StyloNY Blog

Drugstore Beauty

2010-02-06T16:43:08Z

One of my biggest pet peeves about the hair industry is what my former boss liked to call "The Product Push". We've all been there, sitting at the end of your hair appointment as your stylist desperately tries to convince you to spend $30 on the latest lotion or potion. Sometimes they seriously believe that the bottle they are holding really is the answer to all of your hair woes. Other times you can almost see the guilt in their eyes as they try to convince you into spending your hard earned cash on a product that both of you know has a one way ticket to the bathroom graveyard under your sink.

I was once that stylist. Under the pressure from my former salon owner I sheepishly sold product that I knew you could find at the drugstore for a quarter of the price. Don't get me wrong, in many cases you do get what you pay for. There are some great products out on the market that make you wince a little when you pull out your wallet, but leave you amazed by their capabilities. But the point of this story, as always, is that you can have it all. I've a compiled a list of the best drugstore brands on the market and I'm here to share them with you.

Shampoo and Conditioner: Organix Mandarin and Olive Oil Shampoo/Conditioner
Gel (curly hair): John Frieda Frizz-Ease Gel
Gel (all other hair types): Studio Line Styling Gel
Straightening Balm: Citre Shine Straightening balm
Volumizer: TRESemme 24 hour body root booster
Mousse: TRESemme 24 hour body Mousse
Shine Serum: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Healing Shine Serum
Pomade: Pantene Pro-V Texture Defining Pomade

So there you have it. If I've forgotten anything, please feel free to add a comment and let us know or maybe you have some other fab drugstore products that you would like to share!

Quick helpful tips: eyes

2009-10-14T14:09:25Z

Enhance your eyes in 3 minutes

-Apply one shadow all over the entire eye slightly lighter then the your skin color

-A few coats of mascara

-Conceal the under eye darkness over your eye cream

You Can Thank Me Later

2009-07-07T23:16:54Z

This one goes out to all my curly haired ladies and gentlemen. The rest of you are welcome to read along, maybe even pass the info onto a frizzy friend, but some of this will only make sense to the true curly ones.

First things first, let's get to the root of the problem. The thing with curly hair is, it either looks great, or it looks like crap. There's not a lot of in between. The other issue is that it always seems to be a mystery as to why one day your curls can be perfectly fine and other days a hot mess. Can we get some consistency please?!

Curly hair is unlike smooth shiny straight hair because the cuticle of the hair shaft lays completely differently. Think of the hair's cuticle like the shingles on a roof. With curly hair, the shingles all sit up slightly, creating gaps into the hair shaft.

You know how your hair looks great wet and then it dries into a big puffy mess? What's going on is, when your hair is wet the water is inside the hair shaft, which is weighing the hair down and making it smooth. As your hair dries the water evaporates and you loose your "glue", the hair starts to dry up and it gets puffy and frizzy.

So what you need to do is introduce a product that will go INSIDE the hair shaft, like water, but won't evaporate as your hair dries.

Are your ready for it??? It's a very rare product called........CONDITIONER

Trust me, it will change your life. Another amazing tip for curly hair is, STOP SHAMPOOING!! Shampoo also roughs up the cuticle, causing curly hair to dry up and get frizzy. For all of you who are thinking that this idea is completely gross, knock it off. You can get your hair perfectly clean by scrubbing and rinsing with a little bit of conditioner. Any dirt and oil will adhere to it and rinse out the same way as it would with shampoo.

The exact steps to perfectly defined curly hair are...

Wet hair down completely
If you feel like your hair needs to be washed. Take a small amount of conditioner, scrub and rinse. (You'll feel the need to do this less and less as you lay off the shampoo)
Again with the hair being soaking wet, wring the extra water out of the hair like you were ringing out a towel.
Take some conditioner and start out with an amount the size of a large peach pit, you can always add more and you'll probably end up using a lot more than you think. Curly hair likes to suck up conditioner. The hair should be coated and slightly slimy from roots to ends.
Once the hair is coated, step out of the shower, flip your head over and wrap it up in a towel. The less absorbent the towel is, the better.
Keep your hair wrapped up for about 10 to 15 minutes, flip your head over, unwrap the towel and scrunch in some gel or curl cream
Last but not least, DON'T TOUCH your hair while it's drying!!! I don't care if your diffusing it or letting it air dry, don't touch. Once the hair is about 80% dry, you can start to shake it out and soften it up.

A great basic conditioner for leaving in your hair is Finesse. It's cheap and it has a great consistency for a large variety of hair types.

The gel you want to pick up is called Emphasis Redefining Gel and it's by NEXXUS- Phyto Organics. You can find that one at Ricky's in NYC

Trust me on this one, I have a huge curly head of hair myself. My clients always tell me, "Oh you just have great curly hair". Not the case, I just know what to do with it.

So give it a try. What do you have to lose? Except for all of those curly haired products you've been sold that are cluttering up your bathroom.

Summer Hair Tip - Less is More

2009-05-27T01:57:53Z

So today we are talking summer trends. As we move into the summer months, it's the time of the season to embrace the idea that less is more. Your hair is one of your best accessories. To keep your locks looking lovely all summer long, longer hair with textured long layers is a style that can maintain all extreme heat conditions.

For all you ladies with the shorter do's, cut it as short as you are comfortable with (hair grows faster in the summer) and go easy on the product as it tends to break down in the heat.

Bangs as we all know are very trendy and can be a simple change that can update your whole look.

Stick to longer versions, as heavy shorter bangs will end up making you look hot and bothered.

As my friend and fellow hairstylist, Liam Carey says.....

"Honey you don't want anything heavy in the summer"

June Issue of Vogue

2009-05-27T01:54:37Z

We are very excited to announce that the June issue of Vogue has come out and our website has been mentioned under the Beauty, Health & Fitness Travel Special, "Fantastic Voyage" June 2009 (US)

The article is reporting on mobile makeup artists and hairstylists. With this great mention we hope that visitors coming to New York will think of STYLO NY first. Clients can now book mobile hairstylists and makeup artists directly to their hotel room. Now, with STYLO NY, they can step out into the big city in style.

We are looking forward to more buzz in the press coming soon. Thank you for your continued support in spreading the word about this new service!

My Stylo NY Experience

2009-04-22T18:14:11Z

Stylo NY has changed and elevated my career in many ways. The system has worked so flawlessly for me and my clientele. I left my salon in July of 2008....I was really scared to make the jump and transition out of the salon and into my clients homes. At the same time I was very excited about the prospect of having the freedom to work for myself. My life changed for the better when I left and I was finally at a point where I felt I had complete control over my life and career. After a few months I realized that it was becoming a complete pain to constantly be scheduling all of my appointments. My new found free time became filled with emails and phone calls constantly back and forth with my clients.

When Stylo NY was finally finished and ready for testing, I couldn't wait to start using it! It has proven to work beautifully for me and my clients. They love the convenience of booking appointments on their own time and I love not having to worry about my schedule.

Every day I receive and email with all of the info I'll need to go about my day. I used to stress out when I was on the go, looking for phone numbers and addresses, now I have everything organized in the palm of my hand. I would recommend this lifestyle to anyone in the beauty industry. My clients LOVE that they can relax at home and I love the freedom and the extra money that it brings me. Now that I have the services that Stylo NY provides, the possibilities are endless....