Your current pair of straighteners has just died and you’re left with the life changing dilemma of which straighteners to buy next. This difficult decision would ruffle anyone’s feathers so at Heaven Spa we have decided to give you a little helping hand in making your decision. To gain an insight into what brand people love best and where people are getting the best experiences we ran a poll on Facebook. The poll asked 97 women what are your favourite hair straighteners?

The results in someway are fairly surprising. We expected the GHD’s to come up highly as they have an excellent product and the marketing for the product is quite staggering. Despite the early safety worries with GHD’s they have gone on to create high quality and reliable straighteners. The biggest surprise from the results is the performance of She. At Heaven Spa we see She Hair straighteners as an up and coming product and many of our customers have been asking about them. At our salons we like to let customers try out different straighteners.

The other surprise was how close Remington and Babyliss came together. We thought that people would either favour one or the other as they both offer quite similar products and at reasonable prices. It maybe the case that people test both brands and that the difference between the two is minimal.

Other things to consider include budget and usage. GHD’s for example are expensive but you are paying for the unrivalled quality. Whereas if you are on a budget then you may wish to consider Remington or Babyliss straighteners. From the poll we can see these products are popular with people and they are known for their sturdiness. If you are really flash then you may want to consider purchasing a pair of GHD straighteners for everyday use and then a secondary cheap pair of straighteners for travelling. This seems to be a popular option at the moment.

Whichever straighteners you decide to buy Heaven Spa can help. We sell a range of straighteners including GHD straighteners and She Hair straighteners.

With the credit crunch and a possible recession around the corner more and more people are staying at home this summer. However just because we are staying in the UK it doesn’t mean we can’t all enjoy a summer tan. Fake Bake has launched an excellent self tanning range which includes Fake Bake tanning kits and Fake Bake gold body polish. These fantastic products give you a more natural look compared to most self tanning products.

We have all read the horror stories about people turning orange from fake tan products but you can rest assured with Fake Bake products. This is because their products are made using a unique and advanced formula which again gives a more natural finish and tone to your skin. Fake Bake products are also at the premium end of the market so you are therefore paying for quality.

Early testing at our salons showed great results and we recommend this range over many other leading products. If you are serious about tanning then we reckon you should try out the Fake Bake range and read the great guides available for using the products.

Or maybe even hot Muk! Well that’s exactly the creative geniuses at Muk want you to do as they have just launched an exciting and innovative range of Muk hair care products. At Heaven Spa we have been lucky enough to officially stock and sell the funky new range of Muk hair care products and we are very excited by the prospect.

The other great thing about the Muk hair care range is the labels. If you like a laugh and a giggle then you will definitely want to read the labels on these products. Of course these labels are not for the faint hearted but they do add something new to the market and everyone is talking about them. We have also seen some really cool Muk hair styles around. This funky young gentleman has not only coloured his hair in an array of colours but also spiked it in a cool way using Muk hair care. The page also shows you other followers of the Muk brand.

Are you looking for a bit of me-time this Bank Holiday Weekend?

Treat yourself to some pampering delights at Heaven Spa in the amazing Hilton Manchester Deansgate. Choose any two treatments and get the cheapest one free!

Yes, the cheapest one will be totally and utterly free. Imagine how lovely your weekend will be knowing you have a reservation for a facial and a pedicure, or a body scrub and a body wrap, or a hot stone massage and a manicure. The choice is yours……

We’ve plenty to offer men too - so no need to feel left out. Have a back, neck and shoulder massage and a facial, or a body scrub and a fake tan, a back wax and a chest wax (brave…..!)

Call us now on 0161 870 1789 to book in. It is first come, first served as we have limited places. Demand will be high as this is such a great offer, so don’t delay.

For our full treatment menu and prices please click on the link, but remember whatever two treatments you pick you will get the cheapest one free.

Treatment Price List

Enjoy your weekend,
xx

Heaven Spa’s YouTube venture has so far been very successful. Not only did our videos attract the interest, we also received some very enlightening and encouraging comments from the viewers.

One of such comments came from Alex who was looking for advice on how to improve the condition of his hair, damaged by chemical straightening and blow-drying. “I have medium-length hair which has been chemically straightened, as it is naturally curly, then cut and layered”, he wrote, “but every time I wash my hair and go to blow-dry it, as I have always been suggested to do to make my hair go straight, then while a lot of my hair is healthy-looking and going straight and dry with the heat of the blow-dryer, some places are not, they go brittle and dry, and really dead-looking. I guess the problem is there even before I start blow-drying”.

In spite of using some repairing products (namely, Redken Extreme Shampoo and a few others), Alex was yet unable to solve his problem. His situation was aggravated by the fact that for a period of time prior to chemical straightening he did not take good care of his hair.

