Blow Dryer

If you choose blow drying as the straightening method, it is important to know how to do it properly and use the right tools. For making curly hair straight it is best to use a large sized round brush, particularly with natural bristles. Choose the lowest heat setting on the blow dryer that will straighten and dry your hair but result in the least amount of damage. Always work in small sections and keep the dryer at least 8 inches from your hair. Use the brush to hold the hair tightly straight, but not so tight that you risk breakage.

Straightener

A flat iron is another straightening technique and is often chose when blow drying causes an obscene amount of unnecessary volume. To effectively straighten your hair with ironing, the sizes of your sections are crucial. If you have smaller, tighter curls then you will need to work with smaller sections. You will need to start at the root section and move slowly down the section. It will likely take several passes.

Chemical Straighteners

If a blow dryer or flat iron does not have an effect on your curls, you may need to use a chemical straightener, also called a relaxer. Many people use these products for straight hair, but it will only work if you know what you are doing. To avoid damage, use a moisturizing oil and make sure you massage it into your scalp, along your hairline, and through your hair. Apply the relaxer and use a wide tooth comb to distribute the relaxer through your hair. Timing is crucial; you should not leave the relaxer on for longer than the instructions state. Although any shampoo will work to wash out the relaxer, it is often better to use a neutralizing shampoo for the best results.

Regardless of which method you choose, the products you use are equally important. Choose products that aid in straightening and prevent frizz. Avoid any styling products that contain water because the moisture will bring the curls back before you even finish straightening your hair. Products that contain alcohol should also be avoided because they can cause excessive dryness.

95% of hair salons will perform Hair Straightening as a professional service. Click here to find salons that offer the service.

One of the main advantages is that you have the ability to pin your own images of hair styles that you like. Whether you have found various celebrity photos on the Web or you have taken your own photos, pinning them to a board can be a great aid for you to design your style or new look.

Pinterest allows you to create multiple boards that you can use to sort your hairstyle images, your makeup images, and fashion images etc separately. You can stay broad and choose to create boards for short, medium, and long styles. If you want to divide your groups even further you can create boards for face shapes, types of cuts, and up-do styles. You are only limited by your own creativity.

Computers are not required. Pinterest apps are available for Android and Apple devices. This gives you the freedom to access the images while discussing your new style with your hairdresser. Visuals can help your hairdresser advise you easier and more efficiently, without having to sit down and take the time to flick through magazines before your haircut even starts. You simply pull your phone out of your pocket and show them exactly what it is you want.

The great thing is you can use this process beyond designing your hairstyle or fashion to your home and more! The decision as to whether or not Pinterest can be a valuable styling tool is dependent on the individual. It is convenient and helps you make sure that you are getting the hairstyle that you will be happy with. If you’re on Pinterest already, start searching for fashion and hairstyle boards to follow, and start to design your new look! If you’re not on Pinterest, here’s where to start www.pinterest.com

Happy pinning!

Image: youqueen.com

What to do when a haircut goes wrong…

It’s one of our biggest fears, and unfortunately at times, haircuts do go wrong! Either the style is different to what we had envisaged in our minds, or our hair has taken differently to a style cut, or the hairdresser may have gone way too short. So what do you do when a situation like this arises?

Here’s some tips on getting through…

- Firstly, it’s important to recognise that things do go wrong at times, but, doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about it. Take a deep breath, and keep reading.

- Talk to the stylist who performed the cut on your hair. Be honest with them in saying that you were expecting something different.

If you realise the next day after you’ve washed it that it’s not quite right, go back and give the stylist a chance to correct it as much as possible. Most hairdressers have your best interests at heart, and will do what they can (within reason), to ensure you are happy with the cut.

- Consider changing the color or style a little to increase the appeal of your haircut. This may involve some foils, or a darker under-color. Or you could even add some curl in at the bottom, or straighten if your hair is naturally curly to make it that little bit longer.

- If you really need that extra length for a special occasion, you could consider some clip in extensions, or proper hair extensions.

- Accessorise – it’s amazing what some hair accessories can do to lift a somewhat flat hairstyle, or to really give you that bit of extra wow factor. You’d be amazed at how hair accessories can really turn an average, plain hairstyle into something amazing.

TIP: If you’ve got a wedding or something special coming up, try getting your hair cut and styled about 2 weeks before. That way if something doesn’t quite go right, you have time to choose a different style or color, and your hair has the opportunity to grow a little.

While we hope you never have to deal with a bad haircut, they do happen from time to time, it’s important to bring out Plan B, and get creative!

