My Background, and Driving Force.......

   I have mentioned before that often I have to remind myself that many of the things I know are not always common knowledge to those who aren't licensed Cosmetologists. This is absolutely due to the fact that I hardly remember a time when this information wasn't relevant to my life. Because you see, I was born a hairdresser! (Not really but it sounds good. ;)  )


In the beginning......

   My interest in becoming a hairstylist stems from a visit the Columbiana County JVS  Cosmetology Students paid my kindergarten glass. They all looked so pretty! They came in and braided some of the girls hair, all smiles! At that point I hadn't realized there were people who were designated as the ones who cut hair! Up until then, my only hairstylist was my mother, and she wasn't very skilled. (Quite the opposite! SORRY MOM!) The Cosmetology students came back every year of my time in elementary school, and every year my interest grew! I knew what I would be when I grew up, and I knew how I was going to achieve this goal. I was going to get licensed right out of high school by going to the JVS!

   By the fourth grade I decided I did not want any more of my mother's haircuts. I cut my hair short, MYSELF. I was 10 years old. I'm sure it looked horrid, but to me it was far superior to my mother's cuts. My mom didn't seem upset so I must not have done too bad of a job. (Please never try that at home!) Around this time I also realized the power that hair had! You could change who you are if you changed your hair. And hair product was there to help!

In the middle.....
 
  At age 12 I started messing around with that ever-awful, Sun-in. I have very dark hair naturally (nearly black.) Using  Sun-in just made me orange, but I was happy. I was doing what I longed to do, and that was anything that involved changing my hair! Soon after that my mother became more comfortable with me using permanent color on my hair, and I have been changing my hair color ever since.

   To make a long story short, I started to practice my cutting skills on my kid sister, 9 years younger than myself so luckily she is too young to remember the horrors of some of my very first haircuts. I continued cutting my hair myself, on occasion having to go to a salon to fix the mess I had made when I got myself in too deep. Then the time had finally come! I was 16, and finally a junior in high school. This is when I became a student of Cosmetology! 

   Since 2003 I have been immersed in  all things hair. I passed my State Board of Cosmetology Exam on my first try in 2005. I was 18 years old....... I have been a Licensed Cosmetologist my entire adult life. I'm now 26 years old. People often look at me and think that I must not have much experience for how young I look. 10 years experience is quite an accomplishment in my opinion. :) It's all I've ever known, and it's what I am driven to do every day!

                                                    To be continued.....

These are a Few of My Favorite Things.........

     Hello Friends! I hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend! So, I've been meaning to compile a list of some of my favorite hair products and tools. Today is as good a day as any! Here we go.....!

I am LOVING the Vivids color line by Pravana. These colors are super vibrant and seem to stay in better than any other line of "fashion" colors I have used in the past. (They also have a line of pastels that I have yet to try, but I look forward to using.)

 Big Sexy Hair's Root Pump Plus is my all-time favorite root lifting foam. Use on towel dried hair by spraying on root in the areas you would like more volume, blowdry. It really grits up your root to give your style better hold and more body.








 Another winner from Sexy Hair is Big Sexy Hair's Spray and Play Harder. This firm hold spray has a great hold! (I use it on all my updos, and daily at home!) It's fairly light weight, meaning it won't make your hair flat or weigh it down. It's not labeled as a "Freezing Spray" but I would say it is up there in hold with them. It's scent is not floral or too acidic smelling.

Thicken Up Styling Liquid by Paul Mitchell is my go-to thickening agent. Super light weight, great smell, and NOT STICKY, this product is amazing. Use on damp hair, applying with you hands near the root, working down towards the ends. Blowdry and enjoy!

Yet another from Sexy Hair. Big Sexy Hair Powder Play will give you the most volume and texture you could ever need! This stuff is good! If you have a big night out or really need your style to have volume and hold, sprinkle this powder on dry hair, (carefully, it comes out fast) on your root in the areas you need a boost. Tease for extra volume! It grits your hair like no other and really helps to hold the tease! A word of advice... Don't use everyday as it may dry your hair out. You may also have to shampoo the next day as this stuff is STRONG. 




As you can tell I am a big fan of the Sexy Hair line. I also love Paul Mitchell. I currently use mostly Paul Mitchell color, aside from my new found love for Vivids. Most of my tools are by Paul Mitchell. I love my Express Ion Dry v.1 Dryer. It has a nice weight to it. Not too heavy but not so light that it feels like a toy.

     Being as I'm a hairstylist, my lust for knowledge and cutting edge tools and products tends to make me fall in love with something one month, then like something completely different the next! Don't be surprised if I write about some new "Favorite Things" in a couple months. But other than the Vivids, I have been using everything on this page fairly religiously for years. I don't see my love for these products changing anytime in the near future, but you never know! 

             "I try to keep an open mind, but not so open that my brains fall out."

Client-Stylist Relationships: That Stuff's Important!

   Let's keep the message short and sweet. It is so so SO important to develop a good relationship with your hairstylist. And by this I don't necessarily mean you have the become best friends and spend time together outside of the salon. I DO mean that you must get to know one another. Probably a little more than you know the cashier at the grocery store you frequent. Here are a few pointers....

