The round brush

So many times people don't realize that to get the hair they leave the salon with, it's going to require the purchase of some tools, and some practice. That's it... there's no secret to it.

My number one best friend at work is the round brush. They come in different sizes for EVERY HAIR TYPE, and can be used for blow drying stick straight hair, to making corkscrew curls, to giving the hair body, and making it wavy. And I kid you not, every single time, I hear "But I just can't do it like that at home." I'm not buying it, YES YOU CAN!

When I started hair school, I couldn't blow dry my own hair to save my life. But, I practiced, every night, night after night, until I had it down to a 10 minute science. And if you've ever seen my hair, you know this is no easy feat.

All it takes is a trip to any store that sells them, some patience, and some elbow grease. Any stylist worth anything will take the time to teach you how to dry your own hair at home, so pick up your brush, get some tips, and practice practice practice!

Volumizers

I've been going to town on the volumizers at work these past few weeks while doing blow outs, and I am loving these two!

Volumizers are great for people with thin and/or fine hair. You spray it on after towel drying, directly onto the root. Since the root is where you want the majority of your volume, there's no need to spray it on the ends, so I just usually lift the hair up and spray straight on the root. After I spray I always like to rub it in just a little as well.

The first volumizer I've been using is the Davines Volu Mist. It never fails me, and gives incredibly lift to the finest hair I've worked on. It's a little pricey, but you're never using much at any given time so I think it's well worth it.

The second choice I love is the Aveda Volumizing Tonic. I think in our new love for the Davines styling products that the Aveda sometimes gets a little forgotten, but I'd just like to state here for the record, I never forget about my Volumizing Tonic! It smells amazing and I find myself grabbing for it on a daily basis.

I don't like one over the other, it's just a matter of which one is closer to me at any given time, but I love them both equally, and it's simply a matter of choice for the client. Both get my thumbs up!

September hair

Flashback to October, when I got myself a nice chemical haircut, due to the fact that I got a little too excited at all the hair colors available to me at school. I ended up with inchlong bangs and hair that was breaking off everywhere, so I chopped it off.

Currently, I'm right back where I want to be to start really growing it out. It's blonde, it's healthy, and it's doing exactly what I want it to be doing, which is nice, SINCE IT ONLY TOOK ALMOST AN ENTIRE YEAR!!!!!!!

Hair of the Day

I came across this photo online, and it's my sexy hair of the day. These curls are absolutely STUNNING!

I'm still on mission "grow out my hair" and can't wait for it to look like this!

Curly Girl

I got to put my curly girl expertise to use today, and knocked it out of the park.

I never forget that I'm surrounded by stylists with 4 or more years of experience than me, and I tend to just trust whatever they go with, because it works.

I've been doing a lot of blow drying lately for clients, which means figuring out what products work best for the hair texture, and then explaining them to the client.

A woman came in today with curly, frizzy hair, and told me she's noticed it drying out more lately. Before I knew what was even coming out of my mouth, I was explaining to her why hair frizzes, what to do to prevent it, and exactly what I do to my own hair to keep the curls in tip top shape.

Not only did she learn from shower to blow dry how to do her hair, but I sold my first products today!

It makes me happy when I can explain something to someone and then they can take that, apply it, and enjoy the outcome. It's probably the best thing about my job!

Shower?

As you may know, we moved the salon a few weeks ago, and with that, got some new toys to play with.

One of these "toys" are new shampoo bowls. Now, this might not sound like much, but let me tell you about these shampoo bowls. You get to lay down in them. And relax. Maybe even nap. These shampoo bowls will blow your mind... get it?

The new shampoo bowls are also the kind where WE get to stand behind the client, not next to them. Now, I know it doesn't sound like much, but we as hairstylists are highly trained shampoo ninjas, knowing how to tilt and lift your head just so, so that it keeps the water on your hair, and not on your neighbor. These new shampoo bowls made me slightly nervous the first few days, because my entire body angle was now different, and I had to hold the nozzle in a new way, the client's head in a new way, all the while trying to not hose anybody down. As the days passed it got easier and easier, and by day four, that shampoo bowl was once again my bitch. I should have known it was only a matter of time.

I like to think that I'm a pretty focused individual when I'm doing my job. I keep time in my head, know who is getting shampooed at what time, and what's going on their head. When toning someone, I never lose myself in the conversation, and know exactly what's going on at all times. So... I'm just going to blame this completely on someone else.

I'm not sure if someone lifted their head at the same moment I tilted the nozzle, or what, but that water went EVERYWHERE, and I will never again question the fact that we have some great water pressure in that new place. Lucky for me, the chair directly next to me was empty, and the client two chairs over only got what I like to call a "light mist" on her face.

End scene.

Light, Camera, Action

In the past few weeks, I've learned one of the most important aspects of my job: I am an actress.

In theory, hairdressers are free therapists. Well, or the price of a haircut. While we work people unload upon us all the dramas on their lives. Cheating husbands, nights out on the town, insane children, and the list goes on and on and on.

