Keratin?

Hey guys,

So I thought maybe today we would talk a little bit about the hair itself. This might get a little boring but hang in there! Some of this information could help you out a lot.

Now keratin. What is it? What does it do? Why do we care? I guess the best way to explain it is to go back to "beauty school". What I mean is text book definition: a scleroprotein or albuminoid substance, found in the dead outer skin layer, and in horn, hair, feathers, hoofs, nails, claws, bills, etc.  Basically its protein that makes up the hair and nails. 

Keratin is what makes the hair feel healthy and give it that shine. Now when you chemically treat the hair it can become damaged and lose that protien. Your hair will bevome dry, frizzy and it might break off. Depending on your hair it could be more damaged in some spots than others or your hair could be completely "fried" after the first time you bleach it. The only question is once its gone can you get it back?

The answer is kind of a yes and no. The hair isn't exactly a living thing. Yes it grows but the hair outside of your scalp is considered dead so it doesn't repair itself like skin would with a scab (gross comparison right). However there are ways to help your hair feel better. There are tons of different products out there such as leave in conditioners, keratin masks, and serums. You do need to be careful with some of the products you use. If it says use once a week only use it once a week. If you use too much of the product it could put too much protien back into hair which could cause even more breakage! Yikes! I guess the saying too much of a good thing can be bad comes into play here.

If you're not sure what product to choose from the hundreds there are you could always go to your stylist or local salon and ask a few questions. They might even have a couple treatments that they do at their salon that you can't get at home. I do have a couple suggestions that I have used on my own hair.

1. Matrix Biolage Exquisite Oil (http://www.matrix.com/our-products/haircare/biolage/exquisiteoil/exquisiteoil)
2. Matrix Biolage Kearindose Pro-Keratin Renewal Spray (http://www.matrix.com/our-products/haircare/biolage/biolage-advanced/biolage-keratindose-pro-keratin-renewal-spray)
3. Redken Extreme Hair Care Line (http://www.redken.com/products/haircare/extreme)
4. Paul Mitchel Awapuhi Wild Ginger (http://www.paulmitchell.com/EN-US/PRODUCTS/AWAPUHIWILDGINGER/Pages/Home.aspx)

The Paul Mitchel Wild Ginger Ampule system is something that only salons offer. If you can find a salon that offers this treatment your hair will never be the same and feel amazing after the first time you do it! It's all natural too!

If you guys have any questions let me know!

Till next time

-Sarah

Crème de le Crème

Hey guys!

I've been going through a really tough time with my hair. I did a big beauty no-no and bleached my hair multiple times in a weeks period. I know! Bad Sarah! I've been using multiple products trying to get my hair back to normal. Sadly nothing has been working. I've tried Redken's chemistry treatments to Matrix's flash filler and still no luck.

However today I happened upon a red bag that I had completely forgotten about in the back of my car. It was a sample bag my manager had snagged from a hair show a while back with a few samples from Miss Jessie's hair line. Most in the bag were for curly hair, but I took a look at the crème de la crème packet and decided to try it out.

This stuff works wonders! Not only does my hair feel healthier but it feels softer. I also have really fine hair and it didn't weigh it down. Most heavy conditioners will weigh down fine hair and make it look and feel limp and lifeless. Not only does it work well but it smell amazing. This product also washes out with ease.

I definitely suggest taking a look at Miss Jessie's website and trying this stuff out yourself. Crème de la Crème is for natural, dehydrated, naturally curly or wavy hair, color and chemically treated hair. You put it in your hair after shampooing and let it sit for 5 to 15 minutes depending on how much moisture you need. Rinse it out and style however you wish just remember to use a heat protectant ;). You shouldn't need to use this product more than a couple times a week unless you have curly hair, in which case you should use every night to lock that moisture in.

Crème de la Crème normally runs about $16 for a 12 oz. bottle but can score up to two free sample packets so I would definitely give it a try. Here is the link to their website:

http://www.missjessies.com/

They also list all of the ingredients for each product so you always know what you're putting in your hair and its never a guessing game.

I hope this review was helpful to some of you with severely damaged hair. :)

Till next time
-Sarah

Nevermore Beauty Facebook

I'm Back!

Hey guys!

So obviously I've been gone for a while and a couple if my first posts were not the best. So I am back! We're going to try this a little differently now that I'm able to keep up with it a little bit better and have some actual ideas (lol creativity at its best right?).

Anyway as some of you might know, and for those who don't, I am going back to school t get my educators licenses in Illinois! So not only will I be able to show and tell you things with much better understanding but ill be able to help more with any questions you guys have.

