Steps to a Perfect Perm

 Consultation:  Be sure your customer understands that this procedure really is “permanent“. That means that the curl is there until it is cut off. Over the course of time the texture may relax, depending upon Home hair care, But the perm is still there.

I really important part of consultation is Home Maintenance customers need to know that due to the chemical service, the moisture level in the hair will be affected; i.e. reduced, depleted, and need of moisturizing. That’s dried out will tend to look like the perm is “falling out“. But the secret to maintaining a perm is moisture and conditioning. Moisture on the inside to define the curl and conditioning on the outside, to smooth the cuticle, and make the hair, shiny and manageable. 

You need to know how the customer intends to care for this permed hair; Will they be wearing it curly, blow, drying it, using a curling iron, etc. disinformation will be important to determining which formula to use, and the strength or intensity of the curl.

Cut before the Perm: this subject is always controversial between hairstylist and customers. In days of old, it was almost impossible to perm the hair without fishhooks, and or damage to the ends, because of the chemicals used so hairdressers got in the habit of cutting afterward, to remove the fishhooks and to make the hair look in better condition. So as a result, most hairstylist and customers, believe that it’s better to cut afterward. Because of the improvement in chemicals over the years and the ability to determine the strength of the curl, it’s always better to cut before you don’t need to be pulling on a new perm and, the chemicals used, sometimes make it difficult to get smooth even tension with freshly permed here. 

THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE IS THAT IF CUTTING THE HAIR BEFORE WOULD RENDER THE HAIR TOO SHORT TO PERM, THEN CUTTING AFTER IS NECESSARY.

Sectioning: This is the roadmap for your perm. Sectioning gives you a good idea about the head shape, how your sections will fit together and also let you accommodate the new hairstyle . If you are a busy hairstylist with more than one customer going at one time, sectioning also enables you to walk away to tend to another customer and come back and continue on. You may also have an assistant and sectioning will let them know exactly how you want things done.

Another important feature about sectioning is that enables you to rinse and blot and neutralize thoroughly. Having the hair sectioned will give you a clear pattern from start to finish.

Wrapping in solution: this is something most hairdressers don’t want to do because they’ve been programmed that you have to be fast and that if you’re not, you can damage the hair. They make lotion wrapped perms because they give a more intense and uniform curl. The chemistry has changed over the years and you don’t have to worry about damaging the hair. All you have to do is try it and get used to it. The hair will be wet, (which is how most hairdressers like to wrap.), detention will be uniform all over the head. The hair gets conditioned while wrapping and wrapping in solution accommodates all hair types except hair that’s been Colored with highlift tint, lightened, or highlighted. Try it you’ll like it!

Rinsing: This is a much neglected step! Most manufacturers of perms’ Directions say five minutes minimum Time for rinsing. The rule of thumb is five minutes for 5 inches of length. For every additional inch of length add an additional minute of rinsing. So, for example, for hair that is 12 inches long, the timing would be 12 minutes. This length of hair was probably wrapped with a specialty wrap like spiral, wrap, or piggyback, and needs additional rinsing. If you use this rule of thumb, you will never go wrong! Hair that isn’t rinsed properly cannot be neutralized properly. Keep that in mind. 

Blotting: this procedure has been neglected forever. Let me make one thing clear, manufacturers, do not want to putting permanent waves under the dryer in place of blotting. The only time permits go under the dryer is if the instructions suggest dryer heat for processing, never in place of blotting Rule of thumb is at least two salon towels, squeezing the head, like a melon, followed by paper towels, to ensure that all the water has been removed. For extra long hair, you simply wrap, two towels around the customers per wrapped head and let them lay back in the bowl with the towels to help absorb water  Before towel blotting. Improper blotting leaves excess water which will dilute the neutralizer and As a result, you will have a very weak perm. The perm will look good when you remove the rods because let’s don’t forget the bonds have also been affected but when the hair dries, you will see that it is processed.

Neutralizing: this is What makes the curl!. Prior to neutralizing, there is no curl. Applying waving lotion, allows the bonds in the hair to shift, and the new curl formation to take place, rinsing sets the curl and neutralizers harden, the curl in the new curl pattern. This is how curl happens. If any of the steps are neglected, you run the risk of damaging the hair, under processing and or over processing.

