Hello! I’m Virginia of Beauty Schooled, a blog where I investigate the price of pretty. I’m so excited that Alexandra and Siobhan asked me to guest post, because I am obsessed with their book to the point that I carry it in my purse when I go to the store to stock up on conditioner and face wash (that’s not weird, right?) and also, they are totally awesome people.
A little while ago, I bullied these ladies into guest posting on my blog, and we started talking about how cleaning up your beauty routine can lead to you also feeling maybe a little bit free from all those “you MUST look like [insert-whomever-in-Hollywood-here]” beauty standards that we all hold ourselves to, often to a pretty major degree.
And it was a little bit of a light bulb moment for me.
You know you’re in deep when you sit around seriously contemplating the merits (and risks!) of a seasonal moisturizer switch, and yet here I am. It’s autumn in New York and for the first time in my life I’m wondering if the weather will necessitate some product switches. Deep stuff.
Lately my hair’s been feeling a little dry, which is very unusual for me, and my face has as well. But I’m a believer in consistency with skincare, knowing that when I switch my products too much, the risks often outweigh the benefits. What if I get a rash? Or break out? Or discover a new allergy to an essential oil? Of course these things happen far less with the natural organic products I use, but you never know. And yet…
I refuse to change my nighttime Kahina argan oil ritual because my skin loves it, and it’s become part of how I unwind before bed. But will I be trying a new night cream on top of it? Day lotion? Conditioner? Looking that way.
What about you? Do you notice seasonal changes in your skin and hair? Do you adjust your regimens?
Horrible lo-res photo (it’s Friiiiday) from the worst movie ever made via
For new readers, we announced a hair challenge last week—natural shampoo and conditioner, no heat, no products, then say cheese. Well, the results are in and they are amazing. Look at all of these beautiful women! And Jordan! And Conall! We can’t believe how many of you did it—among them Alexandra’s sister (see if you can guess which one she is), three of Siobhan’s cousins, our lit agent, our book editor, a bunch of friends, and a whole lot of strangers. What we can believe, however, is how fabulous and pretty you all look.
Many of you expressed surprise at how good your hair looked when you didn’t mess with it, which was sort of the point. In the next few days we will share some of your individual stories as inspiration. But for now, it’s picture time, so enjoy!
1. Sharalyn; 2. Lauren, Columbus, Ohio; 3. Aster, Netherlands; 4. Emily, New Jersey; 5. Jordan of JordanSamuelFragrances.com; 6. Shannon; 7. Amy, Glasgow; 8. Rocio, Glasgow; 9. Talia; 10. Anonymous; 11. Amy; 12. Allison, Urbana, Illinois; 13. Jenn, Arizona; 14. Molly, Los Angeles; 15. Jenn, Nashville; 16. Marna, Columbus, Ohio; 17. Sarah, Washington, DC; 18. Belle, Portland; 19. Lisa, Los Angeles; 20. Bridget, Denver; 21. Kate, Switzerland; 22. Adrianna, California; 23. Lauren, Houston; 24. Amanda, New York; 25. Rebecca, Phoenix; 26. Sheryl, New York; 27. Carolina, Los Angeles; 28. Acree; 29. Dianna, Boone, North Carolina; 30. Karyn, Brooklyn; 31. Tina, Brooklyn; 32. Lauren, Ottawa; 33. Alissa, Long Beach, California; 34. Ilana, Toronto; 35. Mary; 36. Jan, New York; 37. Sarah, Little Rock, Arkanas; 38. Conall, Montreal; 39. Jennifer, New York; 40. Julianne; 41. Emilia, Brooklyn; 42. Casey, Philadelphia; 43. Emily, Southern Indiana; 44. Allison, Austin; 45. Anonymous; 46. Kei, Vancouver; 47. Maria, Tampa; 48. Kathryn, Toronto; 49. Ania, New York; 50. Meghan-Rose, Washington, DC; 51. Nicola, Toronto; 52. Ishka; 53. Abby, Chicago; 54. Cara; 55. Sabrina, Tel Aviv; 56. Alice; 57. Hartley, Henderson Harbor, New York; 58. Maya, Brooklyn; 59. Samantha, Windsor, Ontario; 60. Traci, Macon, Georgia; 61. Laura, New York; 62. Virginia of www.beautyschooledproject.com; 63. Maeve, Kingston, Ontario; 64. Christine, Los Angeles; 65. Katherine, London; 66. Katie, Brooklyn; 67. Anni, Chicago; 68. Dani, Bellingham, Washington; 69. Katie, Little Rock; 70. Anna, New York; 71. Amy, Des Moines; 72. Marina, London.
