Aloha we just got this in at Ahead of Style 9410 NE Hazel Dell Ave, Vancouver WA 98665. As you know I am all about healthy hair, and hair growth so i am always on the look ot for new products and This Looks Hot! All of Pravana’s shampoos are SLS free and there other products (which we keep in stock at AOS) are wonderful, so I’m already loving it! A little while back I took some pictures of showing how to do a twist out. I never posted them because it seemed to me that too much of my scalp was showing. i.e. It looked like my hair’s been thinning! I was going to try another brand of hair growth products, but after our Pravana training I decided to give this a try. So I guess I’ll use the pics as a before and in a few weeks take some more pics and hope that there is an improved difference.

Kit includes:

Biojen 9 System Kit

Pravana

5.06oz Invigorating Shampoo

3.7oz Scalp Energizer

5.06oz Hair & Scalp Rejuvenator

Check out this video from Pravana:

My mother always used Salon purchased or Health Food Store purchased cosmetics in particular Shampoos and conditioners. (Note this was in the 70’s and 80’s so all of those products Like Nexxus that used to be a Superior Salon exclusive product, have now been reformulated for mass production and can now be bought in the grocery store). Because of my up bringing in my personal life, I’ve I have always been real selective when it comes to what cosmetics I buy.  As a professional Stylist I am even more militant about what I use and sell to my clients.

 

About 5 years ago I switched to Sodium Lauryl and Laureth Sulfate (SLS) free shampoos. SLS is a surfactant that also gives us suds when we shampoo. Bubbles harmless right? Read on.

 

I am going to link to some other blogs so you can conduct an up to date search but basically for me it comes down to this: At best SLS is a completely harmless strong surfactant that strips the hair & scalp of much needed oils, (for shine) and moisture (to prevent split ends and breakage). Strong surfactants like SLS strips artificial color from your hair. Nothing like paying hard earned money for your color service only to have it wash down the bathtub drain in two weeks! At worst it instigates hair loss, is an allergen for most people, which irritates the scalp/skin and may be carcinogenic. Who needs that!

 

I’ve done some research, which included trying my new SLS free shampoo vs my old shampoo. I do not know if SLS is a carcinogenic, there is just as much info out there that says it is as there is that says it’s not. But why take the risk? SLS free shampoos use milder surfactants. Plus I had a serious Aaha moment when I used a SLS free shampoo. My hair did so well on SLS shampoos. It was soft and supple, no frizz, and plenty of shine especially when I flat ironed. Also I’ve has several clients that had really bad scalp flaking and it disappeared once I put them on SLS shampoos.

 

I am a curly girl. I am Afro-American and I am “natural” meaning, I do not chemically relax my natural curls. Curly hair naturally is prone to dryness. The curlier the hair the dryer it is. Chemical services on any hair type (straight or curly) dries out the hair. Dryness leads to split-ends, split-ends lead to breakage. I know tons of people who think their hair doesn’t grow when what they are really dealing with is Severe Breakage. Basically the hair breaks off before you realize (notice) any length. That is why I am always ALL about putting and keeping Moisture in the hair! (Protein too, but that’s another post.) Switching to a Sodium Lauryl Sulfate free shampoo is a great start to moisture rich hair.

 

Another thing to be mindful of when purchasing a shampoo is the PH or Potential Hydrogen. A lot of store bought products won’t list the PH or molecular weight of their shampoos and conditioners. And believe me you want to know! Shampoos with a high PH like a 9 to 11 can cause the cuticle cells of hair to swell up and get rougher which can leave your hair looking dull and lifeless. Yikes! I recommend a shampoo and conditioner that have a PH of about 4.5 to 5.5. 

 

Pravana Shampoos and Conditioners are two out of my three ROCK BOTTOM YOU MUST HAVE PRUDUCTS! All of Provana’s shampoos are sulfate-free. I use Pravana’s Hydrating  line for maximum moisture. Pravana is ONLY available in salons, like (shameless plug aleart!) Ahead of Style, Inc located at 9410 NE Hazel Dell Ave, Vancouver WA 98665 Phone 360-573-9922. (ask for me Natanya)

 

OK Here are the links:

 

Skin Deep: My favorite place to look up product ingredients.

The Beauty Brains: Says SLS is safe

Mane & Chic: The post to read is Shampoo is the Devil. LOL. Wonderful site!

Jason Cosmetics

Killer Strands: Love this site!

Nappy Me:

Snopes: Says SLS is safe

Long Hair Care Forum: Search results of posts. Great NON-Professional site.

I have a female client who is a very busy college student and athlete. The client’s natural hair texture is very very curly (4b/c). Also her hair is chemically straightened (relaxed). Currently my client’s hair is experiencing very bad breakage. I suspect that this is caused by a combo of: lack of moisture, no protein treatments, heat styling and the doo rag that the client wears. The hair is braking off faster than it is growing so her hair has the appearance of “Never Growing”.

 

In order to stop the breakage, and to realize length, I suggested a daily hair regimen, which started last night, with a relaxer touch up with deep conditioning followed immediately by a Keratin Reconstructing Treatment.

 

My client will be able to keep her hair moisturized & use little to know heat to obtain easy manageability and the straight hair that she desires. Weekly deep conditioning, using moisturizing & natural oil rich hair products, protein treatments every 6 to 8 weeks and no more doo rag, should result in optimal growth of very healthy hair.

 

I’ll post a before and after video soon.