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The techniques below can be beautiful or dramatic or both—as long as they're left to a professional. Even then, they take a talented hand and a skilled eye. At the very least, a colourist can see the back of your head, and you can't!

It probably doesn't matter much to you whether your problem is dandruff, dry scalp, or seborrheic dermatitis. What does matter is that you're afflicted with a flaky, itchy, tight, or inflamed scalp, and you just want to fix it.

Most over-the-counter permanent hair colour is stronger than professional salon colour, which is usually not available to the public. It works more quickly, which makes you feel as if you're getting more bang for your buck, but it usually contains more ammonia, which means it is harsher on hair. Salon colour not only works more slowly but also becomes more diluted when the colourist mixes it to create just the right tone for you.

There are several different types of hair colour. Some simply lay colour on top of the hair strand like paint on a canvas; other require a chemical reaction that takes place inside the hair shaft. The amount of time the colour lasts depends on the complexity og the colouring process and the fire power behind the chemical process. Whatever your reasons for wanting to colour your hair, carefully consider the chocies before making the plunge.

Turn your head upside down and brush or vigorously rub your scalp back and forth with fingers over a sheet of dark paper. If you see tiny, dry, powdery bits, you have dry scalp. If the flakes are larger and look slightly moist or greasy, they're dandruff. If you have large greasy flakes and your scalp is irritated and red, chances are you have seborrhea. If the scales stick to the scalp, it may be psoriasis, and if it doesn't clear up, consult a dermatologist.

Conditioners make the hair smoother and add body and shine. Most conditioners are made of large molecules that literally stick to the outside of the hair and make combing easier, which prevents the hair from snarling and breaking. Because they coat the hair, conditioners make it look shiny and protect it from sun damage or drying styling aids Rut with so many on the market, how do you know which one to use?

If you're thinking about colouring your hair for the first time, book a consultation with a colourist, or talk to a colourist at the salon where you have your hair cut. Ask yourself what you want to change about your hair. Do you want to brighten your natural-born mousiness? Cover gray? Make a dramatic change? Your reasons for colouring will determine which products you should use, the best techniques, and whether or not you can do it yourself.

Most soap shampoos went out in the 1940s and have been replaced by shampoos that cleanse with "surfactants" or "sulfates"—synthetic detergents that emulsify and remove dirt. Surfactants became popular in the 1940s and 1950s because they were cheap and didn't flatten the hair, but they were also harsh and drying. Soon afterward, conditioners were developed to undo the damage.

Colour-treated hair needs special care. "Colouring weakens the hair, breaks down the disulfide bonds in the hair shaft, and gradually breaks down elasticity," says Philip Kingsley, a trichologist and owner of salons in Manhattan and London. The best thing you can do to keep colour-treated hair healthy and shiny is not to colour it too often—although a lot depends on the type of colour and the chemicals used.

In the days when women with waist-length hair sat in front of their vanity tables at night and began their nightly beauty ritual, they would lean over, begin at the nape, and brush 100 strokes with a flat, wide, boar's-bristle brush. Vigorous brushing is no longer considered a good idea for everyone—it can break hair when wet and can make oily hair oilier—but moderate brushing will help keep your hair healthy.

Like clear skin and strong nails, soft, shiny hair is an indicator of good health. Chemical processes, product abuse, and overzealous styling can render hair lackluster, weak, and lifeless. A healthy lifestyle and a intelligent hair care regimen will lead to healthy and beautiful hair.

A soak in a tub for about 15 minutes will rehydrate your skin, but add good bath oil and you'll soften and moisturize the skin like you can't believe. The oil, which smells nice and floats in shimmery little slicks on the water, actually clings to the body as you leave the tub—instantly sealing in the moisture the skin has soaked up from the bath.

According to folklore, the true way to tell a woman's age is to look at her knees or elbows. Whether plump and dimpled or dry as the bones in a Georgia O'Keeffe landscape, these areas are a dead giveaway. The skin on the elbows and knees is some of the thickest and most neglected on the body, which, in most cases, means the dead skin just keeps piling up until it resembles your pet lizard's hide.

Amazingly, in spite of huge technological advances in the beauty industry, the mass-market soap available today has not changed much since Procter & Gamble, Colgate, and Lever Bros, first set up shop in the early 19th century. Most supermarket soaps are still made from lard (sodium tallowate) and lye (sodium hydroxide), and you don't need a Ph.D. in chemistry to guess that there are gentler ways to clean your skin.

Many people don't realize it, but shaving is a form of exfoliation, too. Shaving the legs first became popular for women around World War II, when a shortage of nylon stockings kicked off a bare-legged trend. Today, shaving is still the easiest, cheapest, and most convenient way to get rid of unwanted hair—under the arms, on the legs, and around the bikini line. The downsides are stubbly regrowth in two to three days and cuts and irritation.