My childhood was marked by nightly, teary-eyed hair brushings. I’d sit as my mother tried her best—bless her soul—to unknot my matted curls, often catching my ears and cheeks with the rough bristles. It was time-consuming and it hurt and I wondered somewhere in my child brain why I was being punished.
Over the years I sort of grew to appreciate my unruly hair—that is by leaving handfuls of product in it. The worst kind. Every day. I just thought that coating it in a ton of crap was the only way to deal with coarse, curly hair. Of course that made for unpleasant build-up every few days, at which point I would lather up dutifully with shampoo (which made my hair look awful) and start the whole ritual over again. I spent an inordinate amount of money on a ridiculous array of products, many of which ended sitting half-finished in my shower.
Then one day I tried an experiment. Those who have read the book know about this: I stopped washing my hair entirely. For several months I actually didn’t use a thing. You’ll have to read the book for the whole story, but suffice to say it’s been over a year and a half since I’ve gone near shampoo. I have some other tricks up my sleeve, like amazing natural conditioners that I rinse through my hair, a baking soda “wash” that works like a charm, and a hair treatment that I do every few days. But no foaming, folks.
The result? Healthier, happier, soft—soft!—hair. No leave-ins, except a for few naturals when I’m feeling fancy. Dare I say… liberation? How often do you shampoo? And do you think I’m totally gross? Be honest.
Okydoke, it’s time for the “what our hair was like before we switched to naturals” post. It explains why we launched the Summer Hair Challenge, it’s related to why we wrote the book, and it speaks to one of our core messages, which is: Less is freaking more. Translation: So many of our products bite us in the ass.
I used to be a four-or-five-hair-products-a-day person and I didn’t think that was particularly high-maintenance. It was just that I had poodle hair sometimes, especially in the summer. I live in New York and grew up in Montreal, islands both, frizzy-hair-makers both. And frizz, every girl knows, sucks eggs. And so I used products.
I used to wake up, hop in the shower, use Garnier Fructis Sleek and Shine shampoo and conditioner, or if I was feeling rich I’d use Rene Furterer’s stuff. Then I’d load Phytodefrisant onto my wet hair, and once blow-dried (and sometimes also ironed), I would use one or two finishing serums that probably had silicone or some other garbage in it.
My hair looked how I wanted it to look, but do the math: that’s expensive, and a pain. I was also unwittingly exposing myself to 11 of the 20 ingredients on our Black List—daily. (For more on what’s in shampoo, check this out.)
Anyway, eventually I realized the unmanageableness (?) of my hair was squarely the fault of the products I was using, and when I made the switch, my hair chilled out. Ever seen a baby with decimated ends? Do we think Pocanhontas had flyaways?
But as we have said in the past: if you’ve made the switch to clean products and are still beefing with some frizz, here are my two favorite tricks: spritz with pure aloe juice in a spray bottle before drying, and for a finisher, argan oil—just a dab, smoothed over the top layer of dry hair.
You got any tricks you like?
Our inbox is already flooding with pictures of fuss-free summer hair in all its glory—and we’re expecting many more thanks to this post on Jezebel (you know, only one of our favorite websites ever—thanks, Sadie!).
