, I cart my deep conditioning treatments  with me to the gym on the days I plan on using the sauna. While in the sauna I just apply whatever deep conditioning treatment I feel like my hair needs that week (a restructuring mask, hydrating treatment or nourishing oil) to my hair, wrap it in a towel and just sit there for 10-15 minutes and let the heat do its work.

Another treatment I do while in the sauna is a face mask (again either hydrating, deep cleansing or exfoliating.)  I wait until about 5-10 minutes before I plan on getting out of the sauna then apply the mask.  My favorite to apply while in the sauna is the Kate Somerville Exfolikate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment because I have noticed a big difference between using this in the sauna and just using it at home.  Yes, it tingles more because the heat loosens the debris in my pores a lot more than just using it at home. My skin also looks and feels cleaner and brighter after I use this treatment in the sauna.

Whenever I use the sauna at the gym I always leave feeling a lot more relaxed and cleansed…very similar to the feeling I get when I leave the spa.  So combine that feeling of relaxation with a few mini sauna beauty treatments and you’ve almost got yourself a bonafide spa experience…minus the plush robes, soothing music and so on, but you’ll have better looking hair and skin without the spa price tag.  Just don’t say I didn’t warn you about  the perplexed looks might receive from a few people.

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

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Just like me, you’ve probably thought that creating a ponytail is just about the easiest hairstyle to accomplish.  I mean how difficult could it be? You grab a hair tie, pull all your hair back and secure it with the hair tie and you have yourself a ponytail.  Well as I have learned (mostly from being on set and watching hairstylists) that way of creating a ponytail is just fine and dandy, but if you want to create the perfect ponytail you have to throw a few additional steps in there and I thought I would share those steps with you, our fabulous readers.  So here goes!

Step 1: Take a parting from ear to ear (from the back of the ear, across the top of the head to the back of the other ear).

Step 2: Clip the front part of the hair out of the way and tilt your head back slightly (to ensure that your ponytail does not end up saggy or buckles.)

Step 3: After deciding on placement of the ponytail (low, high or middle of the head), brush rear portion of hair into your hand loosely holding it, and with the other hand grab the ponytail tight against the head and secure with a hair tie.

Step 4: Release the top section with your head still tilted back slightly and brush front portion directly into the other ponytail (trying to avoid disruption of the other ponytail but don’t be afraid to brush the hair straight into and over the previously created ponytail) and secure with an elastic hair tie in the exact same way as above.

Step 5: Using hairspray for fly-aways, lightly smooth and spray fly-aways with hands or a fine tooth comb…only lightly skimming the top of the hair.

Bonus step: If you would like to make the ponytail sleeker or dress it up a bit, try grabbing a small section of the ponytail near the elastic hair tie and begin wrapping it around the elastic to hide the hair tie.  secure wrap with a hair pin and bobby pin making sure that the pin is not visible.

And there you have it, two versions of the perfect ponytail…thanks to amazing hairstylist Pearson Knight for walking us through creating the perfect ponytail!

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

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Over the years I’ve come to learn that amazing beauty products are not only found in traditional beauty/cosmetics stores, but in out of the way places you wouldn’t normally consider.  My most recent great findis Mitsuwa Marketplace.  This place was recommended to me by Ji Cho, owner of Nami Restaurant in Minneapolis, MN and beauty product guru…seriously the woman is insanely knowledgeable about every and anything beauty related.  Mitsuwa Marketplace is the largest Japanese Supermarket in the U. S. They are mostly located in California with one in New Jersey and the one I visited in Chicago. This place is awesome and carries a wide variety of Japanese groceries, general items, electric appliances and beauty products.  They even have a bookstore as well as a food-court with fantastic Japanese food.

I went to Mitsuwa Marketplace with the intention of getting a deep conditioning treatment and a cream for my ends…I came out with shampoo, conditioner , conditioning hair treatment, cleansing face oil and brow pencil and this was after I decided to put some products back on the shelf!  The selection of cosmetics and beauty products were just amazing.  They had products for your hair that I never even knew existed.  The shampoo and conditioner that I bought were both from Shiseido and they’re absolutely wonderful, very moisturizing and an absolute steal!  I paid just $18.99 for both 550ml bottles (they were on special that day.)  The conditioning treatment is also pretty amazing, the brand is called IchiKami and that is about all I can decipher because everything else is in Japanese.  I love the cleansing face oil, it’s very gentle on my skin but still thoroughly cleans my face without making it feel dry.  I keep the brow pencil that I bought from there in my make-up bag at all times.  It has two sides, one side is your traditional brow pencil with a much finer tip for a really precise application and the other side is more like a liquid liner…but for your brows.  The pencil  fills in my brows, but they never look overdone and I have to wash my face to remove it because I’ve been to the gym a few times after having applied the brow pencil and it stayed put through my entire workout…and my workouts are pretty intense ones that produce buckets of sweat.

