Ever wonder why your hair doesn’t look as silky smooth, shiny, and perfectly coifed as the mop on your favorite celebs? Do you think they were just born with beautiful hair? Think again.

Behind every Hollywood hairdo is a team of stylists; weaving, coloring, primping, heating, foiling, and teasing hair into submission. DOVE, the folks behind the powerful Campaign for Real Beauty (see my previous post on this) has teamed up with Heroes star Ali Larter, who is taking a stand for real beauty by going real on the red carpet during the upcoming Emmy awards.

Says Ali: There is a lot of work that goes into Hollywood hair and I want women to know that it is unrealistic for every day. I am going to go out on a limb by doing my own hair for the Emmys without any stylists. I am going to use Dove Hair Care products for five days, get my hair in great shape and I am going to rock the red carpet. I am doing all of this to help women realize the potential of their own hair and feel more confident every day.

Ali is going au natural to inspire girls and women to “love the hair they have and not compare it to the unattainable images they see in the media and Hollywood.”

Want to see for yourself what really happens behind the scenes in Hollywood? Watch this new video from Dove:

Joining Ali and DOVE in getting the word out to girls is the Girl Scouts. Dove Hair Care will make a donation to help send girls from across the U.S. to self-esteem workshops through uniquely ME!, The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Fund program.

Way to go Ali and DOVE!

Ever wonder why your hair doesn’t look as silky smooth, shiny, and perfectly coifed as the mop on your favorite celebs? Do you think they were just born with beautiful hair? Think again.

Behind every Hollywood hairdo is a team of stylists; weaving, coloring, primping, heating, foiling, and teasing hair into submission. DOVE, the folks behind the powerful Campaign for Real Beauty (see my previous post on this) has teamed up with Heroes star Ali Larter, who is taking a stand for real beauty by going real on the red carpet during the upcoming Emmy awards.

Says Ali: There is a lot of work that goes into Hollywood hair and I want women to know that it is unrealistic for every day. I am going to go out on a limb by doing my own hair for the Emmys without any stylists. I am going to use Dove Hair Care products for five days, get my hair in great shape and I am going to rock the red carpet. I am doing all of this to help women realize the potential of their own hair and feel more confident every day.

Ali is going au natural to inspire girls and women to “love the hair they have and not compare it to the unattainable images they see in the media and Hollywood.”

Want to see for yourself what really happens behind the scenes in Hollywood? Watch this new video from Dove:

Joining Ali and DOVE in getting the word out to girls is the Girl Scouts. Dove Hair Care will make a donation to help send girls from across the U.S. to self-esteem workshops through uniquely ME!, The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Fund program.

Way to go Ali and DOVE!

Yippee! Yesterday was the big day of the Danskin Seattle Triathlon, which I’ve been training for since June. It was my first triathlon, and, despite the cold, rainy weather (August is usually GORGEOUS in Seattle), I absolutely loved it!

The race was held in Genessee Park, and started off with a 600 meter swim in Lake Washington. Swimming’s definitely my weakest of the three events, but I managed to finish without too much floundering and sputtering.

A 12.4 mile bike ride was next, which I was kind of nervous about because of the wet, slick roads, and as it turned out, wind and rain pelting me in the face while crossing Lake Washington on the I-90 bridge. But I actually really enjoyed the ride, burning sensation in my thighs and all.

Last was the 5K run, which started off a little rocky because of the whole tight thigh muscle thing, but since running’s my sport of choice, I got into a groove pretty quickly.

All in all? A definite success. And I may even be hooked….

While I loved the athletic aspect of the race and trying to reach the goals I had set for myself, the best part of the Danksin Triathlon was being a part of such a large girls and women-only race. The energy in the air among the girls from 14 years old on up was incredibly positive and inspirational. We cheered each other on, helped each other during the transition between legs, and motivated each other to get over that last big hill in the run. Women of all ages, sizes, and athletic abilities were challenging their minds and their bodies to do things they didn’t know were possible…and you could see in the teary hugs on the other side of the finish line that their accomplishment would be an empowering memory for years to come.

Are you interested in doing a triathlon? Here are some links for women-only events you may want to look into:

• Danskin Triathlon
• Iron Girl
• Philadelphia Women’s Triathlon
• Groovy Girls Tri
• Subaru Women’s Triathlon Series
• Tri for the Cure
• Wild Rose Women’s Only Triathlon
• Valley Girl Triathlon
• LUNA All Women’s Triathlon
• Kansas City Women’s Triathlon
• Akron Women’s Only Triathlon

For more info and a complete listing of women-only events, visit the Her Tri website.

