And The Winner Is....

Moroccan Oil Restorative Hair Mask

I know you've heard of Moroccan Oil before. The smell is divine, and the product itself it comes in many other forms besides oil. This particular hair mask was recommended to me after I had finally killed off the remaining hair left on the crown of my head with bleach. Walking around with a mullet wasn't the only thing that was annoying in this situation. It was the distinct difference between the burnt, broken pieces, and the healthy strands below. My bright orange hair refused to hold any color after a few shampoos, and I really had no choice but to add a few Hair Treats extensions in the place of the broken pieces. 

A colleague encouraged me to try the Moroccan Oil Restorative Hair Mask to help even out the porosity (give the hair a smooth base for the color to evenly deposit on) and hold the color in a bit longer. I've used several Moroccan Oil products that worked miracles, so I didn't mind dropping the $38 (retail value) to give it a try, but I also didn't expect a miracle. After one very concentrated treatment, I reluctantly cut the four inches left on the top of my head down to two inches. I didn't want to but let's not kid ourselves, the cotton-like ends were not going to magically repair themselves. Also, I touched up my color with a brighter than normal (my hair was on fire) orange-y red with hopes it would not wash out in a week, and then added the hair extensions. 

3 weeks later, my grandmother was still yelling at me for my incredibly bright red hair. After 3 treatments in 3 weeks, my hair was feeling like hair again and the color hadn't budged. That really says a lot about the product. When hair won't hold color, it means that the cuticle is blown so wide open that there is nothing left to "hug" the color and make it stay in the cuticle. It was only laying on top, which is why it washed out in 2 shampoos. To hydrate and repair my hair so much that it actually got the cuticle to close, and stay closed, was incredible. The whole thing looked all around great and thanks to one product! 

.....Actually, I have to credit one more product that promotes itself as a "Miracle Hair Treatment". That would be the "It's a 10 Plus Keratin" Leave In Conditioner Spray. Another expensive product, but well worth the investment. I used it every time I washed my hair (about 3 times a week), and the shine and softness it added made my hair very workable. 

It's been 6 weeks, and the results are phenomenal. The extensions are still there because unfortunately I can do nothing but wait for my hair to grow back in, but they are helping the growing process immensely! Total investment on fixing my hair? About $200. Not having to see a mullet staring back at me in the mirror every morning? Priceless.

Top 8 Things Your Stylist Wants To Tell You But Won't...

Luckily, I have the best clientele in the world. They are patient, caring, and generous. I have been seeing most of my current clientele for several years and have obtained friendships will just about all of them. When I was building, I had several people sit in my chair that were the exact opposite of the people I just described. This list is for them.


8. Hair is not a career for people who couldn't get into college.
Knowing how to do hair takes more smarts than you think. I'm not a hairdresser because I couldn't pass the SATs, I'm a hairdresser because I understand shapes and visual learning techniques. I can look at a picture of any hairstyle you show me and replicate it on the right hair type. How? Geometry. The angle of the way I hold the hair, the shapes I actually cut into the hair (not always a straight line), the way I hold my shears when cutting...all this factors into whether you will walk out with a haircut that turns heads or a haircut that needs to be hidden.

7. Tardiness is totally forgivable...

Well I don't want to let you in on this little secret, but I will anyway. Sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief when you're ten minutes late. It gives me a chance to take a much needed bathroom break, or to shove some food in my mouth. When you run in all rushed and apologetic I secretly want to thank you...but I won't. In case you decide to make a habit of it.

6. Don't be mean to the receptionist, I'll find out about it. And I'll remember it.
On a few occasions after a pleasant service with great results, some previous clients of mine have turned from cheery to downright rude when dealing with the desk staff. This I can still not understand. Whether it's having to deal with money or rescheduling, these clients became impatient or overall impersonal when speaking to the desk staff. If they are surprised about the price, then the receptionist is usually the one that has to deal with it. If you are on a budget, let me know and we'll work something out. Don't take it out on the receptionist. That just shows me that you look down on the people that make my business run smoothly, and no one has the right to make someone else feel inferior to them just because they're in a bad mood. Even if you are the client.

5. Your Cell Phone
In my opinion, it's rude to talk on a cell phone in a place where conversations are going on around you. Other people come to the salon on their only day off to relax and enjoy their experience. If you have to answer a quick call while I'm styling your hair, it's completely fine. Keep it short though, you don't have to talk to me while I do your hair, but I do need to access the areas around your ears. Oh, and if I'm washing your hair, HANG UP! It doesn't do the person on the other line any good to hear you scream, "I can't hear you, I'm getting my hair washed!"

