Pasadena Beauty School Forum

Over the past weekend (Sun 9/20-Mon 9/21), I helped Salon Sessions be a part of the Pasadena Beauty School Forum at the Pasadena Convention Center. It was a smaller hair/makeup show, with plenty of educational classes, booths, and stage work. Mostly targeted for beauty school students. 

I remember when I was still in school, I would loooove to go to hair shows and check out other 'cool' stylists, the way they did their hair and makeup, shop for random things, take any class I can and watch stage shows. It is just a very overwhelming experience especially for a beauty school newbie. It was something a lot of students look forward to, a feeling of almost being in the real world and gave you an eye opener of other fields you can be a part of in the beauty industry. i.e. stage work, education, sales consultant, product specialist...

Salon Sessions had a booth with Croc Irons and blowdryer. Which is amazing! Heats up to 400+, has a wet to dry iron and a 1" thin iron to get closer to roots. Our salon also had an educational class hosted by Neeko and some of my peers did a little stage work.

Say hello to Tiffany Reyes

She was a bit hesitant to do 2 things: go lighter and the full, sexy bangs.

I just said let's do it! She has a light skin tone to go light and why not with the bangs? She can try it out since they aren't too short and can still sweep to the side.

Say hello to ootiffoo

Kim Kardashian ...bronze goddess

WOW so she actually did it.  The whole fun with the wig was obvious a trial to do the real thing. It looks amazing on her, like a bronze goddess.  She is so beautiful she could have pulled it off anyway, but just the drastic change from deepest brunette to jump to caramel/bronze takes a lot of self preparation to do. I always suggest my clients who want the dramatic change from long to bob short hair, or black to even a medium brown to blonde to be "mentally ready".  Imagine yourself in your new style/color. Be comfortable in it. Know that it is totally different from your everyday change and just have confidence in your new look! 

The one thing I did notice and compare was going lighter for Kim brightens her up, makes her look even more tanned. In her brunette days, it showed her exotic features a lot more, very mysterious. Both very sexy

Evolution of Laura Marie

aka Laura Dimes aka DimePiece Designs

My personal experiment and down for anything hair model. Here is a little timeline of what I've been doing to her hair. From your next door neighbor brown to the filipino marilyn monroe to ravishing redhead to back to let her hair rest.

What's her next look??? 

Hair diet

For healthy, shiny, long hair:

At an average, hair grows about 1/2 inch per month. So in a year that's about 6 inches. Think of all that your hair has gone through (heat, environment, washing, brushing..) Take care of your hair, it is not going to grow rapidly over night but you can assist in the growth process.

Since your hair is made up of almost 90% protein, keeping that in our diet will help keep hair healthy. Even though, hair is considered dead protein out of the scalp, you can still help in a healthy growth.

What is good for your body is good for your hair!

A lack of protein in our diet can cause thinning of hair and a slow down in the growth cycle. Goes the other way around as well. A protein rich diet will result in improved hair growth.

Good food sources that contain protein are :fish, eggs, beans, yogurt and soy.  Soy not only strengthens hair, but helps it grow.

Vitamins and minerals are a major role in healthy hair too! Include these supplements:

Vitamin B-complex - 50 mg. of the major B-vitamins (including folate, biotin and inositol) 
Vitamin B-6 - 50 mg. of vitamin B-6 

Vitamin C with bioflavonoids - one to two grams daily Vitamin E - 400 to 800 IU daily

Beta-Carotene - 10,000 to 15,000 IU of beta-carotene daily 

One recommended daily dose of magnesium, sulfur, zinc 

Flaxseed oil - one tbsp daily or one tablet 
Beta-Carotene - 10,000 to 15,000 IU of beta-carotene daily

Take care of yourself and your hair!

Say hello to KrystalBee!

What a fun client by the way! So glad to have met her!

 So....after some hardcore debating, she decides to take a step away from black over black. Looked good on her but most people that have been dying their hair black , want to change  but are scared. They keep the black  for a couple reasons. 

1. its easy(comfort)

2. brings out features

3. and have probably gotten denied by a stylist to change it because of the dramatic work.

When Krystal came in, I had to really listen to what she was saying. From black to any color, even dark brown, may be too dramatic of a change, so you have to be careful. Getting a desired result can happen in a day, but may take FOREVER and be damaging. So we took a break in between process. After it was all done, I highly recommended for her to come in for a treatment to keep her hair healthy and check out the tone of her lightness.

