Hair Treatments

Over time I’ve seen people frustrated with issues like slow growth, hair breakage, dry itchy scalp, dandruff, dry hair and shedding. Often times people tend to take the advice of family, friends and neighbors about what shampoos, conditioners and hair care products they should use to resolve their issues.

I remember when I first started wanting to get the attention of the girls in my school (about the 6th grade) and ironically this was around the time I started caring about my appearance. One day while in the barbershop my barber told me that I had dandruff and needed to do something about it. Now even though he hurt my little ego, I knew that he was right. I mean if I wanted to land the babes, I couldn’t be itching and scratching ‘snow flakes’ off of the top of my head.

I thought that washing it with any ol’ shampoo and conditioner would do, but I learned better. Long story short…one of the reasons I had problems was because of the products that I was using (and the products that I wasn’t).
One of the very first lessons that I learned as a professional stylist was, there is a difference between a bottle of shampoo that cost $1 and a bottle that cost$7.

So here we go guys…the importance of using professional hair care products (like shampoos and conditioners).

Did I forget to mention where you can find them?

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The main purpose for hair on human beings is protection, even though we use hair to enhance our appearance, attract the opposite sex and to express ourselves as individuals. Some of the hairs on our body keep dirt, dust and debris from entering (for example, the eyes and nose). When outside and the sun is beaming down on us, our hair adds added protection to the scalp and brain, during the cold weather it keeps heat from leaving the body too fast.

New cells that are created in the body push the hair that is below the surface out of the scalp, making the hair you see on your head, longer. This new hair that appears on the surface can be seen on top of the scalp and it is usually referred to as the root.

On an average healthy scalp there are around 100,000 individual hair strands and the average rate of growth is somewhere in the neighborhood of ½ an inch per month. Factors like your age, the texture of your hair, where the hair is located on the body and the condition of your health can either speed the growth rate up, or slow it down (to as little as .1 an inch a month).

Your hair is always in one of three phases of growth: anagen, catagen or telogen phase. One strand of hair can be in a completely different phase than the next, so all three phases can occur at the same time. This is the reason why you don’t notice a drastic change with your hair when it is growing or shedding (unless it is doing so excessively).

The anagen phase is better known as the growing phase and it is during this time when all new hair growth occurs. On average, it usually lasts for about three to five years.

The catagen is the phase where the cell division stops and the transition between development and resting takes place. It usually lasts from about one to two weeks.

The telogen is also known as the resting phase and is the last phase in the cycle. During this phase the old hair usually sheds or gets pushed out when a new anagen phase begins. It has been known to last between three to six months.

Overall your hair growth rate depends on; how long your hair goes through the growing and shedding stage, the texture of your hair, your age and how healthy you are.

Follow the links for information on improving your hair growth rate or growing your hair faster.

Over the years I’ve known plenty of stylists that drop little hints, to their clients to let them know that they would rather them spend their money somewhere else. If you feel like this could be the case, or if you are wondering if your stylist could be targeting you, then let me help you shed some light on what’s going on. I wrote this to help you decide if it is time to move on.

Hint #1 Da Money

If you are a person that goes into the salon on a semi regular to a regular basis and on your last visit your service cost you $30 and this time it cost you $15-$20 more and you weren’t told of the price increase until it was time to pay, then your stylist may be trying to tell you that it’s time for you to seek help somewhere else.

Keep in mind if a professional really wants to keep you (and they still have to increase their rates for products and services) then the best way for them to handle it is to notify you months in advance.

Now if it just so happens that you haven’t been into the salon for months, you should at least expect to be notified before your service begins, so you can decide to continue or reschedule but either way, you at least have some sort of option.

Hint #2 Hack Jobs

Now if you have been styling hair for any length of time, then you know that nothing will have a client running for the hills, like a hack job! I have seen women cry, fuss and fight over the amount of hair that has been cut (not trimmed) off of their head.

If a client stresses the fact that they just want a trim, but leave feeling about 10 pounds lighter, you can almost guarantee that they won’t be coming back!

Hint #3 Wrestling Holds

There are times when your stylist will need you to hold your head in certain positions so that it makes it easier to get the job done. If you are receiving a service and you and your head are getting man handled, and tossed around left and right, your stylist could be secretly telling you that you are no longer welcomed.

Hint #4 At&T

Your image is a very personal thing to most people and a trip to the salon is a personal experience. So, yeah, it kinda sucks when your stylist is trying to perform a service on your head while having a full blown telephone conversation.

Anyone can tell you not that tending to a client’s personal needs or ignoring them during a service tends to take away from the overall experience.