4. Oops, I made a mistake...
Ok, so no one ever wants to hear their stylist say those words to them, which is why we don't! Sometimes we have off days too. In almost every case it is so insignificant that it's not even worth wasting time telling you just to get you all worried. Examples would be making your roots slightly brighter than the rest of your hair (called hot roots), rinsing the highlights just a bit too early, or an overall color just not coming out the way we had planned. Remember, we are trained to deal with color correction, and all of these situations can be dealt with and corrected in minutes. I usually throw in a free deep conditioner to make up for it. Thankfully these situations are almost always minor and are few and far between, but when they do happen, it's just not worth mentioning. Mistakes in haircuts are more obvious and harder to hide. To avoid this risk, ask for a Master Stylist. It's worth the splurge!

3. You are my guinea pigs!
When I learn a new haircut or technique in a class, I'm dying to try it out on my specimens! Personally, this isn't as much of a secret with my clients, as I have built the trust level pretty high. Whenever I have something new, I know which clients will be up for trying it out. When I was first starting out I was having a hard time cutting a bob, but my clients who asked for it didn't know that! I cut some great ones...and some really not so great ones. Every time I cut one though, I fixed a problem I had the last time I attempted it. Pretty soon people were requesting me after seeing my haircut on someone I had recently cut. What a great feeling! I wouldn't be the hairdresser I am now without the test subjects. Thank you!

2. If you can't afford the tip, you can't afford the service.
Enough said. Don't drop $150 on highlights and a cut and leave me $5. It's rude. And cheap.

1. What's the blue stuff in the jar?
I still get this question! It's comb juice, of course.



I can't speak on behalf of my fellow stylists who give us a bad name. As I was coming up with this list I was thinking of the Top Things A Client Wants To Tell Their Hairdresser and came up with a few ideas....Chewing gum (loudly) while working, not freshening up after a cigarette, being late to your appointment more than once, looking or smelling hungover, answering their phones during your services....I could go on and on. I speak to you as a professional. I work with pride and every style I accomplish is my best work.

Drugstore Shampoo vs. Salon Shampoo - What's the difference?

I've seen my clients' eyes glaze over in record speed when I begin to tell them why their $6 drugstore shampoo is awful for their hair. Like I had mentioned in my first post, if they are fairly new and are still getting to know me, why should they trust what I have to say? Unfortunately until you build a relationship with your stylist, you might not truly trust what they have to say when it comes to product. This is completely unbiased research done by myself. Besides water, which is used as a base, here are the important ingredients in shampoo:
Surfactants are the single most important ingredient in shampoos. Surfactants, such as anionic, clean the natural oils off of the hair. Some surfactants irritate the scalp, while others are gentle (like the kind in baby shampoo). They can add lather to the wash or not lather at all. The biggest difference between the good and the bad surfactants is the size of the molecule. Small molecule ingredients can penetrate the skin, causing irritation. Large molecule ingredients are considered to be mild, gentle, and non-irritating, as they cannot penetrate the skin.


Ingredients to avoid: Triethanolammonium Lauryl Sulfate · Sodium Lauryl Sulfate · Sodium Laureth Sulfate · Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate · Ammonium Laureth Sulfate · Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate · Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate · Potassium Coco Hydrolysed Collagen · TEA (Triethanolamine) Lauryl Sulfate · TEA (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate · Lauryl or Cocoyl Sarcosine · Disodium Oleamide Sulfosuccinate · Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate  
How confusing. Some of the these ingredients have just a few letters separating the differences between them. These small molecule ingredients are capable of penetrating the skin, increasing the occurrence of skin irritation and dermatitis. AKA: harsh, drying, and irritating. They also add a ton of other ingredients to add moisture back into the hair. Totally unnecessary, not to mention CHEAP. Sorry, I know I said I'd be unbiased. They are inexpensive to make, therefore sell for less money. These surfactants are also used in car washers, floor cleaners, and engine degreasers....makes you think of what you are really putting on your hair.

Ingredients to look for: Sodium Lauroyl Sulfoacetate · Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate · Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate · Cocamidopropyl Betaine · Disodium Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate · Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate

Again, some of these ingredients look very similar to the harsh ingredients, but they are much different. These contain large molecule ingredients. Large molecule ingredients are considered to be mild, gentle, and non-irritating, as they cannot penetrate the skin.Write down the names of the "good" ingredients and the "bad" ones so you know what to look for without being confused. If you find your scalp is irritated easily by most shampoos, try looking for these ingredients on the bottle.

Here is a comparison of the first 8 ingredients in Pureology Pure Volume Shampoo ($19) to Pantene Pro-V Sheer Volume ($7) The first 8 ingredients are a higher comparative volume than many of the other chemicals in this products.


