Looking Good in the Winter?

How on earth can you ever look good in the winter? 

The question of the day. It is so hard when you put your big heavy boots on long johns and heavy coat. Then it snows on your hair you just fixed so nice. If you ware a hat you have fly away hair. So your choices are flat hair or spiked hair. It is hard to imagine why we bother to comb our hair put on makeup and get dressed.
Your pants almost always get a big mud streak on them from the car or truck and it never fails that the bottoms of your pants have mud on them too. I am not a fan of winter as you can tell. Snow makes such a mess and we must endure it for many months. I find it easy to take it with a grain of salt and just look as bad as the next person. My cheeks will be red and hair flat just like everyone else.

I will be toasty because I have my body armor on and feel like a stuffed chicken. Today I am buying candles for more up coming power outages. At least then I look good Right? Everyone looks good in candle light. Best we all can do is make sure we drink plenty of water, and keep our skin in top shape. Be sure to buy some moisturizing lotion for the long winter months. Clothing and the inside air will deplete your skin of moisture. At least then when we are home naked our skin will look nice.

Christmas Un Wrapped Beauty

With the holidays just around the corner or oh wait they are here. Time just fly's by us and we forget to do those things that we need to do for ourselves. While shopping it's easy to grab a quick bit to eat then run more errands and wow don't forget we still need regular groceries before Christmas gets here. Be kind to yourself and your behind and leave the fast food alone. We get caught up in the hustle and bustle of things and grab what ever is handy. I am not say it's bad to have a treat but this time of the year we treat ourselves to 5 extra pounds ever holiday season only to have old man winter come in a ruin our regular exercise routine.

Eat before going shopping take a healthy snack if you are going to be most of the day. You will save money and your back side. It also gives you that extra cash to add to a special Christmas gift you thought might be out of your reach and maybe a little something special for yourself.
Drink plenty of water. This time of year we are indoors more than ever and have more clothes on. our clothing also sucks moisture out of our skin. Be sure to exfoliate and lather on the lotions. Dry air and running here and there, cooking all takes a toll on our bodies. Stress begins to sink in and if we don't take a time out for that relaxing bath or a nice facial we can make ourselves sick. For a little Christmas gift buy a nice lotion, bar of soap, or bath salts and take 20 minutes for you! It will re energize you and give you the strength to carry on. Besides I am sure you have a few friends and family that don't care if the gift is wrapped with ribbons and bow.
You don't have to wrap mine!

The little Things That Make Your Day

As promised on my site, today I was making peppermint patty lip butters. To my delightful surprise I had a very wonderful guest to help me today. Every Tuesday and Thursday my family meets for lunch. Uncles, Aunts, Sisters, and nieces. My grand mother cooks a big meal and we all hash out our weeks debates and more. It can get rowdy and we all eat way to much making it hard to get back to work. Today though my niece Kailee who is 3 wanted to stay with her Aunt nina as she calls me. I was excited to have her help and we had a great time. I wish we would have had a video. It's hard to keep these moments as they are but today was wonderful.

We first had to clean everything and then spray things with alcohol. Why do we have to do that (with a wrinkled up nose) Kailee asks. I tell her so everything is really clean. She goes on to help me dry all my measuring cups and place the butter containers in a nice line on a clean towel. We get out the chocolate chips, what are they for? Once again the questions come pouring out of this sweet child. We manage to make 10 butters and one for her and of course Mommy will want one too. Kids minds are funny but you just have to love how inquisitive they are. Some days I feel
the same way as if I know nothing, I think that is age and my forgetful mind. I want to thank Kailee for a fun afternoon and helping me create the delicious peppermint patty lip butters. They came out so nice and sweet. I hope we have enough chocolate chips for another batch. As Kailee is smart I had her count out the chips for me. I think we have way more than six but it didn't matter, our butters are really yummy and Kailee just wants to know when we can eat them. Again I had to explain what we were making. Really it still makes me giggle. Thanks Kiddo!

We are up and Running

We are up and running. The website is coming along more everyday. I have been busy taking pictures and getting products listed. I have orders coming in daily so be patient I will get everything on A.S.A.P. I am eager to get this off the ground and waiting for my order of sample size bottles to come.

Take a peak at the site if you have minute. Fill out the questions at the bottom of each page. It will help me better serve you if I know what you are looking for. I really wish we had smella vision so you could smell the wonderful lotion and lip balm scents. I am working on new ones every day so keep checking back. Like the one I will make tomorrow, peppermint patty lip balm and Sandal wood body butter. I really love creating these wonderful products and almost all of it so far is edible. (please don't eat it though) I really don't think that much oil is good for you.
  I will keep you all posted as to new creations and any ideas you have for my site or a product please let me know.
Up coming items are shampoo, cream to powder eyeshadow, and yummy sugar and salt scrubs. I look to have them done this weekend and on my site some time next week. Till then See ya all later.

Getting Ready For my Premier

As you Can see by the new banner I am getting ready to premier my new cosmetics line. Pony Dust cosmetics has been in the making for some time now and is almost ready to get up and running. I will be adding new products each week so be sure to check back often. This is exciting for me as I have created a line of cosmetics and lotions that are luxurious and natural. My creative side has taken over and will be a great benefit to you.

