I am bound to ruffle a few feathers with this months blog. Despite the recession clients are still flocking into the salons, changing the market, and yes, shopping. Money seems to be walking into the salons that offer these fly by night Bohemian trends & services.
Whether it’s Herring bone braids, feather hair extension pieces (rooster, peacock), coon tail, animal print hair extensions (giraffe leopard tiger), Hair Gems, tinsel, jewelry, colored mohawks, fauxhawks, hair tattoos, smash color, dip dye, ombré hair color, reverse ombré, chalking or a combination of any of the above, anything goes and only stops with the Stylist’s creativity.
Hair Designed By Sherry Miller February 2010
In many salons the forerunner trend was the Feather Extension’s. They were issued back in style (less the multi-purposing “roach clip”) recently by none other than classic rocker, Steven Tyler who first wore it during the 70-80’s at the height of drug culture. After Steven Tyler walked on American Idol with this trend dancers on Dancing with the Stars started to appear feathered. You would have thought he had recorded a new version of Yankee Doodle Dandy, as this act seemed to spark a wide spread feather marketing Revolution. This not so simpleton stuck it on his cap and called it the height of fashion. On NY runways, Brides with angelic white tail feathers could be seen next to their winged counterparts modeling honeymoon negligees at Victoria Secrets. The style became so popular by July that Bait & tackle shops everywhere ran in low supply when beauty suppliers simply ran out of rooster & peacock feathers to sell the Salons. This caused an increase in feather prices from $40 to nearly $60 for 2-5 feathers. Feather companies assured animal rights activists that no harm was done to collect the feathers as they fall off often and naturally.
I found my Salon clients heading in for a more upscale, conservative, and classic style approach. Smoothing Frizzy hair out with Brazilian Blowouts and opting for Multi-dimensional natural colors. Some preferred full fringe bangs like Nichole Kidman before her return to strawberry blonde spiraling curls. Other clients went without bangs just long layered designer cuts with warm natural browns like Kate (formerly Middleton) the Duchess of Cambridge, the Kardashians, or Angelina Jolie. Buttery blondes also topped the list as seen on Jennifer Aniston or Gwyneth Paltrow with sharp A line Bob style cuts and voluminous hair Extensions. Halle Berry type Pixie cuts was requested on shorter hair and Marisa Miller Beach Babe waves on mid-length or long. Permanent texture services remained preferred over the use of heat conicular or cone shaped ironing tools.
Some mix of the two could be seen with Marissa Tome’s Ombré color with a slightly disconnected wavy long layered bob (as seen in the Lincoln Lawyer) or on Stephanie Szostak (Dinner for Schmucks).
As we head towards fall more intense radiant reds and haloing gold rush blondes will return just to keep pace with the intensity level of this summers heat wave!
Beachy & Brazilian or Body Wave
Blonde, red, brunette
Classic Beachy Babe Hair
August Blog 2011
It’s hard enough just working out to be beach worthy in your swimsuit so why not let your Stylist do the work on your hair? This months blog is for those that want to get that classic California “Beachy Babe Wave Look” Farrah Fawcett made extremely popular back in the 1970′s and has come back recently best fashioned by Marisa Miller. If you have not taken the time already to use Paul Mitchell’s Sea Spray in-between sun & surf than read on, oh, read on anyway..
FYI Non- professional over the counter Sea salt sprays can actually take color and texture treatments out of the hair so unless you have virgin hair color and have a natural wave of your own proceed with caution. If you are not sure how any product will effect your color or texture please talk to your stylist before you buy it. I usually recommend No Salt and No Parabens for my clients and I am currently using AG’s Liquid effects and Cocktailing it with either Crack Hair Fix Creme or Brazilian Blowout’s Serum to obtain a Frizz Free Beachy wavy look tailoring and adjusting the formula mix based on the amount of curl or texture each individual client has. On days my client is not shampooing I have them wet it down & restyle it with AG’s Curltrigger then “scrunch” it dry.
If you do not already have a natural wave your local salon should carry a peroxide free perm or body wave. This is an essential first step because the use of any styling product alone will not be able to give it to you. Your stylist should follow with styling tips, appropriate retail products compatible with your hair type, and show you how to recreate your look at home.
After you’ve got your wave on an equally important part of pulling this look off is ombré hair color or sun-kissed highlights. As a professional colorist, I do not use bleach but a mix of organic lightener made from Seaweed, minerals, and protein enzymes.
