Posted on

Why Does Hair Frizz

Here’s an old but useful blog post from a few years ago….

Well, to be quite honest with you 8 times out of 10, its whoever is handling the hair that is making it frizz! (The other causes being weather, pregnancy or health)

How many times have I heard people saying that they cant wear their hair curly/wavy because it gets too frizzy? Once I delve further into the way the hair is handled it becomes very clear to me that its frizzy because people don’t really know how to style/deal with it.


So it boils down to the fact that when someone has wavy hair, each time you wash your hair you need to make a decision on whether to dry it straight or curly, nothing in between. The in betweeny is the part that leaves the hair frizzy.


When hair is wavy and you decide to either comb it or drag your fingers through it when wet, this action will partly pull out the waves, and some of the hair will stay straight and other parts will curl back up, leaving a very unruly sight with the mixture of straight to curly hair. (Frizz)


See examples below..

 

In other words, if you want healthy looking curls/waves, you must not disturb the hair while it is drying OR if you want it to be straight, you must go the whole hog and dry it thoroughly straight with a brush. (see example below) If you decided to dry your hair straight that day and got lazy half way through and decided to drop the brush and dry it roughly, this will create the worst of the frizzies.

 

 

Posted on

Braids..

This post has been LONG overdue for me.. I have been meaning to write this post for over a year now and with sooo many distractions along the way, and the fact that I honestly thought I would make a video for you of how to quickly braid your hair, but now I realize that video is just not gonna happen so then I had to do this post without it.. about bloody time I hear you say, its been over and been back in fashion again : /
 
So, of course, the trend was everso popular with the celebs who was sporting them all of last year, the look was fresh and cute so I think we all caught onto it fast. Everything from side braids to Heidi braids were everywhere. Here are some of my favorites with the celebs that were showing it off.
 
Here we have Sienna Miller and Jessica Alba..

 

And Gwen Stefani and Diane Kruger..

 

Of course the catwalks had their fair share of braids too, here is my own special favorite that I even tried out myself once.. me, who doesn’t ever do anything with the hair!

 

Braids my fave

 

And more from the catwalks last year..

 

So of course with Catwalks and Celebs doing it, that was our cue for us normal human beings to be doing it too, so everywhere we looked there they were.. But I have to admit that even though this post is over a year overdue, have you noticed that its still out there isn’t it? Which means it was a good long lasting trend that not only is simple to do but is good to look at and is a practical way of getting the hair out of the way : )
 
So to finish off here’s afew regular but still beautiful people wearing Braids in their hair..

 

 

Posted on

Pink Hair..

I have always loved the baby pink hair that’s been all over the place. I once had my own small pieces scattered throughout my hair, the only problem was having to bleach out the hair to a light enough shade of blonde in order to put the baby pink on it. Of course it didn’t last too long either but for the one day seminar I had to do it was fine.

Lately I’ve seen so many Ads and other pictures with that shade of pink, I was always told it would be difficult or almost impossible to get it looking so light and pink on Asian hair, which is why most people would settle just for the pieces in the dark hair. Here’s an example of the pink I was talking about…..

 

Anyway I came across one Asian girl who managed to get this shade of pink for herself… From the chart topping  South Korean Band.. Miss A, this young lady JIA looks fabulous as she’s swinging her hair around singing Bad Girl Good Girl with her other band members. (Thanks @ Doug Henderson) for showing me the video. So this just goes to show, if you’ve got enough time money and a great colorist, Asian’s can have baby pink hair!

 

Picture 2

 

pink hair crop

 

Picture 6

 

Oh and here’s our very own Twinkie Chan and Joni from Dekko with their gorgeous pink hair..and Thanks to Jodi and Heather from Dekko Salon for the colors.

 

 

Posted on

Color for Men..

Heather English who works with us at Dekko Salon has been taking care of quite afew of our men who have not been too happy about their salt and pepper hair becoming too salty!!!

Goldwell’s Men ReShade is one of the latest launches in men’s hair color, Because of its easy application which is usually applied at the color bowl and with it being foam based, this makes the ReShade a quick no mess treatment to have.

