1/29/2014 0 Comments Curly Hair Artistry is on FacebookHey, Blog Followers! You can now find your CHA Specialist by going to the Curly Hair Artistry Facebook Page and making an inquiry. I am not sure if stylists are "listed" yet in a file, but you can request a stylist to contact you. Make sure to let them know I sent you! Here is an open letter to the salon industry about our passion and why we follow it, written by Scott Musgrave, founder of CHA: "We as hairstylists have come to realize that curly hair should not be treated the way we are taught in cosmetology schools across the globe. As stylists leave their journey at cosmetology school, a simple fact emerges – that wavy, curly and multi-textural hair is not treated with respect for what it is but is treated as something to fix. While product manufacturers may dictate information fed to hair stylists, we at Curly Hair Artistry make the art, methods, techniques and the business of working with curly hair a priority. We can influence not only the artist working with curly hair, but more importantly, the more than 65 percent of the population that have some form of wave, curl or multi-textural hair, who sit in our chairs every day. They were born with it, and they very much want to learn how to work with it instead of being manipulated to achieve a less-than-desired effect, either physically with heat irons or chemicals, or more importantly, psychologically and in their soul and the spirit of who they are. Lorraine Massey, the author of Curly Girl the Handbook, said that “Curly hair is not a fad but a lifestyle.” We at Curly Hair Artistry agree with this to the point of developing a team of over 80 stylists who are taking curly hair to new levels of artistry. We want to enable this lifestyle to be a significant part of a man and woman’s journey in life that is working, not based on brand identity, but based on the identity and growth of the artists, our inner drive and our passion for transforming the lives of the clients who sit in our chairs every day. Hair stylists all over are dropping the antiquated salon service of ‘fixing’ hair and developing methods and techniques of working with water soluble products to reduce or eliminate frizz. We are working to refine and develop ways of working on hair that takes how the hair lives and to incorporate new design elements. By going outside the typical ‘triangle head’ or ‘Rosanrosanadanna’ look that have pushed many into using straight hair layering methods, we now incorporate a system of curl- by-curl cutting. We are headed into a niche business that requires a specialized knowledge that is not taught in many places; and therefore, it should command a fee that will enrich the stylist’s way of life. Look at the average income that was reported recently by some leading reporting agencies to recognize this potential. The approach is a Boutique Business Model of one-on-one service that exceeds anything presently out there when it comes to working with curly hair. Initially some of these methods were worked on, refined and systemized into a method by Scott Musgrave, a curly hair specialist that started a group of like minded hair stylists with a few ideas and shared them with others. Scott realized that over time this can be repeated and has helped many other stylists adopt this way of working with hair to impact their clients, impact their business and impact their own lives with many rewards not often seen in this industry. Our group is now comprised of stylists all over the world that communicate with each other in new ways to offer guidance, ask questions and post photos showing their work that take their service experience to new levels of professionalism. Curly hair can be naturally beautiful all by itself with something I call ‘Natural’ and that requires a skill set to make it beautiful that is just not taught much in our industry. Next it can be taken to what I call ‘Natural Fashion’ where elements of design and shape are added along with color, finally to what is more of what the salon industry sees with ‘Fashion’ adding elements that are great for the runway or fashion shoots. What is most clearly missing is working with curly hair in its Natural and even to create Natural Fashion elements. All of this makes for artistry that we want to introduce to the salon industry as Curly Hair Artistry. Learning to work with curly hair from an antiquated mind set as something to ‘fix’ does not help our clients to love what they are born with and requires a stylist to learn a new set of skills, to ask a new set of questions and to learn a few new methods of communicating with the heart of a curly person. It all has to start with a new mind set toward respecting and appreciating what many People of Curl are first born with and to then learn as stylists about it with a new level of professionalism. Over time you will be learning about what we do and how we do it by offering tips, showing our work and revealing the many artists that are taking their own form of working with curly hair to new levels. Welcome to Curly Hair Artistry." You can find the entirety of his article here. Thanks all, and keep on keeping curly!
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I love love love this Before & After! After years of trying salon after salon and never finding someone who could properly cut her hair, Jennifer's husband started to cut her hair at home. She saw my ad recently and with the support of her husband, made an appointment.
