Super Simple Scalp Solutions (on Saturday!)

Ignored Yet Important

Not an exciting subject I will give you that, BUT . . . a super common one. We need a healthy scalp for ‘looks’ for healthy ‘hair growth’ +  and for hair ‘shine’.

Yes, there are complicated Scalp conditions that require a dermatologist, by no means are any of my recommendations or suggestions on all of Killer Strands a replacement for medical help and advice. As I have told clients for years that are leery of having their hair colored for ‘health’ & ‘safety’ reasons, if hair color was dangerous to the human body at all . . . I can guarantee you we would be physicians /medical doctors…. not Cosmetologists. In every country on planet earth hair color is considered just that - - HAIR COLOR - - a decoration and Fashion accessory – but that’s it. Please take my advice that way … if you have any type of long-lasting abnormality on your scalp or radical hair loss of any nature get yourself to a qualified Dermatologist. That is NOT what we are talking about here, remember  - - boys & girls : common sense – common sense.

  I have been known to clear up many scalp conditions that were just minor issues which is what I am speaking about here today. Many speak of seborrhea dermatitis  and psoriasis . . . and do their own self diagnosis…which I fully understand. Money, Time…everything it takes to go the medical route… . alongside the all too frequent…” hmmm, dermatitis – looks like dermatitis” … which basically means it idiopathic. They don’t know what caused it nor what it is .

That is when people would show up in my chair, to see if my Scalp regimen might help. Lots of girlfriends and wives sent their boys ( husbands - boyfriends) to me, it was set-up in such a way the men didn’t really know what was going on. Men, ya gotta love em, they are very E A S Y  - - SUPER  simple creatures. The spouses didn’t know how to bring it up, and didn’t want to make a doctor appointment or a scene – they just wanted to see if it wasn’t something easier. About 60-70% of the time it was my little SSS Simple Scalp Solution that cured the whole enchilada. It was – a  2 hour treatment focused on the scalp, with no guarantees basically. Skin and hair are a funny thing and they just don’t know that much about it, although right now, it is 2 areas the pharmaceutical companies have most of their Research focused on. With 70 million women suffering from hair thinning & loss…well it would be nice to think they are focused on that to  “ do-- the–right--thing & HELP”….although - I doubt any of us would believe that……… I’m pretty sure its the CA$H.

Coming up soon is my over simplified version of how a strand of hair on your head grows….I love the lesson and I always felt light-bulbs going on everywhere – when I taught it.  Maybe I should have started with that….but the “scalp” issue hit me in a dream last night, I get inspirations while asleep – its the weirdest thing—always have. The ANAGEN phase ( of 3 phases) is the growth phase and is the longest phase;90% of scalp hair is growing in the ANAGEN phase at any one time which lasts from 2-5 years (can last as long as 10 years). Just as the skin on other parts of the body is continually being shed and replaced, the skin on the scalp is in a constant state of renewal, with skin cells in the outer layers flaking off being replaced by new cells from below. Ordinarily these scales loosen & fall off freely…the natural shedding of the scalps dead scales should NOT be mistaken for dandruff. Nope, this post is NOT on dandruff, a completely different subject. The subject of “Scalps” will be an ongoing Topic with various sub-topics: such as dandruff, psoriasis, etc..right alongside.

Which brings us to what I feel is the problem with over 50% of people with “scalp issues” whose butts sit in my chairs and possibly read my words. We’ll have to see. The way you discover this is by having a BIRDS-EYE-VIEW of your head……..which is what you have of a person’s hair when they sit in your Salon chair. I would say in one day of 12-15 clients (hypothetically of course, if all ‘new’ clients) 1 or 2 of them would have it, that’s a lot.  Having discovered this one way back in Academy, I thought it stemmed from homeless drunks / drug addicts with poor personal hygiene. Which is not AT ALL the case, you probably have family members, friends, bosses with it, I have some Physician friends and they have had it --- no one is excluded and no one is ‘above’ it. We will coin it the “SSS”  the (Silly) Simple Scalp Solution for purposes of this Post & for those of you who think you could be a victim – we used to call it Camo-Land meaning camouflage Land where ‘ sneaky things were lurking ;-)  ‘. There are many terms Stylists sling around so you don’t know what we are referring to, stupid – I know – there are times you don’t want to know.

