For most ladies, having a lush mane of thick, flowing hair is a dream that comes crashing down to earth with the daily rigors of life.  People have other responsibilities and doing one's hair is not always first on the priority list.  While I don't have the typical demands (i.e. no job), I have discovered something that will help all women get their hair full of volume.

This is Jonathan Product Create Volume Thickening Foam and it really does thicken my my hair.  I don't know if the whole "certified vegan" thing really makes a better product, but overall it's a product that works.  My hair is just past my shoulders so I use 3 pumps of the foam on the top and maybe 1 or 2 pumps at the base of my neck and on the underside of my hair.  I've had this bottle for 3 months and it's still about half full even though i use it about 2 times a week.  It's normally $24 at Sephora (or online), but I got this when my local Bath and Body Works had the Jonathan Product line at 75% off since they were not going to carry it anymore.

Have any of you tried Lush's solid shampoos? I've been meaning too and when I saw this promotion going on at Lush, I figured this was my shot.

7 items for $15?  It's a little confusing on what to get, but here's what I gathered.  You get:
- 2 small balls of solid shampoo.
- 1 solid conditioner
- 1 liquid shampoo
- 1 liquid conditioner
- 1 hair mask/moisturizer
- 1 hair gel

The liquid shampoo, conditioner, hair mask and gel are travel sizes.  Judging from the regular sizes of the solid shampoos, I'd say the ones you get are about 1/4 of the size, so you should around 20 washes since it's said to last 80, depending on the length of your hair.  There's a number of different types of solid shampoo, so weather your hair is curly, straight, oily, dry, flaky, or a combination of the two, you can get 2 shampoos that will target those needs.

I'm looking forward to trying these products from Lush, and I will let you know how it goes.  You can find this deal online or at Lush stores.

Confession time: have you ever died your hair at home?  I use to.  The very first time I died my hair in college with a Clairol kit; it was a dark brown that totally did nothing to my virgin black hair at the time.  I then went a lighter brown a few days later (probably not the best idea) but it wasn't that good.  I then tried L'oreal Feria a few months later and that was probably the best one home job I did on myself.  There was an unfortunate highlighting incident where one section of my hair was considerably lighter than the rest, but I've realized that I don't have the skills to dye my own hair.  Correction: I don't have the skills to highlight my hair.  If i wanted to do a single color, I'd grab a friend and have her paint the color on, but highlighting is best left to professionals.  Thankfully I now have a friend who is a master stylist and can whip my hair into gorgeous shape.

For those of you a bit more adventurous than me, stylist to the stars Frederic Fekkai has come out with the upscale version of the home hair dye kit.  At $30, it's 3x the price of some other kits, but still a fraction of the price it would cost at the salon.  It includes a pre-color treatment, the color, and a post-color treatment.  Plus you get the Fekkai's "brush and bowl" system.

Brought to life in 20 shades selected by top colorists, each kit has everything needed to deliver long-lasting salon quality hair color at home.

Everything you need to produce salon-quality color at-home includes:

-Pre-color treatment for even results
-Salon quality permanent color, creamy formula with conditioning agents
-Post-Color Mask for extra conditioning and shine
-Professional tools: brush, blowl, gloves
-Tips from Frederic and the expert colorists from the Salons

The Fekkai brush & bowl application technique provides:
- more thorough/even mixing of formula
- better color adhesion
- more controlled, even application
- drip free application

The Frederic Fekkai Hair Color system is available at beauty stores like Sephora, Ulta, Beauty.com, and Fekkai.com

Have you heard of this FREE treat from Kerastase?  Head to one of the participating salons on Wednesday, May 20th for a free hair treatment, shampoo and blow-dry.  Whether your hair is dry, oily, dandruff-prone, color-treated, or weak, there's a special treatment for you.  You need to print this coupon and call the salon to make an appointment.  With people trying to save money, this is a great way to indulge yourself at no-cost.