The lotion is rinsed “out” of the hair, so is important to use very warm water when rinsing.

The neutralizer is rinsed “off “the hair so it is it important to use cool water when rinsing. Cool water keeps the cuticle layer intact, tight to the hair and leaves the hair shiny and manageable.

You should recommend to the guest that After their first shampoo, they want to do a deep conditioning treatment. This will rebuild the moisture level and make their curls springy and manageable.

Be sure you have a talk with your customer before they leave the salon and let them know that your job was to put the curl in the hair, their job is to keep the curl looking good and lasting long. This can only be accomplished with Proper Salon quality products. 

Mens’ necklines.

Having worked in, and managed many salons over the years, I hear stylists ask men all the time “how do you want your neckline?  When I have the opportunity to discuss this in a training setting, I always advise the stylist or student that IT IS THE STYLISTS RESPONSIBILITY TO EDUCATE THE GUEST ABOUT “how their hairline should look!”  How the hairstylist shapes the neckline on a man’s haircut, should depend on the shape of the man’s neck. If the man has a wide neck, for example, sometimes a rounded or V-shaped neckline makes the neck appear slimmer. If the man has a very narrow neck, then a straight neckline with corners makes the neck appear wider. Another  important consideration, but many times overlooked, is offering a man a tapered neckline. The tapered neckline grows out much more naturally.  If you examine hairlines, you will see that nature makes to hairlines as they should be, and we just follow up.

The second step in the neck line for a man’s haircut is the length. When looking at a man from a profile view, from the side, a man’s neckline should never be shorter than his chin.

Besides my best efforts to guide new and experienced stylist on this subject, I think that many times they develop habits of asking the same question regardless of what they know. I advise them, “Mr. Jones based upon your head shape and the length of your chin I feel that a blankity blank neckline would look best”.  Stylists  respond “they don’t like it that way”.  I contend that it is because they have never had anyone make any recommendations, or care enough to try to enhance their appearance that they don’t know how to respond to you. It’s kind of like when you tell a woman something about their hair whether the way they put a different parting or a recommendation for highlights and they say to you “no one‘s ever told me that before“.

Is also the stylist responsibility to offer men guidance about their sideburns. Sideburns can give you appearance of minimizing or enhancing facial features. For example, if a man has a protruding or prominent nose, n the sideburns should be angled down toward the back of the head to lead the eye away from the prominent nose.  Consideration should also be given to the shape of the sideburns, whether it has points that lead the eye one way or the other.

Having studied barbering in addition to cosmetology, and running a beauty school, I’ve studied lots and lots of theory about this. I simply try to offer my experience, what I have learned over the years, to help others in offering their guests a quality salon experience.

Of course, hairstyling and  what looks good is a matter of opinion. What looks good to one person may not look good to another. However even your best efforts in offering style consideration to a man may be in vain. Sometimes they just want what they’ve always gotten and you can feel good about having offered choices and having done your job in educating your customers.

KIDS  CUTS

Even though my son has had a dozen haircuts, 

He always acts up 

when we go in for a trim. 

How can I get my child to 

behave better when he’s getting a haircut?  

He always just cries and tries to get out of the chair. 

We get asked this a lot!  

Were happy to help! 

Here’s something you might try next time: 

 When they call your child’s name, 

let him go with the stylist while you remain in the waiting area.  

Sometimes kids behave better when the parent turns them 

over to the care of another adult, similar to when you

 drop them off at  pre school.  

Your child will still be able to see you (and you can see them),

it will just change the dynamics of the experience. 

If the stylist needs you, he/she can call you over. 

Another thing you can do is to stop by the salon when 

you’re not planning to have your child’s hair cut. 

“Just to say hello”.  They can observe others having 

service and see how things should go with no pressure 

or anxiousness on their part.  

Good luck!  Hope to see you soon! 

Eyebrows

Eyebrows are so import ant to us... they do everything! Most importantly, they protect your eyes. The ridge if the brow and the brows themselves channel sweat, rain, and moisture away from the eyeballs so your vision stays clear. Did you know that  they’re essential for nonverbal communication. Scientists who study facial expressions say eyebrows are key to expressing happiness, surprise, and anger. 

