Curl Talk: Part 3

How to care for curls-

So now that we've embraced our lovely locks and identified our curl type, let's learn how to care for these beautiful curls!

Taking care of curls and learning which products to use depends greatly on your curl type. Thus the importance of first identifying your type. Many stylists have their own personal product favorites, and below are my recommendations from experimenting with many different product lines throughout my 17 years of service.

To care for all curls there are a few things one must do and tools one must own no matter what the type of curl. First, let's start with the "must haves" inside the shower: shampoo and conditioner made for curly hair or that is hydrating/moisturizing. I recommend the product lines Surface, Pureology, and ColorProof. Not only are they semi- to fully organic, but they are non-drying and color protecting as well.

Second, when you get out of the shower, squeeze your hair with your hand to remove as much water out as possible. Then use the towel to squeeze more water out. Never ever use the towel in a rough manner, as this breaks the natural curl pattern and can cause frizz. Always gently squeeze. Now, I know many of you may want to then brush your hair, but this is a no-no. If you feel you need to brush, always do it on dry hair with a natural bristle brush, preferably before you take a shower. A wide-tooth comb is an acceptable tool after you get out of the shower; however, I personally recommend either leaving it alone or combing it only after you've applied a leave-in spray conditioner such as Surface's Trinity Repair Treatment and Moroccan Oil. A diffuser is the best tool for blow drying.Now, let's customize according to curl type: For those with soft wavy curls like Sheryl Crow, apply one pump Moroccan Oil Light to damp hair, spritz on a little Surface Sea Salt spray and either air dry or diffuse on low speed, high heat, head straight up. Finish with a light hold hairspray such as Shaper Plus when it's dry.

For those with a curl like Sara Jessica Parker, apply one pump Moroccan Oil to damp hair, one pump of Moroccan Oil Curl Cream and diffuse completely dry while tilting head side to side and upside down. I set the dryer to high heat and high speed. Dry gently and keep fingers out of your hair -- that is what the diffuser is for. Once dry, scrunch more Moroccan Oil through and apply a light-hold hair spray. If more volume is needed at scalp area, use Surface's Push Powder. For a beach wave curl, you can spritz Surface Sea Salt spray when hair is wet .

For the tighter curls like Princess Merida or Taylor Swift, add two pumps Moroccan Oil and two pumps Moroccan Oil Curl Cream. Diffuse on low speed, high heat or allow to air dry.For the corkscrew curls like Troy Polamalu, I recommend 2-5 pumps Moroccan oil with one pump Moroccan Oil Curl Cream. Using your fingers to twist the curls into place while wet can help the curl find its natural placement. Air dry. 

If you have coarse curls, I also recommend only washing your hair every 2-3 days because shampooing can be drying. For those days when you feel it's needed,
spray on a dry shampoo like TIGI Catwalk Session Series Dry Shampoo.

Some of the best knowledge comes from you, the person with curls. Please comment and let me know what your secrets to fabulous curls are!

Curl Talk: Part 2

Identifying Curl Type-

Encouraging younger clients to embrace their curls usually involves a little pop culture. Pointing out these super stars’ beautiful curls has been helpful:

Princess Merida from Disney's Brave is a great model for younger girls! Oh how I have gained so much respect for that Disney princess. Not only is she a role model I'm comfortable with for my 7-year-old daughter, but she has that gorgeous curly orange hair! I have pointed out her beautiful hair to my curly haired daughter and all my young clients with curly hair, and I have literally seen the embracing begin!

Taylor Swift another inspiration for the younger set has lately been taming down her curly tresses. Don’t know why. I mean, look at the picture! What’s not to embrace?

Now, for all my clients: How about a little guidance in identifying your curl type? Click on these links: Deva Curl , Naturally Curly and Manly Curls.

And, if you need a few more super stars to help you embrace your curls, try these:

Kerri Russel from the TV show Felicity sported curls for years, so I was distraught when she cut them off.

Troy Polamalu single-handedly launched a curl craze on the gridiron.

Sara Jessica Parker shows off her wavy to moderately curly curls.

Sheryl Crow has lovely, gently wavy hair.

Jennifer Hudson is the perfect candidate for the spiral or corkscrew curls.

Curl Talk: Part 3: How to take care of your curl type.

Curl Talk: Part 1

Curl Talk: Part 1

Embracing

Curly hair. For some people, it is a nightmare. For many years, it was for me too. I dreamed of smooth, straight, get-out-of-bed-and-my-head-looks-perfect hair. Then I awoke and ….

I truly believe the best thing I ever did for my hair and my curly head clients was to embrace my curls—to love and take care of them.