Ill be going to school full time and working at Cost Cutters part time so I'm going to try and post a blog at least once a week and try to make it the same day each week to make it little bit easier to follow. I might do a couple more posts ever now and then if I find the time. I'm excited to be doing this again and really hope I help some of you out :)

Till next time
-Sarah Beth

Volume with a Round Brush

Hey Guys,

I showed you before how to put volume in your hair using a Denman brush or a paddle brush. Today I'll show you how to do the same thing but using a round brush. This technique can be kind of tricky if you don't follow the steps correctly. I can't tell you how many horror stories I've heard of people trying to round brush their hair and getting the brush stuck.

For this style you will need:
1. A round brush of any size depending on your hair length and texture. (for longer hair use a larger brush and for shorter hair use a smaller brush)
2. A blow dryer and concentrator
3. Styling products of my recommendation or your choosing
4. A finishing product

To start out I'll be using the same mannequin as before, about shoulder length with longer layers at the bottom and shorter layers near the top. I've washed the mannequin with our Cost Cutters brand of volumizing shampoo and conditioner called Expandability.

Now before I start blow drying I prepped the hair with Big Sexy Hair's Root Pump Plus which is a volumizing foam or mousse. Now you can use this product two different ways. The first way is to separate the hair into sections in the area you want the most volume and spray the product directly on the roots, you would then massage the product into the hair. Now the way I will be using this product today is spraying the foam into my hands, rubbing them together and distributing it through out the hair.

After putting the product into the hair you want to make sure the hair is 80% dry. This will help when actually round brushing the hair and will prevent your brush from getting stuck. You can do this either by simply drying the hair or by using a brush. When blow drying your hair you want to make sure that you always you a concentrator. This will help lay the hair cuticle flat and prevent fly-aways.

Before you move on to actually round brushing you will want to separate the hair into smaller sections starting at the nape of the neck. Your sections should be the length of your hair line but no larger than an inch wide. this will help give the hair shine and will be easier to handle.

Now to start blow drying. First, take a small section within your previous section no wider than your round brush. You will want to place your brush underneath the hair at the roots. Then, hover your blow dryer a few inches above your brush to help with movement. Next, pull the brush down the hair constantly using your wrist to turn the brush in a round motion, hence the term, round brushing.
Now, the more you twist the more of a curve you will have to your hair. If you want less of a curve don't turn the brush as much. If you want more of a bevel to you hair turn the brush more at the end of the hair.

As you move up in the sections you want to elevate your brush more at the roots. This will give the hair more volume. Remember to use your cool shot button. Round brushing already gives your hair shine but the cool shot will help keep it smooth and add even more shine. Now this is where it gets tricky. As you move up to the crown of the head you want to really elevate the hair. You can also switch from brushing the hair towards the back of your head and blow the hair towards your face while still turning the brush in a round motion. This will add even more volume if you need it.

When you've finished with the crown area you can move to the sides and repeat the same process. The higher up the hair you go the more you want to elevate the brush and hair. You want the KEEP MOVING THE BRUSH. Otherwise the hair will lack in shine, volume, and movement. You can do the same to your fringe, or bang area if you wish to have a more beveled and completed style.

If you want more volume when you are finished you can use a powdered volumizer. I used Cost Cutters Powder Boost but you can also use Big Sexy Hair's Powder Play. Both are great products, it just depends on how well it works with your hair when choosing a product.

Now if you want you can run a flat iron through your hair but make sure you use a THERMAL PROTECTANT! I cannot stress this enough. When you use a flat iron or any hot tool in general you always, ALWAYS want to protect your hair from the heat. This will prevent your hair from being damaged, or ultimately breaking off from stress from the heat. There are many great thermal protectants that you can use. I don't recommend picking up a Wal-Mart store brand or anything really that isn't from a salon. My personal favorite is Redken Iron Silk. To choose one that will work best for your hair is more of a trial and error.

You can also spray the hair with a little bit of hair spray. If you want a stronger hold I suggest Kenra's Platinum finishing spray with a hold of 26, Big Sexy Hair's Spray and Play Harder, or Sebastian's Shaper Fierce.

The Finished Look:

If you guys have an questions about this technique or are confused about anything please let me know. If you have any suggestions for a style or want to know more about a product please message me. :)

-Sarah

A Little Bit of Volume

Alright guys, I figured I would show you how to do an easy style with a little bit of volume. This style can be used on any hair length and works better on medium to fine textured hair that is straight to wavy. The more curl the hair has the more is can frizz and poof with this technique. There's a couple things you'll need to do this style:

1. A blow drier and concentrator attachment (the narrow nozzle)
2. A denman brush or a paddle brush
3. Styling products of your choice or of my recommendation

The mannequin that I used had already been previously cut with shorter layers that were closer to the crown of the head and longer layers throughout the hair. The hair had also been texturized with a razor. When the hair is texturized it can help give more volume since short hairs push up longer hairs.

