I want to clarify my feelings on full coverage foundation. I have said to some of my guests that I don't believe in full coverage or total concealment foundations which is confusing when I typically use full coverage, waterproof, airbrush foundation for brides and other special occasions. What that means is I don't think that type of foundation or coverage is meant for day to day use. Unless you have something that requires that heavy of coverage, for example scars, birthmarks, or dark spots covering large areas of the face, you should only be spot covering and maybe blending with a sheer coverage. Healthy moist skin is more beautiful than any makeup. Now I know there are some with whom have severe dark circles or port wine stains and that's different. When I see teens and 20's smearing on tons of foundation, concealers, and contouring I cringe. At that time in your life you should be working to balance skin and wearing minimal amounts of face makeup. Especially during the daytime. When I walk past a 15 year old girl and can see more foundation than skin I think dollar signs. Why? because I know later I will have to clean up that skin and treat the acne involved because they are not letting in the precious oxygen needed to kill the acne bacteria. Truth is acne cannot live in an oxygen rich environment. It loves it when you jam tons of chemicals, oils, and dirt into your
So I recently took a certification class for microdermabrasion and advanced peels. It was great! I learned so many things. I performed a small Salicylic 20% peel on myself to see what it was like. I prefer to experience the services I perform for myself in order to fully understand them. I feel it makes me a better stylist if I have personal knowledge to go along with my education. I thought it was a little stingy which I was told it would be. Salicylic acid is great for acne. I found it kind of drying but that is a normal side effect. The after effects were plumping of the fine lines and after a day or two I noticed the few blemishes I had were gone. I received a few compliments about my skin when I wasn't wearing makeup. The little bit of superficial peeling afterwards was totally managable with moisturizer and light makeup. Now when I say I did this myself A) I am licensed professional with training for this B) I only did a little bit on my cheeks to avoid risking getting it in my eyes C) the product I used is only sold to and meant for professionals and D) I would never recommend
I went back and read some previous posts a realized I keep saying I will elaborate or post more and haven't yet. Um yeah. So today lets talk about basic skin care. I want to start with the basics of at home skincare because the problem I see the most often is a lack of basic care or improper care. Most people don't know how to clean their face properly. It's pretty simple. First you need a cleanser. Which one? Well that depends on your skin. I usually recommend the most gentle and natural you can find. I would list off examples, but that's too long and there is a good general rule to follow. Do you know what all of the ingredients are? Do you know what they are for? If the answer is no then you need to look them up or pick something else. I personally like a good natural oil to break down my makeup then I follow with a foamy cleanser. Pure olive oil and Surface brand Purify work great. (I sell Surface at the salon I work at) Also take care not to over do it with scrubbing, rubbing, pulling, scrstching, pinching, etc. It's not a criminal that needs punishing it's your face. Be gentle! Rinse with cool to warm. Hot water over dries, and yes dry skin breaks out as much as oily, and causes the skin to over produce oil. You can tone at this point just don't use alcohol or anything over drying. Toners are meant to restore pH not burn the hell out of you. Most important step is moisturizer. Yes moisturizer. This is half the battle of clean happy skin. I hear a lot of "I don't like how heavy or greasy it is" Solution use the heavy at night before bed or choose something lighter. "My face is already oily I don't want to be greasy all day" Answer if your skin is excessively oily then it is not balanced. As it tries to balance it may be overproducing to try to fix itself. A good moisturizer will help balance and fix the problem. This is not an immediate thing either, you have to have some patience. I will talk about this more later for now let's get back on point. So everyday wash & moisturize. Scrubs & exfoliants are once a week. ONCE A WEEK. Not everyday. Why? Say you give yourself a good scrub off on Monday, all the top layer of dead skin is gone. What is there now? Fresh new skin. If you go to town on that fresh skin you are going to damage it. Is damaged skin pretty? No it is not. Scrub on Sundays, moisturize everyday, and if you need serious overhaul seek professional help. Facials are affordable if you take all the money you spend on cheap masks and overpriced cleansers to the salon for some real treatment. I myself have tried all the at home masks, scrubs, serums, and whatever else the drugstore can sell you. I found real results getting real facials and taking care at home. Home care should only be cleanse, moisturize, sleep, drink water, and repeat. Unless otherwise intructed by your friendly liscensed professional. You can have healthy skin without buying 7 different products to later throw away cause no one wants that many steps everyday just on the face. I mean come on who has time for that?
