Author: rebelsnrazors

It is the way the metal feels at my fingertips, the sound of the hair being cut and the silence that follows, the way the comb glides so easily through the hair, the way I can carve any shape I want with a razor, the feel of such precision, the movement that folllows, rush I feel after creating something new, the change every single cut creates, this why I do what I do. This is why i wake up in the morning. This is what defines me. This was never a job..a career yes…but above all, art at its finest.
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Quarantine Queen

May 29th, 2020 2:16 pm…

It is Friday. Normally, I would finishing lunch and headed towards the home stretch of my 10 hour shift at the salon. This is not a normal Friday. Even though, this has been the 11th Friday like this one, I cannot get used to not being there. No, this Friday I sit on the beach and regroup, reinvent, and reflect.

Ohio Beach Long Beach, Ny

I have always been a hard worker and nothing can change that. I have been working hard for more then half my life. I have had the fortunate experience to never be out of work and always have purpose. I have gotten any position I have ever interviewed for. I worked until 3 days before my son was born(10 days past his due date) and returned 6 weeks later. I broke my foot and never took a day off. Took a week when both my father and fiancé passed away. I’ve worked with stitches in my hand, a dislocated shoulder and retuned to work 4 weeks after having broken my elbow. All separate injuries.

On March 21st, we were told all salons in New York would be closed indefinitely. Indefinitely. That word stuck in my head. Such disregard for a multi-billion dollar industry. An industry which employed thousands of professionals. Professionals who work one on one with individuals everyday. They make me feel as good as I make them feel. Each client smiling as they finish leaves a lasting impression on me. Each service I deliver, every heart I touch, never again taken for granted.

My work is a career, a passion, the thing that makes me strive to be better everyday, the only way I know how to live. I went to beauty in 1997 thinking it would be my plan B. I have never looked back. I have been at my current position for over 11 years now. My coworkers have become family. I have spent thousands of dollars on education and tools, and countless hours training to be the professional I am today. Then I was told I couldn’t practice anymore. Devastating.

No one needed to tell me to keep going, I did because that’s all I know. I work hard. While, I have slowed down, I’m still doing what I love. I’m educating myself and others. I’ve set goals and made lists. I plan on coming back stronger than before. Not just professionally, but personally as well. The most important thing I’ve learned was about myself. I have read books, completed countless puzzles, watched way too much tv, baked, cooked every meal, crocheted 3 blankets, made masks and ear savers which were donated, I spent hours with my son, hours on end with my dog, and I’ve explored new places.

I have been truly humbled and am more grateful now than I ever have been. I have searched deep within my soul and learned I love people. I love human interaction. I love what I have chosen to do with my life. I love my home, my son, and my family. I miss my work, I miss my family, I miss human interaction on a daily basis. I miss hugs, and laughing with the people I love. I miss my life the way it was.

I look forward to a different future. I look forward to living life the way it was meant to be lived, as an experience. I have had adversity, strife and devastation before this and will have it after this. Some things are not within our control, but there is so much that is. We choose how we live, I look for the good even in the bad. If you’re not happy with your life you’re doing it wrong.

Your hair is (NOT) Falling out!

Your is not falling out…or maybe it is!?! I often get guest in my chair who are worried they might be losing hair. Often times what they are compliant about is normal, daily shedding. For those other times, it is possible something internal is going on. Either way there are thing that can be done. This first picture of my guest is 6 weeks after she started using the Stimuliste Shampoo and daily scalp treatment from @kerastase_official Hair growth is a slow process but what a difference 6 weeks has already made! When she visited today we also did a Fusio Scrub to exfoliate the scalp and a Fusio Dose treatment for volume and strength.

The second picture is the first visit from my guest. To many, it may seem like a small difference, bit to those of you who have been there, this is huge!

Very often, what my guests are telling me that they are just seeing a lot of hair coming out in the shower. Here are some numbers:

We lose 75-150 strands of hair daily

If you shampoo you hair every 3 days, 2 of those days your hair is in a pony tail, all that hair you would naturally shed is trapped by the bungee.

Then we get in the shower and wash our hair. Then we add conditioner, which adds slip, and we see all this hair coming out. This is soooo normal! Now, depending on how long our hair is, this can really be alarming and seem like a lot.

To make matters worse, certain times of the year, we lose more hair then others. Again, this is normal.