Quite afew of my clients have been to Heather to try it and have been very happy with their results. I have also noticed that there is no harsh hard lines around the hairline and edges so it doesn’t look like a fake piece has been ‘plonked’ on top of the head : )

Heather added that it leave the hair much more natural looking than tints because it leaves the hair with a cool tone, and It is used for grey reduction and blending and NOT grey coverage! The result usually lasts about 4 – 5 weeks which is ideal to have to coincide with their haircuts. Also note that is washes away naturally and does not have a regrowth line.

 

Goldwell’s ReShade:

IMG_2824

 

Other companies also have their own solutions but work on the same lines.. for example Redken Color Camo for Men, another quick easy option to camouflage the grey hair…

 

IMG_2828

 

And just for your information, I managed to get a shot of a slightly crooked  color chart for Redken’s Color Camo to give you an idea of the color choices and shades, although I always think its best to leave it to your colorist to choose the shade, after all, they do know best! So guys – what are you waiting for? Oh and I forgot to mention it was also easy on the wallet too : )

 

IMG_2827

Technorati Tags: ,,,,,,,
Posted on

Growing out your Layers or Hair..

We’ve all been there right? Well I hope so, I hope most women have tried short hair at some point in their lives! Anyway, you’ve had the cutest short haircut and now you’ve had it short for so long, your bored.. Now what? What is the best way to grow out your hair?

I wanted to write this post to help those people who never seem to be able to grow it past a certain length before they cant stand it and off it comes again.

Using pictures to help me describe the different points of growth. To put it as simply as I can, there are 2 main ways of growing your hair out from a short pixie. But with both methods one of the most important secrets to easier hair growth is to keep it thinned out and textured, this will stop it from looking like a bowl while growing and you will be dealing with less hair as well as it looking better along the way.

1. You can either choose to carry on growing out the length as well as the layers until its all longer, the disadvantage of this method is that it will always be quite messy looking and highly likely (if you have a low hairline) that you will at some point have a kind of mullety look. This method will end up looking abit like a shag, so is great for trendier people.

 

2. You can grow all the layers out longer first while keeping sides and back shorter and neater, then when it reaches a certain length then the whole of hair will need to grow. At some point you will end up with a kid of bob shape. This one is the ‘neater’ way of growing out hair but for people who hate bobs, this method may not be for you.

 

Then as the hair continues to grow you will hit the worst point where the hair will hit the shoulders and flip! This is unavoidable so depending on how much you hate hair flipping, this can be controlled by how much or how short your layers are at this point. You could grow it down with heavier layers to keep the flipping from happening so much and then add more layers as you get past this stage or you can have quite afew layers and have it looking very  rock chickish.

BUT.. you should be aware that depending on your hair type and thickness, having too many layers at this length could very well result in a ‘Rachel’ from friends which in my eyes is a no no!!

 

 

Once you get about 2inches past the shoulder then you are scott free and well on your way to having long hair!!! Anyway, hope this helps you get past the worst stages : )

Remember texture texture thin out and chop it up, that’s the secret! Oh and of course a good hairstylist helps : /

Posted on

Josh Wood ~ King of Color!

I first met Josh Wood back in the 80’s where we worked together in Vidal Sassoon’s in London. Josh was a newbie then but even then  I knew he was destined for greatness. He always seemed to know the right people, get the best opportunities and of course do the best work, all with that cocky, pompous attitude of his, and I mean that in a good way and with the fondest memories Josh.  At that young age getting to hang out with David Bowie and his wife Iman, it meant that  Josh was ‘in’!!

 

It comes as no surprise to me to hear now in 2011 he’s had the most impressive career. After 14 years in Sassoon’s, Josh worked as Wella Professional’s Global Creative Director since Jan 2008 and from his stint there I want to show you some of his work with them. Taken from Marie Claire (May 2011) Josh and Eugene Souleiman (celeb stylist) was inspired by vintage photos and Hitchcock heroines but added a punk twist to them.

JoshWoodWellaMetallicHigltsMarieClaire

Silver Lining-

This is inspired by Daphne Guinness , asymmetrical and represents opulent, youthful glamour, says Souleiman, who bought the headband for a couple of dollars from Chinatown in Paris. The difference between this and grey is that the highlights are metallic says Wood.