I regret not getting some of the other products I had my eyes on, like the liquid liner (my beauty guru Ji said that the Japanese liquid liners have a finer more precise tip than their American counterparts, she also suggested the fake eyelashes which are apparently pretty great.) I did discover that  Mitsuwa Marketplace does have an online store which made me pretty ecstatic, but the selection of beauty products available online is kind of limited compared to the store, lucky for me I will be spending this summer in Minnesota which means I will have plenty of opportunity to try every product  I had my eye on. Have you been there and discovered some great beauty brands yourself?

Gail Lewis

Gail is at times a model, most of the time a blogger, but always a beauty junkie.

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My niece Emily is a beautiful girl, both inside and out. The last year and a half has had a lot of changes for her though: her grandmother passed away from lung cancer, her grandfather had a stroke, and my sister and her husband took in 3 of his nephews who were going to be placed into foster care (and they are now in the process of adopting them.) Her husband’s sister and her daughter also moved in with my sister. Did I mention that my sister has 4 kids already, two of which are special needs? We lovingly refer to my sister’s family as The Duggars. But joking aside, Emily, who is 10 years old, began to get depressed and with the adjustment to her new family life, lost sight of her dreams.

Me, Emily and my sister Courtney

I love my niece to pieces and she has always talked about going to New York. She’s heard me talk about my trips to fashion week and to various events and who I’ve met along the way, so I knew that for her 10th birthday I wanted to surprise her with a trip into the city. With many thanks to Jason Backe and Ted Gibson of Ted Gibson Salon and Melanie Notkin of Savvy Auntie, I hatched a plan to have Emily’s hair done at Ted Gibson Salon, as well as take Em to the top of the Empire State Building with a journal in hand to write down what her hopes and dreams were.

My sister and I were reflecting on how this in-between time has an effect on a young girl’s self esteem. Like many girls these days, puberty is hitting some younger than others. This has really had an effect on Emily and she has tried to downplay it by hiding her body under vast layers of clothes, not really taking care of her hair and overall creating a sloppy appearance. While appearance isn’t everything, it was clear to me that it was simply a manifestation of how she was feeling on the inside. She didn’t want anyone to pay attention to her body changes as girls made fun of her for looking pretty and at the same time would make fun of her if she choose to be sloppy. Either way, kids weren’t looking at what a great puppeteer Emily was or how awesome she did in the church drama group. For Em, she just couldn’t win. And it hurt her self esteem overall. You can see in many of the pictures before the pampering…Emily never smiles. But once Jill Englesen was done with Emily, check out that smile as she inspected her hair. LOVE it.

What was perfect about Jill styling Emily’s hair, is that Jill is an artist. She and Emily talked about how much they love to paint. Throughout our time at the salon, Jill kept encouraging Emily to keep painting no matter what. To keep dreaming and to know that she can accomplish anything she sets her mind to.  I know that Jill really made an impact on Em.

As my tagline says “because we all deserve a little pampering,” I wanted to show Em that sometimes pampering yourself physically can sometimes (OK, many times) pamper you mentally and emotionally as well. I wanted her to see and feel for herself what it was like to take care of herself AND feel good about it–who cares about those girls at school! I wanted her to promise to herself that she would see her dreams through, to know that they are important and that she is a very talented and amazing girl.

If there is a girl in your life, whether young or old, be sure to take time to encourage her today. Too many people out there are always trying to bring us down and take away our dreams.

I love you Emily.

Love, Auntie Shannon

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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The Austin Kyle Professional Collection is a new line of hair products created by an industry veteran with over 20 years in hair care experience.  The collection boasts superior ingredients that will leave hair thoroughly cleansed, shiny and healthy.

I tried the Austin Kyle collection all of three times. The first time I used the shampoo and conditioner, my hair was the polar opposite of what the label promised – instead of being clean and purified, my locks felt weighed down and dirty, even after blow drying straight. The second try was slightly better, and alas, the third time seemed to be the charm…sort of. My hair definitely felt better than the other two uses, but shouldn’t a cleansing system work the first time?

I will say that I was a much bigger fan of Austin Kyle finishing products – especially the Hair Balm Memory Styler  and Beautiful Styling Serum. Both products followed through on their promises, and my hair felt lightweight, shiny, and protected from the elements when I styled with lots of heat.

