Some say that about Christmas, but not me. I would prefer a fall day over having to purchase, wrap and clean up presents any day. Not only do we have incredible weather right now. We also have a bumper crop of fresh produce, a plethora of new recipes to experiment with and a family that is actually all in the same place at the same time to enjoy them.

At the salon fall means something different. Now is the time to nourish, repair and heal your hair and skin. The summer has undoubtedly been rough on both the skin and hair. The UV damage may have done permanent damage to your skin, sorry but it's true. Your hair however is a little more forgiving. To repair the hair damage start by refreshing your color. I would recommend going a tad bit darker in order to steer away from the bleach. Between the summer salon visits and the sun I am sure that you have enough blonde in your hair. The next step would be a professional damage treatment or a professional dry treatment. I offer both at my salon. If your hair has some serious damage you should schedule another visit in a few weeks for a follow up treatment. After a good trim you should leave the salon with a nourishing shampoo and deep conditioner to use at home, weekly.

For your skin I would recommend a skin care line specifically targeting sun damage. First thing is first though, wear sunscreen. Wear sunscreen every damn day. Preventive maintenance is well worth the money and time. Despite your best intentions though it is inevitable that some sun damage will happen.

Once it does you have a few choices. The most effective but also costly and somewhat terrifying is IPL, Intense puled light treatment. I only say that it is slightly terrifying because you really don't know how you skin is going to react to it. I have had fair to good results with my forehead area and bad results with my cheeks. I'll write another post about IPL in the future which will cover all the details leading up to and post treatment.

The other option that you have is an effective skin care regiment. I have been using the AVEDA Tulasara system for the last 3 weeks and I have been loving it. It is a multi step system combining traditional face wash with dry brushing, oil massage, toner and concentrated treatments. The dry brush has been an amazing addition to my skin care system. If you are interested in trying the Tulasara system I would highly recommend purchasing the entire system, not just one piece of it.

It's the most wonderful time of the year