Back To School Hair with Believe

We know, we know. Summer's over and it's back to school. We here at Believe know it isn't easy to get back in the swing of things (we've got kids, too!) Mornings bring madness while you are trying to make sure you and your student eat a good breakfast (or any at all), help them find their books (and that homework they will frantically try to finish before the class where it's due ) and both of you barely have time to get dressed, much less have time to do your hair. The chaos that defines back-to-school is the same whether you are the student or the parent.

Well, we at Believe, feel your pain and are here to help. We've got some back-to-school styles to save you time and trouble and still have you feeling beautiful. Quick and low-maintenance are the bywords of these styles. Here's a few to try:

Sleek blowout: A quick pass with a flat iron in the morning sees you ready to go. (A dry shampoo product like Batiste Dry Shampoo means you can even get more than a day out of this style.)

Cascading waves: Sweep your hair back, then loosely wrap random sections around a curling iron to create a subtle wave. Spray lightly with Iden Finish Spray.

Long side braid: This low-slung braid can cover a multitude of sins. No time to wash your hair? No matter. The messy braid will hide the evidence. If you braid hair when it's clean, the braid can create tomorrow's fantastic waves, too.

Pixie cut: Come into Believe and get rid of that tired summer hair. You will love the low-maintenance this style brings and it can draw attention to your eyes and cheekbones like never before. Add some texture with Chromastics Molding Cream or Aestelance Butter. You may never go long again.

Side part: Change up your look in the easiest of ways. The side part can go on either the left or right of your scalp (but look out for hidden cow licks that may stick straight up at the hairline!)

Top knot: Nothing could be easier for long hair. Pull it up with a covered elastic (leave a strand of hair to wrap around and hide it), then secure with a couple of bobby pins, spritz a little spray and you are out the door, looking pulled together.

Loose curls: These may make that guy in Algebra want to run his fingers through you hair. Wrap the ends around a big-barreled curling iron for a few seconds and finger brush. Finish with a light spray like Chromastics TriOrganic Spray Gel and go.

Headbands: Hillary Clinton knows a thing or two about saving time by using a headband. For years, it was her signature look. Pull your hair back, spritz the ends with Lustre Shine Spray and you are ready to discuss America's foreign policy (or at least look good in World History Class.)

Hair Accessories: Nobody said you have to save the sparkle only for the prom, Pull strands (even haven't washed my hair stringy ones) with a distracting hair accessory and you'll make your own fashion statement.

Quick hint: Get your hair ready with a heat protectant product like Agadir Oil_that we sell at Believe and blow dry your hair   only partways. Leave it slightly damp and pull it into a high bun. Keep it up there with a couple of bobby pins and by the time you get to class (or the office) you can take it down, shake it out and have fabulous loose curls and plenty of volume. Keep a light hairspray like Sette By La Brasilana in your locker or office desk drawer and keep the body all day long.

Here's hoping these styles help you make the grade for this crazy back-to-school time and please give us a call at Believe soon to schedule that cut, color and to pick up all the wonderful products mentioned here (we stock them all.) We are back from vacation and ready to help! See you soon!

Static Electricity: Avoid Getting Zapped This Winter

Winter is here (though in some places in the country, you wouldn’t know it) and with it comes dry air, overheated houses and the (literally) pain known as static electricity. Our hair stands straight up, our clothes stick in places we’d rather they not, and when we touch a doorknob, we get zapped.

There are ways to cut down on the nuisance, but first a quick look back to grade school science and what causes static electricity?

Atoms make up all physical objects and have inside of them electrons, protons and neutrons. Electrons carry a negative charge, protons carry a positive charge and neutrons are (as their name indicates) neutral. Opposite charges attract each other (just like some men and women we know) and like charges repeal each other. If all the charges are balanced, they become neutral.

Static electricity indicates that the charges are unbalanced and they build up on the surface of an article until they are discharged. One way that happens is by rubbing of certain materials against another. That action can transfer the charges --like if you rub your boot on a carpet, the extra electrons collect on your body, waiting to be released, say when you touch your doorknob or cat—then zap! You get shocked.