The turning point began with a curly hair class I took 17 years ago. It was the best information I've ever gotten on how to take care of curls.

From then on, I became a huge curl advocate and now teach people, especially young girls and teenagers, how to embrace and take care of their curls.

In Curl Talk: Part 2, I will share the approach I use with the younger set.

But you can begin embracing your curls right now. Look in a mirror if it helps. Say aloud three things that you like about your hair; then say aloud three things that you like about your curls. Do not, I repeat, do not say anything negative whatsoever! Do this every day as many times as you need to until you start feeling the love and believing it.

I believe you are beautiful inside and out. Soon you will too!

Styling Lines

I am curious about what your favorite hair styling products are—you know—the ones you can't live without. And how do you use them?

As a stylist, I have my favorite "go to" products. I use different ones for different hair types; however, there are a few I use on everyone. I use Surface's Trinity Protein Repair Tonic before combing hair out and cutting. It is a great conditioner and detangler. I use Moroccan Oil before blow drying to protect the hair and add shine, and it's not greasy and doesn't weigh hair down. Both of these products I will use on every hair type. There is also Moroccan Oil Light for those with light colored hair or finer hair.

Building a good base with products while the hair is still wet is key to styling success!

For straight hair or if someone wants curly hair straightened and flat ironed, I will then add Moroccan Oil's Hydrating Cream before blow drying and/or Surface's Bliss Smoothing Cream, which can be used on wet or dry hair. I will always use more Moroccan Oil on dry hair before any hot tool service.

For curly hair, I add Moroccan Oil's Curl Defining Cream and diffuse the hair. For beach waves, one of my newest favorites is Swirl Sea Salt Spray by Surface. The hair can either air dry or be diffused, and the curl is spectacular—truly swirly.

For styling hair after it's been dried, I use Surface's Push Powder for volume and Impulse by Surface to help hold curls put in with a curling iron or hot rollers. Surface's Taffy Whip is great for piecing hair. For men's hair, I like theBed Head Matte Separation Wax; however, Surface just came out with a men's line, and I'm so excited to try these products. My favorite hairsprays for updo's are Shaper Plus for shaping the hair into place and Bed Head's Hard Head for the finished look. It adds tons of shine. For holding a style, I use Surface's Theory hair spray or Theory Firm.

I hope listing my styling favorites has helped answer any product questions. But, really, I’d like to hear from you! What are your "go to" products and how do you use them?

"Fall" in love with change!

Change: Verb, make or become different. Noun, the act or instance of making or becoming different. To alter.

Impermanence: Not lasting or durable, not permanent.

Change. To some people it is a scary thing. Even the word can be frightening; however, there is no avoiding it and the more one tries to fight it the more it pushes back. If there is one thing I have learned about through my Buddhist studies, it is change or as Buddhist's call it, impermanence. I believe that once one is able to accept change/impermanence the world becomes limitless. There is not one thing in existence that is permanent--that is to say--that doesn't undergo change. From the tallest mountain to the smallest molecule, everything is subject to change. Since there is no changing change, I say we embrace it.

"Change" has got to be the word I hear most often coming from my chair. I believe it is because one has control over changing one's appearance. Not to say it's not sometimes scary, but it's exciting at the same time. Seasons change and with them we see hair color and hair styles change. I am a prime example of changing hair color with the seasons. In the fall I turn red with the leaves. Winter, I change to black. Come spring, you can see shoots of blond highlights creeping back in. And by summer, I'm a full blown blond again. I say enjoy, embrace and love change. There is nothing you can do to stop it, but you can have fun with it!

Summer 2011

Fall 2011

Winter 2011

Spring 2012

Summer 2012

Summer Hair Shape up

If your family is like mine, swimming and sunshine have taken their toll this summer. If your hair is dull, has a coppery shine, or looks a bit green, you may have “swimmer’s” hair. In addition, sunshine can lighten hair, burn your scalp, and cause split ends.

I offer fantastic in-salon services to help restore hair to its natural beauty and protect your hair and scalp from further summer damage.

To start with, you are going to want a Malibu Treatment. This treatment gently removes chlorine, iron, copper and any other buildup you may have from swimming pools and styling products. Since this service can take up to 45 minutes under the dryer alone, be prepared to relax in my comfy dryer chair.

After the Malibu Treatment, a deep conditioning treatment is imperative to restore shine, detangle and improve the all-around condition of your hair. Two that I recommend are Surface's Bassu Hydrating Mask and Moroccan Oil Restorative and/or Hydrating Hair Masks. This service takes up to 1/2 hour under the dryer, longer if needed.

