In “South Pacific” the song lyrics are “Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair. ” In the 50s and 60s our mothers and grandmothers were too busy washing their hair on Friday or Saturday night to go out on a date.  In the 80s, it was permed hair to the sky and a person would never say out loud they skipped a day washing their hair. In the words of Jimmy Fallon’s Sara character,  saying you didn’t wash your hair would be “Ew!” But ever since Robert Pattinson hit the red carpet with Twilight and “that” hair, saying you look good because you didn’t wash your hair has become a standard, acceptable answer. So how often do we really need to shampoo?

Consensus amongst doctors and hair stylists is that shampooing every day is overkill for most types of hair. Anyone with long, thick, curly or processed hair will probably agree their hair looks look better when it isn’t washed everyday. But how often you wash your hair , or not, is a personal preference. Factors such as scalp condition, type of hair, style and products used as well as the environment should be your determining factors in how often you shampoo.

Lather and Sulfates, do we need them?
When I was a teenager, I used the shampoo bought for the whole family’s use. We didn’t have different shampoos for different family members. Back then, my stylist told me the  shampoo I was using could also double to take the wax off her kitchen floor! I always assumed it was her subtle way of telling me I was damaging my hair due to that one specific product. I never thought it was also because I was shampooing too often.

Can we have beautiful hair plus more importantly,  a clean, healthy scalp without shampooing every day?
Lather, rinse, repeat  . . . Lather, rinse, repeat .  . . come on all you Friends Phoebe fans out there, you know her little ditty of a song about shampooing. But while researching “lather” on the internet, I hit multiple articles saying that “lather” is really for show. Lather doesn’t clean a thing. It’s not a scrubby-bubble like the bathtub cleaner. In fact, they say we really shouldn’t want a lather. Say what?

Lather aka foaming bubbles are derived from sulfates which experts say can dehydrate the hair. It also can leave behind residue. In other words, you don’t need a product that fully provides a lather to clean your hair.

What about repeat? It says so right on the bottle. Researching this piece, I discovered repeat was a standard direction written many, many  years ago when people showered and bathed once a week. So users needed to “repeat” to ensure the scalp was clean.

Do you use shampoo properly?
Most of us, and I was guilty of this, don’t use shampoo properly. I was shampooing every day AND concentrating more on my hair then my scalp. The scalp needs the most attention as it contains the glands that produce sebum – an oily, waxy substance  – that helps lubricate the skin and hair.  Therefore, like our faces, the scalp needs to be massaged and cleansed as this area tends to get more greasy than the ends of our hair. But wash the scalp too much and it goes into overdrive to replace the natural oils being removed too frequently.

So let’s do a summary so far:
We need to read the shampoo bottles and avoid products with sulfates.  Tons of lather does not equate to clean.
When we use shampoo, we need to concentrate on our scalp and less on the ends  unless our entire head is soaking in  sweat from a gym work-out, has picked-up surrounding odors from our daily environment or we are trying to remove layers of styling product. Massage that scalp!
We need to take into account the type of hair we have as fine hair has different needs than curly hair.Shampooing too much removes natural oils and strips moisture from our hair. It can also lead to an oily scalp as our bodies
go into overdrive to replace the natural oils.

Break the cycle
Ok .  .  .but why do celebrities look so good but say they don’t shampoo every day? Because less washed hair holds a style better. In other words, hair washed every day is too soft and too loose, therefore more styling products are needed to achieve the style you want. Build-up of products causes hair to look dull which means you shampoo more to remove this product build-up. Thus here we go ’round and ’round in an endless cycle of sabotaging our hair.

This winter, I decided to cleanse and massage my scalp every other day but use a conditioner every day on my hair. My mom – who is the head of the frizzy hair notification police – keeps asking me what I am doing differently as she likes the results.

If you don’t have time to read labels and do research, ask your stylist what brands she would recommend for your hair type and style. A good stylist will provide you with options that you can select from within their salon as well as your grocery store shelf. While doing my own research for my hair and this blog piece, I found multiple shampoo brands that are sulfate-free that I recognized from the store. But I also think I will ask my stylist at my next appointment and perhaps treat myself to a salon shampoo product. Even our hair needs a little guilty pleasure every now and then!

Straight hair has never been a good look for me. Truthfully, it hasn’t been a great look for many people, but no one ever told them. So people flat ironed their hair until it was super-duper straight, parted it smack down the middle and wore it behind their ears. Unfortunately, the hair fairy didn’t visit those over 18 years old trying to rock this style and so it trended way longer than it should have.