All of the products have an almost-fruity scent reminiscent of a tanning salon – so much so that the girl I live with actually asked me if I had gone back to my old tanning habits. Not something I want to be asked, and definitely not a place I want to smell like.

Overall, I wasn’t completely dissatisfied with the line. I appreciated the Hair Balm and Styling Serum, but I don’t think I will be trying the shampoo/conditioner combination again in the future.

What was your experience with Austin Kyle hair products?

Amanda Huggins

Amanda is a PR and communications girl living and working in the NYC area. She is a firm believer in the powers of a strong cup of coffee and fire-engine red lipstick.

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As you may (or may not) know, I often get emails from readers asking me questions regarding beauty products, skin care or hair care issues. I have to say, the number one topic that I get asked a lot about is the solution for fine hair. Many people ask how to add volume to fine, limp hair, while others ask which products won’t easily weigh down their locks or make them greasy. The John Frieda® Luxurious Volume collection was recently put on my radar, and it appears it may help with some of these issues.

John Frieda® Luxurious Volume products aim to give fine, limp hair visible, touchable lift, fuller strands, natural-looking volume, and lift that lasts all day. The collection includes: Thickening Shampoo, Thickening Conditioner, Blow-Dry Lotion Root Booster, Thickening Mousse, Extra Hold Hairspray, and Anytime Volume Refresher.

Here’s the breakdown of what each product looks to do:

Shampoo: Plumps and thickens fine strands. Works from the inside out for airy fullness and movement.
Conditioner: Targets damaged areas, providing lightweight conditioning for silky, full-bodied hair.
Blow-Dry Lotion Root Booster: Ultra-lightweight spray lotion lifts fine hair at the roots and thickens strands for natural-looking volume that lasts.
Thickening Mousse: Ultra-light formula thickens strands, giving fine hair airy fullness, body, and bounce.
Extra Hold Hairspray: Lightweight, ultra-fine spray offers the extra hold and body crucial to volumized styles. Hair looks natural and stays full and uplifted all day.
Anytime Volume Refresher: Perfect pick-me-up styler. Use this dry spray shampoo to renew volume as fine hair starts to drop during the day. This purse-sized styler can be used anytime, anywhere.

On their Facebook fan page, John Frieda® Hair Care also has a spot with tips on using the products to add volume to your hair (Beautiful Results tab.) There’s been a lot of buzz around this line, which I have no doubt about considering fine hair seems to be the number topic lately (even my boyfriend’s mom has fine hair and is always asking me for product recommendations.)

Have you tried Luxurious Volume? I’d love for you to share your experience in the comments.

*Disclosure: Sponsored

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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If you survived Black Friday and are still in need of some holiday gift ideas for the family or friend who loves beauty products, then I know you’ll find our Holiday Gift Guide useful. Amanda, Gail and I put together some of our best and most favorite gift ideas (i.e. gifts we’d like to see under the tree) into a 13 page catalog. We opted not to create a multitude of holiday gift posts and thought a handy catalog that you can browse through and link directly to the product would make for a great all-in-one-place guide.

Here’s what we covered: Hair care, skin care, bath & body, holiday kits, cosmetics, gifts that give back and spas and spa treatments that we love. There’s some nail polish mentioned in there too!

Many thanks to Kelli & Co. for creating the cover for our Holiday Gift Guide. When reading it, make sure you view it at 100%; it is a downloadable PDF.

Enjoy the catalog and please feel free to pass onto your friends! Download it by clicking this link: Holiday Gift Guide

Disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links and 2 brands mentioned are clients.

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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We’re heading into the colder months, which typically means making the switch from highlighted hair to warmer tones. My natural hair color is dark brown, but typically I lighten or highlight it in the summer months. Being that it is only 6 weeks until Christmas, getting my hair colored at the salon was not in my wallet’s vocabulary, so I opted to color my hair at home. I made my way to CVS and decided upon John Frieda’s Precision Foam Colour. I went with 4BG  (Dark Chocolate Brown.)

My highlighted hair before, colored immediately after and results 1 week later.

I have to say, I don’t typically read the warnings on home hair coloring kits because I have been coloring my hair since I was 13 and they typically all say the same thing. However, I noticed John Frieda’s included some things I have never seen before like you need to remove all accessories you are wearing and cannot use metal tools. Since there seems to be an issue with metal, I assumed that the accessories they meant were jewelry.  So I removed my earrings. It also says you shouldn’t use this product if you have a temporary black Henna tattoo, as it is likely to increase an allergy risk. If you wear contacts, you need to remove them also…however I’m not sure how you could put on your glasses since you can’t have metal around. If you’ve colored your hair previously with compound hennas, metallic dyes or color restorers you have to wait until your hair has grown out and then cut.

