AliShopsBlog.com - The Twin Cities Shopping Blog

Forget your Brazilian Blowouts, keratin treatments and Moroccan oils: The next big salon trend is going organic. In the Twin Cities, we've already got a handful of "organic" salons that pride themselves on using non-toxic products. There's Hairs2You in Roseville, the new Kasia Organic Salon in South Minneapolis and Nurturing You Beyond Organic, also in Minneapolis. But the tipping point could be this breaking news: Aveda founder and Intelligent Nutrients creator Horst Rechelbacher plans to open a new organic salon in the Twin Cities. Today, IN's Facebook page announced April 19 auditions for "rockstar hairstylists with 8 to 10 years experience, a strong client base and "a sense of adventure." More details to come!

Ready for a pedi? Before you put those boots in the closet, read reviews of 10 Twin Cities pedicures for $40 or less in the St. Paul Pioneer Press. I was so busy cramming in the not-so-fun (and occasionally creepy) details about cleanliness that there wasn't room to talk polish. Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, executive vice president and artistic director of OPI Products Inc. says its time to trade black for dark green. In fact, one of the new colors she's banking on for spring is called Jade is the New Black (I want the job of naming these colors). Another hot hue to accent your strappy sandals: red-orange, or as OPI calls it, Hot & Spicy. Says Weiss-Fischmann, "I love this shade against a tan."

The saga of the hair never ends, but my deadline has come and gone. You'll find my Brazilian Blowout review in today's St. Paul Pioneer Press. I was conscious of not wanting to make it sound like a miracle - I get so tired of reading only raves in magazines. But I hope I didn't underplay the results in the process. It did help my hair. It's more manageable, less frizzy and easier to style. Still the price is steep and even after, smooth hair still requires work. The results are limited to your ability to style your own hair. Case in point: me, in the hands of professionals, and a couple weeks later, on my own.

 
 

I heard from the Minnesota educator for Brazilian Blowout today. She points out that it takes practice for professional stylists to get the hang of applying the treatment and that can impact the results. She also said the BB is a cumulative treatment, so regular application might mean you eventually need it just twice a year. Click here to find salons in your area that offer the Brazilian Blowout. Competing protein or Keratin treatments, usually $300 and up, are widely available. And every salon will tell you why theirs is best. A couple more tips:
- Get your hair colored before the treatment. You are supposed to avoid color for two weeks after the Brazilian Blowout, and if you're due, it will be even more obvious when your hair is smoother and shinier.
- Use a sulfate-free shampoo. (Good advice, with or without a blowout.)
- Consider the Brazilian Blowout styling products. I'm really liking the Daily Smoothing Serum.
- If you dare to take your hair to the beach or a pool, a stylist told me to rub a smoothing cream through my hair on the spot to make it more manageable then, and later.

Yes I did double back across Mall of America to save $4.50 today and it gave me great satisfaction. Sephora is selling Living Proof. styling products (good for taming the frizzies - one of the few I'll vouch for) for $24, same price as the Living Proof website. But [email protected] Mall and QVC.com has the same products for $19.50! That's a significant difference. Good to remember QVC for beauty and haircare - they carry a lot of quality, high-end brands, and the prices are competitive. Of that, I've got Proof.

Seems like every couple of years there's a new salon for men - a dark wood paneled place with a pool table, free beer and sports scores on the big screens intended to make guys feel less self-conscious about good grooming. The question is, are guys longing for a classy but macho salon to call their own or are they just as happy at Great Clips? So many seem to fade away...but expectations are high for the latest crop. On the heels of the second Regis-owned RAZE for men opening in the Twin Cities at West End, the doors opened today at Mens Dept., 930 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis. Created by Kurt Kueffner, a haircare and styling veteran with Aveda and American Crew, Mens Dept haircuts start at $32; "grey blending" starts at $38, and the menu of services goes on. Stop by between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. weekdays for a boxed lunch with your service. That just might convince my man to spring for a salon cut.