Me? I had forsaken the trend and tried my best not to look like I was queen of a 80’s hair band. Or Monica from the television show Friends . . . .when they go on vacation and her hair becomes three times the size of her head. Frizz was all I knew every summer. And I was stuck in hair limbo, until last year, when waves became “a look” on red carpets all over the world. Yea – I was going to be in style!

Needless to say, I was shocked last year when my hair stylist recommended I try a Keratin treatment. What? Surely you jest! Go super straight? On purpose? When everyone else was having fun riding waves? NO! NO! NO! I wanted to be like the cool kids! Wait, Keratin fights frizz? What rock have I been living under?

My hair stylist told me it was a misconception that Keratin would turn curly hair into a Morticia Addams look from the Addams Family. She said a Keratin treatment would battle my frizz but keep waves in my hair. I would be trendy!

I decided to trust my stylist and I booked an appointment for an express keratin treatment that would last approximately three months. An express treatment would also take much less time in the salon. On the day of the appointment, I got hit with a case of nerves. What if my hair didn’t look wavy? What if it was super straight after all was said and done?

The Keratin treatment application was pretty simple. In simplest terms, the solution was applied and we waited. Then we rinsed, dried my hair and a flat-iron was used on it. Then I waited two days to wash and style my hair. I was scared when I looked in the mirror. I could not believe that the super straight hair staring back at me would ever have a wave in it again. However, two days later . . . there it was. Waves. No frizz. I repeat . . . I had waves and the frizz was gone! It was a miracle, I say, a miracle!  Keratin  .  .  . It's your new best friend!

1. Long, Hot, Steamy Showers
Who doesn’t love a long, luxurious, hot, steamy shower? But did you know it causes damage to your hair? Just like skin, hot water dehydrates hair putting it on the path to dry, brittle and breakage. While your hair’s protective oils are going the drain your scalp is going into over drive to make-up for the oil loss. This can lead to damage to the root and more thinning.

 Solution: A warm shower with a cool water rinse for your hair is recommended.

2. Hair Dryers
The hot setting on your hair dryer may get your hair dried quicker, but overall it’s not doing you any favors. The high setting can damage proteins and the protective cuticle of your hair. Cuticle damage causes moisture imbalance which leads to breakage.

Solution: When drying your hair, use the warm / middle setting first and then switch to the cool/low to cool-down your hair as you style.


3. Diet
Everyone thinks they need to lose a few pounds, but did you know crash dieting can hurt your hair? Crash dieting puts the body into starvation mode. This forces the body to direct its energy towards essential bodily functions such as your heart, breathing and brain and away from secondary functions such as growing hair.

Solution: A healthy diet with lean protein like fish, chicken, lentils and beans will help urge hair growth.  Aim for 46 grams per day (or about 25 to 30% of your total calories).


4. Brushing Hair Just After Showering / Towel Drying Hair
Hair is most fragile after if it’s been saturated with water as the protective cuticle is slightly raised. Brushing or combing in the shower, then following with aggressive towel-drying, create the perfect storm for snapping it off.

Solution: Minimize post-shower brushing by combing before hair gets wet. Then, blot (don’t rub) hair with a soft towel after your shower.


5. Too Tight Ponytail
We admit it – everyone has a bad hair day now and then. But a too tight ponytail places excessive tension on hair follicles causing damage. If it’s pulling on your skin, it’s way too tight.

Solution: Try wearing your hair down whenever possible (especially while sleeping; rolling around on a pillow can create even more friction). When you do tie your strands back, keep it soft.


6. Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer
We all know about skin damage due to sun, but less frequently is what the sun can do to your hair. Your hair is exposed to UV rays, which eat away at the strength and elasticity of your hair.

Solution: Use products that help filter UV rays. For long days at the beach or ballpark, wear a hat for added protection.

When I was growing-up, I was never the “hey, why don’t we have a sleep-over and we’ll braid each others' hair and be besties forever” type of girl. I spent a fair share of time ensuring I could throw fast and accurate from third base to first for my softball team, but that’s another story. But I did want nice hair as well, so I spent my fair share of time struggling with a hair dryer and curling iron. For me to be asked to be a hair model by Hair Plus, especially with my not-exactly-100%-curly-but-more-than-just-wavy-hair (with a multitude of cowlicks), well it was like the main character in the movie Carrie asking herself, "Was I just elected Prom Queen? Is this a joke?"

