Some Notes on Wedding Hair

On May 26, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyle, weddingLeave a comment

So it’s wedding season once again!

Don’t let wedding stress happen to you!

For hairstylists and brides alike this can be a stressful time so I’ve put together a list of things that can make all those hair interactions a little less crazed.

~8-12 weeks before the wedding: find a stylist and book the wedding date, your trial, possibly 2 trials, and map out color appointments and trims.

~4-6 weeks before the wedding: have your trial (with tiara, pins, veil, etc) and take final reference photos, make sure you have confirmed timing and number of people for services on day of.

~2-3 weeks before the wedding: do your color (if you normally color your hair) so that it has a little room to settle before the wedding, do your last trim before the wedding. Do NOT experiment with new color or cut this close to the wedding!

A few other notes:

-you want to look like yourself in photos, if you normally wear your hair a certain way use it as inspiration for your wedding hair, if you never wear it up in even a ponytail then maybe you don’t really want it all up for your wedding

-your hairstylist is likely to make more money at the salon than at your wedding so unless you’ve got the world’s biggest bridal party please bear in mind they are missing an entire 8 hour day to do 3 hours with you, often plus travel expenses, we love what we do, but please don’t assume tip is included in your total unless specifically stated

-typically it’s best for the bride to get her hair done second to last, you want to spend the morning “relaxing” as much as possible so make everyone else go first

-EXCEPT mother of the bride should be last, or in some cases the soon to be mother in law, these are people you want available to help run errands and be bullies to get things fixed, if they’re in a chair or already have their hair done they won’t be able to run around as much

Hotheads Hair Extensions, Makeover

On May 9, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyleLeave a comment

I do hair extensions day in and day out, and I always love what I do, but sometimes I get a client in my chair who’s transformation still blows me away.

This client is a cancer survivor. Her hair had finally started to grow back in and she was visiting someone in California where she went to get her first ever set of hair extensions. They stylist ordered no where near enough hair, and then proceeded to remove much of the length from the hair, and then began cutting into her natural hair in an effort to blend in the additions.

We went through and removed all of her existing hair extensions, colored her hair to a more even base color, and then reapplied a very full head of Hotheads tape in hair extensions that we ordered just for her.

The end result is that you can’t even tell she has extensions! She was really happy with the end look and that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. This is why I do what I do.

The Best of Both Worlds

On March 31, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2016-03-31 at 2.17.30 PM I’m super excited to be posting about this, albeit a bit late. I’ve been crazy busy with classes (taking and teaching) and I just wanted to share this super cool flyer.

Most of the classes I do are intimate salon settings with just a handful of stylists at a time, every so often I get to do really awesome things like this. I love all the education work I do, but seeing my name and photo on a flyer really do something for my soul.

For this particular class I’m teamed up with Darian Gavin who is another awesome educator from the Twin State family. He works with hair extensions as well as being an educator for Brazilian Blowout.

We’re really excited to be doing this class and helping to spread some serious hair love.

Facial Scrubs for Body Scrubs

On March 28, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, lifestyle, skin careLeave a comment

While I was at the New York International Beauty Show (#IBSNY2016 if you want to search the Instagram tags), I made several interesting purchases, along with things from my Sephora haul last month.

I’ve already got combination skin so I know that heavily moisturizing facial scrubs tend to trigger acne for me. Since I still wanted to try stuff out I decided I’d use them as body scrubs instead. This is actually one of my favorite uses when I buy or receive products that aren’t quite a perfect fit for me.

First up was Rebels Refinery Advanced Clear Skin Facial Scrub which was absolutely awesome and comes from a very cool company with the most amazing smelling Moisturizing Beard Oil that I’ve ever smelled. This scrub had a really nice gritty texture and made me feel super clean, but it’s definitely designed for men’s skin and to pair with a lighter moisturizer than what I use (and probably not use make-up with either). I did notice that my skin was super smooth, and when used as a body scrub all over I had no ingrown hair issues, razor burn, or even a need to use body lotion. For someone with dryer skin, or as a body scrub I rate this as one of the best I’ve used, but for my face it’s a waste.

Second I tried my luck with Ole Henriksen Walnut Complexion Scrub which had similar issues. Absolutely wonderful as a combination body scrub body wash but not really working for my face. Great texture, and decent lather when mixed with water, nice smell.

Hopefully the next set of things I get my hands on prove to be a better fit for my skin type as we approach warmer weather again. Get stoked!

Got any recommendations you think I should check out? Leave them in the comments section and I’ll be sure to take a look.

Not Always a Win

On March 16, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, lifestyle, skin careLeave a comment

Not everything I buy to try is a product I’m destined to love forever.

Screen Shot 2016-03-15 at 9.43.06 PM

Recently, in my Sephora haul, I purchased Glam Glow Super Mud to try. My good friend and former assistant, Vanessa who works at the Springfield Town Center Sephora location, assured me I would love it. While I acknowledge it is a beauty junkie favorite, and it did great things for my skin, I just can’t get past the scent.

It contains several herbal extracts, like licorice, which give it a distinct smell that ends up being extremely reminiscent of Jagermeister. I just can’t handle it.

This is a bit of a loss because my skin does feel incredibly refreshed and clean. The goal of using it tonight was to make up for three days of chain-smoking in my car traveling to teach hair extension classes out of town. It worked amazingly so I’m disappointed a bit, but I’m planning on gifting it to a current staff member who really enjoys Jager.