This boils down to a round spot …an accidental scalp problem, occurs totally by accident, having nothing to do with illness, poor health, and especially not the cleanliness factor. Yep, its accidental and super easily curable. There is a spot on the top of the head, about the size of a Grapefruit to about a lemon… that is just above where your arms reach, without extra effort, I figured out. People are lazy  - - especially my one daughter that has this. SHE is the reason I figured this out, thank the Lord she doesn’t read this.  This may not include any of the devout KS disciples. Most of you sound like you must have sparkling-clean-healthy-hair & scalp .. .. but its worth a check…. I’m telling you its just an accident, an innocent accident.

I hope all of you will get to your bathrooms & check the top of your heads with a hand-held mirror using a diptych {type} mirror as you see here                   look for the spot or have your “trusted” partner do it for you.    Its on the very highest point of your head and then about in a 2 – 3 - 4 inch circle around…way up at that tip top spot at its center, as you see below  

See that tippy-top-spot? That is where you develop Poo-Head  - which develops from either a lack of shampoo OR too MUCH shampoo that builds-up from missing that spot and shampooing up till you reach it. It happens SOOOOO MUCH, it needs a classification in Dermatology books. I have one daughter with it, and 1/4 of my clients have it. You know I will say some of the people with it is on people with a propensity towards dandruff ... so definitely check if that’s you.

You see when a person goes to shampoo most people are in a hurry, its in the morning - - late for work , late for a date – late for something….so people zip through the shower a hundred miles an hour. They don’t think about the whole head when they shampoo, they MISS the top of the head, being in a hurry , arms hurt, or the most common – just didn’t realize they were missing that top circle….THAT is how this occurs, ESPECIALLY with men, work-a-holics, you get the picture, people who don’t ‘think’ about their shampoo. A lot of people could give 2 cents… Like I said Simple Silly Scalp Solution.  Get it now ?

Most common? People simply don’t realize they are missing that spot…I will ask them to show me how they shampoo. . . almost always they will just rub the sides and back of their head….not the top.  See the girl above, its a ‘close’ rendering of what I’m referring to…she has her eyes closed is thinking about work, kids, her date - - - everything BUT the shampoo… see her arms this is an exaggerated version – but also its pretty right-on as well. She is just missing that top round spot on her head. Once I fixed this on my daughter, I then took it to the Salon ( years ago) and it began to work and work and work. Again

Silly – Simple – Scalp – Solution ! ! ! ! !

So, I would then load them up with Scalp Wellness, if it was bad one of the packets and the most important part . . . a little silly thing called a shampoo brush. Yep we have kits with the whole shebang in the store PLUS 4 water strips to check your water (getting a shower filter also helps this, so check your water….in 4 different rooms !).

People started using the shampoo brush to scrub that part of their scalp  . .  by having the brush in the shower…it reminded them to concentrate on that spot. Using it brought back all sorts of funny stories…that usually sounded like, “ OMG my head bled, I don’t think I had ever touched my head there. . . .SINCE I WAS BORN ! !  Funny – funny answers.

 

I loved hearing how successful it was, I mean I was at the highest end Salon in Malibu, California - - - would you really expect THAT from a whole lot of clientele there? You would think people wash their hair FOR them…and never miss a spot. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere boys and girls. It is just a silly little accident, never meant to be intentional by anyone.

Get your mirrors out . . . . give the SSS a chance

I’ve put together a SSS KIT . . .so you can get it all in one spot

This month only ( February 2010 ) Shampoo scrub brush is complimentary as is the Water Test Kit, which has enough strips to test 4 faucts!!!  HAPPY VALETINES DAY  ! ! !  . . .  BUY IT for the man in your life….it will end up benefitting YOU!

