Product review: Redken straightener

When it's time to pull out jackets in Florida, I go digging under my bathroom sink for the flat iron. Cool and crisp mornings mean one thing for my sometimes curly, always humidity-sensitive hair: Time to go straight.

For the past two weeks, I've been testing out a Redken straightener, Power Tame 16, under a range of weather conditions. It promises to be an "intense straightening balm for coarse hair." According to the back of the bottle, with a flat iron, I can get "pin-straight results."

That's a bit of a stretch. But it's still a better than decent product.

I got the kind of smooth hair that's the stuff of magazine ads only on the days when the humidity levels were low. So that would be thanks to Mother Nature, not Redken, although the product probably helped.

Under the warm, moist conditions more typical of Florida fall, the product could tame my curls, but not the frizzy-ish body that marks the difference between a ho-hum hair day and a great one. Still, just keeping those curls in check is better than many products manage to do.

The verdict: Redken's Power Tame 16 is pretty good, but not good enough to close my mind to other products out there. Anyone have any recommendations?

Deal Diva Letitia

(Photo: Redken)

Battle of Salons brings stylists to The Lodge

A contest of hair-raising proportions goes down at 9:30 tonight at Lodge Restaurant and Bar in South Tampa.

Battle of Salons is a competition that gives hairstylists a theme and challenges them to come up with the best 'do. It's kind of like Iron Chef for hairdressers.

The three rounds of competition began Sept. 3. For each round, three hairdressers, each from a different salon, styled their hearts out. Tonight, the three winners will face off in a battle royal to interpret the theme "high fashion runway."

There's no time limit, but the voting usually starts around 11 p.m., said organizer Erica Gerbolingo, 26, of Tampa. The champ will be determined by audience applause and the judges -- two professional hairstylists and a to-be-announced celebrity.

Bring business cards; the event is also a great chance to network. Admission is free. Ages 18 and up. For more info, call Gerbolingo at (813) 220-9924.

Deal Diva Dalia

(Photo by Photos.com)

Deal Divas product test: Edgestick Pressing Comb

This is a post for my extra-curly, wavy, happy-to-be-nappy girls out there ... if you fall into any of these categories then you may know the sisterhood bond that is the hot comb.

Our bond is steeped in history ... Saturday evenings preparing for church we'd sit in the kitchen on a stool between grandma's legs, while she slid those hot teeth through our kinky edges. Oh the memories, or, er, the horrors.

So when this little gadget came across my desk I was intrigued and a tad frightened. Was Granny lurking somewhere behind the bushes with her can of pressing oil?

 

It's called the Edgestick Pressing Comb and it supposedly has the same straightening prowess as the old school hot combs, just without the scary sizzle that still causes me to grab my ear and wince when I think about it. It also looks a lot cooler too.

The traditional hot comb is a French invention, but the Edgestick is out of Taiwan -- home to some of the most fabulous bone-straight hair on the planet.

My hair is chemically relaxed these days so I called in the guru of pressed hair, my friend and stylist Patrina Miller, below, of 9Stone Natural Hair Care Studio in St. Petersburg.

 

Miller, whose hair is 100% chemical free, is known for her ability to take the curliest of curly hair bone straight in a matter of minutes. Her tools: a ceramic flat iron and a good hand technique. After testing it out for a while here's what she had to say:

1.) What Pretty Teeth you have. Most ceramic irons are simply flat plates, but the Edgestick has a comb on it which makes pulling through hair easy.

2.) Fire it up baby. While the Edgestick may work for wavy or loosely curly hair, it wasn't a good solution for people with a tight curl. It doesn't get hot enough -- even at its highest setting -- to truly straighten that hair.

3.) Rain on me. We live in Florida. And it's truly a gift if you can keep your hair straight for 24 hours with all the humidity in the air. After using the Edgestick, Miller said hair poofed back up within a day. Her pressing jobs usually last about a week.

In short, the Edgestick isn't a horrible product, but if you are of the serious curl or kink set, it's probably not the best option for your straightening needs. But if your hair is loosely curled or mostly straight it's a good touch up option.

Interested? You can find the Edgestick Pressing Comb online here.

Deal Diva Nicole

[Photos courtesy Suntek Global and Patrina Miller]

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Redken saves bleached-out peroxide hair!

So, Deal Diva Letitia came up to me a while ago with her hands full of shampoo. "Here," she said. "None of us really dye our hair."

