Inside Track on Hottest Trends

My monthly hair ‘zines show up from Europe and I get all inspired, they take hair so much more seriously over there. They monthly announce new collections and style predictions, almost always using American Celebrities style to draw their hypothesis from. Not a fan of the ‘celebrity’ thing, but am sweet on the fact that they include us in on their crystal gazing.

For Spring ( is it spring where you live?) they have picked 5-6 looks – I always like about 1/2 of them – remember this is Europe and it is a strictly hair magazine…LA doesn’t count as we don’t have seasons ( which personally I abhor).

First off they have chosen

                      FUTURISM

Hair with a sci-fi edge

                         w/ slicked back chic

Futurism was everywhere on the runway, it shows off facial features quite well, and in my opinion it stems from the world wide appeal of the movie AVATAR. Style in clothing and hair always takes its lead from whatever is popular in other art forms. Many times its movies….the whole Flat screen TV- BLUE RAY movies, 3-D experience is bombarding our civilization so Futurism was not at all a surprise.

I would use the combo of SUDZZ Blowout and Sebastian’s Shaper for this tricky look. By combining the 2 then emulsifying by rubbing the 2 together super quickly, you will want to apply to damp hair, then blow dry carefully for ‘structured support’ and hold that is touchable and humidity resistant.

PLAYTIME

Bows ruled the runway as designers went big on kooky cool w/ bright colors

Its funny I was talking to my youngest daughter who has so much style ….yet - doesn’t even realize it…asked her what I should carry in the store for hair accessories, I want to add a whole new category of products (hair accessories oh and scents too are on their way - my own) Before Xmas she told me “bows” – anything with bows….How she knew BEFORE the runway shows – is beyond me – but she does that a lot.  Personally these king size bright color bows are for people like Katy Perry, not your every day person . . . but you can tone it down wear smaller/ more subtle bows – in not such a bright-a_s color !  Bows were seen all over the Marc Jacobs show, so I guess its not just for K. Perry.

Messy - dressy

          Natural, soft texture and

brimming with a halo       of flyaways,

no-effort hair has never look so glamorous

This girl could be the 3rd triplet of the Olsen twins…this is the “just rolled out of bed” hair but it looks hotter than hot, and everyone has wanted this look for about the last 10 years… at least they have here in Southern California…I would say this is and has been the number 1 look by my clients for about a decade – although I never realized that until – just now. You notice I don’t carry a lot of styling products, but I really should start…. so many of my clients want /wanted this look – this or slick straight. . . . and besides serums – GLeam and a few light light hair sprays and root lift products I guess I don’t carry enough. See this whole ‘writing thing’ is as therapeutic for me as it is for you! ha ha.

Back to the subject – This look has a really nonchalant finish, complete with wispy, translucent ends, and a hint of static and shine. Its fashion forward enough not to look grungy though, its hair that’s been styled to look carefree and effortless – messy yet dressy at the same time. Corkscrew  a few random pieces, apply a texturizer + a serum and do the ‘ole “scrunch” with a diffuser on the end of your dryer..

2 …of my cocktails

                 great for this look

Combine the desired amount of SUDZZ  Zephyr and SUDZZ Lemonade Dreamz in palms and emulsify by rubbing together – apply to damp hair and distribute evenly. Volumize with a weightless touch. Perfect for fine hair {increases hold a tad}

Combining SUDZZ Aquafix (yes, I know its a conditioner – but used as a styling product its a completely different animal)  with SUDZZ  Zenyth  and emulsify, apply to damp hair and distribute evenly.  Ideal for those clients with medium to thick that want softness and control. Excellent for controlling “expandable” hair that becomes unruly during day time.

the MIGHTY-

                BOUFF

Think grown-up and groomed Amy

                     plus a little chic-cred

Bouffant is the word and we all know where it started. Yep, Amy Winehouse can’t stand up, but oh well, long live her hair – I guess is the message by their choice of this.  I mean I loved her hair at the beginning as Hair Stylists you are trained to adore ‘change’ you had to or every person that has left your chair would look like a Stepford wife.

Hair has still got guts, texture and ultra volume, but it looks less dull and haphazard don’t you think? Its an in-expensive looking version of Emmy Award hair. You need 3 tools for this look:

1. Tail comb or teasing brush
2. bobby pins
3. Shaper Hair Spray ( for lift AND hold)

I feel Anna Paquin really got it right:

For the look  - -  first a little GLEAM ( have you seen what it does for split & dry ends, its crazy successful)lightly blow-dry – putting velcro rollers in the last 30 minutes all on the top of the crown – hit with hair dryer, if speed is needed, teasing brush/comb the crown - - finish off with either Airplay or Shaper and I would even use a little Lemonade …to finish off give yourself a long sweeping side fringe. WEELLLLLLLLLAAAA!

My feel from the magazine is that crazy colors are coming back, I adore them…I think they should be a staple of hair color and always be used if not in small ways….some times. They are TRUE semi permanents – NO DEVELOPER, so no damage to the hair. I was happy to see quite a few of the new Clairol line of Semi Permanents Killer Strands began carrying ordered this past week. They are such an amazing answer, if you have damaged-fried hair and just have to do something with the color / or simply if you refuse to use developer on your hair….They do not lighten hair at ALL. Which is a true Semi Permanent and I’m sure you can now see why they had fallen out of favor, 80 % of all color is lightening clients present color in the 21st Century. I’m in process of trying to get a swatch book for you on the Clairol BEAUTIFUL COLLECTION so hold tight.

Here are a couple of the shots that were so inspiring to me

Semi Permanents are free of Peroxide and ammonia or the Color Touch Line is a also a super safe and gentle color option as well.  You know if hair color is applied correctly  - - it does not damage the hair at all  - -  I now have about 1200 online crib colorists with happy healthy hair that is colored. All done by some time and effort put in in reading the blog under categories

Remember Highlights are History . . .  I realize not everyone can pull off purple hair . . . you have to admit – this is subtle yet smashing . . . the color was applied UNDER NEATH, we call in a PEEK-A-BOO technique….works for “corporate-types that must pull off a ‘business-appearance’ Monday thru Friday : then on week-ends do a complete 180 degree transformation  - -

you would be shocked @ how many of these people – are in our world….a helluva lot

Spring Forward

Killer Chemist

10,000 Heads Step 1 – Use Sulfate-Free Shampoo Exclusively

  "I’m not only the president of the company, I’m also a client"

Wasn’t that Bosley’s commercial years back??…or something to that effect ? 

Well, as lame brain as that line is, you can’t fight the fact that BOSLEY is the first company to treat hair loss and like Wella when you have been in the business for over 50 years, you are bound to be great at it.

These people have done their homework…these shampoos  have great ingredients and are reasonably priced.  Which is why I have chosen to carry this line of hair loss/ thinning Shampoos. I still believe that the conditioners that come with this shampoo (or any shampoo for that matter) are like pouring a bottle of body lotion on your hair - right after you have washed it.   I mean..??? Why do that? the formula for a hair conditioner is the EXACT same formula as a body lotion or body cream (in the cosmetic chemistry world the same 2 products are called an Emulsion - an emulsion is the mixture of oil & water – or butters & water……. I promise you)    The day I realized that, I tell you I almost cried. I could not believe it, I still can’t believe it. What a major ‘dupe by a whole lot of large manufacturers on us the unsuspecting public – and even unsuspecting hair stylists. I never knew that – my mentor doesn’t know it  even Annie Humphries (QUEEN OF COLOR) doesn’t know it.

And Why?

The 2 worlds never collide really.

As a hair stylist you concerned mainly about how the clients hair looks on the “outside”. In school that is all you learn. How to change color, blow dry, cut, style . . . all the “outside” traits. No one ever taught us how a shampoo is made, how a conditioner is ‘made’….how a styling product is ‘made’. Which is why when I see one more hair stylist hawk their new line of hair care products, I get furious. . . I KNOW THEY DON’T HAVE A CLUE HOW THEY ARE MADE – or WHAT TO DO TO MAKE THEM A GOOD PRODUCT.  That is the Cosmetic Chemists job.

So then you go to the cosmetic chemist, who sits in a lab of a large corporation and comes up with formula’s for shampoo’s, conditioners, all day long. They never see people. They never touch hair. They have absolutely NO IDEA how to blow dry hair, they don’t know volume from ‘flat’ because they have never styled hair, cut hair, or even yet . . . never have colored one head of hair. They do not TOUCH HAIR, how in the world can you expect them to make a good shampoo if they have no idea how hair itself works? ? ?  Which is why we have sooooo many lousy products out there. Those 2 worlds are completely different and they both aren’t too fond of the other.

The Chemists think the Hair Stylists are dumb beauty school dropout types………..and the Hair Stylists think the Chemists are just a bunch of lab rat geeks without a clue as to the beauty and art of hair. Both have valid points… BUT, what about a decent shampoo? How in the Hell is that achieved?

