Do you see what I see?

April 18, 2012 That Girl in the Red Coat Leave a comment

The silent killer of stylist/clientele relationships. Symptoms – puffy eyes, red face, tissue lint stuck on the end of nose, hands clasped together in prayer standing in front of the hair color swatches or the thinning shears. Diagnosis – hair tragedy. Prognosis – with professional help and proper communication the hair and your self image will be survive.

This is more common than you know. We have all been there. We float into the salon with the dream of looking like Kate Middleton and leave looking like Peg Bundy. We buy the lightener to use at home because our “friend” said it was so easy and everyone she used it on went “so blonde” (of course “everyone” was already blonde and you are a brunette) – we start to see ourselves running on the beach like the baywatch girls – blonde tresses blowing in the wind and end up having a hair color that even a lifeguard couldn’t save. Why did this happen? To be honest, more times than not as the Captain in Cool Hand Luke put it so well – what we have here is a failure to communicate.

Believe it or not, most stylists want you to be happy. Most are heartbroken if you are not pleased with their work – they want you to have a good hair day everyday until you see them at your next appointment. Unless you have the ultimate trust and have had your stylist for many years and you know her as well as she knows you – NEVER say, “oh do what you like.”. Guess what – what you see and what she see’s are two different things. You may say “I want to a redhead” and picture Molly Ringwald – she pictures Jessica Rabbit. You may say “I want a pixie cut” – you picture Michelle Williams – she pictures Tinkerbell. Bring in a photo of what you want, google the image on your phone while you are sitting in her chair. Now remember… you can achieve the hair cut you like – you will not leave looking like the person in the photo – sorry to squash the dream – the hair we can help with – the face – that’s the office down the road.

As for the “at home” blunders – when all is said and done – don’t be hatin’ the friend – you decided to let her do it. To fix the horror that is now your hair – DO NOT TOUCH! Go to your stylist, tell her what happened and ask for her help. Don’t call and try to describe the color – half ripened banana color doesn’t mean a thing. We need to see your hair – to see the porosity of the hair, look for any breakage etc… Sometimes the dream of being a blonde bombshell may still be possible. Sometimes not.

If you can order a cheeseburger and ask them to hold the pickles, add just a drop of mustard, add more ketchup and only add 2 3/4 onions to the burger, I am sure you can figure out a way to tell your stylist what is it you want.

beauty, Hair Care

Sulfates, Alcohol and Parabens ….Oh my!

April 16, 2012 That Girl in the Red Coat Leave a comment

Three little words. On their own, not so scary. Put them all together and place them in a bottle and your trembling hand reaches up to your freshly colored tresses. For some, all three together causes sneezes, itchy scalp or sends some people running out to hug the nearest tree. SOMA Hair Care. Use these products and save yourself from running out of tissue, scratching your scalp raw or being the front page photo of your local newspaper with the caption “Crazed woman apologizes to a tree”.

SOMA Hair Care is a Sulfate free, Alcohol free, Paraben free, Formaldehyde free, 100% Biodegradable, Hypo allergenic hair care line. All their products are color safe, and the majority of their styling products offer thermal protection. The product line offers more than 20 products. Here are a few of their hidden gems.

SOMA Solace – A cuticle sealer. AWESOME! Adds shine without hold, stops frizz in it’s tracks.

SOMA Prism – A shine spray. Puts an end to nasty static flyaways, non greasy and humidity resistant

SOMA Gravity – A smoothing product – great for thick/coarse hair. Eliminates frizz and is humidity resistant.

SOMA Blonde Silver Shampoo – A MUST for blondes! One of the only purple shampoo’s on the market that add moisture and strength while eliminating those nasty brassy tones.

SOMA Clarifying Shampoo – Color safe. Gentle to hair yet strong enough to remove chlorine stains from the hair. Smells like childhood memories (the good ones).

SOMA Concrete Gel – STRONG hold without the flakes. Humidity resistant

SOMA Leave in – an awesome leave in conditioner – can be used on all hair types – even the finest of hair. Great detangler – no more screams from the children when they see you with a comb.

