So much going on. Lots of MUP and Hair TFP for clothing local designers to build portfolio. I love this work, and still feel Ihave the most satisfying job, it’s what I know. And thank you to all of you who do selfless service in your communities.
This weekend Yesenia Guinea and I will be backstage weaving braids in at the Veni Vidi Vici at Club 6. Check it out: http://www.mail.google.com/mail/#inbox/121c6734d317ff7f.
Until then, breathe. Lots of changes upon us and breathe will be your friend.
Dear Readers:
After a long draught with writing. I am inching out of my shell and I will now be hosting my blog at my website: www.shineforth.com/blog. Please join me there.
Thank you readers at wordpress for your time.
I’ve been out of the blogging, and hair loop. I attended the Squaw Valley Writer’s Conference in Squaw Valley, which became a nurturing place for me to be, as it turns out. My sister became very ill and slipped into a coma. I drove home for one day, and saw clients, who offered support, genuine care and concern to my family, and I. My emotions rippled right beneath the surface, and could have been easily released while shampooing or cutting, however, steering the conversation towards them, asking for updates, and concentrating on the craft, allowed some space between the intensity of watching for a raise of my sister’s brow, or, a beep in the machine that would indicate her life was complete as I knew it.
I drove back to Reno, Nevada, August 10, saying goodbye to my daughter for another four days, after seven days of the conference. My heart broke in odd shaped pieces as I kissed her goodbye, and reassured her I would be back. She felt my reluctance, and cried back, I don’t want you to leave. The following day our family would be called to withdraw treatment from my sister.
You will have to forgive the garble in my words, as I try to piece together my life now, as everything has a different taste, vibration, and peculiarity. I try to insert myself back into my life, but with an energy that is slower, heavier, and at moments, alive with a piercing awareness of what is important. Bits of joy get reawakened by my five year old, the purest form of love pumps through, like the morphine shots my sister receives, siezing all body organs to function, the look of bliss finally resides on her face.
I will come back to writing I tell myself. I will come back to the activity that enlivens me. For now this is what I can do. Once again, seeing clients, and working with hair, maintains my connection to life, palpable.
I’ve been under a bit of unusual stress the last three weeks, I would have been better off taking time to assimilate life’s latest serving of chewy bits. But life goes on, and as a Buddhists have said, “Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” Cutting hair, even though a family member may have been on her death bed, seemed odd.
And yet, my clients were there for me. At first, I did not think I could work. The salon environment, albeit quieter than usual that day felt too overwhelming. I had no intention of laying it out for everybody, nor did I need to become maudlin, or ignore my reality. At times, I felt as though I walked a tight rope. On one side was my life, on the other, my profession, and when I engaged in conversation about myself, I began to falter, and the net below swung in all directions.
I disassociated, at home I placed a platic bag on a hot burner, walked in three directions at once, not remembering what I was doing, and at work, during a weave, I turned my clients hair a pale violet in a few packets.
The flashing light inside strobed, sending a warning to refocus, and bring the conversation back to the client.
My family member felt better today, we all could sigh with relief. The road to healing is still long, and perhaps even questionable. Meanwhile, I am grateful for my life, and for my clients who continue to awe me in their respect, concern, and kind words.
I think of all the thousands of heads of hair I have cut in my career, and all the hair left behind, and the clients who, walk out the door with a bit more bounce in their step.
I think of all the things I could do with the millions of strands that fall to the ground. I imagine how heavy that pile would it have accumulated into one massive hair ball, or creating walls, tunnels, out the door and onto the street.
I could stand the piles up, side by side, the difference in textures, and colors would be as disparaging as the clients who have sat in my chair. Some piles would be 1/2 inch by 1”, some would me 5″ deep, depending on the client.
If I could flatten out the piles, I could make squares, like a quilt, connecting their lives. I could create a time line with the squares from when I began, til’ now, building a path laid out into infinity.
If I could stack the flattened squares, I would stand on top and feel how tall these clients have helped to make me feel. If that quilt of hair could float, it would surely buoy me a long ways out on a turbulent ocean, and keep me safe.
If these piles could tell the stories of the clients that leave the salon, carrying on in their day, and into their lives, as a new person, in their new look, it would be a very interesting story. If I could jumble the pile up, mixing, tossing, like a summer vegetable salad, I would have a very colorful, unique, wondrous, and very deep mix of personalities, experiences and preferences.
Miss Cordelia DeVere, as generous as always, brought me a cappuccino before we began to the all-too-fun task of creating a new color for her. The window was open at my new station, the summer fog had lifted allowing the sun to light up the greenery out my window, the breeze a nice welcome in the heat of the afternoon. She exclaimed joy at my short hair, and congratulated me on my new spot in the salon.
Inspiration percolated inside of me, as she spoke about wanting her hair richer, deeper in color to allow for the fadage. As I conjured up her color combination, level 4, with some red violet, with some accents no doubt. I applied slices of lightener with 9% developer. We talked about what other artists are sculpting, painting, and her staging. We talked about her thoughts on color.
She is still making her creative, fun, and extremely sassy Gissy Dolls too.
