To all my Curly Girls out there…

A friend recently suggested I write a post about my curly girls.  She is a curly girl.  She wanted to let me know how happy she has been with my work on her ‘do and how difficult it has been in the past to find someone who can cut curly hair properly.  I thanked her for the compliment.

I never really thought about how much is at stake for the curly girl.  While we straight haired ladies (of which I am one) have all had hair traumas these ladies with curls also have the possibility of a terrible cut on a different level.  A curl will usually hide a bad cut – unless it’s REALLY bad in which case there is the terrible grow out period – but when you straighten it all of its flaws will be known.  So now these ladies are forced to go curly or show their flaws.  I say no fair!

Something I don’t really understand is the salons out there banking on the “specialty cut” for curly hair.  Isn’t this part of my job, to cut curly hair?  And do it well?  I am happy to cut your curly hair and not charge extra for the cut.  To blow dry and straighten may be extra but that depends on your hair.  I will say that from one curly haired friend I have seen 5 additional new curly haired girls in my chair for repeat haircuts so I must cut their hair in a way that works for them!  They all have different types of curl so it’s no formula for perfection, just doing what I do and doing my best for each person.

As for product, that’s one more item those “curly” salons bank on.  You don’t need to break the bank to have nice curl!  Lots of curly ladies need more moisture to cut the frizz.  Your hair type will decide what works best for you so you may need to try different things.  The following items are products that I or my clients have found to be very useful for their curls, depending on their hair types and needs:

Serums/Oils:  Aquage SeaExtend Silkening Oil Treatment, John Frieda Frieda Frizz-Ease Hair Serum,  Paul Mitchell Super Skinny Serum

Gels/Mousse:  Aquage Curl Defining Creme (provides less crunch) or Gel (more crunch), Beyond the Zone Noodle Head Curl Mousse, TIGI Catwalk Curls Rock Aplifier or Curl Booster Or TIGI’s Bed Head Foxy Curls Extreme Mousse

If you’re not happy with your curly hair it’s up to you to try something new, be it product, stylist or both to find your bliss!  On the days when you want to curse your curls know that there are straight haired girls out there wishing for a little natural wave, some small bit of action to their hair.  Know that even though you may have to work for straight, you are lucky to have the option  (a lot of super straight hair won’t hold a curl very long so options for these ladies are limited)!  And once your hair is straight most of you can go at least a few days without doing it again?!  I must say, I’m a little jealous 😉

Don’t try this at home…

We’ve all been there.  Whether it’s the bangs your mother gave you when you were 5 or the bangs you gave yourself when you were 25 most women know the terrors of home hair cutting.  Most of us go little snips at a time.  But then no, it’s not even.  Back to the other side.  Nope, not even again.  Eventually your eyebrows are standing alone, naked on your forehead with no wispy coverage.  We all know hair grows back but it always feels like forever until that actually happens.  Well, be happy it was just your bangs.  I have had a few people go shorter due to similar mishaps in larger sections.  They just needed a few more wisps here or a little more texture there and then a chunk of hair is on the bathroom floor.  All I can say to anyone reading this who knows what I mean by your own trial and error is that you are not alone.

I have a friend who has been gracious enough to let me share her story.  Her name is Val and she is a culprit of the chunk of hair on the floor.  Val had a haircut where we took the back up short to a super stack and left the side angles and front extra long.  Think of that famous soccer players wife that everyone needed the haircut of a few years ago but make it better because it was shorter in the back thus more dramatic on the drop to the front, just lower than her chin.  Then we made the long front angles kind of choppy,  texturized.  It was cute and edgy at the same time.  Val looked GOOD.  She left my chair happy.

After a week or two of doing her hair herself Val thought she needed more texture on the sides (this is the moment you pick up the phone and call your stylist asking for just that!).  Simple, right?  Well, everything in your mirror is reversed.  Keep that in mind when you pull out your scissors and try to do a little touch up.  She went for it and yes, there was a chunk of hair on the floor.  Now she needed to make the other side match.  Another chunk on the floor.  But now they’re not even.  Back to the first side.  So on and so forth until the sides are running just about to the cheekbone.  Yikes!  How to fix it?!  Now is when she calls me.  Here is where we are at this point:

Fortunately for Val this is a case where the errors brought on something completely new and wonderful.  We added a few caramel highlights to the top and sides to help show off texture and then went pixie short!  She was bold and it paid off because she looks even more beautiful!

I’ve seen her since with the bangs brushed off her face completely and that looks excellent as well.  I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for my friend.  And thanks for letting me show how a negative turned into a positive Val 😉

This situation had a good ending but we all know stories that didn’t turn out as well.  Sometimes you have to wait it out.  That’s like torture.  So I leave you with something to keep in mind: a hairstylist has to go to school for hundreds of hours and pass a test before they are allowed to be a professional in the industry.  Even while working on actual people in school there are instructors around every corner making sure things go right.  In the end, we are licensed professionals.  So please, don’t try this at home.