The next time you feel bad vibes from your stylists while any of the ‘secret four’ are going down, then you may want to ask yourself, are they using their nonverbal communication skills to tell me that I need to spend my money with someone else?

Ok I admit it I have used my clients like guinea pigs…but only the clients that completely trust me. I would never jeopardize my relationships with my clients or the trust that they have in me. Not to mention all the progress and work that we have put in over the years.

However, I must admit, from time to time I get the urge to try the ‘latest’, newest, hottest product on the market. Who better to test these products on then the clients that I have been working on for years?

See, not only will I quickly see a physical change in their hair, but my clients are quick to give me feedback because of the relationship we have and they are waaaay more comfortable with me then any new client would be. A new client may not notice the changes as quickly as someone that I have been working with for years, would.

One of my clients moved away (about a 3 hour drive) for a better job opportunity but she lived close enough to the city to come back for big events and for special occasions.

About a year from the time she left, she came back to the salon and I noticed her hair was extremely damaged. It was dry, fragile, her ends were split and her hair looked nothing like it did when I was doing it. She wanted to get her hair back to the way it was before she left and she didn’t trust the people where she lived to do it for her.

I sat her down and came up with a routine to get her back on track. We both wanted to get rid of her dry hair and get it back to the way it originally was.
In the past the products I used got me the results I wanted for my clients, but in the town she moved to she wouldn’t be able to get her hands on the shampoos and conditioners that I wanted her to use.

So, I called a friend of mine that owns a salon named Carmen and asked her if there was hair products she knew of that compared to the products I recommended, that would give her the same or better results.

Carmen suggested a shampoo and conditioner I had NEVER heard of before called pureology hydrate shampoo and pureology hydrate conditioner.

I passed Carmen’s recommendation along to my client and told her to call every two weeks so we could monitor her progress.

About a month and a half later, of her phone calls, she told me she was constantly getting compliments, her hair was no longer dry and it felt silky and smooth!

So, you know me…I started ‘easing’ these products into my regular clients’ visits and low and behold a handful of them came back and told me how much better their hair felt and how they were getting compliments on a regular basis.

Most of the time, I find out what’s hot and what’s not from the hair shows that I frequent, but this time I can honestly say if it wasn’t for a client in desperate need of my assistance I may have never stumbled on two gems!

Click the link to grab one of the best dry hair shampoo online or to learn more by visiting www.hair-treatments.org/hairproducts.html

I was surprised to learn that many of my clients did not know the difference between the different shampoos and conditioners on the market and I couldn’t help think that my lack of asking the right questions may have had something to do with that.

So, I decided to write an article that may help you determine what kind of shampoos and conditioners your hair needs, and when.

First let’s discuss the fine art of shampooing (don’t laugh…you’d be surprised at how many of you all out there don’t know much about this either).

When shampooing the hair, it is mandatory that you shampoo at least twice. The first shampoo, rids the hair of dirt, oil and other residue. The second shampoo, you’ll need less shampoo and you’ll find that the shampoo lathers very well. I can’t stress the importance of using the tips of your fingers to rub/massage the scalp. Lift the hair to be sure that all the shampoo is gone when you rinse.

Squeeze the excess water out of the hair, then towel dry, and apply conditioner. At this point you will either rinse the conditioner out or deep condition the hair and then rinse.

Shampoos

Medicated shampoos are used to rid the hair of dandruff. These shampoos usually have ingredients that help clean the hair and rid the scalp of dandruff.

Thickening shampoos swell the hair shaft and makes it appear thicker, and fuller. At the same time, these shampoos help provide strength to the hair.

Moisturizing shampoos, provide moisture to the hair, helping to prevent dryness, breakage, and frizz. Now, I usually don’t name favorites, but pureology hydrate shampoo happens to be one of my favorites in this category.

Quick drying shampoos are mainly used to help speed up the drying effect. This shampoo is mainly used on clients that air dry their hair, and are always in a rush.

Combination shampoos (.ie two in one shampoo/conditioner). The best advise I can give you is avoid them at all cost. There is nothing out there that can clean, soften, strengthen, and shine the hair in one application. Shampoos and conditioners preform two separate tasks and there is no product out that does both in one application…don’t waste your money. As a matter of fact if I write anymore I’d be wasting space.

Clarifying shampoos rid the hair of impurities. Any medication, drugs, ect in your hair will vanish with clarifying shampoos.

Color Enhancing shampoos keep your color (or highlights ) looking great between appointments. They also provide moisture for the hair, to prevent dryness, and breakage, and at the same time they help to keep your haircolor from fading as fast.

