Tips for Getting and Keeping Hair Color Brilliant

For women, hair color is one way of showing our personality and style.  Some women do it to try a new look because they need a change.  Others refresh their hair color by adding highlights for the summer.  Some women color to to cover unwanted gray hair and a maintain younger look.  Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your hair color.

– Getting Ready For a Color

Getting ready for hair color is important because lack of adequate preparation can damage your hair or cause the color to last for a short time. Don’t wash your hair ahead of time. Plus, wait a while if you have recently colored or used a chemical treatment on your hair. This break allows your hair to recover from the chemicals used in the previous hair color. It also gives you time to deep treat and condition your hair before applying another hair color. You should also give your hair a two-week break if you recently relaxed and/or texturized it.

– Choosing the Right Color

Choosing the right color is a matter of personal taste and preference but you should also consider a number of important factors. These factors include your skin tone, your eye color and the kind of clothes you wear. For example, dark hair colors such as dark red-brown are suitable for people while olive skin while bright hair colors are ideal for those who have a darker skin tone. In addition, people with hazel, green or brown eyes look best in hair colors that have shades of gold, auburn or gold. Finally, people who look good in purple, grey, teal or red clothes should consider neutral tones in hair color such as beige blonde, sandy blonde or chocolate brown.

– Extending the Life of Your Color

You should extend the life of your current hair color because getting a new color is tedious and expensive. You can easily extend your hair color by following these hair color tips. To start with, stay out of the sun when you can because the sun causes your hair color to fade. It also causes hair dehydration. You should also use your curling iron, blow dryer and flat iron less often because the heat from these styling tools causes your hair color to fade.

You can protect your hair color by using special shampoos and conditioners specially made for color treated hair. I recommend PureOlogy products and Diva Curl products so all of these are great for colour treated hair. Fanatic 21 is a great new product from PureOlogy that is great as a primer, protector, perfect the hair. Plus all the PureOlogy shampoo’s and conditioners are guaranteed!

– Finding the Right Colorist

The key to getting an amazing hair color lies with the hair colorist that you choose. You should choose an experienced, trained and highly qualified colorist to get the job done. Finding this kind of colorist is hard but it is not impossible. The best way of finding him or her is by looking at online reviews. Only choose colorists whose clients approve of their work on these online reviews. Referrals from your friends and family to a particular colorist can also be helpful. You should also examine the qualifications and experience your colorist has including pictures of past clients who loved their new hairdo.

Lauren Cassidy
Master Colorist & Stylist
Visions For The Art Of Hair

Let  me give you A beautiful hair color that complements your skin tone

I am a master colorist skilled with the latest techniques and can create a color
that makes you look incredible!

Call me today at 630-673-0052 to setup a color consultation!  

I can give you a new lo0k for the season you’ll love! 

Lauren Cassidy

 

Keep It Light…Tips on preserving blonde hues

---

---

1. Set the Tone-  You must invest in a hair care regimen that will help maintain the tonality of the blonde colour.  To counteract brassiness or boost warmth with the proper corrective tones you should take home products to help keep the shade at that ideal tone.  I recommend  Schwarzkopf toning foams in violet, beige or wheat shades to keep the tones pure.

2.  Deep Condition-  Highlights and lightening services can take a toll on hair, so advise blondes to use a hair mask or deep conditioner.  They provide rich moisture, hydration and natural shine like no other.  I recommend doing this 2 times per week or when needed.  I love  hydrawhip by PureOlogy.  It is a favorite and gets the job done.

3.  Use Sulfate-Free Shampoo-  Sulfate-free shampoo’s do not strip hair colour.   I recommend PureOlogy or Diva Curl brands.  They are gentle, easy to use and smell wonderful.  These shampoo’s are very good for colour treated hair because they guarantee the life of your colour plus they make your hair feel moisturized.  And that is very important to all colour clients.  They want their colour to look good all the time.

4.  Use a Sun Protector for your Hair-  When temperatures rise it inspires us to go outdoors and enjoy many summer activities.  These activities subject blondes to environmental oxidizers like the sun, wind, and water.  It causes blonde hair to become ashy, brassy, dull or muddy.  I recommend Fanatic 21 by PureOlogy to protect your hair against the environment.  It really helps.  But, if you can a hat can help too. 

