Throughout the recession, I’ve always believed that even frugalistas couldn’t ever cut out a haircut from their list of beauty services. So when I heard about an upscale New York salon with free haircuts I just had to share it with you.

Cristiano Cora has a salon in Manhattan’s West Village and on Tuesdays from 10am to 1pm he is offering free haircuts to the unemployed, as long as they can prove this. Normally, haircuts with Cora, himself, cost a whopping $300. But if you’re unemployed, they are free. I guess it pays to be unemployed in this instance.

Cora told ABC7 News in New York: “My goal is to make you look good, so you can walk away feeling good and go for an interview and have energy and feeling will help you get a job.” What a great idea and way to give back to the community. It’s a great way to help people who may not be feeling so good about themselves in a difficult time. With a new look, they may be able to go out and become a brand new person.

It’s charitable gestures from people like Cora that really restore my faith in other people. What a great hair stylist!

Visit the salon’s website and schedule your appointment by emailing CristianoCoraUnemploymentCuts@gmail.com.

-Amanda Fornecker

Welcome to the seventh edition of the Beauty Smarts Blog Carnival! In preparation for back to school (yes, I said back to school) let’s take a look at some beauty routines you can perfect throughout the month of August so that you are always looking your best no matter what. These fabulous bloggers have broken down everything from home remedies to tips and tricks in order to help readers figure out what works best for them. So break out those eye pencils and beauty books — but make sure not to give yourself a dirty look!

Who knew olive oil could be so versatile? Aparna says, “Besides lemon, milk, sugar, aloe, turmeric, sandalwood and honey, olive oil is another household item that has multifarious uses as a beauty aid.” See what they are in 11 things you can do with olive oil posted at Beauty and Personality Grooming.

“Nature is the newest trend in skin and hair care,” says GreatManagement. “For years, we’ve been putting toxic chemicals into our bodies that build up and make us feel tired and sick, regardless of whether we eat them or if they seep though our pores. And people are finally catching on that natural is better.” Check out more in Natural homemade beauty recipes posted at Free Organic News.

Amir Marzouq presents some eco-friendly tools for your makeup bag. Check out Voice your Vote: Natural Beauty Products | Guffly posted at Guffly for the latest.

Don’t want to spend a fortune on facials or masks? No problem! VANYA presents 4 Easy Homemade Facial Recipes | VANYA posted at Facial masks for facial skin |VANYA: “Here are four simple, yet effective and great homemade facial mask recipes you can use in the comfort of your own home.” Banana and avocado anyone?

Do you have sensitive skin? How can you tell if this is something aggravating you daily? Spa Boutique presents Sensitive Skin: What Are Your Options? posted at Spa Girl Beauty Tips and gives us an inside look at what signs to expect for sensitivity to different beauty products.

Lately, I feel like my skin has been breaking out all over the place! But what is actually going on? Maybe I can find out what my actual problem is in eternal voyageur’s Is it a breakout or is your skin purging impurities ? | eternalvoyageur’s Xanga Site – Weblog posted at Venusian*Glow.

Do you wear makeup every single day or can you go out in public without it? What is it that makes some people feel they can’t live without makeup. Check out To Makeup or Not To Makeup, posted at our very own A Minute With SpaBeautySchools.

You can always trust your mother, right? Many of us follow the routines that have worked for our parents, but maybe we should be following a different kind of beauty regimen, due to product ingredients or just different skin types. Robin Adler presents A Misguided Trust posted at Organic beauty for hair, skin, nails.

Women aren’t the only ones who take beauty and grooming seriously. Gin G. presents Beholding Beauty posted at Sense Scribe, giving us a lesson in beauty and grooming for men.

What are you afraid of when it comes to beauty products? Find out about The Most Feared Beauty Tool and see what some Twitterers think of it. A of Makeup Lovers Anonymous breaks it all down for you.

If you’re an aspiring hair stylist, you’ll certainly want to learn from the pros. Take notes from an expert hairdresser at Lauren Conrad’s Hair Colorist Kaz Amor Shares LC’s Color Tips presented by HairBoutique.

It’s easy to forget that your teeth are actually part of the world of beauty. Wayne Hairston presents Best Teeth Whiteners – What You Should Look For in Tooth Whiteners posted at The Best Teeth Whitening System because we all should be able to flash our smile proudly!

