The Family Groove Fashion & Beauty

ASK A GROOVY GAL
TFG DEPUTY EDITOR AND BEAUTY DIRECTOR CHELSEA KAPLAN GIVES YOU
THE GOODS ON GETTING GORGEOUS

I make frequent two- or three-day trips for work, and always need to find travel-sized toiletries that will make it through airport security. I’m finding this difficult because I’m kind of a product snob, and I have a hard time finding high-end brands that make travel-sized versions of their products. Do they exist?—Dawn, Chicago, IL
If you’re seeing travel-sized toiletries, you’re no longer limited to the sample-size aisle of your local CVS. Luckily for you, many luxe products are now offered in mini versions. A great place to find small sizes of your favorite products is Sephora, where they’re usually on display right by the checkout area. For hair care products, check out the small bottles or sets of product from Frederic Fekkai, which come in shampoo and conditioner formulas for all types of hair, as well as styling products and even hair masks ($9 to $10 for individual products, $40 for the sets), Sephora stores and www.sephora.com). For skincare, if you’re a mix-and-match girl, check out the travel-sized offerings from companies like Murad, Cosmedicine, Peter Thomas Roth, Clinique, Boscia and Caudalie (prices vary, visit www.sephora.com for specifics). If you’re loyal to one brand, most of the aforementioned products offer travel-sized skincare sets, which combine complementary cleansers, toners, moisturizers and treatment products (prices vary, visit ww.sephora.com for specifics). Now, you have no excuse for sporting bad skin or hair when you’re on the road.

What’s the best way to remove pilling from sweaters? A friend recently told me that shaving them off with a razor (my go-to method) is bad for the garment.—Trina, Santa Clara, CA

Sweater pilling, those pesky little fizz balls you get under your arms, etc., occurs when groups of short or broken fibers on the surface of the fabric become tangled together, forming tiny balls. What usually causes this tangling is rubbing or friction, which is bound to happen when you wear sweaters, regardless of their fabric or quality (though tightly-woven, good-quality sweaters generally do pill less often.

According to the experts at FabricLink, the educational resource for fabric care, while sweater pilling cannot be eliminated, it can be minimized by taking a few steps before cleaning your sweaters. Before laundering or dry cleaning, turn your sweaters inside out, and if washing at home, use a slower agitation and shorter wash cycle and remove the sweater from the dryer as soon as it is dry.

If pilling still occurs, to remove the offensive little buggers, the FabricLink folks recommend pulling the fabric taut over a curved surface and then carefully cutting off the pill with scissors or shaving the fabric surface with a safety razor. There are also battery operated pill removers, which shave the pills much like an electric razor. There are also “sweater stones” that when rubbed against your sweaters are incredibly effective in removing pilling (check out The Laundress’s Sweater Stone, which is available at www.thelaundress.com for $18). Keep in mind that even after you remove sweater pills, it’s likely that they’ll come back. So, you may find that you'll have to remove pills from time to time to keep your sweaters looking fresh and new.

My toddler’s fingernails and toenails are out of control. It’s nearly impossible for me to use nail clippers on him without him freaking out and me feeling like I’m going to injure him. Any tips?—Elisha, Racine, WI

When it comes time to file down the nails of my squirmy two-year-old, the one-two punch of an episode of “The Backyardigans”, which sufficiently distracts/mesmerizes him, and a small and gentle yet incredibly effective nail file (the Tweezerman’s purse-sized FileMate, which is available at www.amazon.com for $5) handles the job. Therefore, I advise taking the same route with your little one. Choose a television program or music that will surely distract him from what you’re doing, then gently hold his hand and begin filing. Be careful not to use a back-and forth motion when filing—going in one direction is not only more effective, but it will also prevent you from filing them down too much or nicking his skin. Make sure you reserve the file you use on your child for his nails only—any residue you may leave on it from polish or remover may potentially irritate his sensitive skin.

Need a good laugh? Click here to read all about Chelea's life with child—and one on the way—in her blog, “I'm Somebody's Mother?”