Hair Extensions: Do-It-Yourself or Not?

Are you not decided whether to grab a DIY hair extension kit or just head to the salon and have the experts do it for you? Before you decide, you may want to consider a number of things, such as the type of hair extensions you wish to have. Do you want to go with synthetic or the human hair extension? I recommend that you go for the natural human hair extension.

You may discover that human hair extensions are more expensive than synthetic types. However, natural extensions stay longer and endure styling better. Considering that the main purpose of getting hair extensions is to look fabulous naturally, the best way to achieve that goal is to get the type of extensions that best resembles your natural hair. Human hair extensions are more versatile. You can blow dry without melting the strands and dye it without any problems.

If you're more concerned about the price and wanted to be practical, you may want to get the DIY hair extension kit. However, you must be aware that the result of using DIY kits is not as good as having your hair extensions done in a salon.

Below are some points you can ponder on before deciding what type of hair extensions would you want to get:

Salon: Stylists are trained professionals and they exactly know what they are doing.
Do-It-Yourself (DIY): DIY kits are originally designed for salon professionals to make their work faster and easier. You could possibly get the same result, that is, if you follow the instructions carefully.

Salon: They could blend and match the color of the extensions with your natural hair appropriately. Stylists know what colors to mix to get your shade right.
DIY: There are a wide variety of colors to choose from that fits to your own liking.
Tip: If you can't find a shade exactly like your own, choose one that is lighter. You can color them darker to match your own hair but you can not go lighter in dying extensions. Bleaching or other methods of lightening them will cause dryness and, eventually, damage your extensions.

Salon: You just have to sit-back and relax. The stylist will do the rest.
DIY: Reading is a key. Read and follow instructions which are quite simple.

Salon: You could ask tips straight from the professionals. It's easier to clarify concerns with proper care and maintenance.
DIY: Again, read the manual. You can also Google it and search for reviews and videos through the Interenet.

One more thing, in hiring a professional, you will have someone to blame for lousy results, but when you do-it-yourself, you only have yourself to blame! Just kidding!

A lot of DIY extension kits are easy enough for an ordinary person to use. Like salons, they offer a wide variety to choose from synthetic or human extensions, different lengths, colors and textures. All of it still depends on you. Whether you go to a salon or buy a DIY extension kit, it's still your choice that matters.

How to Cut Hair - Anatomy of the Head

It would possibly seem quite questionable initially to talk regarding the basic anatomy of the head in hair creation, but when trying to learn how to cut hair, these things are the techniques needed in order for you to perform your hair styling magic. We will attempt explaining the importance of those points when hair dressing. Knowing the right reference point to any particular area of the head and what these indicate can greatly benefit you in your understanding of what's required so as for you to perform a specific style of hair makeover on any given client, male or female.

Below are the following individual terms that are allocated to particular parts of the head that compile the make of the head and how their directional flow can ultimately affect the haircut.

The Top
This in itself is kind of self explaining, it's the part that is directly behind the forehead and is the uppermost area on the scalp.

The Parietal Ridge
This is the position which describes the top of the head, the area that begins to curve downwards to become the side half of the head. The term parietal ridge really refers back to the bony ridge along the higher side half of the head. The Parietal Ridge begins approximately 3 finger-widths in length from on top of the top part of the ear.

The Temple
The Temples are described as the little areas slightly above and slightly forward of the front of the ears on each side of the head. These are the pulsing points for blood circulation to the brain area and flex points when contracting the facial muscles. When you grit your teeth together and feel them with your fingers, you'll be able to feel the temple muscles below the skin flexing.

The Crown
The Crown half of the head area refers back to the top space towards the higher back half of the skull. The Crown begins at the point where the top of the head begins a curve downwards toward the rear half of the head and ends at the point which is just higher than the occipital bone. It is almost a semi-circular area.

The Occipital Bone
The Occipital Bone is described as a small bone sticking out at the bottom of the skull, positioned where the skull joins up toward the neck. It can be very easily felt through the skin of the scalp at the very bottom center-half area of the skull.

The Nape
The Nape area refers to the areas of the head that start to curve off from the Occipital Bone towards the bottom half hairline of the neck area and continues to the hairline's on each side of the head almost directly behind the ears.

