Beauty

Grey skies smilin’ at me

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It has been a few days since my last tale, I know. Every time I sat down to write the words wouldn’t come…not because of lack of material. Oh, I have many tales to tell of product knowledge, product review and your all time favorite Tales of Truth to tell, yet still once I sat down, opened up my laptop…nothing. All that would come to mind were all the negative remarks or behavior that had surrounded me all day and I was so done with it all. The days have been grey and spring has not yet sprung and quite honestly, from the moment the open sign turns on to the minute I lock the door at the end of the day, I am constantly reminded of this. Not only by the birds eye view from our front window, but from customers at the register to the DJ on the radio, so in turn I was becoming negative and began to act like a girl (yeah I said it!) and started to read WAY too much into everything and was making myself miserable…it wasn’t until today that I realized…well more like admitted it to myself.

While at the shop today an elderly couple who are regular customers of the shop came in. The husband has a cane and many problems with his feet, so they come in and buy the Gehwol Herbal bath. They are a sweet couple and always have a tale of their own to tell. As they were leaving today, they thanked me for all my help and making sure I always had two boxes in stock for them. They told me I help them feel better. It was then that I kicked my own ass and told myself to get over all the negative and get on with it already. I have my health, a man who loves me, a loving family who gives me a soft place to fall, a beautiful daughter who I cannot wait to see who she becomes,( she is quite awesome if I do say so myself), I have a job that I love, and friends that I can call in the wee hours of the morning. So really, a little grey sky and negative comments ain’t so bad.

Ladies and gents, it is time to change the record. The skies may be dull and dreary but we do not have to be. Paint your nails with China Glaze “Shocking Pink” to make you smile while you type and paint your toes with China Glaze “Flip Flop Fantasy” to add a spring to your step. Get some Joico Kpak Revitaluxe and restore the softness and shine to your dry winter tresses. Get yourself some OPI Avojuice CoCoMelon lotion to bring the beach back to your senses. Spray some KMS HairPlay SeaSalt Spray into your hair to give yourself that “just left the beach” look. If spring won’t come to us, then let us go to spring.

Beauty, Business, communication, Hair Care, health and wellness, Uncategorized, Women, writing

Blow out

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Today’s tale is an educational tale. I believe knowledge is power so today I am spreadin’ the word about Professional Hair Dryers. Before you ask, yes, there is a difference between what you find under the “blue light special” and what you can purchase from a Salon. Professional Salon Hair Dryers, or Blow Dryers if you prefer have a stronger motor and blow the air faster and hotter.

The following is a break down of the differences between AC/DC…motors people…not the band.

AC Motor Hair Dryers

– larger/heavier motor

– slower rpm’s – 1500/2000

– a little more durable- motor can last between 700-1200 hours – depending on quantity of use.

– less noisy

– extra powerful airflow = faster drying

– tend to be more expensive

DC Motor Hair Dryers

– smaller/lighter motor

– faster rpm’s – 5000/6000

– usually lasts between 400-700 hours (depending on usage)

– are a little noisier than the AC motor but still quieter than your department store brands

– air flow is not as powerful as AC motor but still does a great job in drying the hair quickly

– less expensive

*by less noisy than department store brands, I mean that you won’t get that high pitch hum/squeal sound emanating from behind the bathroom door frightening the cat.

Oh yes…by the way…WATTAGE has nothing to do with the volume of airflow nor does it reflect the heat output.  Wattage = Power Consumption, plain and simple. The greater the wattage, the greater the power consumption and the greater the speed the fan rotates. So, just because the box may state 2000 Watts of Power! doesn’t necessarily mean it is a better Hair Dryer than the 1700 Watt beauty right beside it.

When purchasing a Professional Hair Dryer, you want to look for the following;

– Does it come with a directional nozzle (for styling)

– If you have curls you want to be sure it comes with a diffuser. * Diffusers  are not a universal fit. Your old diffuser may not fit onto your new dryer.

– What is the warranty? Do you need to keep the receipt and the box?

– How many air flow/heat settings are available?

– Price. A higher price does not always mean a better product….sometimes the price is higher because of the name, yeah…I said it.

So there you go. A little more knowledge for you and the next time you go to purchase a Hair Dryer you will know if the sales person is helping you find the right dryer for you or just blowing hot air.