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/malibu-2000-hit-n-miss-scalp-solution

Killer Chemist

Winter Hair Color on Red Bull

Shampoos-OUT,  Clean As Whistle as Well

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Vampire Wine Drip

                   

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What Happens When Hair Gets Damaged?

Healthy Hair is always the goal

The moisture content of hair is what keeps it smooth and supple, and the main factors in its ability to retain moisture are the specific properties of amino acids. When the chain is degenerated, dehydration takes place….causing the hair to lose elasticity, strength and gloss.

Frequently, I get nervous I am speaking and concentrating on ‘hair color’ solely, remember NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN HEALTHY HAIR . NOTHING.

I want every single person that follows Killer Strands creed to check over those 14 steps once monthly (every single month of the year!), and exactly like ‘dieting’ -- you will come to a plateau – when you do and you are jones-ing for another burst in the health or growth length of your hair. I hope you will step up to the plate and take on another step, I have watched many a client do this, and watched it pleasantly surprise themselves (and me), once again.

As a matter of fact just this week a close girlfriend decided to begin forcing 1 liter of water down her throat - - daily. She has always complained “ I hate the taste of water”. . . . as so many do.

Its about time I come clean ……. I used to have that exact same feeling, until I took on the challenge of forcing 80 oz ( 2 liters) down my throat every single day for 2 weeks. Sound gross? It is. I’m not going to lie and tell you how wonderful it is, how fun and easy it is….nope miserable - - absolutely miserable. It involves downing a full glass of water every half hour > all day long. Yep, GROSS….Big Time.

But…….and this is a very big ‘but’ !! …just like I had read in a hair chemistry book, once you begin drinking large amounts of water - -your body goes through changes and there will come a time where it all changes and your body becomes used to this large amount of water, it begins to crave it. You don’t have to think about ‘forcing it down’, your body tells you to take a big 8 oz glass of water nearly every 1-2 hours of the day ! It was no longer an effort, it becomes “normal”…completely NORMAL. It was absolutely amazing to me, I don’t think most of us know what the feeling truly is of “severe thirst” or even ‘thirst’ at all – we are so fortunate to be surrounded by thousands of liquid drinks – and to not have to worry about where or when our next gulp of water or juice is coming from.

When was the last time you truly felt - - “THIRST”??. We are such a busy-busy nation of people most of the people I speak to don’t slow down enough to think about thirst, they find drinking water a chore, instead of a necessity of a healthy life. I found that most interesting, to go from not liking it…….to craving it - - - just the wonders of the HEALTHY human body always shock me. That is why I truly encourage you to try this, watch how much adding water – just adding water to your ‘daily intake’ changes your skin, your bodily functions and more importantly - - YOUR HAIR! ! I find it also amazing that people will take on these challenges when their hair is involved…but whatever works to open peoples eyes.

To draw a current parallel that may make it easier for you to understand how much our bodies need water to run perfectly, I want to use some of the strong – unbelievable stories of Haitians that have been pulled out of the rubble in the big Haiti Earthquake. Have you seen the little boy that was buried for 8 days under layers of cement blocks, pulled out . . . what was his main problem ?? He was dehydrated, exactly what I am talking about in hair health - - dehydration is disastrous for the hairs health and the body – it can literally - bluntly > kill you. So, if not having enough water in your body can kill you, can you see the parallel and how important it must be for something so simple as your HAIR growth ? ?Hair needs a healthy body to grow from, one of my most common quotes is: “Your hair is the first indication of your health”, I know my clients don’t listen to me because I have said this one sentence for years…but I honestly truly mean it. I cannot tell you the illnesses that a doctor diagnosis a patient where hair thinning and hair loss is one of the first indications of many serious diseases. So remember that, all physicians use hair thinning/loss as a very common sign of looming illness.