I’m hoping that now with  new technology and applications like the one you are reading right at this very minute… {Killerstrands Blog } it will open their eyes and they begin listening to the people  - - - “ YOU ”  ! If you all support my Blog and my Store, that shows the big corporate yahoo’s that you are not going to just buy the crap they throw in front of your nose…not anymore. You want good ingredients that cater to keeping our hair on our heads — not just cheap ones so they rake in astronomical profits. Because that is what is happening now. Sulfate’s probably cost these large manufacturers pennies and I’m talking 2 or 3 pennies not even 9 or 10…then 60-70% of a shampoo’s formula is water . . so I’m sure you can see my point.  These shampoo’s I carry have used better ingredients – MUCH BETTER ingredients, so that their profits aren’t nearly as big I promise you. Which of course is not the point to any of us. The point is you should pay for what you get, and they should stop reaping such large profits off of junk products. Because of our uneducated state – we never knew – independently we all thought, “it was just us”. I’m here to tell you  its not us……………..its THEM!

What happened here at Killer Strands and why this world has been opened up to you “the public”  - - is because I “was” a Hair stylist – trained by the best in the world at the best School in the world. Who became ill, and could no longer go back to standing in a Salon for hours on my bad leg. So instead of just giving up I decided to begin studying Cosmetic Chemistry – so I, a hair stylist – totally 100% innocently cracked into the world of the cosmetic chemist and now understand how to make these treasured products. I’ve made my own entire line … just never had the $$ to begin from the ground up on production. So I’ve given it a go one product at a time.

But, the magic I see here is that I wonder if there is any other person – skilled in both arts. Cosmetic Chemistry & Hair Styling – that is who these big companies need to hire and/or produce. So they have people that understand BOTH mediums. But for now………..you have me. I hope my information and my message is understood.

I believe in using a Sulfate-free shampoo with wonderful ingredients & SOMA Protein Leave-in Spray (de-tangles & smooths ) and this line of Bosley shampoos fits the bill nicely. I honestly love every ingredient in this line of shampoos after reviewing the ingredients the shampoos for non-color treated shampoo are actually great for color-treated, I don’t see one objectionable ingredient in any of the shampoos…not one! So I would not worry about any of them for anyone’s hair.

Many people are under the misconception the only thing the Trinity, called Killer Strands, cares about is ‘hair color’…when nothing could be further from the truth.
*The number 1 subject on which all else is based in all of my posts is achieving HEALTHY HAIR - first and foremost*

Improperly applied hair color is the number 1 reason for unhealthy hair, unfortunately. So that is why the subject comes up as much as it does, besides all the new and current Crib Colorists that have spawned up across the country due to Killer Strands teachings.

Now this Bosley line is of course Sulfate-free but it uses the surfactants that I have found the most success with, its a more expensive ingredient…which is the only reason I can assume not very many companies use it. It also contains many herbal extracts that I like for a healthy scalp which encourages a longer hair cycle, a healthier hair cycle - Sage extract & Pentapeptides, Rice Amino Acids, Panthenol, Kelp Extract and Vegetable Protein.
Hair can never have too much protein. Ever.

Here’s what the company says about its product:

Bosley Defense Nourishing Shampoo for Normal to Fine / Non Color-Treated Hair is a Gentle, sulfate free cleanser that helps to create a healthy environment for hair and scalp. Cleanses and removes toxins such as DHT from the hair and scalp skin, a primary cause of hair thinning and hair loss.

Use: Apply to wet hair, massage gently, *leave two minutes* and rinse.

*LifeXtend Complex:*
* Hydrates and nourishes while strengthening and fortifying the follicles and hair shaft for thicker, fuller looking hair
* Inhibits toxins such as DHT, a primary cause of hair thinning and hair loss
* Sulfate free, Gentle safer cleansing without potentially harmful ingredients
* Sage Leaf Extract helps stimulate healthy hair growth

Eventually we will have all 6 shampoos but are starting with 4 to see how well they do. But, you know hair thinning and loss should be treated the exact same way cancer is.. PREVENTION WORKS THE BEST>. In other words, if you have any signs at all, I would print out that 10,000HEADS List and get cracking on it. The first step that needs to be changed is Step number 1 – NO SULFATES in your shampoo, and here is the perfect shampoo. If you have any inclination at all that your hair is thinning the idea is to prevent that from advancing any further by running the 14 steps as close to as you possibly can.

Which does not mean trying to do all 14 steps at once. Remember, no fanatics here. Take on 1 step at a time or 2 max. Work them into your way of life, slowly and with purpose.

I have thousands of successes, why don’t you try to be the next one ?

Killer Chemist

Battle of High Lift Blond Brands

I believe the last big new technology we’ve had in hair color was the product MAGMA, which is a one-step bleach and tone. Before that the next newest technology was the introduction of the high-lift blonde. Whoever coined the term “high-lift blonde” – should win an award… its brilliant.  I mean if you are going to either go to a Salon and ask for a “blond” or chose one to do to yourself, wouldn’t the “high-lift blond” be the one you wanted to use? As opposed to just the “blond”? I certainly would . . . I mean to use a “high-lift blond” as opposed to a “bleach”….well of course you are going to choose the “high-lift’’ I mean – who wouldn’t?  Just trying to make you all well aware of the “WORDING” used in this world of hair color and how misguiding it can be and to watch out for it. There are so many other factors to consider before choosing a process just for the “name”….PLEASE PLEASE do your homework, before asking from a Colorist, or performing on yourself. The technique called, “Bleach & Tone” versus the technique “High-lift Blond” are the 2 most popular blonding techniques and each of them are wonderful applications. Just depends the hair you are performing them on and the result you are seeking.

Many of you probably think blond is blond. Well, as in any art - - - there are hundreds of degrees of blonding…. from the darkest

level 7 Blond 

to a

Level 8 Blond

to a

Level 9 Blond

  to a

Level 10 Blond

to a

Level 11 Blond

or to the famous Marilyn Monroe

Level 12 Platinum Blond

Look at the range in just those 5 levels of blondes. They are completely different. Its always been my feeling that the Level System is just way TO SMALL. I mean for 50 years it was level 1 through 10, then about 18 years ago they added level 11 & 12 when the HIGHLIFT Tints were introduced to the world of Hair Color. To me I see such a vast amount difference from one level to another that I feel, at the bare minimum - - - the System should have 20 Levels not 12…or 24 would be even better.  That way there wouldn’t be such a radical difference between 2 levels. I mean Level 1-2-3 are so close you need a magnifying glass and a headlight to distinguish them all from each other, they are so damn dark. But between level 6 and 7 it is a huge difference…..as well as between Level 7 and 8. When people ask me for  a level estimation I almost always use 2 numbers to distinguish which end of the Level I am talking( or thinking) about.  I will say  “ oh you are a 7-8 if its on the lighter end of a Level 7 or a 6-7 if its on the darker end of a 7 ! Which is why I feel we need a 20 Level System as opposed to a 12 level system.

Now with the recent experience with Renbow, I went on a mission to try to test all the high-lift blonds on the market. We used to do this annually ( every january) within the Salon, when I had multiple assistants…all my assistants were always students from Sassoon so they were schooled in the same strict standards I was . . . as goofy as some may think it to be . . . I saw many talented individuals come out of that school. This time I have been doing it, which is good for me to actually see for myself & that way I can write from first hand experience as well. I have been experimenting with processing times, on 2 different levels of virgin hair…. level 5-6 and on Level 7-8 with various brands of high-lifts . . going off of what other Colorists I know use and like. You know something else I discovered? There are a few lines that have a product exactly like WHITE Genie !! Wella has one that works EXCELLENT called Blonding Booster.

I applied Wella’s Color Perfect in Pearl Blond which is 12 CV without the Blonding Booster and was not impressed, but with just a 1/2 ounce of Blonding Booster, it was a gorgeous BRASS-FREE Level 10 Blond……….absolutely LOVED it. ZERO damage – hair was in excellent condition much better than with White Genie….Makes me mad that I didn’t do this a long time ago . . So that is a definite winner and being added to the Store and my list of “loves” !  I am actually very excited about the entire move and change…..as I found at least 6 new high-lifts that I am proud to introduce to you and that I will be using myself…. I always restricted myself to using 100A exclusively…which was a pain in the ass, because “getting” it was a frickin’ nightmare….NOW I have so many options….something a busy colorist needs.. The high-lift blond kit is the number 1 selling hair color BY FAR on Killer Strands - - -  of all the colors we carry, so that is why I have done this . . . I know this bores the brunettes . . . but have a heart for your fellow platinum-haired vixens!  Apparently we have a lot of blonds out there, and I just thought it was here in California that people liked to adorn those golden locks . . . but I guess not.

Now with every single one of my strand tests I processed them for a minimum of 75-90 minutes, and I use a plastic cap over them to keep warmth “in” as I do on my clients. I know my Stylists who use hair dryers but that is where the hair receives its most damage… if you use the body’s own warmth and perform the process in a warm room - -  the health of the hair stays  INTACT.

The other 2 brands so far that I want to recommend are Schwarzkopf  who’s 12.0 N which is a neutral . .  and its /1 series is Lavender based Ash I was just thrilled to find out as well. Now Schwarzkopf was a brand we used way back at Sassoon but it was bought out by an American company so I lost interest in it  - - quite a while ago. But, remembering back, yes, we all liked the high-lifts made by them a way back when……….. Something interesting to you  . . .  Schwarzkopf is the company that developed VANISH, a long long LOOOOOOOONG time ago when it was called MODULAT. So I was glued to this company via Modulat for years.. Then the owner sold Modulat off  - the patent and the whole shebang for millions… But anyway…. what I have discovered is Schwatrzkopf’s 12.1 ASH is the single best HIGH-Lift on its own. No booster.  So the replacement for Renbow’s 100A {our number 1 selling color ( by a LOT= btw) }  is Schwarzkopf’s 12.1. Now they also make a booster . . . which they call a Blonding “Extract” . . .  which can be added. I haven’t even tried it yet, as I didn’t see a need to the 12.1 A …..maybe a tad with 12.0 N…and the 12.4 B (Beige)  . . .  they were all gorgeous without a booster. But for those of you with a need for more lift, I will definitely carry the Blonding EXTRACT – Schwatrzkopf.