And don’t try to put the foam on your eyelashes or eyebrows because it may cause blindness.

So, basically, by the time I was done reading that I was freaked out. Then I went on to read how to mix the product. It says you cannot shake the mix (you need to gently tilt it 5 times,) you cannot use the pump but instead have to squeeze the bottle to make the foam come out of the pump…which is psychologically confusing because you are holding a bottle with a pump…that you cannot pump. The bottle needs to remain upright at all times and you can only apply the foam to your hands first (in gloves of course) and not directly onto your hair.

So basically I felt I was going to mess this up big time.

Application was tricky because the instructions state that you cannot get the foam on your face or ears at all. My hair is shoulder length, so good luck with that Shannon! Trying to prevent the foam from touching my skin, while trying to keep the bottle upright and not pump it was like playing a game of Twister.  Additionally your hair needs to be “frothy” with foam in order to be “done.” Ok, guess what? Foam evaporates or absorbs into your hair. Especially if you have long-ish hair and are trying to make sure you get each section equally. Wait time from this point is 30 minutes.

I rinsed my hair, applied the conditioner, rinsed that out after 3 minutes and then blew it dry. I was pleasantly surprised with the color. I loved it. Tweeted about it. My 7 year old snapped my pic for me and I was happy I was still alive with great looking hair.

Fast forward 1 week and while my hair is still brown, as you can see from the picture…the color has significantly faded. Ugh. I do not wash my hair everyday, in fact I usually only wash it every other day. I also used sulfate-free shampoo and conditioner, so I know it wouldn’t have been the culprit to strip my hair color. I also hadn’t washed my hair 24 hours before applying the foam as the instructions stated and I did not have any product build-up to prevent the color from adhering.

So was it worth it to save myself the $60-$75 of coloring my hair at the salon? Not really.

Have you used John Frieda’s Precision Foam? I’d like to hear about your experience (good or bad.)

Shannon Nelson

Shannon Nelson launched A Girl's Gotta Spa! in 2005. She currently works with beauty brands as a social media consultant, freelance writes for magazines and is a public speaker at beauty industry conferences.

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by Copley, TIA staff writer

As soon as the sun emerges from its half-yearlong hibernation, I instinctively crave lighter hair. Not that I have anything against darker shades (in fact I think some of the world’s greatest beauties are brunettes), but I miss the blond locks I was born with and somehow feel that brighter hair gives me a sunnier disposition. With the arrival of hot weather, I want to look like a sun-kissed, golden-hued beach goddess returning from the French Riviera, not the washed-out apparition topped with the dishwater-dull mop I see before me in the mirror. That’s wishful thinking, of course, since a trip to France is definitely not in the cards this summer and my roots keep dashing my blond ambitions by growing back darker and drabber each winter.

I would never entertain the thought of chemically bleaching my entire head, since my hair’s health and texture trump color in my book. However, I do make bi-annual visits to my hometown salon to give the strands around my face an occasional pick-me-up. Foil highlights are an expensive habit (especially considering they only last four to six weeks before roots start to show), and they do cumulative – albeit intermittent – injury to the hair follicles. Semi-permanent lightening products like Sun-in strip the hair of its natural color thanks to hydrogen peroxide – healthy hair’s worst enemy. What’s a girl with blond on the brain to do?

I turned to John Frieda, taking a cue from the countless devotees who have made him a household name over the past decade. There’s no doubt you have seen the Sheer Blonde line in drugstores or commercials. I remember when the original Sheer Blonde shampoo was first launched, long before I started coloring my hair. Clearly, the concept of marketing to a particular hair color took off, as there is now a slew of industry copycats such as Pantene Pro-V Blonde Expressions. But for my experiment I went with the blond-boosting shampoo that started it all, the one that has withstood the test of time and even spawned a family of spin-off products.

A few of my friends swear by Sheer Blonde for extending the life of their highlights. Others keep the products in their shower just because they like the subtle, unisex scent. When I purchased Sheer Blond Go Blonder Lightening shampoo, I didn’t have unrealistic expectations. Besides prolonging the period between salon visits, my goal was to brighten my hair’s artificially blond highlights and the unadulterated surrounding strands. The product information doesn’t specify whether its lightening effects work better on color-treated or natural hair, so I was hedging my bets on both.

