Stylist Or High Pressure Salesperson?

Does your stylist try to push a ton of products on you that you just don't need or want?


If you have ever walked away from a salon visit and feel like you've been pushed into buying products you didn't want or need, your not alone.


So why does it seem stylist now a days are turning into car salesmen pushing you to buy more, more, more?


Alot of salons now a days REQUIRE stylist to sell a minimum percentage of their service total in retail up to 50%.So if a client comes in and gets a $200 service the stylist is expected to sell them $100 of product.Now alot of people just wont do that so when one client says no the stylist has to make up their missing percentage on another client.So you may actually be being pushed into buying things not because you need it, but because your making up for a sale that another customer refused!


Stylist actually get fired if they do not sell retail at their specified service to retail ratio.This brings the problem back to the salon the stylist is at.Salons train their employees now a days with high pressure sales tactics.

Manufactures also offer incentives to stylist who sell the most of their latest product.So you may be buying something that isn't the absolute best product for your hair just so your stylist can win a blow dryer or flat iron.

Tipping your stylist more to make up for the lost comissions on retail does not make up for either of these issues.The stylist still has to make that sale someplace else!Tip more only if you want to tip more, not out of guilt.

So what can you do about this?

• If you don't want something don't buy it! Sounds simple enough but seriously stick to your guns.
• Tell your stylist if something isn't in your budget.If she has a choice between a 10% commission on a retail sale and a 50% commission on your service total and she knows you only have XX amount of $$ to spend, shes going to put that money where it makes her the most money.
• If your need shampoo only buy shampoo don't be forced into buying the whole product line.
• If you don't know exactly what a product is and exactly how to use it.....you probably don't need it and wont use it anyway.
• You have the option of just not buying anything! If your stylist knows your the kind of person that never buys anything, maybe she will quit nagging you.
• Tell your stylist your all set on products and if you need anything next time you ll ask them for it.
• Or you can say "Oh that sounds great but I want to use up what I already have at home first, can you write these product recommendations down for me and Ill buy them as I need new product" This takes the pressure off you and gives your stylist hope of a future sale.
• You can walk into any salon and just buy what you want or need, you don't have to support the salon that is forcing your stylist to resort to sneaky sales tactics.You can also compare prices this way both in salons and at online retailers and get the best bang for you buck.
• If your stylist is annoyingly pushy and you dread the sales pitches every time you go in, find a new stylist.Its supposed to be a fun relaxing experience and stylist are a dime a dozen.

There are lots of great stylist out there and if you do decide to find a new one, read our blog article titled "Interview With A Stylist" for ideas on how to find a really great stylist and salon.

Hot Gladiator Shoe Knockoffs

Gladiator shoes are hot this year

I have been seeing them everyplace.

I love to have fun with my accessories but I try to stay a bit budget minded on fads.

Who knows if gladiators are next years fashion "dont"!

Check out these knockoffs of Dior Gladiator shoes I found online at 10% of the price of the originals!

There are some great gladiator shoes on Ebay too ranging from $25 to $200 brand new so dont forget to check there for a bargain!

On top:Dior $700

On bottom:Candice $70

How To Shampoo The Right Way

For years Ive seen shampoo commercials and advertisements featuring a girl lathering her long hair up into a wad of luxurious lather on top of her head in a hot steamy shower ....


I want to yell "STOP DOING THAT" every time not buy their shampoo. Makes my nether regions cringe in fright .

SO I thought I would write a step by step article for all those advertisers who are apparently more concerned with marketing what looks good instead of healthy hair.