I use either an American or French Balayage technique to apply it. The difference between the two is to foil or not to foil both are free-hand one of a kind artistry. I follow with an in-salon Biominal treatment meant to restore the pH balance of the hair and/or add DuraGloss to lock it in made by the John Amico Brand. If your hair is already platinum blonde it may require some no-ammonia lowlights underneath to add depth and create a more natural sand cast look.
Most importantly always use a thermal protectant spray while in the sun or any heat. It controls frizz, flyaways, and adds UV/UVA protection for both scalp & hair.
If swimming saturate your hair with water first, apply a leave in conditioner or mask (like Brazilian Blowout) and then go in water. When hair is at saturation level it can not soak up as much chemical/salt water as if it’s sponge dry. Add a protective barrier and keep out
other environmental woes that extract hydration from both hair & scalp.
Ok, now that we know what to do it’s time to hit the beach or a local salon and enjoy!
For more tips & trends visit SherryMillersSalon.com
“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” A phase first coined in 1878 in a novel called Molly Bawn by Margaret Wolfe Hungerford. Mrs. Hungerford was an Irish novelist whose books were mostly published under her pen name “The Dutchess”. This phrase leads me to our blog topic this month on how to have beautiful eyes.
One of the first things most people see when meeting another person is your eyes. Like a window to ones soul a lot of first judgments can be made upon first glance. So let’s talk about how one should dress this window.
These days at the salon we enhance the natural beauty of eyes with professional make-up, eyelash extensions, and semi permanent mascara for starters. We also offer non-drug therapies or chemical alternatives like eye lash treatments that can add strength to fine or weak natural lashes using organic Bamboo, mineral mascara, laser light therapy, or other protein based formulas to increase the thickness, length, & rate of growth on natural lashes. Natural lashes can be dyed, permed, or temporarily curled.
Eyelash pulling can be cured just like nail biting. Salons are able to give you instantly beautiful sculpted or acrylic nails and we can offer a set of lashes. Cancer patients who have lost eyebrows & lashes no longer need to go without thanks to Salon professional companies like Nu-brow and Grace Alberts Aesthic’s (formerly known as Adriel International).
Eyelashes can be given a protective coating first in the Salon so they can grow to full length, strengthen, & thicken natural lashes and not fall out mid cycle or be thin & weak. After that if more thickness or length is desired Novalash eyelash extensions can give them immediate results. Visit Novalash.com to find a certified eyelash extentionist near you.
Not only are eyelash extensions a time saver for busy women that want to look their best all the time without a daily application of mascara but it supports a new “Fresh Faced” lighter and less is best trend we are seeing today as opposed to Gothic or a heavy, dark, unnatural caked on look.
Every year Mother’s Day comes and you are never quite sure what you can give her that would really honor your Mom. Why not give her something for the whole world to see this year? Subscribe to our Blog and enter your Mom in our Contest by writing a post on why you feel your Mom deserves a Make-Over. If your Mom is chosen her picture will be seen around the world from our blog & web site along with your words to her. What could be nicer for Mom than a Pampering Day at the Salon, a New and Improved Look, & an Honoring on-line tribute?
Prize Details: One winner will receive a Custom Designed Make-Over by Sherry Miller at her Salon in the Rochester, NY area.
Total Value $500 USD
Contest Ends on Mother’s Day (5/8/20011)
For Official Rules *See Salon or Read below.
*No purchase neccessary to enter.
*Contest open to residents within a 50 mile radius of our Hamlin, NY location. Salon Beauty Blog Subscribers/Clients can enter between May 3, 2011 and May 8, 2011 (11pm EST) by submitting a response to the follwing statement : “Explain in 50 words or less, why your Mom (must be your Mom or your legally adopted Mom) deserves a Make-Over with Sherry Miller at her salon.” Anyone can enter from our web site at SherryMillersSalon.com and click on our Beauty Blog link. Bloggers/Clients that enter must agree to allowing before and after pictures of themselves and Mom to be published on our web site and blog if chosen.
*Entry cannot be duplicated, spammed, mechanically produced, or copied.
*If your entry is not legible it will be disqualified.
*Limit one entry per household/per person.
*SMS is not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, any technical, or operator difficulties.
*Prize Package is as stated in promotional literature and cannot be transferred, redeemed or exchanged for cash value or other services/retail products.