Once upon a time not so long ago I sold products in my salon for other companies. Only to have them Discontinue products and even the entire line. After I paid for the education the packaging and a large investment into their product I was left high and dry. This time it will not happen again. I am designing my own line with my name and my reputation. It has been a long time coming and we are about to launch this new and great product. If you have a salon and would like to have these products in your salon I will have a great program for that. A no charge program that will get you started with a great line of product. When I say no charge I mean it cost nothing for you to put these high quality products in your salon. Only a renewal fee each month as products are sold. Keep this in mind and check back for details.

Mineral makeup and lotions made from natural butters and essential oils will be available as soon as I can get the products listed. So without further ado I am going to sign off to get this started. Hope to see you visit soon.

Fading Hair Color How to Stop It.

Everyone who colors there hair wants it to last, (Most of the time). Professional colored hair is an investment in ones self and the price is well worth it if it makes you look great. So I am asked all the time why does my hair color fade, what can I use to make it last? Here are some tips and tricks to keeping you hair color beautiful longer.

First we must look at what hair color is. the different types of color also play a big role in how long they will last and of course those rascally reds that seem to fade within days. We will start with semi permanent color. It is meant to wash out within a few weeks and if your hair is dry damaged or your water is treated it will wash away sooner. Semi permanent color only covers the shaft of the hair it lays on the outer shell of the hair only dying the outer layer. Thus washing away each shampoo. They are usually the least damaging and if you like to change colors often a great choice. If you are new to color and only want to see what it would look like they are a good introduction to color.
Then we have demi permanent hair color that uses a mild promoter or chemical to open the hair shaft to deposit color. The structure of this color is still less damaging and is meant to wash away gradually so you do not have a growth line. Great for blending grey hair and adding shine or a hint of color to dull hair. Also a wonderful addition to between color treatments.
Permanent hair color opens the shaft of the hair to change the color completely. Ammonia or a list of many chemicals I will not get into now. Opens the hair shaft then lifts the hair color that is there then leaves the color that is put on. Thus being great for gray coverage, shine, body, and completely changing your own color. They last until they grow out but will have some fading depending on the length of your hair. Can be damaging if not done properly.
So how Do we keep our Color longer?
It is not your shampoo that fades your color. Shampoo is actually for cleaning you scalp. Conditioners are great for de-tangling and adding shine and control and do not remove color. The biggest culprit in your color fading is your water. Water changes the molecular structure of hair. Ever wet your hair and roll it on rollers? When it drys it is in the shape of what ever roller you had it on. Water opens the cuticles and when that happens it rinses out color. Best thing to do is use Luke warm water. Hot water opens the cuticle of the hair more releasing more color. Chlorinated water also will remove color or salt treated water. Well water can leave mineral build up leaving your hair dull but is usually best if used at a cooler temperature. If you live in a city with treated water and want to save your hair color used bottled water at least for rinsing. Cold water will close the cuticle and get it ready for styling.
The other culprit is styling. Blow drying with hot air or using a styling tool will diminish you hair color also. Try using a styling aid that has a heat protector in it. Anything that has a silicone base will also help keep the cuticles of the hair flat and protect your hair color investment.
I hope this helps. Until next time when we talk about the right hair style for your age.

My Salon

My salon is located on laporte ave. in Eagles Mere. I do everything from haircuts to colors, manicures and pedicures. I Do both men and women.

My shop is small but I still have enough room to do most services. My shop opened in this location in 1990. I since have been in the village shoppes located in the center of town. I then partnered with a good friend Jackie Dunham and had a very nice salon in Muncy Valley Pa. When the building was sold we had to move and both went our own way. My friend Jackie now has her own dog grooming salon in Muncy Pa.

Because it was a bit of a surprise to both of us that we had to move out of our shop I went on to do various other things. Thinking that I wanted to do something different I took a job immediately in a factory making plastic bottles. I don't recommend it unless you can't find anything else. The other things that I did included working at our sewer plant. That was a good job and because I was outside I loved it. I have done that for a few years now. Even after I opened my new salon. I also filled in a few hours and days with helping a painter, sanding and prep work. I learned a lot about painting from that job, like how sanding is very important. My arms got a great work out.

Which leads me back to where I started. Three years ago I opened my salon not even a year after Jackie and I closed ours right where I had began. At first I was disappointed but then found it to be nice for many reasons. One is it is right where I live. I just fall out of bed and go to work. Also because it is slow in the winter I can make jewelry in my spare time. You can see my creations on my website. These are one of a kind silver jewelry.

 So my adventures continue look for updates and articles on hairstyles new products, how tos and more. Coming soon.

WestWindCreations
Sell Handmade

Eagles Mere Salon & Our Town

This is part of my town I live in. Many shops reside in this historical building. The new museum is also located there. You can visit on the weekends. The shops are open all summer every day but this time of year they are only open on the weekends. You can find out more information about my town by visiting this link.

Anything that is going on is listed on this site.

In the winter it gets really quiet but if the weather is just right we have a toboggan slide that is made out of ice from the lake. Our volentire fire Co. builds it and runs it for as long as the weather will hold up.

You can view someones great ride below.

That's all for now. Just a little look at where I live and the little town I am from. Although I didn't grow up here my entire family is here so I visited as a kid often. My favorite spot is the pond, I love fishing there and the lilly pads are just beautiful in the summer. A great quiet place even in the summer when the town is buzzing with people.