I try to limit heat styling to about once per week when I wash — but even once a week can be a bit taxing on my dry, coarse hair. To help minimize heat damage I use about a pump of Optimum Heat Protection Polisher on towel dried hair. What this does is preps hair for what’s to follow — twenty minutes of high heat blow-drying and 450 degrees of flat iron styling. What I like most about Optimum Heat Protection Polisher is that it provides instant protection from heat styling (with strand-strengthening Ceramide and Coconut Oil) and it polishes my hair without leaving a heavy, icky film. It also helps my hair fight humidity and stay straighter longer….a major plus because while my hair is naturally curly, I tend to mainly wear it straight.

Is heat protection part of your Healthy Hair routine? Please share.

We spoke with the pros at Wella Professionals, the hair brand who has a very impressive roster of red carpet hair under their belt already from this season, including Madonna, Michelle Williams, Claire Danes, Emma Stone, Zoe Saldana, Emily Blunt and Shailene Woodley, to get the inside scoop on what hair looks will heat up the red carpet this Sunday.

Graceful Sheen
“We will see a peak in fluid textures and warm tones that suggest effortless elegance and healthy, shiny hair that shows a lot of movement and bounce,” states Wella Professionals Color Ambassador Aura Friedman. “Expensive and Luxurious are words you could use to explain this look – maximize this effect by asking your colorist to use Wella Professionals Haircolor to give you a soft shade with warm undertones that will best complement your skin tone.”

Aura recommends her A-list clientele use Wella Professionals Brilliance Shampoo and Conditioner, which is designed to seal in color while leaving locks irresistibly smooth to the touch.

“Wella Professionals Velvet Amplifier is a red-carpet favorite,” adds Celebrity Stylist Andy LeCompte, “that smoothes the hair surface so it can better prepare the hair for styling.” Andy also uses Wella Professionals Shimmer Delight Shine Spray on his clientele to create the most sheen and expensive looking finish to any end look.

Angelic Side-Chignons
LeCompte predicts that celebs will lean toward classic styles with a play on texture and symmetry. “There will be a lot of deep side parts and loose ponys, bobs and chignons tied to the side.” This style can be customized to accentuate any gown, face shape or hair accessory. “It also lessens the stuffiness of that prom feeling and adds a more up-to-date, laissez-faire feeling.

The options here are endless, but no matter the look, you can use Wella Professionals products to perfect the end look. Apply 3-5 pumps of Wella Professionals Velvet Amplifier hair primer to create an even surface on each and every hair follicle before drying the hair, creating a foundation for the most luxurious looking end-look. To keep a style looking fresh yet modernly undone, use a light-hold hairspray such as Wella Professionals Stay Essential Finishing Spray to hold the hair while keeping an overall sense of liquid movement.

The red carpet arrivals of the 84th Annual Academy Awards®, will be airing February 26th on NBC. Be sure to join Wella Professionals on Twitter and Facebook LIVE during the red carpet arrivals (between 4pm and 7pm EST), along with their special guest panel of hair pros Aura Friedman, Rick Wellman and Mark Garrison to get tips, tricks and commentary on the hair looks of the evening.

Can’t wait till then?  Visit the red carpet tab on Wella’s Facebook page for tips and leave questions for their experts to answer.

Highly pigmented inner rim eyeliner trio delivers rich color and instant drama. Versatile eyeliner for eye enhancing definition and inner eye rim intensity.  Super- smooth gliding texture makes defining eyes effortless. 100% Waterproof wear.

PF offers trios of kohl to compliment brown, green, blue, and hazel eyes. I think this is really smart for women who have a hard time making sense of the beauty aisle. I’m not mad at PF’s paint-by-number shade selection system…it’s a great ‘guide’ but feel free to go off the grid and select your trio based on the shades you personally find most appealing.

As for color pay-off, pigment, and wear — The collection is fun and offers so many incredible shades. Just the idea that there’s kohl variety beyond standard black, well that’s Awesome Town! So PF gets the thumbs-up for that. The pigmentation isn’t as inky as my beloved Guerlain kohl – and that’s perfectly ok…because if you’re new to kohl, you might not want to jump in full throttle. I think PF offers a nice starter kohl selection at an affordable price point, which makes experimenting relatively easy on the wallet.

