Calling all curly girls #1

I have had a lot of questions about curly hair since writing my Hair at last post, and my good friend Amy from The Salvage Collection inspired me to write this post. Here is her blog banner, which I love, love, love and in it, she has great curly hair!!

(if you have not checked out Amy's blog, you HAVE to go see her red dresser, using ASCP in 

Emperor's silk, it is hands down my favorite piece of upcycled furniture in blog land!!go here to see it)

So lets start with a quick hair anatomy lesson.

This shows the difference that straight, wavy and curly hair have. You can see why the curly or even wavy hair comes out of the scalp the way it does to form the curls or waves. It is just very different from straight hair.

Also, the outside of each strand of all hair looks like fish scales or shingles on a house. If your hair is healthy and shiny and in good conditions, your cuticle will look like the above picture. 

This is hair is damaged, by either chemicals, heat, or a medical condition.

So now you know a little bit about what your hair should look like under a microscope as well as what it looks like coming out of your scalp. 

  Well curly hair lacks moisture because of the way it is formed, it can't hold it in as well as say someone with straight (round hair shaft) hair, because of the oval shape of curly or wavy hair. Therefore it has a less likely chance of the cuticles laying down smooth. So curly hair gets frizzy. It also is further helped along with the frizzy's because  curly hair is like a bunch of arms, trying to grab all the moisture from the air it can get. If you live in a humid climate, you find your hair is non stop trying to grab the moisture out of theair which equals big frizzy hair. 

See, we were not meant to wash our hair all the time, and curly girls should never wash their hair!! WHAT?? Not wash my hair, that is gross!! NOoooo, dirt, sweat, smoke and hair products, are all water soluble. What does that mean for your curly hair?? That by not using a shampoo you  leave your natural oils where they should be. I am not talking about the oils that make your hair greasy, but the oil you can not see. Also think of the hair closest to your scalp as being like a newborn, all healthy and new. As you go further down the hair, it starts to age, and if you have long hair consider it to be like an older relative. Maybe frail and brittle, something you have to be delicate with. 

There is a book I used to sell when I owned my salon called the Curly Girl Handbook.

                                        

I HIGHLY recommend it! It is a must for curly hair!

It breaks down and educates you on just why exactly do you have curly hair, why it gets frizzy and how you can have the most gorgeous hair ever!!It will give you step by step instructions on how to take care of curly hair.

  Below are some examples with curly or wavy hair that does not have enough moisture: 

Now look at healthy moisture filled curly or wavy hair: 



See the difference?
So now what??
First you should stop washing your hair with shampoo.
Give yourself what I call a 'water shampoo'. See, our shampoo's contain surfactants, which are also in laundry soap, hand soap and dish washing liquid, among other things. What are surfactants? It is basically what gives your the bubbles. I know that people judge shampoo by how much and how easy it suds up. But if you have damaged or curly/wavy hair this is the worst thing you can do for your hair.
That's when the 'water shampoo' comes in. Just pretend there are big fat suds in your hands and just scrub your head and rinse well. Yep, that's it. I know you will hate it at first, but give yourself a month and you will LOVE the results on your hair!
Conditioners. These contain a lot of silicone. Yep, it feels awesome on your hair, but it is doing nothing to give you moisture. It is like putting a wax on your car. But not really protecting it like car wax does.
I believe in salon products and I am gonna tell you why.
First off, salon products are concentrated. They may be more expensive, but you get more out of a 12oz bottle of salon shampoo/conditioner than you do out of a store bought bottle that is 16oz. The store bought bottle contains more water, so you have to use more. Also another little known fact about products you buy on the supermarket/ drug store shelf. They have to have a shelf like of 10 years. Meaning, come back in ten years and they will still be the same. In order for this to happen, they have to add a lot of waxy stabilizers.
I tell my clients this: it's like owning a cashmere sweater and washing it in the dishwasher.

So, what should you use on your hair instead?

I have been trained at the Devachansalon in New York City. This salon is owned by Lorainne Massey who wrote the curly girl handbook and is considered the best in the industry for curly hair. Stylist from all over the world come to her salon for training. Including this Midwestern girl. 

Lorainne Massey, her hair is amazing!!

If you were to only invest in one product to purchase, I would highly recommend the One Condition. 

Buy the liter, it is more economical. There is a place on her website to search for salons in your area that sell Deva Curl products. If yo absolutely can not go with out washing your hair, they do have 2 different cleansers.

No-Poo and Low-Poo. They either have no suds or very low suds.

