Beauty, Hair Care, health and wellness, That girl in the red coat, Women

You should hear sizzle at the stove….not at the vanity

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STOP!!!!! Back away from the oil and the flat iron. Put them down. Think about what you are about to do. Does it make sense to add oil to dry hair then proceed to place a 400 degree flat iron on top of it? Picture a frying pan, picture it heating up to 400 degrees, picture oil being placed in the pan – what happens? What sound would you hear? EXACTLY – it would sizzle. Someone, somewhere started an ugly rumor that you can use oil and flat irons together. If you are trying to get your hair to the texture of wet cotton, you are well on your way.

All professional product lines have a product meant to be used with a flat iron. Thermal Protection Spray. They come in an aerosol format or your old school enviro friendly pump bottle. Whenever you use a flat iron it is highly recommended to use a Thermal Spray. It creates a barrier between the heat of the flat iron and your hair. It also helps to prevent breakage and damage that can be caused by flat irons (or curling irons for that matter). Here are a few gems;

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SOMA – Prism Shine Spray – adds shine and thermal protection *Almost all SOMA products aide in thermal protection

 

Joico Iron Clad

JOICO – Ironclad – a humidity resistant fast drying , non sticky formula that offers protection up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit (Aerosol)

 

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JOICO – SmoothCure Thermal Styling Protectant – a humidity resistant formula that offers up to 3 days of frizz free performance. Formulated for curly, coarse hair. *also protects that hair against the heat of a blow dryer.

 

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GOLDWELL – Sleek Perfection – a humidity resistant formula that offers frizz free, sleek results for up to 24 hours.

 

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BAIN de TERRE – Magnolia Thermal Iron Protector – Humidity resistant and adds shine – (Aerosol)

Some other FAB! flat Iron sprays;

KMS – Free Shape Hot Flex Spray (formally Flat Out)  – Humidity resistant

 

PAUL MITCHELL – Hot off the press – helps to strengthen the hair and reduce frizz – (Aerosol)

AG – Firewall – the newest addition to the AG family – (Aerosol)

Your hair is not made of  Teflon, protect it, nurture it, it’ll make you feel beautiful, I promise you.

Beauty

Pump up the Volume

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I know, now you have that song stuck in your head. ( MARRS was awesome in the 80’s) Let that be our anthem. Let us bring back life to the lifeless strands upon our heads. There are many products that will offer volume and will have you walking down the street like you are on the catwalk’s in Paris, you may even find yourself speaking with a hint of an accent, you will be that fabulous.

Now, all volumizing products are not the same nor do they have the same applications. A good volumizing shampoo and conditioner offer a great starting point, a base if you will. All the professional product lines offer such products. Here are a few that are well loved by the masses;

– REDKEN Body Full – formulated specifically for fine hair, baby fine hair.

– JOICO Body Luxe – Women have come back to hug me after trying it

– Sebastian Volupt – smells wonderful

– KMS Add Volume – the bottles are pretty enough for the ladies – cool enough for the men

The key to a great mass of hair on your head is styling product (extensions don’t hurt but that is another tale for another time). Root Boost. This product is meant to be sprayed directly at the root then rubbed in. It will offer volume at the root of your hair. Looking for all over fullness? Mousse is the answer. Mousse is applied all over the hair and scalp. Both these products are meant to be used on towel dried hair, put ’em on dry hair and you have transported yourself back to 1987. Here is another little list for you all;

– ROOT BOOSTS –

KMS  – Add Volume Root and Body Lift

BIG & SEXY – Root Pump and Root Pump Plus

REDKEN – Body Full Weightlifter

– MOUSSE –

JOICO – JoiWhip – awesome volume – Alcohol free

REDKEN – Body Full Instant Bodifier – a liquid mousse, not foamy

ALTERNA BAMBOO – Abundant Volume Weightless Whipped Mousse – Paraben free, Organic, Vegan.

OSIS – Grip – Cool can for the gents

There are so many exciting ways to have a great hair day everyday! Today was a sampling of what is to come. Ladies and gents, go forth and find your product and strut your stuff.

Beauty

You are not crazy…it’s just not the same

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* That girl in the red coat note * as of spring 2013 Sebastian has heard our cries and have returned Shaper and Shaper Plus back to their original formulation.

 

I sit here, in mourning of a lost product. Our beloved Sebastian Shaper Plus is no longer with us. Sure, it sits on the shelf, in a slim new can that fits comfortably in your hand but it is not the same. You see, the product is different because of the VOC legislation (VOC =volatile organic compound). I guess saving the planet is worth it.

Since the loss of my beloved, I have been on a journey to find it’s replacement. To save you all some heartache, frustration and the embarrassing hissy fit that may ensue on the salon floor I have compiled a list of products that my customers and I have found to be a suitable replacement. All of these products are humidity resistant and have a firm yet workable hold just as Shaper (sniff) Plus had.

Sebastian ReShaper – one of the newest addition’s to the Sebastian family

Goldwell Big Finish Hairspray

RUSK Worx Atomizer * non flaking!