1. Brush your hair with a soft natural bristle brush.Get in there and get juices flowing in your scalp to release oils and detangle the hair before you get it wet.Wet hair is more elastic when wet so get as many tangles as you can out before you wash.
2. Get your hair thoroughly wet with warm water.This opens the cuticle of the hair shaft allowing oils to come out and softens styling products.It also opens up the pores on your scalp similar to using a warm rag prior to shaving to open the follicles allowing dirt and debris to loosen.
3. Apply your shampoo to your scalp area ONLY.Massage your scalp and work the dirt and oils loose.
4. Rinse with warm water
5. Apply a second shampoo starting again at your scalp and again use your finger tips in a gentle circular motion along your scalp to release any underlying oils in the skin.Work the shampoo down the shaft gently.NEVER EVER bring the ends of your hair up to the scalp.You want to keep your hair as tangle free as possible during the process.Don't matt your hair into a ball and scrub it into a tangled mess.Allow your hair to fall naturally and wash it in a downward motion to keep from roughing up the cuticle(outer layer)
6. Rinse again in warm water.This allows the cuticle to remain opened up to allow for penetration of your conditioner.
7. Apply conditioner from your nape line down to the ends.Avoid putting heavy conditioners directly to the scalp area because this can leave you looking greasy.Wait a minute or two and let the conditioner do its job.Shave your legs and whatnots while you wait.Run your fingers gently through your conditioned hair to make sure youve gotten the conditioner through all of your hair and remove any major knots gently with your fingers.
8. Now a final rinse with cool water to seal the shaft and close down your scalp pores.
9. Rough (not roughly) detangle your hair with a wide tooth comb.Just get any major knots out.
10. Use a large paddle brush with cushioned base to detangle your hair the rest of the way, working in sections.Get any tangles out toward the bottom of the hair first then work towards the scalp.

Advertisers make showering seem so glamorous and everyone seems so happy to clean and lather while grinning orgasmically in the process.Maybe other people shower like that but when im in there im on a mission to get my peices and parts clean, exfoliated and shaved.So dont be fooled by the gimmick of the pretty wad of foam!

Combatting Oily Hair

I'm all about the why.SO before I get into solutions you need to be educated on why you may ave excessive oils in your hair.

The sebaceous gland that rests along each of your hair shafts just under the skin is the culprit.It is the oil producing gland.

In general the finer or thinner each hair shaft is the more oil escapes to the surface of your scalp.If each of your stands of hair and fine but you have a large amount of hairs per square inch then your oil problems are increased because you have more sebaceous glands.The thicker the hair shaft is the more oils are blocked from squeezing out to the surface.
The hair shaft wicks the oil up out of your scalp.Your hair doesn't actually product oils at all.So battling oily hair is really battling oily scalp.

Sebum (oil) is regulated by the male hormones called androgen's.The more of these androgen's you have the more active your sebaceous gland becomes.

On that note I must say a visit to the Doc to have your hormone levels checked could be a good idea if your have chronic problems with oily hair.

Now here are some simple solutions to help you win the battle.

• Use a shampoo that is clarifying.An easy way to tell if a shampoo will clarify is buy a see through shampoo.The more milky a shampoo is the conditioners and other things have been added to it.

• Shampoo twice.If the first shampoo isn't lathering up well it is because the shampoo is binding with the oils in your hair preventing it from foaming.So your second shampoo should get things moving.You can even apply your first shampoo to your hair dry for ultra deep cleansing!

• Squeeze your melon when your shampoo!Give yourself a good scalp massage to squeeze out any leftover oils trapped under the skin.Only do this during your shampoo so you can cleanse it.Over massaging your head at the wrong times actually stimulate the sebaceous glands to product more oils.

• Use an astringent on your scalp.You can use witch hazel or your facial astringent applied with a cotton ball to your scalp.This helps dry and slow the oil production.

• Don't over brush your hair. This just stimulates those glands and causes more oils to be wicked down your hair shaft.

When you want to skip a day of shampooing but don't think you can cope, use baby powder or talc.Apply it directly to your scalp/problem oily areas.Shake it around so it bonds to the oils then brush it out with a natural bristle hair brush.This works best on lighter colored hair.Darker hair can do this but powder sparingly or try using a dry hair shampoo.

• Don't apply your conditioner to your scalp.Many people will tell your to just skip the conditioner but clarifying shampoos can be very damaging to the hair shaft.Since the hair shaft cannot repair itself you really need to condition it to keep it from damaging.Just apply it to your ends only.Get the places where the natural oils do not reach.If you have trouble keeping the conditioner off your scalp in the shower then use a spray leave in conditioner on the last few inches of your hair to help detangle and maintain the integrity of the hair.
  