Soap Opera

By now we all know about the downside to foaming agents like sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate.  Not only are they harsh and drying to the scalp, but they also cause hair color to fade.  No wonder there are so many sulfate-free shampoos on the market today.  Still there are a number of other reasons for recommending one shampoo over another.  

* Schwarzkopf Professional BC Bonacure Hair-therapy Color Save Sulfate-Free Shampoo features Amino Cell Rebuild Technology that penetrates deeply into the hair to repair the inner cell structure. 

* PureOlogy Fresh Approach Dry Shampoo and Conditioner with certified botanicals and Multi-Protein Complexes instantly tames, smoothes and moisturizes undisciplined colour-treated hair.

 

Come to Visions for the Art of Hair to learn more about what type of shampoo is BEST for your hair type and texture. 

 

The 5 minute makeover… 5 products…5 minutes…makes you 5 years younger

   I do hair and makeup on women everyday.  And the question I get asked always is “How should I do my makeup?”  I think it should be simple, fast, and soft.  Makeup should be functional yet enhance your eye, hair and skin tone.  I think 5 products is really all you need to do this.  They are:

1. Moisture Concealer- It should go around your eyes, folds by the nose and lip area.

2.Brow Tint.- I have beautiful brow tints in 3 shades to bring out the natural colour of your brows.

3. Lash Curler with Black Mascara-  Keep the lashes curled and put on 2 to 3 coats of Black Mascara.  It lifts the eye area and brings out the eye colour.

4. Blush- A liquid or powder blush.  Keep it right on the cheek bone and blend it out with a medium size fan brush.  

5. Gloss- Soft, vitamin based glosses that condition the lips with a colour that you love.

That’s it.  It easy, quick and beautiful.  

 

Spring 2013 Photo shoot

Photoshoot 2013

Did You Know This Could Damage Your Skin?

Feeling good about our appearance is important.  We want to put our best face forward and feel good about our skin.  Yet many people don’t realize how vulnerable the skin can be.  That’s why it’s critical to avoid things that can damage our skin.

Here are 6 Surprising Things That Will Damage Your Skin

1. Heat

According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 1 million people will be diagnosed with skin cancer this year. A rather lucid indicator of how heat can damage both your skin and life. You see, skin is made up of keratin, a protein that is sensitive to heat; their structure breaks when exposed to excess heat. It is because of this that exposing your skin to heat often exacerbates acne, rosacea fungal infections and hives. Experts therefore advise to avoid the sun by wearing protective clothing during peak sun hours, to avoid tanning beds and to use a hat whenever possible.

2. Lack of sleep

Although the pasty skin and dark circles under your eyes may be easy to take care of, the aging and wrinkling of your skin after an event of chronic sleep deprivation may not be as easy. When you do not get enough sleep, your body releases more cortisol which breaks down collagen; an element that plays an important role in the elasticity of your skin. In addition, lack of enough sleep also means that your body isn’t releasing efficient amounts of growth hormones leading to the aging of your skin. So make sure you get a good night sleep to keep your skin supple and glowing.

3. Stress

Few things wreak havoc in our bodies like the release of cortisol; the stress hormone. Not only does it promote the formation of lines and wrinkles through glycation, but it also decreases your skin’s natural production of hyaluronic acid ( Serves as a natural moisturizer) leading to dry and damaged skin. As if these effects aren’t enough, the stress hormone proceeds to stimulate the production of adrenaline which in turn decreases blood flow to the skin and makes you look dull in complexion. Fortunately, reducing stress in your life is quite easy; eat healthy, exercise and most important of all, appreciate yourself for who you are.

4. Sugary Foods

You are what you eat, sadly enough, eating a lot of sugary things doesn’t make you any sweeter and instead damages your skin. Sugar has been proven to damage skin by increasing inflammation which results in breakouts. This often leads to scarring and premature aging of the skin in the long term. So while you might have thought the black heads are caused by hormonal changes be warned that your sweet tooth could be the culprit. To avoid these ugly effects, consider ditching sugar altogether by using substitutes such as nutmeg and getting a lot of exercise to deal with the sugar craves. Plus, consider complex sugars like vegetables and carbohydrates that are broken down in to glucose at a slower rate compared to the simple sugars.

