Lets all take time and remember!

As I was heading home from work the other day, I found myself stopped at a cross walk, while an elderly man made his way slowly across.  He wore the traditional uniform of the legionnaires, and on his left lapel was the poppy.
It made me think we all need to sit back and pay respect, not only to our seniors, but to our veterans.  They sacrificed for our freedom, with loss and injury.  They are, our local heroes, and they should be celebrated, not only on November 11th but all year round.
Let us not forget the families that stay behind for them they're strength is admirable, and must not be forgotten.

So let's all take time and remember that they did this for you and me, so we could live safe & free!
"


                      Lest we forget"

New Love!

Let me introduce every woman's new must-have service!!!!!

Rusk DeepShine Smooth Keratin

Smoothing System

I have been very lucky to find this product last week, and couldn't wait to use it.  

Well my wait was finally over.  As you all know hair stylists are very impatient when it comes to trying new things in hair!

Well I began the service with her full color, then once the color had processed and washed out, I proceeded with the treatment.  

As far as a smoothing system goes this one was pretty simple.  Wash the hair with provided shampoo 2x, then if needed use the leave in conditioner (porous hair), I used it on my client today since we had just done her color.  Next was to apply the treatment in sections onto towel dried hair.  Once you have the Treatment throughout the whole head, you proceed to comb, first with a wide tooth comb, then a fine tooth comb. Easy? 

Once I felt I had all the hair was well saturated, I decided with a 10 minute processing time, due to the hair porosity.  

I then proceeded with the remaining instructions, washed the hair, and towel dried it a second time, ensuring I had removed all the product.  

Using the leave-in conditioner once more, (I was careful to not over saturate the hair). 

The hair was so easy to comb through after wards.  My comb just flowed right through.  And we all know that a comb does not usually go through the hair so easily after a chemical services, right?

Second last step was to dry the hair to 90% dry.  I had a hard time with that one.  Natural instincts I guess.

Once I was done with the blow-out I was terrified!  This was all but shiny, silky or smooth.  

How ever I did have one last step.  So I crossed my fingers & toes, jumped right in.  

Flat Iron on max heat, I had to give this girl what she expected, not this fuzzy mess...

Well first section with the iron WOW!!  

The hair was smooth, shiny, & soft!  I kept on waiting for the product to fail me, but it only got better!

Now I will tell you all, I have never taken so long using a flat-iron (1 hr) to be exact.  But the results were amazing!!

She was happy, I was happy.  All around what a great service!

...Now to see how it fares with her daily life.  I will keep you posted.

Lousy Hair-Cut

LICE!!!

This is the subject no one want to talk about, and when we do we all start to itch!

I have been seeing this happen in schools around the country, as soon as kids go back to school, there is a certain little critter that likes our children's scalp & hair.

As hair stylists were quite aware of this pest that threatens us all year.  What do we do when we find them?

Should we proceed?  What is the best way for parents to remove them.

Let us start at the beginning, Lice are a natural pest that loves the scalp and hair. (The scalp for blood, and hair for nesting.)  They are often transmitted in schools, day-cares, any situation in close quarters, or sharing of personal products. 

Once detected it should be taken care of straight away! Keep in mind to advise the school to prevent the chance of further infection.

Many people are very afraid of them, stylists included.  There is also a world-wide assumption that only dirty people get them... That is a very big misconception, they LOVE clean healthy hair.  The problem with them is we don't usually notice them until its too late.  

So what should we recommend?

Myself I rely on Tea-Tree oil, a drop of that in shampoo and they seem to stay away.  It is also good during an infection, in laundry soap, floor cleaner, etc...
I strongly stand behind drug store chemicals for immediate eradication.  They usually are easy to locate, and not overtly expensive.
Another home remedy, is olive oil, and apple cider vinegar.  Not the best smell, but seems to help.
There is also the theory that they do not like chemical services, so colored hair seems to be safe.
I  personally have not tested this theory.  So I cannot say for sure.

Don't forget to keep checking the hair every few days, using the fine tooth comb, to ensure they are well and gone.

