Post Hair School

I have been licensed for about a month now and I have learned so much in this last month.

Here are some expectations:

1. You will not be prefect right out of hair school
2.Be prepared to have people try to pick up on your insecurities and make you feel bad.
3. You will freeze

Luckily I have been through all of those and if you are about to graduate I can give you all some tips:

1. Be prepared to mess up I don't think that there really is anything else you can do but expect to mess up at least once. Ask questions talk to your coworker and utilize any additional education that you can. Prepare as much as you can while you are in school.
2. People will notice that you aren't confident when you first get to the salon. My biggest piece of advice is fake it. Act like you know exactly what you are talking about and believe in yourself.
3. You're going to freeze up at some point for me it was when I had to do my first flat top. If it happens get yourself together asap and be extra bubbly.

The first year is hard. But you got this. Be strong and never let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough. You need to learn somehow.

July Favorites

Hi everyone,
I thought that I would share with you all some of my go to hair products that I have been using in July. Here they are in no particular order:

Sebastian Trillant

This product is a heat protectant and a shine spray and it smells amazing. You can probably see that it is two different colors. In order to activate this product you need to shake it.
I use this when I blow dry my hair. You don't need a lot of it.




Redken Smooth Down Butter Treatment

I love this deep conditioner, it is smooth and creamy and literally feels like butter. I am outside a lot and with the dry summer weather this saves my hair. 

Moroccon Oil Leave in Condtioner

 This leave in conditioner makes my hair feel soft and smell good all day. I don't use a lot maybe have the size of a dime and I just run it through the ends of my hair after I blow dry. 

Matrix Design Plus Fiber Shuffle

This product is amazing it gives my hair the shape that I want and it is a light hold so I can still lrun my fingers through my hair. I really don't like hard hold products in my hair. 

Matrix Vavoom Shape Maker Hair Spray

I was in a crunch and just grabbed this hairspray when Salon Centric was having their big sale, it came in a two pack. I have been pretty dedicated to Big Sexy Healthy Hair Hairspray, but I think that I like this one even better. It helps my hair keep its shape and volume with a flexible run your fingers through your hair hold. Its amazing. I seriously don't think that I will ever purchase another hairspray. 

That is all of my monthly favorites for July. I hope that this was helpful and that you enjoyed it. 

*All products were purchased by myself with my own money and all opinions are my own*

Review TIGI Urban Antidotes Recovery

I needed to get some new shampoo because I just finished the last of me Sebastian Trillance, which I loved. I was browsing and came a crossed the TIGI section and they had a really good deal on TIGI Urban Antidotes:Recovery. I thought that I would give it a try.

I have been using the shampoo for a few weeks now and I really like it. They are formulated for dry colored hair and since it is summer I thought that it would be perfect. My hair has been decolorized and toned. So sections of my hair do become very dry.

I love the smell of this shampoo, it smells very fruity, the first sent that comes to my mind is pineapple and candy. It lathers well and rinses nicely and it makes your hair feel clean. The conditioner smells similar to the shampoo just more of a toned down sent. It is thick and creamy and makes your hair feel noticeably softer.

I personally shampoo my hair 2 to 3 times a week, usually 2. One thing that I notice was that by the end of the day my hair would feel more oily that it normally would. But the decolorized parts of my hair were still dry.

My solution was dry shampoo and a little leave in conditioner where it was needed. After those few adjustments my hair styled great.

My overall rating for this shampoo is a -B possibally a C. I don't think it is anything special. Maybe the summer weather had something to do with my results. I will have to try it out in the fall and see if it is any different.

Dedication

This update is totally overdue and I am so sorry! I graduate in the next few weeks and have been so busy. I have been studying for exams and getting my portfolio together and looking for a salon to work in.

These last few months have been challenging for me. I do not want to go into details of my personal life, but I went through some serious depression in my past and it came back to haunt me for a brief amount of time.

