Meg Ryan – America’s Sweetheart Turns 50
Meg Ryan
by: Damien R. von Dahlem / HairStyles Magazine
On November 19th, America’s sweetheart turned 50. Really? 50?
Is it just my imagination because I am getting older, or is she still hot? She is still one of our most searched for celebrity hairstyles, and our average viewer age is 18-24. I suppose ‘hot’ is in the eyes of the beholder, and this beholder used to have a huge crush on Meg Ryan.
What is not in dispute is that Meg Ryan is America’s Sweetheart and I think, always will be. I first noticed her in ‘Top Gun’, but the world was introduced to her in the blockbuster movie, ‘When Harry Met Sally.” You of course know the other great movies she made, but here are a few that you might recognize that Ms. Ryan turned down. “Pretty Woman”, “Steel Magnolias”, and “Ghost”.
It’s true, it has been awhile since Meg has made a really great movie, but I don’t think we have seen the last of her. Time will tell, but what I do know is that this writer still holds Meg Ryan close to his heart, and will till the end of his time.
Happy Birthday Meg!
For more Meg Ryan Photos got to: http://www.hair-styles.org/meg-ryan-hairstyles-picture-001.html
Winter Hair Care Tips
Baby it’s cold outside. Winter Hair Care Tips.
by: Damien R. von Dahlem
HairStyles Magazine
It’s that time of the year when people stop me on the street to ask what cold weather precautions they should take for their hair, and during the conversation share the things they have heard or read on-line. So before I tell you what to do, let me first debunk some of the latest hair voodoo that I have heard and read.
1. Don’t go outside with wet hair. It can freeze and break off.
Nonsense. Our bodies have hair to protect us from the weather elements. Hair is perfectly suited to deal with cold weather and hot weather. Hair is also very strong and not likely to break easily, even in extreme weather. Having said that, it probably still isn’t a good idea to go outside in the cold with wet hair as it may lower your body temperature a bit and thus lower your core temperature by a degree or two.
2. Wash or rinse your hair in luke warm or cold water. It helps close down the hair cuticle and locks in shine.
More nonsense. Acid closes your the hair cuticle down not water, and hair is rough and thus not ‘naturally’ shiny. Hair gets shine from environmental contaminants such as grease in the air, or from glossifier agents applied at home or in the salon. Some shampoos and conditioners also contain such additives.
3. Don’t blow dry your hair. It is unhealthy for your hair and causes breakage.
Yet more nonsense. First of all there is no such thing as healthy hair. Hair is dead, or it would hurt when it is cut. For our purpose, hair is manageable, or unmanageable, but it is never healthy or unhealthy. Secondly, hair is designed to handle heat. It serves the very purpose of protecting your scalp from the sun, and creating an insulation barrier for your head to vent heat. Hair deals with heat all day, every day. Blow dry to your hearts content, just be careful not to burn your scalp. Lastly, blow drying your hair does not cause breakage. Some of the things that do cause hair breakage are; chemically over processed hair, cheap brushes or combs with sharp edges, cutting hair with dull shears, rubber bands, and hats and scarves that are too tight.
So what should you do for your hair in the Winter? Nothing really that you don’t do all year. The cold is not all that damaging, but the wind can be, so make sure you use a good hair conditioner, and if your hairstyle will allow it perhaps a leave-in conditioner, especially if you are going to be hitting the slopes.
Now go enjoy the fun of Winter.
Lindsay Lohan In Front Of The Camera Again
by: Damien R. von Dahlem
HairStyles Magazine
I’ll say this, you can’t keep Lindsay down, and I like that about her. According to TMZ.com, Lindsay Lohan closed a deal to pose for the sheets of Playboy Magazine, and finished the four day shoot Yesterday. Reportedly the deal was penned for just under $1,000,000.00. The publicity should be good for the floundering careers of both Lindsay Lohan and Playboy.
Today Miss Lohan returned to the morgue at the L.A. County Coroner’s Office where she is serving her community service. She was on time for her first full day at the morgue, and seemingly in good spirits. Exactly when the ‘Lohan Issue’ will appear on news stands is unclear, but Lindsay says that although all is bared, the layout is tasteful.
Isn’t that just the way life is. Glitter and glamour photo shoot one day, and scrubbing morgue toilets the next.