Then the 3rd high lift that was yummy was MATRIX’s ( which surprised me)  but then I remembered that all the girls that worked in the old Salon with me used this one particular High-lift

by Matrix called UL-PA .  Ultra Lift Pearl Ash.  . . . and it was sold out at both of the supply houses I tried to get it at. . . which now shows me that an awful lot of Colorists must use it. I did not notice a booster with Matrix, but again - -  the color was so perfect I couldn’t think of why I  would need one. . . . but will carry that as well. So watch for that in the near future. I truly cannot see why any of the boosters can’t be interchanged with any brand. I have not tested that theory, but will. . . .coming up. You know science formulas’ and theories that are used with “hair color are plain and simple and just not that complicated so there is pretty much no reason it shouldn’t work. 

I re-tested the 100A by Renbow in this same review of the high-lifts. . . because I had 2 separate people tell me they had weird lavender-brown deposits….using it. What I immediately thought of , was “of course” . . . Paul Mitchell should be just about at the sabotage point…as Renbow has just recently completely been shut down here in the USA. It now is going to be made in Europe, and then imported in the USA, under a different name ( by law). NAME…but[ that won’t be for a while. I didn’t want to leave many of you high and dry . . . and now I am very VERY confidant I won’t have to. I mean I still  have 8 other brands of high-lifts  to test. . . and would love to offer an array of high-lifts blonds to all you Crib Colorists to choose from so please watch for this to come to fruition.

In addition to high-lifts and lighteners, with losing the Renbow toners ( which I have never found anything even remotely close) I plan to put together a base line of opaque toners course and then demonstrate to you how to change the colors of the toners in order to reach soft pastels. It really is not that hard.  Just comes with lots and lots of experience….which luckily YOU don’t need. . . because I have it - - - for you!

Matrix brought back its line of 4 opaque toners for blond’s I used to use and love so that is a great start.. I will also demonstrate the fairly simple technique of making an apricot-rose toner ‘from’ these toners as a base provided there is some interest for them.  Soft Silver, Soft Raspberry, Ice Blue – All coming up in the future days and weeks of the NEW HIGHLIFT  series.

Killer Chemist

Education of How Hair Loss Hits Women

The most common cause of hair loss in women is “androgenetic alopecia” which basically means FPHL or Female Pattern Hair Loss, the women’s version of: aging/hormones/genetics affecting hair loss. It has been fairly well established that hair loss issues between the sexes is completely different. Not only does male pattern baldness ‘reveal’ differently, scientists believe the solutions are also down a different path than women’s. The men already have a quick-fix pill that works well (Propecia), while the women still only have Minoxidil (Rogaine) as the only FDA approved drug to combat loss.

We don’t even include minoxidil in the 10,000HEADS Protocol, although clients are more than welcome to use it. Our work & research at killer strands is focused mainly on the issue of Women’s hair loss as is this blog, we do see & help men at the clinic, but our focus has been forced to narrow lately.

Killer strands would like to introduce to you a new way of understanding the female hair loss plaguing America today. By recent estimates 40 million women are suffering from one form or another of hair loss and the numbers continue to rise. In order for women to understand why the 14 steps of this program work, we have found it helps to educate and explain the “HAIR GROWTH CYCLE in a little different method, one that is clear – simple – and concise . When we take the time to explain the whole process at the clinic you can see the light bulb’s going on over heads .
Every person is born with every single hair follicle they will have for lifetime, on the body, at birth. As a tiny baby you are born with 5 million hair follicles throughout your entire body , with 1 million on the head and 100,000 on the scalp. There are 2 types of hairs within all those, vellus and terminal…vellus are the short fuzzy, soft ones that do not grow, while the “terminal” hairs are just that, terminal. Think about that, as that is what will help you understand the reason behind alopecia, the hairs on your scalp have a life-span…they sprout ,grow, shed – rest, then begin the process all over again.

Now there are technical names for all of these stages which you can see on the chart, but what is important here, is that each and every single hair on your head sprouts, grows & sheds, & rests…shedding is a mandatory part of new hair growth. A hair remains in its GROWTH phase for approx. 4 years (fluctuates by person) – at the end of the growth phase it is shed {hair fall}; three months later another grows in its place. When the hair is shed there is the period of awaiting cell regeneration … which begins another new hair… and ‘that’ is where the diminishing numbers come from and  hair loss begins.

As we age the hair that once grew for 4 years – the next time it may only grow for 3 1/2 years, the next time for 3 years and so on. Therefore, if you had 50,000 hairs growing for 4 years when you were 20 years old and then each 4-5 years the amount went down another 2-3,000…you can see fairly well how thinning happens and that when it does happen it has been happening for months that you were not even aware of.

The result: an even…all- over or “DIFFUSE” pattern of hair loss which explains WPHL or women’s pattern hair loss .

I believe that the hair SHIFT term that we coined is the result of 10 years accumulation of changes within the body (for one reason or another)resulting in a  noticeable change in a woman’s hair.

Every single hair on your head sheds, that is the completely normal process within the normal growth cycle of each and every hair. In order for a new hair to grow in the old one has to shed, so the “cycle” can continue along its merry way! Many people panic about hair shedding, 95% of the time it is within the normal range, it has just been combined with a person’s aging & hormones, so it seems more severe, which is understandable.

Compare the hair to the eyes to make it easier to understand. The eyesight of a 20 year old is at its peak, with many having 20/20 vision, move forward 20 years – and reading a menu all of a sudden becomes difficult & blurry, people panic 95% of the time its just age. Same thing with your hair, it was at its peak when you are about 20, from there it begins its retreat until one day the combination of your aging and some abnormal shedding just seems to hit you around about the same week When you are about 30, you will notice your first or second hairSHIFT. Many women are having babies around this age, and having a baby can do both make your hair thicker or make it thinner….there is just not one way it will go. If you were to implement the entire 10,000heads program, religiously you have a very good chance the hairSHIFT you have will be a ‘good” one. That is one fact we are absolutely sure of.

Each individual hair is formed inside a hair bulb deep in the hair follicle. The follicle is a tiny but powerful factory, which throughout many people’s lifetime hardly ever stops working. From birth to sometimes as much as a century in some people, the follicle continues to produce hairs! Each hair grows for years, it is shampooed, conditioned, cut, blown dry, coloured, bleached, permed…none of these treatments affects the growth of the hair in the hair bulb, even though some may radically damage the hair shaft. Finally the hair falls out, rests for a little while then produces yet another new hair! That is the HAIR GROWTH CYCLE, the cell regeneration that goes on in the hair follicle is the most prolific on the body, coming in second is the spine.

This is why you “shed”. Every single hair on your head has a life span . . . and at the end of the life span, that hair will shed. So we call that “terminal”. Many times if you have a lot of hairs on your pillow . . . or in your brush . . .or on your coat. . . . its because a number of hairs were at the end of their growth cycle and just happened to “bit-the-dust’” at the same time. Has nothing to do with hair loss.

One of the most common reasons for alarm about hair loss? Are people who rarely put a brush or comb through their hair. What? It amazes me but a lot of you will go days without using a brush or comb…certain people have the type of hair, the length of hair, or the hair style where they really don’t ‘need’ to put a brush through their hair. Then the day they do, they are alarmed at the amount of hair that comes out. Well, if it is totally normal to lose 150-200 hairs every single day . . .  ( and these are simply hairs at the end of their 3-4 year life span) accumulated over a week - - well 6 days X (times) 200 hairs = 1200 hairs and that my friends is usually when I get a client’s phone call or appt. HHHHHHHHHHHHHHelp, whats wrong with my hair?  Once this little phenomenon with the brush . . . and the ‘terminal’ hair life is explained 9 times out of 10 the solution is achieved.

KEEP A BRUSH going through those locks every day of every week of every year. I am a full believer in brushing and stimulating the scalp with a brush.

PHASES of the hair GROWTH cycle
Anagen 1000 days
Catagen 10 days
Telogen 100 days

Hair grows ½ inch per month, and faster in the Spring. I always noticed my clients hair grew faster in the month of March, so there is something to the Seasons and our growth.

Mens anagen phase is shorter than womens so genetically they are already pre-disposed to shorter hair then women.

Killer Chemist

Can I be the color of ______ (fill in the blank)

Skimming this months Marie Claire, prompted me to actually purchase one. I feel sorry for the magazine industry, we have all turned to the Web for so much, I hope it never goes away, there is truly nothing like curling up to a good girly ‘zine. Christina Aguilera is on the front and she has never looked better, I used to tell my clients…once she gets a good Colorist and a great make-up artist, she is going to be stunning, it has just happened.

