Curly Hair: Products

Being a Curly Girl myself I have a lot of knowledge on the subject!

Its frizzy and big and out of control right?! Ugh, it's frustrating! I know all about it.

If you have thick course curls you should use a cream, Cibu's Oso Shimmer is a great one, as well as the whole TIGI Curls Rock line.

Now if you hair is medium to fine it is better to use a mousse or foam. Rusk W8less Mousse is a a favorite of mine OR Regis Designline Volumizing Foam is amazing for finer locks! (Hint: you can also use it as a root booster when you blow out your curls)

Don't get discouraged my curly girls, Follow my blog and if you have any questions ASK ME!! :)

Volume (Brush)

Good Morning Everyone!

I want to talk to you guys about volume today. There are many many ways you can get volume. Today we will talk about when styling. There are two major things you need when getting volume out of your style. The brush you use and the product you use.I'll be telling you about the products in the next post. 

The brush you use should be a round brush. The bristle type is up to your preference, I like bore bristle because it is more gentle on the hair strand it also gets the hair more smooth. You also want the brush to be ceramic. This is a great quality because as the blow dryer heats up the hair, it heats up the brush. This makes the brush almost like a giant low heat curling iron, and it helps the style last longer

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Now the positioning of the brush and the size of the brush is everything. A big brush in long hair is going to create a good amount of volume and a little flip. That same size brush in shorter hair, creates great volume and just a slight curve under. As a rule of thumb, as you blow dry your hair, pull the brush up to the sky as you run the brush through your hair from root to end. This always creates the maximum volume for the size of the brush.

Ill be doing a demonstrative video for this very soon. So follow me and you'll know when its up :)

Until then, happy styling!

~Stacey K

Men's Edition 1

Hello Everyone

It is a beautiful day here in Arizona, so beautiful in fact I have taken my laptop outside to blog. Today I want to talk about men's hair care. I have been asking most of my male clientele about what they want to know about their hair. Unfortunately some men are still uncomfortable talking about the subject, and I tell them, "Hey this is my job, I want you to know anything and everything you can about your hair. Don't be afraid to ask me something" Once they warmed up a bit most of them asked me about hair loss and going gray.

On the topic of hair loss, I told them a few things. If your hair is just thinning all over, products like Rogaine or Nioxin are wonderful products. See if you are just seeing a thinning all over, it may mean the hair follicle is still present, and if it is present it is most likely they can be reactivated. What the products like Rogaine and Nioxin do in fewer words than a novel is get them active again. There are three stages of hair growth, Anagen, catagen and telagen.  

Now, I seriously can't explain this better than a site that I have found. So to understand the stages of hair growth better, clicking here will present you with a short article on the matter.

As for greying of hair, the reason why (if you don't already know) is because as we age our hair cells create less melanin (the stuff that makes our hair color our brown/blonde/red and everything in between) therefore making it grey/white instead. Some people never go grey, and some go grey at a very early age, this all depends on your genetics. So if you are grey bound there is no way to reverse it (yet lol) So in the meantime most women color their hair. If you are a man and don't want to look like you colored your hair, you have options. Redkin has a color line dedicated to you! It's called Camo Color, and it gets its name because it blends in your grey to your natural hair color. This means you will still have some grey hair, but thats the point, it doesn't look colored. If you wanted it completely gone you can use the same color as your female friends. The downside to that is you will have whats called a line of demarcation, which is where your natural hair grows in and you have grey roots. If you plan on getting your hair touched up every 6 to 8 weeks than thats great, but if you don't it will be a problem. Camo color is a demi permanent color which means it will fade away gradually therefore no distinctive grey roots for you! And you don't have to have a standing color appt. you can do it whenever!

I am sure there are more things you men what to know about your hair. I want you to ask me, if I don't know the answer, I'll find out for you! Let me know if this blog was helpful at all!

I hope you guys have a beautiful day! As for me, I'm going to enjoy my day off!

Happy Styling

~Stacey K

Fact or Myth 1

Myth- Your Hair grows faster if you cut it every {insert number here} weeks.

