Make It Last Forever

This hair style can be tied down at night
and spruced up with your fingers or
a rake comb!

Hair styling is a career that never ceases to amaze me! In this line of work many fascinating things come through the door and plops into our chairs. For example, beauty; OMG, I am always amazed at the vastness of beauty that comes through the salon doors. Most of the women and men are equally beautiful on the inside as they are on the outside. Another example, generosity. My goodness gracious! When I first started working as a cosmetologist, I was amazed at how people give you extra for something they already paid for. To this date, the extreme generosity of people continues to fill me with humility and amazement. Lastly, entertainers! I hate to have to admit it, while I make it my business to give all who enter the ultimate salon experience, it does something to my excitement level whenever I am summoned to service a entertainer or extend my hours for VIP. I gets pumped. It truly is something about providing services to the entertainers that has me saying, "Boy oh boyee!"

The above scenarios highlights those amazing things about being a cosmetologist that makes this career the whip. But, you guys know there is always a but! But, the one thing that amazes me more than servicing beautiful, generous and famous clients, are the clients who request a hair style that can last until they return. 

This hair cut must be cut weekly, hair colored bi-weekly and
hair groomed daily!

I can recall the time as a newbie in the industry when a guest asked me if the hairstyle I just gave her would last for two weeks. You know that sound the cartoon makes when they knock each other over the head, "boing?" Well that was the first sound that came to my head. The request rocked my brain in my skull. I was really perplexed as to how one was in search of a hair stylist who could provide a 2-3 week hair style. So I began a series of questions as to why? To make a long blog "Ndogo," here are the top 3 reasons they want the hair style to last:

1. They paid for it.
2. They do not want to have to do anything to their hair at home.
3. They have a special event/occasion coming up and they want it to last.

Well, my trusty readers (who may have had the same request) I have bad news and I have bad

This hair style can be wrapped and secured tightly
with a doo rag (a scarf may come off), do not put
a shower cap on this hair style and it will last for about
a week. You may have to bump or use velcro rollers
to re-create the volume in the layers!

news. I will start with the bad news first. The first is, hair is a pliable fiber. It moves. It bends, creases, crimps, frizz, falls and all that jazz. While wrapping, rolling, tying hair down and sleeping upright in a chair will preserve the style somewhat; there are not many of hair textures that can withstand a normal night of sleep (we are not including night sweats and passionate lovemaking) and wake up with NO maintenance.  I understand how one does not want to be bothered with curling, flat ironing or rolling; but compromising that fresh out of the salon look for a classic simple soft look will suffice most images. Second, the only care free hair style I can think of to this date is the "Care Free Curl" or Jheri curl. Those perm styles have very little to NO HOME maintenance at all. Most other hair styles will require some form of coiffuring. As far as making a hair style last for a special event, most salons offer "Special Occasions" hair styles on their menu. Most salons will guarantee that style for 1-3 days depending on how much hairspray, hair pins, hair weave, gel and all the other sticky stuff they use to get that hair doo poppin'!

This look needs to be re-twisted bi-weekly and
groomed daily.

Now that I have given you the bad news, here is the other bad news of the 3 reasons one wants their hairstyle to last. As it relates to you paying for the hair style, look at it like visiting the dentist. Ya know, you have your teeth cleaned Wednesday morning, right? Surely you would not wait for two weeks to brush your teeth because you just paid roughly $75.00 for an exam and cleaning? Just as the dentist appreciates cleaning the mouth of a patient who flossed and brushed their teeth before saying, "aaahh," so do cosmetologist likes servicing a client who comes in with a clean head of hair. While the hair style will not last till your next visit; it will be much easier to recreate the look on hair that is thoroughly cleansed and properly conditioned. Second, as it relates to NOT wanting to do anything to your hair at home; honestly ONLY thick dense (the number of hair fibers on your head per cubic inch) heads of hair have the tendency to pop right back into place after any form of a roller set, curl or flat ironed looks. Flips on medium to long hair does not last at all for most.  Again, just as you brush your teeth the same day of getting your teeth professionally cleaned, it is the same concept for a hair style. Last, for those hair styles you want to last for an event or special occasion, it is best to pay the extra and have your hair done the day of the event to assure that you will have the look you want for your important day, meeting, or event.

This look can be wrapped nightly.
Do not let steam/sweat get to it and it
must be combed frequently
throughout the day to
protect the ends!