JoshWoodWellaNewBouffantMarieClaire

New Bouffant-

The shade of the ‘wine colored’ highlights is called ‘rosewood’. It’s a take on the purple streaks grunge girls used to do. With a softness that’s purposeful not weak.. says Wood.

And for your information Josh has just opened his Atelier (studio for artists and designers) in London’s Holland Park area, where all his socialite and celebrity clients can congregate and get fabulous color from Josh Wood.

Posted on

Dekko’s Daily Grind ~ Michele Lim

Its been a while since I posted a makeover from Dekko, so with this one, its been on the backburner for so long now that Michele has actually had her haircut 3 times since this first picture was taken. I decided to show it all at once because the changes look great on Michele and she’s changed her looks so much since the first time.
 

Michele had not had a haircut in quite a number of years, she decided she grow her hair out and in the meantime, she could donate her hair to one of the hair donation companies such as  Locks of Love.

Here is Michele when she first came in and with my first chop!
 

The style we decided to go for was a bob with graduation, and we decided to cut it with a razor to give the hair some softness through the ends therefore creating some movement in the layers. With hair this coarse,  we felt that if the hair was too blunt on the ends using a club cutting technique, the whole shape would be very heavy and would collapse quicker and easier. The end result as you can see suits Michele’s face really well, and what was great was that the hair fell into place without too much blow drying or too much work.
 

And here’s  a couple more without her gown on : )
 

Anyway, now because it took me so long to post these pictures, we ended up cutting this shape twice before Michele came in again and after a very long consultation,  decided to take the hair even shorter. We went with a style that could be tucked behind the ears to give a sleeker look or when left down, gave an elf-ish, pixie look. Again we razored the whole thing through, even more than the first time, took lots of weight out of it so it had a lot of texture and using some styling cream we dried it with our fingers, manipulating it on the ends so it would stick out and twist in certain areas, the messier the hair went, the better the shape looked, but it was good to know that for meetings Michele was still able to make it look neat and tidy.

Here’s Michele’s latest look:
 

Thanks to Michele for letting my take pictures of her hair, as well as being so patient waiting for me to do my posts : )

Technorati Tags: ,,
Posted on

Moroccan Oil

It had to be done, it was only a matter of time before I wrote my own review on the Moroccan Oil. Every Tom Dick and Harry has tried it and talked about it, so I was one of the late comers!
 
To be honest with you, I have never really been into oils for the hair, I have always found them to be heavy, and slick looking! Anyway, we finally decided to carry it in Dekko Salon because everyone in Hollywood has ranted and raved about it and who are we to go against what Hollywood says eh?
 
11576763-moroccan-oil-treatment-light-and-original- from PRLog125ml

 

But first abit of Moroccan Oil’s history that I found out. The company Moroccan Oil was discovered by Carmen Tal, a hairdresser who first came across it in Israel after having a bad color job, her relative took her to a salon that used Moroccan Oil on her. She absolutely loved and it and set out to bring it across the pond to the US, wanting to share the benefits of this treatment made with Argan Oil. The woman of Morocco have been using Argan Oil for centuries for their hair, skin and nails. Anyway, after bringing Moroccan Oil to the US, Carmen and her hubbie then bought the company and has since developed it into the hugely successful company that it is today. I guess there was definitely a reason why she had to have a bad color job right? Out of every bad comes a good!
 
As I said earlier, I was never a believer of oils on the hair, BUT… the very first time I used this product I tried out the LIGHT formula thinking I shouldn’t go with the original as it might get too greasy and heavy, well, I was soo surprised at the outcome, I have become an instant fan!
 
My client Mindy, has fine blonde hair that tangles so easy, the type that knots up as you are trying to dry it or as soon as you’ve put a comb through it, its tangled again. Anyway, I used 2 pumps on my hand and smoothed it into the hair avoiding the roots at first. I blow dried with the dryer but I was so shocked when I didn’t even need to use a brush on her hair! I continued using my fingers to dry it and it didn’t take long to get the hair looking so smooth and shiny. It had me hooked, I felt like it was some miracle treatment.

