Hair Care: A Brush with Technology
The Internet has a wealth of resources to help all types of hair-conscious individuals: those who love keeping up with the trendiest hair styles and products, those who just want to find the closest barber shop with the cheapest prices, or those worried about hair loss or baldness. This guide offers some of the best online sources for your hair care needs.
Expand All Guide SectionsHair Care
The Internet has a lot to offer on the topic of hair care, including how to style and maintain your hair. You'll find many ideas for the right color and style, and the easiest ways to achieve them. In addition, you'll find tips to keep your hair healthy and ways to make it look even better.
Dulcinea's Insight
- You'll often find hair styling and management tips in general beauty magazines. To find a list of these see our findingDulcinea Beauty Web Guide.
- If you come across a site that has user-generated content, be sure to get a second opinion from a professional before following any advice that could lead to drastic changes in your hairstyle. If you're thinking of dying your hair and get a tip from a blog entry, call your salon to double-check that the advice is sound before implementing that advice at home. Keep in mind that professional salons will always encourage you to come in for hair treatments, though there are many things you can do at home. Use your best judgment about how much you are capable of doing yourself.
Dulcinea's Picks
To find the best hair style for you ...
TheHairStyler.com
allows you to view lots of different hairstyles on the homepage; select the general style ("everyday," "celebrity," "men's," "bridal," etc.) and then get tips about which specific hairstyle best suits your face type. You can upload a photo of yourself to try out some of the looks, but it'll cost you about $15 for a three-month subscription. Subscribers also have access to discussion forums and tips on style, among other perks.
For some general hair tips and advice ...
HairBoutique.com
has been around for more than a decade, so it has plenty of resources, styles, and celebrity hairstyle photos. Because of its rudimentary design, however, searching by topic might return articles that are out of date (and hairdos that are out of style), so we suggest you search for articles by year, or better yet, check out the bottom part of the main articles page and see the newest tips to keep yourself as up-to-date as possible.
eHow
has an extensive collection of "General Hair-Care" how-tos. The articles are ordered by popularity, and not by category, so it's worth a browse to see what other users (and the folks at eHow) have written to help you better care for and manage your hair. Know that the articles are only as reliable as the users who submit to the site, but that for most hair-care tips the non-expert status of the writers is just fine. Just be careful about following any advice that recommends risky activities such as using chemicals (to dye your hair, for example).
iVillage
has a Hair section within its Beauty & Style site. Find solutions to you hair problems, and use the "Virtual Hairstylist" to try out potential hairstyles. On the left sidebar, you'll also find a section on caring for African-American hair, cuts, coloring, and much more.
Who knew?
Locks of Love
takes donated hair to create hairpieces for children who have lost their hair due to medical conditions. This charity accepts donations by people willing to cut off significant amounts of their own hair (ten inches or more). See this page to read the requirements for donors.
All Natural Hair Care
We all want to look good, but many of us don't want the burden of ruining the environment, harming small animals, or risking the unknown effects of using lots of chemicals on our hair. If you're looking for organic, all-natural, or make-it-yourself hair-care products, you'll find some resources to help you buy or concoct your own products here.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Take a look at some of the general hair-care advice sites listed in the previous question; often these provide some info about natural hair-care products or DIY treatments.
- For some additional natural beauty sites, see our findingDulcinea Beauty Web Guide.
Dulcinea's Picks
For natural hair-care products...
LoveLula.com
sells natural and organic beauty products. You can search by hair type or category. In the "organic beauty solutions" hair section, select your hair-care problem (dandruff, damaged hair, etc.) and LoveLula.com recommends products for you. Product prices are listed in pounds, but you can view prices in U.S. dollars by selecting that currency from the "View price in" drop-down menu in the upper right corner of each page.
Saffron Rouge
has organic hair-care products. A neat feature of this site is that when you place an order you can also choose two to five free samples (depending on how much money you spend on your order).
allnaturalcosmetics.com
doesn't have the largest selection, but its simple interface makes browsing and purchasing easy. You'll find the usual natural products (shampoo, conditioner, etc.) as well as henna coloring kits. The "Ingredients" link at the top has a glossary of terms that might come up as you shop, and the "Our Products" link lets you know about the manufacturers (like whether they test on animals). The "Ingredient Codes" listed in each product description can be decoded by looking at the guide on the lower left of the screen while you shop ("FF" would be "fragrance free," and so on).
For hair-care products that you can make yourself ...
Pioneer Thinking
gives advice on home remedies and products you can make yourself. The simple tips for do-it-yourself hair care are especially helpful, covering everything from homemade shampoos and conditioners to hair dyes and special hair treatments.
Hair Loss
There have been great developments in the world of hair-loss prevention and treatment in recent years. Online, you'll find information about ways to prevent, treat, or even embrace your hair loss. Whether you are just curious about what's out there, or you want some personal advice from a physician about hair loss, you'll find what you need on the Web.
Dulcinea's Insight
- Consult your general physician before you begin any hair-loss treatment.
- The medical term for hair loss is "alopecia."
Dulcinea's Picks
For hair loss causes, treatments and support ...
Hair Salons and Hair Products
The Internet makes it easy to find and research hair salons, hair care professionals, and hair care products. Book your next haircut online, or buy your favorite shampoo without ever leaving the house.
Dulcinea's Insight
- If you are looking for a salon, try doing a general search. Type in "hair salon" and the city you live in for a general idea of where to go for cutting, coloring, and styling. Citysearch, for example, helps you customize your search and gives you salon reviews.
- One of the easiest ways to locate a salon is to use an online phone book. Try Dex and search for a salon or barbershop by your address, zip code, or city. It tells you how far away each place is, lets you see it on a map, and gives you directions.
- Most of the sites that claim to be salon or spa locators are no more than cleverly designed advertisements for a select few. The few directories that provide more extensive listings are either riddled with annoying ads or are so poorly designed that they are difficult to use. As a result, you won't find any sites specific to locating a salon in this guide. Instead, we've recommended you try your search on a more established directory site like Citysearch or Dex.
To find hair-care product reviews ...
SheFinds
blogs about some of the latest beauty must-haves and tells you where you can buy them. Try clicking on "hair" or "hair care" in the tag cloud on the left side of the page (you may have to scroll down a little to see it) and see what hair-care products this site recommends.
iVillage
has product reviews that cover the gamut of beauty-related items, often including hair-care products. Because of its often magazinelike style, iVillage is sure to provide reviews of trendy new products as well as seasonal items like sun protection in the summer.
To buy hair-care products ...
Folica
is an online wholesale and retail beauty store with an extensive section on hair care: some topics include hair styling, hair removal, and hair loss. There is also a men's department and a "Tools" link with a vast selection of brushes, tweezers, and much more. Browse the "Brands" drop-down menu on the top right if you already know what you're looking for, although you can also scroll down the homepage and visit the "Store Directory" for categorized links.
drugstore.com
has a hair-care section in association with Beauty.com where you'll find lots of hair-care products. Search by product type or, to get only the best products, click on "5-star reviews" to see only the products that have been given five stars by other users.
Cosmetics and More
specializes in hard-to-find and discount beauty supply items. If you have a favorite hair-care product that you can't seem to find, or want to find an item that was recently discontinued, you may find it here.
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