Huge decisions are underfoot.

A certain really awesome salon (who is owned by my favorite of all hair celebrities) has invited me to come by for a hair cut…I am way overdue and excited! But…do not know what I want.

As with all areas of my life, I will base my decisions on what my favorite General Hospital characters would do…and thus am currently deciding between the two following hair styles. I will gratefully accept all advice! For those who do not watch the show, Kate is a “nice” girl, while Maxie is decidedly not - but they both have totally cute ‘dos!

First thought: Kate Howard

Second thought: Maxie Jones

Third thought: None of the above! But something within that texture/hair-length, since both relatively mirror my own.

Fourth thought: The heat has gone to my brain.

Breaking news to those of you considering the keratin straightening, but are squeamish about dousing your hair with Formaldehyde. (Not that I could blame you…)

La-mama-de-Alytude (i.e. my mom) reports that she had the new Formaldehyde-free version of the Brazilian Keratin Treatment in a small Brooklyn salon yesterday. She is SO excited about it that she pretty much threatened to disown me if I didn’t share the tale of her experience. (Though she refuses to allow me to share pictures. Whatever.)

For those of you new to my trials and tribulations, the Keratin Treatment is an innovative process that transforms hair that is frizzy and unruly into locks that are sexy and shiny. The treatment is keratin based, which is the primary protein of the skin, hair and nails. Ideally, this natural substance gives hair the ability to return to its original healthy, shiny, smooth state -and unlike other products available in the market, such as relaxers or the Japanese thermal reconditioning (my poison of choice), the Keratin Treatment straightens the hair without damaging or changing its texture. This means it washes out over time rather than growing out and leaving you with inch upon inch of frizzy root.

Thus why my mom tried it out. She refuses to give up her highlights, and thus, her hair is SO chemically damaged that the Japanese straightening that I am a slave to would likely render her as bald as a sumo wrestler.

The down side? It lasts only 3-4 months, and will start washing out way before that. I cant deal with that - I wash my hair so often, that for me, it lasted maybe two months. Not worth the time and effort! But for those of you with thicker hair (who don’t have Japanese straightening as an option) this is pretty darn cool - and I have to say, when I saw her tonight, her hair did look as sleek and sexy as if she had ventured over the bridge into the city to have it done!

She asked that I pass on to my friends and readers, though, that where she had it done is significantly cheaper than the city counterparts…though I warned her that me sharing this info will likely render that no longer so.

But if you find yourself in Brooklyn, check out G Concepts on Avenue U and East 20th Street (right off the Q train) and tell them Aly sent you. You can use the money you save to take your sexy new ‘do for some cocktails!

This morning, I found myself at the hub of NYC activity - Herald Square - readying myself for a voyage to New Jersey.

As I skipped throughout Penn Station en route to my train, a stranger called out to me.

“Would it offend you if I asked you a question?”

Generally, that question will prepare me to be offended, as well as pique my curiosity.

“Ok…”

“Is your hair natural? I’ve been trying to get it blonde myself and i wanted to know how to get your color…”

I told her I was not offended, but that, yes, my hair was natural.

She continued to stand there. I, who had a train to catch, suddenly found myself volunteering hair advice, despite myself.

She nodded, silently, and then began to cry. I was confused…being a blond isn’t THAT meaningful!

“Can I ask you a question?”

Here we go again. Maybe she needs fashion advice too. (She actually could have used some.)

“I was stranded here, earlier today…by a date!” She starts to cry, harder. I sigh. “I have no money to get home! Do you think you could help me?”

I was prepared to give her the starving writer talk, but gave consideration to the time constraints and didn’t bother. “Sorry! Have a train to catch!”

I scurried along, and felt her staring after me.

I am all for helping my fellow man, don’t get me wrong. But, seriously, if she was REALLY stranded and destitute…would she have stopped to chat about low-lights first?

Then again….

Last week, while I was visiting Slope Suds for my pre-trip brow-shaping with Elke, one of their awesome stylists, Milla, was kind enough to offer me a deep-conditioning treatment.

As we all know that humidity + heat = not chemically-treated hair’s best friend. So, it was perfect timing!

As we chatted, Milla put the Davines Rest treatment in my hair, and let it bake in. This is a deeply restructuring serum that is made with wheat and rice protein. It’s excellent for hair that has gone through what mine has - and it totally worked - it stayed extra soft and manageable for days!

My favorite part is that it’s called rest…as in, your hair gets a break! It works super quickly and is meant to rebuild the hair’s internal structure and restore its elasticity and body.

So, my hair is way less stressed than it was before. Too bad I can’t say that about the rest of me.

Visit Milla at Slope Suds in Park Slope (Brooklyn), New York.

We all have our bad hair days - and summer seems to be the most ferocious catalyst for them, especially if you find yourself in a humid climate. Sometimes it’s possible though to achieve the sexy trendy looks you want by looking no further than common household ingredients.

Epsom salt, a naturally occurring mineral, is easy to use, easy to find and best of all – affordable. It’s one of the best kept beauty secrets used by savvy women (who don’t want others to look as hot as them).

