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Brazilian Blowouts are blowing up in Toronto

Brazilian Blowout is a semi-permanent hair smoothing treatment which caters to all hair types as it’s customizable.  Method done by temporarily sealing a amino acids to protect the hair from frizz. This is done to make frizzy hair look and feel soft, shiny and no frizz. The treatment starts at $200 and up depending on hair types and lasts three months or longer when using their aftercare products.

 

Frizz is frizz it does not discriminate. Men also have it done.

Brazilian-style treatments’ and Keratin smoothing treatments’ are sweeping salons. They react with hair’s cuticles to make its outer layer lie flat but not damaging the bonds of the hair. ‘The strands becomes stronger and straighter,’ explains California chemist Doug Schoon, who consults to the beauty industry. The treatment takes one to three hours, and lasts three months. (This is different from the Japanese thermal straightening treatment, essentially a perm, which takes a whole day in the salon and removes all the bonds of the hair which means it will not hold a curl.)

How do they work?
With the Brazilian, a technician in rubber gloves coats each hair with a smoothing  solution, *. Brazilian super nutrient complexe.  *.  about a quarter-inch away from the scalp. Hair is blow-dried again, and a flat-iron is passed over it. You can wash and style the hair anytime afterwards there is no downtime with the Brazilian Blowout solution.  Prices can range from $300 to $500, depending on the salon and how long your hair.

Concerned about fumes,  The Brazilian blowout has no formaldehyde and no relaxers,  it is amino acid-based. ‘My Google search found it contains no formaldehyde. Rachelle White Wind has even gone above and beyond and had to live blood analysis test done which proves there was no chemical in her bloodstream after doing Brazilian blowouts for 10 years full-time.  All air quality test results are posted on her website www.bbto.ca proving there is no harsh chemicals.

Schoon, though, argues formaldehyde is a gas, and that a gas can’t be an ingredient in a product. (Formaldehyde is a by-product of heat; the flat-iron on the solution releases tiny traces into the air. Health Canada’s warning, however, encompasses all forms of formaldehyde, and says elevated levels in any form pose a risk.) Generally, says Schoon, Brazilian-style smoothing treatments contain formalin’the fixative solution formed when formaldehyde is mixed with water and methylene glycol. ‘And the International Nomenclature of Cosmetics Dictionary recognizes formalin by the name methylene glycol,’ he told me. While Schoon concurs that sensitive individuals may experience short-term symptoms such as irritated eyes or skin, headaches or difficulty breathing, he opines: ‘These suggest that salons should improve their ventilation.’

What about treatments that claim not to contain these ingredients’such as Keratin Complex? Roberto Barbosa, owner of Toronto’s Salon Escape, which provides the service, says, ‘It contains timonacic acid, which, when heated above 450°F, breaks down into miniscule amounts of bonded formaldehyde. But our flat-irons don’t even go to 450°.’ (For the record, this product is banned in Australia and parts of Europe.)

The future of Brazilian hair treatments
These treatments obviously work well on hair that needs taming, and many women are loving the results. Says Darren Praznik, head of the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association: ‘There’s still a scientific discussion going on. We appreciate Health Canada’s engagement in this and that it’s an independent reviewer mindful of risk factors. They’re the final arbiter.’

Says Gary Holub, Health Canada’s media relations officer, regulatory communications: ‘We are continuing to follow up on incident reports related to other Brazilian- style hair treatment products.’

Until more brands are tested and the results released, this is all’pardon the pun’a little tough to straighten out. Meantime, if you’re reluctant to take the plunge and get one of these treatments, you can at least take some comfort in knowing that waves and curls are a big trend this season and Brazilian Blowout Toronto is the place to go.

Rachelle is a super-skilled make-up artist and esthician that has decided to

What is the difference between a Brazilian Blowout and a Keratin Treatment?

The hair-straightening effect of a Brazilian blowout typically lasts about three months where a keratin treatment typically lasts three to five months. This all depends on how often you shampoo and the natural texture of your hair. Rachelle suggests only washing the hair once or twice a week after getting one of these treatments and using sulfate-free shampoos and conditioners when you do.