Ok, it’s not a runway in New York, Paris or London . . . nor is it an infomercial or a product segment on QVC ... but I got to say “model” when talking to my friends about my experience. How often does a person get to say that?

Stylists from Hair Plus regularly take classes to keep up-to-date on their industry knowledge. This particular class was offered by Kevin Murphy Co. to highlight their hair products line and at-home styling kits. The product line is available in the salon and utilized by the stylists, but this was opportunity to use a broader range of products for different styles. My kit was called Screen Siren and included the following:
HP Screen Siren– AntiGravity (an oil-free volumizer and texturizer)
– Curlers
– Hair clips
– Texturizing comb
– QR code (aka you scan the kit on your tablet or phone for step-by-step video instructions from Kevin Murphy himself, helping you reproduce the look in your bathroom.)

Debbie, the co-owner of Hair Plus, conferred with me about issues with my hair and selected Angel Wash as the shampoo. The experience was a wonderful aromatherapy session. It wasn’t chemically sweet; just the intoxicating, natural scent of the ingredients filling the air around me and making me sigh as my normal, daily tension began to ease. But I digress . . .

The stylists then went back for another discussion with the Kevin Murphy educator and this is where I learned a new, helpful piece of information about hair - it was an A-ha moment. People should select their shampoo for the current state of their hair, but the conditioner selection should be based on what they want the hair to do. So although you use the same brand, you don’t necessarily use the same category.

A-ha!

Although we used Angel Wash as my shampoo (which is a product for colored treated hair) the conditioner selected wasn’t Angel Rinse as I had anticipated, but the Kevin Murphy product called Plumping Rinse. Shocking, I know! Plumping Rinse would provide volume to support the Screen Siren look Debbie was going to do to my hair.

After conditioning and drying my hair, Debbie sprayed my hair with Kevin Murphy’s Young Again product. This is a “leave-in treatment, infused with Immortelle to counter-act the aging process” and used to prime and prep the hair. So in plainer English, this spray left my hair very soft and smooth as I have highlighted, not-exactly-100%-curly-but-more-than-just-wavy-hair and readied it for styling.

Let the playing with the hair commence!

By the time we got to this point, I was over feeling nervous and I felt like I was having a spa day. Debbie was instructed to put two capfuls of AntiGravity product in my hair and both of us were taken aback that she was instructed to use that much. As I also recently had a Keratin Treatment, my hair needed two capfuls. Two . . . who knew?!?! Ok, the Kevin Murphy educator knew it should be two, but still . . . I also felt extra-special to learn how much of this product Kevin Murphy, the man himself, uses on his models for videos, shoots and shows. I can tell you it was more than was used on me – probably because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and the only people who would be seeing my hair after this class was the cashier at the supermarket. But I cannot, and will not, divulge such trade secrets!

Oh, all right. He said it was . . . get ready . . . a whole bottle! (Say what? Yup. A bottle.)

Debbie then commenced to add the nine rollers to my hair to create the waves/curls. Normally, the Screen Siren look would be eight sections with curlers but since I was blessed with cowlicks in the front AND back of my head (call me Alfalfa) we had to do nine to tame that back devil! I naively asked, “Doesn’t my hair already do the wavy, curly thing? Isn’t this all a little redundant?” Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids. So, no, my hair does NOT just naturally look like Kate Beckinsale or Ava Gardner.

After we spent some time chatting and catching up, it was time to take out the curlers and use the texturing comb. The educator came by and together he and Debbie used the clips from the kit to make more pronounced Veronica Lake-type curls/waves. Then a brush was used on my hair for final placement of the style and of course, it was all finished with Kevin Murphy styling spray.

Because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and my big event that Tuesday was grocery shopping at noon, the curlers weren’t left in as long as they would be if I was going to a wedding or had a hot date that night with my hubby. We didn’t want crowd-control issues in the grocery store if I looked too much like a supermodel!

Debbie asked me what I honestly thought of the kit for at home use. I told her I thought the kit was a great idea, but it’s meant for someone more fearless than me; someone who enjoys styling their hair and isn’t the Alfalfa Cowlick Queen. I explained that my hair never does the same thing twice for me, so I’m that client that has to book a session at the salon for a special event. I do, however, think there are people out there who will love this! I did take the curlers when offered to me and I have been styling my hair more than usual. I have gotten compliments in the supermarket, so there you go …

Side note: If you aren’t familiar with Kevin Murphy, I suggest you Google him as soon as possible. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with him or his product line until Hair Plus started to carry the products; it’s not sold in supermarkets. And probably like many people, for the longest time I assumed products in the supermarket did the job with less hurt to my wallet. Boy, was I wrong about that!