We come out from the back room with a smile on our face, no matter how sick or tired or sad we are feeling that day.

As a person who wears their emotions on their sleeves and all over her face, this lesson is perhaps the hardest I have learned in this job yet.

The lesson learned here? We are performers paid well to do the job of making other people feel special, good about themselves, and happy. A salon is a place to relax, enjoy yourself, and leave feeling pampered and pretty. We are there to make them laugh, lend a kind ear, and a cheerful smile.

Chicago

Today I'm headed up to the Windy City for the weekend!

While I'm there I'm hoping to check out some salons, which is something I always just like to do when I'm someplace new. I like to see what other people's working environments are like, what products they have, what lines they carry, and I even like to watch the stylists work for a few minutes.

Pictures and a full report up on Monday!

Enjoy the weekend!

Facebook!

Well everyone, I've decided to link Curly Girl up to Facebook!

I'm super excited, and getting some help, but I'm hoping to utilize the Facebook portion as a way to do giveaways and start work on my portfolio.

Don't forget to "like" on FB @ http://www.facebook.com/raetzer#!/RaetzerCurls

Happy Thursday!

Love

Before I started doing hair, I had lived an entire life. I went to college, moved to the other side of the world, lost myself, found myself, and picked up the best canine companion ever somewhere along the way.

A few years ago I found myself sitting at a desk at a job that I hated, completely miserable with my life and what I had become, and I made a list of things that I wanted in a job.
    1.  I wanted a job that I was excited to go to each day, where I enjoyed the people I worked with and what I did.
    2. I wanted a job that made me feel good about myself, where I could be happy and proud of what I did.
    3. I wanted to make other people feel good about themselves, and to do something with my hands to bring joy to others.

I knew the first time I picked up my cheap plastic school shears that I had fallen in love with this profession. The moment I put my hands in someone's hair, I know that they're trusting me to make them feel and look beautiful, and the fact that I can do this brings me an untold amount of joy. To get to be creative every day, and to do something different every day, and to interact with so many people on so many different levels, this is what I wanted in a job. There is always something to learn, a better way to do something, and a different way to get to the end result.

Every morning when I walk into my work, and the sun is coming through the windows at just the right angle, I sit in the silence and just feel lucky. I am lucky to have found a place that I love and where I belong, doing what makes me happy. I can ask for no more than that.

The hardest part

There comes a time in every woman's life where she breaks up with a man and decides that she's going to cut all of her hair off. We've seen it in movies, and for most of us, experienced it first hand. This blogger has also done it, once, years ago, and learned her lesson to never do it again.

Why do women do this?

"They" say that the reason behind this is an act of rebellion. Most men like long hair, so when a relationship ends, women see the chopping off of their hair sort of like a "HA!" to their past partner. The woman is rebelling by ridding herself of something that her partner loved about her.

I think it can go either way. A haircut can be a refreshing way to start over, and try something new. However, in my experience, to hack off all of one's hair to an inch in length should sometimes take some thought and consideration, and I highly advise every woman out there to put at least a few weeks worth of thought into any new hairstyle.

I have learned that maybe drastic change is sometimes not the best thing for the moment. If you're going through some changes, it's best to keep some stability and comforts around. All I know is that this girl is holding on to her hair, curls, color, length, and all!

Happy Monday! More posts to follow...

Moved!

And we're back!

After a hectic few weeks of planning, preparation, and then actually doing it, I'm happy to announce that the salon has moved, and opened at its new location.

Last week was our first week open in the new space, and I think everyone is loving it, myself included. The space is bright, happy, open, and filled with good energy. I'm excited that I have a job that I love to look forward to every day.

Balayage

Let's take a moment to discuss balayage.

Balayage is basically a fancy way of saying "hand painted highlights". You forego the weaving and the foils, and instead free hand with a brush. The result? Sunkissed, natural, and what all the "in the know" ladies are going for these days.

Take a look and decide for yourselves...

Update

Hey all!

It's been a few months (or so) since I've posted anything, and I think I'm finally ready to start blogging again. I lost the motivation for awhile to write a single word, and only in the past few weeks have been telling myself that I really should get back to it.

In the months I've been gone I've been insanely busy, mostly working. I feel that I've finally gotten a handle on work, juggling it with a social life (sadly missing while I was in school!), and learning as much as I can all the while trying to do hair in my free time. Now it's time to start writing once more!

I am absolutely in love with my job, and with the salon, as well as the women I work with. When it all comes together it works so well, with everyone working together as a team, and I wouldn't want to work anywhere else.

On the education front I'm also learning an insane amount. Every Monday I have class, and every Monday I get frustrated when I can't master something right away, yet a few days or weeks later something always clicks and I think to myself "oh hey, that worked just like she said it would". I'm beginning to realize that having a good education base set up in your salon is an extremely important tool, and should be utilized to the utmost.

I've gotten to use a lot more of products also, so it's broadened my base of knowledge past what I learned in school and searched out on my own. Hopefully some of the items can be posted on Curly Girl soon!

More great things to come!

"Weight" loss

Last week at work I lost some weight. In my hair.