In fact, one of his favorite tricks to make these treatments last longer is to simply wet the hair in the shower, rather than washing it with shampoo, and applying only conditioner most of the time.

What should I know about the application?
The time between when you get the treatment and when you can first wash your hair afterward depends on the brand your stylist uses. Each company has slightly different specifications for its products. The same goes for the the application and the amount of time the service takes, but generally it includes washing the hair, applying the formula and blow drying it straight and then using a flat iron to seal it in if necessary.

A new year has come, and Toronto’s winter has just kicked off to a cld start. Do you feel the pity of not having enough time to experience the gentleness and romance of early winter? Now that cold air has entered the city, bringing the boring Canada Goose as everyone’s winter wardrobe for the next 3 months. Don’t be. Fortunately, colours are still an option for weather like this. If you are a positive-minded fashion lover, and you want to fight a bit more against the all-black winter doom, read this article and see colours brighten up your winter styles. Let’s talk about the romance of winter and colours.

PANTONE announced that ultra violet being the ‘colour of the year’ of 2018. The fashion community has been crazy about this new colour trend, and couldn’t hold back to put on purple items which was considered to be sooo difficult to pair.

 

We understand that purple is a tricky colour to style with, but with the right technics, you can pull it off like a piece of cake.

 

 

The easiest way is to try a purple jacket. When everyone else is wearing black, white or grey down jackets, a purple is considered to be very bright, bold, and colourful. And it doesn’t matter what you wear beneath that. It’s the outside that counts. A purple jacket definitely makes you stand out from the winter crowd.

 

 

Not to mention how fashionable and in-trend Red  is, just the tone of the colour brings lots of warmth into this season. It is the best cure for SAD (seasonal affective depression) Usually, being winter elegant means a lot of typical black and white. However, it doesn’t rule out the expectance, which, in this case, red.

 

 

Of course red trench coats are the best way to go with. It’s stylish, yet classic, which means that a red coat will last in your  winter-first-choices for several years.

 

 

Also, you can also style a red coat with the most in-trend elements, like blazers and furs.

 

 

If we say that green is a beautiful colour, we are sure that nobody has doubts. However, it is not the easiest colour to style with. Like purple mentioned above, with the right method, you can achieve a very fresh look in winter with green pieces.

 

 

With yellow in the undertone, green is easily attached with a filthy feeling. But if you wear it with white or grey, the style gains much freshness in it.

 

 

If you are not afraid of taking some risks, wear your green coat with metal colours (not too much though). You will look extremely stylish with that.

 

 

Try these popular colours in your winter wardrobe and give yourself a chance to live a more colourful winter in 2018.

 

*Just a heads up, Street Chic is working on with our partners to create a platform to provide necessary sponsorship and mentorship for Toronto startup fashion designers, in order to help and develop fashion industry in Toronto even more. Stay tuned!*

 

The 2017 holiday season has officially arrived with snow and dramatic temperature drop. It might be cold and freezing, however, winter never gives GTA’s fashion lifestyle less shine, since stores and malls are always open for you to choose the perfect gift your significant someone. Here, on Street Chic, let’s talk about the top 5 gift shopping ideas here in Toronto. No more nagging, let’s get into it!

01. Deep Sea Sand Art

You want to give something unusual, and every time when someone points at it and you can proudly say it’s given by you?? Try this gift! Bring a calming presence to your office with this desk sculpture that forms natural landscapes with sand. Place this magical beauty on a bookshelf, desk, mantel, or coffee table, rotate the glass ring, and watch as delicate drifts of light, dark, and glittery golden sand shift into deserts, mountains, clouds, rain, oceans and smoke, all ebbing and flowing into one another. Check it out here.

 

 

02. Candles

Holiday is the best time for anyone to get cozy and relaxed in the sofa, doing nothing for the whole day! You definitely want that someone to be able to relax in a soothing and refreshing aroma this holiday season. Candles are always a great idea when it comes to a chic lifestyle. It brings the special holiday vibe to home, and of course, a great aroma to the rooms. Check out Diptyque

Or, try something less common: These hand-poured soy wax candles offer a remedy for homesick senses — Homesick Candles.