I am a Certified Curly hair Specialist. Meaning I give curly girl hair cuts. How are these different than someone 'cutting curly hair'? I start with dry hair. You need to see the hair in it's natural state so you can see where the weight is. I also do not use a comb, but cut each individual curl. Yes, if you go to a curly girl specialist you probably will pay more. But my clients can go fro 2-6 months between cuts. That is how important a great cut is to curly hair!! You can also search her sight for a stylist near you who is certified.

And lastly a great bit of info you will also find in more detail in the Curly Girl Handbook:

Do not use a towel to dry your hair. See all the little nubbies that help grab moisture? 

Yep, they make your hair frizzy!

                                 

Instead, use an old T-shirt. Your hair will love you for it!! 

I did a follow up post on how to apply products to curly hair that you can see here. If you have any questions about curly hair or any hair for that matter, just message me to my email or leave a comment below!!

 I was not paid for this post by Deva and all the opinions here are my own.

       

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Thrifting #2

Well here it is, January 6th and I have nothing going on. The Holidays were so crazy (crazy fun) that I just needed a few weeks to mellow out. If you saw my 2012 Bucket list, then you know I have some pretty big ambitions that will make for a busy year. I need no more furniture to paint, I have a house full and unless it is a really really great, too good to pass up 'would you look how much they marked those Berger's for' then I am NOT going to buy it until I make some headway in the furniture department. That will also make my husband very happy. Soo I went and did a little bit of shopping as I had a little Christmas $ burning a hole in my pocket. I went to one of my favorite Thrift stores out here in O'fallon called Graces. Well today I got some sweet deals I wanted to show off.

It was mostly larger stuff, some I needed, some I wanted! Ha!

First up is a pair of heavy metal lamps that will sit on my buffet in the dinning room. I have looked 

around a bit for a set and hadn't come up with anything I liked. I do not think they started out as 

black, but someone painted the. I love the scroll work on them. The shades are new, I will have to see how I feel about them when I redo the dinning room. I paid $20 a piece for them.

Next up is a medium size oil painting in a gorgeous frame. I am not sure about the painting, 

a little more pink than my liking, but the frame is a keeper for sure. This ran me $15.

Then a large oil painting, like 2'2 1/2'. The painting is old, but in great shape. It may go in my 

bedroom or in the bathroom, not sure yet. This was only $20.

I can;t wait to get some chalk paint on it though! The frame is ridiculously nice!

Here is a close up of the children in the painting. It reminds me of my 2 youngest. 

They look about the right ages right now too!

Lastly I grabbed this milk carrier. I have seen some reproduction ones on WUSLA 

and other places, but never came across them myself. Guess how much?? 

$15. 

I know, right? Crazy!!! I would have spent twice that!

And here is the most patient (he is like my stop watch, when he is done, I have spent enough money), well behaved and my most favorite 4 year old shopping companion, Wyatt. IF he is alone. You add his sister to the mix and they both act like they belong in the circus! Why is that?? It is that way at home too! It's like they spend time thinking up ways to get in trouble! 

I am going out to the country for the weekend with the family and the weather could not be better here. it is January 6th and may reach 70 today. CA. RAY. ZY!!! We have had no snow to speak of this year, not sure we will get any, how about you, do you have a favorite companion to go shopping with you? And is your weather not the 'norm' for this time of year??

                                                                           

Hair at last #1 an intro

(WARNING: I tried to make this intro post as short as possible, but you can see that didn't work, I just wanted 

to put all my info about hair put out there, so you felt comfortable taking advice from another hairstylist)

For those of you who have followed my blog, you may not even know that I have been a hairstylist for over 18 years! Yikes, that is a long time. I started this blog for the purpose of sharing my many projects, both finished and unfinished! (I am trying to tip the scale towards the finished) Anywhoo, my intention was to write about anything and everything about what it is I do. And that includes hair, but I have done it for so long, it is like a third arm for me. Don't get me wrong, I am not bored with what I do, it is something I have continued to do the longest, other than be a mother to my 27 year old son that I continue to do and love every minute of it. And I am a very good hair dresser. That may sound conceited to some, but I have worked extremely hard on my career, putting myself through beauty school and working nights while being a single mother. 

  I spent many many hours in education by way of hands on classes. I trained at Vidal Sassoon in Santa Monica, Toronto and London. I worked at an Aveda Concept Salon for my first 14 years. Education was a must. I trained with Aveda in Minneapolis, New York and London (2X's), along with many other smaller named Hair company's but too many to name. 

  I also became an educator in the salon and had many assistants who I trained that then went on to be full time hair dressers in the salon. I became a very advanced hair cutter in a few short years, mostly due to my devotion to continued education. 