Kevin Murphy’s products are made with all natural ingredients and the company does not do any testing on animals. I think that’s wonderful, but is it still worth the bigger price? The answer is yes and for quite a few reasons. 1) My hair looks better, my hair feels better and I can style my hair more easily at home using a salon-level product line on my hair. 2) I am using less of the products because I’m not constantly trying to correct my hair or get the product to do what the label says it should be doing for my hair. I’m initially spending more money on a bottle of product, but it’s lasting much, much longer than when I used supermarket products. 3) And I’m saving money on spa-day aromatherapy sessions.

I may not be looking to braid my besties’ hair any time soon, but I’m looking forward to the next Hair Plus education class so I can “take another turn on the catwalk!”

Renee Hedden is a freelance writer residing in Roosevelt, New Jersey with her husband, Gene, and their dog, Nina.

Every winter my mom’s voice can be heard in my brain telling me that we lose most of our body heat through our head. Although I have read the internet and Web MD and have learned the head loses the same rate of body heat as every other body part in winter, mom’s words of wisdom still echo.

Like me, you probably spent grammar school, middle school and high school with your fair share of winter “hat head.” Let’s be honest, hat head is the #1 reason we rarely wear a hat to work or out socially in winter. Unless Al Roker repeatedly tells us we are in a polar vortex our cutest winter hats reside in the back of the closet.

Why does hat hair happen? What can we do to avoid this? Why does my hair go wonky in winter? These questions have plagued me every winter of my existence.

Why does “hat hair” happen?
We just discussed how the head doesn’t lose heat any faster than legs or arms. So why does "hair” happen? The key is the word heat. Heat holds styles – think about your hair dryer, curling iron or flat iron. When you wear a hat, you keep your head warm by TRAPPING heat, therefore a hat “sets” the style or forms aka “hat hair.” In winter, we need to add volume and body to our roots of our hair so it’s not pushed flat by the trapped heat.

Cosmopolitan Magazine recommends the following for long hair styles:  Twist hair into a bun high at the crown of your head, secure with a fabric covered hair elastic and put on your hat. Once inside again, just shake out the bun.

For short hair styles pull the front section of your hair into four mini bumps and secure with bobby pins before you put on your hat. Once you’re inside again, remove the pins, flip head upside down and restyle with your fingers.

Why is my hair a science experiment in static electricity?
Hair picks up an electrical charge from dry air. In cold months, air is less moist and more dry, both outside and inside. With the change in seasons and conditions, we need to change to hydrating shampoos and conditioners. Then use a tourmaline or ionic hair dryer, which differ from regular hair dryers, as they do not suck the moisture.

Cosmopolitan Magazine recommends that those with fine or straight hair use  anti-frizz cream but JUST on the tips of your hair to avoid greasy build-up. For medium/wavy hair, if your hair is thick, it can handle a rich conditioning spray to lock in moisture. Apply it on damp hair before drying with a hair dryer. Curly hair needs a heavier, leave-in or overnight cream. Avoid alcohol-based gels which can dry-out curls.

If your hair is brittle and you’re getting breakage and split ends . . . hydrate, trim and eat well!
A humidifier in your bedroom will boost the moisture level in the air and help prevent severe snapping. Additionally, routine trims by your stylists, every six to eight weeks, are mandatory in winter. Diet also plays a key role in keeping hair strong. Try adding fortifying protein such as an omelet for breakfast, a handful of almonds for a snack or adding leafy green vegetables to your diet to provide building blocks for your hair.

Like most people, for years I saw articles about cancer and thought it could never happen to me. I always thought that if it did, I wouldn’t let the loss of my hair bother me. I was wrong on both counts.

We all have a story . . .
In the span of four days, I went from what I thought was a healthy 35 year old to a cancer patient. As I exercised every day, I was alarmed one morning when I lost my breath walking into work from my car. Fortunately, my place of employment had a doctor on staff; she quickly realized something could be wrong. Two blood tests over three days returned disappointing results. She saved my life by calling in a favor to a hematologist. By day four, I was diagnosed, in a hospital bed and starting chemotherapy for leukemia.

