Monday, March 21, 2011

Red Carpet Ready Hair

Were you glued to your TV for the Golden Globes, Grammys, Emmys and Oscars? With Hollywood's award season just past, you may be itching to swap your ho-hum hair for some high-wattage glamour. Every star needs an entourage...Why not make the team here at Believe your own personal stylists and come in for a fabulous cut and color for spring? 

Till then, here are some celebrity hair tricks and hints we can use in the salon and some that you can try at home to create your own kind of superstar hair:

Check Your Toolbox: Make sure your brushes are clean (run one of our complimentary brush cleaner tools through the bristles to remove hair and give your brushes a weekly soak in hypoallergenic soap and ammonia, then rinse thoroughly and air dry on towels) and of the right type--a mixture of nylon and boar bristles is the choice of many celebrity stylists. Nylon untangles the hair and boar brushes smooth hair out, giving you Anne Hathaway shine and letting your hair partially dry naturally before brushing helps eliminate breakage. Also make sure your drier, curling and straightening irons, and electric rollers are still giving out heat at the proper temperature. Old appliances sometimes overheat and harm hair. Pay attention to your tools and the result will be shiny, healthy hair.

Try Some Waves: True, Believe does offer the greatest Keratin straightening system in the world, but why not change it up a bit for Spring and try out some waves? (They work for all the Kardashian sisters.) Bend over and blow dry your hair in sections, using a round brush and pulling from the nape of your neck. Spritz some hairspray to hold. Then take a one and quarter inch curling iron to bend the hair out. Now sit up, flipping your hair over and roughing it up for that "I just got out of bed look" and finish with some shaping serum like Chromastics Repair Light or Extreme. Want to see how it's done? Come into Believe and we will make your a tousled headed beauty in no time.

Everything is not as it appears: Not all the actresses are born with gleaming, flowing tresses (ever wondered how they can go from short hair on one red carpet to long waves the next time they appear in public? J. Lo's tress length seems to change daily.) Most now fill out and lengthen sparse or short hair with extensions, bonded to their natural hair. At Believe we will blend in the extensions so carefully, no one will know it's not your own gorgeous mane (Unless, of course, you choose to help out with one of our charity events where we give you fake fun colored extensions like Dandelion Yellow or Crayon Red in exchange for a donation.) Or, if you can't quite commit to the longer length, you can get clip-ons for temporary length. The trick to using clip-ons is color-blending for a natural look and parting your hair where it naturally recedes. Then tease one-inch sections where the clips are, let you natural hair fall over to hide where they are attached, and style from there. Extensions or clip-ons—either way it's Voila! Instant Reese Witherspoon.

Hooray For Natural Texture: Whether you are a woman of color or born with naturally kinky hair, why not take a page from the Beatles lyrics and let it be, let it be? Quit straightening and relaxing your hair (Queen Latifah recently did) and see how you like au natural styling. This type of style requires maintaining your waves, curls, and natural style with a fabulous cut and moisture-enriched salon treatments, like Oil Complex or Agadir's Moroccan Moisture Masque that we offer at BelieveAlso, remember, there really is no need to shampoo hair daily. It dries your hair shafts out and makes your natural texture look frizzy and frazzled. Try a weekly at- home protein mask for your hair, too. Be sure to comb the conditioning treatment all the way to the end of each strand for full coverage.

Bangs Are A Blast: Sandra Bullock gave them a go this season and as every woman with beautiful eyes knows, bangs frame your face and draw attention to your eyes like nothing else can. Let the team at Believe cut them for your the first time to get the proper shape, but then, if you find that the warmer weather is making your hair grow faster (yes, it does) and you have to trim them at home, here's how: Make sure your hair is dry. Only cut from the iris of your eye to the other iris of your eye (else you'll be cutting into your hairline, making your next visit with us for a real haircut more complicated) and cut the bangs vertically, not horizontally. You'll get a flirty fringe and keep your favorite Believe hair stylist from going crazy next time you come in for a full cut.

Make the world your own personal red carpet and please stop by Believe – here all our customers are superstars!