I'm becoming a believer. Mostly. First wash since the Brazilian Blowout and much to my delight, I did notice a difference. My hair retained that silkiness even after shampooing (they tell you to use a sulfate-free shampoo - like theirs; I already have the all-natural WEN, so I used that. I did get talked into the Brazilian Blowout deep conditioning masque, which might have made a difference in styling). Blow drying was a spectacular science project: no frizz! As I live and breathe, I've never seen anything like it. My hair looked like it had been flat-ironed. It hadn't. Now, that is not to say that it came out as good as it did in professional hands. There is no such thing as an automatic blowout - you either have that skill, or you don't. I don't. But given that I usually end up with a kinky, crazy stubborn mess - and that's when I try - this helped. My hair is smoother, more polished. No doubt about it.

My hair was flat-ironed once, blow-dried twice, painted with a protein treatment by three stylists and washed four times over the course of 90 minutes today. I was a model for a Brazilian Blowout training seminar at Spalon Montage. The treatment costs $200 to $250 and the promise is three months of silky smooth, frizz-free hair. Initial reaction: my hair is smooth, sleek, shiny and totally cooperative - but then, I would expect no less after three stylists - and a teacher - worked on it at the same time. True, they didn't use any finishing products to get it to stay in place and it does feel really silky. The real test will come when I attempt to style it myself...and when I take it on vacation, for a week of humidity, salt water and chlorine. Then I'll let you know if I'd recommend it.

Nothing says love like a good blowout. That's blowout - as in hair. Every girl loves one, and the always enterprising Jon Charles Salon is encouraging men to attend its popular Blow Dry Boot Camp for Valentine's Day. The salon says 10 brave gents have already signed on to learn how to style their loved one's locks. Lessons are available at the Uptown and Wayzata locations Friday, Feb. 12 to Sunday, Feb. 14. Bring your partner for the promotional price of $25. And guys, you'd better have a dinner reservation to follow: She's going to want to show off her new 'do, even if you can think of other things you'd rather do.

The retailers and salons of 50th & France are pooling their resources for one giant proposal: to brides. The posh shopping district wants to establish itself as the Twin Cities bridal destination. Each month brings new promotions. February is all about "beautiful brides." To that end, Salon Aura (3915 W. 50th St.) is offering a free partial foil on the day of a bride's practice updo and Nani Nalu is offering complementary chocolate truffles and champagne for two when you book a private fitting. Cos Bar is featuring events every week this month from brands including Chanel, Sisley and Claudio Riaz. For the full list of happenings and specials this month and beyond, click here.

I thought Nicole Kidman looked hot at the 2010 Screen Actors Guild Awards on Saturday night. So refreshing to see her hair loose and a smile on her face. Her updos tend to look so...uptight. Lest you think she just towel dried and ran out the door, celeb hairstylist David Babaii gives the play-by-play in a press release delivered bright and early this morning. Color: Gingered Toffee Red, applied "with a combination of deposit-only color, a foil-out reverse highlighting technique and a sulfate-free glaze." (I'm lost too.) To style, David says he gently towel dried the hair and sprayed Bohemian Beach Spray throughout. Next, he "gently rough dried" (thinking he missed the oxymoron) the hair moving his hands in various directions to create texture. Once dry, he fashioned a center part and divided tresses into 4 sections (sides, back crown & nape). Starting at the nape area, he alternated between 1-inch and 1 1/2 inch ceramic curling irons (that half an inch makes all the dif), taking "V" shaped partings. He then wrapped hair around the inside of the barrel, holding for 10 seconds then gently releasing the curl. With each alternating curl, David slid his fingers up the curl to gently create a soft back combing effect and enhanced texture. After finishing the entire head, David used his fingers and added extra Bohemian Beach Spray to loosen the curls and highlight the richness of the hair color.
Now, all of this should convince me that a new product will make absolutely no difference in my appearance, without David Babaii's team to rough up my tresses in some four hour process. Still, I want that Bohemian Beach Spray.