5. Air conditioning

Does air conditioning affect your skin? The answer is yes. In a room whose temperature is reduced to 25 degrees Celsius, your body’s temperature mechanism is disrupted consequently reducing the production of sweat in all areas of the body. It also reduces the production or sebum leading to dry skin. This means that if you already have existing skin conditions like psoriasis and eczema’s, these conditions will be aggravated. You can easily avoid all this however by frequently moisturizing your skin, exercising regularly and drinking at least 8 glasses of water every day.

6. Caffeine

Although caffeine can help you deal with puffy eyes and give you the much needed kick to start off your day, large amounts in your daily diet can lead to skin damage. This is attributed to the fact that caffeine is a diuretic which prevents your body from holding in water. The result of taking too much caffeine is that your skin will end up looking and feeling dry. To avoid such effects you could consider doing away with caffeine or taking it in moderate amounts. If you decide to go with the latter, ensure you take lots of water.

It’s so important to protect our skin.  These tips and quick fixes provided in this read will help you to love the skin you are in and keep it young, radiant, and beautiful.

Skin Exfoliating Basics

As we get older, the process of cell-turnover diminishes. Cells begin to accumulate erratically on the skin’s surface, giving it a grayish, dry, dull, and rough appearance. This is why exfoliation is beneficial, because it eradicates dead cells to reveal fresher, smoother, younger looking skin. However, exfoliating should be used with caution, particularly under the eye area. Over exfoliating will dry and irritate the skin as well. 

Two Types of Exfoliation

• Mechanical Exfoliation: This is when the dead-skin cells are manually rubbed away with an abrasive. An example of mechanical exfoliation is a body scrub that may utilize coffee grounds, or sugar, or skin brushing.
• Chemical Exfoliation: Enzymes, (AHAs) alkphahydroxy acids and (BHAs) betahydroxy acids, loosen the adhesive like substance that keeps the cells connected, permitting them to drop away. Facial-peels are a form of chemical exfoliation.

Exfoliation and Skin Types

-For Deep Clean: AHA Peels Alpha Hydroxy Acids are usually extracted from fruits and consist of citric acid, glycolic acid, lactic acid, and malic acid. They are the gentlest peels available. They deeply exfoliate the skin by breaking down the links that fasten skin-cells to one another. This type of acid is quite useful for handling textural issues and superficial-pigmentation. Dry, sensitive, and combination skin work well with AHAs. 

-Easing Acne: BHA Peels Beta Hydroxy Acids incorporate salicylic acid, an ingredient successfully used for skin vulnerable to acne and blemishes. This is a fat-soluble peel, meaning that it quickly penetrates the oily environ of the pores, helping to “unclog” them by exfoliating amassed skin cells. It also has an anti-inflammatory result. This peel works well on combination and oily skin. 

-Pigmentation: TCA Trichloroacetic acid peels are considered medium-depth peels. The acid infiltrates deeper and encourages damage by making the skin’s proteins cluster together. Consequently, it is more effective but can be temporarily unattractive. This peel is great for older skins due to its properties that promote younger-looking skin for all skin types. 

-Radical Results: Phenol-peel is the most serious of all peels and is known to give heart problems if not used by a doctor properly. According to a 1984 study, nearly 40% of patients experienced cardiac-arrhythmia. Today, the procedure is performed with a heart-monitor to gauge a patient’s response. This type of peel is extremely effective at dealing with severely sun-damaged skin like deep wrinkles. It also leaves skin smooth, with a waxy consistency. Phenol-peel is great for all older skin types. 

What’s Up with Microbeads?

Microbeads have become omnipresent as an ingredient in many exfoliators. These tiny-rounds of plastic are usually 5-millimeters or less in width and placed in mass marketed skincare products to exfoliate skin. It’s cheap and effective; however, there’s a problem with microbeads polluting the Great Lakes. 

This year, New York state bureaucrats broadcast the Microbead Free-Waters Act. If the bill is passed, microbeads will be banned. If you aren’t sure what microbeads are, they add the “gritty-quality” to washes and cleansers in order to get a grip on the top-layer of skin to slough off grease and dirt. 

How Often Should You Exfoliate?

It depends. Experts believe that if you don’t exfoliate daily or weekly, your skin will be smothered with dead skin cells, making your skin’s surface look dry, dull, and less vivacious. However, it’s best to go by your skin type and the type of exfoliating product you are using. 

TIP: According to a top skincare magazine, the best time to exfoliate is in the morning. Since the skin repairs itself during the night, the morning is the ideal time to scrub away dead skin cells.