April 15th usually brings about some nervousness, anxiety, and stress as people rush to get their taxes done.  Hopefully you've done yours and perhaps gotten a tax return, so here are a couple of ways to relax, congratulate yourself on finishing your taxes, or to spend that refund.  If you owe money, don't worry, I'm includubg some budget ideas too.  Here are some head to toe ideas:

Enjoy a hair mask.  Pantene has a few masks that I really love to put on at night and let it sit all night.  Even though the package says to apply it in the shower and leave on for 5 minutes, it doesn't hurt to leave it on longer.  Whether you want a strenghtening, fortifying, moisture replenishing,  or just light conditioning, Pantene has a mask for your hair. There is no residue left, but depending on how you sleep, your hair may be in weird positions.  Best part of this mask?  It'll give you soft, silky hair for pennies per use.  A tub should cost under $5.

For you face, you can replicate the spa with just a few treatments.  If you have the time, start with steaming your face. 

This facial steamer from Conair opens your pores and will help any cleansers or masks to penetrate beneath the skin a little more.  Spas typically have a steamer running in the first half of a facial, so this is a similar concept.  Lean over the steamer and create a little tent with a towel over your head to capture all the steam.  Steamers are fairly affordable, ranging from $20.

After steaming my face, I like to apply a mask.  Everyone has different skin, so find one that works for your skin type and relax.  I tried this Exuviance one, but, it is $26.

If you have oily skin, Korres has fairly good reviews on Sephora, so it might be worth checking out.  Also not cheap, at $27.
When you're short on cash and/or time, try Clean and Clear's In Shower Steam Facial.  It's more a scrub than a mask, but you leave it on for a couple of minutes, letting the steam open up your pores.

Now that the face is freshly clean, don't forget the lotion and...the SPF if it's day.

Moving along to the body, pamper yourself with a bubble bath or a nice hot shower.  Perhaps a nice scrub?

Fresh is a brand I love, but really can't afford.  I splurged on this lotion, but this $65 scrub is unlikely. 

Philosphy's 3 in 1 shower gel, shampoo, and bubble bath, may also be a nice way to unwind.  There are a ton of scents, so you're probably bound to find one that you'll like. $16 for 16 oz.

In your pampering efforts, don't forget about your hands and feet.  A quick mani/pedi can really be a nice way to unwind.

When your fingers and toes are soft, add a spalsh of color that'll be perfect for spring.  I'm digging these new neon polishes from Essie.
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So there are some ideas to celebrate the end of tax season.  What's your favorite way of unwinding after a stressful event?

Are you on the green beauty bandwagon yet?  I admit to not being completely there yet since I'm not sure that the mainstream cosmetics are that bad.  However, one strong consideration is also price.  In the world of cosmetics, I find that organic/vegan/natural lines are slightly more expensive.  So until price is no longer an option, I choose my products carefully.

There's been a fairly recent backlash against traditional shampoos and conditioners due to the use of harsh detergent like ingredients such as sulfates.  Sulfates are actually humectants and are generally what causes the abundance of bubbles (lather).  Lather is not necessariliy an indication of how well the product is working and it is a rather strong chemical that may not be safe.  Sodium Laureth Sulfate is one of the most popular of these chemicals, used in everything from shampoo to toothpaste to carwash.  Would you use car wash fluid on your hair?

My most recent discovery is a line of haircare from L'Oreal, called EverPure. It's a vegan line that is free of harsh chemcials.  I don't know the science behind the line, but I know that it works.  I love the slight minty smell and they've somehow managed to make it lather a little.  I've used other 'organic' shampoos that don't lather, EverPure is a good product for those who are used to lather.  EverPure is safe for color treated hair, in fact the line is geared specifically for color-treated hair.  It's available in three formulations: moisture, smooth, and volume.  When I purchased them, the volume group was unavailable so I'm using moisture now. The best part?  The products are under $7 each at stores like Target.