Holiday Party Hair Ideas...

Looking for something totally fabulous and unique to wear to one of your fabulous Holiday Parties this year??  Well look no further!!  Straight from Alexandre de Paris in Paris, France are 8 looks that are SURE to get you noticed this year!

First we have a few beautiful and classic looks...

A new take on the classic French Twist...

A stunning version of the simple Pony Tail...

Another variation of the Pony Tail...



The next few looks are a little less classic and a little more FAB!!

Fabulously Elegant

Notice the beaded detail piece underneath the hair

Tip:  Add a decorative hairpin to any style to bump of the glam factor!

Tip:  Add a fashion colored extension into any style to pump
up the drama and add a little flair!!

These looks are hot off the runways and are definitely a MUST have for this, 2010 Holiday Season!!

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Big, Sexy Hair

Want to know how the Victoria's Secret Angels get their fabulous, bouncy locks they're sporting on the runway this evening? Well here are a few tips that can help you achieve those beautiful locks!

First your going to need to prep your hair with the right products.  L'Oreal Professionnel Texture Expert is always my first choice when I go to style hair, use what you may but this is my recommendation :-)  

Next you will at least need a blow drier, perhaps a curling iron as well depending on your hair and how well it holds a curl.

The first step is to apply a thermal protecting creme (such as the Liss Ardent from L'Oreal) to your damp hair so as not to damage it with the hot tools.  Next your want to going to run a mousse throughout the hair to aid in holding the curl/wave you want to achieve.  L'Oreal's Mousse Volupte is a great choice as it is not too light, but its not too hard either.  The final product for your damp hair is a smoothing creme, so we get a nice smooth shiny finish to the locks.  Smooth Velours from L'Oreal is a great choice!

Blow dry approximately 80 to 85% of the moisture out of your hair, then clip up the hair in 4 large sections.  You will want to have a horseshoe shaped section at the top of the head, then take a horizontal parting all the way around the head about 2 1/2 inches below your first section.  Repeat until you reach the nape.

Separate the nape section into 2 subsections, remove the remaining moisture and smooth the section using a round brush.  Once you have smoothed the subsection, twist it around using either your fingers or twirl it around with the brush and let it set.  This will give it a nice, loose curl when it cools. (note:  the smaller the round brush, the curlier the result).  Repeat this process on the second subsection.  Once you have the section dried, smoothed and twisted, spray with a workable hold hairspray, like the Infinium series from L'Oreal.

Release the next section up and separate into 4 subsections.  Repeat the process described above around the head.

Release next section...repeat.

Finally, release the top section.  Dry the fringe how ever you desire, and usually the top section will be divided into 2 final subsections which will be dried, smoothed, and twisted as the rest of the hair was. 

Once you have all the hair dried, give it a good once over with the hairspray, let it dry for a section then your good to go.  You'll have fabulous, Victoria's Secret Curls and you didn't do much more than a fancy blow dry!!

If your hair doesn't hold curl well, you may have to take a few large sections and curl them with a curling iron to achieve the same look.

Now hit the streets and let the world be your runway!!!

Love yourself

My job is more than delivering a fantastic haircut, color, or style.  My job is to make people feel good about themselves!  While I definitely believe that true beauty is on the inside, I also believe that how a person looks on the outside is often a reflection of how they feel on the inside.  So take a minute, and think about how you  present yourself to the world everyday...now think about how your feeling on the inside...does it parallel?  My guess is that yes, it does!

I can only speak from my own experience, but I know when I'm having a bad day I dont feel like fixing my hair or choosing a snazzy outfit to wear, I just feel blah.  One of the smartest people I have ever know, and a person I have the opportunity to work with every week, told me once that when your having a bad day you just need to 'get up, get dressed, and get out the door!'  So thats what I do!!  And you know what, once I get all fancified, I feel a lot better!

Now I'm not suggesting that you have to go out and spend thousands of dollars on a new wardrobe, nor do you have to go to the salon every day to get your hair done....work with what you already have!  Go to your closet and pick out some of your favorite items and wear those.  Wake up a few minutes early, so you have enough time to blow your hair out nicely.  Have PRIDE in the way  you look and the way you carry yourself!

