Archive for November 27th, 2011
I Tried It: At-Home Hair Treatment for Buildup
Beauty products are all about marketing, and it’s clear that marketers aren’t scientists. Plenty of products claim to bring your hair “back to life,” forgetting the fact that hair is dead. Marketers can peddle their zombie-hair claims all they want, but what’s a girl like me to do when faced with limp, drab locks? What about the girl who’s not yet ready to put her faith in a $20 bottle of marketer’s claims of beautiful hair?
I love my fancy new job, but it’s left my hair with awful product buildup. The messy ponytail just won’t work with my jackets and pantyhose anymore, so I have to wake up early and blow dry my hair to perfection. That’s left me with limp hair that gets dirty easily and feels crunchy, even after washing.
Of course, plenty of people suggest the ol’ baking soda treatment for hair buildup. In one way or another, rub a bunch of baking soda in your hair and your buildup will magically wash down the drain. While this may be true, I didn’t get such good results the last time I tried. In fact, I was left with a head full of poodle-like fuzz that was dull and tangled easily. Not good.
I devised this two step treatment to help with my problem hair. Here’s the process:
Step One: Baking Soda
In the palm of your hand, mix about half baking soda with half shampoo. Most shampoos will do. Mix them together. It will be thick like a gel, but should still spread. Wash hair as usual, gently spreading the mixture through hair. Rinse thoroughly.
Step Two: Lemon Wash
Next, make a weak lemon wash. This restores the acidity of your hair and scalp. If you look at your bottle of shampoo, there’s a good chance it contains citric acid. This makes the shampoo a little acidic, and the acid condition makes hair cuticles lay flat, leaving hair shinier and smoother.
Take a small lemon and mix with a gallon of water in a large mixing bowl. Take another small bowl or cup and pour the weak lemon wash through hair, letting them mixture run back into the bowl. Keep rinsing until hair has been thoroughly coated with the lemon water. Rinse again thoroughly. There might be pulp in there still.
Step Three: Finishing Touches
Finally, after rinsing out the lemon wash, I conditioned my hair as usual, concentrating on the damaged ends rather than the grease-and-dirt-attracting roots. Rinse with cool water for added shine.
The final result? Amazing! But, of course, your results may vary. So please leave your comments. What at-home treatments have you tried?
Podcasts Aplenty! Five Podcast that Deliver Week After Week
It was a few short years ago that Adam Carolla was kicked off of FM radio and made the dramatic foray into the world of Podcasting. Since then, the new media medium has changed dramatically and media as we know it will never be the same.
Since then, Carolla has created his own podcast empire, the Ace Broadcasting Network. He now produces his own flagship show five days a week in addition to Ace on the House, a show with Larry Miller, a parenting show, and more. Kevin Smith, another podcast pioneer, has also formed his own podcast network.
In addition, others have made great cultural impact with podcasts that make a difference. I’ve compiled a list of the ten best shows that deliver week after week.
1. WTF
Marc Maron talks to comedians in the long form format. What Tom Snyder began on television, many podcast hosts continue on the radio, minus the long arm of the FCC. Marc is especially impactful as he discusses mostly comedy and comedians. Sure we find out about the cliched “tears of a clown” but also learn about the wonderful stories of the road, the process of writing, and what it means to be a performer working today. Mostly insightful and sometimes legendary. Maron delivers, week after week.
Adam’s flagship show still appears to be the best. Adam is no doubt a narrow-minded blowhard. Okay, let’s move past that. Adam still manages to get great guests and still tells his stories with gusto. If you can stomach the crap opinions, you’ll get wonderfully polished comedy gems.
3. The Smartest Man in the World
Greg Proops is a unique individual to say the least. You probably know him from Whose Line is it Anyway. He was also an announcer during the podrace scene of Star Wars: Phantom Menace. But let’s move past that. Greg has the most unique podcast show because he doesn’t have guests and does almost all his shows live in front of an audience. His show is not a show so much as a stream of consciousness with reader questions at the end. He’s opinionated and vacillates among old movie talk–yes, Greg, make more references to Kirk Douglas movies nobody’s seen–politics and the occasionally tasteless joke. Always funny, sometimes outraging, and a highlight of my week.
If you’ve read Savage Love, you know that nobody gets questions nor doles out advice like Dan Savage. Because, really, who’s going to ask the Ann Landers of the world questions about HPV or polyamorous relationships. The fact that there are great numbers of people in this world with wildly more adventurous and messed up lives than you is comforting, entertaining, and sometimes inspiring. His shows are also more bite sized than others so they rarely drag.
Doug Benson has a formula that he sticks with, week after week. No matter, so does Law and Order and I will still watch it. Doug Loves Movies combines guests, usually three comedians, filmmakers, or some combination thereof, in front of a live audience. They make witty movie banter and end each show with The Leonard Maltin Game, a game where you guess a movie title based on a few bad clues, a year, and some or none of the movie’s stars. Doug always delivers even though the jokes are the same, he remains an adorable host week after week.
