Why I Love Top Pieces

On January 15, 2017January 18, 2017 By Christine RinehartIn hairLeave a comment

Some call them wiglets, mono-tops, toppers, closures, full tops, part pieces, and a million other names…

They all do the same thing though: provide hair addition options with greater coverage for the crown of the head.

I work with several brands because every company has different textures/density/sizing options and with a piece like this it’s important to get a great match.

Below is a photo showing an example piece, this one is by Tress Couture through Hotheads. My distributor for my area is Twin State, but that may vary based on your location.

Here’s some cool ways to use pieces like these:

-create instant bangs/fringe on clients not looking to commit to the cut

-provide thickness on thinning hair with visible scalp

-upgrade hair extension applications on short hair clients to better hide transition lines

-great for clients with unruly short or curly hair along the part line to provide a humidity resistant option

-great for clients who have an extreme color difference between their natural hair and their colored hair to hide roots between visits

-can be used to provide volume and/or length for updos on clients with fine or short hair

-can be used for creative color styles to create dramatic color shifts without hair color/lightener damage

-and probably a ton of other things I haven’t thought of yet

These pieces can be incredibly useful for clients and stylists to create dream hair for everyone.

Toners, Fillers, and Fantasy Applications

On November 30, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This is by far my favorite color theory visual I’ve ever worked with.

Color theory is often undervalued for coloring services but it comes into play heavily when working on corrective color applications, and even more so when working with fantasy applications.

Hairstylists have a pretty easy time explaining to clients the colors used to cancel out undesired undertones, and explaining the benefits of filler for preventing “hollow” colors. It’s harder to explain to clients that they can’t have lavender hair unless it can be made white first or else they’ll just have pastel brown.

Colors directly opposite of one another on the color wheel cancel each other out and create shades of brown (shown on the side of the chart). This information can be used to tone hair, or to accentuate tones.

The side labeled fillers consists of colors that exist as natural undertones when prelightening hair. If hair is lightened and needs to be dyed a natural shade that is darker then this pigment will need to be refilled first.

The side labeled toners is typically used to cancel out underlying pigment after hair is lightened. Green for red, blue for copper, violet for gold.

When doing fantasy color applications it’s important to keep this information in mind so you can get the results you’re looking for. Good luck everyone!

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

What Every Hairstylist REALLY Wishes You Knew

On May 20, 2016May 20, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyleLeave a comment

The number one thing we all wish our clients understood is that we work on commission.

This means there is no hourly fee. We make only a percentage of the service charges. We make nothing for the time spent between clients, or when someone shows up late, or not at all, or cancels at the last minute.

Our prices reflect the time and products necessary to take care of you that day, as well as the time and money we’ve spent getting to our level of expertise, and marketing expenses to fill our chairs.

What this means for you as a client:
-No, we can’t do this service for less money with the same result. The quality will suffer if we have to sacrifice time or products.
-No, we don’t “live” on tips like servers do, but…
-Yes, tips do make up a large portion of the income we make.

Please respect our time and financial needs so we can take care of your hair the way we both want to.

My Wedding Day Diva

On May 13, 2016 By Christine RinehartIn beauty, hair, lifestyle1 Comment

Super fun news: I’ve been tagged by My Wedding Day Diva as an industry preferred vendor!

I’m excited to be working with this company. They are absolutely wonderful.

Here’s an excerpt from their site:

“Welcome to MyWeddingDayDiva.com. We are so excited to help you dazzle your big day! From little to large every detail on your wedding day is extremely important.

Over the last 12 years, the founder of My Wedding Day Diva has worked with many elite organizations in the DC area that are held in high regard for their aesthetics and entertainment principles such as the Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals and Washington Redskins in addition to working for the United States House of Representatives. These experiences have provided her with the ability to execute premium services with attention to detail, precision and keen eye needed to make your day absolutely perfect and flawless.

How are we different from other services? We do IT ALL for your big day. We look at your wedding as a whole not just as a venue and vendors. Not only do we design and coordinate your wedding, our packages include fashion and decor styling. We take the intricate details and help dazzle the special touches that take your day from just a wedding to your personalized love story.

We also take over the tedious organizational tasks — master checklist, itinerary, organizing the bridal party, spread sheets to manage your guests, providing event information, vendor management, helping with photos all while getting Grandma a glass of champagne!

We will personalize and customize any of our packages to fit your needs.”

I can personally vouch for the exquisite taste and attention to detail that goes into everything MWDD is involved with.

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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.

Building Systems

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

This article series is aimed at motivated stylists who are looking at their schedule and looking at their income and wondering why there’s a disconnect. If you’re a salon owner or manager looking at some of these you may find you need to get your team on board before you can fully utilize these techniques.

That “I feel really busy because I never seem to be able to get everyone in when they first want, but my paychecks don’t show me as having an increase from my past income” feeling is something many of us know all too well.

I’m here to give you 5 fast ideas for things you can do to increase your income by building effective time management systems. Put a system in place and always, I mean ALWAYS, follow it and you’ll see great results not only in your income but in overall client satisfaction as well.

Follow me over the next 4 days to get some tips. 🙂

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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.

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!