Check out these tips to help keep your hair from falling flat:

1. Pump up the Volume

Sarah Jessica Parker’s Voluminous Curls

My personal style icon, Sarah Jessica Parker, is back in a big way this
summer and she’s sporting her signature loose curly locks. Achieve the look
by combining three tablespoons of deep conditioner with three tablespoons of Epsom Salt. Microwave this mixture for 20 seconds then work it into hair
from scalp to ends. Leave it in for 20 minutes, then rinse with warm water.
This promotes body and life to the hair cuticle and can help to restore curl to permed hair.

2. Sleek, Shiny and Totally Clean

Jennifer Aniston’s Flowing Mane

Why does Jennifer Aniston’s hair always look so naturally beautiful? Because it’s free of styling products that can build-up in hair and make it dull and lifeless. To remove hairspray build-up, mix one cup of fresh lemon juice and one cup of Epsom Salt into a gallon of distilled water, cap and let it sit for 24 hours. Pour this mixture onto dry hair and let sit for 20 minutes, then shampoo as normal.

3. Remove Excess Oils

Reese Witherspoon’s Healthy Tresses

A clean scalp is the first rule of achieving healthy hair. To remove excess oil
from your hair and to keep it healthy and shiny like Reese Witherspoon, add
nine tablespoons of Epsom Salt to 1/2 cup of shampoo. Apply one tablespoon of the liquid to your hair when it is dry; rinse with cold water. Pour lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar through the hair, leave on for 5-10 minutes, and then rinse.

4. Prolong Your Highlights

Keep colored hair bright and shiny like Jessica Simpson

To keep highlighted hair like Jessica Simpson’s from fading, try this soothing cucumber hair drench. Use one egg, 1 tbsp. olive oil, one quarter of a peeled cucumber and ½ cup of Epsom Salt. Blend the egg, olive oil, Epsom Salt and cucumber in a food processor. Spread this evenly through hair and leave it in for 10 minutes, then rinse. This is perfect if you swim in a chlorinated pool on a regular basis. (Info courtesy of Epsom Salt Council)

Every few weeks, I pop in with the latest and greatest picks for your beauty wardrobe. It’s a fun project that I hope to do for years to come – but I’m mindful that there’s more to beauty than our faces!

The key to keeping our hair at its sexiest is using the best products to fit its needs. My hair, like me, is pretty darn needy – and here are some great new hair products I found that seem to fit the bill!

Bumble and bumble Color Support for Cool Blondes

I love even the name of this product. I am, I hope, a cool blonde in several ways. However, in this instance, cool blonde means keeping naturally white, silver and platinum blondes’ color clean and pure; by using violet pigments to counteract yellowing. It totally works. Even the most natural among us experience seasonal hair dullness – and this seems to be a god-sent rescue!

Ojon Freshen-Up Two Piece Set

QVC.com has a special Ojon duo available that is ideal for us girls on the go. It’s designed to prep and reinvigorate your hairstyle when you’re in a hurry via the Revitalizing Mist, which conditions and detangles the hair, and Rub-Out, a dry cleanser spray that instantly refreshes hair without water, erasing excess oil and product buildup. As a girl who has many a time ducked into Sephora for a quick spritz of the other major dry shampoo on the shelves, let me tell you, this one really works – and is a life-saver for those last-minute dates when you don’t have time to run home and wash your hair.

T3 Pro Mini Pink Flat Iron with Paddle Brush

No, I did not simply choose this because it’s pink!!! As my straightening is beginning to grow out, I have that telltale half-inch of frizz at my roots. This iron I found at QVC.com is saving me like none of the (OK, half-dozen) irons I’ve owned before. It has tourmaline-infused ceramic plates that heat up quickly and glide through hair, whether you want to straighten some frizz, or curl some ends (I’ve done both!) and the results last all day – except of of course for the certain trip into the rain 10 minutes later. Plus, it’s small and super compact to pack – which means it’s coming with me to South Beach next week!

More soon. There’s pretty much nothing I love more than playing with my hair…

Hot off the presses (OK, actually fresh from my web cam), pix of my just-completed hair cut!

It’s actually not a big change at all, but so much healthier-looking than it appeared just a few hours ago. I went to my new best friend Jiwon at Oscar Bond Salon (she did my Japanese Straightening last month, and the results were the most successful yet) for a quick trim and summer style consult.

OK, it wasn’t nearly that intense. We actually just chatted about brownies and earrings while Jiwon cleaned up my ends and added a few layers. My hair is naturally pretty fine, so Jiwon taught me how to use what nature (well, somewhat) dealt me to make it have a bit more move and body. And thus, I’ve updated my spring bob with a summer one!

When she speaks, I listen - not only are we now in a monogamous hair relationship (me going to ANYONE two times in a row is a huge sign of commitment), but she is a master of her craft. She has worked for various SoHo hair salons before landing at Oscar Bond - which is just about the most relaxed, fun place I’ve been coiffed yet. (They even have a bunch of Macs set up in the lobby for you to check your email as you wait.) Even cooler, Jiwon has worked with a ton of celebrity stylists and on fun projects including the Sarah Jessica Parker clothing line look book - making me yet another degree closer to living and breathing Carrie Bradshaw. Sigh. (That was a happy sigh.)