Anderson Cooper highlighted this little 5 year old boy – “Monley” on CNN (ya gotta love Anderson), he lost everyone in his family so AC was hoping someone in the USA might offer to adopt him {if you have any interest in this please contact CNN}

They showed footage of him being pulled out after being buried for 8 days, his skin was dry and dehydrated his stomach was distended he looked as though he might not make it. They got an IV in him immediately, the footage of him 2 days later was a true miracle. An IV has mainly WATER in it – and Dr.Gupta was saying that was the main thing needed to save him…is that not a crystal clear picture of what not enough water in your body can do ??? I hope this story rings true to you, touches your soul and inspires you to “ give WATER a chance”

Drinking water is a necessity. Don’t take advantage of the amount your body needs to operate properly. I have had so many women tell me that they sleep better, they have less headaches, their skin glows, their dry/itchy skin problems subside, give it 30 days. I have received hundreds of postive reports about drinking massive amounts of water - - -across the board. And no, in 2 weeks your hair won’t be shiny BUT, in 6-8 weeks it may, Hair is made up of water, if you don’t give it water – and LOTS OF, it is not living up to its potential.

What I am pushing here is a permanent return to drinking 8-10 glasses per day – only starting with twice that is my recommendation. Fill up a liter bottle of Evian, or whatever brand suits you…personally I found the least expensive way to drink that much water was to pay for a reverse osmosis system on my kitchen sink. It treats my drinking water so it tastes EXACTLY and contains EXACTLY what Evian or any of the bottled waters out there do. Its a wonderful system, you just need to call your local water treating company and get prices from 3-4 companies on reverse osmosis treatment. Here in LA for 1 month it is $18.50 - for an endless supply of excellent water, I feel that is reasonable and better than purchasing cases of bottles…you know all the plastic & RECYCLING problems, etc. Its approx. $200 to purchase which is what I hope to do some day. This is what my unit under my sink looks like….. it is small & compact…

I feel with my new massive amount of water I drink - - I needed a reasonable answer or I would talk myself out of it! That is kind of how I teach my clients each step of 10,000HEADS, I solve the little problems of each step personally, then give them the easiest solution. That way when I quiz them, I have an answer for every question, & that is the way I like my education > from first hand knowledge.

I can admit my clients have all had a bit of fear.. showing up for random appointments…I watch them squirm and kick myself for being so stern sometimes. They will sit down in the chair, and in 5-6 weeks I can touch their hair and just simply ask, ‘what happened this month?’ and the squirm becomes a small sweat…they will have gotten lazy with of one of their “trigger” steps. Which means, I have found that almost every person has 2-3 steps, out of the 14 that are their own personal “TRIGGER Steps” the steps that are what made the biggest difference in their hair. At times it will take 2 months before I notice although there are many times I will notice it, in a month.

My recognition of Trigger deficiencies comes from my zest for the art of healthy hair, I’m not sure I have ever found another Stylist that was/is as involved in producing healthy hair as I am. Many thought me nutty, I bet many of you feel the same. It began a year or 2 after graduating from Sassoon, the idea was born from the Academy as they cram “healthy hair” down your throat – D A I L Y. As far as I am concerned – there was good reason for everything I learned from that school It was one of the most inspiring, and worthwhile educations of my lifetime and I also am a College Grad.on top of everything else. Learning about life and health and beauty at that school was insanely expensive but worth every last cent.

The skin, hair and muscles of your body are composed almost entirely of protein and water. How can so many seemingly different structures be made of the same substance? The answer lies in the building blocks of proteins, known as amino acids. As the name indicates, amino acids contain an amine group and an acid group.These groups are both attached to the same carbon. It is the combination of the different amino acids (in some cases millions) that decides what particular protein we will end up with.

High on the list of causes of hair degeneration is the variety of chemicals found in the beauty salon although more importantly their handling is the key. Which is why I write on this blog day in and day out. Trying to train you all in the proper manner how to repair and how to apply color in the proper manner. Examples include permanent wave solutions that are too strong, over-processed or incompletely neutralized. So many do not take the steps seriously. I am a fanatic of ‘all the steps a procedure take”, most Stylists let their guard down and begin eliminating steps from RELAXERS, BLEACH & TONES, and on and on. This is what begins the road to damaged hair, eliminating Steps to a procedure.