"My hair has been black pretty much all my life and going from black to brown was a big change for me. I was always skeptical about doing it because after dying my hair black for so many years I knew it was going to be hard to get all the color out. I had gone to places and other hair stylists before that refused to do it because they would have to bleach my hair to get the color out and then dye it which takes a toll on your hair. When i met with Azelle she knew exactly what to do to my hair to get me the brown I wanted as well as keep it as healthy as possible. Once i was there i talked myself into getting bangs because I wanted a change and Azelle is magic with the scissors. I am satisfied with my new cut and color. :)" Krystal Guzman

Say hello to her on Twitter

Halle Beautiful Berry

A couple months back she got her hair cut, back to the short pixie cut. I just wanted to share that I love it on her! 

I think she is one of the most beautiful woman and can wear her hair short or long. But I have always thought the short pixie cut suits her the best! Very liberating and totally fits her face, style and everything.

One of the owners of my salon, Neeko, cut her original short pixie cut and she came back to him again for another short cut.

She's back!

Say hello to Miss Heidi Holiday

Love her name btw. Very pin-upy, seductress singer type, sex kitten.

Besides her name we love her platinum blonde

Being a blonde is very high maintenance. Decolorizing your hair, artificial or natural, opens up your cuticle fully and eats out all that color. Now, your hair cuticle is wide open and very vulnerable to breakage. In this case, I highly recommend always doing a hair treatment after highlighting/bleaching/chemical processing. Kerastase vita ciment has a great treatment that puts back natural protein in the hair. 

In order for miss Heidi Holiday to keep her blonde fresh she always treats it right!

Routine hair treatment

I just wanted to share this new hair regime that I think I really love!

 Its by GHD, a system to protect your hair from heat. We all blow dry, curl and flat iron. As much as we don't think it is damaging, it really is. You will notice your hair dryer, or ends rough and just over all not pretty! So GHD created a range of products for all hair types for potential heat damage.

Sometimes you just get confused and don't know what to use. There are other products out there I love as well but I just like the idea of having a system.  This is a 3 step system you do after you wash your hair.

Step 1 Daily Conditioning Spray

Step 2 Protect

Step 3 Style

Natural Treatments for Dry Hair

MAYONNAISE

If your hair is starting to feel dry and lack of color/shine do an easy at home hair treatment. Use regular mayonnaise, most cholesterol hair treatments, aka mayonnaise in hair stores, have alcohol.

Ingredients in at home mayonnaise are:

whole egg protein: an important source of necessary minerals, vitamins and protein

nettle: a natural source of VitaminA and silica used to strengthen the hair and stimulate the scalp

Safflower Oil: vital source of essential fatty acids that have moisturizing effects on the skin and hair

Soybeans: vital souraces of essential fatty acids that have moisturizing effects on the skin and hair

Amino Acids: provides herbal infusion of organic sulfur and keratin, a vital key to maintaining strong healthy hair

I was super curious about this one day and tried it out. Didn't even have to step outside and do a quick run to Ralphs for it. From my personal experience, to make it easier for you,

1. put some mayo in a separate container

2. comb your hair out, easier with no tangles

3. apply in sections, from scalp, roots, to ends and use your hands for absolute application. i like feeling the product in my hand and onto my hair so i know its fully saturated. 

4. clip up and put a shower cap on 

5. soak a medium sized towel and heat it for 2-3 minutes and wrap around your head for about 8-10 minutes

6. rinse thoroughly with warm water

Honestly, it wont feel like conditioner in your hair when you rinse out. Conditioners have silicone so it smoothes your hair. Cholesterol has natural ingredients to moisturize your hair.

***If your hair is extremely dry from chemical treatment, you can do this once a week. If you have a more oily scalp, just apply mayo to hair ends.

Is the Shag back?

Happy Monday! Well, this is what happens when I finally can gather myself together on my day off...I'm late on Kristen Stewart's  (Twilight's Bella) new hair cut?

She looked so feminine in her long, subtle layered hair .. This new cut shows her edgy, fun side. But I guess this new cut shows her personality more? I mean we tend to judge artists with how they look and what they wear. It looks cute when she pins it all up, like a pixie cut.

This is also a perfect example of a really shaggy, super layered hair cut slash almost a mullet. 

Say hello to EVA!

Hi! So pretty Eva came last friday for a color appointment. A red, but something "normal".  And the result... 