 

Anyway, since then I have continued using it on all different types of hair textures and found that…

1. On curly hair, its great to put some through the curls, leave it to dry and it gives curly hair shine (which as we know doesn’t normally happen because of the way the light hits the waves)

2. On frizzier hair textures, you still need to use the brush and smooth it out with the dryer.

3. 9 times out of 10 it works well on the hair leaving it shiny and manageable but there’s still afew heads of hair that it doesn’t seem to work on.

4. Both the original and light formulas do not weigh the hair down.

But all in all, this product is great and I would recommend anyone with frizzies should at least try it, most of you will LOVE it!

Posted on

Dip Dyed Hair..

I noticed recently that there seems to be another color trend going around! It looks like its stemmed from the ‘Ombre’ coloring technique but this one being more fun more wild and more punky! I love it!

Bright colors are applied onto the ends of the hair, anything from pink, purple, green multi colored etc. etc. Celebs such as Lady Gaga and Lauren Conrad and of course as always with all trends, Drew Barrymore have been seen with their dip-dyed hair. For a good read and to see how its done, check out Bangstyle where I found this picture below.

 

beauty-queen-dip-dyed-hair

Below we have Lady Gaga (photo source) and Lauren Conrad (Photo Source)with their looks..

 

This is best to have it done professionally I would say as it involves bleaching the hair first before applying the brighter colors. Here are some more samples of Dip-dyed hair (thanks to www.buzzfeed.com for the pics)

 

For those of us who are alittle bit intimidated by the bleach and the ruining of the hair and having to look at it for so long, Aussie Hairdresser Kevin Murphy has brought out a temporary color dye to achieve this same look. Called ‘Color.Bug’, it comes in 3 colors – Pink, Orange and Purple.

This product can be applied quickly by using a product such as hairspray beforehand, or something for the product to grip onto, then the color is applied onto the ends. Washes out completely. The only thing I don’t know is whether this products works well on dark hair or only on medium to blonde hair. But fabulous for a different look for the evening!

 

149c4e20be034341_Lesleykat_KM_ColorBug6.xxlarge

Thanks to my client Lindsay to the intro to the Color Bug : )

 

Posted on

Different Partings for the Hair…

Quite often clients come into the salon and while going through the consultations one important topic comes up and that is where should one wear her parting. (or Part as you say here in the US)

8 times out of 10, a persons parting is already set because the crown part of the hair will usually swirl in one way or another to determine which side your parting would best sit. When I say the crown I am referring to the round swirly shape on top of the head, some people think of this as their ‘bald spot’ which is not the case, it is just because some hair swings so much its leaves that area flat and looking ‘bald’.

You could be one of those lucky people where your hair will sit quite nicely anywhere, but for others, your parting could be either very set to either side or even worse the middle. Then there’s others who have a double crown which could cause quite abit of chaos with the front top of the hair. If you choose to wear your hair against the growth of your parting then height is created.

I will show you different ways of wearing the parting (with the help of some staff at Dekko) for people who do have the opportunity to play around more.

Side Parting – (both normal and low)

The most common parting, this is great for people who want to have more height on top as this will give the illusion of having more lift. Partings can be ultra straight (some done with a comb) or as I prefer to have it slightly messier, the messier parting will make thin hair look slightly thicker, it can also help hide any color roots that may be coming through, It can be done either in a straight line or diagonal.

Middle (Center) Partings –

With center partings I have found that a lot of people cannot get away with this as much as side partings. It can leave the hair looking quite flat, as you will have a line down the middle of the head and the hair on both sides have no where to hang but straight down. For people with irregular face shapes, having a middle parting (especially a strong straight line) can bring out the uneven features more. BUT.. having said all that, I love middle partings, as the look can be much trendier than the sophisticated feminine side part. What I do tend to do is to part the front of the hair down the middle but the crown I will keep more to the side which makes it less definite. Here’s how I wear my center part. (2nd picture)

Zigzag Parting –

With the zigzag partings, this does not mean you literally have to put in a definite zigzag in the top of your hair, but more or less a casual version of a zigzag, this will create a more interesting movement and look, by giving hair more height, hiding overgrown color and giving hairstyles a much messier trendier look.
DSC02602

Last but not least, we have the NO Parting –

This would be mainly for people who have deep fringes (bangs) where most of the hair comes forward therefore no parting is necessary.

Thanks to all my models: Ryan, Melina, Violet, Jill, Ashley and Liz Marting