Hair vs Wintertime: Win the Battle!

Winter weather can cause your hair some of the worst damage it will see year-round. But don't worry! There are plenty of ways to avoid wintertime damage to keep your tresses healthy and beautiful.

Beat the winter weather to
maintain gorgeous hair!

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize - During dry winter weather, your hair needs more moisture than normal (even indoor heating can dry out your hair!). Use moisturizing shampoo and conditioners, deep condition at least once a week, and use a moisturizing styling product like Morroccanoil's Original Oil Treatment.

Turn Down the Temp - Adjust your water temperature in the shower. Extended contact with hot water can strip your hair. Try showering in warm water instead. And for an added moisture bonus, after conditioning rinse your hair in cold water. This shocks the cuticle closed helping your hair hold in the moisture.

Style Smart - Adjust your hair products. Avoid any product with a high alcohol content. This will dry your hair out further. Also, use styling creams as opposed to hair gels. Creams add moisture to the hair and allow elasticity.

The fight against winter hair damage may be a tough one, but with a little extra attention, you can win the battle!

Upcoming Hair Trends of 2012

With 2012 now upon us, many fashionistas are wondering how to style their strands to make the hottest statement this year. With hints from the runways and celebrities, we can expect some great styles for 2012.

What to expect...

Vintage Hair

From retro pompadours and pin curls,
to finger waves and beehives, bringing back
vintage hair is HOT right now.  

Short Bobs/Pixie Cuts

Shoulder length bobs and ultra short
pixie cuts are coming up on the scene for 2012.

"Wet" Looks

Weather up or down, hair that appears
 wet was seen all over the runways for 2012.

Rich, Bold Color

Watch for bright blondes, rich reds, and
jet black hair this year. Bold color is in!

Textured Hair with Volume

Expect full curls and beachy waves to
 hang around for 2012. Remember,
the bigger the hair, the better!

With looks like these on the horizon, we can expect to see spectacular styles in 2012!

Trend Alert: Crimped Hair is Back!

Crimped hair is making a comeback! This look once popular in the 80's is currently being seen on the red carpet and on the runways in fresh and new ways. Try one of these fun crimped styles to add volumes to your look!

Play with multiple textures using a crimper
when wearing hair down.

Crimp just your roots and let the rest of
your ponytail flow smoothly.

Crimp your entire head and tame all
of the volume with a loose braid.

Add hints of crimp to add
some spunk to your up-do.

With your U-Smooth texturizing iron, you can achieve creative and eye-catching looks like these!

Flat Iron and Braid Technique

Try this easy technique using simple braiding and your flat iron to get great waves!

1. Apply a heat protectant and a styling mousse to damp hair. 

2. Grab a squared section of hair and make a regular braid. Secure the end of the braid with a clip or pin.

3. Repeat step 2 until your entire head is covered in braids. (The tighter the braids, the smaller the waves.)

Take your time to make sure the heat
goes all the way through the braid!

4. Take your flat iron and close down at the top of your braid for a few seconds. Open the flat iron and move it down the braid about an inch. Close again. Repeat this step to the end of the braid.

5. Repeat step 4 on all braids.

6. Once braids have had time to cool, undo the braids to see textured wavy hair. Spray to set style.

Try this technique and post a reply with how it worked for you! Send in your flat-ironed-braided-hair photographs to info@u-smooth.com and your photos may get added to this post! 

Protein: The Secret to Healthy Hair

Protein is necessary to achieve a balanced diet for your body, and it's an essential part of your hair's health. Protein is the secret to stronger, thicker strands and more manageable hair. The correct balance of protein and moisture is important to keep your hair the strongest it can be.

Keep your hair shiny
and strong with protein!

Your hair is made up of about 88% protein and 12% water.  A lack of protein can cause thinning hair, hair loss, weak brittle hair, and/or a dull appearance. Don't worry if you see these characteristics in your hair. There are many ways to feed your hair protein to nurse it back to health!

Adding protein-rich foods like eggs and yogurt in your diet can naturally add protein to your hair. Also, external treatments can help achieve the right amount of protein for your specific hair type. However, be careful to not overdo it on the protein treatments. Too much protein can cause hair to become brittle and break. Consult your hair dresser to determine the status of your hair's heath. This way you can decide how strong of a protein treatment your hair needs.

Very Light Treatment - Apply Paul Mitchell's Super Strong Liquid Treatment daily to help seal split ends for healthy-looking results.

Light Treatment - Try Keune's Phyto Protein Spray. Use this spray daily on dry and damaged hair to help protect your hair before, during and after coloring.

Middle-Strength Treatment - Schedule an Awapuhi Keratriplex Treatment. This in-salon treatment should be done every 4 weeks to help repair and seal hair from cuticle to core.

Intense Treatment - Try Keratin Complex's Intense RX. This treatment will repair extremely damaged hair form the inside-out. See your stylist for the initial in-salon treatment, continuing with daily application to ensure longer lasting healthier hair.   

Remember - Too much protein can dry out hair so be sure to keep your protein/hydration ratio balanced by using a deep conditioner. Apply Moroccanoil's Intense Hydrating Mask twice weekly to bring the needed hydration into your tresses.

Protein is the primary component of hair, so be sure to supply your mane with the nutrition it needs to stay strong. Healthy hair is beautiful hair!

Emmy Hair Up-Do: The Low Chignon

The Emmy Awards is a night filled with beautiful faces, fashion, and of course, beautiful hair! You don't need a celebrity stylist to achieve some of the hottest looks seen on this year's red carpet, though. 