Pureology Pure Volume
*Water · The base ingredient in most shampoos

*Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate · a large molecule surfactant, derived from coconut oil. 

*Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate · a large molecule surfactant derived from coconut and palm oils. Helps keep a rich luxurious lather

*Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate · a large molecule, mild surfactant found in gentle formula shampoos such as baby shampoo.

*Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine · derived from coconut, a mild cleanser used to thicken shampoo and reduce irritation

*Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate · A direct substitution for sodium lauryl sulfate (floor cleaner). Effectively cleanses the hair without stripping or drying the hair and skin

*Cocamidopropylamine Oxide · Another ingredient derived from coconut oil, a thickener and a foam booster

*Decyl glucoside · Derived from sugar, a mild cleanser and foaming agent

Pantene Sheer Volume
*Water · The base ingredient in most shampoos
*Ammonium Laureth Sulfate · an effective cleansing agent that remove oils and dirt from hair and skin. A slightly larger molecule structure than Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, but still quite harsh on the skin and eyes
*Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate · a small molecule surfacant, one of the harshest detergents out there next to Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. Both are irritants to the skin and eyes, and strips the hair of it's oils more than it needs to.
*Ammonium Xylenesulfonate · a surfactant usually added to thicken a mixture like shampoo, and to help keep some other ingredients in solution, including perfumes.
*Cocamide MEA · acts as a lathering agent increasing the viscosity or thickness of the lather, and of the hair. Can cause skin, eye and lung irritation...sorry guys, I am not making these up!!
*Fragrance · blends with unique combinations including essential oils and natural perfumes.

*Sodium Citrate and Citric Acid I'm adding these two together because they go hand in hand. Both act as a buffering agent to keep the shampoo at the proper pH level. They allow dirt and oil to wash off and helps cuticles lie flat so hair looks smooth and shiny.

So the harsh surfactants clean very well, but you don't need to clean your hair with the same ingredient used to clean a car. All you need to do is strip your natural oils without damaging the cuticle. A helpful website I found along the way is The Alba Botanicals Glossary. I myself learned quite a lot writing this article, and I hope your eyes were opened to what actually is used on your body. In this war, the more milder, more expensive shampoo wins by a long shot. The next time you drop $150 on your beautiful color service, spring for the better shampoo. It will make it last much longer.

How To Incorporate A Color That Doesn't match Your Skin Tone

So you've read all about not being able to have the color you want in the last post, but if you're anything like me, it's going to take a lot more than that to stop me from trying! Yes darlings, you can be blonde without it looking faker than Barbie hair! You can be the dark bombshell without looking like a goth queen! So how? Easy. Take the color that compliments you best and frame your face and perimeter with a few chunky high/lowlights. Example:

All along the her face and underneath are a layer of chunky lowlight, about a level 4 that keeps the blonde from looking too harsh against her skin. When this gorgeous girl pulls her hair back, she gets a completely different look that looks rich and healthy. 

Now not all of us have jobs that allow a funky look like this, so now what? Here is my second example:

Beyonce has the same color blonde in both photos, but in the second photo she has dark pieces around her face, about a level 5 complimenting the level 9 blonde around the rest of the head. Not to mention a few sporadic lowlights mixed through. The majority of it is blonde, but even with 1-2 inch roots, the color still looks great and allows for less upkeep. Her skin tone is washed out in the first picture but she's absolutely glowing in the second picture. See her roots in the first photo? Her natural color is lightened with a single process application to fake a more natural look, but it's too light and ends up adding an unnecessary shade. To upkeep the look in the first pic she would have to get her roots done every 4 weeks, and even that is stretching it. See ladies? Another reason highlights and lowlights look better than a single process all over lightener. 

How To Choose A Color That Compliments Your Skin Tone

Almost all of my clients at one point or another have said, "I would love to be (insert drastic color change here), but I could never pull it off." At this point I pull out the color swatches and show them why a color will or will not work for them. Usually your ethnicity is a big factor on which colors look great on you. If you have dark skin with olive tones like Jessica Alba, you most likely look very natural in golds and yellows. These tones are warmer and bring out the golden tone in your skin. Here is an example of why going all blonde does not usually look good on these skin tones.

Jessica Alba is so beautiful, but this platinum blonde hairdo does absolutely nothing for her. It makes her look washed out and sallow. No one would ever look at this color on her and think it was natural. Here is another example of Jessica with honey blonde highlights.