 

03. Green Herbal Tea Kit

A cup of tea is more than just a handy hot beverage. The warmth soothes your body, waiting for the tea to steep gives your mind a moment to rest, and the different herbs used can calm, stimulate or relax. This holistic tea set by Julie Pedersen invites you to sip from an array of nine herbs and three varieties of green tea from Japan, India, and Sri Lanka (there are two tins per type of tea).

 

Steep the loose leaf teas and herbs in the included, reusable tea bags made from biodegradable corn silk. Kit assembled in Canada.

 

04. Face Wash Device – Foreo Luna

 

If you are giving a gift to a beauty and makeup savvy, this is something that she/he will LOVE the most among all the gifts. Foreo Luna is a face washing device that rocked the the internet the whole year and has been dearly loved and adored by everyone based on the product reviews.

 

The unique combination of T-Sonic™ pulsations with silicone touch-points gently exfoliates dead skin cells and unclogs pores of makeup residue as well as 99.5% of dirt and oil, enhancing the absorption of your other skincare products. Foreo Luna comes in 3 different models, with cleansing brushes tailored to specific skin types. So, definitely give this to your ‘skincare expert’ friend, she will LOVE it!

 

05. Google Home

Struggling to find a gift to HIM? It’s not that difficult! Try something technical. Google home is one of the most talked and celebrated technical home device in 2017. It talks with you, and assist you to control your other home devices once you connect them. Thanks to Google, this Google home device is definitely a great idea for guys this holiday season.

 

In a word, winter is bleak in Canada. Once it makes its arrival, there are only months (almost half a year, actually) of darkness and freezing ahead. The only thing you may want to do is stay cozy in bed the whole day with hair thrown to the back and pajamas from top to bottom. However, finding pieces that make you want to leave the house and be a social human are an important part of, well, survival.

 

Let me make this easier for you. Street Chic has rounded up the 4 winter styles that Canadians LOVE from deep in the hearts, and have been applying every single winter, just because they work the best with an extreme weather here in Canada. Let’s get into them, and honey remember this, celebrities are not the only ones who can look fab in cold.

 

Fur

Unless you are allergic too furry things, it’s always a classic style to put fur on the body during winters. They can easily become your statement pieces and light up the whole look. Surprisingly, fur can really finish an outfit off, especially paired with a heavy sweater and boots (for a more mix-and-match feel).

 

Tartan

Don’t we know all about tartans, as Canadians? The tartan trend has been coming back on fire in 2017. For reasons no one will ever understand, tartan tends to be pigeonholed as a “holiday” look. It shows off the chicness and sophistication of women and never falls out from the list of trends that are the easiest to style.

 

Over-sized

While traditional fitted styles have obviously earned a place among trends in the previous seasons, celebrities like Rihanna, and the Kardashians have definitely brought the oversize trend back in fashion. And they are ruling the fashion world with a special street style into them. Get a oversized piece (hoodies are the best) and chic your way up this winter!

As the weather warms up, I find my appetite cooling down!!
How so, do you ask?
Well, I’m no longer yearning for warm, hearty, heavy meals that our bodies often desire in those cold wintery months when our innate animal instincts compel us into hibernation mode. As the temperature has shifted, so have my cravings. I am currently looking forward to the various types of salads that a wide array of restaurants offer, with cranberries, candied pecans, kale, mandarin segments, strawberries, or more traditional salads such as Caesar, with crisp iceberg lettuce and croutons. These can be topped with grilled salmon or chicken breast for our protein intake, and dressed with flavours ranging from raspberry balsamic, to sesame soy. Just the thought of the range of possibilities available makes my mouth water. Healthy “bowl” options are now also popping up, which can have favourites such as avocado, sour cream, and choice of protein added. 
And the list, as well as the spectrum of options goes on, and on, and on…….
Much to our taste buds’ sense of adventure’s delight!!