When you take weight out of your hair (or texturizing as it's called), you can change the entire appearance of a haircut without ever really cutting anything off.

Back in October I had gotten a haircut, a stacked bob that was longer in the front and shorter in the back. It's since grown, and grown, and grown, and I had some poof when the stack was growing out. So, instead of getting a haircut, a girl at work simply went in and took the weight out of that part of my hair.

My hair instantly felt lighter and different, but she hadn't cut anything off the length!

Instead of the stack, I now have a layered haircut that's simply growing out, with no bulge of poof in the back that was there before.

Time for numbers!

Today I spent a lot of time on the computer at work, and was looking up hair "stuff". I type in "hair statistics" and came up with this interesting information. Millions of women can't be wrong, can they?

• 50% of women over the age of 25 color their hair
• 80% of chemical work being done in salons involves covering gray and changing your hair color

Personally, I've been coloring my hair since I was about 18, and I honestly couldn't tell you what it would look like if I let it grow without coloring it. Sort of a dark blond I would guess...

• $2 billion each year on shampoo
• $1.4 billion on conditioner
• $700 million on hairspray
• $150 million on men's products

Note that this doesn't even include trips to the salon for cut and color!!!

There are literally thousands of hair products out there for you to try, and the numbers prove that people are trying them! I have so much fun every day playing with products myself, and finding ones I love, and ones I don't love so much.

Have fun with it!!!

Dove

I'm out of my current shampoo, and I'm still waiting on my shampoo to arrive at the salon this week, so I had to run out this week and buy a travel size shampoo to get me through the week. I came home with the dove Moisturizing Shampoo, in size tiny.

I've got to hand it to Dove, they have revamped in the past few years and I am liking what I've used of the brand in the past year. The shampoos leave hair soft and tangle free, and there's no feeling of gunk or buildup, and also no dry and stripped feeling to my hair.

On a budget and in a bind, I think Dove is a great go to!

Curly Curls

It's gotten warm as of late, and combined with the humidity and my laziness, I have neglected my hair in leaps and bounds, and this is the result.

I've noticed that since I started using Aveda products on my hair, it's less frizzy and more bouncy, and just has an overall softer feel to it, which I'm really enjoying.

The daily go to for this hairstyle is simply letting it air dry, and then pinning the sides back. The first few days it bothered me, and I felt like I wasn't leaving the house "done", but I've really just been lazy lately, and have no motivation to even plug in my blow dryer.

I think another factor in my curlyhead is the fact that half the women I work with have curly hair, and they just embrace it. Whatever the natural hair type is of the stylists, they let it go, and I think I've found a new appreciation for my hair. I like the whole though of "rock what you've got" and the ladies at the salon certainly do, and I'm loving it!

Man time!

Every Monday at the salon that I work at there are classes that the assistants are required to attend. The theme lately is for each stylist to pick something she would like to teach, and we take it from there.

Today we worked on men's cuts. I was stoked for this because quite honestly, I suck at cutting men's hair. It's the one thing they don't really teach you in hair school, and other than a "these are the clippers, you hold them like this" we never delved into men's hair cuts.

Another thing: you would think cutting a man's hair would be easy, right? WRONG. The shorter the cut, the easier to mess up, and I have made more than one mistake when cutting a male hair. The only two men I have experience in cutting are my brother, who has thick curly hair that hides mistakes well, and my boyfriend, who has stick straight hair, and every single snip is completely noticeable.

So today in class I wrangled my little brother up as my model, and FINALLY learned how to give a proper hair cut to a man. I was excited to finally have to know how to put it together, and the result? The best hair cut of my brother's life!

April hair length

And another month has passed, I can't believe it's going so quickly! It's time again to post hair growth photos.

This month I've felt like my hair isn't growing. I know it's growing, because I can tell the difference on a regular basis, but I feel like the difference isn't translating into the photographs. The past few months it's looked completely the same to me.

Since the big chop I've only had one "dusting" about a month ago, and aside from regular maintenance on my bangs, I haven't taken the shears to it. I'm so anxious for it to grow out, and it's once again at my shoulders (when I cheat and straighten it)

Enjoy!

What to expect at the Ohio State Board Cos Exam

First things first, I GOT MY COSMETOLOGY LICENSE LAST WEEK!!! I am super excited, happy, and relieved that I passed my first time in. The entire day was extremely stressful and I was high strung and wound up. I figured everyone else would also be feeling like this, so I thought I'd put together some tips and info for those heading to state board...

1. I got to the testing center around 7:30 in the morning, and wasn't the first. The parking lot filled up pretty quickly, and by 8 the waiting room was filled.

2. Be sure to have your photo, testing paper, and driver's license on hand.

3. Around 8 a.m. they start by lining everyone up and checking them in. They assign you to a room and give you a number. You'll either start by doing all of your hair practicals, or by doing your manicure, facial, and written test. I was in the group that did my mani and facial and written. I got about a 2 hour lunch break and came back at noon to do my hair practicals.