One of the most common questions lately ( and by my own daughter even) is why can’t I have this new “Blonette or Bronde” color that is E V E R Y W H E R E  - lately. If I could show you how this is all thought up and contrived in the boardrooms of companies across the nation, you would “get it”- and you may change your minds.  The big giant companies that make hair color ( which is a tremendous money maker – Billions $$) are always trying to come up with the opposite color they promoted last season. Why? So we all will look at the photos, yearn to look like them  . . . .and then DECIDE TO CHANGE YOUR HAIRCOLOR !  I mean it is not a totally bad idea, I just want you to be aware that it is happening, and not just accidently.

Personally, I love to see various hair colors – I love to see every color of the rainbow walking around. When I see the streets of Tokyo I feel sorry for them all having the same hair color…what sets them apart from one another? Yes, yes. . . I know what comes from “within” is what does — but we all know that   “appearance”  is what first initiates that next step of wanting to learn “who” that person “is” on the “INSIDE” ! !

With that being said, the HAIRCOLOR “Question-Of-The-Month” is : why can’t I be that new color Bronde? Which is kind of a Brown-Gold…….and if you ask me brown-gold is BRASS! Every Colorists LEAST FAVORITE COLOR! I’ve spent a lifetime trying to get rid of Brass. Now they are promoting it as the new-hip-gotta-have Color? HHHHHHHHHHHelp.

Well, another thing most Killer Stranders hate to hear, and I’m convinced its because they don’t understand what it means, is the answer I most often give that question… because of your DURP…………..and DURP is?

Dominant Underlying Remaining Pigment

The pigment that is in your DNA and you are born with, is what DURP is. The DNA (and pigment) that makes you different, from that person sitting next to you. We all have a different personality we all have different DURP. That’s about all there really is to it.

Here is Christina and her blond

Doesn’t she look great? Obviously this blond is the 2-step:  bleach and tone.

The most upkeep there is in the hair biz, she most likely has her roots done like Gwen and that is about every 2-3 weeks depending on her growth speed. {This does NOT mean any of you should attempt this at home, she does this with a very experienced Top-in-her-field Colorist} it is too difficult to do to oneself that frequently without terrible OVERLAP.  Over-lapping bleach is what causes breakage, and used to actually be one of the steps of 10,000 HEADS - - that is how much it needs to be avoided. 

Now what those of you with this type of hair will ask . . . is why can’t have this color blond…………………

 This is BRONDE…

and Yes, while gorgeous . . . you tell me this does not look brassy blond…….as a Colorist, it is……….. and if you put this color on a plain looking person with straight out – of– control raggedy hair…. what would you think of it? I promise you , you would not think it was gorgeous….. its very brassy and I can guarantee you they altered this color with PHOTO SHOP . . . because her skin and hair are brassy and warm colored. Now this model has had her Level 6-7 hair lightened with about a Level 8NBG and 30 Volume…..( wild guess)….but with her DURP, something she was born with . . . her Colorist has achieved this nice color.

No, not everyone can achieve this ………my biggest Rule is :

NOT ALL HAIR CAN BE ALL COLORS

I can make anyone’s hair this color for 1 day. ANYONE’S. But for it to last for a week or more is an entirely different story. THAT IS WHERE DURP comes into play, and that is where the models’ hair from us ‘everyday’ people differ.

I would make a pretty high wager that Christina CANNOT achieve this color. Just like many of you cannot. She is Hispanic, so she most likely has an ungodly amount of GOLD/Yellow in her hair so if she was to try to achieve a Level 8-9 NBG, she would end up with a brassy yellow dome. Just horrific- I’m sure.

What she has picked though is a wonderful 2nd choice, she looks marvelous. My only second recommendation would be to cut her hair into a bob….(one length just above the shoulders) - - why? Bleached hair can only look healthy for so long . . . being as she doesn’t use GLEAM / THRIVEN or the Secret Supplement… she needs a shorter length.

Remember I’m always about HEALTHY HAIR, no matter what. A long tested virtue of the Vidal Sassoon method of doing hair that I have incorporated into the 10,000 HEADS 14-Step Protocol of Hair  Health and my life.

Please visit our store or our Forum/Group for help with your color or your Blond…

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/

In my mind both of these blonds are GOLD MEDAL, even though they are truly different.

Killer Chemist

Hair Needs Acidic Water to THRIVE

When people come to me in search for the reason and solution of their hair loss/thinning, at any age mind you, one of my 1st – 15 questions is about their water. Fully anticipating the strange looks I am to receive – I quickly – have to explain my own personal theory on how the miserable water we are forced to drink & shower in is one part of a many faceted complex problem. Water…..seems so simple, doesn’t it?

So with February being SCALP month,I have found another product that will assist in helping your scalp be as clean and clear and pH balanced as possible. When you have a clear/clean/pH balanced scalp those little teeny-tiny hair strands are happy : the result? They will grow faster, longer and healthier, because they will be able to live properly through the 3 stages of a hair’s cycle.

Am not going to lie, I have been super anxious to receive this little gem of a product. Why? Because this technology has been around for a while, but the price made it prohibitive. When I was at the Hair Show (last week) I saw the company that made the ONLY brand I had ever seen in all my trade magazines. I actually bought one, finally…. because I have wanted one for myself for years. The price was ridiculous. I won’t buy something to sell to you that I wouldn’t buy myself, I promise. The one I bought at the Hair Show would sell for $50.00 - $52.50. Just too much.

Lets face it, for a water spray bottle that price is just not going to fly, not in this economy, nor would I buy it at that price. I have been waiting for it to come down in price, I knew it would.

Well, that one is still set at a ridiculous price, but I found another. Its called the WATER TRANSFORMER. Here is what it says on the front of the clear container it comes in:

Water Transformer is a revolutionary system that transforms normal faucet water into acidic soft water. Acidic soft water helps to remove FRIZZ and adds shine to damaged hair. When sprayed onto skin, acidic water helps to tone and refresh the skin.

Transform your tap water and help eliminate frizzy, dry hair! This revolutionary system transforms normal faucet water into acidic soft water, which helps to tame frizzy, dry hair while infusing it with shine and softness. This ingenious 3-stage transformer contains Jojoba Oil Resin, Ion Exchange Resin and Silver Coated Carbons to add nutrients and moisture to skin and hair while eliminating chlorine and calcium impurities. When sprayed on the skin, the soft water will help to tone, refresh and gently condition the skin, leaving it feeling hydrated and clean. When used on hair; shampoos and conditioners will lather better, hair color will last longer, frizzes are tamed and hair shines, see ……….why I have been anxious to have this arrive??

The Convenient 8 oz. size is easy to travel with.

Ideal for humid climates.

Use anywhere to enjoy increased softness, shine, and manageability.

An excellent compliment to ALL styling products.

What is in the filter?

Jojoba Oil Resin
Nutrients to help skin and hair retain moisture.
Ion Exchange Resin
Exchanges concentrated calcium and magnesium in water.
Silver Coated Active Carbon
Helps to eliminate remaining chlorine and impurities in water.
Why is Acidic Water better for my hair?
Acidic water helps to compact the hair cuticle layer. A compacted cuticle makes hair very smooth and shiny, preventing cuticle damage and tangling. Hair Coloring will last longer. Build-up and deposits of styling products can easily be washed off.
Why is Acidic Water better for my skin?
Acidic water increases the skin’s ability to absorb nourishment and nutrients from moisturizers and other treatment products.
How to use:

• My Number 1 suggestion is to daily spray on your hair, use your common sense and work it in your own particular hair care routine. It will help static, shine and inner health of hair strands

Spray on hair in proper place when performing your color application and hair cutting appointments.

Caring for your Water Transformer:

• Fill 2/3 of the bottle with water
• When using for the first time, shake well and spray in the air about 20 times before use.
• Clean bottle at least once a week by rinsing with normal tap water.
• Clean and empty the bottle when not using for more than 7 days.

Caution:

• Do not use hot water
• Keep out of reach of children
• Store at room temperature
• Do not drink water in the bottle
• Do not eat substance in the filter

The cuticle of the hair strand is one of the most important parts of a strand of hair. I don’t want to bore you but remember we are all about education here. When the hair is magnified you will see the “scales” of the strand, which almost look like scales of a fish only a zillion times smaller. Here is a strand of hair magnified:

The cuticle is what opens to allow hair color IN the hair, once the hair color is IN, using IN-DEPTH or IN-TENSIVE assists the cuticle in closing ( compacting) and locking that color IN the hair strand. When that cuticle is compacted - - laid down – the result is : Smooth & Shiny hair, preventing cuticle damage and tangling. There isn’t a person I know who doesn’t want that. Your Hair Color will last longer when the pH is taken care of by locking in those color molecules at the end of the hair color process ………..LLLLLLLLLLLLLOVE IT ! ! !

Another little benefit that requires 2 of our products is Shampooing with the SOMA Scalp Shampoo ( my new fav.) followed by spraying some Acid balanced water from the Water Transformer helps to relieve the aggravation of dry itchy skin, chapped skin and eczema. Residual deposits of styling products can also be easily washed off when this water is used.

I throw out the term “pH levels” constantly to you when I speak of how both of our products IN-DEPTH & In-TENSIVE work to return your hair to its perfect pH levels, I have touted the benefits of keeping the pH at their natural slightly alkaline levels for years and am thrilled that they are finally paying attention and making products like this.