Ok so I have tried to do this and failed miserably a few times... I am going to do better. That being said I have recently been to the Columbus, Ohio Beauty Classic and my brain is full of new knowledge. So much so that I had to take a ton of notes. I have signed up for some certification classes for Chemical peeling and to refresh and update my Microdermabrasion Skills. Sometimes you need to re-certify ;) I have returned to The Artistic Edge Salon and Spa as a skincare and spa specialist and boy am I excited! I have so many things to share with our beautiful clientele! With that I have decided to restart this blog to try to give some good info and share my journey with anyone interested. I will share things regarding the beauty industry but I am not a doctor and I am not telling anyone what to do. Meaning you are taking your beauty needs into your own hands. I strongly advise if some of the things I talk about or describe catch your eye always find an educated licensed professional to perform the service and ask questions. I cannot stress enough how important it is to go to a professional. Doctors, aestheticians, cosmetologists, dermatologists, and several other people with advanced certifications and education are the way to go. The internet is a wonderful place for information and inspiration but I have witnessed so many videos and instructional posts that have been inaccurate and sometimes dangerous. Also I have found many products for sale to the public that should not be used without training. For example you can buy tattoo equipment on Amazon but should you be tattooing yourself and friends in your living room? Absolutely not! Same goes for facial equipment and chemicals.We paid for extra education and practiced in controlled environments to be able to do what we do safely and correctly. Just because you can buy it on the internet does not mean it was meant for use at home or without advanced knowledge. Please be safe guys! Ok enough of that! I will return with some happy little tid bits you can do yourself to perk up. Till then... safe beauty please!
Well it is another beautiful day! Let's talk tools for hair care. So the other day while organizing and cleaning my bathroom my husband notices how many things I have for just styling hair. Curling irons, flat irons, blow dryer, and several brushes, combs, and products. He started to question the need for all of it when I politely said "whoa slow down buster!" if I have to live with your 30 pairs of shoes/boots and I don't know how many tools, you can allow for mine. Of course my lack of legitimate defense didn't work so I started to think a little more logically. When I thought about why I really had so many things for grooming only a single part of my person it occurred to me that my tools are just as important and versatile as his. When looking at my hair dryer I paid a pretty penny for it (upwards $100) but when it comes down to it I bought the same one I use at the salon. Why? When I am blowing out countless hair styles, long or short, I'm racking up a lot of time on that dryer. I use it for hours on end, several days a week, for around 2-3 years. On top of the fact the heat, weight, and consistency of quality are there I'd say I get my money's worth. If you think about how many times we buy on the cheap repeatedly, when we could spend the same amount for quality, it's crazy. So how does this relate to my husband? I'm getting there. When I dug through my drawer pulling out several different kinds of brushes and combs not only did I realize I had quite the collection but I was no different from my husband in a few senses. I give him a hard time for all of his stuff when in reality I'm no different. He has at least 10 different hammers. Well you wouldn't want to pound nails with a sledge hammer. Its the same for me. I don't want to detangle my hair with a round brush when a wide tooth detangler would be easier and more gentle. When it comes to tools whether your building a cabinet or teasing the perfect bump you need the right tool and the best quality you can manage. Don't be afraid to spend a little to obtain the right tools for the job even if it means you have to have your husband build an extra cabinet to house them! ;)
Well I've been out of the game for a bit. I had to take a small break to have another baby (wow!) and become a stay at home mom. I have still continued my education and tried some new things. I plan to share these soon. I may be adding some family stuff too. Thanks for reading see you next time.
OK so my wifi pooed out in the middle of the last blog post, so this tells me maybe I should make it shorter and more to the point. SO when talking to your stylist make sure to be honest. I know you really want those highlights and if they know you already lightened your hair previously theyr'e gonna say no. THere's area son for that. Depending on your hair integrity and history of chemical application your stylist may choose to say no to certain services to keep your hair healthy and intact. This means they won't turn it into cotton candy just to please you because there is no going back from that. No repairs or conditioning treatment is going to take back over processed. So not only does your head feel like a hay stack but it won't hold color either. The only way to fix that is cut it off. Long story short tell your stylist everything going on with your hair and skin. Chemicals, medications, and hormones are all capable of having an effect on your hair and skin.