KMS Hair Stay Maximum Hold Hairspray * adds shine!

ISO Daily Finish Hairspray

Joico Joimist Firm

AG Ultradynamics * No build up/non flaking/cruelty free ( nice to bunnies)

Oh Shaper Plus: you were there at my first dance, my first break up, my first solo spider kill, my first bad perm, my first good perm. Yes, I wear black at the salon everyday, today was in honour of Shaper Plus.

Beauty

Oil and hair..they just don’t mix….

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At least once a week a mother and her teenage daughter come into the store. As the mother begins to tell me about the oily hair her daughter has and how horrible it looks, out of the corner of my eye I see the young girl slowly shuffling towards us. In every scenario, with every mother, the young girl is staring at her feet. Then shifts her eyes upwards as if to pray to the almighty to quiet her mother and transport her to anywhere but the place she is standing. Daily life for these young ladies has enough struggles, oily hair does not need to be one. I can help with the oily hair. With the mother…gotta leave that to Dr. Phil.

In my experience, many young girls between the ages of 10 – 14 have at one time or another suffered from oily hair or an oily scalp. ( Poor kids…couldn’t wait to be a teenager). There are many professional salon quality shampoo’s that can stop the oil in its tracks. Here are a few that have given hope and yes, even a smile to a teenage girl.

For extremely oily hair –

– Senscience Specialty Shampoo

– RUSK Sensories Purify Shampoo

– AG Peppermint Wash

For normal to  oily hair –

– Joico Daily Care Treatment Shampoo

– Matrix Biolage Cooling Mint Shampoo

– ISO Daily Cleanse Shampoo

One thing I can promise you is that although it seems oil companies have a hard time cleaning up excess oil, these products do not.

Beauty

So many shampoo’s…so little time….

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Shampoo. The makings of a great day or a terrible day. I have heard that starting your day off with a great breakfast makes for a great day. That slogan must have come from a bald man.

We have all been there. Thinking we were being ripped off at the Salon so we went to the drugstore for our shampoo. Two days later and $7.00 out of pocket, we return to the Salon wearing a hat to buy our shampoo. Professional products make a difference, not only with our hair but with the world! Bear with me….AG Hair products, Moroccanoil and countless other  products are not tested on animals, Soma hair care products are 100% vegan, Alterna Bamboo hair care is sulfate, paraben and gluten free. Paul Mitchell plants trees and doesn’t harm bunnies. These products are more concentrated than the drugstore brands so you do not need to use as much. Being low in sulfate or sulfate free means you won’t get a lot of suds – you don’t need to add more shampoo – just add more water.

Here are a few knock outs for you. The following products are products that customers have raved about…

For volume – Redken Body Full , Joico Body Luxe  (formulated for fine hair)

For dry stressed hair – Goldwell Rich Repair

For shine – Alterna Bamboo Luminous Shine

For blondes – SOMA Blonde/silver shampoo ( one of the only purple shampoos that adds moisture and strength while removing brassy tones)

For ethnic hair – MIXED CHICKS ( the name speaks for itself)

All of these shampoo’s are color safe which means you will retain your $200.00 color that much longer.  We protect our designer clothes, we read the labels and wash them accordingly. We wax and buff our cars to keep the paint looking shiny. We take our pets to the groomer’s for heavens sake, it is time to remember you. It is time to like your reflection once more.

 

Beauty

Hasta la vista bad hair

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My mission. To make bad hair a thing of the past. “How will she do it?” you ask. Educating the masses. Plain and simple. I am willing to bet that in the last week many of you have been in front of the mirror, staring in wonderment and disbelief at what you see looking back at you. “The product promised volume.”. “My stylist swears by this line.”. “My friend said it was great for her hair.”. All these statements are true, the thing to remember is……Everyone’s hair is different.

I received some great advice last night. I have decided to let you all dip your bucket into my well of knowledge about hair products. Professional hair products. I may not know much about physics – as you can see I can spell it. All I may remember about high school math is how I liked the smell of the tests fresh from the photo copier (come on…we all did). What I do know is product. How to use it, how to sell it, and how to make sure you will have good hair.

In my brainodex (rolodex in my brain) I have over 50 professional hair care lines waiting for their stories to be told. Got a question? I may have the answer.

Since the weather is getting warmer and humidity is in the air, lets begin with curls. (no worries, all hair types will be covered). The biggest misconception is that if your hair is curly it must be thick. Nope. Not always. If you are blessed with fine and curly hair, I suggest AG Recoil. AWESOME!!! It is a creme based product, can be used with or without a diffuser. If you air dry your hair, it may feel crunchy until you run your fingers or a pick through it and Viola! Bouncy, soft frizz free curls. If you prefer the diffuser, same results! AG Recoil has a humidity resistant formulation so it seals the hair cuticle = no frizz. It smells like the beach, the good beach, like Miami Beach or Hawaii. Not the campground beach.