Then what happens is we stop touching, massaging, stimulating the scalp. This causes tensing and tightening of the scalp and can really create a problem. So don’t worry mostly this shedding normal but if not come see me for a scalp treatment or suggestions🙂

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The Mirror Selfie

Let me start by saying I am aware how silly these next few paragraphs will seem. However, I am completely impressed by the way people take great mirror selfies. Selfies, i got that down no problem. Please see below…

I just can not figure out to stand in front of a mirror, snap a picture, and like what I see. Sometimes I look ok in pictures and sometimes better then ok. Sometimes I look like a hobbit, or my hands are doing something weird, I don’t know why. Some people just know how to stand and just look beautiful all the time. After a few practice sessions of my own, I enlist my beautiful associate to help me. I was very careful about who I asked, as my standards are high. If I’m going to learn, it had to be from the best. This particular human takes such beautiful pictures ALWAYS! Me, not so much. Ok so I drag her into the bathroom and tell her not to laugh but I need help. She giggles grabs the phone and tells me it’s all about the angles…

Here she is, looking like a beauty and me looking like a troll of some sort. Clearly, it’s all about the angles. I’m convinced that because I am a vertically challenged human I will never achieve the correct angles. We spend some time in there and I come up with this…

Notice the lovely toilet in the background. Super classy. Ok back to work I go feeling defeated. Oh well. Try again another day and I produce this…

Not terrible…I can tell you in the past 3 weeks this is the best out of about 80. Let me digress for a moment. My need for knowing how to do this has reason beyond explanation but when I want to learn something new, nothing stops me. I will continue my quest…convinced maybe this is the wrong mirror for me. Well finally a few weeks later i come up with this one…

Different mirror, looks ok. Feeling somewhat accomplished I have figured out it’s not about the angles completely but I’m gonna keep trying xo

How To Beat Hat Hair This Winter

Every winter we’re faced with the same problem, how to keep you hair looking good after you take your hat off. Imagine you get yourself ready in the morning, execute the perfect blow out, only to realize it’s freezing out . You have three options:

1. Freeze.

2. Wear your hat the rest of the day, even while inside a very warm space, (cue the perspiration)

Or

3. Follow these steps to beat hat hair and maintain your blowout.

First let’s start with the fundamentals

Prepping the Hair

This is the most important step. Over shampooing the hair,any time of the year, especially in the winter can cause static. Be sure to use the correct amount and don’t over do it. Most over the counter shampoos are water down, causing you to use more shampoo, but salon brands will be ultra concentrated. The make sure you’re using the proper amount start with an almond sized amount, after working into a lather on the scalp, add more water if your not getting a lather. If you still feel like it’s not creating a lather, rinse out the shampoo and go for round two. Chances are you don’t wash you hair everyday and a second shampoo is necessary. Think of the first one as a precleanse. Also concentrate on you scalp when shampooing and on the ends when adding conditioner. Oribe makes a Ultra Gentle Shampoo and Conditioner which is great to fight against static.

Applying Product

Be use to use some that will harden the hair structure, it will help prevent dents in the hair caused by a hat. Also a product with starch in it will help absorb excess oil or perspiration on the scalp. A few good options are Allstyle Blowdry from Bumble and Bumble, Imperial Blowout from Oribe, Suloting Cream from Oribe, Grandiose mouse from Oribe, Densimorphose from Kerastase, or Mousse bouffante from Kerastase.

The Blow Dry

Always be sure to pre-dry your hair before you start shaping it with the brush. Since you’ll be putting a hat on, blow dry with as much volume as possible. Start by flipping your head upside down and rough drying until about 80% of the moisture is gone. Next use a medium sized round brush to create soft waves and some movement. Even if you blowdry your hair straight, you still want to start with volume at the root.

Pre Hat

Its ok to add some dry shampoo or dry texture spray before putting on you hat, trust me, it’ll help. Try Gold Lust Dry shampoo from Oribe or VIP spray from Kerastase

The After Math

Once you’ve arrived to your destination, take your hat off and give your hair a shake at the root area. You can add something like Apres Beach from Oribe, Hairdressers Invisible Oil from Bumble and Bumble or Elixir Ultime from Kerastase

Bonus Trick

For those of use sporting soft waves, try securing hair in three loose buns under a hood on a rainy day to keep waves safe😉

#winter #beauty #hair #hathair #bumbleandbumble #oribe #kerastase #hairinspo #hairhowto

You will get what you pay for…

There is always someone in your group of friends that know a “guy”. The one who gets a deal on everything, can always save you money, but it always costs you. Whether you end up owing a favor, or maybe it’s just not a good service, quality, etc, regardless, saving a few bucks is usually not worth it.

Growing up, we didn’t have a lot of money. My mom was the best stretching her income to feed, clothe, and shelter our family. Sometimes though she would buy a cheaper item and inevitably it would break. she would have to buy another one and in the end she would be spending more than if she had just spent the little extra in the first place to get something of better quality. Yes I said it! Spend a little extra! I can shop like like nobody else, and love a sale rack just as much as the next, but a sale is different then getting something of poor quality. Ever hear these horror stories of people who have bargain shopped for a plastic surgeon? People will actually travel out of the country to save a little on elective procedures and shocked when then go wrong! Hello? What did you expect?