SKIN CARE with Alkaline water

Alkaline water is negatively charged and an “antioxidant.” Antioxidants reduce cellular and DNA damage caused by free radicals so with tap dancing around branching out into the Skin Care market, this product is just the beginning…..to Killer Skin - - Sssh its a secret!

Most people forget that the largest organ on your body is your skin. It is also the most neglected for the size it is, I am a perfect testament to that statement. Please, take care of your largest organ, when your skin that “houses” the rest of your organs is healthy and thriving – the rest of your organs will function better. The skin is naturally an acid organ, People who regularly use acidic water ( from water treatment) to wash their bodies - mostly have younger looking skin than those who use hard water.

With this spray bottle, we will enclose a FREE WATER TEST Kit which has 4 strips to test 4 different faucets + the guide to see where your water stands, on request – in box at checkout please put code: “TESTMY WATER ” that will signal to us you want the water Test Kit.

Do what I did . . . I tested my water in the shower with my water filter, that way I can tell when I need a new filter…then tested my kitchen sink water ( where I rinse my clients hair – remaining few I have left) – where I have a Reverse Osmosis Filter .To just check and see the difference.

So, I hope you are as excited as I am for this new product, make sure you use it for both skin and hair. A squirt on the face 3 - 4 times every single day will refresh your face and set your make-up just work with it, try different

Used as a rinse for the hair and body, providing a silky smoothness

Helps to relieve the aggravation of dry and itchy skin, chapped skin and eczema too

Now for a completely GGGGGGGGreat price

check it out:

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/water-transformer-spray-bottle-1

My Stylist Screwed Up … Now What?

A rarely talked about subject; but a necessary one. After a recent conversation with a poor soul who walked out of a Salon in tears with orange hair, I just have to talk about this. I hope you understand my hesitation, I am breaking open a field I loved and worked in for 16 years. While there are many qualified and good stylists/colorists out there… unfortunately in my current situation I listen to a LOT of horror stories of Hair Color gone wrong at the hands of professionals. People are forced to take their hair color into their own hands and the place they go to is the Internet. So, by default, they are dumped into my lap.

With hundreds of people having destroyed hair, come knocking at my door…we have become the home for “repairing your own hair color”. If you ask me for one rule to fix this problem the only thing I can think of is: Common Sense. Every single head of hair is different. Knowing that one fact I hope I can impact just a couple people to ‘think’ before you color your hair. If every single head of hair is different then purchasing 1 box of color, that assumedly is made to work on everyone, surely could not turn out properly. Common Sense. The % of success is small with boxed hair colors, but what other options are there? Well, all by myself (with help from all my newly trained crib colorists) I am trying to teach the masses the Level System of hair color. I hope to give you the tools by teaching you “HOW” hair color works so you may either fix the mistake on your hair, or color your hair from the get-go yourself.

Unfortunately many of you live in a town or city where you have not found a qualified Colorist. Let me reassure you that is not rare. When I was first diagnosed with my bone disease I was forced into taking almost 2 years off, then I returned to living in Santa Barbara near my daughter who was in college. I slowly began to do hair again, my disease was first in my right knee (now its in both) so I just stood on one leg to do it. You can’t believe how strong you are when the chips are down. My point being, people started coming to me in droves because in Santa Barbara ( home of Oprah,Rob Lowe, Ellen, and a million other super wealthy people) there wasn’t ONE Colorist that didn’t destroy hair. I only went back to work because people would see my daughters hair, and ask her who did it. I will admit though, having people beg me to do their hair color was very good for my ego when I had NONE. Chemo/Radiation/ and multiple surgeries really wreck havoc on your psyche. I believe all that adoration was responsible for me “not giving up”, whatever works! My point being . . . Bad Colorists are rampant, they are everywhere in this big country. But in my opinion they no longer have an excuse. As much as Hair stylists don’t like my BLOG, if they are lousy colorist, at least now SOMEONE has taught hair color out in the open. I have taught hair color the Vidal Sassoon method on this blog, something that was never made accessible to the professional or private world prior to my Blog. They can study my Blog, and become a great colorist….so NOW – they HAVE NO EXCUSE. As a matter of fact, why don’t you ask if your hair colorist has read KillerStrands? What’s wrong with that question? If they are qualified, they should have no problem with it. If they are not, then I would cancel my appointment. That shows you the type of Stylist you have. Writing this was always a 2-fold solution to me. To teach unqualified Stylists what and how to do it right and to teach you, the public, how to properly color your own hair.

Corrective Hair Colorist is the name of the Specialist you want to look for, if you recently left the hair salon in tears. However, most small towns + cities across this land I’m finding, don’t have one. . .it is a very specialized field that scares many Hair Stylists.  There really are no land mines in hair color, no undetectable elements that will sabotage a stylists efforts. It is a very mastered field, I promise. If the color result surprises the Colorist  then the Colorist missed something.To be honest I don’t know how you can properly do hair without knowing corrective hair color, it should be a mandatory part of hair education in receiving your License . If a Stylist cannot fix their own mistakes, why should they be left to do hair color on people ? It makes no sense to me. For those of you that are looking for a new stylist I highly recommend you make that a requirement in anyone coloring your hair. I’m very serious about this, think about how strange it is that people are coloring hair by just ‘guessing’. . . when I discovered that in taking my first Salon job I was so astonished, I remember (still) calling my mentor and asking her if it was legal that these people were allowed to color hair. She told me, to get used to it, it was the most common type of hair stylist out there. I had always used one of the people who started Sebastian products back in the 70’s-80’s to do my hair, so I had never known bad Stylists existed - - til I became one myself.

Chemicals don’t make mistakes - - PEOPLE   DO

Being trained at Vidal Sassoon Academy everyone that comes out of there fully understand hair color correction, no they have not had a lot of experience as brand new grads, but they will know more than Stylists working 10-20 years, from the hair color education one receives there. But, I will never understand why the education is not the same for everyone. Why can’t there be an across the board knowledge base that everyone must know prior to getting their license that involves being a color correction specialist. I promise you there is plenty of time in the year you go to school. I can’t imagine what they do in the other schools with all that time ? ? ? Sounds like a little too much screwin’ around is going on.

Types of Hair Color Mistakes

•  Miscommunication - Not asking enough questions, or the right questions I feel is the number 1 reason for mistakes. Without getting all the proper information, the odds of getting it right are slim. Always tell the Stylist EXACTLY what you want – as much as some of them will act bothered if you whip out a magazine photo, remember its YOUR HAIR. “YOU” are the customer – they should be thrilled you brought in a photo, so much is lost with explanations. I figured this out when I wasn’t exactly perfect at the beginning of my career. I figured out that when I said “level 6A” they had NO IDEA what I was talking about, and when they said , “I want layers” . . . they meant they wanted the hair to be “tapered” which means framing the face….MY solution to this was my famous Hair NOTEBOOK. It became the thing I was most famous for (well – that and my candy jar) …It was 5 inches thick and every 2 months I had the Assistants refresh the photos..So they were plopped on the sofa with sticky pads. Were told to mark 4 “loves” and 4 “hates”. I learned as much about what they hated as I did about what they loved. I suggest YOU do this if you are going to a Salon. Take in 4 LOVES, & 4 HATES. That way it is not left to her interpretation of the words you say. That just doesn’t work, trust me on this.

• Insufficient Analysis – Neglecting anyone of the 5 key factors spells trouble. If a Colorist does not pay attention to 1) Virgin hair Level  2)  % of Gray  3)Texture of hair   4) Porosity of hair  5)Present Tint.  If a Color result surprises her OR you, she has most likely not taken all 5 of those points into account. If the virgin hair level isn’t taken into account the mistakes are too numerous to mention here, although the most common one is too much warmth (probably the most common mistake). If the amount of gray is ignored, the result may be too light or off-tone or the formula may simply not cover the gray. Overlook texture, and you may be surprised when coarse hair pulls more warmth or a fine hairline goes dark. If overporosity is overlooked the color result may be drabber or deeper than expected. If you miss that a person has previous tint on their hair (what most clients fib about) the result may be uneven, too dark, or less intense than expected on top of NOT working at all!
• Improper Application –
• ………….improper RE-TOUCHING – overlapping
• ………….putting too much bleach/color in foils
• ………….improper virgin application – applying to roots first instead of LAST
• ………… too thin application – not enough color used
• IMPROPER TIMING –
• …………Not long enough
• …………Bleach over-processed or under-processed

Corrective Hair Colorist is the name of the Specialist you want to look for, if you recently left the hair salon in tears. However, most small towns + cities across this land called America I’m finding, don’t have one. . .it is a very specialized field that scares many Hair Stylists.

If that is the case for you, your answers are here at Killer Strands. Join our group http://groups.google.com/group/killerstrands/pending?s=1  you will get a lot of support in there. Begin reading the archives in the group and the posts right here in this Blog. Yes, reading all the posts sounds overwhelming, so if you only want to fix your particular mistake do a SEARCH for the subjects that pertain to your problems – if you don’t even know what those are . . . then go to the group explain your problems and ask what you should SEARCH for. We are glad to help with that question. Remember if you have a huge mistake going on with your hair color, you most likely need me to help decipher it. Being as we have thousands of members now it is not possible for me to help every single person . . . so you will have to do some reading to solve your problem. But at least the information is here. Before my BLog, there was no where to go. So be happy you have this resource, and proceed with purchasing a brand new Kit called the “UP-IN-THE-AIR  Kit “. What that does is purchase 2 tubes of color only it doesn’t choose the colors. You then answer the 3 questions and I will pick out the colors you need to fix your situation.

