Showing posts with label healthy hair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy hair. Show all posts

Monday, January 25, 2010

What Happens When Hair Gets Damaged?

Healthy Hair is always the goal

BC9319-001The 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 lengthvis319989 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.

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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.

skd184375sdc 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.

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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. 102207a 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”

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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.

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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…

a0d59cf2-b00b-4075-9ec2-bcbdf276dfdf_300 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.

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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.

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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)

89731055 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.

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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.

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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.

10,000 heads - 14 STEPS - 01-01-10 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. design039856

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

Friday, November 27, 2009

Black Hair / Black Friday / Black Brush

Great Solution to FIA ( Flat Iron Addiction)

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The holidays got in the way of 2 stories I have been wanting to share with you. It rarely happens that I will be excited about a new product for hair, but it happened twice in one week. I ended up trying both of those products on myself and loved both even more - - - even more rare.

In my never-ending quest to abolish use of the Flat Iron, I bought a new fangled brush thing-a-ma-gig from one of my Hair Reps. The photo of it looked like a killer concept, but I never expected it to work as well as it did. From the example of clients of all hair types whose rear-ends were in my chair, I have learned slowly but surely that the flat Iron is just not a great hair tool and it truthfully creates more problems than it fixes over time. I have nothing against any product that will make your hair look better (which is what I said when hair extensions first appeared for the public), but that product …no matter what it is…{I feel} …must not destroy the hair in the process. What I have noticed with the gradual over-use of flat irons is that while it does smooth the cuticle at the beginning of a clients ownership over time the continued use and over-use of these irons takes the hair into the “burned or frazzled” stage which causes even more frizz and is very difficult to recover from without cutting it off. I ask if they have been using a silicone serum and while silicone is the one and only product that truly protects hair from heat – it is by no means a total solution to the heat of two flat plates at 250 degrees smashed together on the hair strands….I hope I have not misled you on that one, to me its common sense.74057949

When people would come to me for the 10,000 Heads Regimen, which usually meant they had trashed their hair beyond recognition – and I put them on a strict “diet” of all the things that got them there – many times just taking away the Flat Iron, would solve 50% of their problems. That’s a LOT, especially when you consider that there are 14 Steps ( and over the years there has always been over 10) It finally got me thinking…what would happen if just the Flat Iron was subtracted from peoples regimen ? ? You see, I realize the Flat Iron is a fairly new tool to many of you . . . but I had one when I was in Hair Academy and that was 16 years ago…so my clients have ALWAYS had flat irons …I wasn’t doing hair when they didn’t exist. sb10069425q-001

My assistants would take names/photos of volunteers for a 90 day Flat Iron Challenge from my clients about 1/2 way thru. They would receive one free hair color if they participated, with a lot of college kids from Pepperdine…. I had many volunteers. Well, the results were mind boggling – none of us could believe the difference. What we figured out was, that the temperatures of the irons kept going up & up each year as the companies that made them would listen to customers requests. Of course, the customers loved the concept and loved the Irons ( At the time so did I) – but thought if they worked so well, why not make them go hotter and hotter. For the first 10 years all Flat Irons were black and were only 1 temperature – super Hot. In the last 6-7 they have gotten all tricky…leopard, zebra - print, multiple temps., ceramic plates, tourmaline, ionic - - BIONIC…I mean its gone ape-shit-crazy!

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Around Halloween I spotted this funny looking brush… bought one – & its been sitting around here for month. Finally this past week my one client is having a helluva time with the condition of her hair lately… showed up and with the crown of her hair just trashed. She is a long time client – we’ve had her hair in terrific shape and in poor shape, just depends on her styling regimen, her Thriven, Gleam, Secret Supplement use ( she is off of that now – which is a big mistake) but after the color and cut is complete is the time when I finally can tell exactly where her hair stood, she was right…it was bad. Really bad, she was in the middle of “the change” and was complaining of her hair feeling like “old lady” hair. I agreed her hair had never felt like it did that day, and she had quit using the Flat Iron a long time ago. Unfortunately its just her age and it seems to happen to everyone once they reach their 50’s, just want you all to be prepared.

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Well check out this little gem. Its a brilliant hair tool and the results were nothing short of spectacular and that is because of how brilliant the inventor of this is – its so simple but to me it completely solves many of the problems of the Flat Iron. The bristles are short and are very stiff so the tension on the hair can be pulled… it holds the hair very tightly so you are able to stretch the hair tightly while drying. Stretching is the perfect answer to drying kinky, curly or wavy hair.82267938

There are vents to let the air from the blow dryer THROUGH the hair strands , so the heat has a place to escape from…

Denman Thermoceramic Straightening Brush provides a fast and simple way to straighten all types of medium to long hair during blow-drying.

Features and Benefits:

  • Thermo-ceramic plates with vented design allow warm air to circulate more freely for fast blow-drying performance
  • Adds condition and shine for a silky, lustrous finish
  • Smoothes the cuticle, minimizing breakage and split ends
  • Velvet-touch handle for added comfort during use
  • Made with interlocking rows of pure natural boar bristle
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Directions:

Wash hair with sulfate-free shampoo, towel dry. Use Ecoly detangler comb to gently smooth out any tangles. Set hairdryer to MEDIUM heat and start to blow-dry until hair is half-dry. Start from the nape of the neck and separate hair into sections. Clamp hair between bristles and gripping firmly, pull the bristles down the length of the hair section while directing warm air from the hairdryer. Repeat this process until all the hair sections have been straightened. Apply gloss serum or mist with shining spray for extra shine. IMG_0805

One of the most interesting results one gets from this brush is from twisting and turning it as well… the volume it creates, both at the root as well as through the lengths. I mean this little, very well priced brush, made this woman's hair look like it was 20 year old hair, I was just so impressed. The reason? the way it made it easy to ‘stretch’ it changed the coarseness of her hair as it will yours.

Its just the smartest, cutest and well priced little styling tool I have come across in a very long time. You must try one – click right on over to the Killer Strands Store http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/ and check it out, you may request a sample of the FLUFF with your order as well ( a small batch has been made)

Killer Chemist