One in six people either suffer for depression or severe anxiety disorder. I suffered from both, I know that it is hard. I also know that it can be over come. Maybe not completely, I still have my spouts of depression, but I have changed my life and I love the person that I am and what I do. This is my story and some tips on how I got to where I am.

I used to work at a call center for a bank taking inbound calls for clients and answering general questions. It was a good job the money was great, but I was miserable. It got to the point where I was a completely different person and I did not like who I had become. So I quit, I downsized my life and found a cheaper place to live.

Sometimes we need a drastic change. I had quit my job with out finding a new one first. That might not have been the smartest decision. But I knew that I had people that loved me and wanted me to be happy and would help me how they could.

(Do what is smart for you, if you don't like your job and cannot afford to quit then look for a different one. The choice that I made, helped me in the long run, but I had a hard time getting my feet back on the ground after. Be smart.)

After about four months of job hunting I came to realize that job prospects were not looking that great with out furthering my education. I knew that I needed to go back to school and I knew that I needed a career that was something I could enjoy doing and get paid.

I had always loved doing my friends hair. I had always been interested in make up. I would often do my friends daughter's hair just for fun. One day I was bored and kinda sad and knew that if I could just do my friend's little girls hair it would cheer me up. Well, we all know how children can be, my friends little girl told me no. I begged her and finally offered to pay her to let me just curl it. THAT is when I had my light bulb moment and everything clicked. I needed to go to hair school. So I enrolled and started about a month and a half later.

About a week after I started school my car was reprocessed, because I had no income and could not afford the payments. I cried, I had never been with out a car. But I had people who loved me and let me borrow their car. I drove their car to school and was able to get a job after school as a night audit at a hotel in downtown Salt Lake City. I had the car and the job and went to school for about six months. Then things spiraled down again, I got fired because of something stupid. The people I was living with had mice and one of their children had broken into my room and destroyed a lot of my things.

So I moved out. My friend told me if I needed a place to stay she would love for me to be her roommate. Moving in with her meant no more access to a car.

Sometimes you have to do things the hard way.
I have been taking the bus to school for over a year now. It takes me about forty five minutes to an hour to get to my school which is about a ten minute drive away from my house.

Be dedicated to what you love.
I don't care if  it is your family, your school, your career or a hobby. Find something that you love and be dedicated to it.

I love doing hair, and I love every client that I get to have sit in my chair and I love seeing the look on their face when I am finished with their hair. That is what keeps me going, that is what gets me out of bed in the morning and why I am willing to wait in the snow, rain and freezing or scorching weather. I love doing hair.

Give your everything.
I have not gotten into too much detail of my personal life during school, but I will say that I have had many challenges. I will say it was not easy and I will also say this is the happiest I have been in my life.

I have been able to organize and produce my own photo shoots, I have taken classes from some of the most influential people in my industry and I have loved every minute.

You cannot control everything, sometimes you have to just let life do what it needs to. But if you work hard and never give up you will be happy. I cannot think of a single person that is successful and has not gone through a difficult time. Things will be hard, you will have to work. But that is what life is about. working hard and then enjoying the results.

I hope that this helped. I know that it was long winded but these things have been on my mind for a long time. I felt like I needed to share it with someone.

To all my of you who suffer with depression or sever anxiety, just know that you do not have to do it alone. I am here and willing to give a hand as much as I can. I know that if I can do it, then you can too.

I love you all and I am so thankful I get to do what I do.

Chris

Clearest Skin I have had since I was 13: My Secret!

I have had acne issues since I was thirteen years old. I would stare at myself in the mirror and dream of what I would look like if I had clear skin. I am allergic to Benzyl Peroxide and Tetracycline which are the two top go to acne type medications for dermatologists  I have been on Accutane, I have changed my diet, I have had facials and nothing worked until now.

