About: Jennifer Dempsey

At some point or another, we have all gotten hairstyle that doesn’t necessarily work. Maybe you chose a straight style when their hair was naturally curly, or maybe the stylist simply didn’t understand what you wanted. There is an old saying that the difference between a bad haircut and a good one is six weeks, but that is a long time to go with hair that doesn’t do what you want or just doesn’t look good. These tips can help you get the look you want and the style you were expecting.

Realistic Expectations

If you have short, thin hair that won’t hold a curl, your stylist is not going to be able to give you a style that looks like the actress in the photo you cut out of a magazine. Famous people can afford to spend a lot of money on their hair and those photos often show an actress with extensions or hair that has been colored to look fuller than it is. It is also important to remember that magazines often Photoshop the models and famous people on their pages, so the person in the picture may have hair that looks nothing like that. When choosing a photo for your stylist, try to choose one that looks similar to your natural hair. If you have a busy lifestyle and don’t have time to spend with hot rollers, curling irons or straighteners, the photo of the girl with waves flowing down her back may not be the right style for you.

Plan a Consultation

Before diving into a cut, extreme color or perm, arrange a consultation with the stylist. The stylist needs to see and touch your hair in order to determine whether your hair can actually take the processes you may need to get the look you want. For example, if your hair has been colored often, you may not be able to get the straightening treatment you want immediately. It may take a few appointments for conditioning services to get your hair healthy enough for the treatment.

Know What You Want When You Get There

If you spend 15 to 20 minutes in the stylist chair flipping through magazines or hairstyle books, that is time that cannot be spent on your hair. They may have other appointments after yours that they cannot delay. Color, perms and straightening treatments take time so be sure to allow enough time in your day for those services and have photos with you when you arrive of what you are looking for. Many stylists would prefer you bring several photos for them to work with in case your first choice is not suitable for you.

Listen to Your Stylist

If you bring a picture to your stylist and they suggest that the style is not suited for your face shape or type of hair, you should listen to them. They have been trained to understand hair types, textures and what works best with certain facial shapes. They should be able to tweak the style to better suit your look, but if the style is complicated and they know you have an extremely busy lifestyle, they may recommend a completely different style that will better suit your time constraints.

One of the most important things to remember about getting the right hairstyle is the need for communication between you and your stylist. If something didn’t work for you, let them know so they can adjust. Your hair is a walking advertisement for a hair stylist, so they want you to get what you want and feel good about how your hair looks just as much as you do. The stylists at J. Faith Hair Studio can help guide you in your choice of hairstyles so that you get the style that fits your look, your hair type and your lifestyle. Arrange for an appointment by calling us or booking online.

If you are hoping to grow your short hair out to a longer style, you may have been told by friends or relatives that cutting your hair will actually make it grow faster. The fact is that the best way to grow your hair out more quickly is to keep your hair healthy, and there are several healthy hair tips that can help you do that which may not involve cutting your hair.

Deep Conditioning

The best way to promote healthy growth is by deep conditioning your hair at least once each week. This doesn’t mean the daily conditioner you use after you shampoo every morning. There are conditioners available that condition deep into your hair and roots to create healthier hair. On a weekend morning when you are lying around the house or doing those household chores you hate, use a deep conditioner like Biolage Conditioning Balm on your hair. At the same time, add a glow to your face with a skin mask, like Herbalife Mint Mask.

Make Friends with the Scissors

Your hair grows at between a quarter- and a half-inch per month, so there is not much you can do to make it grow faster. However, regular trims will keep your hair looking healthier and prevent split-ends from traveling up the hair shaft. When split ends cause your hair to break off high on the strand, you may find that your hair isn’t growing as it should and that trims are requiring you to remove a significant amount of your hair. Stylists recommend having your hair trimmed at least every 10 to 12 weeks for hair that is healthier

Skip the Shampoo, Never the Conditioner

Many times, women will skip the conditioner during their shower, believing the conditioner is damaging their hair. In fact, it is shampoo that you can skip sometimes when you shower. Shampoo removes dirt and product build-up, but can also remove natural oils that your hair needs. Therefore, skipping the shampoo can actually create hair that is healthier. On the other hand, conditioner adds lipids and proteins to your hair shaft while sealing the cuticle to prevent more damage, which creates healthier hair. Even if you do not shampoo, add conditioner each time your hair is wet.

These healthy hair tips are beneficial whether you want extremely long hair or want to keep it short, yet bouncy. For more tips on how to grow hair longer faster, contact J. Faith Hair Studio to arrange for a consultation with one of their knowledgeable stylists. You can set up your appointment online or give them a call.