Ok now this next bit is really simple, Heat Tools. If you buy cheap you get cheap. What this means is the tool itself is not made well. The surface that heats up has a coating on it and it will wear off quickly. The heating element does not hold up like it should and either does not get hot fast or enough or worse the thermostat wears out and it gets way too hot and burns you hair. Professional tools are more expensive but with good reason. We use them all day almost every day and they (with proper care) last a few years functioning like they should the whole time. One thing I cannot stress enough is get thermal tools with adjustable heat settings. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TEMPERATURE SET TO THE TEMP. THAT IS SAFE FOR YOUR HAIR TYPE! If you dont' know what that is, ask a professional to take a look and tell you. Finally, styling products should be used in conjunction to styling your hair for maximum effectivness. Hot appliances should be used with a thermal protectant at all times. When using hair spray avoid glue and alcohol and applying heat to moist hair. If it sizzles that's a bad thing! Any oils applied should be penetrating. Anything that doesn't will sit on the hair and skin. I do not recomend most oils be applied before heat styling because some are too heavy and can overheat on the hair shaft or turn thick and build up. When it comes to stylers look at your ingredients and have a professional show you how to use them. Really inexpensive products usually have a lot of things in them that can over time build up or cause damage. When it comes to price you can spend $7 10 times and still not like the result or you can spend $70 once and enjoy the look and feel it creates! Well I'm off to get ready for work. Thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyable beauty adventures! Hello again! Let's talk about hair today. I get quite a few guests with the same challenges in my chair on a regular basis. I would like to address some of these today because I've noticed many of them are easily fixed and a result of not knowing any better. Let's get started! 1. Split Ends: Everybody gets them no one is immune! There is no amazing repair, cure, serum, etc. that will "heal" them. The only way to combat split ends is to cut them off! Yes this means regular trims and haircuts. I know, I know you're growing it out and don't want to lose any length! Or the last time you said you wanted a healthy trim the girl took off too much. I get it, I've heard it all. Plus before getting my education and license I was a hair guest. SO here's the skinny. If you get regular trims and don't burn your hair with improper use of heat tools (which we will discuss shortly) your hair will get longer faster. How you ask? Simple! On average healthy hair and scalp grows .5 of an inch (1.25 cm) a month. So an inch every 2 months. If you get a trim every 8 weeks (trimming about a half inch or less at a time) to keep the ends clean your hair is still growing and looking healthy at the same time. Long hair with stringy, see through ends is probably not the look you're trying to achieve. Plus split ends left untrimmed continue to split and break. This means when you tell the stylist "I just want a trim to take off the dead stuff because I'm growing it out" one of two things will happen. A) The stylist does just that and cuts the 2-3 inches that NEED to come off to make your hair healthy again & you have a panic attack or B) He or She allows you to win the argument & only takes off that teeny tiny bit you are comfortable with and you leave with the problem not solved. The point being made here is beautiful hair takes time and maintenance. You have to put forth some bit of effort and trust a stylist to help you reach your hair goals. Stop being afraid of scissors they are not your enemy. Speaking of maintaining your hair, this brings up my next point. 2. Maintenance: You must take care of your hair if you want it to look the best it can. This means washing AND conditioning, styling products that are meant for your hair type, controlled heat styling, proper blow drying, and regular hair cuts. Most of all don't lie to yourself or your stylist! First things first, washing, conditioning and drying. Wash in warm water or cooler. (Hot water dries out the scalp and opens the cuticle more) Use a shampoo that is for your hair type. (My favorite brand is Surface) Only shampoo every other day at the most (Obviously if you get dirty wash up) and follow with a conditioner. Yes conditioning is part of the overall cleansing process. No it does not need to match the shampoo. I love, love, love Surface hair products. (http://surfacehair.com/) They are only sold by professionals. Mind you I have used personally and professionally Redkin, Matrix, Kenra, Pureology, Paul Mitchell, and various others. They are good products but for long term use and overall actual improvement in hair and scalp Surface beat them all. Ok enough about that! (If you have interest in this line message me or check out the website) Moving on. Drying... Use a wide tooth comb to detangle wet hair. While hair is wet it is in a very weak and fragile state, so all that snapping and breaking you hear as you rip through those lovely locks with that angry brush is litereally your hair breaking. Also don't rough up your hair with that bath towel. (Especially you curly girls) While the hair is wet, the cuticle is open, and when you rub the sins out of it you are in fact making the shaft rough. Try using a 100% cotton cloth or I've used an old T-shirt and gently wrap the hair up in it like you would to make that very fashionable turbin we all sport on occasion. Apply your leave in products or stylers that go on damp and let them sit for a minute. Now it's time to dry. If you want to be curly use a nice leave in product and a diffuser on your blow dryer. Minimal touching with the hands and medium heat. Straight and sleek you need a thermal protectant and a round brush or paddle brush. Put your concentrator on the dryer and follow from root to tip down the hair shaft, behind the brush directing the heat down the hairshaft, to close the cuticle. This means straight shiny hair. If you still have some wave after this then it's time to flat iron. However if you get good with your blow out technique you should only need to flat iron to touch up. Speaking of flat irons I will post either later or tomorrow, in regards to these and a few other tools, about proper use, care, and what makes a tool good to purchase. I have already discussed hair cuts previously so I don't think we need to go back to that. The last bit is about styling products, lying to yourself or your stylist, and heat tools,but today has been a pretty long post and I have a few diapers to change and snacks to make so I will have to stop here and say TO BE CONTINUED... See you next time where we will talk about communicating with your stylist, heat tools, and styling products. Thanks for reading! |
Amanda BarringerHello there! I am a busy mother of four and a cosmetologist. I have learned so much after having children and becoming a stylist. I would like to share what I've learned (and what I keep learning) about raising a family while balancing your beauty,health, and life, with anyone who has interest. Archives
October 2016
Categories |