May 21, 2012

Brazilian Blowout: My hair's savior

Those who have known me for many years know that my hair is naturally a hot mess.  My hair is thick and plentiful.  It also wants to be wavy as a mofo on one side of my head, while wavy AND curly on the other.  I try to not let people see me with my hair in its natural state.  Here is a rare glimpse at the untamed beast:

December, 2009.  Cookies = duck lips, hair = swoot.
Unnerving, right?  For about 12 years, I spent 45 minutes every other day drying and flat-ironing my hair.  I devoted nearly 100,000 minutes of my life to frying the ends of my hair, just to have straight locks.  Early in July, 2010, as I was having my hair cut and colored for the last time before our wedding at the end of the month, my stylist and colorist at Salon Hazelton worked their magic.  They convinced me that I would be a good candidate for a Brazilian Blowout (BB).  They told me that it would not only immediately improve my hair's health and appearance, but that I would no longer need to run that flat iron through my hair daily.  I thought it was too good to be true, but I was intrigued.  The three of us decided that it would be best to wait until after our wedding--if not for a few other reasons, all of the swimming I'd be doing in salt water a few weeks later on our honeymoon would lessen the strength of the application.  Brazilian Blowout had to wait.



http://www.brazilianblowout.com/bb_original/
I had read a little about the BB and became curious, but thought it was all too good to be true.  I found it difficult to find any legitimate negative reviews of the BB.  I did read some bad stuff about off-brand BB and similar keratin treatments, but I knew that at Salon Hazelton, they would only use the best of the best.  All of the hullabaloo about the product allegedly containing formaldehyde didn't bother me, either.

After a couple of months of toiling, I finally booked myself an appointment for my first BB in October, 2010.  The application of the BB intrigued me.  First, my hair was washed with some special shampoo to remove any and all doo-doo from my hairs.  Then, I was rinsed, not conditioned, and dried.  Nicole (my colorist) then put a little bit of fear into me--she put on some creepy, black latex gloves that I am pretty sure she does not wear when she colors my hair.  She spent about 30 minutes painting the BB onto my hair, section-by-section.  The smell is really very pleasant, almost floral and fruity.

Just when I felt like it was time to rinse this stuff off of my head, Nicole blew my mind--literally!  Ba-zing!  The BB was not rinsed, but instead blown dry into my hair.  This is the only part of the process that has ever bothered me.  Every time since the first, it has been about halfway through blowing dry that I have experienced some temporary irritation in my nose; it's not nearly as bad as the burning irritation I remember from getting a perm in 1994.  Once I was all good and dry, I was a bit concerned--I got a peek in the mirror and saw that my hair was still a big, poofy, wavy mess.  Did the BB fail?  Is my hair hopeless?  And am I going to have to pay for this?!

No, no, and no.  Wait, yes to that last one.  The BB is sealed in and becomes effective with heat, so the final step to the process was flat-ironing the treatment into my hair.  My limited understanding is that some of us have wavy wigs because our hairs are porous.  With heat, the keratin/protein in the BB fills in all of those pores.  The result is instantly healthier hair AND complete resistance against humidity.  Read: NO MORE FRIZZ!

Dry Remedy™ Moisturizing Treatment Masque
The masque.
I left Salon Hazelton that day happier than I had ever been after a hair appointment in the past.  Hmm, maybe I was a bit happier/giddier after getting my wedding-do.  But anywho, I was so excited to show off my beautiful new hair to Joe.  It was recommended that I wait a couple of days before washing for the first time.  During that couple of days, despite my worries, my hair did not get greasy or nasty at all.  When I finally washed, as instructed, I did so without shampoo and instead with a masque.  After showering, I busted out my blow dryer.  After less than ten minutes, my hairs were completely dry, smooth, and straight.  Best of all was that I did not at all need my flat iron.  I was so happy that I cried.



Since then, I think I have had three or four BBs.  I had my last BB about three months ago--each treatment maintains its strength for three to four months, largely depending on how often you wash your hair.  During marathon training, I was washing six to seven times per week and my BB is still holding strong.  Here is a photo of me just a couple of days ago with freshly blown-dry, but unflat-ironed hair.

A smile only achieved with hair serenity.

You can see that I am starting to get some of my little fly-away wingies around my face, but check out how straight and smooth the rest of it looks!  It may sound corny, but the BB has made me so much more confident as I do not constantly need to worry about frizz and kinks or my hair flipping up in the back.  Perhaps most importantly, I have been able to save so much time without all of the lengthy blow-drying (15 to 20 minutes) and flat-ironing (another 20 or so).

Admittedly, something that kept me away from the BB initially was the cost.  Lots of articles online suggest that a BB will run anyone at least $300 per treatment.  I learned that is only true in big markets, such as LA and New York.  If you go to an upscale salon in the Midwest, the real BB is a fraction of what it costs in the big cities. Look at it this way: the treatment lasts months, so one BB every three to four months costs far less than getting hair colored even more often--that is, if you are willing to spend so much on color every couple of months, you should be able to justify the amount you spend on the BB less frequently.

Long story short: If you have ever thought about getting a BB, find a salon that does the real thing and get it done.


Update: Just got another BB on Friday, June 1st.  Above is what my hair looked liked after the first time I washed it, one day later.  I used my usual Aveda Smooth Infusion Style Prep and Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair.  I have been told I don't need to be using the Damage Remedy, but I use it anyway.  I blew it dry on medium heat WITHOUT a comb or brush.  Amazing, huh?

Does your hair drive you crazy?  Are you thinking about getting a BB?  Do you think I'm awful for subjecting Nicole to those "harmful fumes" quarterly?

May 14, 2012

Who's hungry?

It's been a minute since I've posted any recipes, so allow me this opportunity over the next couple of days to share with you a couple of my original favorites from the past month.