In today's world of 2010 hair we possess the knowledge to properly and without damage:

• Color Hair
• Curl Hair
• Straighten Hair permanently
• Bleach Hair
• Add Extensions to Hair
• Darken Hair
• Tint Red Hair
• Crazy Color Hair
• Tease Hair
• Style Hair
• Remove Hair Color
• Fill Hair
• Wave Hair
• Braid Hair
• Tone Hair

…..do every single procedure in this list TO HAIR…. IN A totally HEALTHY MANNER. Never let a hair stylist tell you different. (I’m sure I’ve forgotten some procedures)

This is 100%TRUTH

I want all of my readers and crib colorists to know this, to all know that it IS possible. I ran my entire career never dropping one step, I added 3 steps, and time to another. Don’t worry - - my Assistants all thought I was nuts as well – I always hoped they took my vision to their own careers. I could tell good assistants from bad by their reaction toward adding steps to a procedure. I made them all carry a neck timer to set on every procedure they were on during a day (yes,they hated it - but its a great lesson)

A relaxer is the most crucial, and dangerous hair application a Stylist will ever undertake I would say 75% (at least) will not even do them, most are afraid. They don’t teach them in general HAIR SCHOOLS, I only had a week of training in the Academy, but it hit me - - to be the exclusive Malibu Stylist performing them, all you stylists reading this, I highly recommend you adding it to your repertoire ( remember only add it on if you will do ALL of the steps and not drop one of the many stepped procedure) it is the most rewarding as well as the most time consuming.

The knowledge is there to successfully apply every hair procedure above without causing one ounce of damage to the hair.The problem comes when individuals begin cutting short and cutting OUT the steps needed to turn out a healthy-strong- beautiful head of hair.

The human body produces proteins day in and day out to build and repair its structures. Amino Acids are linked together in protein structures by the peptide linkage. In the case of hair, the structure is that of Keratin. Keratin is composed of 18% cysteine. This is important because additional bonds known as disulfide bonds occur between the sulfur atoms in 2 peptide chains, offering great structural strength. The natural colorant of the hair is another protein, a protein known as: melanin ( I am hoping you notice how important it is for you to have protein, along with water… in your diet daily ). I try to make this simple, yet, it is not a simple subject. Remember to keep reading over and over, it will eventually sink in….that is exactly how I learned these slippery subjects.

Other negative factors are the action of all the various hot tools, flat irons, crimpers, rollers, anything heated even blow dryers. Heat is the hairs worst enemy. Sea air and salt water which leave a crystalline residue of salt that has a drying effect on the hair. Denatured alcohol is the bad alcohol, be sure your products do not contain that and especially not at the beginning of the Ingredient list {means it is the highest percentage in the formula}.This is now a perfect spot for reviewing the 14 Steps of 10,000HEADS, each one will show you what damages hair.

Which brings us full circle to City tap water, which is usually high in calcium and trace minerals can leave a whole array of deposits affecting both the condition of the hair and FUTURE PROCESSING ; not to mention the negative effects that chlorine, central heating systems, air pollution, wind and excessive sunlight have on the condition of the hair.

The explanations given about atoms, molecules, mixtures and hair color are not an attempt to provide a speed course in chemistry. These are given to raise the awareness of just how sophisticated the chemicals we use are and to strongly dissuade anyone from “KITCHEN CHEMISTRY” { a term I had never heard before my voyage into the art of Blog writing}.

Learn as much as you can about the chemicals and products you use, what is chemically possible to do, and what you can reasonably expect. Then as I always say…..CHOOSE THE BEST TOOL FOR THE JOB.

Remember Chemicals do not make mistakes…….

