Thin is Not Always In

While it’s said you can never be too thin, your hair certainly can. Many women experience thinning hair as they age. Although I have plenty of hair (or so my hairdresser tells me) it is limp and baby fine and drives me cr-a-zy! I am always trying the latest volumizer-- be it root lifters, gels, thickening sprays, anything to pump up the volume!


Thank goodness for Good Housekeeping Magazine. The GHRI (Good Housekeeping Research Institute) tested a dozen thickening shampoo/conditioner pairs for me.  Volunteers with fine hair used them in place of their regular shampoo and conditioner at least four times, and then filled out a questionnaire. Don’t worry, there is some science involved too—lab experts actually measured the diameter of individual strands of hair with a microscope before and after.

Pantene Pro V Full & Thick Shampoo and Conditioner was a clear winner. Lab findings found that strand diameter was expanded by 9% and consumers gave it the highest marks for adding volume, making hair look thicker and adding softness. Nexxus Diametress Luscious Volumizing Shampoo and Shampoo Luscious Volumizing Conditioner came in second. Consumers weren’t quite as excited in their comments, but it did an especially good job in the lab on gray hair, increasing diameter by 10%.

Pantene Pro V Full & Thick Shampoo and Conditioner is available for about $4-5 at drug and grocery stores everywhere. Nexxus Diametress Luscious Volumizing Shampoo and Sublime Volume Luscious Volumizing Conditioner is available at drugstores for about $13-15.

After spending $48 on Oscar Blandi Volumizing Shampoo and Conditioner and getting virtually no noticeable results I’m getting my butt to Walmart! See ya later.

Beauty Shortcuts

They say that out of adversity (or in this case inconvenience) there’s always something positive to be gained. “They” might just be right this time. I recently had surgery on my left hand and had to be one-handed for 8 weeks, so needless to say I found myself looking for a few shortcuts to streamline my beauty routine. Here are a few I discovered:

Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo—this is a lifesaver. Washing my hair became a major event, and not a very fun one at that, although the first time I accomplished the task one handed by myself, I did wish I had an audience to cheer me on. I had to wash my hair in the sink (no showers for 8 weeks—bleh), and as you can imagine, by the time I washed, rinsed & conditioned quite a bit of time had gone by. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo is a quick and easy way to freshen your hair between washes. It soaks up any oil, makes your hair feel clean and fresh and smells divine with the Oscar signature Lemon Verbena smell.

Olay Cleansing Cloths-- A friend included these in a ‘care package” she brought me after my surgery. The cleanser is already there so just wet and wash. One side is smooth and the other is textured if you want to exfoliate. Great for travel too!



Aquis hair turban. This handy dandy hair turban is super absorbent so it dries your hair in a flash and it’s up and out of your way. I believe it retails for around $18, but I got mine on sale at TJ Maxx for 3 bucks! That being said, I would definitely pay full price for it, especially if you have long hair.

My makeup routine was a few swipes of bronzer, a simple single wash of eyeshadow, a little mascara and a dollop of lipgloss. Quick, fresh and perfect for summer!