We were both amazed at the difference in frizz factor and the apparent change in color. In the before and during, you can see her "frizz halo". Product application methods have a great deal to do with reducing that halo. In the after picture, you can see that her hair looks darker and richer. This is the difference between dry curls and hydrated curls. With her dry curly cut I was able to even out the seemingly uneven, or wispy ends. The wispiness was a result of the traditional straight, wet-cutting method. When curls are cut individually, each curl's bounce factor is taken into consideration, resulting in a more even weightline and length when dry. Lastly, you will notice that her before picture has the "dreaded triangle shape", a common complaint of curly-haired ladies. Ta-daa, not anymore! Please share with anyone you know that might enjoy this transformation! 1/19/2014 0 Comments The Natural Color KillerI have been doing Cassie's hair for about a year and I had just always assumed she colored her hair at home. At her last appointment her color was brought up and, lo and behold, she does not! Cassie lives in a rural area and is on well water. This does terrible things to hair! She had a lot of minerals built up on her hair that it looked like she just started going grey about 6 months ago, or was long overdue for a color! You would think that I would catch this with my trained eye, but sometimes mineral build up and home color jobs can look and feel very similar: which is tangly, dry, and uneven in color. So at her appointment this week, she reminded me of what we had discussed and so we did a detox on her hair. Since it was such a strong build up and over so much time, she needed more than just a chelating shampoo and a bluing shampoo! We spent some time at the shampoo bowl with Vitamin C powder, scrubbing, scrubbing; and then under the dryer. Due to time constraints I was only able to get through one treatment, and I recommended to her that she follow up with Apple Cider Vinegar rinses at home. Once her hair is back to its beautiful natural grey/white, she can continue to rinse with ACV once or twice a month. I directed her to my colleague, Beverly Meyer's newsletter article about filtering shower heads, and she might look into that as well. Below is an exerpt from that article: "Recently, I moved my home residence to Solano County. Almost immediately I noticed the devastating change to my hair. I could barely get to Second Day Hair and Day One was looking pretty rough. So when my fiance said, "babe, what's going on with your hair?", I knew it was time to order shower head filter for the new house. My favorite is Sprite (I ordered mine from Amazon) and I use it for my showers and to fill the tub for my daughter's bath. Sprite also has a faucet ball, which works great if you can adjust the amount of water flow out of the spout. I love the adjustable settings as the concentrated massage setting gets all the way to my scalp when I rinse off my cleanser.While I was waiting for my shipment to arrive, I was showering at home but I was washing my hair at the salon. Yes, it made that much of a difference. Yesterday, I used my new filter. WOW! Worth every penny. If you own a channel lock wrench, you can easily install a new shower head." Be sure to check out Beverly's website for more great natural haircare tips!
Just for kicks I took pictures of almost every step of Cheryl's appointment with us so that you can see the difference a personalized curly cut by OlyCurl can make! When you sit in our chairs, we will first spend some time talking about your current hair routine, products, desires, etc. Then we will discuss ingredients to avoid and what you want to look for in order to keep your curls looking their best. We walk you through every step of the way, doing a lot of explaining, so that you can feel confident in styling your own hair at home. 1. This is how she was asked to show up to her appointment: Washed and air-dried or diffuse-dried, whatever products she normally uses, and no hair ties or barrettes of any kind. We want to see your hair in its best state that you can manage. 2. We cut the hair curl by individual curl, sometimes lightly misting with a conditioning lavender spray to encourage the curls. Curly Hair Specialists have been trained in this art form, which is not taught in Beauty Schools, and we are fortunate to be counted among the best of the best in the Curly Hair Artistry. 3. After cutting, we take a step back to check symmetry and to make sure the sides and weightline are even. Often we will use my camera to check the cut as well, as discrepancies can sometimes become more apparent 2-dimensionally! 4. After the hair is cleansed and hydrated; products are applied, and roots are clipped, the hair is dried using either the diffuser, the hooded dryer (when was the last time you sat under one of those?!), or both. 5. You can see the gel cast in this picture, when the hair is completely dried, and before breaking it. 6. After a fluff and scrunch, you have the final "do"; and we also may do some last-minute snips here and there. 