When a guest comes in to the salon they are coming in for more than just cut or color. They are coming to us for help, sometimes with more than just the hair problems haha but none the less help. More often than not I hear the same questions from my guests so I thought I would share some of my responses with you.
I always get asked what my favorite irons and blow dryer are and it always goes to Paul Mitchell.
I love my Paul Mitchell tools. From brushes to blow driers they are my go too!
So todays topic is dedicated to problems clients have when using hot tools.
My hair is breaking off but I Don’t blow dry it. I just flat iron it on 400 and go slow but it wont get smooth. . 😱.
One you are not cooking a pizza so turn that temp down!! I find that a lot of people assume the hotter the heat the better the iron works. That isn't the case. Yes of course my iron goes up to 450 but have I ever used that temp? Nope! Just because the setting is there doesn’t mean it's needed to make it work. I mean my car can go to 140mph but doesn’t mean I've tried it. That would be disastrous!!!
So my advice to you is.
*how old is your iron?
As the iron gets older the plates don’t close together and keeps it from smoothing.
*Start your temp lower and up it slowly but honestly you shouldn’t need to go higher than 360. Of course there are exceptions. If you have course kinky hair you may need to be at a higher setting. However don’t start at 400 and work down. Start at 360 and go up. Again you shouldn’t need to be at 425 or above.
*Take thinner sections
If your section is thicker than the width of the plates, you are going to burn to outside layers of your hair and the inside wont even get touched.
* Keep the iron moving.
You never want to place the iron on your hair and just leave it or go slow. You want to comb and slide the iron down the hair in quick motions.
***DO NOT USE IT ON DAMP HAIR***
Same rules for temperature apply when using a curling iron. I see so many ends fried because they close the iron on the ends and roll up and wait forever before releasing the hair. The key to getting a perfect curl is to take a section of hair the same size of the barrel. Start in the middle of the strand of hair, release the clamp and wrap the hair around the barrel. Slightly loosen the tension on the clamp and slide the hair down to bring the ends in and wrap the hair. See video below for step by step.
To get the beach waves wrap the strand of hair around the clamped barrel. To change the type of curl you can twist the hair then wrap around the barrel. See videos to the right.
I like to let the curls cool before I run a small amount of Davines OI oil through the hair to separate and add shine.
On finer hair I will spray Davines Shimmer Spray. Its light and will separate and add shine but isn't heavy.
When it comes to blow drying I can't think of one person who enjoys blow drying their own hair." I can't do it like you" or" How do you get the lift", "I wish I could take you home and have you do my hair everyday". Of course its easier for hairstylist to do it because we can move around your whole head and don’t have to bend in crazy angles. Plus most people don’t use the attachments that come with your dryer. Those are key in the perfect blow dry. When buying blow dryer a few things to look for are weight, temperature and nozzle.
*Light weight is always best. You will get very tired arms and give up drying if its to heavy.
*Temperature should be at least 1600 watts anything hotter isn't really needed. You'll burn your hair and scalp. Look to make sure it has a hot and warm and a cool shot. The cool shot is to shut down the cuticle, setting the hair, and add shine.
* Look for a dryer with the long nozzle and comes with the concentration attachment. Most clients don’t like using this because it takes some getting used to but trust me it changes the outcome!
The attachment helps direct the air flow so the hair isn't blowing all over the place. Directing the air to blow down the hair shaft closing the cuticle and making the hair smoother.
Blow dry your hair about 80% before picking up a brush.
You want to start at the base of your hair. I always tell my clients its like building a house. Foundation is everything! To create as much volume and movement you want to dry your hair in every direction. If you over direct the hair you will have lift at the base when you bring it back. If you start in the direction you want to finish. It has no where to go but flat.
Section your hair. Yes just like we do when we dry your hair. Clipping hair out of the way makes it so much easier to control what is going on.
Ok so now that you have some tips go try them. Feel free to send me your holiday hair pics!!
We will be having an event at Salon 151 in January for these exact issues. Be sure to look out for the sign ups and come join us. I would love to help you if you still struggle.
Xoxo
Tracy