Citrus and cayenne glazed Coho salmon with roasted asparagus and red pepper risotto.  We had some cedar grilling planks from William-Sonoma since last summer, so I got them soaking the night prior.  I bought all of the goodies at Walt Churchill's Market--more to be said about Churchill's later.  My plan was to try to make some beurre blanc for the asparagus, but I chucked that for something even less tedious.  I understand that beurre blanc is very easy to make, so I will try it another day.  Arborio rice is always in our cupboard because I have a love affair with risotto.

For the 2 Coho salmon fillets:
1/3 cup orange marmelade
1 t cayenne pepper
2 t brown sugar
1 dash garlic powder

Then the asparagus:
8 stalks asparagus, ends snapped off
2 T white wine vinegar
2 T unsalted butter
1 t sea salt
1 t freshly-ground black pepper

And finally, the queen mother of sides--the risotto:
1 cup arborio rice
1 small shallot, chopped
1/3 cup Chardonnay
1 T unsalted butter
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 cups chicken stock, heated and kept at a simmer
1/3 cup fire-roasted, peeled, and diced red bell pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan
freshly-ground black pepper

Heat your gas grill to medium and throw the cedar plank onto it.  Let it hang out in there for a little while.  Throw the asparagus stalks into some tinfoil with the white wine vinegar, butter and so forth.  That's right--I didn't even melt the butter, let alone combine/emulsify it with the vinegar.  Close up the foil and set it aside for when you put the fillets onto the plank.

Over medium heat in a medium saute pan, heat 1 T butter with the olive oil.  Let it warm up just a tad before adding the arborio rice.  Get it all coated really nicely.  When things start to make a little noise, add the shallot.  Combine everything and let it cook until the shallot is slightly translucent.  The pan should be nice and hot by this point.  Pour in the white wine, combine everything, and let the wine cook down on its own--save your stirring muscles for the chicken stock.  Once the rice absorbs the wine, add one ladle of chicken stock.  Stir constantly with a wooden spatula until the stock is absorbed, then add another ladle and repeat.  With such a small batch of risotto, you'll only be doing this for about 20 minutes.  After your last ladle of stock is absorbed, turn off the heat.  Throw in the red peppers, stir in the parmesan, and finish it off with some black pepper.  When it comes to black pepper, I like a lot more than less.

Heat the orange marmelade in a small glass bowl in the microwave for about 30 seconds at about medium power.  It hurts me to use the microwave, but I could not justify dirtying another pan for such a small amount of glaze.  Throw in the cayenne, brown sugar, and garlic powder and combine it well.  Now is the time to put the salmon fillets onto that plank on the grill.  Put the fillets scale-side down.  Oh, did I forget to mention that I like to keep the scales on my salmon?  We have a phenomenal knife to fillet off those scales with ease, and the great folks behind the seafood counter at Churchill's, or any quality grocer, with remove them for you if you request it.  However, I like to keep the scales on to avoid any of that delicious meat from sticking to the cooking surface.  Anywho, scale-side down onto the plank.  Put the asparagus, in its foil, on the top rack of your grill or over a low burner.  Close the lid and let everything hang out for about 8 minutes.  At that point, you are going to brush that orange glaze onto each salmon fillet.  Close the lid again and let everything cook for another few minutes.  Take it all off of the grill and you've got dinner.

The asparagus is rather sour with that white wine vinegar, but I liked it.  The was initially a turn-off for me, since we usually roast our asparagus in the oven just with extra virgin olive oil, with which it maintains a beautiful bright green hue.  I will definitely make this asparagus again, though.  I feel like you can't go wrong with risotto--the key is to using enough stock AND making sure the rice fully absorbs it all.  And the salmon?  Well, I thought it was the bomb.  Try it and let me know what you think.  And if you have any fun risotto recipes, please share!


Next time: a picture of my chicken parmesan.  Sorry--no sharing that recipe.

May 9, 2012

No Excuses

Since I started running in July 2011, I have received a lot of praise. Or maybe "admiration" is a better word. Nope, nope; ego-boosting. Yeah, that's it. Thanks to everyone who has made me feel like I am doing something really good for myself. Not to say I need it--thanks to the great exercise and all of those endorphins, the way I feel physically and mentally now is the best I have ever felt.

Even so, I still encounter some nay-sayers.

"Running is horrible for your joints, so your body is going to hate you later in life."

Weird. My mom has been running for like, 25 years and is still going strong. I know another woman who, at 60-something years old, is running faster than most people my age can. And have you seen how fast some of those mall-walkers move? Yes, there are some people who suffer at older ages because of the hell through which they put their younger bodies while running. I'm willing to take the risk of some joint issues in lieu of being a sedentary blob fighting diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease.

"The first guy to run 26.2 miles died from it."

I think it's safe to assume that he didn't properly train for that fateful run through Greece or whatever.  Oh yeah, and he had just completed a battle immediately prior to running.  Probably didn't hydrate, fuel, or wear wicking materials to keep his body cool, either. Our bodies CAN do amazing things like completing marathons, half-marathons, 10Ks, 5Ks, and even 1-milers. You've got to start somewhere.

"I wish I could do what you're doing, but I just don't have the time for it."

Way to imply that your life is so much busier than mine. But do you really think it is? Most of us work and have responsibilities on top of that. Joe works easily 50 to 60 hours per week and has class until 9:00PM two nights per week, but still fits in a one-hour workout 5 days per week AND runs four to five days on top of that. I run with women and men who have 2 and 3 kids and who have been running since said kids were crapping their pants; some of them are even single parents. My own mom started running when I was a baby. You might not have the time the way you do things now, but you can definitely make it.

"No excuses" was the cheesy motto our boys tennis team used in high school. There are definitely no excuses.