Restaurants are definitely upping their ante when it comes to healthy choices, but what if our preference is to eat at home? Grocery stores have started catering to a number of ethnicity when it comes to produce, spices, sauces, as well as choice of carbohydrates. “Smart” pasta, whole wheat pasta, brown rice, quinoa, naan bread, roti wraps, not to mention an entire array of different types of breads, are often freshly baked on grocery store premises.
There are also many different kinds of specialty stores catering to diverse tastes, such as Whole Foods, TnT, Fortino’s, Grande Cheese, in addition to the diversity that Longo’s, Sobey’s, and even No Frills offer these days.

Whether eating in or out, I encourage you to widen your palate’s horizons, and experiment with the delicious diversification we are privileged to experiencing living in the GTA.

Yes, I understand that waking up can be one of the hardest things to do in a day. You feel drowsy, sleepy and wanting to shoot the sun down, especially if you partied too late the night before. You are desperate for a cup of espresso coffee or a cold shower. But we all know some people waking up at 5 every morning, and feeling energetic the whole day. How did they do it? Is there a better way for them to wake up, giving them energy and health? Well, some morning exercises can help! Let’s see what they do.

Outdoor jogging

This can be a great opportunity to connect with the nature. And nature isn’t on Facebook, your connection won’t be built unless you go outdoors and embrace it. Surely warm sunshine, fresh air, and early birds singing will offer you some morning refreshments. Giving you a touch of nature treatment, jogging also helps you to build stronger bones and heart, which improves your health. And of course, you can time yourself and control the distance according to your fitness program.

Yoga

Stretching exercises are great for muscle toning and also preventing arthritis. And yoga is one of the best workout to stretch your body part. Think about it, how many times in the morning does your brain feel awaken and your body doesn’t? A thirty minutes yoga workout helps you to stretch every part of your body and gently awake them. And it gives you enough time to think of a healthy breakfast recipe for yourself and your family. (Recommended morning yoga pose: Balancing Table Pose)

Squats & Pushups

If you are into some more intense morning exercises, you can try squats and pushups, which involve most of your body major muscles and don’t require any equipment. You can easily do them in your bedroom. Try 15*2 squats and 10*3 pushups, if you are a beginner, and gradually build it up.

Jumping Jacks

Stand with feet together, then jump while spreading your arms and legs. Return to the first position and keep going— this is a very easy and useful exercise, which definitely wakes you up in a few minutes. And it’s a great workout for cardiovascular health, also your leg muscles. You can start doing these for 1 minute per set, and 3 sets every morning. I’m sure you will feel the difference!

Studies have shown that morning exercises are beneficial for reducing blood pressure, boosting brain power, and even bringing you a good mood for the whole day. So why not give it a try? And if you have your own best ways to wake up, please share your morning routine with us!

Stay with Street Chic for more fashion and style ideas!

ust as John Paul Young sings “Love is in the air’, the feeling that “Spring is in the air” has been festering within us as Winter in the GTA continues to tease us with its on-again/off-again emergence!

I do believe, however, that we are seeing the final remnants of the brisk, frigid weather as the sun has been shining and the days have been longer.

The longer days and more sunshine make us feel good on multiple levels: mentally, physically, and emotionally. It’s amazing to know that what we attribute as “winter blues” is an actual ‘thing’ called ‘seasonal affective disorder’, or appropriately so: SAD.

The Mayo Clinic (topped ranked hospital in the US) describes, fall and winter SAD symptoms as follows:

Symptoms specific to winter-onset SAD, sometimes called winter depression, may include:

·Irritability

·Tiredness or low energy

·Problems getting along with other people

·Hypersensitivity to rejection

·Heavy, “leaden” feeling in the arms or legs

·Oversleeping

·Appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates

·Weight gain

How many of us have felt any or all of these?  Well good news is ahead for each of us!!!
Much to look forward to with Spring weather: elevated emotions; lighter clothing; spring salads; longer days, meaning more sunshine, and more time to spend with people we love, doing things we love!!
So go out and ENJOY!!