The day prior to being hospitalized, I had gotten my hair highlighted and cut by Debbie Meredith, the co-owner of Hair Plus. While working on my hair, I explained to her what was happening but I never mentioned the word cancer. It hadn’t been mentioned to me and I honestly didn’t have a thought that my symptoms and blood tests results were showing cancer. I had been busy at work and didn’t Google my symptoms. Debbie asked me to keep her updated.

Feeling empowered . . . or not . . .
My first night in the hospital, some family members suggested I should shave my long, curly hair as soon as possible so I wouldn’t have to think about it. The previous week, I had read an article about a woman who had done this to feel empowered. However, at that point in time I was simply too stunned to feel anything but confusion. I didn’t feel sick and looked healthy. Things had moved at lightening speed due to the aggressive nature of the leukemia, not because I was suffering from physical symptoms. My husband, Gene, had been told if he waited just a week to get a second opinion I would have a major organ fail and possibly not survive.

It took only one day for me to realize my long, curly hair wasn’t going to be practical for a lengthy hospital stay. As the doctors weren’t 100% sure if I would lose all my hair or just have thinning, I called Debbie and offered to pay her if she would consider coming to the hospital to cut (not shave) my hair. Debbie visited me on Monday, her day off, and didn’t charge me anything but a hug.

About two weeks into my hospital stay, my mother noticed there was quite a bit of hair on my back and my pillow. She and my father asked the nurse for scotch tape and they both attempted to remove the loose hair. I reacted by sticking a hat on my head and not taking it off for over a week. I slept in the hat, I showered in the hat – it never left my head.

Gilligan has a Moonstruck moment . . .
One morning my nurse arrived with my medicine and gently spoke with me about how it may be time for me to take off my hat and wash my scalp. She explained that my hair hadn’t been washed or combed in over a week and thus it was going to be very unhealthy. With tears in my eyes, I told her I understood and asked for privacy.

Getting up the nerve to walk from my bed to the bathroom to look in the mirror was not an easy task. Slowly I walked into the bathroom and looked at the ridiculous image staring back at me – a 35-year-old woman wearing a hat only Gilligan from Gilligan’s Island could love. With more tears, I took my hat off and stared at the birds nest  of hair on top of my head. With comb in hand, I touched the top of my head and told myself that perhaps nothing would happen and I was simply being silly. As I gently pulled on the comb, a massive amount of my hair came out.

The sink filled up with my hair as tears ran down my face. This was the first time I had allowed myself to cry since I was diagnosed. I took fistfuls of hair from the sink and threw the into the trash bin. After a few more moments, I looked at the “new” me in the mirror. I didn’t resemble myself. Two weeks ago I had stood there looking healthy with rosy cheeks. Everything up until this point had seemed surreal. Now I was gaunt, with wrinkled skin, black circles under my eyes and a balding head. I could no longer pretend I was different than everyone else because it had been caught early and I had walked into the hospital. I had being acting like Cleopatra up until I combed out my hair – you know, Queen of Denial! This was my Cher Moonstruck moment – “Snap out of it!” I took a deep breath. I told God cancer could take my hair as long as I was given the rest of my life to live. I placed my hat back on my head and headed back to my bed.

Over the next few days, I became frustrated with myself over how I was still feeling about my hair. Before leukemia I had never fixated or worried about how my hair looked, so why was this a now such a struggle? I thought about the courage it takes when someone has breast cancer, and I felt terribly ashamed. I thought about children who go through cancer treatments and aren’t able to have the childhood I had experienced. I realized my feelings about my hair were really my feelings about the cancer. Leukemia had landed a punch that would reverberate the rest of our lives. I stopped fixating on my hair. Instead, I admitted I had no control over what was happening; I only had control over my reactions. I forgave myself for my previous thoughts and moved forward.

Pleased to meet you Linus . . .
I wore the Gilligan hat during my entire induction period.I didn’t show Gene my head because deep down I didn’t want him to define me by the leukemia.  I didn’t want the image of me being ill to be the last one he could possibly have. Once home, it was simply impossible to hide my head from Gene. I had switched to sleeping caps at night to keep my head warm and every morning I found it to the side of my pillows. He never pushed me. (In the hospital, he had offered to shave his head to show his love and support for me. I thanked him, but explained I needed him to look like “Gene.”) One day, I worked-up the courage to take my hat off in front of him. He responded by saying “It’s really a prettily shaped head.” We examined the scar from stitches I received when I was five years old. The two of us laughed at “Linus” staring back at us from the mirror and I began to hum the Peanuts theme. We laughed again when I put baby powder on my head to absorb the sweat as the talc made small wisps of white smoke. I said “Boo! Boo! I’m a ghost!” and we laughed more.