A change may make you smile

Sometimes when you’ve been working with the same stylist for a while one or both of you falls into a rut.  The conversation becomes, “Same color?  Clean up the ends?”  Reply, “Sure”.  Every once in a while the response will be, “Can we do some foils too?”  Not for lack of ideas but sometimes because these people are friends and have other business to discuss!  Sometimes we get caught up in tradition (and conversation).

I am always happy when a friend comes in and says, “Cut it all off!”, and means it!!  These are my happiest days.  I LOVE change for my clients!  You want some red highlights and you haven’t done that before?!  Excellent!  I have free range with your cut as long as it can fit in a ponytail?!  Lovely!  These are the best surprises for me!  I hope to start documenting them a little better and sharing them.  Sometimes I believe complete overhauls are where I do my best work.  They get me thinking outside the usual lines where we’ve worked for so long.

My first such documentation for you is my friend Kim.  She is fantastic and I am very lucky to have her whole hearted trust.  We’ve been through a few changes together but this was by far my favorite.  Kim is a working Mom of 3 who is always running somewhere.  She has some wave to her hair and felt the need to flat iron all the time.  She also has a lot of hair.  How much extra time does any Mom have in her day?  None.  The flat iron can be a lifesaver for most who use it but time is sometimes a negative factor and the more hair you have the longer it may take.  Let me give you a visual.  This is Kim’s before photo:

A lovely lady, right?!  I STILL like her hair like this.  If she wanted to grow it out at some point I would be all for it.  She’s lucky in the fact that she can go long or short.  You will see what I mean.

Kim came in finally ready for a change.  I phrase it this way because she has been putting limitations on those changes for at least two years.  “When this happens, I’ll cut my hair”.  She had finally come to the glorious realization of, “Why wait?”  I love this realization!  More on that in a minute.  I want you to see the lovely Kim’s after shots:

Amazing, right?!  She looks absolutely incredible with shorter hair and beautiful golden highlights!  I can’t take all the credit, she came in prepared with an idea.  Here are some side and back views:

Isn’t she cute?  So it’s a great look for Kim that takes her less time in the morning.  Additionally I am happy to report that she left with a hop in her step!  She seemed like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  I am happy to have helped her feel that way.  (Thanks for the pictures Kim!)

So back to, “Why wait?”.  Sometimes in life we get stuck in the cause and effect or effort equals reward cycle.  We need to remember that a little change can go a long way.  So maybe finally cutting Kim’s hair short has helped to inspire her in other ways so that the other things she has been working towards she can be even more confident about while working towards them that much harder.  I don’t know if that’s true but I like to think so.  A small change within ourselves can sometimes go a long way.

Maybe you are recoiling at my thinking this is a small change.  Really?  It’s hair.  It grows back.  Will it pay your bills if you have it?  Will it get you a better job?  Unless you’re a hair model, no.  How would you change your look?  Spring is coming.  Make the change.  Cut, color, style, whatever you can handle.  Who knows, it may make you smile 🙂

I had an appointment?

When you have an appointment at a salon you are in a time slot of the stylists day.  You are occupying their time in that slot.  No one else can get in that slot because it is yours.

When the salon calls to confirm your appointment they are reminding you that you are currently occupying that portion of the stylists time for services you planned at a previous time.  When you receive a call and they open with, “Hi, this is Sharon from Salon X-“, please listen to the whole message.  Did you or the person who gave you a reminder card write down the correct time?  Is it the correct date?  If not, please call and say something!  Otherwise you are taking an appointment space someone else may be in need of (or may come in too late to have services performed later).  Also, when a reminder call has been placed and the salon then calls you to see where you are 15 minutes after the time of the appointment, please don’t open with, “I had an appointment?”.  It’s just not an honest response after the reminder call went to a voice mail box with your name and/or voice.

Additionally, if you know you won’t be able to make an appointment please call as soon as possible to cancel.  If the salon knows on Wednesday or Thursday that you won’t be in Saturday (a salon’s busiest day) they can surely fill that time.  If you wait until Friday evening and call after the salon has closed it’s very frustrating to come in to get the message which leaves a blank spot in the schedule where someone else could have been receiving services.  Understandably, emergencies arise.  These are not the instances being referred to.  Things come up and changes must be made.  Just give the courtesy of a phone call so someone isn’t left waiting.  Because yes, you had an appointment, and now that person, who probably works on commission, has no one in their chair.

A “quick” haircut

So let’s talk briefly about this. What is a “quick” haircut? Do you want me to wash and dry your hair? Do you want it styled while I dry it? Do you have hair down to your waist? None of these will lead to a quick haircut. If you are in a hurry please do not to expect to make up for lost time in my chair. A quick haircut consists of you sitting in my chair, we talk about the 16th of an inch you want taken off and I cut it dry. No wash, no style. I’ll blow the little pieces out with my dryer and if you’d like I’ll spray it but that’s it. And yes, it is a full price haircut.