1) Communication: You must be able to talk comfortably with your stylist. This doesn't mean you have to tell her every juicy (or not so juicy) detail of you love life. This just means you need to feel comfortable enough to tell her what you like and what you dislike about your hair. If the two of you can't communicate honestly as a pair, you will never get what you want. So it wouldn't make a difference if you went to someone different every time you got a service done. (I don't recommend seeing someone different every time. How will they ever really get to know your hair if you only see them once?) This leads us to.....

2) Repetition: When you see the same hairstylist consistently, it helps them not only develop a better relationship with you, but also with your hair. The way your hair lays. The way your reacts to color. They can help you work out any problems you may be having with your cut, or with your styling procedure at home. They'll get to know your lifestyle, how much time you are willing to spend on your hair, and what trending styles would be appropriate for you career. 

3) Confidence: Confidence in yourself AND your stylist is highly important. You need to feel confidant enough to really say what you want. (This doesn't mean you have to be rude.) You must also have enough confidence in your stylist to believe her when she tells you something won't work out for your hair. She is the professional! She has the current state and future health of you hair in mind. 

   To sum it up, Try you best to communicate with confidence what your wants and needs are EVERY time you visit you hairstylist. You're hair and your stylist will thank you!

What's the deal with Box Color anyway?

   Box Color, or Boxed Hair Color, is hair color that anyone can purchase. It is NON professional color that can be bought from numerous places. Some of these places being the drugstore, supermarket, dollar store, and gas station. I've even seen them being sold at flea markets! YIKES!

  We've all used it. Even I'm guilty of using it before my days of being a licensed Cosmetologist. And no, I do not get mad when my clients decide to give it a try on their own. (Usually it doesn't work out so well for them though.) Some people use it on their roots between appointments. I understand money is tight for most people right now. But don't try to fool your stylist. SHE KNOWS when you have strayed. ;) 


 A few words of advice on using box color. 


1) Many box colors are not compatible with professional hair color and can give us unpredictable results when lifting. (I once saw someone's hair turn GREEN and get really hot! Not my client thankfully!) This is due to the fact that some of these box colors are made with Metallic or Vegetable dyes. (NOT what professional color is made of.) This can have an adverse reaction when used with other types of hair color. Always be honest with your stylist if you have recently or with-in that past year (depending on the length of your hair) used box color. 

2) Box color is "One Size Fits All" color. By this I mean it is formulated one way, so the color on the front of the box isn't necessarily what you are going to get. This is especially true if you have very dark, or grey hair. When you get your color done by a professional, you are getting CUSTOM COLOR that is formulated just for you. You stylist will take into consideration many things including but not limited to; natural level, amount of grey, desired level/tone, hair porosity, previous chemical services, etc. Your box is not going to do this for you.

3) This is the number one rule of hair coloring, Color Will Not Lift Color! Meaning, if you colored your hair chocolate brown 4 months ago and decide to pick up a box of blonde color today, you will get blonde (more likely orange/yellow) roots and the mid-shaft to ends where the chocolate was will most likely be a deep red-ish color. COLOR WON'T LIFT COLOR. Please don't try it! 

4) For this reason if you MUST use box color, do try to stay within 2 levels of your natural color. This will make the least trouble for yourself and your stylist, not to mention it will look the most natural with your skin tone.

                         ~Your best bet will always ALWAYS ALWAYS be to visit your   
                                                 Hairstylist for color services.~

Don't Believe Everything you See; Suave Commercial Debunked.

    This has really been bugging me lately, and kind of always has. It really 'grinds my gears' when non-professional products try to market themselves as being PROFESSIONAL or SALON grade. They are not. Have you ever walked into a salon that was using Suave of Tresemme? No, you haven't. And if you happen to, leave. These "stylists" obviously don't take themselves seriously. I'm not knocking these products, as I don't use them and cannot give you a proper review on them. Anyway, here's the commercial if you have yet to see it.      






   After seeing this commercial 6.75 billion times I got to thinking. What "Top Stylist" would ever put their professional career on the line by backing a Suave product? No matter how great that product is, to me, would not be worth losing my status as "Top Stylist" and having to be criticized by other real professionals for using drugstore grade products. I then decided I HAD to know more about this gutsy Wayne Fitzsimmons and what his credentials were as a "Top Stylist". Here's what I found........

Wayne Fitzsimmons male, actor Location : Greater London

http://www.castingcallpro.com/uk/view.php?uid=302992      He's a bleeping actor! He doesn't appear to be a Hairstylist AT ALL!!! They even used his real name!! Insanity I say! Again, I can't tell you whether the product works as it says or not. I can tell you, you will never see me using anything other than Professonial Hair Products in my salon. I take myself more seriously than that.     In conclusion, DON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE UNTIL YOU DO YOUR RESEARCH. Good day!!!

Um.. What?! A.K.A What the Heck is My Stylist Saying?