However, if you’re stumped—as some ladies appear to be—on what natural products to use for the challenge, here are a few that we like: There are many more in the book but John Masters and Intelligent Nutrients are fancy favorites available at many Whole Foods locations as well as online at sites like Spirit Beauty Lounge and ABC, and Aubrey Organics and Giovanni are two clean and affordable brands you can easily find at your local drug or health food store. So, no more excuses!
Anyone have any other natural favorites to share?
One special note: Some people find that their hair takes a few days to adjust to the less-foamy natural shampoos. Take our word and give it a minute—you have a week to send in your photo!
Oh hey folks. How’s it going? Good summer so far? How’s your hair been treating you? Misbehaving as usual, hey? We feel ya. And actually, we have a theory about that, and we’d like you to help us prove it. So we are going to propose a challenge:
Some time in the next week, when you get up in the morning, shower, shampoo and condition your hair using nontoxic natural products, comb it when you get out of the shower, and that’s it. Once it’s dry, send us a pic.
Some rules: No sneaking in a little blast from the dryer on your roots, no irons, no natural leave-ins, and certainly no toxic ones. Naked hair, air-dried.
Instructions: As we said above, you have to get it wet, whether you use shampoo and conditioner or both or neither is up to you. You can use a brush or a pick, and that’s it. Once your hair is dry, take a pic with your phone or computer or whathaveyou and send it to us at nomoredirtylooks (at) gmail (dot) com with HAIR CHALLENGE in the subject line.
Please include your first name and where you live, and if you feel like it, tell us what you normally use, how long it takes you to get ready in the morning—and be sure to include what you used the day of the pic, too! Email us by the end of the day Friday, August 13th. Once we’ve compiled them all, we’ll publish them on our site.
Special favor: Help us make sure this is not one of those embarrassing challenges no one actually does. Tell your friends on Twitter, Facebook, at the gym or at the bar. Friend us, follow us, and then RT us, or whatever. Spread the word!
The reason for the challenge: We all wage war with our hair on a semiregular basis, and we want to see what happens when we switch to nontoxic, nonstripping products, and then leave our manes alone. We already did the challenge—those are our pics up top—and we want you all with us. One day! Please?
It’s about to be on, girls.
If you’re a girl who’s spent any amount of time in New York or Montreal in the summertime then you’ve probably wanted to kill yourself over frizzy hair at some point. For years my morning routine went something like this: sleepwalk to shower, wash hair with some frizz-busting shampoo and conditioner (Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine was a favorite), towel dry, slather on a handful of Phytodefrisant and then do something utterly optimistic: I’d blowdry my hair. I’d finish with some leave-in like Frizz-Ease and, confident I’d tamed my hair into submission, book it to work.
Of course, the minute I stepped outside? Bam! Poodle hair.
Those of you who’ve read our sample chapter know that this whole shebang started because of our vain search for perfect summer hair. Well, this is my first summer as a truly clean girl—it’s been over a year since I’ve used chem-y shampoos and conditioners on purpose (and even longer since curly Alexandra has washed her hair at all)—and guess what? Zero frizz.
Now, I only use two hair products: shampoo and conditioner. Half the week I don’t blowdry at all and my hair looks beachy (not poodly), and on the days I bother with the dryer, my mane stays reasonably sleek all day. No leave-ins, no frizz-busters: Just a high-quality shampoo and conditioner, every single day. (Yeah, yeah I’m a daily hair washer.)
My favorite haircare line is John Masters Organics. I live and die by his Lavender Rosemary Shampoo and Lavender and Avocado Intensive Conditioner, but I also love all of Alaffia’s shampoos, and Alba’s Volumizing Conditioner is nice as well.
If you’ve made the switch to clean products and are still beefing with some frizz, here are my two favorite tricks: A spritz of pure aloe juice (like, really, no gunk added please), stored in the fridge in a spray bottle before drying, and for a finisher, pure argan oil—just a dab, smoothed over the top layer of dry hair.
Do you have any natural tricks?
Image via