Check out their website – somaorganics.com.

This SOMA may not help you achieve hangover free holidays like in George Orwell’s 1984 – but your hair is going to look great no matter how you feel.

beauty, Business

Beauty and brains? Yes…it is possible

April 15, 2012 That Girl in the Red Coat Leave a comment

So, it happened again. Some poor soul made the common mistake that because they saw that I was rockin’ a great hairstyle and had some lipstick and eyeliner on that I must not be very bright. SURPRISE! Yes, it’s true, a woman can be attractive and be intelligent at the same time.

I know many people think, “oh, it’s just hair products, how hard can it be?”. As in any profession, product knowledge is key. In my store/salon, we have over 30 different hair care lines, so approximately 1000 products. Let us not forget the nail care and foot care products which equal out to approximately 200 products. Quite a bit of product knowledge to retain, don’t you think? Now, because this is a business there is payroll, accounting, staff meetings, inventory, orders, meeting with Sales Reps, keeping up with the latest trends and newest products, advertising to take care of and all the while servicing our customer’s and clientele with the best customer service we can provide.(Yes, it’s true….hairstylists and beauty professionals alike actually run a business….we are not playing beauty shop all day).

I know, you are reading this thinking “Hey! I thought this was a blog about salon tales”. Well my friends, everyone has a tale to tell and this tale is for all the salon owners, stylists and for professional business women everywhere or the stay at home mom who enjoys beauty products. Getting excited over hair extensions or squealing with delight over the newest polish collection does not lower your I.Q.. Wanting to have your hair done before you go to the grocery store doesn’t make you a bad mother. Taking pride in your appearance doesn’t make you vain. Stop worrying about what others will say. Sorry to break it to you – they are probably already talking about you so why not (in the words of Bonnie Raitt) – give ’em something to talk about.

Think of all the fun you will have when you get to take them all by surprise. Trust me…..it is glorious.

beauty

Chicks rule

April 11, 2012 That Girl in the Red Coat Leave a comment

Finally! A line of hair care products developed for unruly and/or curly hair. When you look in the mirror and you see something that reminds you of Animal from the Muppet show -this product is for you. When you arise each morning and your head looks like the squirrel’s nest outside your window – you are gonna love this product. Ladies, you may even find yourselves walking away from the wigs and hair pieces that mock you each day.

The line of which I speak is MIXED CHICKS. It a word….miraculous. No matter what your race, be it latin, black, white, asian or any beautiful mixture of race, if you have curls or unruly locks this is your new best friend. I have many women come into the shop and I swear I hear the angels sing and see the heavens open up when they see our MIXED CHICKS display. Daughter’s no longer run away when they see their mother’s with a hairbrush or comb in their hands, women actually like to look in the mirror once more and yes, they can actually run their fingers through their hair. I have seen it with my own two eyes.

Mixed Chicks

The MIXED CHICKS line consists of Shampoo, Deep Conditioner, Leave In Conditioner and styling products. All developed for unruly hair and curls, to control, define and eliminate frizz. I know, good thing you are sitting down right?

The Shampoo lather’s nicely and removes build up. There is now a new addition, a Sulfate Free Shampoo.

The Deep Conditioner nourishes the hair, a great detangler and prevents breakage – more suited towards coarse/curly hair. * no more screams from your children when you are combing out their hair.

The Leave In Conditioner is lightweight, non sticky and helps to define and add moisture to your curls all the while controlling frizz.

The Hair Silk controls fly aways, helps reduce split ends and adds shine ( can be used on wet or dry hair)

The Straightening Serum is a thermal protectant for styling that is humidity resistant (it also cuts drying time)

These ladies have done their homework. The MIXED CHICKS products are all Cruelty free and Vegan. Can’t find a salon who carries these pieces of heaven? Check out their website – http://www.mixedchicks.net

Be sure to get a manicure, you want your nails looking fabulous as you are running your fingers through your hair once more.

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

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

April 9, 2012 That Girl in the Red Coat 2 Comments

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;

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

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

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.