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In Style Virtual Makeover..

Well, we’ve heard of them before, online makeovers where you can upload your photo and try out new hairstyles!!

Here’s In Style’s version of it, follow the link and give it a try.

Although fun to do, I have always been quite pleased that we as hairdressers will not be replaced by computers! How can someone make a program that will look at someones hair and face shape and give them a good consultation, or give advice as to how one should style a certain type of hair, or what style should be cut to suit someone the best. Hope I’m not wrong : (

In reality, I feel these programs give a false illusion as the hair thickness, texture, color and everything else is not the same as the person trying out the style, so please don’t take them too seriously as in most cases it wouldn’t do anything but give you a very rough idea of what it might look like if you half close your eyes!!

Thanks to Kelly Cakar for sharing.

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FeatherLocks Hair Extensions..

Nikki Presta is now offering FeatherLocks Hair Extensions in Dekko Salon. So I decided to give you all a run-down of what they are, how its done and what they look like.


If your looking for a way to spruce up, vamp up, have a little change in your hair but don’t want anything permanent or damaging, then you should try FeatherLocks Extensions. These extensions are little rooster feathers ranging from 8 to 16inches in length. There is a vast amount of colors to choose from varying from solids to patterns. And as far as we know, NO roosters were hurt in the process of getting their feathers!

The great thing about these feathers is that they can be washed, blow dried, flat ironed and curled along with your own natural hair. They last between 6 – 8 weeks, and when they grow out away from the roots, they can be re-used again. Each feather costs $15 and the application time will be around 5minutes once the color of feathers and position has been decided. Of course, its best to let Nikki choose the positioning as she would know best as to what shows off the feathers more for each hairstyle. Anyway here are some pictures of Nikki putting afew pinks one into my hair:




Because I had Nikki put them into my fringe area, this meant the feathers had to be cut once they are secured into the hair. First the hair is threaded through a silicone bead and once the length is determined, the pliers will clamp down the bead so it fastens the feather in with the section of hair. Thanks to Lucky for these fab pictures. Of course, just about everyone in Dekko wanted to try it out, but here’s me, Ashley Jill, and Lucky showing ours off.

And just in case you think we look like Dog the Bounty Hunter (thnx Lucky) here’s some really cool people with the Featherlocks, as word is spreading, you can see allsorts of celebs having it done.

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The Next ‘It’ Girl–Jamie Chung?

My good friend Stevie Wong (check him out) who is up on everything and knows everything there is to know about movies and music and has interviewed every star who’s worth interviewing has spoken…

Take note… Jamie Chung could well be the next big Asian star to emerge from Hollywood. Raised in our hometown of San Francisco, Jamie started her career in MTV’s Real World – based in San Diego. She went on to make movies such as ‘ I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry’, Sorority Row, DragonBall Evolution.

Her next few movies include Sucker Punch (an Action Fantasy Thriller), Hangover 2, and Premium Rush (an action movie with the cute Joseph Gordon Levitt)
Here’s Jamie showing some hair looks and remember to watch out for this cutie and I’m sure as always, Stevie will be right!!!


You can also check out Stevie’s views on:
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Maggie Cheung – Asian Goddess..

I’ve been dying to share this post with you on Maggie Cheung (Man Yuk), one of my all time favorite Asian actresses. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Maggie, she has been in a lot of movies, a few being ‘In the Mood for Love’, ‘Irma Vep”’, ‘Hero’, and ‘Clean’.

 

I had the pleasure in working with Maggie once in Los Angeles, (as well as the gorgeous Michael Wong) for an Ericsson commercial. I just happened to be lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time, just as they were casting for the HK ad campaign, (which turned out to be so successful, it was cited as a case study in the Harvard Business Review). I was hired to do the hair for the main actors including Maggie and Michael and a couple of other Asian American actors. This was such a surprise for me as I was hired before I found out who I would be working on. Initially it was meant to be Gong Li, who had trouble getting her work permit fast enough so it ended up being Maggie instead, much to my delight.

 

Memories of the commercial:

View Commercial
I found her to be charming and lovely as well as a little mischievous as she kept fluffing her hair to make it more ‘punky’ while the directors of Ericsson kept telling me to ‘calm it down’. She also told me that she’d always wanted to be a hairdresser and even applied to work at Sassoon’s while living in the UK, luckily for her, she didn’t get in, and the rest as you know, is history!
View Commercial 2
I also found this shoot to be quite challenging as Maggie’s hair was permed into a tight afro look at the time, so my first challenge for the first scene was to flatten and calm it all down into a slicked look!! A fantastic 3 day shoot in Malibu at a gorgeous house, great fun memories. And I must say Thank’s to both Maggie and Michael for their hand written referrals to put towards my green card application to come to the US.

View Commercial 3

While on the subject of Maggie Cheung, I’ve put together a slideshow of some of her looks that I love.. Enjoy!