All Colorists have made mistakes ; it is part of the learning process. My goal was always to never make a mistake, I took Hair Coloring very seriously. Knowing that hair is extremely important to people always made me respect the art. No Colorist becomes 100% infallible but many do come close .The ones who are close to infallible are the ones who have learned from their mistakes, accepted them learned how to improve next time and moved on. If you can’t find one in your town, take up the hobby, many women/men are doing it….having fun and becoming very accomplished at it.

Killer Chemist

Holy CRAP. . . . . . I was flipping channels and heard “ARGAN OIL” on the screen. Halted, backed up and saw that Home Shopping Network - one of those TV shopping shows was hawking some ARGAN OIL product. This lady said that they have sold 9 million of these little plastic capsules that you squeeze and oil comes out. . . she was screaming , “there is 25% ARGAN OIL” in these…and she had 50+ ladies on there that swore they looked like they did from using this magical mystical ARGAN oil, its called “Signature Club A Precious Argan Oil Night Caps” Do you know the stuff? I’d never heard of it before. As soon as I heard her say there was 25% ARGAN OIL, I wanted to see what the other 75% was…I had a very good idea. . . but I wanted to be sure. Here is the exact list taken off their website:

Cyclopentasiloxane / Dimethicone Crosspolymer / Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil / C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate / Trimethylsiloxysilicate / Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride / Narcissus Poeticus Flower Wax / Methyl Methacrylate / Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer / Zea Mays (Corn) Oil / Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil / BHT / Centella Asiatica Extract / Myristoyl Pentapeptide 8 / Myristoyl Tentrapeptide 8

Argania Spinosa : is Argan Oil - - - it is 3rd and it is 25%, which means the other 2 are the highest percentage of ingredients in the capsules. There is a “right” way to label Personal Care Products. You wouldn’t believe the rules written that have to do with “HOW TO LABEL” Cosmetic products. Remember I formulate products, I studied intently for 2 years, most categories of products are formulated the exact same way, there is no “new” technology as far as mixing the products. The “ingredients” might be new & innovative but the process of mixing them together is basic simple cosmetic chemistry and the same for every company. How products gain advantages is by having better, new, innovative ingredients.

There is not even any whipping of this product which can be involved in a lotion or creame, plus the heating and cooling of ingredients, meaning certain ingredients need to be certain temperatures at certain times when making an emulsion. That ‘can’ be a pressure cooker of an experience when making ‘emulsions’, but this…both of these are super simple – your kids could mix these together.

Its a mathematical formula, pure and simple. So most likely the formula for her little oil capsules looks something like this (remember this is a very educated ‘guess’)

Signature Club A Precious Argan Oil Night Caps

( seen on HSN)

• Cyclopentasiloxane (silicone)……………33%
• Dimethicone Crosspolymer (Silicone)….28%
• Argan Oil ………………………………..…..25%
• C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate (Ester)………….. 3%
• Trimethylsiloxysilicate ………………… 1.5%
• Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride ………… 1.5%
• Narcissus Poeticus Flower Wax ……. 1%
• Methyl Methacrylate ………………… 1%
• Glycol Dimethacrylate Crosspolymer 1%
• Zea Mays (Corn) Oil …………………… 1%
• Melia Azadirachta Seed Oil ………… 1%
• BHT ………………………………………..1%
• Centella Asiatica Extract …………… 1%
• Myristoyl Pentapeptide 8 ……………… .5%
• Myristoyl Tentrapeptide 8 …………… .5%

5 out of 17 ingredients are natural – earth grown – organic oils. The rest . . . ? Well The first 2 are pure silicone straight up….I worked with these oils…back when I first started and didn’t have a clue what was what, and didn’t really care what I used just as long as it worked. The cylomethicone is the “light” silicone, feels the most like vegetable oil ….but Dimethicone is the thick heavy one feels really yucky. All I used to care about until I learned Cosmetic Chemistry was if it worked or not…if it did, I liked it. Many of you might be the same way. I mean we can only be ‘so’ diligent about keeping up with the latest trends of what’s IN and what’s “good for your hair or skin or heart,etc. ” & whats BAD for your hair or skin or heart . . .good for you / bad for you . . I mean you truly can drive yourself CRAZY if you listen to it all. Which is why I tell you all I AM NOT A FANATIC. So if that is what you are looking for…………..wrong Blog. Remember: common sense, boys and girls.

In California I was raised to watch out for everything good and bad health wise, and eating was always a topic I watched to make sure I didn’t put crap in my system, but when they started CHANGING crap……one year red wine would be good for you and the next year it was bad for you. . . . well, to me things needed to slow down and STOP. I began to quit the merry-go-round…..I don’t jump on new Fads anymore, it doesn’t matter. All those years I was a vegetarian for 14 years in the 70’s and 80’s and look at me I got a serious illness anyway. So, I’m just not too gun-ho about health trends any longer . I definitely don’t worry about it anymore, all that BS. That’s what I feel the difference is between my readers and my writing. I used to be how you are following the rules to the “T” . . . but that is not practical, not easy, nor is reasonable. So when one of you gets all bent out of shape because I have conditioners in my store when I say DON’T use a Conditioner. Remember this. Remember there is no ‘one ‘ answer for hair. There are general rules, but exceptions to them.

OMG - - - OMG . . . .They just ANNOUNCED they have sold 9 million of these bottles of GLOP

HHHHHHHHHHHHHHELPPPPPPPPPPP

You know I don’t like to do this (pick someone or some product and just tear them apart – even though plenty of people do it to me….Beauty Brains, etc. . . ) I just feel it is bad for my Health to focus on “bad things” . Or to have ‘bad’ energy in my life at all . As I have aged, I have finally learned how to reign myself in and not ‘go-off” on people, when I am wronged….which is a huge improvement on myself. Being a redhead and 100% Irish, well - - you can imagine - - I’m sure. But this lady and her products just spoke to me and the numbers of products this lady has sold is just crazy, under the pretense it is good for your skin.

I just wanted to make as many people as possible aware of what she is truly selling. The ingredients are on the product – yes I realize that. . . but truthfully do you, the public, really understand that it is what I have displayed up above. That when she says 25% Argan Oil, “WHAT – IN – THE - HELL is in the rest of the bottle that is “oil…like” ? We are back to that same topic I always end up at when I am just slamming on my key board and I feel sorry for my laptops keys …..TIA: Truth In Advertising. Its just not fair. . . although I would like to hear from you in the comments section belowvdd ? Have you bought this product? If so did you know what was in it? Do you really care what is in it? or if you haven’t bought this lady’s Argan Oil products yet, would you knowing this ? ? Honestly, I just want to know the truth , how all of you feel about this ? Now that I have shown you in black and white how a formula like this really looks, do you care what’s in it prior to purchasing? Are you going to buy it? If so, why ? ?

We will be coming out with my new face oil drops this week, I have been playing around with it for months. . . but just was leery of making the jump into “skin”. I mean there are a dozen or so different types of Personal Care Board Licenses here in California. I had the choice of going for any of them at the time and decided to go for the MOTHER LODE the Cosmetology license, but, even though comedians make fun of us - - it was a worthwhile license to hold. It covers nails – skin & hair….while the others cover smaller subjects – So I feel privileged in

r e p r e s e n t i n g

Oh My Lord they just showed the Eye Serum . . . for around your eyes. . . ARE YOU KIDDING ME ? ? ? ?

Dab a few drops around your eyes…..but holy crap. . . . look at the ingredients on this one:

Signature Club A’s Precious Moroccan Argan Oil Eye Serum

24 ingredients in this 1 OZ . bottle that sells for $26.50! , wow I certainly hope I never hear complaints about my pricing. . . do you know what a grand deal GLEAM is ?

In my book Silicone’s and Esters are “fillers”. When an “oil” is needed, cosmetic manufacturers who don’t really care about you or your skin or hair … use them. They are cheap and ‘’feel” like an oil.

1OZ. of garbage in a blue plastic Genie bottle is higher priced than our PURE as the driven snow organic virgin natural oils… in side of a clean / crisp glass bottle. Just blows me away – the difference in the two.

Signature Club A’s Precious Moroccan Argan Oil Eye Serum

Ingredients:

• Poly-isobutene <<<< * * *
• Sunflower Seed Oil
• Neopentyl Glycol Dicaprylate
• Tridecyl Trimellitate
• Hydrogenated Polyisobutene
• Tridecyl Stearate
• Mineral Oil <<<<< ** **
• Dicaprate
• Isohexadecane
• Glycerin
• Polysorbate 20
• Argania Spinosa Leaf Extract
• Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil
• Argania Spinosa Kernel Extract
• 1,2 - Hexanediol
• Caprylyl Glycol
• Sodium Cocoyl Glutamate
• Carbomer
• Ethylene Propylene
• Styrene Copolymer
• Butylene
• Ethylene Styrene Copolymer.

This?????????This is disastrous. . . absolutely horrific. Some of these I’m not exactly sure of, I’d have to look them up, but it doesn’t matter……….why ? ? ? ?

BECAUSE OF WHAT IS NUMBER 1 and NUMBER 7 …..