7. Lastly, we go over your custom curl prescription that we have written down for you so that you can duplicate these results at home! We review step-by-step everything we explained while we were washing and styling your curls. Repetition is such a good aid for memory! Hopefully that takes some of the fear out of your first appointment! Now go on over to the new client page and book yourself in! We look forward to meeting you! Follow us on Facebook to get more exciting info and links from my fellow Curly Hair Artistry Colleagues! There is a lot of information to be found on the internet about the proper care and maintenance of curly hair. Some of that info is good and legit, but some of it is just downright bad advice. Here are five of the worst: 1. Use "Frizz-Free" and "Smoothing" Products. Please don't. Anything that is marketed as "frizz-free" or "smoothing" are loaded with silicones. Silicones are basically liquid plastic and they coat the hair shaft, which prevents moisture from penetrating your hair, thus exacerbating the problem of dry, frizzy hair. While a temporary fix for smoothing your hair, in the long term it is a huge problem. 2. Wrap your hair in a towel. Terrycloth towels are a curl's enemy! The pile of the fabric will catch individual hair strands and cause frizz. Instead, use a flour sack towel or even a t-shirt to squeeze and scrunch your hair. 3. Use a comb to detangle Um, no. Detangling can be done in the shower with just your fingers and lots of conditioner. Combs can shred, tear, and otherwise damage your fragile curls. Only in extreme cases are combs necessary; for example, an 8 year-old with matting or almost dreadlocked hair from being left to care for their own hair, or maybe even a grown woman with a small dread caused by her necklace chain twisting around and around all day. 4. Straightening your hair just one day won't hurt it. While your hair may not melt before your very eyes, it does do some damage, and it can take some time for your hair to recover. Heat-damaged hair can lose its elasticity and refuse to bounce up the way it had before. Sure, it's not permanently damaged, but do you really want to set yourself back a few months? 5. The cut won't matter as long as you are using the right products. Excuse me?! Have you learned nothing from reading this blog? Curly hair should be cut dry, curl by curl, and in its natural position. Each head of hair can have many different curl patterns; some tighter and some looser. If cut straight and wet, the curls will bounce back when dry and sit at different lengths, which causes wispy, uneven ends. It also sometimes leaves the hair looking wonky and asymmetrical ("The 80s called; they want their asymmetrical haircut back"). Those are the five worst recommendations and what I think of them, but it doesn't end there! In addition to knowing what not to do, you need to know what to do and how to do it. This is why you need your very own Curly Hair Specialist.
Also, do your curly friends and family a favor and please share this post! Friends don't let friends use silicone! 12/24/2013 0 Comments Why You Should Ditch Your ShampooMost traditional shampoos are terrible for curly hair. They will strip your natural oils and leave your hair dry and frizzy. Why is that? They have Sulfates in them.
Sulfates (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate ) are surfactants that are found in shampoos, cosmetics and even industrial cleansers and degreasers. They are the bubbling and lathering agent in these cleaning products, and we all know that bubbles are the way to clean, right? Wrong! Many studies have shown Sulfates to be dangerous! Products that are absorbed through the skin are much more potent and they go right to our bloodstream. They have been shown to possibly cause cancer, reproduction problems, and hair loss as well as many other ailments. You can read more about Deadly and Dangerous Shampoos here. We can have clean hair without putting ourselves at risk! More and more companies are recognizing the dangers of sulfates and are developing Sulfate-Free Shampoos. If you cannot find one, DevaCurl of course, as a line, is free of this harsh chemical; hence the name of their cleanser: No-Poo. Since cleansing the hair is achieved by the friction of your finger pads on your scalp, you can actually cleanse your scalp with a good conditioner. In the curly world this is called Co-Washing. If you really can't give up the bubbles, ask me about Sulfate-Free Lo-Poo by DevaCurl that does have a chemical-free lathering agent. 12/24/2013 0 Comments What's Wrong With This Picture?This picture shows evidence of a traditional wet cut. In the before picture, you can see at the bottom are wispy ends. This happens when curly hair is cut using traditional wet-cutting techniques. The hair is pulled down taut and cut straight across, then released to have the curls bounce back up according to their curl structure.