………WE DO

Killer

Chemist

To Bleach or Not to Bleach

This is The Question

There is nothing more gorgeous, more satisfying than bleaching a head of hair Marilyn Monroe blond and toned with an awesome pastel shade. That is the ultimate accomplishment as a Colorist, I was to find out very soon after Academy. I’ve been asked ‘why’ this particular procedure is the highest form of satisfaction. ..  there are many other applications just as time consuming . . .so it is definitely not that reason. It boils down to a very simple answer: taking the hair from dark to white – in a healthy manner.  From dark to white is not easy. Its an art to succeed getting to a level 10-11-12 – but the true trick is to have it look and feel ‘healthy’. I adore doing it… It is a wonderful site to see – and even more fun to do.  

A number of factors need to be considered before embarking on this. Please think these through:

• HAIR LOSS always occurs; remember with “ natural shedding” we lose 150 – 300 hairs every single day. Bleaching speeds this process up, many times one will lose 800-1500 hairs, its nothing you (the client) notice.. its a very common and normal side-effect of bleaching. There is nothing to worry about (I would not bleach if you have thin hair – embark on the 10,000 HEADS regimen first)
• ELASTICITY of hair changes:  hair will go from tight and resistant….into - - -loose and stretchy. That doesn’t mean its in poor health, just that the elasticity has changed. This is another stage where the application of In-TENSIVE or IN-DEPTH provides stability- KillerStrands Store / In-TENSIVE
• HIGH MAINTENANCE ; well you win the prize for that with this procedure, this is the cream of the crop. Nothing is harder to take care of, you have dark roots showing up in 3 weeks and by 5-6 you MUST get the base touched-up. No waffling here…determine if you are up for that challenge. Many are, many are shocked at it. Decide.

 

One of the myths about bleach come from hairstylists that are terrified of the product. Sound weird? or sound familiar? I have noticed over the years that some hair stylists actually tell their clients that bleach is bad for their hair. The ridiculous reason is they tried to bleach when ‘brand new’ Stylists … the application went south -- either by over or under-bleaching the hair . At this point they panicked and never bleached another head of hair, all the while spreading that propaganda.  Can you guess why this “lame-brain theory” leads to more problems than it fixes? ……….Well, what happens to all of the poor… unsuspecting clients that come in and want their hair the color of Gwyneth Paltrow or Reece Witherspoon?

The Stylist uses a Highlift or a LEVEL 10 ‘lightest blonde” and it is no where NEAR strong enough (the incorrect tool for the job), which is why every other woman walking around with blond hair has brassy blonde.

Both Hair Stylists and YOU, must realize that bleach is a very useful, competent and necessary component of your hair color tools one MUST become familiar with it by practicing and seeing what limitations it does and does not have. One great way is to purchase the real hair swatches and start experimenting away.

Just for your INFO, look at Reece’s hair color up above…she has the most perfect DURP {dominant underlying remaining pigment} on planet Earth. And you know what? She most likely doesn’t even know it

You must face the facts, there are just certain jobs in hair coloring that can only be achieved successfully by a bleach and tone.   The darker or warmer the natural base the more imperative bleaching becomes when very light shades are desired….there can be no compromise. I am not going to deny that bleach can have a drying effect, but it can be fully solved with the use of

• Gleam
• Thriven
• IN-DEPTH
• IN-TENSIVE

applying them both “before” and “after” throughout the procedure. They are all available in the KillerStrands Store.