If you’re like most teens, you’re overbooked, overworked, and spread way too thin. It may seem like there’s not enough time in the day to cram everything in. Be that as it may, might I suggest putting “getting enough sleep” near the top of your “to do” list?

No doubt you’ve heard the research that teens need 9 or more hours of sleep each night, but chances are, catching z’s is taking a back seat to everything else going on in your life.

Maybe your plan is to sleepwalk through your school week and catch up on those missed hours of sleep by sacking out ’till noon on Saturday and Sunday. But a new study says that this habit actually does more harm than good.

According to researcher Stephanie Crowley, having different sleep patterns on the weekends wreaks havoc on your body’s internal clock.

“Essentially, teenagers may be giving themselves jetlag over the weekend even without getting on a plane.”

In case you need some convincing as to why sleep is so important, check out these facts courtesy of Teens Health:

• 20% of high school students fall asleep in class
• research has shown that less sleep = poorer grades
• lack of sleep affects athletic performance
• being tired is a big factor in car crashes by teen drivers
• sleep deprivation can result in feeling unusually sad or depressed

* * * * *

On a personal note, I LOVE to sleep. I’m definitely one of those people who considers a mid-afternoon nap to be more a necessity than a luxury, since I often reach a point where my brain just freezes and my eyes glaze over if I don’t get a little shut-eye.

Apparently, I’m not the only one. A new book just came out called that talks about how short naps can not only make you feel better, but can make you more productive, too!

If you’re like most teens, you’re overbooked, overworked, and spread way too thin. It may seem like there’s not enough time in the day to cram everything in. Be that as it may, might I suggest putting “getting enough sleep” near the top of your “to do” list?

No doubt you’ve heard the research that teens need 9 or more hours of sleep each night, but chances are, catching z’s is taking a back seat to everything else going on in your life.

Maybe your plan is to sleepwalk through your school week and catch up on those missed hours of sleep by sacking out ’till noon on Saturday and Sunday. But a new study says that this habit actually does more harm than good.

According to researcher Stephanie Crowley, having different sleep patterns on the weekends wreaks havoc on your body’s internal clock.

“Essentially, teenagers may be giving themselves jetlag over the weekend even without getting on a plane.”

In case you need some convincing as to why sleep is so important, check out these facts courtesy of Teens Health:

• 20% of high school students fall asleep in class
• research has shown that less sleep = poorer grades
• lack of sleep affects athletic performance
• being tired is a big factor in car crashes by teen drivers
• sleep deprivation can result in feeling unusually sad or depressed

* * * * *

On a personal note, I LOVE to sleep. I’m definitely one of those people who considers a mid-afternoon nap to be more a necessity than a luxury, since I often reach a point where my brain just freezes and my eyes glaze over if I don’t get a little shut-eye.

Apparently, I’m not the only one. A new book just came out called that talks about how short naps can not only make you feel better, but can make you more productive, too!

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re all having a great August! I wanted to share the news that I’m the new celebrity blogger on social networking site AllyKattz. For the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging and answering questions from girls about everything from personal stuff about me, how to deal with sticky social situations to what it takes to do different careers.

If you’re not already plugged in, AllyKattz is a social networking site for girls ages 9 – 15. It’s a cool, fun and diverse community where you can go to:

• Tackle real issues and find new ways to solve problems
• Get out of the house and involved with other girls in positive grass roots movements
• Express and share your opinions, ideas, concerns, hopes and dreams
• Discover your strengths as by learning about yourself and your world
• Be creative and ignite ideas

If you’re not already there, go to www.allykatzz.com to sign up!

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re all having a great August! I wanted to share the news that I’m the new celebrity blogger on social networking site AllyKattz. For the next few weeks, I’ll be blogging and answering questions from girls about everything from personal stuff about me, how to deal with sticky social situations to what it takes to do different careers.

If you’re not already plugged in, AllyKattz is a social networking site for girls ages 9 – 15. It’s a cool, fun and diverse community where you can go to:

• Tackle real issues and find new ways to solve problems
• Get out of the house and involved with other girls in positive grass roots movements
• Express and share your opinions, ideas, concerns, hopes and dreams
• Discover your strengths as by learning about yourself and your world
• Be creative and ignite ideas

If you’re not already there, go to www.allykatzz.com to sign up!