In the end, most hair styles on one's head with their own hair requires some level of "doing" something to it the next day. While I am no fan of totally re-doing a hair style over the next day, I do understand that there will be some level of fuss as a must for my tresses. If the hair is not spritzed, sprayed, gelled, shellacked, sewed in, glued on or tape down; a long lasting hair style will not be the result. As for the hairstylist who claims they can give you a "Make It Last Forever" care free hairstyle that will last for two weeks or more....."whoa oh oh, oh oh oh, oh, oh" (in my Keith Sweat voice)!

Yeah right.

Combs, Rakes & Pics Oh My!

I recall when I was in high school I had to take this elective class called “Think.” I remeber looking at my schedule (the one I did not make) and thought to myself, “What kind of class is this? I mean aren’t we already thinking?” I asked the counselor about the class and what it meant. He summed it up by telling me that the class was designed to improve my “critical thinking skills.” “Oooooookay!” was my response. While I don’t recall everything about the class, one think I do remember, was learning about analogies. As a cosmetologist,  I now use analogies all the time to help my clients “think” differently about how they care for their hair care thus making learning how to do it at home a lot more easier to comprehend and practice upon leaving the salon.

In 2011, Susan Yara, a writer for Forbes Magazines reports, “the PBA (Professional Beauty Association) reports the average price for a hairstyle in the United States is $45.00.” Considering many salons charge double that amount,  that makes the cost of many hair styles sizeable investments and to me that changes the way licensed professionals should do business. I began to see early on the paradigm shift in hair care move from one simple request to getting “my hair did” for the day to to what are your doing to my hair. To me that translates into, “how do I protect my investment?”

After I service a client, I always send them home with a comb. But not just any comb. The proper comb. Why the comb? Because, it all starts with the comb, rake or pick; oh my! That is right. Nothing undo’s the efforts of costly salon visit than a cheap comb. Nothing will rip, tear and snap hair than the wrong comb. And nothing will detangle, un-matt or reduce the tangling and tears than no comb at all.

Why the comb? Going back to that “Think” class, I will use an analogy to drive in why. A comb is to your hair what a broom is to the floor. Still don’t get it? Here is another one, A comb is to your hair what a toothbrush is to your teeth. (I know you bobbin’ your head cuz I can see ya!) Yeah, you get it now. If you have ever tried to sweep the floor with a cheap broom; it won’t collect the debris. And If you have ever attempted to brush your teeth with a over-used toothbrush; you will quickly reach in your “for guest only” stash of toothbrushes and crack that baby open as if it was a “break in case of emergency seal!”

The main purpose of a comb is to clean and detangle hair by way of removing hair that has completed its growth cycle so that new hairs can come in and to remove hair that is broke to reduce snarling and tangling. If you use the wrong comb or an inferior comb on your tresses (chemically altered or not), the result is unwanted damage, loss of length and/or irritated scalp.

Comb out Comb

There are basically 3-4 types of combs that have varying purposes. The first is a comb out comb or Afro comb. These combs should be made of rubber or a sturdy plastic. Rubber/plastic combs are easier to sanitize, they do not break and they glide easily through most textures (curly, kinky, wavy and straight), density ( the numbers of hair fibers per cubic inch) and length (how long the hair is) provided you have a great conditioner or detangler on your hair. Combs made of other materials or metals typically break or can not effectively detangle more dense thick heads of textured hair.  The second is the, long tooth comb out comb. This comb is shaped the same as the regular comb out comb and is best when made of rubber or plastic. This comb is the best for long, very dense and very textured heads of hair. The long teeth are the secret to an ouchless detangle and the long teeth on the combs can detalngle those hair textures and length. The third comb is a “all purpose” comb. It also known as a barbers comb. This comb is best for relaxed sleek styles. The all purpose come is also great for wrapping your hair, smoothing ponytails or combing bangs. The fourth comb is the “Pin Tail or Rat Tail” comb. This comb is excellent for parting hair to curl, flat iron or roll hair. The pin or rat tail comb is also use to section hair for chemical relaxing hair to make the suggested partings. These combs are best when made of plastic. The fifth comb is the “Rake” comb. The “rake” comb is best to create texture on thermal curled or roller set styles. Do not use wide or “rake” combs to detangle hair or use them as everyday combs. Remember the analogy above. A comb is to your hair what a broom is to the floor. And with that being written, ask yourself would you sweep your floor with a rake or would you use a broom? Ah ha, still bobbin’ yo head!

Well, that concludes my blog on combs rakes and picks; oh my! Be sure to take all this into consideration as you think about the investment spent on your tresses.