Remember, the ingredients are listed in the order of what percentage they are in the product, its a law. So when you become a big company like this, even though when you were small you might now have followed the law exactly, NOW IS THE time to straighten up and FLY RIGHT! ! ! Everyone in the Cosmetic manufacturing business knows this. So Her number one ingredient is in the 30-40-50% range, for an anhydrous (water-free) product that is about the norm.

Poly-isobutene is an ingredient that I purchased in order to begin formulating and experimenting with Lip Glosses. You know when they starting producing lip glosses for the celeb culture that were just out-of-this-world shiny ?? ? I looked into what in the world was in them that was making them so shiny . . . Isobutene was the ingredient that kept coming up . In DIOR, Prescriptives, Chanel, MAC….all the top lip glosses Poly-isobutene was the first ingredient listed. So GGGGGGGGGreat you are putting lip gloss crap around the delicate area of the eye. Well isn’t that just a piece of cake !

I received this tub that weighed a ton, opened it up and it was the weirdest , most hideous substance I had ever seen.. it was a Clear, Hard, JELLO-Jelly like substance that just shimmey – ed when you shook it. You could not scoop it up with a spoon, it was impossible to work with…JUST IMPOSSIBLE. I made a couple little lip glosses and yep that was the ingredient that made such miraculous shine, but when you see these ingredients in their raw form, it truly scares you off of them. Just doesn’t seem like so many of them should be put on the parts of the body they have found for them. {anything for a buck – is how I see it}

What else ? ? ? Mineral oil in the eye serum ? ? ? MINERAL OIL ? ? ? ? ? that crap is so nasty, I won’t even let my feet touch that stuff….it doesn’t absorb into the skin and has the consistency of liquid plastic. Its interesting these 2 ingredients she chose for her products, both are used for making RUBBER! If I were making a product and wanted a filler, there are others to choose from. For instance Coconut oil. While that may not sound like a decent filler to you, it is. The world has plenty of coconuts, so coconut oil is very inexpensive..Its a wonderful filler and has plenty of good qualities as well.

But for her to put Poly-isobutene and Mineral Oil in her eye Serum and ask you to put it around your eyes. . . its criminal if you ask me. I’m just so upset by this, I just think it is soooooooooooo wrong.

LOOK how far down the ARGAN oil is. . . more than the half way down,that means the percentage is most likely 5% - 10 % . . . maybe less…even. Sunflower Oil is second, but to say all that she is about ARGAN OIL and then for this to be the truth. . I couldn’t live with myself…..not when she is selling 9 million of these, she claims. She needs to be doing the right thing when you are affecting so many people ( in my humble opinion)

I am telling you from my own experience, that the only reason she is doing it this way is so she can make more money off of every single customer. Without total regard for TRUTH IN ADVERTISING, she is BS’ing the customer to think they are getting a healthy decent product. She could make a very decent profit by using the REAL OILS and eliminating the silicones.

Guess I will introduce “GLASS” the new ‘facial moisturizer this week. I’ve been playing around with it for months about 10 of us have ….everyone loves it. One girl I had to tweek it for. .. but otherwise people have gradually made the change – and like it . No harm i trying is.

I have Glass & Glisten

Glisten is for super Dry skin

Glass is for Normal Skin ( face)

the Post I WAS working on will be posted tomorrow night I just HAD to get that off my chest,

THANKS for listening!

Killer Chemist

Keep Color In Brows For a Balanced Appearance 

When you think of the important points of the face, what do you think of ? Most people say the “eyes”. Then nose, then mouth. Me….I say eyebrows. Eyebrows are front & center and seen as soon as you look into someone’s eyes, I feel they ‘frame’ the face and both the shape and color of them can completely change your look. Spend some time learning how to groom them properly, if you do not have an eyebrow specialist in your town – become your own. I will teach you how……….. I have spent years going to and being the best in eyebrow care.

I challenge you to compare photos of celebs before they became famous versus now. Oprah is a perfect example. Her brows before she became famous were completely different…its amazing what $$ does to the look of the face and I am only talking brows. I will keep my eyes open for comparison photos and will post and bring this subject back up once I find them. I have them its just in my files of 50,000 photos which are not organized/labeled and I can’t find them. But soon – soon. I’m not a fan of using celeb photos . . . as I’m sure you’ve noticed. People use celeb photos to get people to come to their website under false pretenses – something I try not to do. Besides, with a daughter who shoots celebrity photos I know how little of those photos are real, and feel it is an unfair photo to put in front of you, they Photo Shop the hair in every photo now . . . how can you ever hope to compare to CGI especially as we age?

One of the more annoying problems of aging is not only losing the color in the hair on our heads, but losing the color in the hair around our eyes, brows and lashes more specifically. You know what the biggest mistake is on this photo above of the aging model  ? ?  ( which btw she would FAIL – BIG TIME - as a make-up ‘Aging’ test )  –  she forgot to change the brows….to be faded and barely there !  As a natural born redhead, I’ve never known the wonders of pigmented hair around the eyes, we have next to none since birth…so color-less is a way of life for me . I have been tinting my brows and lashes since I was 16 and could drive myself to a Salon.

Melanin is the pigment that gives hair and skin its natural color. How light or dark it is and its natural tone, depend on how much and what kind of melanin it contains and how that melanin is arranged in the hairs. I feel the part of hair coloring that most people get confused on is understanding what actually affects the color change. Many seem to think if you apply color “A”, your result should look exactly like color “A” when you are finished and unfortunately that is just not how it works. High Dollar Colorists and fancy Beverly Hills Salons would not exist if it was that simple, everyone would be walking around as Jennifer Anniston hair clones. 

The color result depends as much on the natural pigmentation (DURP) of the hair as it does on the ‘artificial pigmentation’ used. In other words, if I was to mix up a batch of Level 8 Ash with 30 Volume and applied it to 5 different people with the exact same color of virgin Level 6 hair……..EVERY single one of them would have a completely different result.

With a few Eyebrow Coloring Kits leaving this week & a couple new  brow shaping products arriving, I re-priced the kits and added options in my never-ending attempt to make things as easy as possible for you.

After the age of about 40 – 50 the color begins to drain out of the eyebrow hairs along with everything else and being as gray truly is pigment-less hair not actually gray – it looks so much better if once 1-2X a month you tint those brows. I want you to feel better about your situation – For the last 15 years every Sunday I have had to tint my eyebrows and every 4th would tint my albino lashes…it has SUCKED…big time. 96% of people have pigment in their brows, and lashes, so remember how lucky you are.

I have been tinting my own and all my clients eyebrows for years, what do the rest of you do? I know there are the stubborn grays on brows which many time begin in the early 20’s, but from the 30’s on… most people deal with squirrely grays, flailing whites and generally misshapen fence-like burley brows. I’ve always taught the brows are the most important part of the face. They are front & center … and seen as soon as you look into someone’s eyes, I feel they ‘frame’ the face and both the shape and color of them can completely change your look. I urge you to spend some time learning how to groom them properly, if you do not have an eyebrow specialist in your town, learning the art ‘of’ is not really that hard and will start with tinting and trimming.

For humor I thought I would relay to you that the clients that elected to go to the big eyebrow specialist here in our hot-shot Salon (Anastasia) would spend anywhere between $300.  - $600. per shape & color appointment.  Funny….huh? Plus a round trip of at least 4 hours to accomplish. That’s life in Malibu / L.A., we’re a million miles from anything & everything.

  Eyebrow   Tinting

STEP 1  Tinting

If you begin the process by tinting the brows, all the little hairs have color in them so you don’t miss them  - -  I’ve made it easy – all you have to do is to pick the “Level” Kit you want — providing you are not wanting any ‘red’ in the end result — you will receive 2 tubes of color that you need to mix  50 - 50 plus the appropriate developer for Brows comes with.  You receive the 2 best brushes I’ve found for applying that color, as you want the color to saturate the wiry hair strands…the color needs to be heavily lopped on, yet painted on precisely in the shape of the brow. Getting the color on the skin will stain, and I have never even tested it, as I can’t imagine anyone wanting the Tint stained right smack on the front of the face…so cleaning the color off the face right after applying it, is just as important as the application. Hair color itself -always “expands”as it processes . . so color just “INSIDE” the lines of your brow with the color product, the liquid will expand/swell and cover the entire brow once you get it brushed on. Clean up around the shape of the brow “after” 15 minutes and swelling subsides with Q-Tips and water, toner or alcohol. At this point the color should be on the brow crisp and cleanly shaped ; the exact shape of the brow. Now, go make yourself lunch . . . leave the brows alone, while the color fully develops… at least 45 minutes – 55 is better.

In the Kit you receive 1 tube of an “N” series color and that is the tube that you will vary according to the amount of gray or the stubbornness in your hairs. A good general rule is to use the percentage comparable to the percentage of gray you have. 50% Gray? Use 50% “N” series. . .  and then just add the opposing color until you get to 100%. 40% N use 60% “B” color or whatever we’ve sent.  Its actually pretty straight up. 

The color is done processing you grab a paper towel or tissue, run under warm water….and wipe the color off with just water. Keep rubbing till all the color is off and the tissue is clean.  Use a little muscle! Poof you are done that part!