Properly shaped Brows  Can do so much for your facial structure. Having a proportional eyebrow can accentuate the face and define your features. There is a science to creating the perfect brow, a different shape can change the look of your entire face. It all has to do with proportions, to find where your eyebrow should start, arch, and stop it’s best to check using the best tools. The front of your eyebrows should start at the inner corner of your eye. Taking an eyebrow pencil or angled brush, line up the arch of your brow with the edge of your nostril. The end of your eyebrow should line up with the outer corner of the eye.  We call this “mapping” the brow.  If everything is lined up, then you have perfectly proportionate brows for your face, but proportionate doesn’t always mean precision.

Even if you have all the angles right, ungroomed brows may result in an ungroomed look to the face. Here are some of the various ways to clean up your brows.

Tweezing is best for those who just want to clean up a few hairs.  Waxing can work to change your shape, but it isn’t going to be the best for making a precise line. This is optimal for cleaning up larger amounts of hair around the eyebrows. Threading uses a piece of thread to twist and pull out multiple hairs out at once, it is the most precise and works best to change your shape. If you opt for threading, make sure to have a high pain tolerance. It might be a good idea to have someone who is a professional do this because it requires two sets of hands.  Using one of these techniques will help you to achieve the desired look.  

Styling your eyebrows can help achieve the ideal look through many techniques. For many, eyebrow pencils are the best option because of how easy it is to use. For others, using powder matched to your eyebrow color and an angled brush can help fill in the brows making them appear fuller, but still remain natural. A new craze has been filling in brows with a colored pomade, slightly drawing above and below in some places to achieve smooth lines and a clean finish. For some, neither of these work for them because of the lack of hair to begin with. Tinting can help to make the hairs and skin underneath darker with the use of a vegetable dye, it remains a very natural look while changing the color, thickness, or shape of the brows without permanent results, lasting two to three months.

While most people think eyebrow care is suited specifically to girls, a perfected brow can be the only thing a guy does and it will still help frame the face. Eyebrow tips and tricks apply to everyone.

All that being said, another amazing thing about grooming Eyebrows is there a can make your appearance seem much more youthful. Clean, well shaped arches Gives the eye a more open, wider, bigger, brighter  appearance, balances the shape of your nose, and draws attention away from sagging skin or puffiness and gives you a much more well-rested, awake, alert, younger appearance! That’s the best reason for shaping eyebrows.

So, to get started on your new brows, if you feel like your brows may be over tweezed or misshapen, here’s what you can do: start by letting your brows grow in completely. You’ve probably forgotten
What’s the real shape of your brows looks like. Keep them clean by tweezing a few hairs to be well groomed while leading the majority of hairs grow in. Once your brows are fully grown now you can start to measure the angles and reshape using one of the methods described above.

At FANTASTIC SAMS we wax brows and we tweeze. Waxing is for establishing a shape, and tweezing is to give the really clean defined look to the brows. We offer the services at an affordable price nine dollars for one facial area like the upper lip brow or chin or three areas for $25. Were waiting for you now! 

The difference between hair care salon products and over the counter hair products