4. The written (on the computer) portion of the exam consists of 110 questions, which is randomly generated and can throw pretty much anything at you, so be prepared. You are able to, on the computer, go back and forth between questions, bookmark them, and move through the exam at your own pace. You're given 1 hour and 30 minutes for this portion of the test.

5. After both sections of your exams are over, you then sit in the lobby to wait for your test results, which are handed out in envelopes. Should you pass, you then can wait for your license that same day. All in all my day there lasted from 7:30 in the morning until 4:30 in the afternoon. I came home exhausted and covered in gunk.

HELPFUL TIPS

1. When bringing barbacide, buy a bottle at Sally's. It MUST have all information on it. You can't just write barbacide on a bottle and take it in, you will have points deducted.

2. Instead of loads of towels, just bring 4-5 towels and instead, bring an entire roll of paper towels. You will be wiping down counters all day long and paper towels are neater and cleaner.

3. Trash bags. Bring THREE. You will use one for the mani/facial portion and two for the hair portion of your practicals.

4. Try to remember a shower cap for when you are finished with your mannequin head at the end of the day. She will be a hot mess and this will avoid getting cholesterol all over your bag.... not that I would know from personal experience.

5. You are allowed in your cabinet at any time during your practicals, so as soon as you're finished you can set up for the next one, which I found helpful. The order the practicals went in:

• Thermal
• Haircut
• Perm
• Color retouch
• Highlight
• Relaxer retouch
• Virgin relaxer

6. During the beginning of my set up time for the mannequin, I just immediatley draped her with a towel/cape/towel combo, so that I wouldn't have to redrape her with this when it came time for the chemical potion of the practicals.

I hope people find this helpful, as I sure wish someone would have written something like this for me before I went!!

State Board Exam

The dreaded day is finally here... tomorrow. Yes, it's state board exam time. All the work I put in a school and all the studying I've been doing in the past month comes to a head tomorrow in a what I've heard is a grueling 8 hour exam.

Bags are packed (I only packed and repacked it about 8 times) and hopefully I will knock it out of the park tomorrow and finally be a licensed cosmetologist!

Wish me luck!

Summer hair

In Ohio the past week we've had some insanely hot weather! That means, for a curly girl, that I put away my blow dryer and call it a day, and usually spend most of my days with my hair looking like this...

Pinned up, out of the way, and running crazy. Enjoying this gorgeous weather!!

My dream hair

I know the saying is "you always want what you can't have" and when it comes to hair, this is so very true for me!

I'm currently presiding over a shoulder length mop of reddish blondish curls, and with this weekend's "heat wave" (it hit 82 in March, which in Cincinnati is almost unheard of) I'm waging a war against frizz and fuzz.

I've never been a girl to be able to shower and then let my hair air dry with no problems. There has to be at least a little bit of product in it, even if I want to wear it curly.

So, without further delay, I thought I would write todays post about my dream hair. Like half the women on the planet now, I'm addicted to Pinterest, and I spend hours looking at images. In those hours I have found hair that makes my jaw drop, and green with envy, and so I thought I'd share a few of them here. Basically I want mermaid hair...

As for me, realistically I know that another woman's hair will never be my own, and so my own goal is to grow my hair out as long as it will go, and keep my bangs. Simple enough.

And the dream gallery...

Bootcamp

I participated in my first Bootcamp at work today. It's something the owner does every once in awhile to better train and educate hairstylists. They can either come from the salon, or other salons, and we all gathered today (about 5 of us) for 10 hours of cutting and fun... and also pizza.

I think the most glaringly obvious thing that I learned today was that I learned absolutely nothing at school. With all the time I sat around at school doing nothing, there were countless variations of cutting I could have been taught, and I wasn't! However, that was remedied today, and I find myself with a whole renewed energy and passion for what I do, and I can't wait to try out the new techniques that I learned.

We worked on everything from one length cuts, to layers, to bobs, to texturizing, and everything in between. My favorite of the day had to have been the shattered bob, and watching my boss cut a pair of bangs onto a mannquin. My jaw literally dropped, and now I want those bangs...

At about hour 8 my brain shut off completely and I hit a wall, and literally couldn't retain any new information, and had worn a groove into my finger from holding my comb so tight. I left absolutely exhausted but so excited about the things I had learned!

The Holy Grail

I know I get super excited every time a hair product makes my hair feel good... I think this time I have hit the complete and total JACKPOT!

This is Aveda's Damage Remedy daily hair repair, and honestly, my hair is THRIVING using this stuff. I bought it last week and have used it about 3 times, and the difference in my hair is absolutely remarkable. It's soft and swingy, and my hair has never in my life been swingy. Coarse and frizzy maybe, but it's never swung anywhere!

I am so incredibly glad I bought this, and my hair is thankful too!

March hair length

I know I'm a few days late (ok, EIGHT) but I've finally got the March hair photo ready to go. I'm posting it along with the previous months to see the growth.

Enjoy!

Relaxing Fluid

I caved at work today and bought some Relaxing Fluid from the Davines line. I've just tried it out and have to say I really liked it.

