Review 2: Hands Down nail wraps

I will preface this by saying this may be a slightly unfair review as I had my nails shellacked almost a month and a half ago and the woman who did the job made it almost impossible to remove the damned thing.

Now, any of you who have gotten your nails done either professionally at a reputable salon (key word: reputable) or have DIY'd the gel polish in some fashion *know* that roughing up the nail is not necessary. Stripping the nail off all oils and dirt, however, is non negotionable.

Friend and I went to a little salon that while it was not completely 'cheap' it was still reasonably priced but still cheap in comparison to other salons. Now, I've had Shellac (tm) done before per the CND standards and while I *loved* that manicure, I was not fond of the price of $45 for just the manicure. Hell to the no. So I was thrilled to find gel polish at this particular, clean salon.

I asked her to not roughen up my nails because I've seen this done even for *nail polish*. I suppose it was the language barrier but she did it anyway. And I would not have been as upset over it if she'd used a regular nail file (which ladies at the other salon have done since my nails have a tendency to split and and peel so we sometimes have to file off a broken flake) she used a black block. If any of you have gotten your nails done with enhancements, you know that this black block is absolutely rough. Its horrible. It leaves grooves on the nails -- better for whatever type of enhancement to latch onto.

But my nails are thin enough as they are and I didn't want to do this step. They're also super dry. I honestly don't *need* this step at all. Gel manicures have  tendency to adhere to my nails super easy.

Ugh, it was brutal. I couldn't take off the damned thing completely.

A few weeks ago I bought my own lamp and gellish base and top coat. See, I love the way gel polish strengthens my nails and gives them that extra thickness they so need. (You can use a cuticule oil just fine with these and it hydrates the nail bed just fine). The intent was to do a gelly sandwich but I decided to just do the clear base and top coat then add regular polish on top with a simple top coat. I can remove the nail polish after a week and still have the base underneath to keep my nails strong.

I tried the foil method this time and it *WAS HORRIBLE*. I had to scrape, scrape, scrape the stupid thing off and I was still left with chunks of the stuff on the nail bed. I just added the clear stuff over it and called it a day.

So far, that base coat has lasted about two and a half weeks and the only place it started to chip was on the regrowth that had not been filed to death by the manicurist. Figures.

Foil method failed me again and I was experimenting with just teeny tiny bit of a cotton ball as I'd seen used at Reputable Salon (and Shellac's training videos). -- The other reason was that that was the last cotton ball I had.

So I went off to sally's, originally looking for the Orly Glitter and soak off gel envelopes but they were sold out. Instead, I picked up the HandsDown wraps.

They come with a thick cotton pad glued to self-adhering ace-bandage type material.  They're about the height of a standard bandaid.

The instructions say:

Saturate pad with acetone. Hold pad on nail. Wrap tightly around finger and press to seal end.

How badly could I fuck this up?

Pretty bad.

Wrap one: I overloaded the pad with acetone. Wrap would not adhere on itself. I tried to fix it by tying a clear elastic over it. (DAMN IT, I knew I forgot to pick up something!)

 I ended up cutting the circulation off my finger. 

Wrap two: couldn't get the 'end' to seal and that's because I misread the instructions and wanted to seal the actual tip to keep the acetone from evaporating at the tips.

Wrap three: finally got the damned placement right but I still wrapped it too tight and pinky started turning purple.

I managed to do okay with the other fingers until I got to the other hand and I just kept floundering by making them too loose.

Results:

The gel that had been applied to the regrowth that was not roughened up came off superbly easy, as expected. The rest had to be scraped off again, though it was removed a little easier. I managed to get more of the purple glitter off. Its still visible in one thumb and part of forefinger.

I had one hellufa time at the tips though. I suppose part of it is due to the heavy filing but the other part is due to the fact that the tips are open on this so I did notice that the acetone evaporated rather quickly on the overhang.

Good thing I went with two packs of  ten wraps each for about four bucks.

I give this product 4 out of five stars.

I am sure this would have been a total winner if the tip was encapsulated in the wrap.

ion Anti-Frizz Solutions leave-in-conditioner review

The LAST time I dyed the ends of my hair I also renewed my Sally's card and as I was talking to the cashier she told me I had earned a freebie of something on the counter. I typically don't pay attention to this section as it usually full of product I don't use, chiefly because of silicone as it weighs my hair down too much.

In this section, though, it did notice this leave-in-conditioner from ion. Now I've been using ion color for about a year now and while I can't say I'm super pleased with their bright's line in terms of longevity, I like the way my hair feels after. 