  Eyebrow   Trimming

                                                                                                       The  next  important part of eyebrow care is the tweezer/scissor part. The first step to trimming the brow is to “COMB”….(yes, comb) the brow hair straight up toward the forehead as you see in my half-assed renderings here. . . .

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Comb the hairs straight up with a cutting comb, then trim along the line of the existing brow as shown in #5 & #6 …holding the scissors perpendicular to the floor. Continue to comb straight up with comb and trim a little at a time, watching result and be sure to NOT overdue.

Once trimmed, begin tweezing. Again – start and continue process by combing brow upwards ( which is where the hair in your brows should be heading - - always upward ).  

Tweezing should be in the middle above the nose and as little under the brow and on top of the brow as is possible – too THIN of an eyebrow never looks right, I promise you. Shaping the brow will be a while other post.  I have to get a couple stencils in order to do that one justice. . .  but we won’t be through with brows until we have another 5-6 Posts on the subject.        

I’m really excited about the new tweezers and scissors I have come across, I’ve always known they can make the same quality for a decent price…they are on their way here, check them out in the store along with the Eyebrow kits.                                                                          

I happened to find both that are Stainless Steel and work as fine as the super pricey ones. I KNEW THIS COULD BE DONE. That is the problem with “good finds” they are so damn hard to ‘find  .

Just trim and groom your eyebrows once. . .  give it a chance. .  when I’m waiting in lines I notice so many people who never touch their eyebrows ( yet, they really need to ) . . I cannot imagine what I would look like if I didn’t do my own.

Killer Chemist

Ignored Yet Important

Not an exciting subject I will give you that, BUT . . . a super common one. We need a healthy scalp for ‘looks’ for healthy ‘hair growth’ +  and for hair ‘shine’.

Yes, there are complicated Scalp conditions that require a dermatologist, by no means are any of my recommendations or suggestions on all of Killer Strands a replacement for medical help and advice. As I have told clients for years that are leery of having their hair colored for ‘health’ & ‘safety’ reasons, if hair color was dangerous to the human body at all . . . I can guarantee you we would be physicians /medical doctors…. not Cosmetologists. In every country on planet earth hair color is considered just that - - HAIR COLOR - - a decoration and Fashion accessory – but that’s it. Please take my advice that way … if you have any type of long-lasting abnormality on your scalp or radical hair loss of any nature get yourself to a qualified Dermatologist. That is NOT what we are talking about here, remember  - - boys & girls : common sense – common sense.

  I have been known to clear up many scalp conditions that were just minor issues which is what I am speaking about here today. Many speak of seborrhea dermatitis  and psoriasis . . . and do their own self diagnosis…which I fully understand. Money, Time…everything it takes to go the medical route… . alongside the all too frequent…” hmmm, dermatitis – looks like dermatitis” … which basically means it idiopathic. They don’t know what caused it nor what it is .

That is when people would show up in my chair, to see if my Scalp regimen might help. Lots of girlfriends and wives sent their boys ( husbands - boyfriends) to me, it was set-up in such a way the men didn’t really know what was going on. Men, ya gotta love em, they are very E A S Y  - - SUPER  simple creatures. The spouses didn’t know how to bring it up, and didn’t want to make a doctor appointment or a scene – they just wanted to see if it wasn’t something easier. About 60-70% of the time it was my little SSS Simple Scalp Solution that cured the whole enchilada. It was – a  2 hour treatment focused on the scalp, with no guarantees basically. Skin and hair are a funny thing and they just don’t know that much about it, although right now, it is 2 areas the pharmaceutical companies have most of their Research focused on. With 70 million women suffering from hair thinning & loss…well it would be nice to think they are focused on that to  “ do– the–right–thing & HELP”….although - I doubt any of us would believe that……… I’m pretty sure its the CA$H.

Coming up soon is my over simplified version of how a strand of hair on your head grows….I love the lesson and I always felt light-bulbs going on everywhere – when I taught it.  Maybe I should have started with that….but the “scalp” issue hit me in a dream last night, I get inspirations while asleep – its the weirdest thing—always have. The ANAGEN phase ( of 3 phases) is the growth phase and is the longest phase;90% of scalp hair is growing in the ANAGEN phase at any one time which lasts from 2-5 years (can last as long as 10 years). Just as the skin on other parts of the body is continually being shed and replaced, the skin on the scalp is in a constant state of renewal, with skin cells in the outer layers flaking off being replaced by new cells from below. Ordinarily these scales loosen & fall off freely…the natural shedding of the scalps dead scales should NOT be mistaken for dandruff. Nope, this post is NOT on dandruff, a completely different subject. The subject of “Scalps” will be an ongoing Topic with various sub-topics: such as dandruff, psoriasis, etc..right alongside.

Which brings us to what I feel is the problem with over 50% of people with “scalp issues” whose butts sit in my chairs and possibly read my words. We’ll have to see. The way you discover this is by having a BIRDS-EYE-VIEW of your head……..which is what you have of a person’s hair when they sit in your Salon chair. I would say in one day of 12-15 clients (hypothetically of course, if all ‘new’ clients) 1 or 2 of them would have it, that’s a lot.  Having discovered this one way back in Academy, I thought it stemmed from homeless drunks / drug addicts with poor personal hygiene. Which is not AT ALL the case, you probably have family members, friends, bosses with it, I have some Physician friends and they have had it — no one is excluded and no one is ‘above’ it. We will coin it the “SSS”  the (Silly) Simple Scalp Solution for purposes of this Post & for those of you who think you could be a victim – we used to call it Camo-Land meaning camouflage Land where ‘ sneaky things were lurking   ‘. There are many terms Stylists sling around so you don’t know what we are referring to, stupid – I know – there are times you don’t want to know.

This boils down to a round spot …an accidental scalp problem, occurs totally by accident, having nothing to do with illness, poor health, and especially not the cleanliness factor. Yep, its accidental and super easily curable. There is a spot on the top of the head, about the size of a Grapefruit to about a lemon… that is just above where your arms reach, without extra effort, I figured out. People are lazy  - - especially my one daughter that has this. SHE is the reason I figured this out, thank the Lord she doesn’t read this.  This may not include any of the devout KS disciples. Most of you sound like you must have sparkling-clean-healthy-hair & scalp .. .. but its worth a check…. I’m telling you its just an accident, an innocent accident.

I hope all of you will get to your bathrooms & check the top of your heads with a hand-held mirror using a diptych {type} mirror as you see here                   look for the spot or have your “trusted” partner do it for you.    Its on the very highest point of your head and then about in a 2 – 3 - 4 inch circle around…way up at that tip top spot at its center, as you see below  

See that tippy-top-spot? That is where you develop Poo-Head  - which develops from either a lack of shampoo OR too MUCH shampoo that builds-up from missing that spot and shampooing up till you reach it. It happens SOOOOO MUCH, it needs a classification in Dermatology books. I have one daughter with it, and 1/4 of my clients have it. You know I will say some of the people with it is on people with a propensity towards dandruff … so definitely check if that’s you.

You see when a person goes to shampoo most people are in a hurry, its in the morning - - late for work , late for a date – late for something….so people zip through the shower a hundred miles an hour. They don’t think about the whole head when they shampoo, they MISS the top of the head, being in a hurry , arms hurt, or the most common – just didn’t realize they were missing that top circle….THAT is how this occurs, ESPECIALLY with men, work-a-holics, you get the picture, people who don’t ‘think’ about their shampoo. A lot of people could give 2 cents… Like I said Simple Silly Scalp Solution.  Get it now ?

Most common? People simply don’t realize they are missing that spot…I will ask them to show me how they shampoo. . . almost always they will just rub the sides and back of their head….not the top.  See the girl above, its a ‘close’ rendering of what I’m referring to…she has her eyes closed is thinking about work, kids, her date - - - everything BUT the shampoo… see her arms this is an exaggerated version – but also its pretty right-on as well. She is just missing that top round spot on her head. Once I fixed this on my daughter, I then took it to the Salon ( years ago) and it began to work and work and work. Again

Silly – Simple – Scalp – Solution ! ! ! ! !

So, I would then load them up with Scalp Wellness, if it was bad one of the packets and the most important part . . . a little silly thing called a shampoo brush. Yep we have kits with the whole shebang in the store PLUS 4 water strips to check your water (getting a shower filter also helps this, so check your water….in 4 different rooms !).

People started using the shampoo brush to scrub that part of their scalp  . .  by having the brush in the shower…it reminded them to concentrate on that spot. Using it brought back all sorts of funny stories…that usually sounded like, “ OMG my head bled, I don’t think I had ever touched my head there. . . .SINCE I WAS BORN ! !  Funny – funny answers.

I loved hearing how successful it was, I mean I was at the highest end Salon in Malibu, California - - - would you really expect THAT from a whole lot of clientele there? You would think people wash their hair FOR them…and never miss a spot. If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere boys and girls. It is just a silly little accident, never meant to be intentional by anyone.

Get your mirrors out . . . . give the SSS a chance

I’ve put together a SSS KIT . . .so you can get it all in one spot

This month only ( February 2010 ) Shampoo scrub brush is complimentary as is the Water Test Kit, which has enough strips to test 4 faucts!!!  HAPPY VALETINES DAY  ! ! !  . . .  BUY IT for the man in your life….it will end up benefitting YOU!

http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/malibu-2000-hit-n-miss-scalp-solution

Killer Chemist