How I rank the shade offerings –

Fair Skin: Will enjoy the entire range of shades

Medium to Tan Skin: Will like the jewel tones

Olive to Dark Skin: Will also like the jewel tones and of course, black

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The brand’s first worldwide advertising campaign features imagery that portrays real, natural beauty through a diverse cast of women and men that embody the brand’s legacy of individuality. The ck one color cosmetics campaign will debut worldwide beginning in March 2012, while in the US the products will be sold in limited distribution beginning in late April and nationwide starting in September.

The distinctive cast exemplifies the message of real beauty in classic ck one style including: Dutch supermodel Lara Stone – who is also featured in the Spring 2012 advertising campaigns for Calvin Klein Collection, ck Calvin Klein, Calvin Klein Jeans,and Calvin Klein Underwear; British model/songwriter Ruby Aldridge;Tanzanian model Herieth Paul; Australian model Abbey Lee Kershaw;British model Eliza Cummings; Chinese model Fei Fei Sun;and American model Ehren Dorsey; as well as male models, Swedish Artist Viggo Janason and Russian model/rapper Yuri Pleskun.

Tweet – I just entered @ThisThatBeauty’s contest to win @SoExcessive Liquid Metal Necklace & so can you http://bit.ly/wFj8dW

Oh, yes! I generally find salons to be a huge waste of time. . . and money. Why? Well — apparently, my hair is the most complex hair type in the world. It’s true! I sit in the chair and instantly, highly-skilled, trained professionals are rendered clueless. Now I have enjoyed a few good experiences here & there (Phyto Universe/NYC is awesome — Ask for Ron…De Ja Vous/NYC does amaze blowouts — ask for David, Eli, or Ricky), but for the most part, I shy away from salons and do my own hair at home.

I am regularly invited to partake in services offered  by celeb stylists, colorists, etc. . . I generally, respectfully decline — these things rarely end well for me. My hair proves to be too challenging for most. And frankly, I tire of sitting there having to walk “professional stylists” through the do’s and don’t's of combing, brushing, blowing, curling, and styling my hair. It really is a bit much!

Enter Dana’s Loft, a quaint “look-away-and-you-might-miss-it” hair salon on Manhattan’s too-cool-for-school lower east side. Upon my arrival I was greeted by Dana. Yep, “the” Dana of “Dana’s Loft”. She was kind and welcoming. Before putting product to head, Dana asked lots of questions about my hair, styling products, hair care routine, hair goals, etc. Oh, hey now. . . that’s a rarity! Dana’s initial intake process immediately put me at ease. I really appreciate that she took the time to ask about the state of my hair and how I maintain it. It’s quite rare that stylists do this — Instead they tend to quizzically examine your hair, make you feel even more self conscious about your less than pristine ends, and then recommend a host of products to repair your ol’ tired-looking hair. It’s enough to make a girl cry. . . ask me how I know :/

Well there were no tears during my visit to Dana’s Loft — only cheers! And here’s another thing that I really enjoyed during my visit. . . Dana was the only person to handle my hair. Remember the good old days when your stylist handled your hair from start to finish? Well this still exists at Dana’s Loft. . . perhaps it was a slow day or perhaps it was my lucky day — not sure, but it made me feel really good to have my hair handled by just one person. I didn’t have to worry about two or three different people in the mix.

For my visit, I decided to live a little and try out extensions. I’m generally not that girl but every now and then you have to go for the gusto. Dana added a few layers of hair from Creme de la Creme Tami Roman collection (Caution: the website plays music. . . a small pet peeve of mine). I’m rather easy going when it comes to hair so I stressed wanting a very natural look. And Dana executed just that. I left feeling like my exact hair wishes were met. Dana was so sweet, so thoughtful, and above all – extremely knowledgeable. I left knowing that I’ll definitely return. If you’re in search of a super good hair salon experience, try Dana’s Loft.