Beauty, communication, health and wellness, Uncategorized, Women, writing

What’s your sign?

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Today marks my 1 year anniversary in the blogging world. 1 year. Wow. Last year at this time I sat at our home computer with a quivering hand hovering over the “publish” icon…so afraid that I would fail, that no one would read my silly opinions or think I was funny. What I really was afraid of was succeeding. Yep. Afraid to succeed and not for the reasons you think. I wasn’t fearful of people now expecting better of me, I was scared shitless that success would make me look back on my past 20 years and realize I should have been doing this all along and my world would come crumbling down. Then I realized that the only reason I was able to do this was because of my past 20 years. – I say 20 years because quite honestly before the age of 21, we don’t know a damn thing. One of my favorite quotes (now) is by Mark Twain – “When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much he had learned in 7 years.”.

Back to the tale at hand. In past blogs I have written about kindness, about taking the time to listen, to take the time to see, really see the person in front of you. We all have struggles and stresses in this life – Christ – this past year I feel like I have lived 5 years in the span of 12 months. There were days I wanted to wear a sign around my neck to let the world know what I was going through that day and then maybe I wouldn’t get a flat iron thrown at me. (It happened more than once – I have witnesses). One day the sign would have read “Father in hospital”. Another day it would have read “Husband’s heart medication is working against him”. Another day it would have read “My daughter has to deal with a sick parent way before she should have to.”.

The one thing the past year has taught me is this…DO NOT WAIT. In the blink of an eye your life can and will change – it may feel like for the worse but the best comes out soon enough. Take your kids to the park – even when you are tired and bored. Take the time for your spouse – for cuddles on the couch or romps in the boudoir. Leave the crumbs on the kitchen floor for a couple of hours and watch the movie with your kids. When your hubby comes up from behind and hugs you while you are doing the dishes, let the dishes soak and hug him back and be sure not to be the one who stops hugging first. Start your blog – tell your story.

I have also learned we all have our own signs, some are harder to see, but are always able to be read if we take the time and pay attention and show a little kindness.

Beauty, communication, Hair Care, health and wellness, Uncategorized, Women, writing

Reflection

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“Looking through the crowd, I search for somethin’ else, every time I turn around I run into myself”. – Dixie Chicks

One of the hardest jobs is being a parent. We worry if we are raising our kids right, if they are in the right school, if they have nice friends, if they are eating all the four food groups. I don’t know about you all but what I find the most difficult about being a parent is letting my daughter figure out who she is, and constantly reminding myself that she is not me and may not have the same issues that I had at her age. (just because I was smoking and skipping class doesn’t mean she will…actually she has a perfect attendance record…and yes, she is mine. I have the records to prove it).

At least once a week I meet a mother/daughter duo and you can tell the mother is trying to correct the mistakes of her youth through her daughter. One young lady came in asking about going blonde and before I could offer her an appointment with one of our stylists “I bleached my hair in my teens and ruined it so there is no way in hell I am letting my daughter do it.” is what I heard from the mother. It was at this moment that that the daughter looked down at her ripped up vintage chucks with no hope of ever raising her chin. So, me being me, I asked the mom if she had gone blonde at a salon, to which she said “well…no.”. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the daughter begin to raise her chin. I let the mom know that my “blonde” was done in our Salon and she did say “your hair doesn’t look damaged”…now the chin was completely raised and there was the beginning of a smile. I went on to offer our Salon price list and the card of our stylist and let them know they could make an appointment for a free consultation. I looked at the daughter who was now smiling and let her know that if she went blonde there would be up keep and she would need to take care of her hair with professional products like SOMA Blonde Silver Shampoo once a week and Joico’s Kpak Revitaluxe once a week as well.

We were teens once, we know what they can get up to, hell, we got up to it. As parents, all we can do is educate and enlighten, and then hope for the best. What we must not do is assume that our kids are going to do what we did. We must not assume because we smoke and drank at 15 that they will. We must not tell our daughter’s that cutting off their hair was a “huge mistake” because we thought it was when we were 14. We must not tell our son’s that a mohawk makes them “look like a thug” because that is what your parents thought.

Your children are a reflection of you, they are not you, they are their own person, and maybe, just maybe, they will make better choices in their teens then we did in ours.