I have gotten myself into a skin routine:

Morning:
Wash Face ( I use Clean and Clean)
Tone Face (I use either Witch Hazel of Breath of God from Lush)
Moisturize with SPF (I use Cetaphil)

Night
Wash Face (I alternate with an exfoliating wash and cream base.)
Tone (same product)
Moisturize (again Cetaphil)

I do this religiously  all my face products can be purchased at the drug store none of them are prescription and you can more then likely get all of them for under twenty dollars.

The secret is be consistent  My skin is so temperamental and if I don't take care of it then it will react. its taken me fifteen years of trying but my skin is almost clear. I am excited to figure out what works for me. Hopefully this will work for you !

Difficult Customers

How to give incredible customer service to difficult clients.

We have all had some type of customer service job at some point. A big factor in succeeding in a salon is delivering exceptional customer service. Most of the time it is easy to smile and to anticipate needs, but every now and then there is a customer that you just cannot make happy or who is just irritating. How do we as a stylist or a company representative provide great customer service according to their standards?

I have worked in the customer service industry since I was fourteen, I have done everything from being a telephone representative to front desk to being a manager. Now I am building my own business and developing my own clientele.

I can honestly say I have had the opportunity to deal with every type of difficult customer, from rude, to crazy to super picky I have worked with all of them. These are some of my tips on how to handle them and still give them incredible customer service:

Kill them with kindness: Don’t let them get the best of you if they say they do not like your shirt tell them that they look great today.

Smile with your entire body: We have all had the customer service rep that is fake and just wants to get you out of there so that they can go stand around and do nothing. Don’t ever be that rep, smile and talk to them, don’t smile with just your mouth smile with your entire body. Its easy to know when someone smiles at you because they feel like they have to, let your smile and positive attitude and love for your business shine through you’re every action. They will remember that.

Be Patient: Some customers just want your individual attention, I know that it can get crazy, especially during the holidays. But I have had customers call me screaming at me at the beginning of a call and by the end they are thanking me and telling me I am the best. Sometimes you just need to take a deep breath listen to the customer and give them your time and all your effort.

The BIGGEST PART of customer service is  SERVICE: Customers pay using their hard earned money, they go to work and sometimes even save up for a long time for our service. Lets serve them, it makes a huge difference and they will remember it.

It really is all about the customer and I feel like sometimes we forget the customer and only think about us. That is how bad customer service starts.

I hope that you all like this and found it useful.

Love you all and MERRY CHRISTMAS

Classic and Vintage looks 1770-1930

Hey everyone,

I know that it has been a while since I have updated. I am sorry. I have been so busy with different projects that I am working on and just general day to life. Lately I have really been interested in early hair styling and wigs they just fascinate me.  I also notice a lot of what was worn back then is very similar to what is on the runway and in today’s fashion.

I have complied some of my favorite styles from 1770-1930. I really wanted to go back further than 1770, but then I thought that might be something that is better for a second update.

1770: "Pouf" I love the classic couture look of this, the flower and feather embellishments really make it look special. It was often styled into allegories of current events, such as a hot air balloon. 

 This look is referred to as the“hérisson” or “hedgehog” was a mass of curls, with emphasis on width rather than height.

The popularity of wigs started to drop at the begging of the 1790's. This  look is just simple curls tied back.

1800's

 A knot on the top of the head was a popular trend in the 1800's as were long curls around the face.

 I am seeing looks very similar to this one everywhere. It reminds me of the bun that you make with a sock. I like how loose she has it in this picture. I also wonder how secure it actually is.

These are some of the more common styles from the era.

These looks remind me slightly of the "pouf" and the "hedgehog", but more toned down. Probably because its actually her hair.

1900's

The 1900's are what I think really created the foundations for today's hair styling. If you look at any red carpet or fashion magazines it is easy to tell where they got their inspiration from. 

I love how simple and elegant this look is, love the pin curls.

 When I started hair school I was so excited to learn how to do finger waves. It really is a look that takes a lot of practice but the out come is stunning.

This looks like it came straight out of Vogue. I love everything about it. Its amazing. This style is from the 1930's but it also reminds me a lot of something that could have been found in the 1700's, its a very regal look.