*Prize will be awarded as follows: (1)One “Mom who Deserves a Make-Over” package will come to our Salon location for an apppointment with Sherry Miller during the daytime hours of 10am-4pm on a weekday Mon thru Thursday. The Prize must be claimed by May 27, 2011 and appointment made. If the winner does not make the original appoinment the Prize is forfeited and another Mom will be chosen.
* Sherry Miller reserves the right to substitute a prize of equivalent or greater value if the prize package becomes unavailable.
* To qualify entries must follow all these official rules.
* Winner will be Chosen by Salon Commitee on or about May 10, 2011. Decisions are final with respect to all matters relating to our Mother’s Day Make-Over Contest.
*Winner will be notified via Sherry Miller by email and/or Sherry Miller’s Salon Blog/Sherry Miller’s Web site. In the event the winner is not able to be contacted an alternate contest winner will be chosen.
* Winner is required to sign a Winner Sheet/Salon Release Form and provide their Social Security Number when prizes are claimed within 10 days of notification.
*Entries submitted for this contest will become the intellectual property of Sherry Miller’s Golden Chair Salon. Winner’s name and town may be posted on our web site.
*Winner is subject to all applicable federal, state, & local taxes.
*Contestant agrees that this contest shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York and proper venue for any and all actions deemed exclusively proper in state court in Monroe County, New York or in the federal court of Western District of New York.
*A winner’s list will be available after May 11, 2011 by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Sherry Miller’s Salon
My Mom Needs a Make-Over Contest
1728 Monroe Orleans County Line Rd.
Kendall, NY 14476
Attention: Advertising
If no valid entries are offered and no winner is chosen Sherry Miller Reserves the right not to publish results, end contest, or pick a substitute winner.
OK!! Now with all of the legalites out of the way..let the Mother’s Day 2011 My Mom Needs a Make-Over Contest Begin!! I am so excited to see the face of one very Blessed Mom who WINS the Prize!
In Honor of all Mom’s everywhere and to My Own Beautiful Mom I wish you a
Have you been “Shellaced”? If not, it’s time for some “Shellacing”…
Pardon the pun & pithy comments, all joking aside, there is some serious science here ladies!!
For the past year women all across the nation have been lining up for this revolutionary Hybrid Nail Colour. Shellac® is just the latest invention by a world- renowned company called Creative Nail Design or CND for short. Co-Owner, Global Educator, & Fashion Icon, Jan Arnold has pioneered her Company since 1979 to be a leader in many Salon & Spa Beauty enhancement and Nail Industry firsts. Jan has followed in her Father’s footsteps. She is the daughter of a brilliant Dentist and Organic Chemist named Dr. Stuart Nordstrom whose discoveries & patents launched the CND Company. In the 1970’s Dr. Nordstrom, a practicing dentist by day got the idea for a new nail enhancement product when one of his patients (a manicurist), remarked that the material used to prepare temporary caps smelled like the material used to sculpt porcelain nails. Dr. Nordstrom spent his nights as a chemist in his garage/lab until he was able to turn ideas into reality.
Some of Dr. Nordstrom’s work included the industry’s first ever monomer formulation for greater nail strength and flexibility – and the first ever to deliver natural, non-yellowing nail colour called SolarNail®. SolarNail® was foundational. Later on CND would continue with multiple innovations that would pave the way for not just beautiful hands & feet but lots of smiles as well!
CND is a solidly science based. The Company understands that chemistry remains a core competency paired in the hands of professionals who know how to use and apply their products. To the Salon Professional it promises to be grounded in performance and is known for it’s high quality. When most companies were outsourcing R&D this family owned business invested millions in their own custom-built lab. CND is one of only a handful of nail companies to maintain an in-house Research & Development lab that still creates individual formulation for each of the current 24 Shellac Shades building it to 36 by this years end (2011). According to Jan, the R & D to create Shellac ® took 5 years.
So what is Shellac ®, how does it work, & what does it do? You ask. Shellac ® is a hybrid nail colour that goes on like a polish, wears like a gel, and removes in minutes. Safely & effectively it allows salon clients to grow & maintain their own natural nails by providing flexible support without any damage to the nail beds. This UV cured nail polish has ZERO downtime. When professionally applied the results leave your nails chip free, smudge proof, flawless, stronger, & protected lasting 14 days on hands and 1 month on feet. A Shellac manicure looks very high maintenance but requires very little, and is as simple as booking your next salon appointment. Regular 2-week salon visits will ensure proper results. Take-home product Solar Oil ® is also recommended and should be applied nightly before bed to help keep cuticles hydrated.