We all know how taxing it is to get them all out seeing as its like finding a needle in a haystack.  Keep vigilant and they will be gone for good.

Lastly advise children not to share hats, brushes, etc... also tie long hair back, this will help prevent the chance of infection.

These little creatures are decidedly meant to keep us on our toes.
Keep a close eye on things.  If some-one mentions they seem to be really itchy all the time, check it out.  Could be a simple case of dry scalp or...


If you have suggestions for other readers, please put them in the comments.  I would love to have a list of remedy's to help the ones not so lucky this year.


  

Pony-Tails?

Sleek, Sexy, Smooth, that is the new trend on ponytails this fall.  Structured style, elegance and a touch of femininity is the key.  

To achieve this beautiful look, start out with a good smoothing lotion, my favorite is 

Orofluido, this golden dream, is made of Agran, Linseed, and Cyprus oil, all this combined with a pleasant fragrance of vanilla.  It helps with drying time and of course the dreaded frizz.

I will then blow-out the hair with the biggest round brush I have (aprx 3" dia), I then to get the look I smooth the hair with my straightener.

Sleek hair back into a smooth ponytail, and re-apply smoothing serum and secure with your favorite elastic or tie.  Lastly I touch up the tail with my straightener to complete the look.

This enticing style would look great with a full fringe, or swept to the side, try it out today for any event such as, a relaxed dinner with the family, or a night out! Get creative!

Plans will fall apart!

So I spent all week-end preparing for a Color class I was about to teach on Monday. There were boxes to be packed, information to have on hand, even practiced a few times. I have a format to follow, easy right?
Wrong! The location for the class was quite a ways from where I live, so I left early in the morning coffee in hand to brave the fog and moose.
I arrive at the salon on time.

Surprise!!!

Not a soul there. I proceeded to wait wondering if I had the wrong date, or did I miss the time etc...

Finally to my relief, I see a single person enter the shop... Could it be? She lets me in only to find out some people will be late.

This set the class to the wrong start
And it just kept going. Things that should be done by them were done by me. At one point I saw a stylist take two hours to cut hair!!

Well I rolled up my sleeves and managed to complete my class, with every one happy.

So even with a delayed start, late stylists and a major change of plans, it all worked out.

I guess no matter how well organized you are there can always be a challenge thrown in.
It's all in how you roll with it!

I have just received my first testimonial from beautiful Caroline Khoury! I will share it with you all.

You know that feeling you get when every time you get your hair cut, you don't like it on the first day, because you're not used to it or the hairdresser did not do it the way you imagined?

Ive always felt that way, I've always felt the hairstyles i've always desired to have were hard to describe with with words. 
I've always wanted layers, intensified, volumized layers you see on a celebrity with really long wavy hair. No-one could get it as fabulous as Eloise did with mine. The hairstylists that did mine before were possibly novel stylists and afraid of wrecking my hair. However, Eloise went far out with her magical hands and with confidence gave me the best haircut I've ever had in Canada. I enjoyed the look of my new layers, the intensified, and volumized ones I have always imagined. Thank You Eloise
Caroline

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice!

  Today was a princess day, little girls all excited to get pampered like the star that they are.  

My first one was a little fashionista, (7 years old going on 17), she knew what she wanted.   No silly stuff for her.  So excited to show off her up-do to her friends and grandmother, that she couldn't sit still for her manicure.  

The second of the crew, a 12 year old feisty little red head, (she used to walk my dog until I adopted twin pups), I had given her a gift certificate for a few funky hair extensions.  She chose the brightest pink I had in stock in support of  "walk for the cure" week end.

My last little princess was another fashionista, a model in the making, (she can do the splits!!) we cut her hair into a sharp a-line bob.  Then we topped it off with a feather extension.  Let me tell you she was so excited she didn't want her mother touching her hair at all.  

 Little girls are always a joy to do in my shop, they have such great imaginations, and love to try new things.

You can always hear giggles & animated chatter from one end of the shop to the other.  

Its days like these that make me love my job!

If you have any stories you would like to share, feel free to do so, I'd love to hear them!