Welcome To The Hairstyles Magazine Blog !
Welcome Letter
HairStyles Magazine
by: Damien R. von Dahlem
photo: Damien von Dahlem and long time girlfriend Roxy Star.
Welcome to HairStyles Magazine.
After three years in research and development, and 100 days in coding and programming, formerly Hair News Magazine, is now Hairstyles Magazine. I think we put together a great on-line magazine, set a new standard in the hair and fashion industry, and I hope you, our viewers, think so too.
The Beginning
When we began Hair News Magazine in 1999, we were only the second website dedicated to hair on the internet, and we were the very first website to offer hairstyle galleries. Today there are tens of thousands of hair websites on the internet, all of them following the the ideas and content for which we set the standard.
Over the years with the dramatic increase in competition, or ‘copy cats’ as we call them, and the incredible speed of internet technology innovation, although no one was able to topple us, our ranking did begin to slip. In all fairness it was our own fault. It was my fault. I lost sight of the ball and the website became old and dated.
Research & Development
Hair News Magazine needed a face lift if it was to remain competitive and not go the way of the buggy whip. We were not far into R & D before I realized that a face lift wasn’t going to do it. We needed to start from scratch. We needed to reinvent the magazine, we needed to reinvent ourselves. We needed to be bold, innovative, modern, and daring, or not bother at all.
To this end we needed all new computers, servers, and cutting edge software, the very best on the market today. We went out and spent the money, and got them.
I set very strict editorial guidelines for the first launch, including our launch date of 1 September 2011. I had hoped to be done with two weeks to spare for beta testing, but alas, here we are on our target date without a single day to spare.
Editorial Guidelines
The exact editorial guidelines are of course proprietary and confidential, but here are a few of them:
1. The viewer, the viewer, the viewer. Everything we do needs to be seen through the eyes of the viewer. Ask viewers what they want, and then give it to them.
2. The site has to load fast, navigate easily, and be content rich.
3. The look and feel of the site must be modern and clean with plenty of white space. Not this current trend of messy, busy, cluttered, tabloid look websites that inundate the internet.
4. Ads are a necessary evil when it comes to design or there is no website, but ad placement needs to be non intrusive, and above all, not be tricky or misleading to the viewer. I hate websites that disguise ad links in their content and navigation. I find this practice fraudulent and distasteful. Our ads are clearly ads, and as much as possible, out of the way.
5. No keyword loading. Keywords are again a necessary evil as they are food of search engines, and without search engines websites might as well not exist. I still struggle with having to leave keywords in articles where I think the flow of the article suffers, but we will never load pages with keywords or misleading keywords.
6. Only the highest quality photos and content.
7. Keep the site updated and fresh. Keep an eye out for new and innovative ideas that serve our viewers. Keep it interesting. Give the viewer a reason to return.
8. Test every single page on the website on every single browser on the market, and every single platform. If the page does not display exactly the way we designed it to look, start over.
9. The hair and fashion industry used to be closely aligned. Vidal Sassoon’s hairstyles used to set the standard and the fashion for every single fashion magazine of any note. We need to do our part to bring them back together. You simply cannot have one without the other.
Note Of Thanks
None of this would have been possible without outside help. I want to thank the moving company that moved our entire office from Fort Collins to Denver in the middle of the night on New Years Eve in complete secrecy, away from the prying eyes of any competitors. I want to thank Comcast for their discretion and for getting us connected in a priority manner. I want to thank Google for their discretion and one on one face time and advice. I want to thank Codero for migrating our websites to our new speed demon servers within hours. I want to thank the painters, electricians, and carpet layers for getting our new offices up and running within days. And most of all I want to thank the love of my life, my long time girlfriend Roxy Star, for her advice, insight, and amazing patience with me over the last 100 days.
The Future
Today the magazine is only 600 pages deep, but that will change quickly. The content will almost double in the next thirty days, and almost double again by the end of the year. We have some brand new innovations coming that have not been done in our industry before, and we think you will enjoy them.
In January 2012, we will already begin the R & D for the next generation website, and the new design will begin by June 2012. We look forward to regaining our number one position. We look forward to serving you for many years to come.
Thank you for your time.
Damien R. von Dahlem, Editor and Chief, HairStyles Magazine
090111