My mother urged me to get a wig. As I was on track with treatment, I would only be out of work for six months and thus returning to my corporate job with a completely bald head. I called Debbie at Hair Plus to see if she could recommend any places that sold wigs. Again, she surprised me by asking Gene to drive me to meet her on her day off. She took us to a local business and had me fitted for a wig that was similar in color to my natural hair. She then took my wig to the salon to cut it in the style I had been wearing before leukemia. I hadn’t even thought about color and styling. Again, the only payment she would take was a hug.

I visited the salon one day during Gene’s haircut and asked Debbie if she would take me from being a Linus to a Charlie Brown. I laughed and said although the stray hairs had fought the fight gallantly, it was time for them to go. She wouldn’t take money again from me. Instead we struck a deal that once my hair was grown I would have it highlighted again.

Tried as I might, I was never comfortable in the wig. I gravitated towards hats in denim or light colors that I could wear with the front flipped up. At the end of October, I rubbed baby shampoo onto my scalp and felt what I thought was stubble. Could it be my hair was already coming back? Having heard hair color and texture could change, I hoped for straight hair and then quickly forgot about it.

Comfortable in my skin . . .
On December 28th my blood was tested. My red, white and platelet counts were in normal ranges clearing me to return to work a few days later on January 4th. I did not wear a wig or a hat. I didn’t care who stared at my short buzz  as I walked down the hallway. I didn’t care about the whispers. I didn’t care what people said or that their facial expressions conveyed their true thoughts. I was a cancer patient and comfortable in my own skin.

As my hair grew out, Debbie trimmed it so it would grow into a style. (And I made her let me pay her since I working again!) It always amazes me that I was simply a client at Hair Plus but twice she took time on her day off to help me. She didn’t look for monetary compensation, she did it simply because that’s who she is as a person. As the manager and now co-owner of the salon, it’s that caring nature that she stresses to her stylists and to her clients. As they say, you can’t put a price tag on it!

Renee Hedden is a freelance writer residing in Roosevelt, New Jersey with her husband, Gene, and their dog, Nina. Her doctor deemed her cured in 2009.

The warm weather urgently reminds us to spring clean our closets –  to bring out our lighter, shorter skirts and cute sandals. But what about our make-up? In winter, heavy foundation and matte lipstick may be de rigueur but as the temperatures rise  these make-up fallbacks need to be packed away along with your winter boots. Have you given any thought to “spring-clean” your make-up routine? How long should you keep your make-up essentials before they do more harm than good?

Face Facts First
In spring and summer months full-coverage foundation is an invitation to skin problems. Make-up mixed with sweat – and even the most dainty amongst us perspire just a wee tad – is an invitation for clogged pore and pimples. As a bottle of foundation is good up to one year if stored away from heat, you can thin it out for spring and summer usage by mixing in a few drops of your moisturizer. This will give a more sheer application to your skin.

The Eyes Have It
In winter, the routine is eye primer followed by layers of eye shadow. In spring and summer the weather is too warm and face it, who has the time when there is fun to be had? Look for “one-and-done” products,  in cream form, that combine primer and shadow in one application. Eye pencils can be kept for up to two years but ensure a clean tip by sharpening before each application. Liquid eye shadow should last one year and powder shadows two years IF you keep the applicators clean. We love disposable applicators just for this reason.

Note: Any type of eye infection is a game changer for how long you can keep your make-up. Dispose of all eye make-up and applicators once you start to develop symptoms as viruses and bacteria can live in your make-up and cause re-infection.

Lips
With warm weather you want lip coverage that looks beautiful but also moisturizes and provides a little gloss. Your lip gloss or balm is good up to six months while lipstick can last up to one year. We bet you have been holding onto lipsticks much longer than is healthy so clean out your make-up drawer today!

I’m Blushing?!?
In spring and summer, it’s time to move from powder to cream blush. You want a glow, not a streak show. Soft peach and pink tones are your friend during warmer months. Cream blushes can be kept for one year while powder blushes are good for two years.

Mascara, not Raccoon Eyes
Beach . . . pool . . . lake . . .  sun . . . sweat . . .  the password is waterproof. It’s a no-brainer in warmer months you need something that won’t slide down your face. Mascara is also the make-up tool in your arsenal with the shortest shelf-life aka 90 days. If your tube of mascara begins to dry up before 90 days do not add water to revive it as this will increase your chances of eye infection.