Up Do's for a Christmas party

Backcombing Kayla's hair to give her the "bump/poof/snookie" she wanted. Here's the final outcome:

Kayla and her husband Trent at dinner.

This was my 2 minute up do. Ran out of time to do my own hair so this is what I did in a jiff!




Trish's hair bow to match the large bow on the front of her dress.

Kayla, Trish & I at the party - all polished.

All the girls' up do's from the back side.

All the girls except for Erin with her lovely "down do.

Academy Artistic - September 30th, 2010

Stephanie Young was my beautiful model for this "Time Travel" themed project. Together, we borrowed our grandma's jewelry and friend's clothing to come up with this 1960's look. After trying countless updo's that didn't work, we ended up with this. I couldn't have asked for a better model. Thank you Stephanie!

Cool down your hair for Fall

Fall is always a great time to refresh or change your hair style or color. As the temperatures cool, so do hair colors. If you are looking for a completely new look and you have light hair, try going dark this season! Auburn, chestnut, chocolate brown, or browns with a hint of violet or red are a great way to warm up a blah, average brown or give a blonde a dramatic change. If you aren’t as dramatic or daring with your colors but are still wanting a little change, try getting a foil with just lowlights (adding a darker color than you already have in foil packets) or with lowlights and highlights. Foils are great because you can customize exactly how much blonde, brown, or any other color you want to see, and how subtle or dramatic you would like it. If you are bored of your hair but don’t want to color it, try a new style/cut. Try adding layers or cutting bangs – these are great options especially for those of you who want to keep all your length.

Flat ironing tips

THE BASICS: When using a flat iron, start at the lowest temperature setting and turn it up gradually until your hair is as straight as desired at that set temperature. Only turn it up as high as you need to – this should not be the highest temperature unless you have extremely resistant/coarse or curly hair. Never start by turning your flat iron to its highest setting – you could literally burn your hair right off. Also, you always want to protect your hair with a heat-protective product before you begin styling. These most commonly come in the form of sprays or creams They help protect your hair from burning or breaking from the heat. Lastly, it is important never to try flat ironing or using any hot tools on your hair while the hair is even a little damp or wet – this will fry the cuticle (outside layer) off your hair shaft and cause permanent breakage, dead ends, dryness, and dullness.
STYLING: To achieve the best results, it is best to use a clip to hold your hair up while you flat iron in sections. Start at the lowest section of your hair while most of your hair is clipped up. Continue to clip your hair in sections while you work your way up and around the head until you are finished.

Greasy hair solution

Ever had greasy hair after not shampooing for 1 day? When its summertime and you go camping, or just don’t feel like shampooing for a day, your hair might get greasy and unmanageable. One thing that’s important to know is that its best to shampoo your hair only a few times a week so that your sebaceous glands produce a normal amount of sebum (natural oil). When you shampoo daily, you strip your hair of all its natural oils which causes your sebaceous glands to overproduce too much oil to compensate. Therefore, when you stop shampooing less and less, your sebaceous glands will gradually adjust to it, and stop overproducing sebum, which in turn will not cause you to have greasy scalp or hair. If you decide to shampoo less and less you will find that it only takes about 1-2 weeks for your sebaceous glands to adjust and stop overproducing sebum. In this 1-2 week timeframe, you will want to get some hair powder to absorb the excess oil until you notice your glands producing less oil. At that point, you won’t need the hair powder, you won’t have to shampoo every day, and your hair and scalp will be naturally healthier!

Hair & Scalp need UV Protection

Just like any other part of your body, your hair and scalp need protection from damaging UV rays from the Sun (or in a tanning bed). There are sunscreens actually made just for your hair and scalp that can help to protect from harmful UV rays. At the Gene Juarez Academy we carry a product line made by L’Oreal Professional called Solar Sublime which features a patented UV filter that protects the hair from scalp to ends and provides lasting sun protection while styling the hair with a light hold. And it enhances the hair’s natural shine. It comes in a shampoo, conditioner, spray, and after-sun balm. Without UV protection, the UV rays will fade hair color, burn your scalp, and cause your hair to become more dry and brittle. If you are going on a vacation or spend a lot of time outdoors, this product is a must. You can purchase this from Gene Juarez locations or online.

Box color vs. Professional color

Everyone’s hair color is unique. Depending on if your hair has been colored, highlighted, damaged by other elements such as the sun or chlorine, or has never been colored (virgin hair), the formula for the perfect hair color will be different for everyone. When you purchase a box of color at the store, it’s like a “one-size fits all” color that has very unbalanced pH levels and overly strong chemicals. The goal of the companies that make box colors is to alter the color of your hair, but without taking into consideration what color hair you currently have, or what kind of hair history you have, it is impossible to guarantee that your hair will turn out to be the color that is shown on the front of the box. Many people attempt to color their hair with box color and it turns out orange. This is because it is not a custom formula made specifically for your unique hair and the overly strong chemicals try their best to change your hair color to the picture on the front of the box, but in most cases, it just damages it and turns it orange. I recommend not using box colors on your hair if you want it to be healthy, shiny, strong, and the color you really want it to be!

“Say goodbye to Pantene Pro-V!”

Pantene shampoos and conditioners are made of a large percentage of wax and are actually made in a wax factory. Ever wonder why the models for Pantene have such shiny hair? Well anyone who coats their hair with wax will have shiny hair! By coating the hair shaft with wax, it actually creates a shield or barrier between the hair shaft and anything that tries to enter the hair shaft. Therefore, anything you might try and put on your hair (including vitamins, minerals, moisturizers you think are getting into your hair from your shampoo) will not enter the hair shaft. For instance, let’s say you’ve been using Pantene and you try and get your hair colored or have a deep conditioning treatment done on your hair. What will happen is the wax build up will block the color or deep conditioner from penetrating the hair cuticle and will just slide right off of the shaft. You would be left with the same waxy hair that you started with. If you were to use a professional brand clarifying shampoo over your waxy hair, the wax would come off of your hair shaft and your hair would be left dry and brittle because it has been suffocated from receiving and nourishment while you were using Pantene for who knows how long! To restore your hairs health, you would need to do a deep conditioning treatment and start using pure, professional brand shampoos only sold at salons to get your hair back to a healthy, naturally shiny state. Moral of the story: don’t use Pantene (please!)