Photo: st1hairsalon.blogspot.com

5 things to look for in a great hair salon

For many, it takes a long time to find a hair salon they are totally comfortable with, one that they know they can trust. After all, hair is often what really defines a person’s look and style, and when something goes wrong, it can have a number of side-effects.

We’ve put together 5 things to look for when searching for a great hair salon.

1. Professional branding/presentation – what does their shop look like? Have they decorated it with style? What are their color combinations like, have they taken pride in how they present themselves?
2. Price – this is just one of the indicators to take into consideration when choosing a great hair salon. Are their prices super cheap?
(meaning they may be throwing themselves at people to get business) or are they super expensive? Obviously high prices
don’t come into everyone’s budget and you need to take that into consideration too.
3. Customer service – when you call to ask about their services, opening times or pricing, are they friendly? Do they go above and beyond for you offering information you didn’t think to ask for?
Don’t forget that most businesses are on Facebook now, so you can do extra checks on how they deal with potential customers and if they know their industry.
4. Cleanliness – is the salon clean and tidy? Overall cleanliness is a sign that a salon cares about hygiene. Is there a lot of hair left on the floor or just swept to the side? Are fresh towels put out for new clients. Are the staff well-presented and tidy?
5. Style – do they recognise good styling? How are the hairdressers representing the salon styled & presented? Do they have books available for clients to flick through. Are they allowing discussions with clients already in the salon about new styles or pushing their own ideas onto them?

There are a lot of factors that go into choosing a great hair salon. We’ve all had the fear of a hair style cut or color going wrong, or worse still having one go wrong! The choice we make is crucial. Keeping these factors in mind will help you to make an informed choice.

As women, we love an opportunity to doll ourselves up and head out for a special occasion.  It’s our chance to look our very best, boast some glam and our best jewellery.   Here’s some makeup tips to ensure you look your absolute best!

Preparation in the lead up

Prepare your skin to glow and look amazing by drinking lots of water in the lead up to the event.   Avoid caffeine and soft drinks (they can dehydrate your skin not hydrate it) and stay away from salty foods (can cause water retention & puffiness).  You could even apply some facial treatments such as masks and creams as preparation for your special occasion.

Preparation on the day

Ensure your Face is cleansed and exfoliated before any makeup is applied.  This will ensure your skin pores are clean and you’re starting with a clean slate.

Allow your makeup time to settle by ensuring you apply and complete your makeup up to an hour before the special occasion.

Color & makeup styles

The style of makeup (heavy look or lighter shades) will be determined largely by the special occasion and the time of day.   If it’s a daytime event, then brighter, lighter colors and style would have you looking your best.  For evening events, a darker style might work well.

The colors you choose can be dictated in some ways by what you’ve chosen to wear.   Choose colors in your outfit that you can match your eye-shadow and blush with.  A lipstick that is just a shade darker than a color in your outfit will really life and completed your look.  Finally, top your look off with a clear gloss for your lips.  Not only will they look smoking hot, they will be well hydrated.

Color & makeup styles

When it comes time for your special occasion, pack a little makeup bag with the basics just for touch ups and to fix any smudges or makeup.

You can now go out and strut your stuff, knowing you are looking your absolute best!

Some are lucky enough to have found a Hairdresser they are happy to stick with, others try different hair dressers for a long periods then give up, some have had a bad cut or experience with a hairdresser and vow to never visit another one!  One thing is for sure though, cutting your own hair can be the biggest mistake you ever make.   There are many online tutorials available on how to cut and style your own hair, but these are written by professionals who aren’t there to help you when things go wrong!

Here’s 3 reasons to not be your own Hairdresser:

1. A really bad cut by someone who doesn’t really know what they are doing, can take an even worse cut to fix.  You might think you know what you’re doing, but really the professionals have the best view (let’s face it we can’t really see what we’re doing at the back that well in the mirror!).  It may be that your hair needs to be cut quite short to get it back to a proper style.  This could be worse than the initial cut, and could take a while to grow back.
2. The wrong tools can really damage your hair.   You can’t just use normal scissors, they will wreck your hair.   You also need to be careful how the hair is cut.  Cutting on the wrong angle can be the different between hair sitting right and looking tidy, and unmanageable hair.
3. You miss out on that ‘feeling fresh and new’ feeling.  There is nothing better than taking an hour or two out of your busy schedule for yourself, to have a haircut, a brief head massage, treatments, and blow dry.  When you cut your own hair, you are wondering how your cut looks, whether you’ve done the right thing, and could lead to bigger regrets!    Problem is, people get comfortable with their own haircut and what they think looks good after a while, generally doesn’t.   Do yourself a favour, take time out and visit a hairdresser.