When I blowdry, I usually rough dry it with the blowdryer and my hands until it's almost completely dry. At that point my hair felt super funky and like straw. However, once I used the roundbrush and smoothed it out, it had bounce, body, and feels amazing!

I'm still going to play around with this stuff a bit, maybe try mixing it with another product (such as an oil) to give my hair that extra little bit of something. I almost think I may have used a little bit too much of it (about a quarter size) so we'll see how it goes and I'll update again later in the week.

Color Class

I had my first class at the salon today!

It was a color class for the new line we're getting, Davines. All the girls showed up early, excited, and really eager to learn about the line.

I am not Aveda trained, and looking at the Aveda color line has been daunting for me, as it's unlike any line I've ever used before. Instead of a tube of color that is all ready with the shade you want, Aveda mixes in individual pigments. This is extremely customizable for your clients, but if you're not trained in it can be a hurdle until you're used to it.

The new Davines line is more of what I am used to, which was exiciting for me, and I can't wait to start learning how to use it.

I noticed how all the stylists this morning were attentive and involved in the process, and not just sitting there staring into space. At school this was often not the case, and it's nice to know that I am surrounded by passionate people who want to learn more...

Davines

There's a new product line coming into the salon, and it just happens to be Davines.

It's extremely new to the salon, and I've only been playing with it two days, but I think I am going to really enjoy working with it.

I've put the link to the website above, and I encourage everyone to take a look at it. They are an amazing company with some amazing products, and I can't wait to start using them.

Perks for far? They smell absolutely incredible, and are working so great! Every product I've used so far works better than the last one... from a sea salt spray, to relaxing fluid, to waxes, sprays, and shampoo and conditioner, I am so excited to learn more about this product line!

Workin' Girl

Happy Wednesday everybody!

As of today I've finished my second day of my new job, and I can say only this: I AM EXHAUSTED!!!

I am absolutely loving the new job, as an assistant at the same salon I interned at. I finished my second day happy, in a great mood, and absolutely useless and dead tired on my feet.

The past 2 days I worked from about 9:15 to 8 at night, with a quick break for lunch and to sit for a few minutes here and there, but it's non stop action, which is a hundred times better for me than sitting at a desk all day. The constant flow of different people, things to do, and running around has kept me busy, and at the end of the night I am exhausted.

So what do I do all day? In the morning I get there early and set up all the girls' stations for them. The back room gets set up with hot towels and color bowls ready to go, and mirrors get wiped down and floors swept. After than it's shampoo, massage, laundry, cleaning, shampoo, massage, shampoo, shampoo, and on it goes. I'm amazed at how quickly the time flies by in there, and before I knew it, it was time to go home.

As much as my ass is kicked right now, I am happy, which tells me I've picked the right career and the right salon for myself. And there's no better feeling than that...

I graduated!

I finally did it!!!

After a year and half and 1500 hours of hard work and dragging myself to school whether I wanted to or not, I HAVE FINISHED!!!

Eyebrows

Last week I colored my hair, and as usual, tinted my eyebrows along with my hair. This elicited some laughs and comments from my fellow students, and got me to thinking, "Doesn't everyone do this?"

The answer? NO.

When I'm looking at someone's hair, the first giveaway that the color is fake is their eyebrows. If you are going to color your hair, please invest the extra 3 minutes it takes you to take a mascara brush through your eyebrows. It will help you look more natural and put together, at least in my opinion.

The only exception to this rule is for blondes. For blondes, brown shaded eyebrows are fine, so don't bleach your eyebrows! As a natural blonde, even color my eyebrows a slightly darker shade than my hair, it helps it look more blended and natural.

Some people aren't comfortable tinting their own eyebrows, and that's fine. Next time you're at the salon for a color, simply as your stylist if they can tint your brows to match your hair. Problem solved!

Back to Matrix

After the Suave debacle, today I went out and got myself some professional grade shampoo and conditioner. I also went the cheapie route on this and got it out of the clearance bin and the local Cosmo Prof.

Cosmo Prof is like a Sally's Beauty, but you must be licensed in cosmetology or a student to shop there. It's a little painful now when I go in there, knowing that the bottle of shampoo I used to buy for $32 at the salon only costs me $10 these days. So I get excited when I shop there, and I always feel like everything is on clearance.

Imagine my surprise when I went through the ACTUAL clearance bin in the corner. I found a $28 bottle of shampoo for $3.25, picked up a conditioner for $2.50, and to top it off got a hair cream for $2.00. I paid under $10 for what I'm sure is over $50 of product, so I'm not sure about you, but I'M excited to wash my hair tommorrow morning!

I've always liked the Matrix products, so that's what I decided to go back to... for now. The shampoo is a frizz fighting one that promises smooth strands, and the hair cream is in the same line. For the conditioner I opted for the volumizing one, because 1) it was the only one there was, and 2) when I straighten my hair lately I like for it to have a little bit of body.

Reviews coming soon!

YAY!!!!!

This blogger is extremely excited and happy to announce that she has found a job at a hair salon!!!!