Everyone wants hair that is full, healthy and manageable. However, hair only grows between one quarter and one half-inch per month, so it can take some time before it has the appearance of fullness. Add to that the fact that we rarely ever treat our hair well, and it is easy to see how difficult it can be to have that full, healthy head of hair we want. These tips can help you avoid breakage, which may lead to frizziness and unmanageability, in order to keep your hair healthy.

Avoid Sulfates

The less you shampoo, the more hydrated your hair will be. When you do shampoo your hair, choose a shampoo that is sulfate-free in order to retain as much of your hair’s natural oils. When lathering your hair with shampoo, focus the lather at the roots and allow suds to slide down your hair to prevent damage. Between shampoos, us a dry texturizing spray to absorb oil and keep your hair looking clean.

Use Scalp Stimulating Products

Shampoos and other products that contain peppermint or eucalyptus oil give your scalp a tingling sensation that helps increase blood flow and circulation. This can improve hair growth as well. Before you wash your hair, massage your scalp for about 30 seconds to also increase circulation. This can help your hair grow as much as an additional inch in a year.

Condition Every Time

Too often, we skip conditioner, thinking it gives our hair a break from chemicals. When your hair is wet, always use a conditioner, even if you do not shampoo. Conditioners nourish your hair, keeping it hydrated and moisturized. J. Faith Hair Studio recommends that you deep-condition your hair once each week as an added method for keeping hair healthy.

Comb Rather Than Brush

When your hair is wet, use a wide-tooth plastic comb rather than pulling a brush through tangles. This can help you avoid split ends. When blow drying with a round brush, be careful not to pull your hair too hard as this can also lead to split ends. It is a myth that you should brush your hair 100 strokes each day, so avoid brushing whenever possible. Instead use a comb to tame hair throughout the day.

Styling Sizzles

You should never apply hot tools directly to your hair. Instead, coat your hair with moisturizing styling products that protect the hair follicles from the heat of curling and flat irons. Choose tools like ionic dryers or ceramic irons with plates that heat uniformly. These keep you from having to go over the same section of hair several times. When possible, use hot rollers rather than curling irons as they are less damaging to hair.

These tips can help you keep your hair looking healthy and fuller. Our knowledgeable stylists can provide you with more tips and ideas that will promote the health of your hair. Contact us for a consultation today by booking online or by giving us a call.

Choosing a hair color can be complicated. It is not as easy is just grabbing a box of dye and deciding that’s what color you want. Whether you have witnessed friends who have suffered through terrible hair colors or have managed to choose a color that is not at all flattering for yourself, you know that selecting the best hair color can be challenging.

Skin Tone Is Critical

When you choose a hair color, it is not necessarily about choosing the color you like as much as it is choosing the color your skin likes. The right hair color will compliment your skin tone and bring more attention to your best facial features.

In fact, the right hair color can actually make you look younger than you are, but the wrong color can give you a washed out, unnatural look that makes you appear older. Unfortunately, although 55 percent of women color their hair, spending as much as $330 each year on color, very few actually understand how to choose a color that works with their natural skin tone.

Close to Natural Color

As much as you may want to experiment with wild colors, most stylists recommend remaining in a shade range within your natural color. The reason for this is that permanent hair dye lifts the outer color and reveals your natural pigments below it.

If you are looking for a lighter shade, think about the color your hair turns in the summer when you spend time in the sun. That may be the best shade for you to choose.

Hair color is measured by level and shade. Color levels are on a scale of one to ten, with one being darkest. Within each of these colors are pigments, like black-brown or red-brown. Dark hair has more red pigments while blonde hair has more yellow pigments.

Hair that falls in the pigment levels in the middle have a mixture of red and yellow, or orange, pigments. This doesn’t mean you can’t choose bold colors. If you prefer to make a stronger statement, go ahead and choose the blues, purples or pinks that have become popular today.

Skin Tone and Hair Color

Your skin tone contains similar pigments that your hair has, so if you were born with dark hair, you will more than likely have orange, brown or red pigments. If you were born with blonde hair, your skin will have undertones like blue, green or pink pigments.

Stylists term the pigments as warmer, for darker hair, and cooler, for blonder hair. If your skin has warm undertones, your skin will look better with golden blonde or honey brown colors while cooler undertones look better with ash blonde or auburn.

One way to determine whether you have warm or cool undertones is to look at a vein under the skin of your arm. If the vein appears green, your undertones are warm, while if it appears blue you have cooler undertones.

There are other factors that can affect whether a hair color works for you. Your eye color, age and natural hair color can all have an impact on how a hair color will work for you. As we get older, skin tone changes as well, so a color that worked well when you were younger may not look as good as you get older.

For example, black or platinum blonde can bring out imperfections and wrinkles as we age, so those colors may not be suitable as you get older. If you are considering a different hair color, schedule an appointment with the expert stylists at J. Faith Hair Studio. They will work with you, your skin tone and other features that can have an impact on how a new hair color will work for you.