Monday, June 25, 2012

Raspberry Delight



OK, so I can't take credit for the color. This cute little girls Mom dyed her hair Raspberry. I don't know if I would have been so brave! I thought it looked like the color of my favorite slice of Red Velvet Cake:)

But I can take credit for the cute cut! I wish I had taken a before picture. I love how it stacks in the back and with her new color this girl is definitely ready for a fun, fun summer!

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Those Misbehaving Curls!



Curly hair has been my curse, but I am slowly learning to accept it. It's only been 36 years now! It has not been easy finding ways to wear my hair, let alone care for it. I constantly have to fight the frizz. And some days my curls seem to be more like waves, while other days I feel like a grandma with a new tight set perm. My crazy curls have a mind of their own. It's exhausting! And while I've found just a couple of brilliant ladies who can cut my curly mop, most times I leave the salon feeling disappointed with the experience. And feeling even more frustrated that I just paid a hefty price for something I don't love. You just can't cut curly hair like any other head of hair. In fact, I find that when it comes to making my curls do exactly what I want them to do it requires that I use tools that I was taught to never put on curly hair...namely the razor. But the razor and me have become fast friends. I find that if I twist a section of hair that seems "heavy" and use the razor to remove weight (it's easier to demonstrate than explain), that my curls behave so much better. I also use thinning shears at the ends of my curls. I find that it causes my curls to wrap around each other and it gives them a more modern and piecey look. Yes, I am 100% guilty of paying for a haircut and then coming home and shaping it to my satisfaction. But nobody knows my hair like I do!

In my recent attempt to grow out my hair I became very agitated at how slowly my hair grows. It just won't grow! Or maybe I'm just too impatient. Either way, I gave up and went in for a haircut. My first professional cut since graduating from beauty school! All in all it was a great experience. I love the back with all it's fun layers. I also had her cut bangs...I'm still not sure if I'm in love with them. It was a last minute, "just go for it!", and now I have to learn how to style them and make them look cute. But even if I can't figure them out, they'll grow out eventually and bobby pins will help me get them out of my face. Nice thing is she cut them jagged, so I can give them that piecey look that I love without much effort. It'll just take some practice.

I found the above picture this morning. I love the looks of it! In the next few days my hope is that I have figured out how to wear my hair just like this. I know it won't be just like it, but very close...I hope! The length is similar,and my curls are similar, so now my hands need to figure out how to make it work. And of course, the right styling products will be a must!

Wish me luck.

For those of you with curly hair, do you have any tips and tricks that you use to make your curls behave?

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Fiery Redhead






This sassy lady came in and wanted some blonde highlights to ring in the summer!

When Tonya first arrived for her appointment, I was actually surprised to see that she had red hair! This was a new color from the night before. I knew that it was going to take the exact right products to bleach out the red(red is really tricky!) and get the exact blonde color I was going for. And I also knew if I didn't do it right that those "blonde" highlights might turn pink or orange or some other undesirable color.  And that would NOT be good! 

And Tonya had already had a bad highlighting experience about a year ago (not by me!), so I needed to make her happy and give her just what she wanted.

I am happy to report that my mad skillz paid off!

She loved it. I loved it.

I am a huge fan of red hair with blonde highlights!

And that is what I call a happy ending:)


Friday, June 1, 2012

Rachel

( click to make larger )

Rachel was performing in her school's choir concert and wanted to look her best for the "red carpet" affair.

She wanted loose curls and her hair only partly up.

I spritzed her hair with a light hold hair spray. Created the curls with a  1 1/2" barrel curling iron. Pulled the top half of her hair back and smoothed it with a pick, then gathered it into a ponytail using a clear rubber band. I then took a small piece of hair from the back of her pony and wrapped it around the band and secured it with a bobby pin. By backcombing her bangs, then smoothing with a comb,  I was able to make sure they wouldn't flop into her eyes during her performance. I finished off the look by spraying a silver glitter hair spray on the surface of her gorgeous locks!

Simple, yet beautiful.