  I also had other areas I specialized in. The next area I specialized in is bridal hair. I did a photo shoot for St. Louis Bride magazine, and a few other smaller local publications. As well as newsprint. I do freelance work for both models and bridal parties. I educate for many different salons in St. Louis and have traveled off sight for over 500 bridal parties. That is alot of bridal hair. 

  I next specialized in straighteners and relaxers. Most of my co-workers were too terrified to attempt this process, so being the new kid, I was very eager to get my hands in as much hair as possible. I remember the first straighteners for Caucasian hair were pretty scary. But I can honestly say, I have never been afraid of a service or client. They just do not intimidate me, as certain services do alot of stylist. Like relaxers or working on brides. I remember the days when if you were Caucasian and wanted straight hair you had to relax it. Like an ethnic relaxer. And THAT is a strong chemical. But I was always diligent in education, if it didn't come with it, I went out and researched it. For those of you who are familiar with the Keratin (Brazilian) Smoothing Treatments, you are looking at a state of the art, industry changing product, that some company's use very safe ingredients in their products. We have come a long way baby!

  Next I became a hair color educator. Now mind you, I did not hop from one specialty to another, I ADDED these specialties to the current ones. I may have ADD, but in this case, it is a good thing. My brain works best when I have alot going on. Slow me down and I am worthless. I trained both in the salon as well as for other St. Louis salons. 

  Lastly I became a curly hair specialist. This one I think is kinda funny, cause I don't know anyone who has hair straighter than mine. If people don't know me, they usually think I straighten my hair with a flat iron every day! Ha! I went to NYC and trained with Deva Curl at their NY salon. 

(Isn't Amy's hair fab?!!)

I actually am getting into blogging about hair thanks to my friend Amy over at the Salvation Collection. She has a new header on her blog, with her beautiful curly hair in it's natural curly state. She said her hair was co-operating the day the photo was taken, but that it is not usually like this. So my first 'Hair at last' post will be dedicated to her and it will cover curly hair. Along with great hair, she is hella funny and super talented to boot!

  I know that not everybody will be interested in a post about curly hair (or hair at all for that matter),but stay tuned for other textures, types & styles, you never know, you may learn something!

  In essence I have equivalent to a Masters Degree in Hair. But I will never know everything there is to know about hair. I hope I don't ever get there, cause that means I am not growing. And I love to learn something new every day.

My clientele is extremely diverse. I have working mothers, children, college students, teachers, older women, men, teenagers, women with disposable income and a few clients who live in other cities like KC,  Atlanta & Chicago who still come to see me for their appointments. And they are very loyal as well.

  I left the big salon after 14 years because it was no longer the small family salon it started out as. Don't get me wrong, I think it is brilliant my old boss was able to grow his salon so much and with such professional employees, but I just wanted something more. I worked next to a friend of mine for a while until I found a salon that I could purchase. I renamed it, redecorated it and saturated the employees with education, something they had not been as familiar with. Then I got pregnant again, my oldest was in college, and my daughter in daycare. So I was basically paying for day care and college at the same time. (don't recommend it). The bad economy was looming over the horizon and my poor husband took a back seat to everything. I decided that I wanted to grow old with him, not my kids, clients or the salon. So having rescued the salon from bankruptcy, I found a great buyer and moved on. I am in my own space in a salon as an independent contractor. I have a room with 4 walls, a locked door and the choice of any products I wish to carry myself. I LOVE it. I make my own schedule, book my own clients, and decorate the salon how I want to. Can't beat it. 

  I also have a few web sights if you want to check them out, but I have not paid as much attention to my personal one as much as I should since starting the blog!

http://www.bonnieboze.com

http://www.stlouisbridalhairandmakeup.com/

  One of my favorite things to do in the salon, is sharing my knowledge with my clients. I used to give a blow dry/makeup class years ago, called K.I.S.S. & Makeup. Keep it simple (stupid). Not that the clients were stupid, but that here is how easy it is, you are gonna think you were stupid of the way you USED to do your hair.  I would physically show my clients how to roll the round brush, section off the hair, how much product to use and how often. 

  There is a young hairstylist named Kate, whose blog I follow called It's the Small Things. She has wonderful videos showing you how to do your own hair. Not, here is how I do your hair, but look at me doing my own hair, cause lets face it, it is night and day for most people whether you do your own hair or your stylist does it. GO check her out and tell her I sent you. You will not be disappointed!

  I hope this info does not turn you off, again I just wanted to get it all out there as it has been such a big part of my life and I still love to do it. And I want to share some with you. So if there is something you are interested in knowing, hearing about, or how to do, let me know. I also love asking questions!! And I have had THE CRAZIEST questions already so let me have em!!

  I will not bombard you with posts of hair, but from time to time there will be some, I hope you like!!