I still remember the first time I discovered the magical qualities of the hair straightener. As an awkward teenager with frizzy, wavy (not in the cute way) hair, I could have benefited from discovering this appliance five years before I finally used it for the first time in college. Since moving to NYC, I haven’t had as much of a problem with frizzy hair, since the NYC humidity seems to actually help tame my hair in comparison to the dry heat of Los Angeles, where I grew up. That’s…

At Whole Foods, you can see a Purell dispenser that says, “Free of parabens.” Those words may provide comfort to anyone who doesn’t like parabens, but they only make me wonder what those wipes contain instead of parabens. All personal care products usually have to contain preservatives, unless they’re completely water-free (since microbes need water to live)—see a list of preservative-free products here. Anyway, I guess I’ve been thinking about preservatives—and…

I received a travel-friendly bottle of Amika Soulfood Nourishing Mask in a Sephora Summer Hair Sample Set, and it couldn’t have come a minute sooner. My hair has been feeling pretty dull and lackluster because of the humidity, but this hair mask helped revive it in just five minutes.