  Eat well.Eating foods high in proteins and healthy oils like nuts and lean meats and dairy can help strengthen your hair.Since hair is made of protein, a diet low in protein will produce scraggly hairs which in turn allows more oils to escape from your scalp.Also look for foods that are high in vitamin A, Beta carotene , and essential fatty oils such as flax seed oil which have shown in various case studies to regulate glandular activity.(I am no Dr. so I recommend you research these studies yourself and make your own decisions)

Curly Hair Care Including African-American and Bi Racial Children

Naturally curly hair can be beautiful so don't fight your blessing!

Most issues with curly hair lie in styling products and handling.

Here you can see in the image cross sections of hair

The actual shape of the hair is different in curly hair.Asian hair is typically round coming out a round shaft.

African heritage hair follicles and Caucasians with curly hair actually have flatter hair follicles producing a flatter hair shaft.

The biggest difference is basically the rounder the hair shaft the more oils are released along the shaft.Flatter, curly hair follicles do not allow as much natural oil to be released along the shaft.The curlier the hair, the dryer it is.

Select your hair styling products with this in mind.You will need more moisture and oils in your products.The good news here is your hair should not be washed as often.Most people with curly hair can go up to a week before washing their hair.Over washing dries what little natural oils you have and makes your hair look dryer and frizzier.

After you wash your hair , use a wide tooth comb that is sturdy.Comb the tangles out starting at the bottom.If you begin at the top you just push the tangles into other tangles making huge knots that rip your hair out upon removal.While you can use a wide tooth comb or a large bristle brush while your hair is wet, NEVER brush or combs your hair while it is dry.

Gels, mousse and hairsprays should be used sparsely.First of all these items are alcohol based and again avoid anything that dries your hair out.Look for texture creams, lotions and balms or pomades that have a little hold but give a soft manageable feel instead of a crunchy dry gelled look.You can use oil based products as well which form a moisture barrier to keep your hair from frizzing under humid conditions.

If you are Caucasian with extremely curly hair don't be afraid to look into African-American hair care products.African- American haircare lines like Mizani or Keracare which are very readily available.These brands carry more of a variety for curly hair than say Matrix or Redken will.Most of the lines like Matrix etc. do make lines for curly hair but with the intentions of making the hair even more curly.But when your looking to tame excessive curls look to brands that specialize in this.Generally the more curly your hair is the more moisture you need.Look for oils like coconut and jojoba oils.Stay away from petroleum based products.

If your a mother of a bi-racial child and have never had experience with curly hair, educate yourself on the needs of your child's hair.Cacasion/asian and other races with naturally straight hair have more oils and need to use different products than curly headed people.

Instead of washing your little ones hair every day, use a daily moisturizer.She may need you to apply natural oils to her hair and scalp.Use a cream hair dressing to style her hair and keep the hair tied up as much as possible to keep it from becoming a tangled mess while she plays.Make sure she has her special wide tooth hard combs and natural bristle brushes to ease the long process of combing out her hair after washing.

Keep it soft and natural looking.Don't overuse products to the point where your hair looks wet all the time.

I recommend air drying for natural curls BUT if you do want to blow dry your hair make sure you use a diffuser on your hair dryer.This buffers the flow of air from the dryer and gives your more of a radiating heat to dry your hair instead of tossing and tumbling your hair in the air making it look frizzy.

If you want a softer curly look try setting your damp hair in large pin curls and let air dry or sit under a hood dryer.

Once the hair is dry take the pins out and gently pull and place the ringlets in place with your hands coated in a light styling cream.

This can be done on any hair type but works best on light to medium curly hair.

Did I mention........NEVER COMB OR BRUSH DRY CURLY HAIR!!!!!!!

Let Us Know What You Need

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Post comments here requesting us to add your favorite discontinued or hard to find beauty product to our list of items we search for.
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We will do our best to get the item in for you, and if we cant find it we will do our best to tell you where you can buy it!

Flat Limp Hair Solutions

Well here is one option...

But in leiu of sticking a fork in your outlet every morning here are some tips and tricks.

Use a blow dryer with a cool shot button.Flip your air over and get it nice and toasty near your scalp, then push the cool shot button and cool it down before you flip your head back over.This acts much like a roller set or curling iron setting the body into your roots.

Avoid too much product!A lightweight styling product like Joico Bodyluxe Root Lift Foam is great, but only put it at your roots.Added product adds added weight.Keep your ends as light as possible to keep them from weighing your style down.

