Attention Mustache Mamas!

So, lately I have been looking into the mirror, you know the kind that we have in our bathrooms that magnify your face a zillion times and show all those wonderful little flaws. Well, lately I have noticed a little bit of fuzz above my upper lip and I really can't complain because my hair is blonde and fine, (I feel sorry for the ones who have the dark, coarse hair), but I've been putting off waxing my lip for a long time because I'm afraid of having to keep it up and worried that I might break out or irritate the skin. So, I was telling a friend about my little issue and she told me about a great little product that would do the trick! No waxing involved. Now, I am always a skeptic at first but I am willing to try anything once. She told me about this cream called "Surgi Cream". You can find it at Sally's for about $4.99. You simply dab it on your lip, putting it on thick, and leave it on for 4 to 8 minutes, then wipe it off with a damp towel. She said she has been using it for a few years now and swears by it. So, I got excited and went straight to the beauty supply store and bought some. Last night, I tried it and I was pleasantly surprised! No more little fuzz! I do have to admit, I had to apply it twice because I think I didn't put it on thick enough. Also, it comes with a soothing cream that also prevents hair growth.
When I woke up this morning, I was concerned that my lip would be red and irritated so I went straight to the mirror and sure enough...smooth as a babys butt! I'm convinced! Now, it's suppose to last for 10 to 14 days which is good enough for me because it is so easy and quick. I recommend this product to anyone who isn't into waxing. I do have to say that there are some women out there that probably do NEED to wax but for those of us who don't HAVE to wax, this is the product for you!
It comes with directions and like I said, you can find it at Sally's Beauty Supply. They have them all over the place and are open to the public. When you go to find it, make sure you get the one that says, "Surgi Cream" hair remover for face because Surgi makes other products as well. Let me know what you think!

When is it time to say NO MORE BABIES?

So, we have all heard of "Brangelina" and there's "OctoMom". I even just recently picked up the latest People magazine and inside was a couple with 20 children (none of them adopted) AND they said they weren't even done! When is enough, enough? How does a mother even bond with each one of those kids? The answer is she doesn't! Pretty soon, after the first dozen the oldest child starts taking care of the youngest and so on. I live in Battle Ground where a lot of Apostolic's live. For those of you who aren't familiar with this religion, they believe that "it is the duty of a free woman to go on giving birth to children endlessly". The reason I bring this up is because they also have many children. When I moved to Battle Ground almost 5 years ago, I remember going into the Fred Meyer and seeing a family there with at least 6 kids. All of them standing in line, oldest to youngest (I'm guessing this based on their height) and holding onto each others hands. In my head I was thinking, "where did I just move to?". I also had a garage sale once and there were a couple of different times where a big, white van (always white, I don't know why), would show up and it would be filled with a mother and her many, many children, always to find kids clothes. The point I am trying to make is, shouldn't there be a limit on how many kids a person should have? How can anyone possibly afford that many children and give them the life they all deserve? How do you have time to bond with each child and give them the attention they need? Don't you want your kids to go to college? I'm not saying that you shouldn't have more that 4 or 5 or even 6 kids but I am saying that when you get into the double digits, it's time to stop!
This brings me to talk about a client of mine, whom I admire for her patience and caring heart. She has 6 children. 3 of them are biological and 3 are adopted. They range from about 21 yrs. old to about 4 months old so there are a few years in between each child. I have met 5 out of 6 of them and they are all very happy, well-behaved children. Most of them play sports and they live a normal life. What's so special about this client is that every child she has adpoted has been a special needs child. Her and her husband are choosing the children that nobody wants. She is actually about to adopt 2 more this summer. Wow, 8 children! It sounds like a lot and I know I couldn't do it but I really do believe she and her family have nothing but good intentions. I admire her for taking on the responsiblity that she has and she's not relying on the government to pay for it! On her behalf, I do have to say 8 is her limit and that she is realistic and understands that it is time to stop. I just wish Brad would tell Angelina "No more!" or that the doctor would have told OctoMom "You're nuts!" and for the Mom with the 20some kids and counting....how does your poor body even handle that?

Naive Little High School Girls

This story comes my client, Krissy who is 19 years old. I have been doing her hair for about 5 years now. She is a cute little blonde thing that can't put down her blackberry while getting her hair done. She comes from a family that is well-off and her favorite thing to say is, "hot mess".

Krissy was 16 at the time and a junior in highschool. For Spring break, she went with her family and about 24 of her friends to Cabo. A friend of hers that wasn't going asked Krissy to keep an eye on her boyfriend, if you know what I mean. Sure enough, the boy cheated numerous times with different girls at the club. Krissy confronted the boy and he said, "don't tell or I will just deny it". So back at school, Krissy told her friend about it and the girl confronted her cheating boyfriend. He of course denied it and called Krissy a liar. He told his girlfriend how much he loved her and would never do that and bought her jewelry. At this point the girl believed her boyfriend and was now mad at Krissy for supposedly lying. A week later, for no apparent reason the boy dumped his girlfriend and said "by the way Krissy was telling the truth". So, in the end the girl felt stupid and lost a really good friendship because she listened to her sweet-talking boyfriend.

I just have to laugh at this. It sounds like an episode of Gossip Girl or The Hills (which we all secretly love to watch). Isn't it funny how old we thought we were when we were in high school?

The good one's always move away...

First of all let me start out by saying that not only am I a hairstylist but I am also a shrink or so they think...
This story was told to me just over 2 years ago by one of my favorite clients, Kim. It has stuck with me this long and probably always will, so prepare yourself. Kim was a pediatric nurse working in the burn ward at a hospital in Seattle at the time that this took place. Her daughter Sarah (who was also a favorite client of mine), was about 13 at the time and was an aspiring nurse like her mom. Kim use to take Sarah into work with her on the weekends to visit with the children in the burn ward. The kids loved when Sarah visited but especially one 7 year old little boy. There was this one incident where Kim had to call her husband and tell him to bring Sarah in because the boy wouldn't allow the nurses to change his dressings without her there. I asked Kim, "Where were his parents?" and she replied, "Locked up. He's awaiting placement". Then I finally asked the obvious question, "How did he get burned?" and this is the part that will send chills down your spine. Kim said, "His 6 year old little brother locked him into a shed and lit it on fire". My job dropped open when she told me this. I can't even explain how that made me feel. Kim said that the boy's little brother went into pysch and that she didn't know what ever happened to him. Kim hasn't always worked in the burn ward, she has pretty much seen it all so with that said my curious mind asked her, "What is the worst thing that you have ever experienced?" and without any hesitation she said, "Probably, the one involving a 9 year little girl who was skiing at Whistler. She was coming down the mountain and crashed into the racks where you store your ski's and poles and a spike on the rack went straight through her neck. Kim said the girl probably wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for an emergency surgeon who had just happened to be skiing on the mountain at the same time.
I have to share one more story by Kim that happened when she was living and working in Colorado. An image that she will never forget was of a row of about 10 babies swinging in their swings, all of them blind. She called them the "beaten babies" because every one of them were blind from being beaten or shakin. This was back in 2002, the year that the war started. Kim said she had seen a lot of beaten babies that year, she thinks from the stress of the war and the toll it took on families...or the boyfriends. It is just sick to me to think that this stuff happens.
Kim doesn't do those areas anymore. Can you blame her? She still works with kids but she does things like minor surgeries for tonsils or circumcision redos, etc. She was one of my favorite clients. I say "was" because her and Sarah moved back up to Seattle last year. They will both be missed. I do have to say they both had amazing hair!