Guys!!! I have eyebrows! I was a victim of the tragic eyebrow fad of the late '90s when we attacked our faces with tweezers until all that was left was one thin little line of hair. I blame Charlize Theron in Baggar Vance. That, combined with a vicious attack of the chicken pox, left me with thin, patchy brows. The fact that they are blonde doesn't help anything either. So, I dye them dark, only take out hairs that are way too far out of place and use waterproof brow gel so it will stay on in the pool. When I found out Monat made a botanically based brow and lash serum I was definitely intrigued. I have try other brow growth treatments and never saw much difference. I wanted to try some of the other lash serums but most warned of irritation and some even said they could change your eye color. A girl I saw promoting one on IG even gave the tip not to use it the day of a big event because it usually left a red line on your eyelid.  No thank you.  I have been using Monat Eye Wonder for the past 6 weeks. I have experienced no irritation whatsoever and I already feel like a different person. I could tell that some hair was growing but, as I said before, my brows are blonde so it was hard to really see what was going on. I finally remembered to dye my brows at work the other day and I couldn't believe it...I have eyebrows!! I can use a bit of pencil around the edges to clean up the line but I feel confident with nothing on. This is huge! And my eyelashes are out of control. They started tangling when I was trying to put on mascara this morning. I am so excited to see what they look like in another 6 weeks. 

Now, about my hair. I'm pretty sure I am going through my "Monat Detox" phase and so far it is highly uneventful. The concept of the Monat Detox is that it uses botanicals to pull all the buildup out of your hair and scalp, down to your follicles so that they can absorb all of the nutrients from the oils. Leaving you with stronger, healthier, thicker hair. (You can read all the science behind the products on my site scarlettrose.mymonat.com/influencer.) There was about a week or so where I wanted to wash my hair every day. By the end of the day, it would feel like I hadn't washed it in 3 or 4 days. So I washed it more often. But, I like washing it because I'm using the Monat Black 2n1 and it has a minty tingle that has been so refreshing through the hot summer. This has definitely calmed down. Yesterday was day 3 and I didn't even need to use dry shampoo. Although, their dry shampoo actually leaves your scalp feeling lighter and refreshed instead of just gunked up with talcum powder. I swear I heard my scalp wheeze after a good dosing with some of the other stuff out there. Even their dry shampoo has Rejuvenique oil in it so I actually feel like I'm doing something good for my hair when I use it. I tend to have a kind of oily scalp and I'm a total product junkie, but I have long, thick hair so I can't wash it every day. As a result, I tend to battle with a flakey scalp. I'm so excited because the flakiness is gone! I can tell that there is still some more build up left but it's so much better. My hair feels thicker and healthier. It has so much body all the time I'm obsessed! I love big hair but I don't like products that make it feel dry or stiff.  I also really felt like it was longer but it's only been 6 weeks so it should have grown less than an inch which shouldn't be that noticeable.. So I had Erinn take a progress picture. My hair has grown at least two inches!! I couldn't believe my eyes. I had to check the time stamp on the photos. It had been exactly 6 weeks!! I will post the photos so you can see for yourself. I'm still shocked. I am so incredibly impressed and excited with the results I am seeing so far. My clients are too. Every client who has tried them is raving to me about how great their hair is. One client was almost in tears because she said she has never loved her hair so much. Another client came in to see me and I literally had goosebumps when I saw all her new hair growth after only a month. (see pic below) These products are so incredible I can't wait to see what the future holds!!!! Stay tuned for updates!!

Last week, before I received my products, I did my aunt's hair color and styled it for her. She has fine, curly hair that she usually wears natural but I flat iron it for her when she comes in to see me. She likes to keep it as long as possible and as a result, her ends can get a little dry. I snip what I can here and there but am under strict instructions to keep trims to a minimum. So i try to use products to help smooth out her ends. She always talks about how thick her hair used to be. When I heard about Monat's anti-aging benefits, I couldn't wait to try the products on her. I had her come over this week so I could style her hair with them. The transformation is unreal. The Rejuvabeads completely sealed her ends. I can't wait to see the long term effects on her hair! I will post side by side pictures of her hair as well as her results moving forward. Stay tuned!!!! 

I also shampooed my hair with the Smoothing Shampoo and Deep Conditioner and used the Air Dry Cream. I love love love it! I usually use a heavy leave in conditioner on my hair when I wear it curly to keep down the frizz. I used about a quarter size amount of the Air Dry Cream. My hair dried smooth and bouncy. It has tons of volume without just being a frizzy mess. So fantastic! Next time I let it dry naturally I will try the Curl Cream and see if the difference between the two products.

I have a confession to make. When I originally got samples of the products, I didn't pay attention to the directions included and didn't use the products properly so I didn't really notice a difference in my hair at the time. I just assumed you needed to use them for a little while to really experience the benefits. This week I got my product pack in the mail. I unpacked all my products and decided which ones to try out first. Because I want to try to speed up the detox process, but don't want to dry out my hair, I decided to use the Monat Black Shampoo+Conditioner because it is a bit stronger than the normal shampoos but also has the added conditioner. I also used the Deep Smoothing Conditioner because I have long, curly, color treated hair and I like lots of moisture. After I got out of the shower I applied the Rejuvabeads Split End mender and combed it through. Then I applied a small amount of Blow Out Cream and some Root Lifter Spray. I blow dried my hair with a round brush. It dried quickly and smoothed out easily. (Very much like when I have a fresh keratin treatment.) My hair felt so clean and nourished. It was light and bouncy and didn't feel like it had any product in it at all. It just felt soft and nourished. I was genuinely surprised at how different it felt. I took the products to work and noticed a drastic difference on every client. I am genuinely impressed. I am going to post some before and after pics of my clients and I will be documenting my hair's progress. I am also taking their vitamin supplement and using the Lash and Brow treatment. 

For the last year or so, I've been approached pretty regularly on Instagram about "an exciting new product and business opportunity". I got a couple samples and didn't really pay much attention. I dismissed it as a MLM scheme and was not interested. Last month, I was approached again. Since I opened my salon, I have been searching for a product line that I really felt was different from the rest. I haven't been able to commit to one and am constantly trying something new, looking for something I thought would actually make a difference in my client's hair. So I decided to research Monat and see what the products were all about. I googled and found a handful of people with negative things to say so I researched those first. One negative blog turned out to be written by a woman with a competing product and another blog answered every point made and disproved them all. A couple lawsuits were filed and lost because there was no link found between the products and the problems the people were claiming. Then I looked into the positive reviews and they were endless! People not only experienced healthy, shiny hair, they started growing more hair! (Google Monat Before and After, it's crazy!) People with severe alopecia were regrowing hair without harsh chemicals!!! I found out it's one of the top luxury hair care lines in the country and in the top 100 beauty companies worldwide. That doesn't happen with an inferior product. But it was still a direct sales company and I was worried about what people would think of me getting involved with "one of those". Then I really thought about what direct sales means for my clients. It means they can order their products right from their phone. It means they can take advantage of a VIP program that gives them 15% off their products, free shipping and a free product with qualifying orders, and a 30 day money back guarantee, all things I can't afford to offer as a small business. And it's an amazing product! It uses natural botanicals to detox your hair and scalp which clears away all the gunk weighing our hair down and clogging our hair follicles, leading to "hair aging" (thinning, dry brittle hair). I kept thinking about all the clients and friends that could benefit from these products. So I took the plunge and signed up. I couldn't be more excited! I will be sharing my own progress using the products and the results my clients experience. Follow along with my adventure! I think it's going to be an awesome journey!!