Dusting the Ends

Even the tiniest trim can make a difference in long hair. Just a dusting can take you from scraggly to put-together.. I almost always dust the ends of my clients hair after any chemical service at no charge. This was a keratin smoothing client who was really nervous about losing any length. Even this few millimeters of a trim made a difference though, don't you agree?

What a Difference a Trim Makes

A picture is worth a thousand words, right? This is about a quarter inch trim -length you won't miss at all- but look at the difference it makes in how thick/healthy the hair looks. I admitt a two inch cut would work wonders in that department but sometimes you have to go in increments because you really want that length for a special occasion or event. Being a long hair lover myself I totally get it. But I like to give all my long hair clients at least a complimentary dry dusting of the ends every time I see them. I think a full-on hair cut should be done at least every three months (seasonally) and the right products at home make for great length instead of just long hair that doesn't really do much for you.

Enjoy the sun everybody! 

Keratin Smoothing Model Number 4!

This is an interesting case..
This model does not want her hair cut.. mostly, because of the texture, what she does is have it curled with an iron (to tame the frizz) about once a week. After a week this is about where it is:


She really doesn't like the look of her hair when it's straight, so we decided to do an experiment. I would do the regular treatment (take photos) and then use a curling iron on the treated hair. I had no way of knowing whether the curl would take immediately following the treatment, but we decided to give it a shot!
So, here are the photos of the treated hair. (note: I am going to post a whole separate post on getting long hair cut, but I totally respect people not wanting to part with length for whatever reason.. but this is about Keratin Smoothing, so I will save that for a separate post) Oh - let me do the close ups first so you can see the difference in texture (sorry the 'before' doesn't have a flash so it's a little blurry, but I think you can get the idea)


Here are the not-close-ups (pre curling iron) :




Now - I did the curls quickly and loosly (this took a long time) but I will say before hand that I have heard from her and they did not stay overnight, despite lots of hairspray etc. (I'll post what she said in a minute here).. But it does give you an idea of what you *can* do after this treatment. She's been curling it herself at home so overall it's 'worked' but I had hoped it would be like a miracle and give her frizz-free waves, but alas, it didn't. It is smooth - but she still needs to put the curls in herself. Like I said though, she CAN curl it.. ok enough - here's the photos: (note: 'before' photo is pre-straightening as well, to give the most dramatic effect)
Here is part of the email she sent me about how it held up the next day (the curling):
"The curl didn't stay : ( unfortunately, but probably would stay a little longer if I did the pin-curl thing. And thank you again so much for all your labor over it, I know you ended up staying pretty late. The pics ... really showed off your talents in how you can transform dry hair into a smooth texture - espeically the curls. I was experimenting with an iron last night and it really does look pretty with the curls in it. I think I may have to invest in some hot curlers .. as I think that will be the best way to achieve the curls on a day to day basis without too much trouble. I'll probably have you trim my hair - a little"

Now, I thought about pinning the curls to help them 'set' but since with the Coppola Smoothing they are very specific about not wearing clips or pins etc and keeping it really straight the first three days (and I was already being quite the maverick by curling it same day) I decided not to pin it.
Again, the circumstances here were very special - I *really* did not want her to walk out without it looking great, and there was no way to do that without a major cut, which was out of the question.. so curling it was my only option (other than not being happy with the way it looked). It really does look nice curled and camoflages the need to cut it.. that is the ONLY reason I curled it (didn't follow mfg directions to a "T" is what I mean).

So - like I said, an intersting case..
Please feel free to contact me for any questions, and for those of you who have contacted me, I WILL get back to you - It's been a busy week with regular work and doing models. Busy , but very fun!

Best to all!
Lynn