I've been hired by the salon I interned at, which was my first choice of places to work, and I am insanely happy. I may have squealed after I got off the phone with them on Monday. Squealed, as in like a pig.

The position I got is an apprenticeship, so for the next year I'll be assisting in the salon, learning the ropes, and having class once a week where I get to learn from the owner and the other stylists. This excites me because of all the things I've seen them do, and I can't wait to learn it all.

I chose the apprentice route because I feel like I have so much more to learn, and it's the perfect enviornment for me to do it in. The salon is gorgeous, every single girl that works there is nice, and the entire staff gets along amazingly well. They are almost always busy, and the opportunity for me to learn, hone my skills, and get my feet wet is wonderful.

I have never in my life been excited to go to a job every day, but I fell in love with the place while I was interning there, and love being there, so for the first time in my life I can't wait to get out of bed every morning and do what makes me happy!

117.5

As of 8:15 this morning, I have 117.5 hours left to go until I'm finished with school!

That leaves me about two and a half weeks, and let me tell you, I cannot WAIT!

For the past year and a half I've felt that career-wise, my life has been completely on hold. It was hard to start over on a new path, and now I'm finally finished and can't wait to get my life back! I am so excited to finally be doing something that I love.

Won't be long now!

Shampoo update

If you read last week's post, I wrote about how I think my cheapie shampoo and conditioner are wreaking havoc on my hair... I think it's true.

This morning at school I used Matrix Biolage to wash my hair, and the difference was almost instantaneous! It felt less brittle, smoother, and softer than it has in about 2 weeks. I finished it off with a moisturizing serum, and my hair feels healthy and silky again.

I think I am for sure going to have to go tommorrow and shell out some money for a better shampoo and conditioner. My hair will thank me in the longrun.

Man hair and Andrew McMahon

Last night this blogger went to a Jack's Mannequin concert. Reasons why this is important?

1. I absolutely LOVE Jack's Mannequin. I have been listening to them for as long as they have been around, and before that, I was a huge Something Corporate fan. This is besides the point...
2. I have seen these two bands so many times in the past 10 years that I have lost count.

Why do these facts matter? Because last night, I stood transfixed at the sight of Andrew McMahon's hair. Yea. Seriously. I spent a good majority of the show just staring at his hair, it looked THAT good. And this is important because in the 10 years I've been going to see this guy play his piano, I have never once thought to myself, "Wow, that guy has great hair!" Someone went and got themselves an amazing hairstylist. It was that perfect combination of rockstar/preppy/conservative with a little bit of "I don't give a sh*t what my hair looks like" thrown in. Over the years I've seen his hair long, short, black, blond, clean shaven, and bushy beard, and it's always looked cool. But last night he hit the jackpot in the hair department. Oh, and also, the music was awesome as always.

Gentlemen, think your haircut doesn't matter? THINK AGAIN! Other than the fact that he's a lead singer in a band, had I met the guy in a bar I probably still would have drooled over his hair, and then asked him where he got it done. It was perfection.

So yes, my dear male population, women do pay attention to your hair. It doesn't have to be styled perfectly, but please invest in a good cut, a product or two, and make sure your hairline doesn't run into your backhair. Nobody likes a wolfman.

Straw hair!

              Photo credit here

The past week my hair has been in a bit of a funk. It's not feeling that great when I'm washing it in the shower. It feels a little bit brittle and dry, and not a soft and touchable as it was a few weeks ago? It feels absolutely AWFUL, especially when I'm in the shower, after I rinse out the shampoo.

I'm starting to wonder if the culprit is the Suave I've been using. I've had it for awhile now, and have been using it every 2 days. I know it's not the most expensive stuff (ok, so it was dirt cheap) but why does my hair feel so crappy?!

I've been fighting the battle of "just because it's more expensive doesn't mean it's better", but maybe that's true? Which would make me sad, because I know you don't always have to drop a bundle of money on a good product.

I haven't changed anything in my hair routine other than the Suave, so I doubt it could be anything else. But the way it's making my hair feel makes it feel dry and straw-like even when I'm done styling it with the Aveda products. I got the Aveda before I bought the Suave, so I'm guessing it's not the Smooth Infusion, which leaves only the Suave.

After spending just $6 on both bottles of product, I'm a little bummed that I am going to have to haul my butt over to the CosmoProf next week and shell out some money and restock myself up on the Deva products that made my hair feel amazing...

It's starting to look like I may just be a sulfate-free convert (or as Deva calls it, a NO POO girl...)

February hair length

Ok, so I'm 4 days early... but I'm too excited to wait any longer. I find myself at the end of each month now getting excited to see how fast my hair has grown, and holy cow is it growing!

This month I'm posting from most recent to older, so there are now 3 months I've been tracking. I'm noticing each month that the top growing so that it gives the entire haircut a more blended and rounded appearance. When I look at the photo from December I almost cringe that my hair was that short! The layers around my face are also getting longer, which I am thankful for, as I feel a little naked with short hair around my chin area.

Enjoy!

New fringe part 2

After playing around with the camera a bit, I finally got some photos of the bangs.

