Jack & Hill: A Beauty Blog - make-up, cosmetics, perfume, and the substance of style

Biting the Bullet on Hair Removal [*updated!]

I have plunked down $660 for six sessions of laser hair removal, for full legs. I did an enormous amount of research as to type of laser, and where I wanted to have it done, eventually picking Emerge Medical Spas, because they were professional and responsive and competitively priced. They use a LightSheer laser, which is pretty much state-of-the-art, so far as I am able to sleuth. I know it's generations ahead of the laser treatment I was given, gratis, thirteen years ago, when writing about hair removal for the LA Times Magazine, two three-hour treatments that, so far as I and my waxer could tell, did nothing to reduce hair. I am hopeful this time, and am doing it not so much because the monthly constitutional of getting waxed is getting boring and expensive (though that, too), but because after 20-plus years of waxing, the hairs are getting weak and having a hard time finding their way to the surface, resulting in so many ingrowns I look as though I've been attacked by a pack of bees.

I'll start the treatments as soon as I quit tanning (the laser working best with contrast, i.e., light skin and dark hair). I'll report back as to the process and its efficacy. Here's hoping!

So, have readers tried laser hair removal? What are your experiences?

Update: So I had my first laser hair removal treatment this week at Emerge (which, if you wind up going there, please tell them I recommended you as I believe I then qualify for a discount, should I have any future treatments). I like the place a lot; it's clean and low-key and none of the employees are walking around with platypus lips and/or humongous boobs. There's also no hard-sell for any other products, though they seem to offer a buffet of skin care options. Anyway, Jennifer took me to a comfy room, and told me how it was going to work: a gel (of the sort you use with a sonogram) would be spread on the area, after which she would move the laser, which does about an inch at a time, but quickly; it's very efficient. I told her, I would probably read during the treatment; she said, I probably wouldn't; that there would be a little more pain than that. And there was, but not bad; I'd put it at about a 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 - 10. It feels like a little pin jab each time the laser hits the hair. An area with little hair, no jabs and no beeps from the laser; area with lots of hair (hello, knees!), lots of jabs and lots of beeps. She said, with dark hair and fair/olive skin, I am a perfect candidate and should, after the 6 treatments, see more than a 90% reduction; that sometimes, you can even see the hairs jump out -- I did!

I was done in 90 minutes, with very little redness or swelling. I liked it so much, I am going to get my bikini line done, as well as a few other areas. For less than $1500 total, I can get every unwanted hair on my body pretty much removed forever, or about what I'd spend in 15 months on waxing. Four days later, I can already tell some of the hair is gone, as the regrowth (you need to shave before treatment) is for sure less stubbly.

I will report back after next treatment, in mid-September.

Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel

True story: Yesterday, I booked a cab to the train station - approximate fare, $16 plus tip - from where I would then journey three stops to my office. (This is a rare indulgence, though one I've taken advantage of twice this week, as a well-earned gift to myself. I usually walk the two miles to another train station.) As soon as I got in the car, the cabbie turned around in his seat to face me and said, "Your perfume - it is so beautiful." When he was again facing the road, he repeated the sentence twice more for good measure.

He then offered to drive me all the way to my office for $20. On the meter, it would have been nearly double that.

What can I say? It smells damn good, with that musky, masculine undertone I love, and I wear it almost every day. I now have even fewer reasons to switch it up. 

32.

32.
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

Tuesday was my birthday. With an unexpected spare hour to get ready for work, I decided to curl my hair for the first time since high school (not quite an exaggeration). I genuinely think it set the tone for the entire, wonderful day.

Apologies for the lack of blogging lately - I've been splitting time between my new place in NYC and my usual base in Silicon Valley, and things have been hectic and messy. Let's get back to it!

I Have Not Washed My Hair in Two Months

And it looks better than it ever has.