Again reds are soo beautiful but be on top of the upkeep. Look back on my post titled 'Redheads'

One of Eva's concern was, "What about my eyebrows?" I recommended to not color it, bc the grow out can look gross especially if it is a bright color. And since she is one of the few who takes time to groom her brows I think it would be better just to try something temporary.

I suggest she try Show Off by MAC. It is a brow setter. ' Adds shine, style, grooming, overall wow! to the brows. A brush-on gel that grooms and slicks brows into shape without flaking or stiffening the brows. Available in several tinted shades or clear, it can be used on its own, or for a nice natural look stroke over Eye Brows. May also be used on lashes, sideburns, and chops - any facial hair.' The color Show Off is a rich brown with a little hint of reddish tone.   

If you prefer shadow, try mixing Brownscript with Espresso (both MAC shadows). AlanaDawnLA recommends this!

$13.50  check it out on MAC

and say hello to EVA on her myspace!

Volumizing Hair Products

Anonymous asked: 

Hair-

what are the best volumizing products and tools to give straight, thin and asian hair a lasting boost throughout the day?

Well it really starts in the shower. Prepping your hair can help a lot for your style throughout the day. 

1. Use volumizing shampoo/conditioner. It will get soaked up with your hair and each cuticle can plump up a little, nothing too dramatic of a change though.

2. I love Bumble n Bumble Thickening spray! Great for thin and thick hair! Works with heat and also acts as a structurizer to help hold style. Spray as much as you want and it will never feel like you have too much product. Roots to ends application.

3. When blowdrying your hair, comb everything forward from the crown to your face. This will give it a nice little lift. Make sure roots are completely dry! Dont mistake your hair for being dry when its hot, if it is hot, it will dry flat. Then dry ends as well.

4. Another product I love is Big Sexy Hair Dry Volumizing spray. Really gives hair a nice lift and texture. Great for the 2nd day look to absorb oil.

Thank you Anonymous for your question, let us know how this worked for you. 

Redheads

For those who are a natural redhead...jealous! And for those who aren't... we fake the funk.

I've recently got AshleyDimes hooked on being a Redhead.  She frequents at Salon Sessions with me for the works. It takes some effort to keep your color poppin!   She is a Co-owner of DimePiece, recently graduated with her B.A. (congratulations!!!) and part of our new project. We will keep you posted for sure! In the mean time, check them out! DIMEPIECE DESIGNS

Reds fade sooo fast!  Here are some tips to keeping your color vibrant before your next appointment:

1. Please use a color protect shampoo/conditioner! A gentle and safe to use everyday is Redken Color Extend Shampoo and Conditioner.

2. Do a cool to cold rinse after conditioner. This helps give hair a natural shine and seal color.

3. In between your next color appointment, come in for a quick color gloss. This will add a pop of your color and give your hair a nice shine before the full works.

4. Also, please use a heat protectant on your hair before blowdrying, using a flat iron, or curling iron. My favorite is Kerastase Nectar Thermique for dry hair or Kerastase Ciment Thermique for sensitive, overly processed hair. They are both leave in. Can be a little pricey but so worth it!! Redken Smooth Down Heat Glide, works well too and a little more affordable 

It's the little things you do, that really can help 

"Mannequinesque" shoot!

Salon Sessions photo shoot finally done. Enjoy!

Salon Sessions shoot sneak-peak ;)

'Mannequinnesque' theme. Unedited but couldnt help to share. 

Skinny in 5...to be continued

 Now you know how to slim your face with makeup, heres the skinny on the hair cut...Whether your face is round, squarish, rectangular or heart-shaped, we all subconsciously want to make our face appear oval-shaped. As a stylist in Pasadena, I get this request a lot! Girls want the cut that'll make them look 'skinny'. They want the bob, but "my face is too round for that". Well, here is what I suggest for those who think they have a round face.

*Layered bangs rather than straight or heavy bangs

*Short styles which give height and length in the front

*Long Styles with long layering and soft bangs 

* Keep the sides of your hair short with a curly style.

These styles can slenderize and lengthen the neck.

Our beautiful Christina Ricci pulls off the short bob with length in the front and so does Renee Zellwegger with her long layers and soft bangs. These actress with a rounder shaped face can pull it off so can you!

Do it yourself trim..is a big NO NO!!

Cutting bangs is never, ever, a do-it-yourself beauty project! In addition to the need for a certain level of skill, there are so many considerations (from hair texture to your facial features) that go into cutting bangs that it is one job that should always be left to a hair pro. Bangs, let alone botched bangs, are hard to conceal and grow out.