I've been drooling over these bangs from  theurlwithnoname.tumblr.com for a few weeks now, so these are kind of what I was going for. Sadly the rest of my hair isn't long enough for the rest of this look quite yet, but this girl is growing it out! This would be my dream hair...

Mine aren't as long as these yet, but for right now this is what I've got, and I love it!

New fringe!

After the great shampoo cap debacle of 2011, I'm glad to say I once again have bangs that look normal. In case you missed the disaster, I bleached my hair to within an inch of my life, and then it all mostly broke off. Since I already had bangs to begin with, it left about an inch of stubble all along my front hair line, which I tried to hide with headbands, lots of strategic blowdrying, and maybe even some praying.

It's been since October, and I'm pleased to announce that my bangs are once again at eyebrow level. I've also decided that I'm the person that is always going to HAVE bangs. I've had them since college, grew them out last year, and just don't feel the same without them.

That said, since they are once again long and healthy, yesterday I changed it up a little bit. Where I had side swept bangs, I had the bang ninja at the salon pull a whole new hairful from the top of my head, and give me a heavy, blunt, FULL set of bangs. I am in love right now!

Since there are now so much more of them than before, I actually have to put some effort into styling them, which was super easy and fast this morning. I like to call them my hipster bangs, and for now, they are here to stay...

Waxing

For the record, I would like to state that in my formal opinion, men have WAY less of a tolerance for pain that women do.

Case in point: the full leg wax.

I had a friend (who shall, for the sake of this blog) remain nameless, who came in for a full leg wax this week. In case you've ever seen "The 40 Year Old Virgin", think of that, except he wasn't yelling "KELLY CLARKSON" at me, but screaming a slew of other obscenities at me.

Since he was a friend, I felt a little more relaxed in completely laughing as him as I ripped off the muslin, and all of his leg hair. Sadistic? Yes. Funny? For sure!

I almost felt bad for him, but he was paying for a service. I tried to perform it as quickly and as painlessly as possible, but the proof is in the pudding folks, the menfolk can't handle it!

Extensions

So at school this week I had a friend bring in her extensions. They matched my hair color pretty well and I jokingly said "So, can I try those on?" She said sure, and 10 minutes later my hair had grown about 20 inches.

These were clip in extensions. She bought a 14" pack and a 20" pack, at about $98 a pack. They're real human hair, and can be straightened, curled, washed, and colored.

I've toyed with the idea of getting some of these for quite some time, and truth me told, I'm glad I tried them on, because now I don't want them anymore. They felt super weird on my head, and quite honestly, I have NO idea what to do with that much hair!

Still, it was fun while it lasted, and kept me motivated to keep growing my hair out...

#1 Winter beauty tip

I think hands down my biggest complaint about the dry winter weather is the fact that my skin is screaming in pain from December thru March.

LOTION LOTION LOTION!!!!

In my case, my hands are wet for a significant part of my day. Between shampooing client, running my hands through wet hair, and then handling laundry and washing my hands, my hands are currently red, cracked, and sometimes bleeding.  I know it's getting bad when they start burning. You can see the redness in the photo, and this is after I've showered and applied lotion.

I carry around lotion with me EVERYWHERE, and slather it on throughout my day. I find that Aveda's Hand Relief does wonders for my hands, but when I don't have that handy my 99 cent CVS lotion also works.

Put that lotion on, your hands will thank you!

Bang blow out

I'm an avid reader of www.TheBeautyDepartment.com . Awhile back they did a GREAT tutorial on blowing out your bangs. I like their tutorials because they give you a step by step how to (with photos!) of how to achieve what it is you're going for.

TheBeautyDepartment.com - Bang blow dry tutorial

As the owner of a pair of pretty heavy bangs myself, I enjoyed this one, and the model has some pretty enviable hair herself.

Enjoy!

Video? Um, no thanks

So after lots of practice videos and some serious considerations, I've decided to NIX the videos on the blog.

Quite honestly, I can't get past looking at myself on camera, and it mostly just creeps me out. I'm super awkward and completely self concious, so I thought it better that I just don't put my readers through that kind of torture.

Start to finish

I thought it would be neat to see how I went from no makeup to ready for my day, and now I'm sharing with you all!

                            1. No makeup whatsoever. Fresh out of the shower, and freshly moisturized.

2. This is after primer, foundation, and powder

3. After adding a bit of bronzer and blush

4. Eyebrows filled in, highlighter on eyes, and a teeny bit of eyeshadow and mascara

Primer

This is the primer I've been using the past 2 days, I am absolutely loving it. I'm not a fan of wearing lots of makeup, and I've noticed with this stuff I have to use even less, especially foundation. It just glides right on and I haven't felt oily at all today, which is a big plus. This little lifesaver was under $15, and can be picked up at any Walgreens...

