A great hair day starts with an amazing haircut. Any style can really show off a great cut, but none more than a classic awesome blowout. If you have slightly shorter than shoulder length or longer hair and have always wondered how other people get their hair to look so good, read on and then people will wonder that about you. The right shampoo, conditioner and styling products for your hair can make or break the results of your efforts. Make sure you get proper guidance from a trained professional on what to use. Before shampooing, get your hair really, really wet. Then apply a smaller amount of shampoo than you think you need. Begin massaging it in, then run your head under the shower to add more water if needed. You probably won’t get a lot of lather on the first shampoo—that’s okay! After a minute or so, rinse until the water going into the drain is clear, without foam. Then repeat. Now you should get lots of lather. Focus on the scalp, not the hair. That gets the scalp really clean and the hair gets enough shampoo to get really clean too, but it doesn’t rough up the cuticle. Again, rinse till water drains clear. Then apply conditioner from mid-sections to ends, and comb thru section by section gently with a wide tooth comb. That will get enough conditioner on the roots without applying it directly. Put in a clip and shave legs or do whatever else takes a few minutes. Again, rinse, rinse, rinse. Then finish with a cool water rinse to shut down the cuticle, which smoothes and adds shine. I recommend using a facial cleanser for a second cleanse after rinsing conditioner to prevent breakouts along the hairline. When you towel dry, squeeze the hair in the towel as opposed to rubbing the towel all over the hair. Again, that keeps the cuticle happy and the frizz down. Apply styling products according to your trained professional’s recommendations. Using a gentle brush, gently brush product through the hair in sections starting at ends and working your way up. Do not rip the brush through your hair! When you have a really great high-voltage blow dryer with tourmaline, ionic airflow, three temps and high and low settings, you really don’t need to use a thermal protector. Put it on medium heat and high speed and dry until 85% dry. This reduces drying time for the sectioning. Switch to low 40 www.nAPAVA L L E Y L I F Emagaz ine.com speed and dry bangs with a paddle brush going from left to right and right to left a few times for a soft, pretty, modern bang. Section hair from behind ears to low crown and clip on top of head. Using a round boar or porcupine brush, approximately 2”-3”, take brushwide sections, not too thick, and dry directly on brush going straight up and manipulating the hair around the brush, pulling hair with ends inside the curl on the brush through, and twirling the brush around in your hand. When dry leave brush on section for a few seconds to cool a bit. Then unroll brush while twirling it. This locks in curl, body, and memory. Repeat until lower back of head is done. Unclip top hair and section out the side; clip up the rest. Repeat the drying, section by section. Each section should not take more than a few minutes if it’s just a little damp. Then do the other side. Be sure you are pulling the hair straight up in the brush and twirl it, directing the dryer to the roots so that they dry UP. When sectioning each piece, try going vertically or at a diagonal instead of horizontally. You’ll get a more modern voluminous effect. When you get to the crown area, put the cool shot on the roots and hair after it’s dry to lock the lift in. You can even put it in a Velcro roller or use a duck bill clip to hold the curl. The trick is to cool the scalp and hair completely, as this will lock in volume. I leave the rollers in while I do my makeup to let it all cool after spraying with a flexible hold hair spray. Then take them out and finger fluff. I like to use a pump of argan oil and really run it through all the hair. That gives it a piecey texture and shine. Finish with a dry, flexible hair spray and admire your mad skills! Flip that hair around and be delighted with yourself all day! Really, you may be delighted for four days. The next day use a dry shampoo to refresh, use a spray and touch up problem areas with dryer. The next day after that, use dry shampoo and put into a French twist with a clip or pins, or pull into a pony. You might even be able to get another day out of it. Another option is to backcomb the sections around the crown, by taking a section and backcombing underneath it, laying it down and doing another one underneath. To backcomb, hold hair section straight up, start just above the roots and comb toward roots; repeat moving toward ends until about halfway up to ends. Then lay section down. This method brushes out easily. This is like a meditation. And like meditation, it takes some practice and patience if it’s new to you. But the rewards are endless. There are many products for lots of effects. We would love to help you find the right products to help you master your at-home blow-out. But if you just aren’t up for trying it yourself, just come on in and we’ll give you a blow-out to love. Sara Chappellet is a creative entrepreneur and owner of Heaven and Earth. Stop in for a chat about anything! 1317 Main Street, St. Helena. www.heavenandearthbeautystore.com Strictly Beauty by SARA CHAPPELLET YOUR Celeb OWN rity BLOW-OUT
NVLife_NovDec_2013
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