For as long as I’ve been in the hair  business, I and all the other hairstylist that I’ve worked with are constantly being asked about the difference between salon products and those hair care products that you can buy over the counter. The general population is very skeptical about the product lines that hairstylist use and recommend in the salon. Much of their skepticism is influenced by what they hear  about hair care products from time to time and from different sources. They hear reports and discussions on the TV and radio stations and many times by people that don’t work in the industry.
I’ve been in the hair business for about 38 years now.  During my career as a hairstylist and educator I’ve had the opportunity to work with many manufacturers representatives and in some cases been in training with the chemist that make hair styling products. From all of the discussions and classes and materials that I’ve read and products that I’ve worked with,  it really all boils down to a few main,  it very important) differences  between salon products and those that you purchase over the counter; THE QUALITY OF INGREDIENTS, and packaging. You might liken the difference between salon products and over the counter to the difference between grades of steak, i.e., prime versus regular cuts of meat. Perhaps the difference between finely woven silk fabric and cotton, or the difference between fine china and everyday dishes.
When formulating the products, the chemist have many choices for ingredients. Those ingredients,  like anything else that we purchase, have levels of quality. The more expensive products are so because of what goes into making them. they use the higher grade (highly concentrated)  quality of ingredients and also add more of everything, including vitamins and conditioners to those products. Those higher quality ingredients are also added in more concentration then the less expensive products that you find over the counter. The same manufacturers that manufacture salon products also make the over-the-counter products (lesser grade) that are found in many retail outlets. As I said, like everything that’s manufactured there’s a difference between what is manufactured for the high end salon and those that are manufactured for more consumer-based outlets.
You may or may not have noticed that the products you find in salons usually have a more unique and glamorous type packaging. Those types of packaging cost more money. That cost is passed on to consumers. Because of the expense of the product are often times manufactured in smaller bottles to make it more appealing to the salon goers.
Because of these differences, the higher concentration of ingredients and the higher quality, it enables you to use less of the products to get better results. In many cases it boils down to preference, and economics-What do you want and what you can afford.
No it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t tell you that these over-the-counter products will clean your hair, condition your hair, and style your hair. But the way that they leave your hair, and the degree to which they dry or damage your hair are of more importance to some people than others. Similarly there’s a difference between the product with which you clean your oven or the one with which you clean your fine delicate laundry. One is more harsh than the other. They are not designed to do  the same job.
Here’s an example: someone shampoos her hair with XYZ shampoo it says lather rinse repeat. The same day that product gives the hair lots of body and shine. The next day the hair is limp and fly away. The reason for this is that the Product may have been too harsh for that particular texture or condition of hair and removed too much moisture from the hair. So logic says shampoo again to get back to body and shine. So it’s necessary to shampoo more to get the desired results. The reason for that is that the more you repeat the process the more porous you make the hair, which in turn allows the hair to lose moisture more readily and so the only solution is to shampoo again (with that porosity in mind) To get more of the conditioning that gave the hair the body! It can be a vicious cycle leaving the person to think that there’s no solution for her hair. So people try shampoo after shampoo after shampoo looking for different results when really they should go to the salon.
We could go on and analyze each and every product but suffice it to say that in essence it is the quality of ingredients that allows a product to deliver the promised results.

wigs

Godiva Secret Wigs as a solution for thinning hair and hair loss for women.

I became a consultant for Godiva Secret Wigs about 3 years ago.  It all started when I was looking for a "topper" for my fine, thin, hair.  It's very frustrating to work with hair, all kinds of hair, throughout the day and be unable to make your own fine, thin, hair look like much more.  All the sprays and gels in the world won't give you more hair! That's what you do with fine, thin, hair...you make something out of nothing!  And that takes time.  Moreover, living in Florida with the humidity, you can smooth and straighten only to have your hair turn to frizz by midday.

I've been doing hair in one aspect or another (styling, training, educating, etc) for over 36 years and honestly, my lower back, arms and shoulders are worn out!  So when my day is done, it is sometimes too uncomfortable for me to be doing all that blow drying, flat ironing and styling for myself!
So my search began.  I ordered a topper and was disappointed because I still had to deal with the rest of my hair.  At that time, Godiva did not offer the choices for colors that they now have.  So if I would have gone that route, I would have had to dye my hair to match the topper and what was the point?  More work for me.   I decided to try the full wig and I'm so glad I did.  It takes no time at all to look glamorous with a full head of healthy looking, thick hair!  The wigs helped me so much that I wanted to share what I had learned with other "thinning hair" women.  So I became a consultant.  I now am able to offer styling to my clients as a free service when they purchase through me. 

I've been told that when I don my wig, I look 20 years younger!  That right there is motivation enough for me!

Because of becoming a wig-wearer, I was able to stop coloring my hair and see just how gray I had become.  It took me about a year to grow all my color out and now I have a beautiful head of almost white hair.  The challenge there was learning to deal with gray hair that was uncolored.  Gray hair, no matter the texture or density tends to be wiry and a little more frizzy than I would like.  Having natural curl made my situation even trickier.  I had to play around with conditioning treatments, smoothing treatments and ultimately a relaxer so not to be susceptible to the hair wrecker, "humidity"!  That also took time, but now I have a lot to share with other women about just what steps to take. 

