The Beauty Denominator

Aging of course has both pros and cons, but I prefer looking at the pros today. Are we aging gracefully? I know I still like to look attractive, but I totally accept my wrinkles now. I do not stress out any more because of an age spot or a pimple and I’m tired of coloring my hair. I have had gray hair more years than I care to remember.

When I worked in the salon I was amazed by the number of young people that were prematurely gray and of course since you want to sell color in a salon you have to look well groomed and have your hair looking it’s best and they prefer you to have an appealing color shade or a trendy look depending on the salon type. I have decided to go natural there is too much upkeep and it can get very expensive. Also any chemical taken internally or externally can cause severe reactions with your hair.

Perms and color are 2 of the biggest money makers in our industry and can do the most damage. Granted they make us feel younger and more attractive so I’m sure the decline of these chemicals are not eminent in the near future. I saw a lot of stylist that either didn’t care or forgot the proper procedures for giving perms. Steps were always missed that shouldn’t have been.

I often saw that the hair wasn’t rinsed long enough when perming and if you do not get all of the perm out and take the proper steps when you put the neutralizer on it will seal in the smell of the perm and you will smell like that perm for a very long time. I know it feels like a very long time when you are rinsing someone, but it needs to be done. A timer should always be set for the proper time limit and care should be taken for every inch of that head.

They make products now so people can perm and color in the same day. Are we really in that big of a hurry to totally damage our hair? Yes of course we are. We want what we want right now. Of course when you start with a new client you have to have them sign a release form in case of an accident, but as far as I’m concerned that doesn’t stop my moral obligation to inform my client of all the possible damage that could incur. Clients need to be educated and we have that responsibility. If my client wanted something I knew would cause real damage I would not even consider it.

There are some shops that will do whatever their client wants just for the money without bothering to point out the possible end results. I have had people return to me after someone else over processed them to repair their hair so I do know. Over processed hair and breakage takes a long time to return to a healthy state. One of the reasons I stopped working in a salon was because I did not like damaging other peoples hair. I was suppose to be taking care of it and showing them the proper way to take care of it, not destroying it.

Well, I am sorry I was going to type about aging gracefully today, but ended on a chemical tangent. For me the best part is hair design a good cut can do wonders.