  ~  Lesson 1 ~

   I've been a hairstylist my entire adult life. I started beauty school when I was 16. I'm telling you this because at times, I tend to forget that what I know about hair and that some of the terms I use, aren't common knowledge to a lot of people. I'm sure there are many other stylist that feel the same way. The best thing you can do as a salon patron is A. Ask your stylist "WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" when they start to throw words at you that you aren't quite sure of the meaning. And B. Educate yourself before you go!!! You may even impress your stylist by being able to speak her "language"! 


  The following is a small list of some basic hairstylist terminology, as I use it. (There is so much to cover that I will do this in a few different lessons, eventually breaking it down into smaller categories. This way, you'll really know your stuff!) 
  
    COMMUNICATION with your stylist is the #1 most important thing when it comes to getting the best service you can at the salon.

 Cuticle- The outer most layer of the hair. This is the part of your hair that is most prone to damage from over-processing, styling with heat, and damage from the elements.

Over-Processing- Usually caused by damage from a chemical treatment. If the hair is over-processed it can be left feeling dry, brittle, or have a cotton candy like texture. Very over-processed hair can feel a bit slimy (like wet noodles) when it is wet. 

Chemical Treatment- This is any process used on the hair that involves the use of a chemical to change the appearance or structure of the hair strand. This covers, Perms, relaxers, keratin smoothing treatments, permanent color, and highlights among others.

Layers- This is a type of haircut or cutting technique where the hair is held at a specific angle when it is cut in order to make the haircut have different lengths of hair in order to achieve a specific look. This helps to give volume and movement. (YOU CANNOT GET A SPECIFIC NUMBER OF LAYERS. There can be differing amounts of layers and lengths of layers in the hair. For example, short, medium, or long layers. If any one says "Sure I'll give you three layers!" Please RUN!) 

Permanent Color- This is a type of hair color that will have to be grown out or colored over to remove. When your hair grows you will see somewhat of a line where your natural color is growing in and where you hair color ends. (This is called a Line of Demarcation. The boldness of which depends on how many levels away from your natural color you decided to go.)

Demi or Semi-Permanent Color- Will not result in a line of demarcation. They will not lift your natural (or other) hair color, and will only deposit(add) color. Usually fades out in 6-8 weeks.

Fringe- Basically just another term for Bangs.

Trim- How much hair that is taken off during a trim really must be established between the stylist and client. A trim may mean an inch to you while your stylist takes a half inch. Generally, to me, a trim just means keeping the same hairstyle, after the amount of hair that is to be cut is decided.

Dusting- This term is used when the stylist just barely takes anything off. This basically is used when one is working on growing out a style but wants to freshen it up just a bit.

Texturize- This term can be used for a number of things. It can be the way the hair is cut (using a razor or point-cutting techniques). It can be used to describe a chemical service, "These highlights will texturize your hair giving you more hold and volume". It can also be used to describe how a product might work to help add texture to your hair (Again, giving you more volume and better hold.) 

Professional Hair Products-  Hair products (Hairspray, Shampoo, Hair Color and so on) that can only be sold or purchased by a Licensed Cosmetologists. These are generally the best products on the market, and although they are a bit more expensive, the benefits out-way the cost substantially. Many salons do retail Professional Products. If yours does not be sure to ask your stylist how you can get what you need. (She may be able to pick some up for you from her Supply House.) Note: I cannot express enough how important hair products are if you are trying to achieve a specific look. Chances are, no matter how great your hair is cut, if you're not using the correct products you won't get the look you're going for. Always ask your stylist what she is using when she is styling you so that you can get the same look at home!

     I do hope that this list has helped start some of you on the path of becoming more knowledgeable of salon vocabulary, in turn helping you to develop better communication and a more meaningful relationship with your Hairstylist.

Adventures in Color: My "Galaxy" Hair.

   

   So I got the color bug up my butt (Is that a weird thing to say?) like I do every so often, and I decided I wanted to go all out and try my hand at this "Galaxy" hair thing. My hair's pretty short right now as I got the cut-all-your-hair off bug a couple of months ago. (In my defense, it WAS really hot out!) Anyway, as always I regret cutting my hair off, but I figured I might as well have some fun with my color while it's short. 

              This is a picture of what I mean by the Galaxy look, in case you don't know. 

 
     Galaxy print is fairly popular right now in fashion, probably because it's just so damn fun to look at! I looked at some pictures of what people were calling Galaxy Hair and I feel that very few should be labeled as such. I then took it upon myself to try out my own version..... on myself. Here's how it went! (Don't try this at home unless you are a professional stylist!)

The first thing I did was prelighten the sections of my hair where I wanted to put my galactic color. Mmmm... Gold sure is a great color on me! Ha! Seriously, JUST KIDDING!

    Next I chose the colors I wanted to use. I picked Yellow, Pink, Blue, Green, and Purple.

      After that I put on all the color and sat under the dryer for a while.......... I won't bore you with photos of this stage. I was falling asleep to be honest. :) 


                          And........... Here's some photos of the finished product!

     

    When I do color like this on myself it's always kind of a work in progress. I'll be tweaking it and changing it up over the next couple of months until I eventually get sick of it and move on to my next look.                              

                          Hope you've enjoyed my photo journey to Galaxy Hair!