Month: November 2018

November 06, 2018 at 04:00AM It took me time, the support of loyal friends, finding the right therapist, and seeking out new and daring experiences (ahem, a boudoir photo-shoot session) in order to get over my ex. Picking up the pieces of my fractured heart and self-esteem and starting anew was quite the process after the breakup—but I expected so much. What I didn’t anticipate was the need to actually take a step backward—into my failed relationship—in order to take two forward. While the aftermath of the split was still fresh, I replayed everything in my head: every conversation, every warning sign, and, yes, every single date we went on. Even though my ex’s status in my life had shifted to past tense, I was emotionally crippled by the thought of eating at certain restaurants or even just walking by certain buildings that reminded me of him. Of us. But eventually, I no longer wanted to avoid so many physical places and emotional pockets of my brain. I wanted a fresh start for these, too. So I decided to relive our dates as a form of exposure therapy. First I went to see a movie at the theater where we went together one cold December night. The flashbacks started rolling in immediately: the movie we saw, what we ordered at the concession stand, what we wore that night, and so on, and so on. But once the house lights dimmed and the movie started, new associations with this place—which I

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November 06, 2018 at 03:30AM I’ve been taking care of my strands and watching other people do the same in movies since I was, like,  a child. It’s pretty basic—hair maintenance typically involves three key things: shampoo, conditioner, and a good brush or comb. Everything else in the equation is extra. So you could imagine my utter shock when my stylist told me that I don’t need to be using conditioner on my straight, fine hair—ever. “Why do you use it?” asked Jon Reyman, celebrity hairstylist, educator, and owner of Spoke & Weal salons at a recent appointment. I responded saying that it helps to smooth things out…but as the words were coming out, I started to question things. Some hair types (AKA: mine), Reyman says, really don’t need it at all. Since I like my hair to have more texture and to appear fuller, conditioner is something I should actually cut from my routine—because it makes my lengths do the opposite.  “If you shampoo your hair, it’ll be larger,” explains Reyman. “If you condition, it’ll be smaller. That’s why we didn’t condition your hair today, because you like it bigger. If your hair is smooth, it’s going to be even flatter.” It’s also why conditioner gets a bad rap for “weighting down” fine hair. But what about fine-haired ladies who have dyed or heat-damaged their hair? It’s a case-by-case decision. “For people whose hair is softer, conditioner’s not really necessary—especially if you don’t heat style it or put in color,” says

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