I washed the mannequin's hair with Paul Mitchel's Super Skinny Shampoo and our Cost Cutters Color Care conditioner. For wet styling products, I used Paul Mitchel's Sculpting foam, which is a flexible styling mousse. I also used Paul Mitchel's Super Skinny Serum, this serum helps to control frizz and adds shine to the hair. Last, I used Redken Rootful, a volumizing and texturing spray that you spray directly on the roots. The more of it you use the more volume you get, but the hair may become really thick while blow drying if you use too much.

When using Paul Mitchel's Sculpting Foam, shake the bottle upside down or it will lose the pressure that helps the product come out. You want to use an amount a little larger than the size of a quarter. If your hair is longer and is a little thicker you can use more if needed. Rub the foam together between your hands and apply throughout your whole head.

When using the Paul Mitchel Supper Skinny Serum you want to use a small amount no bigger than a dime. This product can cause your hair to be greasy if you use to much of it, and a little goes a long way so don't worry. You want to do the same as the Sculpting Foam, rub your hands together and use your finger tips to spread it throughout the hair. This product smells wonderful and can be used on either wet, damp or dry hair.

When using the Paul Mitchel Supper Skinny Serum you want to use a small amount no bigger than a dime. This product can cause your hair to be greasy if you use too much of it, and a little goes a long way so don't worry. You want to do the same as you did with the Sculpting Foam, rub your hands together and use your fingertips to spread it throughout the hair. This product smells wonderful and can be used on wet, damp or dry hair.

When using the Rootful, make sure you are spraying it just on the roots. This is a texturizing spray and can make the hair feel thicker with the more you use. This product will also feel sticky when when wet, but loses that texture when the hair is dry. It gives the hair a good amount of volume when blow dried the right way.

To start blow drying section the hair into smaller sections so that its easier to control. This might be difficult to do if you have never used this technique before. Take your denman brush and brush you hair out to get rid of any tangles. You want to get the brush as close to the root area as possible to get the volume that you want. This isn't really something you have to worry about with the lower part of your hair but helps to dry the hair faster. Now because the denman brush is thermal safe you won't be damaging your hair when you take your blow dryer and put the nossel directly on the brush. Slowly take the brush and dryer together down the hair. The slower you go the faster the hair dries and the less times you have to go back over it.

Before blow drying, divide the hair into small (about an inch thick) sections, starting with the nape of your neck up to the crown of your head, and then the sides all the way to the front so that it’s easier to control. This might be difficult to do if you have never used this technique before. Then, take your  brush and brush each section out to get rid of any leftover tangles. Now, the reason you are using a denman brush is because it is thermal safe, so you won't be damaging your hair when you use this technique. Once you have sectioned your hair and brushed it out you will need your blow drier with the concentrator nozzle. Now, take your brush underneath the section of hair (as close to the root as possible) and tightly secure the section with your thumb against the side of the brush. Next, while your hair is in this position, pass the blow drier over your roots at about 2 second intervals until they are dry. After your roots are dry put the nozzle of the blow dryer directly onto your hair and the brush. Now, slowly move both the brush and the blow dryer towards the ends of your hair. The slower you go, the faster the hair dries, and the fewer times you will have to go back over it.

When you get closer to the crown of the head take the entire crown section of hair down and work with the blow dryer and brush towards your face.  This will give the hair more volume and will cool as you dry the rest of the section. When you blow dry your hair, you want to make sure that the style you’re putting it in stays, and letting it cool in the position that you heated it in will help keep it that way. This is where the cool shot button on your blow dryer will come in handy. It might even help to clip that section back up to let it cool so that the volume stays, but make sure that all of the hair is still going forward towards your face, otherwise you will lose the volume.

Now when you dry the sides of your hair you want to do the same thing. When you blow dry the hair make sure your blow drying it in the opposite direction than the side it lays on. So if your blow drying the left side, make sure the hair is going up and to the right and vice versa.  

Now if you want more volume than you have now I suggest using Big Sexy Hair Powder Play. This is a powdered volumizer and texturizer. Now this product can be kind of tricky. It comes out looking like baby powder but when you rub it into the hair it becomes transparent. So even if you have jet black hair you won't be able to see it. You want to make sure that your hair is completely dry before you apply this product. When you go to apply the Powder Play, section your hair again in the areas you want the most volume. Sprinkle the product just on the roots of the hair. This will help lift the hair and give you more volume. After the product is applied take your finger tips and rub it in those areas. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of the Powder Play but I used the Cost Cutters equivalent. However I feel that Big Sexy Hair has the better product.

To add a finishing touch you can use any hair spray that you want. I used the Kenra Platinum Finishing spray with a hold of 26. 

