Straight hair

So there we were last night, reading the Daily Beast, when we stumbled upon a column that had us scratching our heads: In "My Illegal, Flammable, Fabulous Hair Treatment," a woman writes about getting a formaldehyde-laced Brazilian hair straightening treatment. She writes that "the Centers for Disease Control describes [formaldehyde] as a 'colorless, highly toxic, and flammable gas'" but "like parents who lock the liquor cabinet, everyone knows the FDA's main purpose is to keep us from the good stuff." Read More »

You need to know about this. At least, if you're somebody who's shackled to a blowdryer and round brush every summer, like me:

I blow-dried my hair in 10 minutes today with a paddle brush -- and got a look that would normally take me over an hour ... and one or more of these products.

Hooray! And so begins my public service campaign to all my frizzy-haired sisters, spreading the word on the newest thing in straightening treatments -- Brazillian Blowout. Basically, it's a layer of keratin (the protein that makes up hair/skin/nails) applied to your hair, sealed in with a flat iron, then rinsed away. The result: Healthy, straight, frizz-free hair -- that lasts four months.

Since it takes two hours, I had plenty of time to grill the stylist, Michelle Vance, and owner Tom of the Tom Brophy Salon in Beverly Hills:

Q: Who does this treatment work best on?
A: Anyone with curls, waves or frizz, plus anyone with color-damaged hair -- it actually works best on them; you see the most remarkable difference, it's so shiny. New clients usually come in and have a "strand test" done, just to see what the results will be like before they commit. Read More »