Why Choose a Natural Face Mask Recipe?

If you are somebody who likes to look after themselves, eat right and exercise, then I am sure you also check the lables on the food that you buy in the supermarkets. You probably also try (as far as possible) to buy organic food stuff as you know that many companies add dangerous pesticides, chemical flavorings and colorants to their foods. But I am not so sure if you read the lables of those pots and tubes of shelf-bought facial masks.

You will be shocked to find that many of your favourite products and even the so-called organic products also contain harmful chemicals that not only damage you skin, but is also bad for you health.

These chemical ingredients like propylene glycol, diazolidinyl urea, parabens and coloring agents like FD & C Yellow and Blue. These ingredients have been researched and can cause allergic reactions, asthma, headaches, nausea and general fatigue.

So you can see that it is important to be aware of what ingredients are used in commercial skin care masks and to make informed decisions when buying them.

The price is irrelevant

Mostly we choose products based on advertising done by the company selling them, because they smell nice or even just because we can afford them. We don't always know that the products we are buying could be bad for us.

If you really care about your skin and your health you will buy from companies who use organic and biodegradable ingredients in their products. So don't just buy a face mask because the packaging is pretty or because it smells nice, buy something you know will be good for you and good for the environment.

Perhaps these products are a little more costly than others because they have natural ingredients and a shorter shelf life due to the fact that they don't contain all kinds of dangerous conservatives.

It's your health that is important

So yes, you can buy great organic soaps, moisturizers, face masks and scrubs, but it is even better to make your own!

In this day and age you can find almost anything on the internet. A simple search will yield many natural facial masks recipes and recipes for other skin care products.

What are the benefits? Here are a few:

o They are cheap to make

o Safe for your body and your skin

o Simple to make

o Ingredients are easy to find and you may even have them already!

Some ingredients commonly used in facial masks recipes include honey, yogurt, green tea and oatmeal.

You will soon find that it is a joy to make your own facial masks as you are truly spoilt for choice. All of the ingredients are totally natural and therefore great for your body and skin. If you do a little research and play around a little you will find a recipe or two that will give you the results you want.

Do-It-Yourself Facial Masks at Home

Are you looking for Do-It-Yourself at home masks to include in your beauty routine? You, like me, must be tired of all the "professional" companies who promise you the world and then fail to deliver the results. Or, you are just looking to cut down on some of your beauty expenses in this economic time. So, is there in fact a better alternative to expensive shelf-bought products full of toxic ingredients and packaged with lies of having youthful, smooth skin?

Yes there is!

If you start to do a little research you will soon see that making your own DIY at home masks is incredibly easy to do, and it is fun too. Mostly these easy skin care recipes use natural ingredients that you can find in your kitchen or at any grocery store. They don't cost the earth and some of them you might already have in your home!

If you are accustomed to going to a salon and getting your masks done there, then making your own masks at home might sound a little strange or intimidating to you. Maybe you think that it will make a mess or will be time consuming. But you will also never know the truth if you don't try it for yourself.

The secrets have been around for ages!

These secrets of natural skin care are certainly not a new. Many ancient peoples have used them to great effect. For example, the beautiful Cleopatra used to bath in milk to nourish her skin and keep it beautiful.

The Mayan people made use of aloe vera and royal jelly in their skin care preparations. The benefits of these ingredients were later verified by scientific research.

So you see, natural skin care rituals have been beneficial in the past, so there is no reason why it should not work for you today. Therefore you could not go wrong in adding these facial masks to your at home beauty routine and reap the benefits!

Benefits of nature-based, at home facial masks

    * Easy on the Wallet. The ingredients are easily obtained in your local grocery store or fresh food market and they are incredibly cheap.
    * It's easy-as-pie. Step-by-step recipes are available to follow along and make your masks at home, or invent your own!
    * It's natural. If you buy organic produce you are sure that what goes into and onto your body will benefit and nourish your body and your skin.
    * It's convenient. You create the masks quickly in the privacy of your home.
    * It's versatile. Just like the foods people consume vary from one country or one culture to the next, just so you can vary the facial masks you make at home to benefit your own skin care needs

But sometimes you need to see it to believe it. So try and make a few facial masks at home and see if you like it. You will soon find that your skin is glowing and your wallet remains fat!