Both of these services can be accomplished in one appointment.

To help protect your hair during the remainder of the summer, I recommend wetting your hair and adding a light conditioner to it before you swim. Then shampoo and condition your hair immediately after swimming. Malibu carries a Swimmer's Shampoo and Conditioner that can really help. Surface carries Trinity Protein Repair Tonic, a spray-in treatment that has natural UV protectants for hair and scalp.

I also highly recommend seeing your stylist regularly for trims to keep split ends under control.

FUNctional wedding hair

During the consultation for Rachael's wedding updo, she expressed she wanted fun hair yet it had to be functional. She didn't want "80's curls," and I could tell from her personality the updo needed to be intricate, intriguing and unique. She also expressed the need to be able to hop on the back of her new husband's Harley, wrap a sparkly bandanna around her head and have it hold whilst riding off 55 plus mph on the motorcycle. Having it look fantastic when she got off was my main concern. Our final creation... I pulled all but a few strands back off her face by braiding it sideways to hold all those hairs tightly in place, then I did knots in the second row and finally did twists on the bottom. Ensuring it would be solid to the wear and tear of a motorcycle ride. It held up magnificently throughout the whole night and there were no touch-up's needed. Thus proving you can have fun and functionality all in one!

Photos by Denise Gagner of Studio D Portraits by Design.

Is that so?

At some point in life, nearly everyone falls victim to slander – false statements that besmirch a personal or business reputation. Many clients have shared with me the pain and humiliation it can cause. How they survived and overcame shows me their true character. These are modern-day heroes!
I have a favorite Zen story that has helped me regain peace when I’ve been the victim of slander. I hope it may help you gain peace in your life too.

Is That So. (From Myrko’s The 10 Very Best Zen Stories)

The Zen master Hakuin was praised by his neighbors as one living a pure life.
A beautiful Japanese girl whose parents owned a food store lived near him. Suddenly, without any warning, her parents discovered she was with child.
This made her parents very angry. She would not confess who the man was, but after much harassment at last named Hakuin.
In great anger the parents went to the master. “Is that so?” was all he would say.
When the child was born, the parents brought it to the Hakuin, who now was viewed as a pariah by the whole village. They demanded that he take care of the child since it was his responsibility. “Is that so?” Hakuin said calmly as he accepted the child.
A year later the girl-mother could stand it no longer. She told her parents the truth—that the real father of the child was a young man who worked in the fish market.
The mother and father of the girl at once went to Hakuin to ask his forgiveness, to apologize at length, and to get the child back again.
Hakuin was willing. In yielding the child, all he said was: “Is that so?”

What is beauty?

When I started in the beauty industry over 17 years ago, my goal was to do the hair and make-up of super models who would adorn magazine covers. Not that doing this wouldn't be awesome even today, but as John Lennon says, "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans." I mention John Lennon not only for his fantastic quote but also because he is the perfect example of beauty. His words, his mannerisms, his care for his fellow human beings made him one beautiful man, inside and out.

So what is beauty? What is beauty to you? I ask you to take two minutes and contemplate this question... Is it what someone looks like? Is it the words someone says? Is it someone's demeanor? I remember when I was young seeing a very happy and joyful person and thinking, "Why is that person so happy? She's not that pretty and she's a bit overweight. What is there to be so happy about?"

So I began to investigate happiness and beauty and soon came to believe they go hand in hand. If you are happy on the inside you will radiate beauty on the outside, no matter what your physical appearance. And the opposite is just as true.

But then, what of my role in the beauty industry? I loved my career--I loved making people look beautiful I loved the smiles on their faces at the end of their appointments--not that it was that way all the time, but we'll just chalk that up to learning. The conflict came from this vanity thing: Was I making money off my clients' vanity?

So I asked them and learned from responses such as, "Are you nuts?" that they did not share in this conflict. On the contrary, they said I helped them feel happy and feel better about themselves.

With that information, I began to conceive of a new career goal. If people felt happier because they looked better on the outside after they left my chair, could I do more? Could I somehow help enhance their inner beauty?

I realized that although people looked good on the outside, many had inner struggles. I too had inner struggles. I wanted to help, but how could I help when I suffered too?

As my friend Linda always says, "Put the air mask on you first and then you can help others." Searching for an air mask lead me to Buddhist teachings. What awesome insights into human struggles! And the techniques for alleviating human suffering--so practicable!

Buddhism is teaching me many ways to help myself and others find their inner beauty. This is where my mission statement was founded. "My passion is serving those with a passion for beauty on the inside and out."