Tuesday, January 09, 2007


OK, so I'm not given to beauty tips generally, but I have two for you today - both hair related.

1. Nizoral shampoo
The other day I'm in a museum and suddenly I feel the hair being lifted from where it's hanging down my back and this man exclaiming, "Oh, Honey! You have the most beautiful hair. Yummy! ..." The conversation went on in this fashion with me saying "Thank you" periodically. I was flattered, if a bit taken aback.

Then I got the question I always get from hairdressers, "What do you do to your hair? It's so healthy!"

The answer is always the same. "Nothing special. Shampoo, conditioner, comb when wet, brush when dry. No processes, chemicals, colors, gels, mousses, sprays, perms, hair dryers, curling irons, etc."

I then told him my biggest problem was that it felt like residue built up on it sometimes and I had a hard time getting it really clean. My mom used to rinse it with vinegar water occasionally but I hate the smell. That's when he suggested Nizoral shampoo. (You knew I'd get to it eventually, right?)

Nizoral is a dandruff shampoo that used to be prescription but can now be bought off the shelf. He swore it would strip off any residue with no damage. He was so convincing that I stopped by Walgreens that night and bought some. You know what? He's right. I can now say with authority that it works. I will keep a bottle on the shelf and use it every once in awhile - at $9.99 a small bottle it's not going to be a daily shampoo for me.

So, there's my beauty tip of the day.

I have one additional tip for men who wear hairpieces. This was prompted by a guy I saw walking on the street the other day. If you wear a hairpiece, you need to get it checked periodically. Just as hair continues to grow, hair continues to fall out.

This incredibly well-dressed man had the gray hairpiece perched on top of his head. Then there was an inch wide space of bare skin between it and the tuft of hair growing at the base of his neck.

This is NOT a good look. NOT a good look.

Guys - bald is sexy. It's much sexier when it's not marred by a hair piece covering up part of it, but not all of it. Partially bald is far sexier than that. Just go for it. Trust me. No woman would disagree with me about the bare-skin-band look.