A cool way to demonstrate the attraction part of the principle (and amaze young kids) is to start a very thin stream of water flowing from a faucet. Run a plastic comb through your clean hair 10 times and bring the comb (slowly) close to the flowing water without actually touching it. The stream of water will bend towards the comb—just like magic.

Taking off your hat in the winter often causes your hair to stand straight up. Electrons get transferred from the hat to your hair and since objects with the same charge repel each other, your hairs are trying to back away from each other—that’s why your hair stands on end.

Okay, so now you know why static electricity happens, but what to do about it?

• Dry hair and skin adds to the problem. Come into Believe for a deep conditioning treatment at least once a month during this season when we are all heating our homes and offices.
• Use a daily conditioner like Iden Treatment to keep moisture in your hair. (Aestelance Butter can even be used on your dry skin—another catalyst for static electricity.)
• For a mid-winter treat, try a cup of heavy cream mixed with a teaspoon of lavender oil (tucked in a shower cap) as an overnight treatment.
• Switch from using plastic hair brushes to ones with natural bristles (we have a great selection at Believe.
• You may even want to spray a little anti-static spray on your hair brush before you blow dry (you can use the same spray on your clothes) like Aromatic Lotion Anti-Static Spray by Aestelance.
• In a pinch, wipe your hair (and the front and back of your panty hose) with a fabric softener dryer sheet.
• High quality hair sprays and gels like Iden Finish Spray and Hydrogel which we stock at Believe will help cut down on the problem.
• When it comes to your clothes—only dry them about 90% and then hang to dry.
• Sort natural materials from synthetics in your dryer or consider drying the synthetics entirely on a clothes rack.
• Try using vinegar in the rinse (the smell wears off as the clothes dry) but don’t mix it with bleach, else you might keel over from the fumes!)

Be sure to book that conditioning treatment at Believe right now to help make sure that your winter isn’t a hair-raising one.

Bobbing Into The New Year With Believe

It was the Roaring Twenties when the bob first made its appearance. Young flappers shortened both their skirts to their knees and their hair to chin length and declared their freedom from a lot of other rules, too. (Thanks to our grandmothers, we said goodbye to corsets and to asking our men to give us our opinions. We claimed the rights to our own bodies and the vote. We broke free of the drawing rooms and began to demand our place in the boardroom. The bob hairstyle went perfectly with our new freedoms and so it is today. Busier than ever, with jobs and family responsibilities weighing heavily upon us, the sleek, elegant and easy bob is turning up everywhere and may be the perfect hairstyle for 2012.

Bobs can be cut with straight or side parts, to ear or chin length or even longer, can be worn sleek or curly, sharply angled or asymmetrical, with or without bangs, ear length or much longer, the bob style haircut has stood the test of time and is here to stay. Bobs are easy-to-manage, as they can be washed, dried and styled in minutes and you are out the door, looking fabulous.

Chin Length Bobs

Cutting the hair off at the jaw, giving you a chin length bob allows your Believe stylist to make you look downright sophisticated. Thus bob may be slightly shorter in the back with subtle layers and bangs can fringe your forehead. (Remember, sideswipe bangs make full faces look slimmer and longer.) Or your Believe stylist can cuts the layers evenly all around or be fuller at the top and narrower at the ends. If you’ve got an unlined forehead (whether naturally or with a little "help”, you can show it off with your hair parted in the middle and no bangs obscuring your noble brow.

Short Bobs

If you hair is flyaway, baby fine or even thinning, a short bob can create the illusion of fullness. Your Believe stylist will cut layers into a blunt style, actually “stacking” the layers to make your hair look more full-bodied and voluminous. Not quite reaching the jawline, short bobs can even be slightly shorter in the back and you can choose bangs on your forehead. If you want to divert attention from your fuller face, ask you stylist to sweep your bangs to the side. 

Long Bobs

If you are taking the plunge from long hair to a short bob, consider this a safe way station along the way. Bobs cut longer than your chin can ease you into shorter hair without you dying of shock and look great on round or oval faces as they lengthen the look of your face.