You must go visit her immediately: www.oscarbondsalon.com/Jiwon.html - and please tell her Aly sent you!

Tomorrow I am going to visit my good friend Jiwon at Oscar Bond Salon (the same place I went for my most recent Japanese Straightening), for a bit of a hair cut.

What should my new look be? I can’t decide! Anyone have any thoughts?

I think I’m over the A-line bob…

My hair is naturally curly - really, really, curly. But some of my most intimate friends have never seen it in that form. To the world, my hair is Japanese straightened, flat-ironed, serumed, and sleekened. The curls are subjected to just about as much bondage as possible. And then repeated as soon as a hint of regrowth appears.

The few people who do know this secret do not understand my worries. They hear my tales, and they think Sarah Jessica Parker or Keri Russell. Not so much. Had I been embraced with a Felicity mane or SATC curls, I might decide to stay natural. But alas.

If you too share my pain, I have some tips from Ouidad to Carrie-up even the most unruly of ‘dos.

To Transform Curls into Carrie Bradshaw’s Gorgeous Waves:

1. After shampooing and conditioning your hair, leave about 25% of the conditioner in your hair. Apply styling lotion in fatter sections (about 2 inches wide and 2 inches thick) so you are able to create bigger waves, and perform the Ouidad Rake & Shake method.

2. Be sure to apply the styling lotion evenly working your way all the way up to the top of the head.

3. When you get to the top, create a side part.

4. Next, take the side part section, apply styling lotion and create a wave pattern with the Ouidad Rake & Shake method.

5. Be careful not to rake too much or you will create too much bounce.

6. Allow hair to set. Once it is set, gently diffuse the hair, without placing hair in the diffuser, or again you will be creating too much bounce.

7. Once hair is completely dry, apply a pomade such as Ouidad Clear Control Pomade by rubbing your palms together, pulling hair into a mock ponytail and running your hands through. For the final touch, add a dollop of pomade at the top of the head to smooth any flyaways.

8. Get ready to turn heads with your sexy ‘do!

Shortly before leaving for my Bliss-sponsored beauty editor’s luncheon last week, I realized the dress I had chosen for the event demanded smoothly shaved legs.

(Confession: As a white-haired blond, I’ve been known to go a few days too long at times without shaving.)

Short on time, I ran into the shower, lathered up with my latest in a line of shaving gels, and went in for the kill (err, shave). Seconds later, I realized I had, once again, maimed myself.

So much for short on time - I spent the next ten minutes trying to mend my broken flesh - which, by the way, is a lot more unattractive than a few stray blond baby hairs.

Leg ouches are bad - bikini line mishaps are far worse. As I’m currently in the midst of laser hair removal treatments (I shall have a permanent Brazilian bikini line by summer!), shaving and trimming will soon both be a thing of the past for me - but until then, between appointments, shaving remains necessary. And, thus, self-maiming does occur.

(Morgan, my diety-like laser guru, at our last session: “Dear, how exactly did you bruise your vagina???”)

Long story.

But for those of you who are as helpless (hapless?) as me, it turned out Bliss-versity was well-timed. Among the new products featured at the event was the new Bliss-Philips Bikini Perfect Deluxe.

With summer approaching (and hemlines shrinking), our girlie parts are even more a consideration than the rest of the year.

Truth is, though, that nearly 2/3rds of us (us being U.S. women between 18 and 60) remove their bikini-area hair - whether it’s via waxing, shaving, laser, or some combination. A lot of us though have time or money constraints that lead us to getting spa treatments less often than we should, or doing self-treatments that cause a whole bunch of problems in their own right.

That’s the concept behind the Bliss-Philips Bikini Perfect Deluxe - it lets you remove stray hairs in between waxing appointments or on the go. (i.e., your man calls and you make plans to see him in an hour - no time to call for a wax!). This is great for girls who wax, because the trimmer will not reverse the hair-softening effects of a wax, but also includes a micro-shaver for those of us who still do need to shave. (Laser-followers know that waxing is a no-no, but shaving is OK…)

It’s basically a mini-spa at-home and can help you keep tidy, or be used in place of whatever else you are doing, altogether. And it’s cordless and portable - so you can use it in the shower, or outside. Plus, it comes with ingrown hair eliminating peeling pads (avoids those gross intra-follicular lumps and bumps), Bliss Lemon-Sage Body Butter, and Body Scrub (the best prep for any bikini grooming is exfoliation).

I’ve been using it for the last few days, and I’m happy to report, no blood has been shed, no flesh has been ransacked, and my bikini line is smooth and soft.

If only I could say that about the rest of me.

PS: It comes with six attachments, including an eyebrow trimmer and a (non-scary) epilator, too! Why should your brows be a bonzai bush when your you-know-what isn’t???

Check it out: http://www.blissworld.com/product/code/BLISS-285.do