These four pictures are all from the same client, but at three separate visits.

There’s a before photo of her natural hair color, followed by a photo of her hair after the first session with Affinage B.Red in color Red with 20vol, the third photo is about 8 weeks later with the same formula applied again, and the final photo it is again the same formula applied another 8 weeks later.

It’s amazing how much brighter the color becomes with each overlapping session. We could have used a stronger developer to have produced a more prominent color result at the initial session, but she has had bad experiences previously with damage so we felt a more subtle approach would be the right start for us, and we love how gloriously it’s become over time.

Working with so many brands and methods of hair extensions makes me really happy because it means I virtually always have the best option for every set of hair needs.

This particular hair extensions masterpiece includes 2 different brands because of the methods required to create this density. This client actually has moderately thick hair that’s still soft, however in order to achieve her desired color effect her density and length at the ends simply no longer exists. No amount of Olaplex fixes the damage of getting hair to a clean “white” blonde shade.

To recreate the density she could have naturally at the length she likes we use beaded weft rows for the back of her head. This allows us to quickly and easily add a high volume of hair extensions to her existing hair. For the sides of her head we use two colors of tape in hair extensions because they lay flatter to the head and it allows us to add more colors for a dimensional effect mimicking highlights and lowlights.

Overall this look takes two 12 piece partial packs of tape in hair extensions as well as two 4 oz packages of 18″ weft hair (aka “tracks”). The actual hair extension process for this takes anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours to achieve depending upon energy level. She’s often my last client of the day and we don’t even start her highlights until 5pm so you can imagine how long some of those nights are. 🙂

We all know I love feathers, and glitter, and braids, and colors extensions, and strings in hair. We all know I love #FestivalHair of any kind, really.

This has been my new love! I’m actually looking at adding a hair piercing kit to my festival hair offerings on the Etsy so when I reopen after traveling please take a look.

I absolutely love when I get to make big changes for my lovely clients. This was a house call in Houston TX.

Her existing hair was already very thick had multiple shades of blonde and a bit of a shadow root/color melt effect producing a subtle ombre effect so matching her colors was really important. We actually ended up using almost 300 strands of 808 fusion hair extensions from Hair Shop in 6 different shades ranging from solid colors to some of their remade ombre tones as well.

This hair look took about 2.5 hours to complete and the resulting invisibility of her extensions was totally worth all that care.

I wanted to put out an article for clients because I’ve been zooming around Yelp looking at reviews to see what kind of posts might help stylists most based on problems that arise and instead I found the vast majority of bad reviews to be unhelpful in trying to spot error patterns.

If you are not satisfied and choose to leave a review take note of some things to include because the information in a review can be an immense help to potential clients and the salon staff:

1- Date of service: reviews don’t always load in order and you may be posting it after the fact, putting the service date in your review helps other potential clients understand how recently this issue occurred

2- Stylist: make a note of which stylist you saw, this helps the management staff address training head on and lets other potential clients know whether to avoid the entire location or just certain stylists

3- What service you had done: make note of what service you received and if possible what was dissatisfactory about it, again this helps management staff address training and it also helps potential clients make informed decisions

4- Your follow up: by this I mean what was your reaction at the time and what steps you’ve taken (if any) before leaving a review, these questions help potential customers get a feel for the salon culture and helps them make informed decisions about possible appointments

—examples: Did you feel confident leaving the salon and then later decide it wasn’t right? Was it wrong at the salon and you talked to the stylist or manager and they brushed you off? Have you spoken to the stylist or manager at all since the issue? Were you offered a refund or other compensation if you did speak to them? Is this review the first thing you’ve done to address the issue?—

A few months back I got tagged by one of my favorite hair extension companies for the opportunity to be featured as an expert on their company blog for their website. I was super flattered and excited to share some of my love and background with hair extensions.

Please feel free to go to their site and take a look at the feature!

Click here to go to the Di Biase blog post about me!

For anyone who has gone through cosmetology training we know we’ve been told not to use salon coloring products or lighteners over home dye jobs because metallic dyes can interact with the products and cause ridiculous amounts of damage to the hair and sometimes to the scalp.

I’m here to tell you about something most of us have never even thought about: lithium medications interacting with coloring products.

Lithium compounds, also known as lithium salts, are primarily used as a psychiatric medication. This includes in the treatment of major depressive disorder, that does not improve following the use of other antidepressants, and bipolar disorder. In these disorders, it reduces the risk of suicide. Lithium is taken orally, typically in pill form.

Lithium itself is a metal. Like many medications, lithium then becomes present in one’s hair/skin/nails/etc. While it typically does not react with most “deposit only colors” it can have extreme reactions with any color or product that is designed to lighten. It can react with the ammonia and hydrogen peroxide and create an intensely exothermic situation.

Yeah, it can get hot, boiling hot. On scalp applications can produce heat burns if not rinsed immediately, off scalp applications in foils or otherwise can produce chemical burns from boiling ammonia vapors escaping.

I know we as stylists can be a little worried about invading clients privacy, and since it’s not a common reaction nor a common medication it seems easier to ignore, but… I urge you to double check ahead of time if you have any reason to be concerned.

And for clients out there… please understand when we ask things like this we aren’t just being nosy or making conversation, we are taking your health and safety very seriously and we want you to leave happy with a head of beautiful hair and all your skin in good condition.

Normally I don’t like to post personal stories about what’s going on in my life on my public work related blog, but I’m making an exception because I feel it’s important for me to let everyone know what’s up in case I’m a little spacey or paranoid for the next little while.

I opened my home to my friend and her husband who had been displaced by hurricane Harvey and had been couch crashing…

And they stole from me.

Police have been involved, and thankfully they were only there for 2 days because in Texas after 3 days everything in the apartment becomes “community property” and they become “residents” and I would be required to file an eviction notice instead of just kicking them out.

A lot of the supplies from my Etsy shop are gone, a few of my hair related items are gone, a ton of my personal items are gone.

I am feeling empty and broken and upset with myself for letting this happen.

I am working hard to get everything sorted out so I can do my jobs properly.

Please bear with me if I’m not quite as on top of things as usual right now.

I brought a selection of goodies from my Etsy store up for my Virginia trip this time and I will have them by my station in the salon available for purchase.

Super excited to see everyone!

703.440.8073 to call Elany Image and get an appointment for yourself.

Schedule on the previous post.