Use an aerosol hair spray that goes on almost dry.Spritz hairsprays take time to dry weighing you down.The dryer the hairspray on contact the better.Wetter hairsprays are basically a mist hair glue and can gunk your hair up.Dryer sprays will leave little beads on your hairshaft which work like a zipper adhering to each other.I love the new TIGI Rockaholic Fun Times Flexible Hair Spray . It smells a little like fresh oranges ( im a smell junkie).

Use a clarifying shampoo from time to time.Build up can add weight to your do, but dont use a clarifyer every day because it can dry your hair out.I add a few tablespoons of lemon juice to a few cups of warm water and rinse it through my hair every once in a while to avoid buildup.

Use a light daily shampoo and conditioner.Avoid bottles that say "hydrating" or "smoothing" as they are probably too heavy for your hair.

Avoid long hairstyles that make your hair look straggly.Long hair isnt pretty if it isnt pretty hair girls.

Dont overtease your hair! Teasing can be hard to hide with fine hair. When the day wears on your hair you can look like a ratty mess.Try using velcro rollers to add volume and find a style that will look great even if it falls limp.Bigger isnt always better when it comes to hair.

Lighten your hair color!Sounds simple enough but this works for a few reasons. The process can add texture to your hair and lighten the load on each individual strand.Also if you have problems with your scalp showing, lightening your hair can buffer the contrast between your hair color and your scalp color making your hair appear thicker and fuller.

Share your tips and tricks for fuller hair with us aand our readers!Post a comment:>

What Can I Do About Damaged Hair & Split Ends

There are a million products out there that claim to repair split ends.

Under a microscope you can actually see the fraying of the hair that looks somewhat like a broken twig.Since hair is not alive it cannot repair itself.Products that claim to repair this damage are actually just smoothing out and sealing the damage.When the product is removed the damage still exists and unfortunately cannot be repaired much as a twig cannot really be repaired.

These products are great for hiding the damage from eyesight until the damage has grown out or been cut off.

What works and why?

The actual structure of the hair consists of 3 parts.The cuticle or outside layer,the cortex or middle layer and the medulla which is the core of the hair shaft.

In fine thin and fragile hair the medulla, or core of the hair is smaller and in some cases almost non existent.

Since this is the layer that holds you hair together a weak medulla can actually make your hair more susceptible to breakage.

Using a protein reconstructor can strengthen all 3 layers of the hair shaft to help avoid breakage by filling any weak spots with proteins like keratin which you hair is naturally made of.A word of caution here though..More is not always better.You can get an overload of protein in your hair which when the proteins harden instead of making the hair shaft stronger can actually make it brittle and cause it to snap even easier! Limit your hairs protein intake to no more than one treatment per week.

The middle layer or cortex of the hair shaft is affected greatly by perms and hair color.This is where the majority of your hair color is stored so over coloring can weaken this layer very easily.In overly processed hair these chemicals damage the integrity of the medulla as well causing breakage.Avoid overly processing your hair with chemicals to keep the core strength of your hair in tact.

In the photo here you can see the dark spots are actually melanin granules in the cortex(middle layer) of the hair where it is stored.

Outside of the cortex is the cuticle which is much like shingles that are opened with chemicals to allow for penetration of hair color and perms.

Other chemicals in these processes close the cuticle back down .

Heat styling can break down the cuticle layer of your hair also causing it to become rough and brittle.

Once the cuticle layer is overly damaged it will no longer be able to close down sufficiently.This causes the hair to feel rougher and catch easier on combs and brushes causing snapping fraying and breakage.

Daily conditioners smooth over this outer layer of the hair.Use a conditioner that is sufficient enough to eliminate most tangles and knots smoothing them out to make brushing less damaging.

Always use some sort of heat protection when you blow dry and heat style.A product to make flat irons glide over the shaft is helpful as well.

A good brush with as little drag as possible will do wonders for your hair.

Trimming split ends are a necessity.When your brush catches on the ends of your hair it only causes your hair to split higher up on the shaft leaving a new shorter split mangled end.

Just use common sense and don't expect miracles.Repairing damage takes time so in the mean time strengthen what you have now to prevent more damage, hide the damage you have as best you can, and baby your hair so you can minimize future damage.