Makeup

I know that techically this is a hair blog, but every once in awhile I like to branch out into the other realms of beauty. Today, it's makeup. I mostly don't write about makeup because, well, I don't really wear it, and in order to wear what I do wear, I had to watch YouTube videos of high school girls putting on foundation. Seriously, it's THAT bad. That was when I first started hair school. These days I'd like to think I'm good at throwing on the foundation, putting on a little blush, and maybe some mascara. Eyes? Forget about it. I mostly prefer the "I have makeup on to look like I'm not wearing any makeup" look. As long as I look glowy and unsplotchy, I'm fine with it.

The point of this blog (which I'm finally getting to!) is that we had a professional makeup artist come into school today to give us a how to. He asked for 2 models, and since I'm makeup moronic, I was volunteered. I was informed by said makeup artist of the enormity of my pores and the small eyes I have. In front of 40 people. Thanks.

Mildly insulting comments aside, today is the day I discovered PRIMER! That's right people! Before he did anything to my face, he put primer on me, told me to touch my face, and I am hooked like a meth addict. My. Skin. Felt. Amazing. I have no idea why I did not know about this before, but considering I think chapstick on my lips is getting done up, don't judge.

Benefits of primer

1. Makes the surface of your skin smooth and soft
2. Creates a surface for the rest of your makeup
3. Makes your makeup go on smoother and blend better
4. Stops oil and shine throughout the day

These are just a few benefits I found while reading online, and it was enough to get me to the drugstore to get my own bottle. I know this stuff sells anywhere from $10 to $60+, so I started on the low end. I don't want to spend a lot of money on something if I don't know how it's going to work. I opted for the CoverGirl & Olay Simply Ageless Serum Primer, which was around $12. I tried it on the back of my hand at the store, and right away it felt silky and smooth.

I'm going to give it a shot in the morning when I do my makeup, and will hopefully get to shoot some before and after pictures. As ridiculous as I feel for just having decided to get some of this stuff, I'm excited to see how it works!

Update

As of today, I have 225 hours left to complete school. In real world terms, that's about 5 weeks. I've upped my hours at school to start attending on Mondays, and every Saturday instead of 2 a month. I am thisclose to being done, and am getting SO antsy, but the end is finally in sight. It's time to start making the appointments with financial aid to get all my exit stuff done, test out of practicals, and get my ass OUTTA THERE!!

On the job front I have also been hard at work. I have a job interview in Cincinnati tommorrow, 7 miles from where I'll be moving next month, which would be amazing. Next week I'm also on my third interview at a salon in Dayton, which will be my first technical interview, meaning I'm bringing a model and chop chopping her hair. The only reason this interview terrifies me is because from what I was told, I am the only person interviewing who is still in school. I hope I don't look too clueless next to a bunch of licensed professionals! I think I might also still be in the running for the apprentice position at the salon I'm interning at, which would be my #1 choice of a job, so I'm extremely hopeful on that chance.

Interning is still going amazing, I'm still learning so much there every day that I'm there. I've decided I could watch people cutting hair for HOURS, it never gets old to me. To see how every individual stylist works, to see their work pace, their flow, and their final outcome, is always exciting for me. Each one works differently, and I get to learn things from all of them. I'm getting recognized by clients now,  I'm starting to feel a little bit more at home there, and will be sad at the end of the month when my internship comes to an close.

My goal at this point is to have a job lined up before I graduate school, so I can smoothly transition from school to working, so here's to keeping fingers crossed!

Suave

I keep seeing the commercials for Suave Professionals, so I finally decided last week to try some out. I have relocated my DivaCurl shampoo and conditioner to my boyfriend's house, so I need something in my own bathroom.

I stood in the aisle for a good 10 minutes reading all of the labels on the different types of lines they have, and finally settled on the Shea and Almond butter shampoo and conditioner, as I have dry/damaged hair and it promised me moisture. They have 3 or 4 different types, all formulated for different hair types, so make sure to get the correct one for your hair type.

I got the big bottles, and for both products spent under $6, so that was a big win right there. In the week that I've been using it I've really liked it! Sometimes when I use a "cheaper" conditioner I can feel it in my hair when I'm rinsing, and right away my hair feels dry again. That hasn't happened with this stuff. My hair is clean, soft, and bouncy. For someone who doesn't like to spend $$$ on hair products, or if you're on a budget, this stuff is pretty great!

I think next time I'll try the Rosemary Mint they have.

Grade: B+

January hair length




January 1, 2012

 


December 1, 2011

 

Happy New Year to everyone!!

Winter arrived in Ohio this morning, bring with her snow, wind, and a whole lotta traffic messes on the roadways.

That said, winter is always my best hair time. Dry air is a curly girl's best friend, and this is the season I get to make my hair do anything and everything I want it to, and it listens.

I've also got the new January hair photos, that I'm posting along with last month's photo. It looks like it's grown a ton to me, but that could be just me. I'll post them both for your own interpretation!

I've noticed since I've started using the Aveda products (about a month) a HUGE difference in my feel and texture of my hair. It's noticeably softer and looks like it has no damage anymore. I've gotten lots of comments from people who know me, who are saying there's a huge difference in my hair, and how much shinier and healthier it looks. I think now that I've drank the Aveda kool-aid, there's no going back...