FALSE: There are no known, (professionally produced) hair care products that cause hair loss. You may sculpt your locks with as much gel, mousse or spray as you desire. However, be careful of home-made remedies, or any product that you don’t know contents of.

9. Hair care products advertised as natural are chemical-free

FALSE: Not all hair care products sold in health food establishments, etc are completely natural; some may contain chemicals like SLS. When in doubt read label.

10. Eating Jell-O will make your hair grow faster

FALSE: According to dermatologists, there is no evidence that Jell-O will do anything for hair growth. Syncronized swimmers use Gelatin on their hair to protect against chlorine damage), but there's no evidence that it will stimulate growth.

11. Stress causes your hair to thin

FALSE: Everyday stress won't cause your hair to thin. The problem may be hormonal or nutritional in nature.

12. Steroids have no side effects on hair

FALSE: Bodybuilders beware! Anabolic steroids are very potent chemicals that have some treacherous side effects including acceleration of hair loss. The problem is that these side effects are usually delayed by several years.

13. Standing on your head cures hair loss

FALSE: Hair follicles need more than blood flow to grow hair. Standing on your head to increase blood flow to your scalp, may be great for your gymnastic skills, but will have no effect on your hair.

14. Split ends will travel

TRUE: Uncut split ends can travel up hair shaft towards roots. Hair that is not tended to, over time, may develop splits that migrate and split all or part of entire hair. Some ends can actually tear multiple times so that your split ends have splits.

15. Hair will always remain same texture

FALSE: Although you may be born with straight, curly or wavy locks, there are many circumstances under which your hair’s ultimate texture can be permanently altered. Pregnancy, medication, chemotherapy, age and other variables can cause your texture to be temporarily or permanently altered.

SUMMARY

Heard another myth about hair? Do your research – ask an expert! This doesn’t include your grandmother, best friend or local barmaid. Instead, talk to an experienced hairdresser or a trichologist. Always get real facts before you act on any hair myths – you owe it to your hair.

Michael Barrows

(With thanks to Daniel Mcullough and Karen M. Shelton)

If I need to follow up with someone, I immediately create an appointment, applying Categories and a Label, and attach any necessary external documents (Word, Excel, etc.). For Calendar appointments, I also keep track of number of times I’ve attempted to contact that person. Example: For vendor Lisa Andrews, I’ll preface appointment with LA(2), where parenthetical (2) means this is my second attempt to contact Lisa. I allow a maximum of three follow up attempts – no exceptions. Chasing people down is a waste of my time--time I’d prefer to spend bringin’ home bacon.

You Make Call

Pet Peeve: Folks who call me and have no clue what they want to say. I’ve been known to hang up on such occasions, so let’s ensure you don’t make same mistake!

A few basic rules of etiquette follow:

1. Peace & quiet rule day, especially if you’re making a business call. If kids or your husband are home, close door to your office. If there’s a large amount of street traffic, go to an inner room in your home, as far away from noise as possible. You don’t want to shout over din; instead, make din disappear.

2. Know what you’re going to say! I’ve advised numerous clients to have either an index card or a small sheet of paper with bullet points of what they want to say. I do something similar – in Calendar appointment for telephone call, I include bullet points in memo field and make notes during course of conversation.

3. Keep it brief. Make your point, get down to business and let’s rock and roll.

4. Be on time. Have respect for person you’re about to call. They’ve set aside valuable time to talk to you.

You’ve Made Your List, Now Check It 2nd Time

Spend a few minutes at end of your day to review tomorrow’s calendar. Doing so will get you prepared for tomorrow and will jump start your memory if you forgot to do something. Do you have any faxes still waiting to go out? Did you remember to call printer and OK proof? Any prep work you need to do for tomorrow? Take five minutes, review your calendar and to do list and then complete any last minute work.

It’s All Relative – Well, Your Relatives Think So

I know many people who have home-based businesses and at least 75% of them do not have a “family policy” in place. Question: How can you work effectively from home if your girlfriends are calling you all time, and if Uncle Joe stops by several times a day? Answer: You can’t. What to do? Inform your family and close friends that unless it’s a dire emergency, family chit-chat and visits need to be kept to a minimum. For your part, you must ensure you call your dad at end of day to check in, and tell your girlfriend Lisa that yes, you can have lunch with her on Thursday. It’s all about balance: part work, part play. Too much of former will make you crazy!

“No” is Not a Four Letter Word (Subtitle: Even if it were, you should still utter it now and then)

Say this out loud, “It’s okay for me to say no.” Doesn’t that feel better? More important, do you believe it?

Do not allow procrastination or good intentions of others to encroach upon your time. If you do not have time today to handle a task, be honest and say so. Offer alternative dates and times when you are available, ensuring you mark these times as “unavailable” on your calendar so you don’t book other appointments during this time.

Remember, time is money. Learn how to organize and manage your time--you’ll be glad you did!

Copyright 2005 Lori Davis. All rights reserved.