Are Beauty Blogs the WebMD of the Beauty Industry?

While I was in Europe last month I was surprised to discover that a lot of the professional product lines in Europe are actually salon exclusive (compared to the relatively few brands that are actually salon exclusive here).  It is something that is beginning to shift now, Europe becoming more like us.  But it is a big issue in the beauty industry there, where as long as I can remember our drugstores and supermarkets have been filled with more kinds of products than you could imagine.  It hadn’t even occurred to me that the markets could be so different.  But it got me thinking, and since then I haven’t stopped thinking…

I have often heard that in Europe the hairdressers are looked at in a different way.  They are seen with more dignity and admiration, whereas in the States many view hairdressers as lower class individuals.  So maybe it makes sense that people in Europe who care about their hair will usually buy products from their stylist, rather than off the internet or at a store.  Retail is important to salons for many reasons.  It helps us help the client keep their hair looking great, it helps fund the business expenses involved in running a salon and often salons get educational advantages when they are able to sell more products for a manufacturer.  Salon retail is great for the client because you can get recommendations from someone who actually knows their hair and can help them use the product, because how you use a product is at least as important as what you use.

So why do clients venture out of the salon to buy product?  I can think of a few possible reasons, most of which are baseless.  A lot of clients believe that salon retail is more expensive and that they can find the products somewhere else cheaper.  This is pretty much never true, but I think a lot of clients don’t even look at the price tag at the salon because they don’t want to be bullied into buying it. The same hair spray will probably be more expensive at the drug store or grocery store.  Not to mention a lot of salons will exchange a product if it doesn’t work out.  A lot of clients talk about having drawers and cupboards full of cheap products that they hate, yet are still nervous to buy something recommended by a professional.

I believe a lot of clients think we are trying to sell stuff just to make more money.  Honestly, most hair stylists don’t make that much commission on product.  There are definitely stylists that push products more, but they are misguided, because it isn’t about the money.  But it is frustrating shampooing your client and feeling how dry their hair has become from using cheap shampoos and hairsprays… you do everything you can while they are in your chair but you want them to have great hair inbetween visits too.  I love guiding and teaching my clients, but when I am asked how much of (insert grocery store product) to use or how to apply it, I really can’t offer much help.  I receive a LOT of training on the products I use and I use them all the time for clients of all textures and styles, for weddings, for photoshoots… I work hard to know what I know about products, it isn’t just a natural gift.  I can offer guidelines but I am not an expert on everything out there.

Lastly, I think a lot of people don’t trust their hair stylist.  And this is related to the above point but also separate…  I think a lot of clients get their hair cut by people that they don’t fully trust and therefore would rather read reviews on the internet (written by people that they really don’t know anything about!) than listen to someone who actually has their hands in their hair.  It’s like all of the people self-diagnosing themselves on WebMD, or becoming “experts” on topics by reading Wikipedia articles.  I’m not saying these things are bad, I read a lot of online reviews for beauty products, but I know how to cut through the BS and I also know that reading a lot of beauty blogs and reviews just makes you feel like you need things that you don’t.

The problem is, sometimes people don’t really understand what’s going on with their hair.  They think they have an oily scalp, when really it is just buildup from product, or people think they need more protein-rich products when really they are using so much it is making their hair more brittle.  Just like people self-diagnosing and medicating themselves in so many different directions that once they do see a doctor, the doctor has no idea what is the underlying illness and what is just a result of the patient taking a million things at once. Obviously, even a trained hairstylist can make mistakes, but usually they can rectify the mistakes, especially if you are working off just their advice and not the advice of everyone you’ve ever seen on the internet.  I know our culture is generally suspicious and impatient, but if you can’t trust that your hairstylist can and will try to help your hair, you should probably find a different stylist.  Just like if you trust WebMD more than your doctor, you should probably find a new doctor (and stay off WebMD!)!  We live in a time when their is so much information, we need to be extremely attentive to where it comes from.  But why we trust screen more than people, I don’t understand.  We forget that on the other side of the screen is someone just as infallible as the people we see in “real life.”