Wake up every morning, and be proud of you and who you are!  LOVE the way you look, and let the whole world know about it!  And I promise, when you adopt this little bit of life info, you will start to feel better about yourself and love yourself even more than you do now!

Fringe Fringe Fringe

Lets talk fringe!!  Although there are definitely season trends in fringe (as is true with all other facets of hair also), you dont want to pick a fringe just because its trendy.  The trendiest fringe of the season might look terrible with your face shape.  So if your wanting to get crazy and try a new fringe, go with a look that will compliment your faceshape.  Not sure whats going to look best on you...go see your hairdresser, afterall they are trained professionals and will know what will work great for you.  If they dont...might be time to try someone new...just sayin!

So those of you with an oval face, well, basically you can pull just about anything off.  But there are 2 looks that are going to be fantastic for you.  The first is a longer, side swept bang with check length face framing layers.  Secondly, if you think you can pull it off, you could do a super short "mullet bang".

This is the longer fringe, with cheek length face framing...

And this would be the 'Mullet Bang'

If you have a longer shaped face, you will want to search for a hairstyle, and an accompanying fringe that will add some width to your face shape.  Do not opt for really long, or really short looks as these are really going to make your face appear longer.  Instead, opt for a chin lenght cut that is going to add width to your face.  Or if you want your style to be a little longer that a bob, make sure you have plenty of layers between your chin and cheekbone to help add width to the shape.  Also, choosing the right fringe can help to cover a really tall forehead. 

See how a shorter, chin length, bob gives her a less long look...

For those people with round shaped faces, you will want to choose a shape that is going to make your face look smaller.  Avoid heavy, straight across fringe as these will squash the face shape.  Avoid a center part, as it is going to make your face look way too wide.  An A-line bob is a great style for those of you with a round face shape.  A soft, piecey fringe is a nice way to give a little visual interest in the front, but not be too heavy on your face.

  For those with a heart shaped face, your going to want to choose a style that adds width around your chin area, and stays more sleek up top.  Going for a longer style, with some mid-length layers and/or some fun face framing starting right below the cheek bones will be a great selection.   You will want to avoid a super heavy fringe, but you can play around a little bit more than someone with say, a round face.

These are just some general guidelines, and should be noted that most people have a combination face.  So its up to you, and your stylist, to decide which face shape you have where and what fringe, an overall look, is going to compliment your individual face shape best.  

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Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Should you be on trial for murder...?

Murdering your hair that is!!!  Are you a habitual flat ironer?  If so you could be killing your hair!!  Flat irons tend to be a little bit like heroine, when you first start using them they give you a fabulously smooth and straight mane, but as time goes on you have to up the heat setting and go over each section of hair more and more times to get the same result.  Then before you know it, your hair is a frizzy mess without tons of heat and your probably noticing some major split ends or even breakage at this point!

So you say to me, but EC, it is so hard for me to round brush my own hair, its just too hard.  I give you, those with longer hair definitely face a challenge when blow drying their hair, but if you care about the health of your hair at all...you'll be up to the challenge!  One option to help with styling is a keratin blowout treatment.  Most salons these days are offering them, and while they may be a bit pricey they last anywhere from 3 to 6 months.  After receiving one of these treatments, your hair will become MUCH easier to blow out straight, less frizzy and the treatment even gives your hair some extra shine!  I recomment the Global Keratin 'Juvexin' treatment, this is what we use in my salon and I have had nothing but rave reviews from all my clients who have received the treatment.  There are 3 formulations, so the product can be custom tailored to your hair type and the desired result.  Check out the website for more information (www.globalkeratin.com), or call Belleza at 865.558.8424 to set up a consultation with me and learn about the benefits first hand!

So...to those of you who are still convinced that you must use your flat iron on a regular basis...here's what I'll tell you...you MUST MUST MUST use a heat protectant product every time you style your hair!  This is a non negotiable for the health of your hair!  My favorite is the HotStyle Ironing Creme from the ARTec Texture line...its a reasonably priced product and works great!!  Even if you aren't going to use a flat iron, it works as a wonderful smoothing creme for your blow dry!  Plan on using a curling iron?  This product is going to be great for that also, just protecting it from unnecessary heat damage.

