hairy situations

Good enough.

So, my entry is in for the contest of a lifetime. Spread the Love 2012. I have told myself that I deserve an opportunity like this, and that I’m good enough… but what if I’m not? What if in someone else’s eyes I’m NOT good enough? Not popular enough. Not pretty enough. Not talented enough. Not passionate enough. Ugh…

I cannot tell myself that I am measured by other’s perspectives, but when their perception could change my life, its hard. I just keep breathing. In and out, over and over. If I don’t win, I am still me, still the same person who has a love for life and a true passion I am lucky to have found.

I am going to make myself a promise that no matter what happens, whether I’m “good enough” to Spread the Love or not, I am good enough. I have friend, family, clients, and a boyfriend who all think I’m not only good enough, but great.

I am thankful for every minute I’m granted to live on this planet. I’m thankful for every person who sits on my chair. I’m thankful for all 200+ views on my entry video.

I’m thankful that I’m me.

Good enough, eh?

Terms to bring to the salon

Hello, my lovely tumblr followers! I hope you have had a FABULOUS week :) 

I have worked for the past 6 days in a row, and have seen an increase of new clients to me, which always gives me the opportunity to share my true passion with people; that being said, I have noticed lately with people who sit in my chair that very few people know how to articulate exactly what they want to me. There has always been somewhat of a disconnect between clients and stylists, because stylists spend roughly a year learning the proper terminology to use and, clients… well… don’t! While it is the stylist’s job through a clear and concise consultation to determine exactly what they are going to do, I thought I would use this post to break down some commonly used terms so as to better help YOU let your stylist know what you desire!

“FINE” hair VS. “FINE” hair: Most people throw this term around without really breaking down what they are referring to. I will put it as simply as possible, so you and your stylist can make sure you’re on the same page (and that the person who is doing your hair knows what they are talking about!). Hair is analyzed two ways- density and texture. Density means how many hairs are on your head, while texture is analyzing each hair individually. Density is measured most commonly as thick, medium, or thin. I think it is easier to measure it as heavy, medium, or low density, so as to not confuse it with texture. Coarse, medium, and fine are the classifications of texture (and now you see why it can be confusing). Someone can have fine hair and heavy density, or coarse hair with low density. All three types of density and all three types of texture need to be cut VERY differently. SO MANY TIMES people will think they don’t have a lot of hair, when in actuality they have a lot of hair, but very FINE hair. 

 PERIMETER: the perimeter of a haircut refers to the very longest parts of your hair. Whatever hair reaches the bottom (less hair reaches the more it is layered) is considered your perimeter. This term is important to use when discussing layers, especially for someone with low density. The less hairs you have, the more careful you have to be when layering so as to be sure you don’t create a very weak perimeter. 

TRIM: I’ll keep this one simple… EVERYONE’S IDEA OF A “TRIM” IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. DO NOT go in for a haircut without knowing EXACTLY how much you would like cut off in inches, and DO NOT let someone take shears to your hair without knowing exactly how many inches you’ve agreed to cut off (side note: the combs we cut your hair with have a ruler on the side, and I know personally I use mine all of the time)! If you want to prevent your stylist from cutting off “too much”, this is the best way to do it. 

TEXTURIZING: This is a VERY broad term, and there are many ways in which your stylist might choose to texturize your hair. Texturizing is the most common way to either blend out lines in your haircut and/or take out weight and add pizzaz to an otherwise boring haircut. I was taught by a great stylist at a top salon that very few haircuts are completed before you dry the hair, and I have found that in my career to be true. Stylists will texturize with their shears, thinning shears, or a razor.

LAYERS: Ahhh, how I love layers. There are so many different types and so many different lengths, so I will generalize my definition to the most common use of the term. Layers include any hair that doesn’t reach the perimeter. Some people like to be able to really see their layers, and others like them to be more blended. As a general rule of thumb, curly hair needs more pronounced layers so as to not frizz out the layers, and finer hair should have slightly more blended layers. When you see someone walking in front of you with “lines” separating each length of their hair, it usually a haircut that wasn’t blended enough for the style they are sporting. The length of the layers you desire is an important factor to determine when you get a haircut (and “long layers” is not a length). I recommend when you sit down to get your haircut to hold both hands at the perimeter of your haircut and then slowly lift them up to the shortest point you would like to see your layers. If your hair is shoulder length or below, I think chin length or longer is a good layer length. 

Ta-daaaa! I hope this post helps you in the future to get the PERFECT haircut!

Cheers,

Suzy 

RULES FOR GOOD HURR. (ahem… HAIR!)

