Something That Bugs Me

So, I was discussing this the other day on Facebook with some friends. Why do clients buy their hair products at places like Winner's, Shopper's, etc instead of at the salon where your stylist used it on you and recommends it? You may think that we push things onto you in order to get a sale, when in fact that is not the case. You may think the price is too much for the amount of product you get. The difference between professional products and drugstore products is like apples to oranges. Professional products are like a prescription for your hair. We recommend them for your hairtype exactly. While we are cutting your hair, an analysis is going on, we see your dandruff, oily/dry scalp, any abrasions, ingrown hairs. We use product based on what we see and feel. Do you get that at the drugstore when you pick up a $3.99 bottle of shampoo?? No.

Ok, let's talk about the size of bottles. They don't contain as much because each bottle is concentrated and you don't have to pour half the bottle into your hand to wash/condition your hair. Each bottle is manufactured with the same amount of ingredients, not in a huge vat in a factory where the quality goes down in order for productivity (stop watching "How It's Made" on Discovery Channel). You use less product, therefore getting your hair healthy again with better ingredients. Also, there aren't a whole lot of salts in professional products. Salts are used to make lather and as a preservative. The less salts, the better.

But what drives us stylists bonkers is when you buy your products at places like Winner's or any other retail outlet, other than a salon. There is a movement, albeit an underground movement, that sees retailers getting a hold of professional products illegally. This is called Diversion and it takes away from the salon. Stylists' bread & butter is products. We sell them to supplement our income. After paying chair rental, purchasing products and other costs, there's not a lot left over for us to live off. We have bills to pay, rent/mortgages, childcare to think of. When you buy at retail outlets, that takes away from us. Also, what is in those products you buy at those places?? They could be old, altered, so that they are not guaranteed if you use them & something happens to your hair. If you call the 800 number on the package, they will ask you where you purchased the item.

I worked in a busy salon where a client freely admitted to going to other retail outlets to buy her stuff. The cheaper price may also mean cheaper quality, thus wasting your hard-earned money on crap. This is just my 2 bits on this. So, next time you go to a salon and you are recommended a product, think of it as a prescription for your hair. Would you go to Winner's for blood pressure medication for cheaper?? I think not.

The Evolution of Moi

 

I am like a typical hairstylist who is never happy with my own hair. I love recreating new looks for clients, convincing them to get those highlights that will accentuate their features, but when it comes to me...

I am blonde. I was born a natural blonde. All my youth I was never allowed to do anything in terms of color to my hair. Sure I had some bad perms, we all did (it was the 80's) but never color. In my first year of cosmetology I went through the gamut of color, from highlights, to brown, to red, even peach colored (don't even ask).

Now, as I grow older I'm turning to the fashion colors. Purple has always been my favourite color, so when I went to a Goldwell Elumen color class 5 years ago, my love for purple highlights began. Now, at that time I was a horrible shade of copper blonde that I hated. It took a slow process to remove it but when I got a chance to, I put in the purple. Elumen is one of the only colors that blondes can actually wear without having fading. I've tried over the years with Manic Panic (fadage), Punky Colors (fadage again), nothing seemed to look good

 I usually add the highlights in a subtle fashion. I fine weave a section in my bangs with a few peek-a-boo's on my sides and at the crown. I dilute the VV with Clear so it's not as bright, more of a lavender shade to compliment the blonde. I'm thinking about putting them back into my hair, now that I am finally a shade of blonde that I am pleased with.

Two years ago around this time, I went from my usual blonde (it had gone a bit brassy) to a level 4 dark brown with copper-red highlights. Looked stunning!! It brought out my green eyes and darkened up my skin tone. This was my 2nd favourite haircolor of all time. I loved it, my son loved it, things were great in the haircolor dept. Then, about 3 months later, I got the urge to go back to blonde. I started out doing some hightlights, not enough. We put in more highlights in between clients...still not blonde enough. Finally, I threw caution to the wind and did a double process (haven't done that in over a decade) with the bleach. Can you say wet spaghetti when it's wet?? I toned it with a level 9 ash blonde, looked good. 

 

I am a creature of habit, when I find something I like, I stick with it and go back to it when I get bored. It is my comfort zone. It is my hair.