Last week we put 3 guest bloggers up to the challenge of trying out a homemade Australian hair care “secret.” Read all about it here… or just see their pictures and results below and decide: will YOU start keeping cracked beer bottles next to your loofa?

1. HONEY

The Australian Secret: “Dissolve one spoonful of honey into three cups of warm water. Once dissolved simply pour over wet, freshly washed hair and let dry. Do not wash it out. Then just style as normal. This leaves hair soft with intense shine.”

Guest Experimenter: Rachel, Uncurbable Craving (Twitter @ThatTweetThing). Why her? Because she’s as tweet as honey.

Rachel’s Review: Honestly, I wasn’t entirely convinced that this humectant treat would be enough for my wild mane. I wasn’t sure if it would condition or add sheen to my hair enough. Usually I add a TON of conditioner… tons and tons, really. In this case, I didn’t use my bottle of conditioner at all. I shampooed my hair and then poured the honey mixture allover my freshly washed hair and then hopped out of the shower. I didn’t rinse it out. It didn’t leave my hair sticky in any way, in the shower or out.

When my hair was dry, I could tell that it felt soft. It had a nice shine to it. What was most notable to me was that the leave-in honey treatment almost acted as a styler. It seemed to hold my waves in very nice spirals. I think I’ll try this again; a good way to sometimes save on very expensive conditioner by switching it up!

2. EGGS + MAYO

The Australian Secret: “Combine one egg and mayonnaise together and apply to washed hair. Leave in for five minutes then rinse for great shine and body. Or you can replace the mayonnaise with two teaspoons of castor oil for a healthy scalp and roots. Eggs are used to add body, shine and softness to any head of hair.”

The Guest Experimenter: Nova McGinty, Good Food North East (Twitter: @novamc). Why her? Because she’s from the UK (a non-American P.O.V. yet still our toilet-water hemisphere) AND she’s writing about food anyway.

Nova’s Review: I’m the girl willing to try most things once, I pay over £6 (around $12) each for my shampoo and conditioner and if I can try something that I can put together from my kitchen cupboard and it saves me money I’m willing to try it. But when Michelle asked me to be a guest blogger and my mission if I should choose to accept it was to use eggs and mayo on my hair… I was a little dubious.
I along with 3 friends blog on a regular basis about food – but we go to restaurants and eat it.
But being a lover off all thing that Michelle does at Spa Week and in NYC, I’m putting my trust in her and joining in with the edible hair experiments from down under.

Okay, so before I even begin, I go to raid the cupboard to discover we have NO mayo - yeah that’s right no mayo! Our house isn’t a big fan of it and I don’t like to eat it if I can help it but I have no issues layering it on my hair in the name of Spa Week science. If I’m honest I think I have the raw (no pun intended) end of the deal. I think I’d prefer the beer task any day! (Don’t speak too fast, Nova!)

Before (Nice Body)

After (Flat and Split-looking)

I wash my hair with my regular shampoo, then mix the egg and mayonnaise together and apply to my hair, It’s very messy and I’m surprised there isn’t much of a smell. I leave in for 5 minutes then rinse. Whilst trying to get it out of my hair I notice it feels kind of greasy. I rinse a little more until it feels okay.

My hair now fully dried doesn’t feel full of body. The shine is there but it feels as if there’s a layer of something left on my hair and I’m contemplating washing it again.

Aussie-brand hair products are the only Australian thing I’ll be using in my hair in the future.

3. FLAT BEER

The Australian Secret: Apply flat beer to the hair and scalp, then rinse it out. Beer has a cleansing quality that will clarify the hair and leave it shiny and free of any built-up product.

The Guest Experimenter: Oz Sultan of Perks Consulting News (Twitter: @ozsultan) Why him? Because what else was he gonna do with that six pack in the fridge? (Not to mention that luscious hair!)

Oz’s Review: I ended up looking like Nicole Kidman from “Days of Thunder”. I’m not quite sure what sort of woman washes her hair with flat beer, I can however assure you that if it were a curly haired lass, that it was Kylie Minouge in the 1980s.

Since you’ve probably never tried this, let me describe the experiment in detail. Two-day flattened beer has this sort of frat-house like vinegary scent which doesn’t quite wash out in the shower. One is left with this “hint of hops” that lingers long after you’ve exited the subway and made it to work. Now, I should mention that my hair is naturally wavy-to-curly depending if I’m in the desert or a tropical jungle. The flat beer wash curled my hair like crazy - which lasts more than one day. By the way.

Conclusion: Inadvisable unless you can handle the curls!

Nicole Kidman photo courtesy of www.screenrush.co.uk

Last week I got an email from an online Australian hair salon website looking to guest blog on Spa Week Daily. I emailed back and said: Let’s see what you’ve got. Within minutes I received a long-winded essay that included only 3 points of interest: 3 Australian “hair secrets” that involve food.