Neutralizing shampoos are used after relaxers have been applied to the hair. They restore the hair to its proper ph level and help to seal the cuticles.

Conditioners

Conditioners soften hair, remove tangles, strengthen hair and they provide a healthy shine.

Leave In (thermal) conditioners help to coat the hair before direct heat is applied to the hair shaft. It serves as a buffer between the hair and the heat.

Protein conditioners provide strength, and help to reconstruct damaged hair.

Stimulating conditioners help moisturize hair and help revise the scalp, a must for
those with dry scalp problems. Again one of my favorites is the pureology hydrate conditioner .

Well there you have it…a not so brief class on shampoos and conditioners. For more information on the best hair products online

Today I’m going to share with you a method I tell my clients to use to ensure I won’t get played by a new stylist when they move to another city. This strategy can also be used in other industries but today we’ll discuss how to avoid getting burned by shady stylists.

I saw a friend on Facebook who got ripped off when she went to a new salon. Now she wants to destroy the salon’s reputation by putting them on blast online. And honestly…I ain’t mad.

I hope you never have to find yourself in a situation where you want to go on a rant about a business and destroy their reputation.

So here’s what you do the next time you need a new stylist or go to a business for the very first time…

The first thing you need to do is go to Google Maps and type in your particular area where you are at. Then hit the “Search Nearby” using the keywords “hair salons” or something similar. You’ll get a variety of balloons that pop up around you. From here you want to start looking for businesses that have been reviewed by past customers. Google will have a 5 star rating system and it will tell you how many reviews have been left.

Sort through through the reviews and find the salon or stylist that you feel the most comfortable with. Once you find it, here’s what you do…

Go to the shop and speak with the owner, or the stylist that you are dealing with. Make sure that you start out by complimenting them on the reviews that you saw on Google. Say something like… “Hey, I saw the 8 good reviews on Google about you guys and thought you looked like the best option. I always check the review section first because I’m one of those guys who leaves reviews from all my business transactions so it’s nice to see others saying good things about you”.

It’s important that you start with a compliment about the establishment for the good work they have done in the past instead of warning them that you are the type person that leaves pissed off reviews. You want to mention it, but your intention is to leave them a good review. No business wants you talking trash about them, especially on Google.

Once the owner knows that you are a computer savvy person who openly voices their opinion, you have a much better chance at getting a fair deal when getting your service rendered.

I believe in offering fair feedback for companies and not abusing the review system. Unfortunately, people are quick to bitch about companies online yet are slow as molasses when it comes to complimenting them.

Keep that in mind when checking the reviews of places. One or two bad reviews may not be a correct assessment of an establishment, but rather just one or two really pissed off people that had an ax to grind.

Congratulations, you’ve finally gotten rid of your broken hairs and not only do you feel better, but you look better too! How do you stop hair breakage from reoccurring? In this article I’ll show you three ways to keep your hair intact and minimize any chances of shattering your hair into hundreds of pieces.

Product Selection

Maintaining your look with professional products is going to be a major factor with eliminating and minimizing hair breakage. The majority of the cheap products on the market today cause product build up, which coats (or seals) your hair and won’t allow any moisture to enter.

Bad news, because over time you will see your hair becoming dryer, weaker and finally…snap, crackle and pop…break off!

How you use (or abuse) heat

Now, you’ve learned the difference between the ways that heat can be applied to your hair, but that doesn’t mean you can’t abuse a perfectly good method of drying your hair. When it comes to using a hooded dryer, falling asleep and leaning to one side or the other is a BIG no, no!

Leaning to one side of the dryer brings that heat directly in contact with those hair strands, and depending on how hot that dryer is…well, I’ll let you use your imagination. Just know there is trouble involved and the long term end result won’t be good.

Chemicals

If you apply chemicals (or have a friend that will apply them for you) in the comfort of your home, the best advice I can give you is to stop!

Listen, I’m only telling you this out of love. Because chances are unless you are one of my clients already… I won’t be performing the service for you anyways!

This has to be hands down, the biggest reason why breakage, thinning and a handful of other hair issues occur on what would normally be a perfectly good head of hair. Performing the service at home usually ends up with people decreasing the moisture and increasing the dryness levels in the hair! Not to mention that when people do chemicals at home, nine times out of ten they aren’t getting those ends trimmed on a regular basis (another culprit). To put down the box and step away!

For a gang of other bad habits to get rid of, along with information on establishing the perfect routine to encourage hair growth, stop hair breakage and smash black hair breakage to instantly elevate your look to diva status check out just click on one of the links above!