Even with my reasonable expectations, I set the bar too high. After swapping out my regular shampoo with Sheer Blonde, I waited patiently for a noticeable difference in my hair’s dirty blond shade. Once I had worked the shampoo into a foamy lather, my hair instantly felt parched and craved deep conditioning. Two weeks later, I still hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the slightest brightening power within my new product. If anything, my hair seemed more brassy and subdued than ever. The worst part wasn’t the lack of results regarding color, but rather the unfortunate effect it had on my hair’s texture. Instead of emerging from the shower moisturized and healthy-looking, my hair became flat, dry, and brittle.

One glance at the ingredients explained why. Sheer Blonde touts chamomile and citrus as its secret blond-enhancing ingredients. Rinsing the hair with chamomile flower extract or chamomile tea has been used for centuries as a method of brightening hair. Today, lemon juice is probably the most popular natural remedy for lightening hair, but it is also highly acidic and can be damaging if not diluted. Both of these applications require at least 20 minutes under sunlight to enhance their brightening effects. However, John Frieda does not indicate that the daily Sheer Blonde shampoo needs to be activated by UV light in order to maximize results, so I avoided the sun as usual. Could this be why the blond effects fell flat?

Instead of offsetting the drying properties of lemon extract with a conditioning base, John Frieda’s shampoo formula gives top billing to two very unattractive sisters: the Sulfates. Sodium lauryl sulfate and closely-related sodium laureth sulfate are harsh chemical detergents known to dissolve oils, denature proteins, and deposit on the skin surface and the hair follicle, thus leaving both susceptible to damage. The sulfates are also accused of being absorbed by the skin and wreaking havoc on the internal organs. SLS in concentrations of 10-30% causes severe skin irritation and corrosion, as described in a report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology. Formulations with SLS at a concentration higher than 30% (likely the level that Sheer Blonde contains) are labeled “highly irritating and dangerous” in the report.

Additional allergens and irritants join the fray in the form of coco-betaine, DMDM hydantoin, and propylene glycol. I consider myself lucky that, besides stripping and aggravating my hair, the shampoo didn’t add insult to injury by triggering skin inflammation. John Frieda makes a point of boasting that Sheer Blonde’s formula is free of ammonia and peroxide. Ironically, it is not the highlighting ingredients in the product, but rather the cleansing ingredients, that end up raising red flags. Meanwhile, the alleged blond-enhancing “actives” – chamomile and citrus – are too weak to overtly affect hair color.

If you read the fine print on the Sheer Blonde shampoo bottle, you’ll notice that the lightening claims are couched in rather sneaky language. John Frieda never says that the shampoo will deposit color or permanently lighten hair. Instead, he says that the shampoo is equipped with a “natural lightening complex” that will “gently reduce color pigments in the hair.” Apart from the chamomile and citrus, there is no science buried within Sheer Blonde’s formula to turn hair a lighter shade, and the only real “technology” at work is a thorough cleansing. By ridding hair of residue with the help of sulfates, the shampoo removes buildup that can make strands appear dark and dull.

Despite a handful of beneficial botanicals in the mix, Sheer Blonde Go Blonder Lightening Shampoo does not contain enough quality ingredients to justify stripping the hair with harsh chemicals. Its lightening effects are minimal, if not illusory. Though the concept of targeting shampoo formulas to specific hair colors is genius from a marketing standpoint, there is no technology to support that it makes a difference. The (dumb blond) joke’s on you, John Frieda!

For more honest reviews and information about beauty and personal care products, visit Truthinaging.com

Ingredients: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Lactic Acid, Glycol Distearate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Betaine, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract (Matricaria), Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Extract (Lemon), Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract (Turmeric), Crocus Sativus Flower Extract, Helianthus Annuus Seed Extract (Sunflower), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Juice Extract (Grape), Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Extract (Grape), Glycerin, Benzyl Alcohol, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, PEG 40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Glycine, Alcohol, Butylene Glycol, Sodium Chloride, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Xylene Sulfonate, Maleic Acid, Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E), Disodium EDTA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Fragrance, Yellow 10 Aluminum Lake (CI 47005)

Marta Wohrle

I was born in England in 1960. A former journalist and recovering consultant, I now work in the online and digital media space. I have never tried Botox. I founded Accord Media in 2008 to publish Truth In Aging with a mission to offer truthful and unbiased guidance to people seeking to improve their physical health and appearance through skin care, hair care, health and beauty products, and salon and clinical treatments. A publishing industry veteran, I try to bring a uniquely curious, honest voice to consumer journalism through my web sites.

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