Let me explain. I was getting my hair cut a few months ago, leafing through a book at the hairdresser's called Curly Girl. My hair is fairly curly, which I don't really mind -- and which for 30 years I have kept semi-straight with a blow-dryer. What I don't like is the frizz, which comes and goes depending on the weather, and which is always worst in high humidity; when Diane von Furstenberg entitled a chapter of her 1976 Book of Beauty: How to Become a More Attractive, Confident and Sensual Woman, "Brazil? With My Hair? Never!" I knew exactly what she meant, having my own annual losing battle-of-the-frizz on Martha's Vineyard, which, spectacular as it is, must admit to being a very bad hair island.

Anyway, Curly Girl advised that girls with curly hair should not use shampoo, ever; that the structure of our hair is such that the shampoo is absorbed, you can't properly rinse it out, and that it only makes it frizz. Instead, it advised you take a little conditioner, rub it into your scalp to loosen dirt and oils, rinse, and then condition as usual. Huh.

I tried it. Immediately, my hair behaved better. But the coup de grace to the frizz was a little jar of Dax Beeswax, which I'd had for a while but had not used. It's very thick and oily -- you can find it, for about $2.39, in the black hair care section of the supermarket or drug store -- and it smells fantastic. I put about a dime-size dab of it in my hand, rubbed it between my palms, and ran it through my hair. Then I blew dry my hair as usual, not all the way dry but enough to keep it in control.

Wow. Dare I say, my hair was lustrous? I kept doing it, all month. My husband complimented my hair, then again. He also said it smelled really good (just so you know, your head does not start to smell bad if you don't use shampoo). A month later, I went back to my hairdresser for a trim.

"Your hair's really healthy," she said, something no hairdresser has ever said.

But the real test was Martha's Vineyard, where I have been going with my mom every summer since age six, and not once, not for one bleeping day, has my hair ever looked anything but a proper wreck.

I kid you not, my hair looked great. It looked perfect. It never frizzed. Even if I didn't take the hairdryer to it, it just curled nicely, no wild woman bush. It is not an exaggeration to say, I feel liberated.

More good news: in January, we're going to Panama, whose climate is about the same as Brazil's. I'm not taking my hairdryer.

Quote of the day

To claim that girls and women want to look like blonde bombshells because of the billboards, movies, TV shows, music videos, and magazine advertisements makes as little sense as to claim that people become hungry because they are bombarded with images of food in the media. If only the media would stop inundating people with images of food, they would never be hungry! Women’s desire to be blonde preceded the media by centuries, if not millennia.

- Ben Casnocha, in his notes on Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters, by Alan Miller and Satoshi Kanazawa.

Sally Hansen Natural Beauty Inspired by Carmindy Airbrush Foundation

That's a lot of words for one little product. I didn't even know who Carmindy was, being far too loyal to the British original of Trinny and Susannah's What Not to Wear to tolerate the shrieky, very fake-seeming American version. It turns out that Carmindy is the makeup artist on that horrible show. And yet, she seems to have produced - with Sally Hansen - at least one very good product in a line called Natural Beauty. As the woman herself says of the collection:

I partnered with the Sally Hansen team to develop this breakthrough cosmetic line of the highest quality products at a price we can all afford. Natural Beauty is totally paraben-free and filled with natural anti-oxidants and botanicals. Each and every product works seamlessly together to deliver the flawless look and feel you have always wanted. You won't believe how fresh and light Natural Beauty is and how easy it is to apply.

She's not just spouting PR lines.

I tend to choose a tinted moisturizer with at least SPF 30 many days, which gives me sheer coverage. Sometimes I want to even out my skintone a bit more, which is when I opt for a proper foundation. Lately, I've been reaching more frequently for this one. (It offers no sun protection, so underneath I apply Neutrogena Age Shield Face with SPF 80.)

The word "airbrush" gives the sense that you'll be spraying your face with this stuff, and that it will Photoshop away all your imperfections. Instead, you spray the product into your hands, then blend it into your face. I don't know what the dispensing method has to do with why this foundation works so well, but it does. I don't feel I need much concealer (just under my eyes, to cover dark circles) when using it, yet it doesn't look cake-y or heavy.