Happy September, everyone! I hope that you have enjoyed the last bit of the warm weather, for the frigid days of winter are fast approaching. I thought I would write out for all of you the things that I have found to be the most important tips on creating fabulous locks that are healthy, shiny, and easy to maintain! I present to you…

SUZY’S TOP 3 RULES FOR GOOD HAIR:

1. DON’T WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY.

I know, I get it. You love the feeling of freshly washed hair. Squeaky clean with no grease in sight; even the least bit of oily shine leaves you running for your shower like a bat out of hell. One of the things that most people don’t understand is that YOU regulate how fast your hair gets greasy (and brushing your hair more often will distribute the “grease” down your hair strand to your dry ends!). The oil glands on your scalp are there to keep a natural balance of sebum on your scalp, and if you’re stripping your hair of its natural oil every morning of every day, they’re going to start producing sebum at a faster rate. You stop shampooing every day, it stops producing so much. I have my scalp to the healthy balance of washing my hair roughly 3 times a week. Day one, I wear it straight. Day two, I curl it. Day three, I ponytail it. BAM. Think of all the shampoo and conditioner you’ll save, too!

2. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE IN GOOD SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER AND BAD SHAMPOO/CONDITIONER.

I often have a hard time getting through to my clients that I have no intentions of robbing them blind by stocking their showers and bathrooms with products they don’t need or isn’t right for them. A very small amount of my paycheck has anything to do with how much retail I sell, I assure you. That being said, I cannot express how important it is to the health of your hair that you use a salon-quality shampoo and conditioner on your lovely locks. When your hair is wet, it is in it’s most fragile state. It is also the time that you can most easily penetrate your hair strand’s cuticles and add moisture to it. If you color your hair, straighten your hair, foil your hair, or curl your hair, this is EXTREMELY important. All of those things can dry out and damage your hair, neither of which is repairable on its own. So what are my favorite shampoos/conditioners?

*Aveda Color Conserve Shampoo/Conditioner

*Pureology Hydrate Shampoo/Conditioner (also has a conditioner for fine hair)

*Redken Extreme Shampoo/Conditioner

*Biolage Hydratherapie Shampoo/Conditioner

These all have VERY reasonable price points, and a general rule of thumb is the higher the quality of product, the less you need to use. 

3. LEARN HOW TO GIVE YOURSELF A GOOD BLOW JOB (sorry, I had to)

Have you ever had a grandma who sat under the dryers at the beauty shops with rollers in her hair? Have you ever noticed that they need to get their hair done only once or twice a week? That’s because they are DRYING their hair into a style instead of using their blow dryers to recreate a scene from “Twister” and then trying to use a flat iron to tame what they created. Yes, I’m talking to ANYONE who flips their head upside-down to dry their hair. Here’s the deal: I always tell my clients to blow dry their hair 110%- the first 100% is to get the moisture out, the last 10% is to style it (and in most instances, eliminate the need to flat iron their entire head). As far as what type of brush to use, I usually recommend a paddle brush and MAYBE a round brush (depending on the desired look) and blow dry DOWN the hair strand to avoid frizzing.

Well, there you have it! I hope that these 3 simple steps help you keep your hair looking and feeling gorgeous; if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

My first blog post!

So I have finally caved and created a tumblr, even though I still yearn for the days of livejournal (where re-posted pictures are few and far between and people actually WROTE stuff). I am going to do my best to share pertinent information involving my chosen career path and greatest love my life has ever known; hair.

You see, when I was growing up, my life was dance. Dance, dance, dance. I was in it for 16 years before I realized that my body simply couldn’t put up with the demands of pursuing it professionally, let alone the fact that one is almost too old to the industry by the mid-twenties. So i floated between careers for several years before my luck would have me start working for a cosmetology school and also able to take the schooling for free. From the first time I picked up a pair of shears, I knew it was what i wanted to do for the rest of my life. Never before had something made so much sense to me. I loved it, and I still love it. I hunger for more information now as a somewhat recent graduate just as much as I did my first day of school. I want to be the best there has ever been, and I refuse to settle for mediocrity.

Now, with all that being said, I will say that keeping the fiery passion alive is somewhat hard working in a salon in a very small town. Albertville, Minnesota is 92% white (yes, I did the research) and has more blonde-haired, blue-eyed Scandinavians than you can throw a stick at. If I had a dollar for every time a client sat down in my chair and said, “i wanna keep the length, just trim off the dead ends”, I would be close to a millionaire (well, maybe a thousandaire)! Don’t get me wrong, I do like my regulars who are comfortable with their tried-and-true formulas and their long, luxurious locks…. but when did people in small towns all decide that looking the same was a GOOD thing?! When did long, blonde hair become the only comfortable option?

If I sound ungrateful, please forgive me. I am appreciative of every client, and I am humbled by every person who books with me a second, third, fourth, or even fifth time. I KNOW that building trust with a client is imperative to staying in this business. I KNOW that for the most part I will be doing long and blonde hair for the rest of my career….

but I want to do more.

I want to cut off all of someones long, beautiful hair and show them how incredibly freeing it is to have a pixie. I want to bring attention to a blonde’s incredible blue eyes by coloring it a deep, dark, chocolaty-brown. I want to give someone their first asymmetrical haircut that they never thought they could pull off, but they can. I want to have blues, reds, pinks, purples, etc. adorn someones hair for the first time so they can express themselves through more their clothing (or their tumblr).

And someday, I will.