Gorgeous! Now why does this color work better? Well first off, highlights are always a better way to go lighter. I know us girls are very impatient and want what we want when we want it! However when it comes to hair (unless you want to look RIDICULOUS, like the first picture of Jessica), going light little by little is much more natural looking. Real hair has multi tones in it. In this picture, Jessica's natural color is lightened about 2-3 shades with a single process, but not completely eliminated. Highlighting is done on top of the single process to make for a blonder but much more natural look. See how the dark tones are mixed in with the blonde? Way nicer than the solid chunk of blonde. The highlights are done very thin to make for a sunkissed look. Instead of using that lighter wheat toned color for the highlights, her stylist brought the shade down slightly darker so he/she could add a honey golden tone. "Honey" means a tone lighter than a caramel, but darker then golden blonde. So in turn, you can not be as light as her first pic and still have honey tone.

So this is all well and good, but what if you're someone who is so pale that even 10 minutes in the sun will either burn you or bring out every freckle in your face? Blonde will look good on that skin tone, right? Not always. Here is a picture of my next example. The one girl in Hollywood who needs to either listen to her stylist, or fire her. Seriously, how much is she paying this person to look like THIS:

Gaaahh....

Well, clearly as you can see, this color does not compliment her skin tone in the least. She is trying to make up for it with a spray tan and extensions that went out of style in 2008. Have you ever thought, "Well if I get a tan it will look better." No it won't. Sorry, but if you don't look good in one color, a tan is not going to make it any better. You are what you are. Lindsay is very light skinned, but still has an olive complexion which is why she can not pull of this color. Other fair skinned celebs like Nicole Kidman and Anna Paquin are able to wear blonde because of their cool skin tones. Lindsay looks much better as a redhead or a warm brown. I've watched her experiment with every color blonde imaginable, with every tone and it does not work. So you might be thinking, "I see yellow hair and pink skin on her, why are you telling me she has an olive skin tone?" Simple. The more yellow added to a blonde, the closer her stylist can get to her golden (very pale, but golden) skin tone. It backfired in this case, because even that yellow gold blonde is still not rich enough in golden tones to compliment her color. So in the picture it is contrasting off her skin, making her look sallow. Sorry babe, give it up.

Hey! Those orange tones make you absolutely glow! Even though she is much younger in this picture (I would have used an updated one, but Lindsay hasn't been red in years) the red hair makes her look much younger by highlighting her natural color. I guarantee that if Lindsay came back to the scene with this beautiful hair color cut much shorter, she would be taken more seriously. Not because she wouldn't be blonde, but because she wouldn't look SICK. Blonde hair makes her look like she has the flu.

So an easy way to find you skin tone is to take a white and beige towel to a mirror and hold one up at a time to your face. Which looks like it blends with your skin more? And be honest with yourself. I know if you've been hoping for a certain color and it doesn't end up looking great it can be disappointing, but there are ways to wear a color beautifully, even if it clashes with your skin. I will make that the topic of my next post.

Remember, people won't tell you your hair looks like crap. They WILL compliment you though when it looks great.

The Dirt On Hair

What's the dirt on hair? It seems that there are always a dozen different answers to one small question about your do. Not to mention a dozen products recommended to fix your hair troubles. How many times have you bought an expensive product from your hairdresser only to bring it home, not knowing how to use it, and just end up storing it under the sink to collect dust? How about getting a great cut and style only to know that as soon as you go home and wash it, it will never look the same? In this blog I'm going to give you the low down, the REAL deal, on how to know what you need and how to actually achieve your desired style without wasting your money on products you don't need.

I'm a licensed and experienced cosmetologist. I run my own business and my clients like me not only because I make them feel great, but also because I'm informative and NOT pushy when it comes to upkeep. I started this blog because the public is terribly misinformed on what is best for their hair. Magazines, commercials, and unfortunately some uneducated stylists fill your brain with so much info on what's best that all the hairspray in the world couldn't cloud your understanding any more on how to maintain your mop. I tell all my clients the same thing. There are only three products that are a necessity for your hair. Shampoo, conditioner, and a light gloss for the ends. Anything more than that is strictly preference. You want volume? Add a volumizing spray or mousse. Need to keep the flyaways in place? A light pomade or hairspray will help.

I know how you feel as the consumer. I don't know the first thing about skin care, so when I want a cleanser that will moisturize my skin and keep the wrinkles from coming, walking into Sephora is dizzying! Which product do I choose? This esthetician recommends this cleanser, then the next one recommends a completely different one. And why should I trust them? How do I know that they're not just trying to make their commission quota? It's so easy to walk out of Sephora, walk into CVS, spend $8 on Clean and Clear and worry about it later.

Your business keeps my business going. So I'm going to give you the dirt on real style from a real stylist.