At $13.50, I don't think you're going to find a better everyday option for foundation. (Trust me, I've shelled out many times that for the Vincent Longos of the world, and am very gunshy about returning.)

The Scarlett (Johansson)

This is the bleached blonde bob that Mrs. Ryan Reynolds is sporting in the new Mango campaign. I find it exceedingly sexy. If I could bear to have my hair touch my forehead or cheeks, I would be getting this cut today.

No, it's not far off the deceptively simple-looking cut that Sally Hershberger designed for Meg Ryan a few years ago - but then I loved that, too. But this is total JBF hair and I love it. I suspect that it would work well for women of all ages, but would work best on blondes and redheads.

What do you think?

MAC Naked Honey Body Wash

Full disclosure: MAC sends me a ton of products every month - an overwhelming, but wonderful selection of free cosmetics, skincare, and some of the most beautiful promotional artwork you've ever seen.

With that out of the way, I must tell you that their new Naked Honey Body Wash is simply the most glorious thing I've ever used in the shower. The smell is incredible - the honey melds with the scent of narcissus, jasmine, and a bit of lavender for the slightly masculine edge that I love. My only complaint is that the scent is perhaps a bit too subtle. That said, I used it during my evening shower and woke up in the morning wondering, "Hey, why do I smell so amazing?"

The entire Naked Honey collection of thirteen items includes a skin salve, a body cream, and a fragrance. I think I shall be spending some of my hard-earned ducats on a few of these products as soon as I can.

John Frieda Luminous Color Glaze

I'd read and heard so much about this product - all raves - that I just had to try it.

But first, I had to find it. I searched high and low, in every Duane Reade I passed in Manhattan, and couldn't find it. They all seemed to stock the Luminous Color Glaze Clear Shine, which does not impart any color "re-awakening" as the Luminous Color Glaze does, but I wanted the real deal. I may have gotten a bargain on my new hair color, but I was willing to spend $9.99 to keep it fresh.

Of course, I found the brunette version of Luminous Color Glaze at the CVS right around the corner from my apartment.

I've only used this once, today, and it's supposed to take three uses before a difference is apparent. You're also supposed to use it every time you wash your hair - a minimum of three times per week. (No sweat for me; while I usually try to go every other day between washes immediately following a color treatment, usually I have to shampoo daily or I just feel unclean.)

So, I'll let you know how it works out. In the meantime, what are you doing with your hair for summer - lighter, darker, highlights, shorter, or the ponytail thing? While I like my new haircut, I've been seriously considering getting it chopped down to about three inches of messy tufts. But I don't think my physical features are delicate enough to carry it off. What are your summer haircut plans and fantasies?

Maybelline The Colossus Volum' Express Mascara

Maybelline Colossus Volum'Express Mascara
Originally uploaded by dynamist.

What annoys me about this product is the marketing. This model is clearly wearing mega false lashes. Does Maybelline really think women are that dumb?

I didn't see that photo until now, when I was looking for a link to the Maybelline page. I'd heard some good buzz about this mascara, and even Nigella Lawson loves it:

[T]here's a sort of game I play with a girlfriend of mine, and we each try and trump each other with a better mascara. I was very smug about Max Factor Masterpiece, and she countered with Estee Lauder Turbolash. I thought I'd got her with L'Oreal Telescopic but she bounced back and bounced higher with her latest offering: I have to say I have yet to find a better mascara on the market than Maybelline's The Colossal Volum' Express. It delivers what its slightly comical name is driving at, and it doesn't clump.

Indeed, this product nails separation, which is hugely important to me. My lashes are naturally long (which I had no hand in), so lengthening isn't important for me. But this is a very neat formula; the anti-Great Lash, I suppose. I didn't wear it on my lower lashes - I almost always leave them bare, for reasons of neatness - but loved the effect on my upper lashes.

All this for less than $8? I think I'll be a repeat buyer of this one.