Angled Bobs

Angle Bobs are great as we get older and for those with thicker hair. The look softens the aging face and is perfect for people with thicker hair. Your Believe stylist will cut your hair to the jaw and tapered it in layers. If such textured layers are stacked in the back, this style will even help solve a fullness problem.

Wavy Bobs

Although the Believe stylist will cut your bob evenly all around your head, you can add waves and curls for variety or, if Mother Nature gave you them naturally, you’ll find this look basically maintenance-free.

Other Types Of Bobs

Highlighted bobs can accentuate different portions of your hair by the virtue of using several different color highlights. Spiky bobs can be cut very short in the back and have a fringed neckline to soften things up. For an Edgier bob, your Believe stylist will make edgy uneven cuts to help bring out the rock star in you. Or try bangs cut straight across your eyebrows for that Cleopatra look (it worked for Elizabeth Taylor) and if you are feeling a little Mad Men, you can always flip the ends of your new bob outward (Shades of Doris Day.) Come into Believe and we’ll get you some products to help your “do” stay done like Volume by Aestlance, La Brasiliana Ricci for texture or Butter by Aestelance for a smooth sleek finish.

If you are unsure which bob is for you, stop by Believe and we will consult with you about the shape of your face and which bob will set it off perfectly, so you can step into 2012 looking sexy and sassy. Nobody’s going to mess with you this year! (Again, Happy New Year from all of us at Believe.)

Learning About Layers

Fireworks aren't the only things hot this time of year. The temperatures are soaring and so is the humidity. Besides making you feel like there is no real point to taking a shower, humidity either makes you frizz up like Ronald McDonald or makes your hair as limp as a dishrag.

Help your hair beat the heat--without having to cut it all off—with the perfect solution...lovely layers. Whether your hair is long and luscious or short and sassy, layers are the way to add volume and body to your hair, despite the sizzling weather, and here at Believe we know how to make the most of your hair type.

If your hair is fine, you know those baby hairs of yours lay as flat as a rug at the first sign of ---well, almost anything. At Believe we can add long surface layers adding texture and volume. We'll create irregular lengths (with some fancy snipping) and not just blunt your hair horizontally (like the little Dutch boy haircuts you got when you were little) but vertically all around the perimeter. We can add texture by notching the ends with scissors (putting a little AESTELANCE BUTTER with Rosemary, Basil & Sandalwood oils in adds even more texture.) Really short hair is no problem to layer, too—you can spike it up (ask us for CHROMASTICS SPRAY GEL with sunflower seed oil, a natural sunscreen,which we carry at Believe) or, on really hot days, just run your fingers through it and off you go.

If you have thick hair, we will use chunkier layers in your cut, softening the ends with a razor to add a little swing to your style. We can go a bit shaggy (if you've got nice soft hair) or rip it up with some asymmetrical layers (from short to longer on the sides) for deconstructed coolness.

Round faces would do better with weight off the sides (this makes your face look skinnier) and wide foreheads look better with more top layers, letting your hair glide to fuller near the bottom. If your hair is straight, thick, and not too long, we can give you uniform layers, too (but don't try this with really long hair unless you are going for that Cave-girl look.)

If you have coarse hair, make sure you pick an experienced stylist (may we suggest the great staff at Believe?) as layers in this type of hair can be hazardous if not done carefully (you'll have ends popping out all over.) It takes a stylist who has a little sculptor in her (and we are Michelangelo of hair, we promise.)

Sculpting is also needed if you have curly hair. You have to be careful of the cut so it doesn’t grow out in a circular shape—or worse still, a pyramid. If your hair is long, surface layering should be long and, if your hair is short, you'll want uniform layers to control the curls.

If your hair is as straight as a board, be careful that your layers are blended in well, else it will be like seeing a painted wall with every brushstroke showing. Depending on how hip your are, you can get entirely different lengths cut into your hair. You can have real cowlick short hair on top or slightly longer to frame your face and longer at the bottom. Experiment! Be brave! Your hair will grow out.

We at Believe will be glad to consult with you about your hair type (taking into consideration your facial shape, too) and help you discover how layers can add bounce and body to your summer style. Call us soon though (because even the hardworking staff at Believe takes a vacation—Lisa will be gone July 16-23 & July 29 & 30) so call today.