About Vanessa Muri
Montreal City Editor Vanessa Muri has lived in London and Tokyo, but finds the charms of her hometown irresistible. From the latest scoops to the best deals in Montreal and everything in between, don't miss her weekly take on life in the fair city.
Hair Help
montreal musings Montreal
(Mar.31.10)
Spring has more or less arrived (what was that random –10 over the weekend?!) and with it the pretty spring/summer fashions we've been dying to wear.
While I nearly cried with joy taking my trench from the closet, placing much-loved flats upon boot-fatigued feet, the only thing I’ll miss is wearing a hat. I have naturally wavy (read: frizzy) hair and it takes me a good 25 minutes minimum to straighten it. It’s that thick. In winter, thanks to my hats, I often skip the process altogether, inviting all kinds of comments from friends and acquaintances. “You mean your hair’s not naturally straight?” Yes, my hot iron is virtually glued to my palms during nine months of the year.
Not that I’m especially creative with my hair. I’ve tried doing a proper blowout myself for years, since I hit puberty and my hair texture changed overnight from blonde and silky to red and wiry. I spent many years in denial, let me tell you. I tried everything under the sun to get my hair smooth and controllable again. And that jaded feeling has stuck. I needed a dose of reality.
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I recently went for a blow out at the Aveda Lifestyle Salon on St-Laurent and the stylist used the Light Elements Styling line on my hair; a texturizing cream to style and the shaping wax to finish it off. I never use wax, believing it's for short, spiky cuts, but this one claims to be lightweight and work on every hair texture. It was pretty impressive. Probably the first time I walked out of the salon without feeling like my hair was weighed down by junk.
Now, of course you can walk out of the salon looking good 99% of the time. But recreating the experience at home? Pretty much never. At least, I can’t. But the stylist swore that it would work. Hmmm…
I took this as a challenge. So I played around with it, and the first time, zip. No go. Though jaded that I was, I don’t think I tried that hard, really. So I tried again a few weeks later. And this time? Better! Here’s a photo of my accomplishment (sitting next to my never-ever-frizzy-haired sister); you be the judge.
Thought that was sweet? You’ll enjoy:
• Ask an Expert: Blow-drys
• Top 5: Hair Products
• Make-it Session: Beauty 911 Kit