One classic hairstyle seen this year is the stylish low chignon. This easy up-do can be worn relaxed perfect for a lunch out with the girls, or sleek for a classy night out.  

Taraji P. Henson looked
gorgeous with her low chignon
hairstyle at the 2011 Emmy's.

Get the Look:

1. Collect all of your hair at the nape of the neck (either centered in the back or towards the side depending on your desired look). For a messy chignon, pull small sections of hair down in front, framing your face. For a polished look, slick all hair back with a mousse or gel.

2. Begin twisting all of your hair with both hands.

3. As the hair becomes tighter, allow the hair coil to twist around itself creating a bun. Keep twisting hair until it is all wrapped into a bun.

4. Take a hair band and wrap it around the base of your bun.

5. For a messy look, loosen small sections of hair to fall outside the bun. For a cleaner look, tuck any fly-aways into bun with bobby pins and spray.

Just a couple of minutes and you can get a look fit for a star! Rock this Emmy-inspired hairdo any day of the week to catch the attention you deserve!

Give Your Hair Voluptuous Volume

Big hair is in! Get that full, voluminous look with a few of our favorite big hair tricks.

1.  Root Boost - Before blow drying, apply a root-boost to your hair at the scalp. We like Paul Mitchell’s Volumizing Spray for great hold and volume from the roots out.

2.  Flip It - Blow dry your hair while your head is flipped over. This allows the roots to dry standing straight out from your head, giving you sexy volume.

3.  Texturize - One of U-Smooth’s exciting new tools is our crimped-plate Texturizing Iron. This texturizing iron is a fabulous tool to give you the full look you want with great lift.

     Body-Double - To bring your whole head of hair to a fuller look, texturize
     all your hair with the Texturizing Iron. Then use U-Smooth’s Smoothing Iron
     to flatten out the texture. The hair appears to be flat, but still
     holds the texture from the crimp giving your hair twice the amount of body.

     Lift-Off - To get lift just at the roots, simply add texture to your hair at the
     roots on the lower layers of your hair that are not showing. Check out our
     video to see how this technique adds volume.

Powder Power - Take your volume to the next level by adding volumizing powder! One of our favorites is Keratin Complex’s Volumizing Dry Shampoo Lift Powder. Work into your roots after texturizing and fluff up with your fingers.

Keep your voluptuous volume all day! Spray your hair after styling with a strong finishing spray to ensure a long-lasting hold.

How to Choose Your Hair Color

While there is no single give-away sign as to what hair color would look best on you, a simple look in the mirror to determine your skin tone can be a huge help. Determining whether you're a cool or warm skin tone can help guide you to the best color for your hair style.

Your skin tone can help you find
your perfect hair color!

Cool: If you have a cool skin tone, meaning you have a pink, blue or no color undertone, hair colors with a cool overtone will typically look more natural on you.  Fair skin often looks best with hair colors like light gold or ash. Avoid bright golden blonde or red shades that may not compliment your cooler complexion. If you are cool skin-toned and looking for a serious color pop, go for platinum blonde.

Warm: If you have a warm skin tone, meaning you have a yellow, red or golden undertone, stick to warmer hair colors. Warm skin tones look best with stronger colors like reds and browns. If you have yellow hues in your skin, avoid golden blonde hair colors, as this may make your skin to appear jaundice. A dramatic look for a warm tone is a deep honey blonde or copper red.

There are exceptions to these rules and many sub-categories within cool and warm skin tones. Consult your stylist and discuss the best possibilities for a new color to compliment your skin tone!

Flat Irons: For Men Too!

Women are not the only ones suffering from poofy, frizzy, or simply unruly hair. With modern trends and styles, more and more men are finding themselves in need of a styling tool for their hair. Straighteners are great tools for smoothing out men’s longer hairstyles. 

Men should straighten hair in the same way women do: 

1. Start with clean, dry hair. 

2. Get the straightener close to the root and clamp. 

3. Pull straightener through the hair in the direction you want the hair to lay (pull down for flat looks, pull up for up-standing spikes).

A great flat iron option for men is the U-Smooth Mini iron. This small iron with plates that are ¾ of an inch wide make it ideal for men’s shorter hairstyles. Using a flat iron will give you the heat needed to keep a straight, sleek look all day long!

How to Straighten Your Hair with a Flat Iron

#1 – Towel Dry

After washing, wrap your hair in a towel and let it towel dry for around 10 minutes. Towel drying your hair before blow drying will decrease the amount of time needed to blow dry and save your hair from unnecessary heat damage.

#2 – Protect Your Hair

Once the hair has towel dried for a bit, apply a thermal spray or heat protectant to damp hair (one of our favorites is Young.Again by Kevin Murphy). A heat protecting spray, cream, or serum will protect the hair against heat damage and breakage as well as extend the longevity of a style. 

#3 – Blow Dry

Next, thoroughly blow dry your hair. Make sure that hair is completely dry before applying your straightener. (It is much safer for hair to be flat ironed while dry. Ensuring hair is dry before straightening will ensure healthier hair in the future as well.)

#4 – Iron by Layers

In order to make sure you do not miss any sections while flat ironing, straighten your hair by layers. Using a styling clip or hair tie, collect ¾ of your hair and tie up leaving the bottom layer down. Straighten the bottom section root to tip. Suggestion: use a hand mirror periodically to check the back. Lightly spray this layer. After bottom layer is straight, let down another ¼ section of your hair, straighten and spray. Finish the top two layers the same way.

#5 – Finish

Brush (we suggest the Paul Mitchell 413 Sculpting Brush), touch up any missed sections, spray and go! Your hair should keep its new, smooth look until the next wash!