This finished Product:

Let me know what you guys think. If you have any questions or are confused about anything let me know. I would love to hear any suggestions you guys may have! :D

-Sarah

Purple! Purple! Purple!

As many of you know or have seen, I do have purple hair. So I will show you how I achieved my hair color and how you can too. Now everyone has different hair. Some people have thicker coarser hair and some if us have baby fine, very thin hair. Some of us are a mixture of everything. Depending on your hair type, texture, porosity, and elasticity this could be really easy for you to do, or rather challenging. For some of you who don't know what porosity or elasticity means I will explain. Porosity means how porous your hair is. Hair has many different layers to it. The outermost part is called the cuticle. You can look at these as shingles on a roof. When the shingles are tight nothing will get in. When the shingles get worn and loose then everything gets in. The same thing is applied to hair color. When the hair cuticle is too rich it becomes resistant and sometimes the color won't take. When the cuticle becomes too open the hair color is deposit easily but will wash out just as easily. Elasticity is when your hair becomes too damaged and breaks off or you can pull on it and the hair strand will stretch out and keep going. 

Alright, to start out my hair was quite the challenge. I had previously colored my hair with the Pravana ChromaSilk vivids. For those who have never used the Pravana vivids before please be warned, this hair color does not come out easily and the stains are hard to get off of skin. My hair wasn't in too bad if condition when I started this process. At this point my hair is red on the longer half and orange on the shorter half. 

My first step was to lift my hair to a very pale blonde. I used Wella's Blondor  warm blonde bleach and 30 vol developer. The first time I did this I left it on for about 30 to 40 minutes. And it came out as a peach color from the red pravana. 

I bleached my hair about 4 different times to try and get the red color to lift. I tried a soak cap as well which is shampoo and bleach. Unfortunately that didn't work either. I'm sure many of you are wondering how I bleached my hair four times without seriously damaging my hair. My hair was pretty healthy to begin with, but I knew that lifting my hair would take a till on my hair. So after every bleaching I left conditioner on my hair for about 15-20 minutes. This puts the moisture back I to your hair. I also used a Redken Chemistry Treatment, which is a conditioning treatment. I sat under neath a hooded dryer for about 15 minutes letting my hair soak up the moisture. After that I applied the Pravana ChomaSilk Vivids Violet color.

 

Unfortunately because my hair was so porous at the time the violet color didn't last very long. I had to reapply the color at least 2 other times. Now my hair is healthy enough once again to be able to hold the color much longer. 

If your hair is very damaged I can suggest a few different products that can help. Redken All Soft is a great product. Its for dry, brittle, and damaged hair. The Redken Extreme is a great product however some of the products from that line put a lot of extra protein in the hair which can cause hair breakage. Redken Clear Moisture is also a great product for color damaged hair.  I do suggest getting a conditioning treatment and leaving your conditioner on longer. If you use a department store shampoo and conditioner it may dry your hair out even more, so picking up some of these products will definitely be worth the money.

If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know. :)

-Sarah

Alright guys this is the first post for my blog. I'm a licensed cosmetologist in the state of Illinois and I've watched videos and read blogs and seen tutorials but haven't found anything that I've really liked or found really informative. SO! The goal here is, to be able to show you all of those things in an easier way.

I do a lot of hair cuts, considering I work at a salon where you can step right in and get serviced right away. I've done about a thousand different cuts from trims to chopping about 2 feet of hair off. I've cut styles that have been really cute and some that I tried to convince the client where it would be a bad idea such as the fabulous mullet and comb-over. However I want to be able to give you guys different ideas. Not just for the girls but for the guys since most guys never really know what they want to get, or their girlfriend chooses for them.

Styling is always important. It's hard for some people to actually style their hair, or they don't have the time. I can show you easier ways to blow-dry your hair and style it the way you want to with half the work. I can also show you a couple different ways for men to style their hair that won't take up too much time. Pretty simple. I can also show you different up-do's and special styles. If I haven't tried it yet and you want a tutorial then by George I will learn how and show you.

Hair color can be pretty scary to some people, especially if it's always gone wrong for them. I can show you so many different ways to be able to do different colors from going extreme to work appropriate. I highly disapprove of box color so I will never mention anything of the sort unless however I am showing a client in which they used the box color and I fixed it.

And last but not least the world is full of different products. Most product lines will have the same things: moisturizing shampoo, color care, extra body, etc. However some products don't always work the same on everyone or aren't as effective as others. I get the chance to work with a lot of different products, so hopefully this will act as a guide when you reach the product shelf maze. If you have a question about a certain product that I haven't tried I will definitely go out and get that product and do my research on it.

If you ever have any questions or want me to do a certain style, color, etc. just message me and let me know. I'd love some feed back :)

-Sarah