So please, do your hair a favor...don't kill it!  Protect it and take care of it!!

Discounts!!

Hey everybody...needing anything beauty related?  http://www.wahanda.com is offering 30% off all purchases Black-Friday through Cyber-Monday.  So go check out their site.  When checking out, enter promo code GIFT30   Happy Holidays and enjoy :-)

American Music Awards

The American Music Awards were held last night, and what a spectacular show it was!  I don't know about you, but in addition to the awards and all the fantabulous performances, I love awards shows to see all the gowns, shoes and hairstyles.  I noticed a few trends last night and I'm pretty sure I might have even started one of them...more on that later...  :-)

The first thing I noticed was that almost every single lady had her hair down.  There were almost zero upstyles going on.  There was lots of very looooong, flowy, curly hair.  Now I'm here to tell you that most of the ladies didn't just grow their hair that long over night...no siree!  Extensions are a HUGE trend these days, offering the versatility of long hair without the years of growing it out.  There are quite a few different brands and types of extensions, although it seems that Great Links is one of the most popular right now.  Google it for more!

In addition to having the hair down curls were HUGE last night!!  From Christina Aguilera and Hillary Scott's (of Lady Antebellum) long, curly tresses, Rihanna's mid length do, to Pink and David Bryan's (keyboardist for Bon Jovi) tighter and shorter curls, everywhere you looked it was curl city!!  Now I dont want to take all the credit, but ever since I've had this curly mop it seems that everyone is jumping on the band wagon...just sayin!

One person who usually rocks the curls, but was rockin a very long and sleek ponytail last night was Taylor Swift.  Much to my delight, she traded in her famous curly look for a mid-back length ponytail with a heavy fringe and some face framing.  This was SUCH a great look on her and I hope she keeps experimenting with new styles.  As great as curls are, you have to switch it up every once in a while!

For the guys there were the traditional, short looks of Usher and Michael Buble, to the longer styles of Justin Beiber, Bon Jobi and the members of Muse.

Another trend I noticed was a lot of solid, or tone on tone hair color happening.  There weren't a lot of looks with major contrasting colors in them.  They were really nice warm, solid blondes, or a rich solid chocolate brown.  Ask your stylist for an all over base color, and if you want some of the tone on tone dimension, make sure your stylist is trained in balayage and request this technique!

The big trend with everyone's ensemble seemed to be embellishments.  For Christina Aguilera's 'Burlesque' performance, she wore a fully rhinestoned boustier.  When Train took the stage to perform, Pat Monahan had on a pair of rhinestone denim that looked great with his simpler, black button up shirt.  And if they didn't go for a full rhinestone piece there were smaller embellishments all over.  Justin Bieber's leather, tuxedo jacket had some charms hanging off the pocket on the lapel, and Usher chose to wear his bling around his neck in the fashion of a rhinestoned chain necklace.

All in all it was a night to see and be seen.  Congrats to Justin Bieber for his big win last night, and a congrats goes out too all the other winners as well!!  Until next year...

Curly Sue

Now that I have curly hair, I can truly and competently talk about products specifically designed for curly hair.  Out of all the lines I have used, nothing compares to the product offerings from Ouidad.  A little about Miss Ouidad...

Ouidad, the "Queen of Curl", is an internationally recognized stylist, salon owner, mother, author and global educator. In 1984, as the pioneer of the curly hair industry, she opened the first salon in the country to cater exclusively to curly hair. Since then her trademarked cutting and styling techniques and specialized line of award winning products, have instilled confidence in curly and wavy haired people everywhere. Sought out by editors and peers for her extensive knowledge, Ouidad's progressive teaching style, informative website, and dedication to curl education all further her goal to empower every stylist with the knowledge of how to work with curls.