Killer  Chemist             

Bangs or No Bangs : That Is The Question

Fringe Benefits <> Cut Your Own Bangs/Fringe

The proper term for that triangle of hair across your forehead when cut to your eyebrows, is “FRINGE” - - - NOT BANGS. The Sub-title was truly the Title - - I was fearful if I titled this post properly no one would read it . Some-how, some-way … years ago, the slang term for it was started by some silly Yankee yahoo thinking he was being clever. Obviously he was either mentally ill or ‘on drugs’. The entire rest of the world calls that pie-shaped area of the hair “FRINGE”. Canadians & Americans are the only morons that use the ridiculous name, bangs. Having asked various elderly Stylists and instructors along the way – who-what-why-when the term was switched, not a soul had a clue. The word ‘fringe’ makes sense…bangs does not….I know – I know >>> a lot of words don’t, but I have always had a fascination with where words stem from….so I’m always looking for the root, just a silly hobby of mine. Having spent a career trying to change the word, with this Forum maybe I can make more of a difference. Now that you know, “ Fringe” is the word I will use to finish this Post. If everyone that reads this post begins to use the word “Fringe” maybe we can reinstate the proper word . . . however small the effort, remember “change” comes from one small step.

Now, in continuing my constant theme of finding the best hair “cutter” in your town to cut your hair and sticking to that. The very best method of trimming your own fringe is by starting with the fringe cut correctly to your specifications by a professional.

To be perfectly honest, if you have a great cutter…they should offer you complimentary fringe trim touch-ups in between hair cuts. That is an age-old tradition every great Hollywood cutter I know offers regularly. I always offered it, as I changed the norm in “haircut frequency” rules: I’m sure you’ve always heard you should have your hair trimmed every 4-6 weeks, which once I got into the Salon world found absurd. Its much too frequent I felt…with the range of hair growth being from 1/4 inch to 1 inch in a months time….the average is 1/2 inch. Now in my experience a great Sassoon cut – really does last about 7-8 weeks. The only time I would shorten it is on very short hair styles & super fast growing shorter hair styles, certain short haircuts might need to be cut at 5-6 weeks but that is very few and far between. When I got so busy I couldn’t cram anymore people in my book, I had to begin coming up with methods of jamming more people in an already filled up book. This method, worked well – made my clients happy and truthfully I learned the standard rules for haircut frequency were made to increase business, not because it was necessary. It was the first rule I was taught in Academy that I learned to rebel against, learning not everything they taught was strict fully for the “art of hair ”… although do not take this wrong….no company on planet Earth is more into the “Art of Hair – cutting, coloring and styling” – more than Vidal Sassoon. I was so fortunate to have an education like that. So get your fringe trimmed to your liking FIRST by your Stylist, then if and when you aren’t able to make it into your complimentary trims { which btw I found no one ever took advantage of } this is how I would recommend you trim your own. Once you have it trimmed correctly, its pretty darn easy to give them a touch-up till your next hair cut. I know it scares people, but don’t let it. That’s the first thing, ‘fear’ gives people of confidence and talent -- the ‘Doctor Jekyll <> Mr. Hyde Syndrome’…I used to see it all the time as a Stuntwoman. Some of the actors that you know and admire, when confronted with a scary situation of a stunt -- would turn into whimpering yahoo’s – it was remarkable to me. So, do whatever you have to do to keep your confidence intact, maybe reading this will help somewhat.

Another misconception is when you come in for your next haircut appointment, we can tell that you have trimmed your own fringe. Nothing could be further from the truth. As your hair grows out. . .different areas grow out at different rates, have you ever noticed that? The center of the back of your hair grows the fastest on pretty much all women, as in this picture . . .

See how the hair grows longer in center-rear?

Ever let your hair grow out for a year or 2 without a hair cut? This is a mellow photo (couldn’t find a better one), most of us would have a radical dip from the side of our hair to the tip of the back. Its a little weird quirk of the hair rarely spoken about. Notice how the sides of your hair are never as long as the back? This is what I’m talking about…how the hair on different parts of your head grows at different speeds. Inevitably, every single person that has come in for that first trim after letting their hair grow for 6 months, 1 year or longer, has hair that comes to a long point in the center back. This is why a hairstylist cannot tell whether YOU have trimmed your hair or whether it was another stylist or ‘what’ {?}….DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT. I learned to never expect my clients to come in for that free fringe trim… they never had the time.

Now I am going to over dissect the art of trimming your fringe to the ‘N th’ degree, please take what you need and leave the rest.