So, you ask, why would a beauty blogger speak out against beauty blogs?  I love information, but lets keep it in its place and surround ourselves with professionals that we trust.  Trust your hairdresser.  Otherwise you could be wasting money and wasting time, not to mention downplaying the importance of real, person to person interaction.

Connect 2013 Part I: Reconnecting with Myself Circa 2007

I spent last week in Las Vegas training with Sebastian Professional at an event called Connect (which included Wella, Nioxin and Clairol). I have written a great deal since Connect, so expect more posts to come, some will be hair related but mostly this was a week of finding myself more as a person and an artist. The energy of Connect and all the fabulous hairdressers attending, seemed to reawaken someone who I once was. It was a similar feeling to my early college years, where art ruled my life and haircuts were done in hallways and bathrooms with my friends wearing ripped up garbage bags as capes. It was electric. It was just the regression I needed, because it is so easy to lose yourself in the day to day and so hard to be on your A game if you aren’t being completely true to yourself, at least for me.

In college you could mostly find me holed up in a corner making crude sculptures or writing on my windows. Most people knew me like this:

Or this:

Above I am explicating trash/treasure from a scummy park with the intention of making found art. I remember every RA in the dorm telling me that the nasty shopping cart I hauled out of a hillside was not allowed in, and yet it got to my room and stayed there. For whatever reason people have always just let me get away with things, little and big. I guess because I am small, quiet and have a nice smile? I don’t know.

It is interesting to look at my old work and see how I have always been most obsessed with texture.

When working on this tree project I could not close my eyes without seeing bark patterns. I nearly went crazy, working 8+ hour days creating the texture out of newspaper and duct tape.

It is so strange, how coming together with the Sebastian team didn’t just inspire me to do hair, it had me writing on napkins again, re-reading my favorite poems, yearning for international travel and reminiscing over the different places my art has taken me in the past.

One of the things I love about Sebastian is that it has a strong culture, a strong identity, and the hair styles emanate from that. Over the course of the last few months I have been re-immersing myself in all of the things I used to enjoy, making time for concerts and writing and the occasional painting. It is invigorating and truly just what I needed. Starting out as a hair stylist I always felt the need to fit a certain mold, and I struggled and found myself generally unhappy. The Sebastian culture, however, is one I feel completely welcome within and I feel the importance of being in tune with the artist I am.

Trilliance Thermal Protectant from Sebastian

Hey Readers! Today I want to talk about Trilliance, a thermal protectant from Sebastian. I use this on pretty much every client, but it is a top seller at my salon for women under thirty. It is extremely light and imparts great shine. It is ideal for use with flat iron or other hot tools for better, longer lasting results. I use it a lot when blow drying, it helps me get the hair to look flat ironed without actually flat ironing. It’s also great for dry cutting. It has a light scent that is kind of like cantaloupe.

I tend to love products that don’t have any product feel to them, which I think is fairly common among my generation, and partly why it is a top seller in my age group. We want hair that feels amazingly soft and healthy. We want shine without stickiness. We want scents that aren’t overpowering.

Trilliance is a pump spray that is activated by shaking the bottle. If it is not shaken it won’t do anything for the hair, because the activating ingredients separate from each other.

If you are in the market for a thermal protectant I would definitely recommend this to most people since it is so light, relatively inexpensive and great on wet, damp and dry hair.

OCC Lip Tars

Timothy C Photography with model KJaeger

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics has a great reputation amongst pro artists and definitely stands out as one of the most earth- and animal-friendly lines. Their products are super natural and super pigmented despite feeling very light on the skin. OCC is probably best known for their Lip Tars, which, frankly, I could not live without in my pro kit. These are the qualities that make Lip Tars irreplaceable:

Mixable.
You need very few colors to be able to create nearly any shade. Keep in mind that a tiny drop goes a long way. This is the biggest perk for me because I try to travel as lightly as possible. Not to mention, each tube will last you a loooong time.