Because we use Chi Ionic color in our salons and that is what I used on my hair when I colored it, I was spoiled by the infusion of silk protein into the color which, in turn, was absorbed into my hair and so I had a misconception about my natural hair.  When I stopped coloring, I had to deal with my gray hair in its natural state.  Thus, the experimentation with conditioning and smoothing to get to a place where I could wear my natural hair if I so desired. 

I finally settled on the Chi Smoothing treatment.  It's not permanent, but it gives me the semi-permanent silkiness and smoothing that I need. 

These Godiva wigs are such a quality product that my customer are constantly complementing me on my hairstyle and they are always shocked when I tell them "it's a wig". 

I think because of my many, many years of hair styling, I am able to customize the styles to suit me exactly and I have received many awesome reviews from my wig-wearing customers.

These wigs are so easy to maintain.  Because they are synthetic hair, they only require shampooing every 14 wears.  I shampoo, condition, blot dry, shake out and hang to dry.  The style looks just the same when its dry.  You see, the style is "steamed" in.  They never need thermal styling, just arrange with your fingers and go!  My life couldn't be simpler. 

The most rewarding thing about being a Godiva Secret Wig consultant is how appreciative the wearers that I help with choosing and styling their new hair.  Most people have come to me in preparation for or after chemo treatments and in that is where the satisfaction lies.

My oldest wig is 3 years old and still looks awesome.  These wigs are work horses if you take care of them.  And that doesn't require a lot of work at all or I wouldn't be doing it. 

PERMS

My hair doesn't take a perm.

OMG!  If I hear that one more time.  There are rarely customers whose hair cannot be permed.  They may have resistant hair that requires more expertise and skill in perming, but in all my years, I have not met anyone whose hair cannot be permed.

In order to clarify, lets go back and look at what happens during the perming process.   There are three aspects to perming, the physical part or the wrapping of the hair on her rods or rollers, the chemical part, the choosing of the proper formula for the hair type, and the proper application and execution of the physical and chemical aspects. Wrapping the hair is the first part of the perming process which I don’t consider to be a “step” and is is so important!  It seems so easy to so many stylists that they don’t focus on every detail; the size of the subsections, rods on base, no unnecessary tension, the smoothness and evenness if the hair on the rods, and what about protecting the delicate skin around the hairline? This is so unorganized in a lot of cases. Sometimes there are so many rods put in the head, and putting in such a fashion that it’s impossible to keep track of which roads have been saturated in which haven’t. That being said with proper wrapping then we proceed to the actual steps. In step one, the softening, the hair is saturated with waving lotion, bonds are broken apart so that they can shift past each other when wound on the rod or perming tool.  If the wrong strength of solution is used or if the proper solution is used improperly or incompletely, here is where the problem may begin.  In step two, the processing of the solution, again, I repeat that if you do not follow manufacturers instructions, or do not know what to look for when attempting to determine if the processing is complete, problem again.  Step three involves the rinsing or "setting" of the hair in the new position.  You remove all chemical and water and “set” the hair to get ready to be hardened in the new configuration. Once again, most times this is a big problem.  A lot of hairstylists do not have proper training and/or desire to do what it takes, i.e. rinse until the smell is gone and all of the waving lotion is removed.  This requires time and very warm water which “opens” the cuticle and allows the proper rinsing “out” of the chemical. This next step is crucial and so overlooked. BLOTTING EACH AND EVERY ROD until there is no excess water left in the hair.  Most hairstylist preferred to squeeze the head  with all the perm rods with a towel much like you would squeeze a melon.  This is a big problem! The excess water left in the hair will dilute the neutralizer, the last step, which actually makes the curl in the hair. Until this part of the process there is no curl.  And last but not least,  they put the neutralizer on haphazardly, the perm seems like there’s curls in it when the rods are taken down, because of the temporary hydrogen bonds, but after the guest leaves,  the curlfalls out leaving the customer to think “my hair doesn’t take a perm“.

One salon chain that works closely with perming manufacturers and gets training from those manufacturers is FANTASTIC SAMS.  The training ensures that things are done properly.  Something to think about.