And that’ll do it for our seventh edition of the Beauty Smarts Blog Carnival!! Thank you so much for your continued participation and remember to prepare and look your best for the back to school season (or even your Labor Day bashes!) — it’s creeping up faster than you think.

-Amanda Fornecker

• Are you a blogger? We invite you to contribute to the next Beauty Smarts carnival: Submit here.
• Readers: Let us know your favorite post here, and what you’d like to read more about in the future. Comment below!

Being a hairdresser can often be a tough job, especially to those who aren’t quite sure of the proper techniques. That’s why hairdressers have gone to school and have learned just the right methods to make their clients happy with their appearance. Here, John Doucette, Director of Student Salons at Empire Beauty Schools, gives us insight on how to properly blow out your hair. You’ll be a pro in no time! And if you’re interested in actually working as a hairdresser, then be sure to research cosmetology schools for the right program!

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Of all the complicated beauty techniques out there that people would love to know about, one of the things that I get asked about most often is how to get a top-notch blowout on your own hair.  It’s actually not that hard to do if you just keep a few professional tips in mind. In fact, there are many simple things that can be done at home to get a salon-quality blow-out.

Start by gently blotting, not rubbing, the hair with a towel and then combing with a wide tooth comb. Removing as much water as possible makes it easier and quicker to dry, and it is much healthier for the hair. For frizzy or wavier hair, use an anti-humectant product to repel moisture.   Frizz is caused when too much moisture from the air gets soaked up by the hair. When hair is well hydrated, it doesn’t pull so much problem-causing moisture from the air.

Always subdivide the hair into sections. The smaller the sections, the easier each piece will be to straighten. I recommend using a large, round natural bristle brush such as boar bristle, to blow the hair out. A natural bristle will help the cuticle to lay smoother, which will mean a sleeker final result.

And here is the tip that will really help get a professional-looking result: finish each piece using your hair dryer’s cool shot button, unwinding with a twist of the brush, rather than pulling it out straight. The result will be smooth shiny hair with some volume and a bit of a wave.

John Doucette has over three decades of cosmetology experience. Doucette was co-owner of an eleven franchise business and also gained invaluable expertise and knowledge as a longtime leading colorist. He now works with the student salons at Empire Beauty Schools and shares his experience and knowledge with the future hairdressers of America.

“I think that the most important thing a woman can have – next to talent, of course – is her hairdresser.” -Joan Crawford

I want to write about the power of a hairdresser. I saw mine last week and I absolutely adore her. A few days before, however, I had gone to a different girl at the mall to get my hair blown out for a Christmas party and realized how much I actually do appreciate my excellent hairdresser. A hairdresser is important for a few different reasons. See a few of them below.

1. Styling Expert
I made a very big change this year. I had had long hair for as long as I could remember. I had also visited my original hairdresser since I was in the seventh grade. But it was time for a change in style and unfortunately with people. So I took my best friend’s advice and went to her hairdresser (my now favorite girl ever!) and I also chopped off my hair. It was a lot to take in one visit. Perhaps I should have tried this hairdresser out before I put my hair on the chopping block, but I guess I thought it would be easier to have all change hit me in one day. I was definitely not disappointed. My new hairdresser listened to me and gave me one of the best haircuts of my life! She continues to do so every six weeks or so.

2. Self-Esteem Booster
Hairdressers can really influence your confidence and how you view yourself. If you are a hairdresser who listens, observes, communicates, and executes a plan of action successfully, you are more likely to build a stable group of clients for your business. When I leave my hairdresser at the hair salon, I always feel like a million bucks. I like to put on my sunglasses, turn up the music, and drive away confidently – I always know that I look good.

3. An Outlet
I love talking to my hairdresser. I feel that I connect with her better because we are closer in age than I was with my last hairdresser. So I feel I have more in common with her. A lot of people love to tell their hairdressers all kinds of things so it’s always good for a hairdresser to be social and friendly. If you’re a people person (and love to do hair of course), a hairdresser career might be perfect for you.

My hairdresser is so important to me. When I went last Monday to get my hair blown out I really realized how lucky (or spoiled) I am. The woman that blew out my hair took a very long time to do it (and I have short hair now), seemed unsure of what brushes to use, and couldn’t make good conversation. It was slightly awkward, but it made me appreciate my hairdresser all the more. Keep up the good work, Deirdre!!

-Amanda Fornecker