Make Friends With Your Hair with Dove® (Review and Giveaway)

We women struggle on a daily basis with our hair. I know that I don't feel totally put together unless my hair looks good. I recently shared mine hair story and now it's my daughter's turn. My youngest daughter Cookie has beautiful yet very unpredictable hair....it truly does have a mind of it's own. It can go from straight and shiny to dry and frizzy in a matter of hours. Every morning I watch her walk to the school bus with a hood on her head to try to prevent the morning humidity from releasing the frizz.

So when I got the opportunity to try the Dove® Nourishing Oil Care™, a collection that transforms your hair from frizzy to fabulous, I knew that Cookie would be a perfect candidate. And she was.

First, she took the hair quiz on the Dove website. After answering 5 easy questions we found out that her hair personality is Jaclyn-Hyde a "two-faced fiend is a fickle friend. She'll keep you guessing to the bitter end. The only way to cure her curse, is to use Dove® Hair before it gets worse." So that's what we did. We used the collection and the results were amazing!! No more expensive salon visits for her because we finally found a hair care collection that has tamed her unpredictable hair. Not only did the Dove® Nourishing Oil Care™ collection help to control her hair's split personality but it makes her hair smells terrific too!

Dove® has teamed up with actress Rashida Jones for the “Make Friends with Your Hair” campaign. Rashida where she filmed a humorous series of videos dramatizing the hair issues many women struggle with on a daily basis. As part of the campaign, Dove® is inviting women everywhere to share their most unpredictable hair stories to help them end their frustration with unmanageable hair that has a mind of its own. Women can enter the campaign by creating a video up to 90 seconds in length sharing how their hair has an alter ego, by telling a story, acting out a humorous scene or even singing an original song. Three finalists will win a VIP trip to New York, a hair transformation from Dove® Celebrity Stylist Mark Townsend, and one winner will star in a Dove® Hair TV ad in December. For full details on the Dove® “Make Friends with Your Hair” contest, you can visit the official site here. Cookie is not 18 yet but if she was she seriously would be entering this contest!

If you also want to make friends with your hair I am giving away the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Shampoo and Conditioner to one lucky reader.

Simply just do one of the following!
(1) Follow Loving Me Unconditionally via Google Friends Connect.
(2) "Like" Loving Me, Unconditionally on Facebook and share this giveaway.
(3) Follow Loving Me, Unconditionally on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. Make sure to @NikkiLovingMe.

Sorry this contest is limited to U.S. and Canadian participants only.

Disclosure: I received products from the Dove® Nourishing Oil Care™ collection for this review however all opinions expressed here are my own(and Cookie's of course!)

A Hair Story

Once upon a time there was a woman who moved from the big city to a small suburban town. This town had everything she needed good schools, great neighbors and beautiful homes on tree-lined streets. It had everything a girl needed except....a good hairdresser.

Although she loved her new suburban life the one thing she missed was her hairdresser because she had really known how to take care of her hair. She knew her style and didn't need have to give her too many directions; and the woman was satisfied every time she left the shop. The woman loved the hairdresser so much that for a year after moving she still traveled to the city to get her hair done. But with gas prices the way they are it got to be too much so then she began the hunt to find the perfect local hairdresser.

First, her neighbor recommended a hairdresser in town; she was an older lady who seemed to be very knowledgeable about hair. The woman gave the hairdresser specific instructions on how she liked to wear her hair and the hairdresser seemed to really understand. When she was done, the woman's hair looked good......for someone 25 years older than her. So she put on a hat and went home.

Then, she heard of another hairdresser a few towns over so she decided to give her a try. She did a good job taking care of her hair and was a wizard with a highlights! She understood the woman's style and so she thought this was it...she had finally found her! Until the woman decided to cut her hair short and found out that her new hairdresser doesn't cut short hair very well.

Next, a friend told her about a hairdresser a little further anyway who was great at cutting short hair so she decided it was worth the trip! Although she was very pleased with her new short and chic look, the hair dresser's chair-side manner left a lot to be desired; she was not very friendly and she pushed and pulled the woman's head in all directions and even accused her of not knowing how to keep her head still while getting her hair cut. (THE NERVE) She left there four and a half hours later (yes, you read right 4 1/2 hours) with a fab haircut but instead of having that pampered feeling she felt slightly abused. But she loved her cut so much she did give her one more try a few months later with the hopes that she might have just been having a bad day...but there was no change. So the woman decided that even though she loved her hair she wasn't driving all that way to be ill-treated.

Finally, one day as she was passing by a hair salon less than 5 minutes away from her house she saw a young woman doing hair and decided to go talk to her....what the heck it was worth a shot! They chatted for a while about hair experiences and personal style and then made an appointment. She seemed very knowledgeable about hair, said she was able to do a variety of styles and hair types and very friendly! From the minute the woman sat in her chair she felt like she had known her for years. As they chatted and laughed the woman thought to herself this may just be the beginning of a long hair/client relationship! When she was done and she spun her chair for the woman to look in the mirror she knew that my her search was over.

Moral of this story....Never give up your search for the perfect hairdresser. I mean a girl's hair has to look good, right?

The End!!

The Reason for Reinvention

In the Keri Hilson video for Every Woman Has a Breaking Point she gets a new short hairstyle as a symbol of freedom after her break up. It seems that many women cut their hair when they go through a major change in their life. It is a sign of reinvention…a new you! I guess I am no different because right before Christmas I too got a new short cut!

Why is it that we always feel the need to reinvent ourselves? This summer I was obsessed with having longer hair before my trip to Hawaii and then sometime around Thanksgiving I was longing for the short cut I have now. But it is not just our hair, it can be our weight, or even changing our wardrobe. I used to feel that if I changed my outer appearance something miraculous would happen and I would feel this change on the inside too. But this only works temporarily.

 How many times have you walked out of the hairdresser with your new look and felt like a new woman? How about when you put on that new outfit and you instantly gain a sense of confidence that you never had before. All of these things are great and fun! But what is your reason for reinvention? When the haircut grows back, you regain a few pounds or the new wardrobe becomes outdated do you think it is time for another reinvention? This cannot only get expensive but mentally exhausting.  So this time I made sure that my outward reinvention became a reflection on how I felt inside. I made sure not to make any outward changes until I loved the way I felt on the inside. Before I made any changes I made sure that I felt that my confidence shone from within. So go ahead and reinvent yourself but always remember your reason for reinvention.

Mai Tai in Hawaii

Christmas 2010