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Joshua Kaplan

Here’s another bikini.com post, this time on tips for getting gorgeous, healthy hair. These come courtesy of my long-time personal hair stylist, Joshua Kaplan, who has been cutting, coloring and styling hair for nearly two decades. He’s a founding member of Goo Salon on the best stretch of Fairfax Avenue as far as I’m concerned (Golden State, Animal, Plan Check and many other delicious restaurants are within walking distance). But I digress. Not only has Kaplan been cutting my hair for years, he also styled my hair for my wedding, so I trust him implicitly.

So check out his top five tips for taking care of your hair.

1. Don’t Shampoo Too Often
Oil is actually your friend, not your enemy, when it comes to hair. “Excessive shampooing dries out the hair and strips the scalp of oils that actually make your hair look better,” Kaplan says. For everyday shampooers, he says to start by trying to limit washings to every other day, then every third day and so on. For very dry hair, shampooing once a week is more than enough, with just wetting it and using conditioner on the ends in between washings. Also, “sulfate-free shampoo is always best,” he says. Sulfates are de-greasing agents found in many household cleaning products that dry out hair and fade color. Who wants that in her hair?

2. Take Biotin
“Biotin is a vitamin supplement that, when taken religiously, promotes amazingly healthy hair growth,” Kaplan says. “It gives you glowing skin and stronger nails, too.” Easy enough.

3. Lose The Extensions
Permanent extensions damage the hair because they are bonded to your real hair. “Our hair sheds naturally. This is a good thing. But when you have extensions, your hair isn’t allowed to shed, so when you remove the extensions, you lose all that hair in one shot that you would have lost over a longer period of time,” he says. “I’ve seen clients missing patches of hair from extensions and major breakage. I’ve also heard many clients complaining of headaches.” Kaplan says to use clip-in extensions if you really want to use them. But how does he really feel about extensions? “They damage the hair and look super dated. This isn’t 2006.”

Keep reading over at bikini.com to find out the last couple of tips (#4 is my favorite).

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Now you may be thinking, Really? Trader Joe’s for beauty products? Well, I figure if I like the grocery chain’s food, I might like its soaps and shampoos as well. After many tries of various TJ products, I think I’ve found some that I like best.

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I’ve been using Bamboo’s dog body brush lately when bathing my dogs, and I have to say that the pugs love it. With its large rubber-like bristles, the brush must be like a massage for them because they get his peaceful look on their faces when I rub it over their backs. The brush also has a pocket stuffed with a small plastic bottle that you’re supposed to fill with shampoo, and the top opens with one click for relatively easy one-handed application.

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