Shellac is hypoallergenic & 3 FREE – containing no formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP. The formulation of solvents, monomers, oligomers, & polymers is what has made Shellac a trusted Salon Industry breakthrough and is no longer just a craze but has become a staple for the Salon Professionals when performing nail services.
Why did I choose Shellac ® for my Salon? Character counts and reputation is worth more than gold.
Shellac Colours Available at Sherry Miller's Salon, Spring 2011
It is important to me to simply provide the very best service experience possible for my clients with the longest lasting results. After doing my homework Shellac sounded to be the least evasive on the natural nail and provide a longer lasting color than traditional nail polish. Shellac may not be for everyone though (at least not without some professional in-salon tweaking). I would have liked CND or my local distributor’s to have provided more hands-on education in the Rochester, NY area since one cannot effectively YouTube the real experience of attending a professional classroom with other professionals. I have found that Salon professionals that do not work for the manufacturer or distributor often provide more education/tricks of the trade/techniques than the educator, especially if they have worked with several different products that can be compared. Some information available on the net was helpful but some was simply incorrect. It’s a sticky wicket on the net when trying to discern great marketing from the real life perspective. Perhaps it is time for Cosmetologist’s to take education into our own hands when it is not provided by the manufacturer. It’s time to change the face of education in our field and give it a well needed makeover by holding our own professional educational seminars so we can get the correct information we need, network with others, and talk shop amongst ourselves without bias.
Shellac does not do well on its own with people who have soft nails and are aggressive in their activities/work environments (like mine) but is really better for those who have naturally hard nails. In my salon, I found it is beneficial to apply an additional CND product prior to Shellac to make it the most effective for all nail types or to choose another product brand altogether that is more gel based than polish to tailor it more for those individuals . There is a difference between Colored Gel products and Hybrid Nail Polish. Gelish by Hand & Nail Harmony, OPI AXXIUM & other Colored gel brands are a mix of direct dye and gel. A gel product is recommended for soft or weak nails over a Hybrid Polish because it is harder and will build another layer of endurance. Currently, Gelish boast’s the most color choices available. Gelish like most colored gels requires pre-filing/buffing/scratching on the natural nail to remove the shine off first before applying it to adhere properly. Shellac does not require any removal of the nails surface to work because it is in a new category of nail colour completely new science, in a ‘league of it’s own. Shellac is the first ever true “Hybrid” UV nail colour. Hybrid in this case means a combination of gel technology; polish technology, & new technology developed especially for Shellac. The science behind this product is why it is a superior product
Oscar Wilde once said, “Everyone knows the cost of everything and the value of nothing.” Now you know why as a seasoned Salon Owner I don’t mind paying a little more for something that is worth so much in the long run. I have invested the most in education and finding the right products to work with as an artist. The right combination is priceless.
Shellac is designed for the Natural Nail Client who normally cannot keep polish on for a few days or who ends up “dinging” a fresh manicure/pedicure before it is dry. It is the answer for all clients that want gorgeous, shiny, just polished looking nails but do not have the time to maintain them. Shellac is for the weak, thin nails, as well as the hard, brittle ones because it adds a strong yet thin, flexible resilient coat for protection. Even those clients who have previously not been able to wear nail polish products because of lifting, allergic reactions, onycholysis, or time constraints will be able to successfully wear Shellac. This product is applied easily by a Salon Professional keeping the total manicure time to 30 minutes & can be done while hair color is processing. It is also easily removed at the salon in 10-15 minutes with no risk or damage to the client’s nails or skin.
So what are you waiting for? Get the best of both worlds – low maintenance & High fashion. Get “Shellacing”!! Then put on your UGG’s (it is still cold here in the Northeast as I write this article, but remember no down time smudge worries putting on those boots right after a pedi), Jimmy Choo Cruise 11’s, or Tory Burch flip-flops, & go shopping for a Spring Break VS bathing suit. It’s time to get your tan on now that you have Salon Manicured, beach ready, hands & feet with the first ever Hybrid Nail Colour that really lasts!!
*Sources: YouTube – CND Shellac Say Hello, Creative Nail Design, Jan Arnold, CND.com, Modern Salon Spring 2011 Beauty Biz Trend, Salon Geek, A&A Beauty, Cosmoprof, Paramount, Royal Beauty Supply, OPI, Hand & Nail Harmony.