Yes and no.. and here's why:

If you have healthy hair, virgin hair, don't use heat on your hair, don't tease your hair, or basically do what tons of women every where do, and what most men don't. Then this statement is fiction for you. If you want your hair to grow, you can get away with cutting it 2 or 3 times a year.. lucky you ;-) I am jealous!

Now if you are like me, I do all of those damaging things, and MORE to my poor hair, haha (and I know most of you do too.. ) and even though I use great salon products on my hair, it still splits and breaks and if I don't cut it every other month, on the full moon (not for any particular reason but my bad memory) it breaks too much and basically cuts itself. So by the time I DO get a cut, I have taken a step back and I feel like I am running in circles!

How do I know this? Oh! I am so glad you asked! ;-) 

I did an experiment last year. I really wanted my hair to grow. It had been in a short bob for years. I had move around a few times and didn't know who to let cut my hair.. so I only cut it 2 times in 1 year. My hair only grew 3 inches. :-o.. I know! That is half the speed of normal hair growth! Now since that year, I cut my hair every other month on the full moon (starting 6 months ago) and what do you know?!!! It's grown at least 3 inches since then!

And then it clicked. Even though I should have already known that, I mean it seems to be obvious once it is explained. Well at least for a hair stylist. Lol. So If you are in the 1st group. Don't let a stylist fool you! You are lucky and unless you are trying to maintain a certain length or style, and are trying to grow your hair. You don't need a 6 week standing appt. Even though everyone knows how wonderful it feels after a haircut :-) I know you know what I am talking about. You feel all new and fresh and good about yourself. 

Well, that's why I do what I do, I love making people feel great!

So for the 1st edition fact or myth? This one goes either way. Hair isn't a perfect science. Though a lot of these fact or myth posts are going to be either/or. 

Until next time, happy styling!

-Stacey K 

Heat Protection

What an important thing! And completely over looked!

Where most of you are, you NEED a heat protector for your hair when you use styling tools such as blow dryer, flat iron, curling iron. Though if you live here in Arizona or in other very sunny places, you need a heat protection even from the good ol' sun!

Apply the heat protector to slightly damp hair just before blow drying. When you are using a flat iron or curling iron the product is usually a spray, so spray lightly before using the tool. As a side note, most spray heat protectors are oil based so be careful not to OVER spray ;).

If the products is more starchy you don't have to worry as much, however, I don't personally like them, I definitely like the oil based sprays better. They tend to leave the hair soft and shiny. No fun when you can't run your hands through your hair!

Here is a list of thermal protectors I really enjoy

Purology Super Smooth Hot Iron Protection
Cibu Sashini

Sebastian Trilliant

Regis Designline Get it Pressed Flat Iron Spray

I have used all of these and strongly recommend any of them. If you have any questions let me know!

 Until next time.. Happy styling!

~Stacey K 

Introduction

Hello!

Since this is my very first blog post I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Stacey! I live in Arizona, and I am a professional cosmetologist. I started learning about cosmetology 11 years ago, when my mother took over a salon in Maryland. Ever since I was little I knew I wanted to do hair, and when I was old enough to take the program offered to me as a sophomore in high school, I gladly took it. As a result I had my cosmetology license when I walked for high school graduation.

I want you to know all of this, so I can validate I am more than qualified to provide you with this information. I am currently working on launching my website to Learn about your hair also. Besides when I am behind my chair at work, this is my passion. I love to educate my clients about anything to do with their hair! And with this blog I can also teach anyone who will listen.. well.. read.

In this blog I'll not only be teaching you about your hair, but tips and tricks on how to maintain your style between salon visits. I'll also be doing product reviews and demonstration videos, as well as clearing up fact from myth.

There is SO much information I have, and want to tell you, sometimes it is hard to know where to begin! I completely welcome questions, comments, anything. I am MORE than excited to answer them, and provide any information I can.

Hair and skin, are some of the most important things to us as people. Men and women alike. My goal is to share any information I can, and to make each and every one of you feel wonderful in your own skin. 

Until next post, happy styling! 

Stacey K