What could seem like a good idea at the time, could take years to repair, a worse haircut than ever expected, and negative self image.   Stick with a professional hairdresser, and don’t settle for second best.

It is now a well-known fact that the harsh chemicals in many of the hair care products are directly responsible for a variety of not only hair related issues but also those of the skin. The reason is that the immune system of the body does not take too kindly to the entry of these chemicals through the skin and therefore comes out with a defense mechanism that leads to a whole host of health problems. The hair care products from Body Shop have blazed a path that is a refreshing change from the ordinary. These products are the most ecologically-friendly hair care products, with each of them meeting exacting standards of environment and aquatic protection.

It is natural that when you have hair care products that are made out of manketti oil, bilberry oil and pracaxi oil (to just name a few ingredients) you are talking of something unique and never tried before. Pracaxi oil is extracted out of a tree found only in the thick Amazon forests and it is no wonder that these organic oils have a very positive and recuperative effect on all types of hair. The primary needs of good health, balance, lustre and moisture in the hair are all sufficiently addressed by these products. The oils used for the entire range of Bodyshop hair care products are easily biodegradable due to the fact that they are absolutely free of any of the parabens, artificial colours (as well as silicones) you would typically associate with other branded hair care products that rely mainly on synthetic chemicals for their manufacture.

The Bodyshop hair care brand has always had a wonderful and respected reputation of introducing products that are of the ‘eco-conscious’ kind and to ensure that this reputation is maintained, the company subjects its products to exacting testing standards. In addition to using ingredients that are easily biodegradable, they ensure that the packaging used is also of the recyclable variety. The packaging used is also kept to a minimum.

Modern hair styling techniques have evolved to such an extent that you are no longer constrained to make do with the hair type or colour you are born with. Somebody having curly hair can now easily straighten it and vice versa. Both men and women are now bringing about changes to their hair colour and look based on the life style they are leading and to help them manage this transition, professional hair stylists are making use of the best that is available to ensure that the positive attributes of the personality are highlighted effectively.

Goldwell stylesign have introduced innovative hair colouring techniques, like Easyfoil, where novel foil combinations along with colour workstations are put to effective professional use in order to deliver a service that is economical to both the client as well as to the brand. This technique does away with the need to use the more costly meshes as well as caps that were used and allows the stylist to work with different foil lengths of various colours to present even a multicoloured hair look for the customer.

Similarly their creative solutions for ensuring that you have great looking highlights that will adequately cover any unsightly roots have also been well received. Women who have had the problem of hair roots that begin to show after a couple of months of the colouring effects wearing off can now get highlighting done with yet another novel product from the Goldwell stable of exclusive hair salon items. This creates the look you want within just five minutes and you will have blended highlights that are most natural to look at.

Goldwell Stylesign has also ensured that men too need not get unduly worried about grey hair. The hair grooming market for men has been growing at a steady rate in the last five years and this prompted them to come out with their Men Reshade product. This is available in four different shades to ensure that the ultimate look is a natural blended one. The highlight is that the service is quick with instant results thanks to the hybrid foam technology used by the stylist.

The current offer, wherein you can get a bottle free upon purchase of a litre, is another reason to try this system out. Moreover, upon purchasing two litres, you can also get a cute wooden paddle brush worth $49.95 free – which further sweetens the offer.

The fresh and spicy floral aroma has been particularly appreciated by many consumers during some of the Aveda reviews that were conducted, and they have also acknowledged the tremendous benefits of the UV filters (as well as anti-oxidants) that the company fortifies its hair care products with.

Finally, it needs mention that you would do well to complement this Aveda hair care product with the right hair care technique for best results.

They have managed to once again raise the bar with these stylers; they are not only great to look but equally effective – and easy to handle. They have an improved ultra-light outer casing, along with a novel plate guard for added protection and quick styling advantages. The high-gloss design, with sparkling accents, adds to the aesthetic appeal.

While standard features such as sleep mode, temperature setting and digital technology are already inbuilt, the swivel cord and the curved barrel adds a new dimension to its handling and overall appearance.

Some of the prominent advantages with these GHD straighteners include quick heat-up, and settings that are rather convenient to use. The heat retention is much better, thanks to the ceramic plates and the device can be used for curling, too. You can now eliminate frizz and acquire that sleek look you have always wanted in a jiffy. It can be used daily without any concerns over damaging the hair – and most importantly it is affordable.

Regular feedback from customers during GHD reviews on these GHD straighteners have consistently brought out the point that they are long-lasting and maintain their performance over time.