I couldn't help feeling a bit like that lady who chain smokes outside the salon with a head full of tin foil while all the more natural types stare on in disgust on the way to Smoothie King. No matter. I'm not one to turn down a good sampling opportunity. This time, it was the Redken Color Extend line, a giveaway which we so graciously led you to last month.

I like to alternate between nice, expensive salon shampoo and, you know, the stuff that costs $.79 and just says SHAMPOO across the bottle. It depends on the state of my hair, the state of my wallet, the state of the union, how much the salon people sucker me into buying. Plus, I think it's good to keep your hair guessing and mix it up. I've tried Aveda, Biolage, Grund, but never Redken.

I've been using it for a couple weeks now. I'm not sure if it has extended my Dolly Parton bleach job or not, but I have noticed a difference. My hair is softer. It drapes better on my gourd. It looks healthy. Last week, one of my friends said, "Did you do something new to your hair? It just looks so... GOOD!"

Sigh. I just don't know how to take these things.

Anyway, if your hair needs a boost of moisture or a little loving, check out Redken. In the $20 range, it's not cheap, but you can always switch back to your boyfriend's Suave next month. And just think off all the questionable compliments you'll get from friends! 

~ Deal Diva Stephanie

Unemployed? Get a (good) FREE hair cut!

Times are hard out here. Not only are people losing their jobs left and right -- their grown-out messy manes can be down right frightening to passersby.

Thank goodness some Tampa Bay stylists are thinking about those of us who have to look at these tragic coifs!

I kid. I kid.

In an effort to give back, this weekend Albie Mulcahy of the Velvet Salon is offering free cuts and styles to Tampa Bay residents who have lost their jobs.

Mulcahy will team up with former Vidal Sassoon artistic director Maurice Tidy and several other stylists from the area for this fabulous event!

The stylists hope to give fresh starts to those who have lost their jobs, starting with a new hair cut.

And don't expect a run of the mill snip snip either...Mulcahy has been described as a cross between Andy Warhol and Billy Idol. His Velvet Salon, also known as VLVT may be in St. Petersburg but it's London-chic. The shops slogan: Modern Hair for Modern People. 

[Albie Mulchay pictured in black shirt]

Free cuts depend on a first come, first serve basis. So be prompt. And bring your virtue with you... these stylists are depending on your honesty when it comes to your employment-status.

Peep the event details below:

What: Free cuts/styles for Tampa Bay's unemployed.

When: Saturday, Aug. 29th & Sunday, Aug. 30th -- 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Where: Velvet Salon, located at 406 11th Avenue N., St. Petersburg, FL

For more information call: 727-209-8588

~ Deal Diva Nicole

[pictures: photos.com/St. Petersburg Times]

Michelle Phan: YouTube makeup guru, honorary Deal Diva

I interviewed YouTube celeb and local girl Michelle Phan for a big profile that ran in the Floridian section of the St. Petersburg Times Sunday. Michelle is 22, and she's one of the leading makeup gurus on YouTube, demonstrating beauty and style tips for more than 230,000 subscribers around the world. Her videos are like crack.

Check out the full story here. Here's Michelle's pic.

Times camera whiz Cat Stuart made her own awesome video report to accompany the story, so check that out, too. And as a special treat for you blogheads, I've picked out Michelle Phan's top five videos for Divas who like a Deal (a.k.a., poor people like you and me).

1. You find a pair of shoes you love! They're ten bucks! You will die without them! But BALLS APLENTY, they're a half-size too small. Well, fret not. In this video, Michelle Phan teaches us how to stretch shoes with ice.

2. A disgusting guy gives you his business card at a bar. He sells stereo equipment and has offered to "hook up your ride." You want to die. In this video, transform his cheap come-on into a handy mascara stencil!

3. You've been heat-styling your hair for approximately 25 years, and it looks like a yard of dry autumn raffia from Michael's Arts and Crafts. But dangit, you still want curls. In this video, Michelle Phan shows us how to achieve ye olde paper bag curls of yesteryear.

4. Your favorite skin care product costs a month's pay. Times are hard, and you need to save for shoes. In this video, Michelle Phan lops the top off a tomato, dips it in sugar and gets to scrubbing her dreamy skin. She finishes with a delish salad!

5. Lip gloss tubes are piling up in your makeup bag. You can SEE that there's still gloss left in the tube, but ARGH, it's stuck to die a sad death in the bottom. In this video, Michelle Phan melts the gloss to freedom with a coffee mug in her microwave.

Check out all Michelle Phan's videos right here.