So I picked it up because it was free and I wasn't too sure but I thought I read somewhere that amodimthicone is one of the nicer silicones. 

I didn't try it for another month or so.  I tried it on, it felt amazing and then hand damage.  

It wasn't until recently that I started using it again when one of the girls from LHC reminded me of a curly method I'd taken last winter and modified for my non-curly hair. (The method is LOC, Leave in Oil Cream)

However, I was STILL worried (though not too much since it is on a leave in and such products tend to be rather light) about the amodimethicone so I decided to dig up some info and I did this on the LHC boards by looking up Luxe Piggy's info because she is the Queen of Cone and knows her stuff. Like, she knows the first-hand what silicones can do and the science behind it. I respect and bow down to the fountain of knowledge that she is. 

So I found it

LuxePiggy : Amodimethicone is my favourite cone of all! \(^(oo)^)/

Unlike other types of silicone, amodimethicone carries a positive charge, which results in targeted conditioning of damaged areas and the formation of a shine-enhancing nanostructure (ETA:Formation of nanostructure on hair surface, Journal of Cosmetic Science). Once deposited, the positive charge helps repel further deposition, so amodimethicone does not build up on the hair.

I've tried a few other leave in conditioners but have not been that great. My favorite have been the Johnson & Johnson no tear leave in an detangler but that stuff isn't very cheap. The bottle may look big but its only because its wide.

I was given a sample of Big Sexy Hair leave in and that smelled *amazing* and did a fantastic job but it was waaaay too expensive.

ion's stuff smells almost the same as the Big Sexy Hair leave in, works just as well and its cheap. A large 12fl (355mL for any non-US readers) is about $5-$6 and with my discount its about $4 and some change.  Not bad and I may end up picking up another bottle when I'm done... though honestly, I probably won't. I have been making my own leave in for a while and that just comes out to be like $0.05 to make. I just now have a bigger bottle to use.. 'cause its a pain in the rear to fill up the travel BSH bottle with my own concoction every week.

On to the method I've been doing, LOD:



1) On damp hair, apply a Leave in conditioner.
2) Add Oil of choice to the length.
3) let air Dry or blow dry on low.

My ends still feel super silky, like I did when I cut it weeks ago.

New cut and Color!

I'm sick. I'm miserable and I should be going to bed right now BUT... I just finished my sleep braid which reminded me to share what I just accomplished.

About two months ago, I did my bi-annual trim and not too long after that I felt my hair feel like straw. I thought it was just dry and had planned to do some more maintenance when I fell down and sprained my wrist a few weeks after the trim, ruining my plan. And good thing too!

the ends kept feeling dryer and dryer. I finally stopped to look and I saw an ABUNDANCE of splits, which angered me. WHY!? Why was I having such problems when I do my best to care for Slayer without being a little too crazy and over the top.

Turns out Manthing, my beloved husband, had been using my hair scissors on paper.

Which irritated me because scissors are not cheap. Mine were cheapish but still not cheap. So I decided to pay to have them sharpened and realized the fee is MORE expensive than my pair of scissors. They were like, $25... which is a lot for my cheap little heart.

After months of hemming and hawing, I finally spent the $150 on a Kamisori student kit. It was a *steal*, considering that one of their regular shears is upwards of $400 or more... so much so you can actually *finance* a damned pair.

It was $150 and it came with a razor. Good for cleaning up and shaping men's hair-- razors don't touch Slayer. My hair is way too long and my goals too extreme for me to use razors. I'll explain more on that in a different blog entry, I promise. Its too lengthy and I'm falling asleep.

I gave myself a cut. A legit cut. Long layers, length, bangs. I even thinned in some places.

And if that wasn't enough, my cut came out so perfect I felt emblazoned, emboldened even! I bought bleach and did my OWN bleaching. I did an amazing balayage on my bangs  (the only place I actually would test such a thing since bangs get cut frequently anyway).  I added my red and BAM, gorgeous hair.

It came out so amazing a friend asked me to dye her hair. We did it all black with peekaboo red blayaged in around the crown and nape of the neck.

I wont' share her pictures without consent, but here are mine.

Do you like my beard, my sexy beard? I think I can place in contests!

I don't know why I keep thinking to go purple. Red's too amazing. 

Also, I love this dye. Its 'N Rage in Neon red. This lighting does not do it any justice. Its amazing. And the 'beard'? The last dye job on that was back in MAY.