Hair today, where tomorrow?
Much as I may hate to admit it, when one reaches my age, a major concern is incipient (or even more progressive) baldness. It may sound vain, but I’d be lying if I said otherwise. You can disregard all correlations between one’s hirsute qualities and masculinity, as baldness can be the new “pogi” (if one has a wonderful looking skull) — but at the end of the day, show me that person who would willingly part with his/her healthy head of hair, and I’ll show you the person resigned to his/her hereditary receding hairline or tonsured existence.
Claims of this or that product in the market fly fast and furious; faster than you can count the strands of hair that end up in your shower’s draintrap. If there’s one company that persistently pushes the envelope to remain on top of the research and product development “game,” it’s L’Oreal and its premium hair product line, Kerastase. The basic hair fact is that aging means a slowing down of our metabolism, leading to a reduction in sebum production and the corresponding slowing down of micro-circulation and cellular exchanges. Hydro-lipidic film is the scalp’s protective layer — when it deteriorates, our hair becomes dry and limp. Amino acids and lipids are also essential for healthy hair growth. The new Age Recharge Home Care Programme is one way of countering this aging process. There’s a shampoo, a masque (conditioner), Lipo-Recharge (a scalp treatment that’s applied by dropper) and Ciment Thermique (a leave-on milk treatment that reconstructs our hair strands). The active ingredients developed by Kerastase’s Advanced Research Center are the P-Liposomes, Vitamin B3, Vita-Ciment and Morphofill. Together, they make for a Kerastase ritual that’s easy to apply and maintain.
I wish I had the Age Recharge line back when I was in my late twenties. As it is, I’m in a more advanced stage and rely on the Bain Prevention line. This is the line that actually promotes hair growth in areas where bald spots or recession has occurred. There’s the shampoo, the Intervention Antichute (with Aminexil and Gluco-lopide GL) and there’s Bain Gommage, a gentle anti-dandruff shampoo (I alternate this with the Bain Prevention shampoo).
Similar to how we plug ourselves with multivitamin supplements, the various Kerastase lines cater to the particular condition or stage our hair and scalp are in. Preventive, protective or restorative in nature, they provide us with a pro-active option that boosts our “hair-condition” — High Cool! (Yes, pun intended).
Playful fiction
Three new novels bring to the fore how melding real issues and personalities on one hand, and fictional license on the other, can make for inspired storytelling. A rollicking political satire, a cautionary sports tale and an insightful look into the advertising world are “on the shelves” this week. All three books are available at Fully Booked.
Boomsday by Christopher Buckley: Thank You for Smoking and its film adaptation put political satirist Christopher Buckley securely on the “radar,” and if it means people go to his earlier novels, that would be a good thing, as Buckley has consistently written wonderfully funny topical novels. His latest is Boomsday, and it answers the question: “Can one write about Social Security Reform and national fiscal solvency, and still make it hilarious and entertaining?” The answer is yes, and Boomsday works precisely because it is absurd and yet so real. The solution? Encouraging senior citizens to arrange for their deaths in exchange for tax breaks! Along the way, we get a cross-eyed view of Washington, political intrigue and PR shenanigans. A laugh on every page!
MVP by James Boice: Think Kobe Bryant and his “date rape” case, add a smidgen of Tiger Woods’ provenance and upbringing, and top it all with shades of Easton Ellis’ American Psycho — and you have the debut novel of Boice, MVP. Set in the world of pro basketball, MVP centers on one Gilbert Marcus, a bona fide All-Star, who, at the novel’s start, has just raped and killed a girl he had just met. Flashbacks give us the more than unusual upbringing he had, the father who gives new meaning to the word “driven,” Gilbert’s sexual repressions, life as high school basketball’s dream prospect and the fast lane of the pro world. Chockful of acute psychological insights, MVP is not just a sports novel, but a vivid rendering of today’s American Dream gone awry and turned into nightmare.
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris: A former ad man himself, Ferris embeds us in the world of creatives and copywriters at an ad agency facing layoffs at the tailend of the ‘90s boom. Like a more depthful take on the TV series The Office, Ferris’ novel constantly surprises and entertains us with its rich cast of characters. One gonzo-type copywriter quotes Walt Whitman and Ralph Waldo Emerson, while another ad man secretly turns up at the office and continues to try and contribute even after he’s been fired. The fragility of egos, the bickering of people working together, the petty jealousies and in-fighting, the absurdity and wickedness of the rumor mill — they’re all fodder for this novel that never fails to be a true mirror of human nature and modern man.