 

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Flowers From Fatima..

After being approached by Fatima to talk about showcasing some of her work on my blog, I had a look at her creations and thought it would be really nice to show you some of her new floral hair pieces, all are perfect for parties, weddings or just everyday wear – enjoy these accessories made by a talented passionate artist from Ohio.

First a few words from Fatima:

Fatima
Growing up, my father decided to pursue a family run program for the improvement of our low-income neighborhood. Alone, my family and I turned the urban slum into a paradise. It was then, 7 years ago, that I found an attraction for natural beauty and have grown to connect with our Mother Nature in all ways possible. In mid-December, my father passed, but his vision and dream of hope lives through my flowers. Be beautiful naturally, let positive energy follow, and give the world a bright and hopeful image to admire.
“Where there are flowers, there is life.”
-Fatima

1. Precious Pink Gardenia Hair Clip –
This soft pink silk Gardenia hair clip is 3 inches long and securely glued to a 2 inch alligator clip for a comfortable and EASY fit in the hair! Perfect for all hair types.

2. Divine Queen Floral Hair Sticks –
These 9” bamboo hair sticks are decorated with silk plum Delphinium flowers and golden Swarovski crystals.

3. Seaside Hair Clip –
This is a hot, NEW, exotic Summer trend! Crystal flowers. This oversized teal floral hair clip is perfect for a night out on the town with the shimmering accents. Ideal for beach weddings, parties, and special occasions.
The teal colored Gerbera Daisy is 5 inches long and lined with 100% blue, teal, and diamond CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements.

4. Metallic Grey Rose Hair Clip – (my personal fave)
This gray silk rose is approximately 5 inches in diameter and attached to a durable metal alligator clip that holds well in all hair types.

5. Cream Pearl Peony Hair Clip –
This silk creme and pink Peony flower hair clip is studded with faux pearls around its edges, for an elegant look. It measures 3 inches long, all around.

6. Honeycomb Floral Hair Sticks –
These bamboo hair sticks are approximately 9” long and lined with silky caramel and khaki brown hydrangea petals. Each hair stick is finished with golden Swarovski crystals for a delicate feminine touch. Wear one or wear them both!

Fatima changes her styles often so keep a look out for your favourites and check out other designs on her Etsy website: www.flowersfromfatima.com
Flowers/Hair Clips and Sticks vary between $10 – $35.

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Different types of Bobs and Layers..

As a client it can be very confusing to go into a salon and know what to ask for, especially if you don’t have the technical background and words to back you up.

With this post I’m hoping to help make it abit more clear about the different types of Bobs available and what to expect and how they will look. Of course a post about Bobs is not complete without the mention of Vidal Sassoon, (the king of bobs). I had the privilege of training and working in Sassoon’s in the 80’s and I definitely feel like I got the best training that a stylist can ask for. The 80’s was the time of strict structured shapes before razoring and texturising became so popular, so most of the haircuts were extremely technical, so I felt this helped me with my bob situations. So anyway, I’m using some original Sassoon Classic pictures as well as other examples to help with my explanations and opinions.

The 4 types of bobs I will talk about are shown below with Classic Sassoon pictures:
Classic One Length Bob(2 versions shown) Bob with Layers(medium length and layers)
Bob with Graduation (Classic Nancy Kwan bob for Vogue) and the Graduated Bob.

Classic One Length Bobs:
Great for people who would like a simple cut with no layers to it. (One length means that all the hair is brought down and cut to visually look like one length at the bottom.) Works great if you already have straight smooth hair but it you have any texture to it, it would need alot of blow drying to get the sharp look. For people who have very thick hair, the one length bob is not advisable as it would look very heavy and triangular at the bottom half, therefore adding too much width visually to their cheek area. Length can vary from hairline length to the top of the shoulders, and what can also vary is whether the bottom part is cut blunt with the scissors or razored through giving it soft edges like Gwyneth Paltrow’s. Here are afew other samples of One Length Bobs:

Bob with Layers:
This is something you could ask for if you like the look of a bob shape but your hair is too thick to have the classic one length, Layers can be added to your hair and can vary from short to longer fuller layers. Length too can vary from hairline to top of shoulders. Can be done on straight, wavy or curly hair. Afew more example of Bobs with layers on Nicole, model and Cathy done by Joni at Dekko:



Bob with Graduation:
This Bob shape is one of my favorites because not only is it a sharp defined shape, but it is fantastic and almost a must for making fine thin hair look fuller. (Graduation means to build up weight from short to long creating a fuller shape) It is also a flattering ‘all age’ shape that in my eyes, will never date. This one is where the bob appears to be one length but in fact there is graduation in it, much more at the back and then blending into the sides. The graduation that is put into it can be either very subtle or much more exaggerated (think Katie Holmes with her bob), if the hair is cut well then even without the blow day, the shape will hold and form a fuller look, this technique/style can be done on straight, wavy or curly hair. Here’s Katie’s as well as a couple of clients, Rachel and Simone from Dekko:



Graduated Bobs:
Last but not least this one is the shorter version of the Bob. The difference between this one the others is the back. Rather than having a straight clean line like the others, this one works the hair short into the nape from the occipital bone and follows your natural hairline into the nape. Asian hair in particular have a harder time with this one because the hair is usually coarser so it can stick out wildly, whereas with the finer hair and hairlines, this style can look very soft and feminine. It has a much stronger look because of the length, for me as soon as you mention Graduated Bobs, Louise Brooks (20’s silent movie star) and Mary Quant (60’s fashion icon)come to mind. Most clients who ask for the jaw/cheek level bobs needs to understand that if your natural hairline is longer than your desired length then you will have the graduated shorter part in the back, I know some of you will call it a ‘step’ and alot of people don’t like it so short so please be aware that you will have the ‘step’ look if you go for the cheek level bob. Also be aware that your natural hairline shape will have an impact on how short the back goes with this style as you have to work with it. Here’s Louise Brooks, Rachel Lim from Dekko, and Mary Quant:

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Hyphen Magazine Article

I’ve been so excited to share this article with you all : ) The shoot for the section for Asian Hair Offenses was one of the most fun shoots ever!


Hyphen magazine is a non-profit Asian American magazine that features everything from politics to new stuff. You can subscribe to them by going to Hyphen Magazine.
The full article isnt online yet but I thought I would post this screenshot of my double page spread for you..

Thanks to quite afew people for making this happen: Lisa Macabasco, Margot Seeto, Andria Lo and Erica Jones from Hyphen for all their hard work, and thanks to Patrick from SoyBaby Photography and Elaine Fujji for the make up in the Hair Offenses section. Models include Seanathan, Ga Wa, Mary Ann and Tamara. And of course Thanks to Scott Klassen from Dekko Salon for his help in styling the mall fringe for me.
Enjoy….

Picture 1
Picture 15
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Tearing your hair out…

Merry Christmas to all you readers out there.. thought it appropriate to share this post with you, as it seems Christmas is a time where we really do end up wanting to tear your own hair out!!!


Trichotillomaniac – the constant urge to tear out their own hair..
An interesting article I found on The Daily Mail Online about women who literally tear their hair out!!
Estimated to affect between 2 to 4% of the population, (more than a million in England alone) including a small number of men too, which would put Trichotillomaniac (also known as Tricho or TMM) with other conditions like anorexia and anxiety attacks. Almost unheard of by the general public as well as some doctors.
For some this condition is triggered by serious emotional trauma and great stress, However it starts, it becomes meditative and self calming and more often than not, they have no idea they are doing it. They can end up pulling out so much hair that they are left with bald patches throughout their head. Although usually its the scalp that is attacked, its been known for some to tear out eyelashes and eyebrows.
Wigs, hairpieces can help to mask the problem and hypnotherapy can help to control the suffocating impulse to pull.

hair pulling
To read the full story… read.

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Wrapping up JuJu for Xmas..

With the holidays just around the corner, I figured it would be a good time to promote my Texture Powder Styler…this unique product would make a great gift for anyone who has flat fine hair that needs more body or oily flat thick hair that needs de-greasing!
I thought it would be a good idea for me to wrap them nicely (as they can be an awkward shape to wrap oneself, including instructions) so that its all ready to go!
After afew trips and long Q’s to Michael’s and Jo-Ann Fabrics, I came up with this idea…

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I used a gold coin to represent the lighter shade and a black coin to represent the darker, it looks simple but believe me it was hard to make it look Christmassy without the tackiness of it all, and with my first version, I tried to keep it all natural looking and it ended up looking like a sack made from Jesus’ cloak!! I’ll show you just for a larf..

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It had a round bottom so it just kept falling over!!

Anyway, once I was happy with my wrapping I ended up doing quite afew where they will be sold at Dekko Salon in San Francisco, CA. (sorry picture’s abit dark, it took forever!)

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For online sales, if you like the way I’ve wrapped it, I can do some special wrapped orders but please drop me a line first at jules@jujuchan.com
Cheers!

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Head Pieces..

I have always been a fan of headpieces for the hair. I love feathers and fabrics and flowers. I know they are abit dramatic but I love abit of drama!! Here’s some more over the top ones that I found from the catwalk..


Hair piecesI know, very few people would wear this for everyday wear but here (below) are some of my favorites from Laura Kranitz which are abit more wearable. This Pink feather looks fantastic and adds a touch of individuality to a person…

So here’s my very own headpieces.. I know!! One of them is actually a pair of earrings, but hey it adds to the hair and complements it by making it more decorative so it still counts. I picked up these pieces at the weekend Craft Fair in San Francisco and they were made by Jeeyun Ha from Brooklyn, New York, who hand dyes the feathers herself. Love them!!


Yeah, Have fun with them!!