We forwarded Alex’s message to Josh Lowe who has spent over 20 years in hairdressing industry, is a platform artist for Redken and one of the UK’s Redken-certified colourists, and is our Creative Director. This is Josh’s response:

“The root cause of the problem has been the chemical relaxer. It has nearly the same PH and active ingredients as hair removal cream, so it needs some ER care. Firstly, if your conditioner is not the best for the problem you will not lock in all the benefits of the shampoo and protect the hair from further damage. Your best buy would be the Redken Extreme Conditioner. This product will maintain the strength of the hair.

The effect of the relaxer on your hair is that it has damaged the outer structure of the hair - the cuticle - which the Extreme will help reinforce and repair. The damaged cuticle is causing the hair a serious moisture loss, so the next step is to treat your hair every 2 to 3 wash with a moisture treatment. The best for this would be Redken All Soft Silk Fuel. Follow the instructions on the box, you may decrease the frequency of this treatment when you observe noticeable results. Finally, keep using your other redken products . When it comes to styling, you should use a heat protector - Redken Smooth Down Sleek Obedience - worked in to damp hair before styling, and reapply before straightening.
Best of luck and happy styling. Josh”

We hope that Alex and anyone of you who experience the same problem will find the above advice useful. You will notice the links in the post to our new shop where you can purchase the products. As we have recently redeveloped the site, there is a slim possibility that you may encounter problems using it. Please be patient and remember that you can always contact us by email or by phone on 0161 448 8786.

We have told you in the past that Heaven Spa has got a YouTube channel, which we recently updated. By way of a quick update, as well, here is a playlist of several videos with advice on haircare and styling for men and women: Hairstyling @ Heaven Spa. All tutorials were recorded at Heaven Spa salon in Didsbury and presented by Josh Lowe, our Creative Director and a Redken platform artist and certified colourist.

We will be writing more about the videos in future, but you can already bookmark them and leave comments either on YouTube or here on the blog.

We are glad to let you know that Heaven Spa has been included in the Open Directory Project (Dmoz). If you do any work online, be that business or blogging, you have probably heard about the ODP. As their website reads, “The Open Directory Project is the largest, most comprehensive human-edited directory of the Web. It is constructed and maintained by a vast, global community of volunteer editors”. The submission is free, but because every website is meticulously checked before approval, it can take anything from 2 weeks to many months to be listed. To indicate how long we had to wait, we shall say that it took us much longer than 2 weeks but less than 3 months to become the member of Dmoz.

While you may have heard some people criticising Dmoz, it is still by far the single most influential web directory, a place in which is craved for by many a site or blog. As the ODP state themselves, they want to be the Oxford English Dictionary of the WWW. For the reasons why Dmoz is so important, read Peter Pelland’s Don’t Underestimate the Open Directory Project article.

We are grateful to our Dmoz category editor, and we will be very pleased to hear your cheers. This is a great recognition for all the work we do both online and offline to bring you the best in Health & Beauty. And indeed, this is a very lovely gift shortly before our new website’s launch…

No doubt, you have been enjoying the sunshine this May, and we hope that some of you were able to take the full advantage of our May promotions for hair and body. This month we are giving out Jessica Prescriptive Manicure at our Hilton salon and Jessica Zen Spa Pedicure is available at the salon in Didsbury. We also have a 2-4-1 offer on hair colouring with our newly qualified trainee, Leah. In fact, our call for hair models is still in place, so check the basic requirements for applicants, and give us a call on 0161 448 8786.

Follow the link to read more about June promotions, as well as for price lists and booking form.

And don’t forget to look out for your copy of Moving Manchester magazine - the half-price beauty treatments for Moving Manchester readers are available throughout June.

Until Friday, 11 July 2008 all Now magazine readers have the chance to win an amazing Treats for Two package at Heaven Spa @ luxurious Hilton Hotel in Manchester Deansgate. The package includes “a Pevonia prescriptive facial to leave you feeling relaxed and refreshed, delivering visible results to your skin; a Jessica prescriptive manicure or Zen Spa Pedicure to make sure you look your very best; plus a full body massage for ultimate relaxation”. Better yet, the treatments take place at the same time and in the same treatment room, so you can invite someone special and bask in heavenly bliss together.

For details and entry, visit Heaven Spa Treats for Two Competition page.

Every year they conduct a survey to find out in which profession people are the happiest. In the past, the happy folks were hairdressers. This year, it’s beauty therapists. So, this Friday, 6th June 2008, two of Heaven Spa team have been invited to the BBC Radio Manchester morning show, to discuss the shift in the field of professional happiness. Rebecca Hough, a beauty therapist from Heaven Spa @ Hilton in Manchester Deansgate, will be accompanied by Josh Lowe, Heaven Spa’s Creative Director, and one of UK’s certified Redken colourists and Redken platform artist.

Rebecca and Josh will appear on Eamonn O’Neal and Dianne Oxberry show from 7.30 am. BBC Radio Manchester broadcasts at 95.1 and 104.6 FM, or you can tune in and listen online at http://www.bbc.co.uk/manchester/local_radio/.