Healthy Sexy Hair

My hair is a horrible frizzy mess and it looks like a rat’s nest! It’s been like this for the last week, and it may not get better. My favorite hair conditioner changed its formula! I used to have thick, curly hair, and now I have thin, curly hair, which has looked extremely frizzy for most of my life. For the last four years or so, I had finally found a product that almost cured my hair, and made it appear somewhat “normal.” I found Healthy Sexy Hair’s Soy Milk Conditioner. This conditioner worked so much better than the hundred or so conditioners I have used in my lifetime. It was literally the only conditioner that made my hair look better! I’m very happy with my Mop Leave-In Conditioner, which I also use daily. At least that’s still around - for now…

Why do companies change product formulas?
Remember when I wrote about my product discontinuation paranoia? I guess I jinxed myself by not including the conditioner in that list. I had a giant bottle of the conditioner that ran out last week, and when I went to Ulta to get more of it and noticed it now had new packaging, I got worried. The ingredients have changed, and now the conditioner is not as thick, and it now works like every other conditioner on my hair - horribly. The scent is the same. Why did they have to change the ingredients? This conditioner used to get rave reviews on Makeupalley.com, and now, of course, the reviews are sucking. I can only assume the new conditioner is cheaper to make. No other explanation makes sense.

How to find a product to replace your favorite discontinued product
Now I’m on the sad, daunting task of finding a good conditioner once again. I typed in the first five ingredients of the old conditioner into Google, putting quotes around them. One random conditioner I’ve never heard of contains those five ingredients, in that order, and I will soon be ordering it online. Frederic Fekkai Protein RX Conditioner has the first three same ingredients, and it’s the only conditioner I found that is sold at stores, so I will try that also, even though it’s ridiculously expensive.

If neither of those work, I will soon start researching good conditioners for frizzy, curly hair, and start my 28-year search all over. The only good news to this story is that at least I still have hair to worry about. As bad as my hair looks now, I am still thankful to have hair.

For now, if you have a favorite product that’s been discontinued, my only advice is to type its ingredients into Google, and see if you can find something else that lists the first several ingredients in the same order, or at least near the beginning of the list.

Quick Update
After writing this post, I went back to Ulta and found that Healthy Sexy Hair makes lots of different conditioners, and their Curly Sexy Hair’s ingredients are more similar to my old conditioner, than the re-vamped version. I’ve been using it, and it’s not exactly great, so I’m not real happy. But the point is to first look within the same brand if one of your favorite products gets discontinued. A lot of times companies will make more than one product with the same ingredients, even though the products will be called something totally different.percocet detox

It gets expensive when you want to look your best, and the cosmetics and skin care options are endless! Here are several tips to help you save money on skin care, without sacrificing looking beautiful.

1) Wear sunscreen every day, especially one that contains zinc oxide. The sun ages us more than just about anything else, and it’s easy and relatively cheap to wear sunscreen every day. In the long-term, this will possibly save you thousands of dollars on anti-aging skin care products that you won’t need as much. You may even prevent wanting to get plastic surgery later in life to fix your sun-ravaged face!

2) Stick with proven anti-aging ingredients. Retinol, and retinoids are currently still the best proven anti-aging skin care ingredients. Use a retinol or retinoid product every night, and you will be helping your skin stay young.

3) Stop tanning at tanning salons! Not only will you save money you wasted on tanning, but you will be preventing future damage to your skin, which you will later regret. This will save you money on products trying to fix your sun damage, and will possibly save you from wanting plastic surgery to tighten up your saggy, wrinkly skin.

4) Stop smoking. I know it’s incredibly hard to quit, and you know the obvious benefits you would gain from stopping - saving tons of money, and preventing your skin from aging extremely prematurely.

5) Research skin care products before you buy them. Head over to makeupalley.com and read Product Reviews to see what others think about the products that interest you. Read up on the featured ingredients in the products to see if the ingredients are really proven to be effective. Pick up Paula Begoun’s Don’t Go To The Cosmetics Counter Without Me and read her review of thousands of products. Come to my blog and see what I have to say :)

6) Return products you don’t like. Most department stores and drug stores allow you to return products you don’t like, even if you’ve opened them. Check with the store about their exact return policy, and always keep your receipt. Don’t feel bad about returning a product that really didn’t work for you.

7) For prescription medications, go with generics when possible. Some prescription acne and wrinkle creams come in generic versions, so ask your doctor to allow generic substitutions on your prescription. Most birth control pills also come in generic versions.

In some states, it’s also legal to purchase your prescriptions from Canadian pharmacies. CanadaDrugsOnline.com, for example, is a reputable Canadian pharmacy that will send your prescriptions to your house. This can save you 50% on prescriptions.

Also, if you have a Flexible Spending Account, use it to buy sunscreen, acne medications, and lots of other things with your pre-tax dollars.

8) Stock up on your favorite products when they’re on sale. I always buy two or three of my favorite drug store items when they’re on sale. I am too lazy to cut coupons, but that’s another great way to save money.

9) Get the Gift With Purchase. Some department store brands have “gift with purchase” bonuses a few times a year. I only purchase my pricy Clinique Moisture On-line when they are doing the free gift. I always end up with a great free mascara, and usually some other free products I like. Or you can sell your unused “gift with purchase” on eBay! Just don’t buy something only because of the free gift, but I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of that!

10) Look for coupon codes when buying online. Did you know most online websites are always running some sort of promotional discount? Before I hit “purchase” on any website, I always open up a new browser and type in “coupon code” and then whatever online store I’m on. So you could do “coupon code” Sephora or “coupon code” Victoria’s Secret. You can usually find codes for free shipping, 10% or 20% off, free bonus gifts, and lots more. You enter the code where it asks for it on the checkout page. Sometimes you may need to try a few different codes before one works, but it’s worth it!

Also check around to various beauty blogs (every weekend I post links to several of them) to find out about new beauty specials. A lot of my beauty blog friends post frequently about new promotions that are going on at different online stores. I sometimes post about this too.

11) Use cheaper, yet still effective products. There are lots of cheap, yet good products out there to use. I always try to buy drug store products as much as possible, and only buy more expensive products when there is not a drug store equivalent. For example, I really like Nivea Creme, which works like Creme de la Mer, but costs 100 times less! When I’m only outside for a few minutes a day, I may use a cheaper sunscreen than my favorite (sort of expensive) Shiseido sunscreen.