Before hopping on a plane to head home on Wednesday, we stopped by the Royalton Hotel in NYC to say hello to our friends at Matrix.

They had a gorgeous penthouse suite displaying products for every possible hair concern—truly a beauty blogger’s heaven. (Which is probably why we ran into two of our beauty-blogging friends there: Tia—who we should have totally gotten a photo of because this girl is not only an exceptional writer, she’s insanely gorgeous (no, really—we’ve seen her three times in the last week and the girl is utter perfection), and the equally fab India-Jewel who always has the insider scoop and makes the most amazing videos during fashion week.)

We’ve told you before how much we love Vavoom products, and the new Amplify volumizing products are our must-have styling essentials of the moment—but there’s something so familiar, so lovely about good ‘ol Biolage.

The signature scent of Biolage always puts us in a good mood and the moisturizing properties of Biolage Hydrating Systeme puts our hair in a good mood. The Hydrating Shampoo and Conditioning Balm nourish dry, over-stressed hair leaving it shiny and soft.

And now, Biolage has a new product range coming out next month (January 2008) called Biolage scalpthérapie Cooling Mint. This minty fresh shampoo and conditioner awakens the senses while treating and nourishing the scalp.

Typically minty shampoos are too harsh for us, but this one has a subtle, gentle scent that is truly divine—not harsh at all—and leaves our hair sqeaky clean and fresh.

Look for these Matrix products at a salon near you or online at Matrix. com.

Hi friends!

Does everyone here know how old I am? I am TEN YEARS OLD, plus five. Which kind of makes me just a baby. I mean, as far as responsibility goes, it’s a good week if I get all my homework done and stay under my allotted number of text messages.

What I’m trying to say is, sorry if my Teen Corner entries are kind of pathetic now and then. You don’t need to send me any more emails reinforcing my pathetic-ness—I totally get it. (It’s actually kind of funny to get emails from readers because 1) I really have readers! and 2) you people are just like my history teacher—he takes one look at my assignment and knows I spent exactly 3 minutes on it, no matter how hard I try to trick him into believing otherwise.)

So this weekend, I’m devoting all my free time to this column. I’m already on my fourth draft and I only have three paragraphs. (Does "Hi Friends!" count as a paragraph?) See how devoted I am?! (It has NOTHING to do with the fact that I’m grounded, I swear.)

And please don’t make me tell you why I’m grounded—because then you’d know that I’m not only pathetic, but I have a bad attitude to go right along with it. But that’s enough about me and my problems—let’s talk about my sister Bailey’s problems.

Bailey gets her hair highlighted and uses a straightening iron every day. Every day. If you don’t already know this, Highlights + Flat Iron= Damaged Goods .

Bailey with our cousin Rachel.

Wait, let me re-phrase that: Highlights + daily use of the Flat Iron at 425 degrees = Stupid sister with FRIED hair .

Thank goodness she has me in her life, because once we noticed the breakage (right where the arrow is pointing in the above photo—it’s kind of hard to see here, but the entire top layer of her highlighted hair has broken off, leaving her with "bangs" on the side of her head!) we got serious about fixing it. (Although, it would be kind of funny to see my sister with no hair—but I’m not that mean.)

Even if your hair is healthy and gorgeous, using a flat iron every day is going to cause damage. If you have highlights or damaged hair, you might as well be engaged to Spencer Pratt because your life is doomed.

Here’s a few tips to keep your hair healthy while maintaining that sleek, straight hair we all desire:

• Damaged hair is dry hair—keep shampooing to a minimum of every-other day. (Unless, like Bailey, you’re an athlete and break a serious sweat every day—please wash the hair. Ew!)
• Give hair an extra moisture treatment like Nexxus Humectress Ultimate Moisturizing Conditioner every time you shampoo. Comb it into towel-dried hair and leave on for at least three minutes.
• Use a heat protecting serum/spray before blow drying or straightening. I like to use Matrix Vavoom Gold Heat Protective Lotion and Protective Dry Mist .
• Set your flat iron on the lowest possible heat setting (that’s still effective, of course), and try to avoid the damaged areas. (Also, be sure hair is completely dry before straightening.)
• A few times a week, try some alternate styles that don’t require heat appliances—a headband with a loose side braid is super cute and so is a messy, high ponytail. (Be sure to use a non-damaging ponytail holder.)

Taking a little extra time and care will ensure your hair doesn’t end up like Bailey’s. We all want to look hot, but the line has to be drawn somewhere!

Hope you have a super fun week! (OMG did you notice it’s December already?! I LOVE this month.)

You’re probably sick of us talking about our fine, limp, flat hair by now—but it’s a hurdle we must jump over every morning. (Or rather, try to jump over every morning.)

We’ve found some great products that add volume and texture to our (fine, limp, flat) hair—but none work as well as the NEW and Improved Amplify Volumizing System by MATRIX.

With two new styling products, two reformulated favorites, and a new color-care conditioner—limp-locked girls like us are turning up the volume.

We can’t get enough of the Thicklift Liquid Volumizer and the Full Body Texturizer. We’ve used these products (both of them together) all week and have yet to have a bad hair day.

In fact, our hair is feeling so sassy and confident, we’re thinking this Tracy Reese ‘Sydney’ Buckle Tab Tote is the perfect accessory to spotlight its greatness.

(Think our husband will go for that line of reasoning?)

Look for the entire NEW and Improved Amplify Volumizing System by MATRIX at a salon near you and at matrix.com.