Matte.
Lip Tars can go on matte with a very thin layer. They can also be mixed with the clear for more of a gloss. They work best when the clear is applied first (during skin prep) and has awhile to really sink in as a primer and then the color is applied overtop. It dries completely depending on how much clear is used, more clear gives it more of a gloss feel.

Versatile.
The product is so paint like it is easy to use with brushes. I use it as lip liner for shoots with an angle brush then a fluffier brush for the center. I have even used it on other parts of the face (be sure you are aware of your ingredients if you try this! Some things are safe for lips but not other parts of the face).

Where to buy?
Sephora is now a retailer for Lip Tars, which is exciting for the up and coming makeup line. There is a more complete selection on OCC’s website and sometimes some deals on discontinued colors. They also have a pro discount. Also, for anyone near New York City I would recommend just stopping into their store. It is an adorable little shop and the people there are very passionate and helpful.

Chit-chat in the Hair Salon

One of the beauties of working in hair is that almost everyone in our modern American society goes to someone to get their hair done. There are countless options in terms of type of salon and varying price points, even different charities and organizations that provide free haircuts to those in dire need. I became a hair dresser because I am interested in all kinds of people and the different relationships people have with their hair at different times in their life and throughout different cross sections of society. Recently I stumbled on a few different blogs where people cite reasons they don’t like to get their hair cut. One of the big ones, which I will address today, is that some people seem to hate talking to hair stylists. As a hairdresser with a lot to say, this makes me very sad. Making lists always cheers me up.

Reasons People Don’t Want to Talk to their Hair Stylist

They are introverted or just don’t care for talking. I can certainly relate to this one. I was never much of a talker with my stylist, mostly because I found the craft so interesting that I enjoyed watching the cut. But I was never made to feel uncomfortable with my quiet nature and I still enjoyed my hairdresser. Salons are very welcoming and open environments and I would encourage all you shy people out there to allow yourself to open up. No one is forcing you, but it can be kind of fun. And if you can’t connect with your hairdresser–you should at least be able to talk openly about hair if nothing else–maybe it is time to find a new one.

They assume they won’t have anything in common with someone who cuts hair. This is probably the point that makes me the saddest. I often wish people could come from a place of assuming similarities instead of differences. Hairdressers are not all the same and it isn’t fair to go into a salon and assume that you will have a bad experience. Really, this goes for numerous other situations… Condescension not only offends others but also makes you miss out on what could be a good experience. Look at your hairdresser as an artist and an entrepreneur, not as someone who didn’t need a four year degree. I admit there are some real duds out there (and a higher percent of duds if you are going somewhere absurdly inexpensive), but some of the brightest and most ambitious people I know are hair stylists.

They are self-conscious or insecure about their appearance. I actually think this is one of the biggest issues, and often goes hand in hand with the issue above. Some people think they are not the sort of person who should be in a salon, which leads to condescension because people conclude that the salon is a shallow and insubstantial place. They see themselves in the mirror, dripping wet and parted in strange places or with their hair smeared in color and up like a troll doll, and they hideous. Even just the act of looking in the mirror for long periods of time is distressing to some. Honestly, I am not the type to look in the mirror much and I get how it can be freaky, but that’s all the more reason to talk to your hairdresser! We are there to make you feel beautiful, or at the very least, comfortable in your own hair! For more on this sentiment read my post about how the beauty industry is for everyone.

They are in a hurry or otherwise stressed out. When people are on their way somewhere or their mind is elsewhere they feel like having a light, pleasant conversation will somehow make all of their problems worse. Most hairdressers can still cut quite efficiently when talking, as long as it isn’t something they are overly enthusiastic about, and honestly, usually just chilling out for fifteen minutes will only help a stressful situation.

They feel like if they don’t pay close attention the hairdresser will make a mistake. Staring at us with the death glare doesn’t really help. Once again, we are trained to talk and cut.