But obviously, dear reader, I wouldn’t just take their word for it. When you’re dealing with a place where the toilet water spins the other way, especially when it involves raw eggs, you’ve gotta test the waters on your own turf. To that end, I’ve enlisted 3 guest experimenters to try these edible hair claims at home.

1. HONEY

The Australian Secret: “Dissolve one spoonful of honey into three cups of warm water. Once dissolved simply pour over wet, freshly washed hair and let dry. Do not wash it out. Then just style as normal. This leaves hair soft with intense shine.”

Guest Experimenter: Rachel, Uncurbable Craving (Twitter @ThatTweetThing). Why her? Because she’s as tweet as honey.

2. EGGS + MAYO

The Australian Secret: “Combine one egg and mayonnaise together and apply to washed hair. Leave in for five minutes then rinse for great shine and body. Or you can replace the mayonnaise with two teaspoons of castor oil for a healthy scalp and roots. Eggs are used to add body, shine and softness to any head of hair.”

The Guest Experimenter: Nova McGinty, Good Food North East (Twitter: @novamc). Why her? Because she’s from the UK (a non-American P.O.V. yet still our toilet-water hemisphere) AND she’s writing about food anyway.

3. FLAT BEER

The Australian Secret: Apply flat beer to the hair and scalp, then rinse it out. Beer has a cleansing quality that will clarify the hair and leave it shiny and free of any built-up product.

The Guest Experimenter: Oz Sultan of Perks Consulting News (Twitter: @ozsultan) Why him? Because what else was he gonna do with that six pack in the fridge? (Not to mention that luscious hair!)

Check back next week and see what our guest experimenters have to say! And if you know of any other edible beauty claims that need to be verified… comment below and we’ll call in the troops.

And because I’m extra nice… the anchor link, as requested: hair salon

We know that in mentioning “The Pouf,” most of you suffer severe traumatic images of Snooki running up and down the Jersey Shore with her gang of guidettes, but let us at Spa Week® reassure you that the hair presented at Carlos Campos Fall 2010 is the total opposite. “The Pouf”, which is light and barely there, sits atop long cascading waves, created far from the beaches of the Garden State. Check the video below of hair stylist Fabio Contesta, breaking down the process step by step.

Yesterday we covered the Fall 2010 Eryn Brinie Presentation at New York’s SoHo store location. What stood out the most for us was the messy side braid adorned by several models. The look was easy and fun, and will without a doubt be everywhere in the fall… especially if we have anything to do with it. (Post-spa day look, anyone?) After spotting the trend I grabbed the hair stylist, Amoy Pitters for a quick how-to:

Spa Week Daily: How does the long braid fall into the look of the collection?
Amoy Pitters: The designers wanted a Renaissance kind of look and something easy to transition from day to night.  To achieve the look for the long braid, with some of the girls who didn’t have a lot of texture in their hair I pin curled it to create a wave texture.  Then I applied hair spray and back combed it so it could have more volume. Next, I added clip on extensions and back combed the braid so it would look a little messy.

SWD: Do you have any tips for daily maintenance during the winter?
AP: You should definitely use a good moisturizing conditioner and shampoo. Drink a lot of water. Just keep the hair moisturized. They are so many conditioners and shampoos that are good.

SWD: Do you think the Renaissance look is going to be a big look for the next season?
AP: Yea I definitely think so. Fashion is going back to basics. People are wearing a lot of safari inspired pieces that easily go with the Renaissance look.

Guest Little Luxury Reporter: SHYEMA of BEAUTY AND THE FEAST, winner of Spa Week Daily’s best-beauty-blog-post-of-2009 contest, shares one of her favorite little luxuries that she’s loved since childhood.

Parachute Coconut Oil

The Little Luxury: Parachute 100% Pure Coconut Oil

Relationship Status: My mother set us up. Going strong for years now with regular bi-weekly dates. So in love.

Nickname: Coco

What is it? No mincing words here – this is just straight up coconut oil.  It’s been used in India and other parts of Asia for years as a hair treatment that when applied, penetrates the hair shaft to give bounce and shine to damaged locks.

The thing you’ll love most: Besides the price, coconut oil works wonderfully with your natural hair protein to strengthen each strand – who doesn’t love shiny, healthy hair? It’s also amazing at treating dandruff.

The thing you’ll hate most: Smelling like coconuts. And finding time to hang out at home until you shampoo it out.

Advice for first timers: Don’t overdo it! Use only a thin coat, otherwise you might end up over-shampoo’ing, which will only dry out your hair instead of moisturizing it. I also use less conditioner than I normally would, and only apply it lightly to the ends, in the shower since too much conditioning will weigh your hair down.

If you want to take it a step further: For deep conditioning, put a towel over your pillow and leave it on overnight. I like to braid my hair after oiling so it’s less messy!

The Price is Right! Yours as low as $1.98 at Amazon.com (Buy new for $7.99)

Hot Stone Scale: 6 out of 6

This Little Luxury Report was brought to you by: Shyema