My favorite product I have used thus far from the Ouidad offerings is the Climate Control - Heat & Humidity Gel.  It claims to eliminate frizz in all climates.  And as far as I can tell, after using this product most days for almost 3 weeks now, I am sold!  I run a dime sized amount all throughout my curls, position them how I want and let it dry.  When the product dries, it has a fantastic hold for the curls but it is not a crunchy hold.  It will give somewhat of a wet look, but if you do not want that look, you can just 'pat your curls' and it goes back to matte.  Even at the end of the day, when I get home from work and I run my hands through my curls, they still keep their shape quite well and do not frizz up.  

If your interested in learning about the full line of products available from Ouidad, and even some tips on styling and caring for curly hair, just visit their website at http://www.ouidad.com.

Mondial Coiffure Beaute Paris 2010

13 of Belleza's finest stylists loaded up on a jet plane and trekked over to the fabulous city of Paris, France. Our mission...become better stylists!  We toured all over the city, went to classes, and saw shows.  Today's edition is a recap of the MCB Hairshow!  After a slightly lengthy metro ride, we arrived at the Paris Expo Center, along with about 24 billion other people from our industry.  After we arrived we all split up, it was so crowded and there was so much to see, we couldn't all possibly stay together.  I was most excited about all the shows.  Julie, Kevin and I ran around all day listening for the loudest music, knowing that wherever the music was...we would find a good show :-)  Our first stop was at the Jean Claude Aubry International stage for a cutting demonstration.  It was a high energy demo complete with backup dancers and models walking the catwalk while he slung hair around!

The next stage we stopped by was the L'Oreal stage.  They were doing a fantastic cutting demo and each of the 4 stylists on stage worked a different part of each models haircut!  They rotated around the stage until the look was complete.

After the L'Oreal Show we walked over to the P&G Stage where Wella was launching their 2011 Color Collection.  This was a FANTASTIC show and we even got to be on the front row!!

This was one of the most amazing parts of the trip, to see all this talent in one place and so upclose, one couldn't ask for a more inspiring day!  After the shows, we did do a little bit of shopping at all the tons of vendors...why, I even got myself a gold cutting comb!  Its quite the flashy tool, and gets quite a bit of attention in the salon.  Needless to say, I'm loving it!

Is your hair thirsty?

Ever complain that your hair feels dry?  Maybe you can't ever get it smooth due to frizz, or it straight up looks dry?  Well its probably because your hair is thirsty!!  Just about everyone's hair could use an extra dose of moisture.  With all the heat styling, chemical services, and even the sun and fun can cause hair to be dry and/or damaged.  With the winter season upon us, and the dry air that comes with it, now is the perfect time to get your hair back into great shape!!  Your best bet is going to be an in-salon conditioning treatment.  There are many different options to fit any time schedule and budget.  One of my favorites is the L'Oreal Powerdose treatment.  It is a condition treatment that only takes a couple minutes and is applied at the shampoo bowl.  It gives you a great dose of moisture and can even be custom tailored to your hair type and need.  Another great idea, once you get your in salon treatment, is to pick up a great conditioning mask that you can apply yourself at home.  Once a week is a pretty good interval for this type of treatment.  If your not convinced that your hair is dry enough for a conditioning treatment, you might opt for a more conditioning shampoo and conditioner.  The L'Oreal Absolut Repair is a great line for daily use and will give your hair a little extra dose of moisture and shine.  If your not sure what type of treatment your hair is in need of, you can always schedule a consultation with your stylist and they can point you in the right direction.  Have a great evening, and here's to healthy hair :-)

Holiday Hair

With all the Holiday parties coming up...do you know how you will be wearing your hair?  The hairstyle can make, or break your entire look.  So when choosing a look, do not forget the person you go to every 4 to 6 weeks for some professional advice.  Your hairstylist knows your hair well, and can tell you what look will work best with your hair texture, face shape, and even choose a style that will compliment your outfit!  So this Holiday season, trust your hair to the experts (aka Me!) and have your hair looking like you just walked off the Red Carpet!!

Welcome

Welcome to my world of hair!  I am passionate stylist, artist, and educator and look forward to sharing my views from the inside of the fashion industry!  I'm new to the whole blogging thing, but check back often for updates.  Enjoy!!