I’ve been doing hair now for almost 20 years and have personally seen many guest for cut or color or both who have had terrible hair experiences. Reality, you tried to save a little money because you thought, “hey it can’t be that different.” YES IT CAN! And what’s more is it will usually cost much more to fix the damage that is done. With technology today, it is very easy to find a great stylist/colorist. There is Instagram, Facebook and other social media apps where we can advertise( for freeee) to get our work out there and for guests to see what you do before you try someone out.

Here are a few tips to help with this process:

1. Get a recommendation from a friend. This is a crucial step, this friend should probably have hair similar to yours. Some stylists are better at reds, blondes, short hair, etc. if you have short hair make sure this friend’s stylist is good with short hair.

2. Check out their social media. Not everyone takes great pictures but the hair in the pic should be good. If this stylist doesn’t have social media, chances are they are not up to date with their education and techniques either.

3. Make sure they attend advanced education classes. This is huge! Getting a cosmetology license only teaches you how to take a test(shocker, this is the way education goes in this country). Imagine, we only learn 3 haircuts in beauty school! My salon is educational based and every stylist goes through a training program after graduating beauty school to further hone their skills. This is something you should look for when choosing a new salon/stylist. After our training program we are constantly attending more classes as to keep up with current trends and techniques to deliver the best and newest hair styles and color around. We also work on a level system. This means stylists with more education, experience, and a higher demand on there time will be at a higher price. You will pay a little for better hair, fact!

4. If you’re still on the fence, go for a consultation. If you’re not connecting and it doesn’t feel right, don’t do it. No shame is saying no. We wear two things everyday, our teeth and our hair. You owe it to yourself to spend a little extra on yourself, you deserve it.

Back to school, back to you

I’ve realized over the last few years, that when all those kiddies get their summer break from school, most of us check out for the summer season as well. Whether its being in a more relaxed mode or your job actually warrants you a summer break, when the weather gets warmer, we all seem to change our behavior. This is especially true for how we treat our hair. I personally like to keep my guests a schedule and alway encourage them to prebook their next appointment in order to keep up with the maintenance required for keeping their style looking fresh, (I’ll talk about this during a later post). Somehow it seems this goes out the window for June July and August, I am guilty of this myself. Living in New York and being very close to the beach means long days in the sun, swimming in the salty water and maybe even a dip or two in the pool. I don’t get my hair colored or cut as often as I should, I sometimes skip my UV spray, and I definitely almost never wear a hat to the beach. I am a beach babe to the core and so are tons of people in my area, including a lot of my guests. While There are plenty things we can do to help keep your hair gorgeous during these months, here it is September already and my hair is faded, dry and ready for new everything. This is a great time of year to make a seasonal change, but at the very least, our summer hair behavior needs to change. Hair needs cleansing and moisture, richer colors, and fresh cut ends. At my salon we offer a “cleans the canvas” service which includes a clarifying treatment following by a deep conditioning treatment to bring hair back to life. I’m currently obsessed with Oribe’s new Gold Lust Pre-shampoo treatment. I put it on before my shower every week or so and am left with beautifully shiny and visibly healthier hair. Typically, a lot of my guests wear their hair natural over the summer and use certain products to achieve that look. However, Now back at work and in a more professional atmosphere they are heat styling their hair more, which requires a different set of products. So while I do encourage everybody be to keep on your schedule even during the summer months, I totally get those who don’t. Just remember to head over to your favorite stylist and get your hair back in check and maybe even make a seasonal change as well. As those kids go back to school, get back to the salon and back to you.

Fall in love

With fall quickly around the corner, we all want to know what hot hair trends are we going to be seeing. The looks that took nyfw by storm were nothing short of amazing. Before you ask, yes braids are here to stay. Whether it be a few cornrows to accent a ponytail, or loosely pulling hair back into one long braid, this trend is still going strong. Longer hairstyles are showcasing either middle or very deep side partings with much looser, less contrived waves. We saw strong, edgy shorter cuts with bold color accents and sleek low ponytails, showcasing powerful women with an air of femininity. Natural texture is BIG. Take last seasons waves and make then even more relaxed and less overdone. With hair lengths anything goes. Hair color is a little more deliberate this season, but the colors are not as rich as we usually see for this seasons change. Blondes are staying blonde but keeping tone. Fringes are long and strong whether split in the middle or swept to the side you can’t go wrong. Looks like the idea right now is not so uptight and little less over styled, I love it none the less.

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“Disappear here”

It is the way the metal feels at my fingertips, the sound of the hair being cut and the silence that follows, the way the comb glides so easily through the hair, the way I can carve any shape I want with a razor, the feel of such precision, the movement that follows, the rush I feel after creating something new, the change every single cut creates, this why I do what I do. This is why i wake up in the morning. This is what defines me. This was never a job..a career yes…but above all, art at its finest.