Cold Weather Hair Tips

On January 6, 2014 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hairLeave a comment

The weather changes with each season, why would you expect the same routine to work year round? You may need to add, remove, or completely change the products and tools you use. Here’s some points to get you started:

Use More Leave-Ins

The weather is harsh and the cold can be detrimental by hiding how humid or dry the air is. Trust me, you need the extra love, especially if you’re blowdrying more often to avoid leaving with wet hair.

Use Softer Hold Products

Gels and mouses that hold firmly will dry feeling too stiff in cold weather, so go for a lighter hold when choosing products for fall and winter months. You can always tease or add a finishing spray.

Be Wary of Protein Heavy Products

Yes, usually it’s thought of as a good thing, but it may not be necessary to add extra proteins to the hair. Normally a product that is protein rich will protect damaged hair, but if there is no damage they can build-up and may make hair dull and brittle. Avoid these unless your hair is actually damaged. Cold weather is not forgiving to brittle hair.

Use More Conditioner

Get into the routine of using extra conditioner to counteract damaging cold weather. Simple. Use more, rinse thoroughly.

Seal With Oil or Silicone

Jojoba and almond oils will add shine, and coconut oil and shea butter are perfect for coarser hair types. Silicone also works well as a moisture barrier to keep your hair soft.

Seasonal Makeover, Autumn 2013, Part 3

On October 30, 2013 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair1 Comment

I know, I know. I’ve been slacking a bit on the posts recently, but it’s only because I’ve been busy doing fun stuff on people’s heads!

For this client we wanted to blend out a previous color root line and add noticeable length and some thickness using hair extensions. Her base cut was not changed dramatically, only a reshaping of the bangs/fringe area was done before the hair extensions were applied.

Working with her color it was key to take into account her upcoming schedule: she’s getting married in less than a year and wants it to be very blonde for that.

In the meantime however, we wanted something more subtle. To achieve this look we added mid tone highlights using a high lift color and lowlights using a level 6 golden brown demipermanent color. Demi was used for the darker tone so it would fade out before we’d be coloring for her wedding. This reduces the amount of bleach we would require later, and helps prevent brassiness when it’s lightened again later. The result was a slight ombre effect that should blend in with minimal root for the Fall and Winter seasons.

We then applied hair extensions in multiple colors from So.Cap USA and DiBIasi. We used two brands to mimic the natural variation in textures on her own hair, some being fine and some being ultra fine. There are dark and light hair extensions added but we tried to keep the balance heavier on the blondes to bring some more brightness to her look.

This was definitely a fun one, it’s not often I get the opportunity to fully double someone’s length!

You’re gorgeous and I can’t wait to see you in my chair again, hunny!

Seasonal Makeover, Autumn 2013, Part 2

On October 1, 2013 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyle1 Comment

For this client we wanted to do something a bit more subtle. With a family wedding just a few weeks away we wanted something that would feel brighter and richer without being so different that roots would be visible in pictures from the event.

We started by taking a look at her natural hair. She had no coloring services on her hair so we used the sun lightened ends of her hair as our target colors for her highlights. Her hair tends to take on a golden/cinnamon color so we applied a slightly redder tone on the highlights throughout the sides and a more golden toned color for the highlights through the crown area.

The color result was augmented by slight changes to her hair cut as well. By adding more layers, especially at the front, we were able freshen the layers framing her face and show off our new color better.

The only styling product used on her hair was “It’s a 10” leave-in conditioner. Her hair was blowdried out with a round brush and then touched up with a flat iron for

additional smoothing and control shaping.

Hope this was a fun inspiration for some of you to show that makeovers don’t have to be big to fun. Enjoy the weather!

Seasonal Make Over, Autumn 2013

On September 17, 2013 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair1 Comment

I’m absolutely loving the cooler weather approaching, and along with it comes all the beautiful reds/browns/brondes! This was a wonderful makeover I got to do on one of my favorite clients. (I promise, you’re all my favorites.)

Our starting point was a level 5 dye over pre-existing highlights underneath, so I knew there could be some variation if we tried doing a very full highlight pattern. Instead, we opted to highlight just around the face in a “Victoria’s Secret” style pattern. We used a very low volume lightener and then toned with a golden blonde.

Once her natural hair was prepped to the desired colors we began the hair extension application. We used fusion hair extensions from multiple companies to get all the colors we were looking for. We applied a base of natural brown extensions, adding red and gold ombre pieces throughout the front and lower layers of her hair. The result was a stunning Autumnal blend of colors and gorgeous all over length.

I always love being able to really create and build new looks for my clients, and I’m particularly happy with this one!

Bronde: The Perfect Transitional Color

On August 13, 2013 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hairLeave a comment

A lot of us are holding onto Summer season but as September draws closer we are forced to admit Autumn will soon be upon us. Many people choose to change their hair coloring or style with season changes and as a hairstylist changing is one of my favorite things to do.

What direction to adjust hair color though? Bronde. It’s only a sort of made up word. Halfway between blonde and brown lies bronde. A beautiful tone that compliments almost everyone. It’s a personal favorite of mine for Autumn because it’s warm and vibrant without being over the top.

If you’re currently a blonde: ask your stylist for some chocolate lowlights and a honey wheat colored toner. This will add depth and richness to your hair without giving you an overall dark color.

If you are currently a brunette: ask your stylist for some face framing highlights in a caramel tone, and if you’re really dark ask for some tawny or bronze low/highlights to break it up further. More colors helps avoid stripes.

If you are currently a red head: okay, yes this is a trickier color for you to get to, and I recommend using it more as inspiration than actually copying it. To get a similar feeling without sacrificing your luscious red you could ask for amber or copper highlights to kick up some brightness, and/or mahogany or chestnut lowlights to bring more depth.