The problem with this is that not every curl is the same. It is sometimes most evident when someone has tighter curls around the face or at the nape of their neck, or even sometimes looser waves at the top. The reality is that we have inconsistent curls all over our heads! For example, say you have a looser wave next to a tighter curl grouping and it was cut wet and pulled taut. Once it dries to its normal and chill-out state, the tighter curl, which has shrunk up, will be visually shorter than the wave. This results in wispy and thin-looking ends. The remedy is dry curl cutting. Each curl is cut in its individual, untampered-with formation according to where it lives in conjunction with the rest of the curls around it, resulting in a visually appealing and more symmetrical cut. Lanis is wanting to keep growing her length so we trimmed just a tad off the bottom and will gradually let that fill in as she gets her trims every four months or so. Some individual curl cutting in the rest of the lengths add to the visual symmetry and make the most of her curl pattern. As always, feel free to share, as curl-by-curl cutting is not taught in Beauty School and is a highly individualized and specialty field. 12/9/2013 0 Comments Guest Curly Artist - Beth BurrallToday I will feature a fellow Curly Artist and friend, Beth Burrall. I met her at the CHA Symposium in October and I just love her! She has amazing insight and instinct when it comes to curls, so I wanted to share her with you. Below is a quick tip she posted about achieving 2nd and 3rd day hair. Okay everyone! Another weekly tip coming your way:) As we head into the holidays, we will be gearing up for seeing friends,relatives, and yes-cameras! So let's talk styling! This week is a little different because I have been experimenting and will be sharing with you what I have found. Everyone is always asking about 2nd and 3rd day hair. Ideally, we would all love to go multiple days with out fussing with our curls, and some find their curls actually do better the longer they go without cleansing(not to be confused with shampooing!) What I have found, is that the more product you use to set your curls the first day, the less frizz, but also the less curl. In some cases, the curls will become tighter over the course of the next few days. Now if you are going for a more elongated curl this is great. But if you are looking for more bounce and volume, you may need to use less product. The trade off to using less product and achieving more volume is that you may experience more frizz. You also may find you aren't able to get as many days out of your set as you can with a heavier product application. So, as the holidays approach, I encourage all of you to experiment and see what your hair is needing the most. Does it need to be washed, or does it look great and doesn't need anything? Does it need product or moisture? Curls are always highly opinionated and they will let you know, now all you have to do is listen! 12/2/2013 0 Comments Dreadlocked!I was getting ready to start a Curly Cut on a client today and as I was parting her hair I found a little surprise at her nape. It was a small section of curls that had dreaded itself on her necklace a couple weeks ago! This is very common for Curlies and they need not be ashamed! Even one of the models at the October CHA Symposium had a huge one that she actually wanted to keep and even had put a bead on the end of it! I told my client it was no big deal and that we would work it out at the shampoo bowl. After her Curly Cut, we did a highlight retouch, then we went to wash out the color. After washing the color out, I isolated the dread and pinned up the rest of her hair. Great care must be taken in order to not damage the hair by pulling and yanking on it while it is dry! I put in a generous amount of Heaven in Hair Deep Conditioner and very gently with a wide tooth comb began to work out the dread. I started from the bottom and worked my way up, spreading the mat with my fingers and loosening it with the teeth of the comb. Then at the very bottom of the dread I would work the tangles out. Then I moved up a little bit more, spread the mat with my fingers and loosened with the comb, worked the very bottom out... etc etc... Note: this may not work for everyone, especially if they are truly matted, and the dreading has been there for some time. However, for the accidental necklace dread situation, this method works great! It took less than ten minutes and her hair was none the worse for the wear! Be careful with those necklaces, Curlfriends! 11/25/2013 0 Comments I Love My JobHere is a great example of what a Dry Curly Cut can do. She came in with her hair in its natural state, so I was able to perform her dry curl cut first thing. After her cut, we did a retouch on her highlights, and then we No-Pooed it out. One Condition was used to hydrate, of which I left in about 20%. Next I used B'Leavin' as a Filler; and finally, I blended Curl Cream with Ultra Define Gel for added moisture, given the drier weather we have been having here in Olympia. I am thrilled with the results. |
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