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

Different but the same

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Over the past few days I have had many salon tales come into my mind. So many tales to tell but how do I choose which one? I began this blog with the soul purpose of educating and enlightening the masses about the world of beauty and professional hair care products with easy to follow tips and opening doors that seemed to be locked and letting you join the club. I also wanted to wake up stylists and salon owners from their nightmare of what they thought was good customer service.

My primary goal is and will always be the same, to educate and enlighten. Over the past few months my tales have begun to travel down different roads, from customer service to product knowledge to how to be kind, not just at the Salon but where ever one may roam. You see, I am finding more and more, everyday, that beauty isn’t just the visual. It’s the emotional, the physical and the spiritual….maybe it’s because it is Sunday and I am missing my grandmother…who knows. Yeah, yeah…I know…you’ve watched Oprah and read “The Secret” so this isn’t news to you…or is it? Funny thing is, most Oprah and Secret die hards that have a library of all the #1 New York Times best sellers about self help and self love and loving your fellow man are the same people who mock their teenage daughter’s in public about their oily scalp and acne prone skin, or call their sons “tinkerbell” because he wants his hair style done just so and can’t live without KMS Molding Paste. Don’t get me wrong, I slip up all the time, did it last week when my daughter and I were out and I exclaimed and pointed at a sale item (I love a good deal). The item was Always overnight pads. Oops. I apologized on the spot. I am sure there is a doll with a pin in it in her room somewhere.

Being me, I have to clarify. Drives my husband CRAZY. I wanted to let you all know that I will always give you the newest product knowledge and information I get my hands on. I will give the tips you need for a great cut or Salon experience. I promise to continue with tales of my daily adventures in the Salon and all the tales of flying flat irons and mumblers and screamers. I will also keep telling the tales of kindness, the tales of inner and outer beauty. There is so much beauty around us, from the sound of our children giggling to the sound of our loved one sleeping beside us, the way the sun casts a shadow, the way the wind feels blowing through your hair while driving, the beauty of seeing someone, really seeing them and raising them up from such a simple act.

Want to change your perspective? Want to be more kind and stop being an ass? Just like being an ass, kindness is practiced. It takes effort, an effort with a great reward. You cannot just say you are going to be kind and then it happens. That’s like saying you are Jewish just because you attended a Bar Mitzvah.

What ever you put in, you get out. Plain and simple.

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

Self Help and bad hair

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You all know I LOVE hair products and everything that has to do with beauty. I am also a sucker for books, book stores actually. The shiny covers, the smell of freshly pressed prose, the staff picks of fiction, the tunes that echo throughout the store that you can’t help but hum along with, ahhh…the book store. Yes, I admit, I do find myself wondering if I will run into Kathleen Kelly or Joe Fox. ( You’ve got mail…enough said). Anyway, back to the tale at hand. As I was wandering through the store humming along to Adele and daydreaming as I often do that we meet and become life long friends, I ended up in front of the Self Help section. I just stood there, captivated by what I saw. Every single person in that section had bad hair. Yeah, I said it. I couldn’t look away, and as I stood there I had what Miss. Oprah would call a light bulb moment. They may have been looking for an answer for a happy marriage or how to come out of the closet, but they were also wishing their hair looked better. (You know they were…we all have those days.) The right color, cut and product may not solve all your issues, but good hair is a good start.

I know, it’s what is inside that counts. How dare I say such things out loud or put in print for that matter. Yes, I do agree wholehearted that it is what is inside that counts. I also believe that if you like the way you look, it can make for a better day. I stress what you see and what you like. It  took everything in me not to rope the crowd in Self Help together and take them back to my shop and teach them how do to their hair. I mean seriously, even Dr. Phil would look at the hair that hadn’t been brushed in a week and say “how’s that workin’ for ya?”. It isn’t just about  looking good, it’s about taking time for you. Think about it, if you take the time to do your hair and/or makeup, you have just set aside 10 – 30 minutes just for you and you alone. I am a firm believer that healing begins when you make yourself a priority, even if only for a few minutes a day. If you don’t like the reflection in the mirror, no Self Help book is going to help. Trust me, I know of what I speak, that is another tale for another time.

Brush your hair, wash your face. Grab that flat iron and iron out that frizz. Put on some lip gloss. Take a minute for yourself. Think of it this way, if you like your hair it is one less thing that you need help with, and one less thing is always a good thing.

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

South of the border shopping?

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Whenever the lovely warmer weather is upon us, I meet women wanting to make a change. A new style, something that says I like me, this is who I am. Maybe add a new angle or color.  Sometimes it is just a new product they are in need of, usually to tame frizz.

It was a lovely sunny morning, the sunshine poured through the store window, the smell of peroxide and hairspray lingered in the air. In walks in a lady with the all to known “help me” face. She looked a little frazzled. “What can I help you find?” I ask. “I need something to tame frizz – my husband says it’s outta control”. I look at her hair, it’s a little frizzy, not out of control. So I begin to show her some products that may help. The first few I let her know to put in before she blow dry’s her hair….and a look of complete horror spreads across her face….ok then – no blow drying. We proceed to the other products to use after the hair is dry or to use if you air dry your hair. “How do I know when it is totally dry?” she asks. This is when the light bulb moment happened for me. I collected my thoughts, silently reminded myself not to smirk, giggle or shake my head, and asked as politely as I could “What hair are we speaking of exactly?”. Then I winced awaiting the response.

Yes, that hair. For those who don’t see a bouncing ball to follow, the hair south of the border. I explained that the products I had shown her were for the hair on our heads. They would probably be too perfumed for her needs. Then I hear a sigh of relief. “I was wondering why I was so itchy” is the next lovely phrase I got to hear. Again, remind myself to keep composure and try to remember where I put the hand sanitizer. I went on to explain her options of hair removal that may help her in taming the beast and that if the itchiness doesn’t subside, she probably should see the doctor. Yes, this is my daily life.