Remember my rule about parting the hair for coloring…that same rule is the “Sassoon method” of accomplishing most everything on the head of hair. Sassoon took what was a random, fairly unorganized way of cutting hair and turned it into geometry and precision. DON’T LET THAT SCARE YOU, let it comfort you. Before him there was no “plan”…there was no guide, not even a hypothesis that made sense that would work on everyone. With Sassoon came the art of dividing up the round surface ( the head) with strands that fell from it. . . followed by the use of shapes…which equaled continual successful haircuts – because it was based on science -- the science of GEOMETRY. It sounds harder than it is, I promise. Just trust in me that the Sassoon method of dividing up the head in equal ‘quarters’ before any procedure whether it be cutting, coloring, trimming and even styling…truly helps and makes each procedure easier. For all you /Stylists that follow along (btw: which there are many) I would encourage you to purchase some of the Sassoon DVD’s – I actually worked on a couple of them – although I never felt like they taught enough to really learn all the various techniques. They put on Advanced cutting classes at the Academy here in LA {only one in United States} and I always felt they didn’t teach every step of a certain haircut via the DVD’s in order to force people to attend the Adv. Classes {which are expensive – though well worth it}.

• Resist the urge to cut Wet hair, its easier to see what you’re doing when its dry. Besides until you are used to how much the hair stretches and shrinks from wet to dry…you don’t want your first attempt to chop off way too much a la --> Katy Perry fringe.
• Take the extra time at the beginning to SECTION the hair as I show here in these HEAD SHEETS:

QUAD SECTIONING

{ A good rule of thumb for any styling, coloring or cutting you plan to do: always begin with the QUAD sectioning }

• Invest in proper hair cutting shears { I am planning on finding the best hair cutting shear at the big Hair Show, in 2 weeks }. the scissors don’t have to be expensive just made for cutting hair. Having found a couple pairs, I just want to make sure there aren’t any better for the $$.

Assuming you have had your fringe trimmed previously by a qualified Cutter, at this point you are going to want to section away the hair you don’t want to touch with scissors. If they cut them properly the section should look like a triangle.

• Take the hair from the part behind your ear to the front hairline….twist it up and clip it…on both sides. This ‘should’ leave hair loose and ready to trim

• Now if the fringe hair is an inch or more, too long… the first step will be to get some of the length off. Accomplish that by turning the scissors perpendicular to the floor. In other words NOT LIKE THIS:

This way would be parallel to the floor…and is not going to give you the proper look. Therefore, with your scissors held perpendicular to the floor {like the photo BELOW} – take the tips off going all the way across the ends of the fringe

• Now with the length of the fringe about at the length of the above photo ( or about 1/2 inch longer than your desired length) section the fringe into 3 equal sections (approximate is fine) . Grab the first one, pull it straight up into the air and twist it.
• Snip the ends with the point of the scissors cutting diagonally,a little at a time,so that each strand is a different length.
• Drop each section to see where it falls, if necessary – redo…twisting and re-cutting.
• Pull up the next section, matching it to the length of the first one, before snipping. Repeat until your fringe is trimmed.

The twisting helps give that choppy look that makes a fringe look natural as opposed to a straight bowl-like trim, something I find is the biggest problem to ‘you’ the client.

In styles for 2010, a bigger fringe is the new look. The bigger fringe comes from starting the point of the triangle back farther and farther on top of the head. The advantage? It gives you a very healthy – very heavy looking fringe. The Disadvantage? It takes hair away from the sides of your hairstyle. Which can be fine for some and disastrous for others. Through this blog I deal with so many of you that deal with living in a town of unqualified hair stylists, many of you have gotten so discouraged with disastrous Salon appointments you have turned to teaching yourself how to do things correctly. If this is also your case with “cuts’’ that is a much bigger animal to conquer. The only part of cutting you have power over is your fringe….otherwise it is nearly impossible to cut ones own hair…

But, at least now you have the tools to trim your own FRINGE.

Are you used to the new word yet ? ? ? ? I hope so.