~ Deal Diva Stephanie

Photo: Lara Cerri, Times Staff

Keep your hair color strong with this Redken giveaway

Get this: 57 percent of American women ages 18 to 64 have colored their hair in the past year. Fifty-seven percent!

That kind of mane devotion doesn't come cheap.

But don't fret, dear ones. With some help from Redken and Salon West, the Divas have you covered. It's this simple: The first 200 readers who click here and provide a little bio information will get a full-size Redken Color Extend Shine Enrich spray FREE from Salon West.

That's a $16 value for a glossy spray Redken product that pledges to protect hair color while helping to smooth fly-aways and make your hair all shiny and stuff. But you get it FREE from Largo's Salon West, recently named by ELLE Magazine as one of the county's top 100 salons.

Remember, the offer is open to only the first 200 people. So get clickin'!

~ Deal Diva Colleen

Michelle Obama hairstylist Johnny Wright chats with Deal Divas

So, I got a cool chance to interview Michelle Obama's hairstylist, Johnny Wright, Wednesday. Read the full story from the St. Petersburg Times HERE. Wright, a D.C. stylist and artistic director of Soft Sheen-Carson, a division of Loreal, was cool and fun to talk to. He couldn't divulge much about the First Lady -- not even whether he did the famous fake-bob we talked about the other day, (and a massive 50 of you chimed in about!)  But he had some good hair insight nonetheless.

Here are a couple tidbits from the interview that couldn't fit in the story. Enjoy!

~ Deal Diva Stephanie

On growing up hair:

"I think as a young black boy growing up in the inner city of Chicago with humble beginnings, it was hard for me to deal with the stereotypes. Most kids around you are playing basketball and football in the streets and I'm in the house styling my mom's hair. But I was always able to make a connection with people regardless of what their stereotypes were."

On working with Michelle Obama for the first time:

"My whole career at that point had really revolved around working with celebrities. I had done film, I had done music videos, I had done red carpet. I brought the same kind of professionalism I would bring to any type of setting. It wasn't about being nervous. It was about doing a good job regardless of who the person was."

On his hair pet peeve:

"We depend on our doctors, we depend on our designers to design stuff, but when it comes down to our hair, there's always a little sense of question. 'Are you right? Are you sure? I know my hair.' People don't realize that in cosmetology school, we learn everything about the anatomy from head to toe. People think it's just hair, that we just learn how to do finger waves. That is one of my biggest pet peeves. I don't like to see women not trust their hairstylists."

Photos: Washington Post, Getty

Get a cheap haircut to support a worthy cause

If you've been holding out on a haircut, here's a chance to get a pretty cheap clip-clip for a cause.

Salon Jack in South Tampa (3215 S. MacDill Ave., Suite I) is hosting its 4th annual Cut-A-Thon on Monday to raise money for the Florida Suncoast Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., men and women can get haircuts with a shampoo and blow dry for just $25.

Folks, this is a great deal that will raise money for a fabulous cause -- finding a cure for breast cancer. Cuts at Salon Jack typically run from $37 to $80. But Monday, six stylists will spend 12 hours -- 12 hours!! -- cutting hair for much less and will each donate their entire day's profits, including tips, to the charity. How cool is that?

"It's definitely a deal," Salon Jack owner Chad Malm told me today. "You're going to get a really good haircut for $25."

Walk-ins are welcome. But to secure your spot, call (813) 831-8955 to make an appointment.

~ Deal Diva Colleen

(Photo: Associated Press. You'd look sad too if you were having Phil Spector's bad hair day. Yikes. Go to Salon Jack! They'll help you!)

Michelle Obama hairdo: Fug or fab? You make the call!

Check out the new look for Michelle!

Our fashion-maven First Lady is looking all cropped and cool as the summer heats up.

She had to see it coming. I mean the woman can't show up in public wearing a measly cardigan from J. Crew without practically inciting riots. A new Michelle Obama hairdo is bigger than the unveiling of a new line from Michael Kors. The season finale of Project Runway. A going-out-of-business sale at DSW. (Not happening, fyi, but you get my drift.)

So what do we think about the new look for Michelle? Too much like a helmut? Or fresh and fun?

I kinda like it. If my curly hair wouldn't poof up like cotton candy, I'd be tempted to imitate the new Michelle Obama hairdo, which by the way the style world has officially confirmed as an "updo" and not an actual haircut. (Thank goodness we've gotten that on the record!)

So what do YOU think about the new look for Michelle?

You make the call
FAB!
Fug!

~ Deal Diva Letitia

(Photo: Getty Images)