It’s always a pleasure to create for Cordelia. The accent colors were candy apple with a couple of squirts of pimpin’ purple, and some orange.
She called a couple of days later, and said, “I just wanted to let you know, I love my #@*#%& hair!”
Here are some other Cordelia works of art.
Yes. A client did ask this very question the other day, albeit, with humor in her voice. We laughed. The question made me pause.
As a hairstylist I am asked many things, or am considered many things, some of which are spoken and not spoken. Sometimes I am seen as a magician, who performs daring acts of color combinations, or haircuts that make one take a second look.
No, I don’t pull rabbits out of hats, and I don’t disappear in front of the mirror, or make lines disappear on the face. But yes, I can make someone look thinner with a haircut.
It’s all about shape of the head, and of the haircut. Whattype of hair, the texture, the condition, and the clients willingness to let go of the concept “more hair is better”, are all elements to consider before I cut. Different line designs accent different features, or facial shapes, or they can completely drag them down.
In general, when someone has a broad, square shape face, I am going to go in and soften the face by cutting a nice, layered hair cut, how short the layers are depend on, again, how much hair a person has, or texture. I am not talking about bulky, fat layers, but square layers, more shaped around the face.
The length can be mid length, or shorter, again depending on hair type and texture. If shorter length is desired, I would go in and do round layers quite short, leave some hair in front of the ear, but shorter above the ear, leaving some hair on the neck. In front, I tend to cut asymmetrically. It works to offset a long, and or broad face.
If a client has a round face, I would tend to want to elongate their look, and take hair away from thier face, by creating a oval shape in the perimeter. Then graduate into round layers, and a bit more movement Again, this is very general.
If a client has a heart shaped face, I would tend to do bobs, shorter, more dramatic looks, unless they prefer length, too long is too much of a drag on the face, but some women want it anyway.
Although, I don’t do face lifts, or weight reduction, a great haircut can make a dramatic change in someone looking more alive, taller, more chic, and definitely thinner.
http://creativecommons.org/Yogi’s photostream
I’m convinced that cutting my hair off is not only allowing me a certain kind of freedom, but evokes a discomfort for some clients, and the hope of freedom for others. I knew when Savanna left, I would cut my hair. Something about her leaving the salon, and moving to the UK that set in motion a personal change within myself, an affirmation that when one person changes-everybody around them does as well.
The minute some of my clients have entered the salon and they see me, they gasp, do a double take, blink a few times, the words tic-tac across their forehead, “No, you didn’t, did you?”, like clouds moving across the sky.
My change affects them, whether they like it or not. Their reality has shifted, and I see how they struggle 
to find the old me to relate to, searching for our connection, as if it lies in the hair.
As if that weren’t enough, my new cut reveals the grey hair I’ve been coloring for a long time for reasons of fun, beauty world infused ideas that grey hair just makes people look old, and I’m a hairdresser after all.
Some clients inquire if I’m going to keep it grey, asking, “You want to show the grey?” As if to say, why would you want to. Some people jump into defending their color and why they do it, and my grey hair clients, say why fight it, let it be. There is plenty of conversation in the chair about why women should color their hair, why it’s nice on some, but not everybody. So who decided when and if it is okay?
Frankly, as a hairdresser it is absurd to possibly turn away hundreds of dollars, if not, thousands, by setting the example of how a woman can grow their grey hair out. And, I am aware that to encourage clients to show their grey hair goes against most beauty industry professionals out there. Truth be known, in my 26 years of doing hair, I have tried to run my business with integrity. My life is no different. Now they have merged. My personal values seem hard to live in a salon environment at times.
I want clients to see what they look like without color, at least once in their life. Why not? Then they can make a concious choice based on what they see and experience. Then color can take on a whole new meaning. Is it for fun, or is it stale?
I stopped coloring my hair because of the maintenance, and I felt ready to see the real me. What do I look like at 48, and as my acting coach use to say, warts and all? The freedom of cutting the dead, dark hair off, made me happy, and yet vulnerable. I wanted to see what I had underneath all the dark hair, and have my look on the outside mirror the change going on inside. I don’t always love the way it looks, but I didn’t the other way either.
Some clients look at my hair, and say, “Wow, I want to do that! Can I do that?” Their tired of being slaves to color for all sorts of reasons. They are terrified to see themselves without hair color. They say, “You’re leading the way. ”
I don’t know about that. What I can say is that I feel completely at home with it, and I love how bold it is, both energetically and visually. Although, I have never felt I needed hair to make me look feminine, shorter hair does move into the sterotype of the older and less feminine realm.
And yet, this shorter, new, grey look makes me feel better. I wish this feeling for every client, every person. Right, or wrong, fashionable, or unfashionable, I love it. Every woman needs to decide for themselves what is right for them, regardless of what others say. If your hairdresser is stuck on you coloring your hair, than I would find someone who is willing to take you through the process. Take the leap!
Photo: http://search.creativecommons.org/mag3737’s photostream
http://search.creativecommons.org/Magic Lantern Shows’ photostream
http://search.creativecommons.org/angusf’s photostream
“So, what do you love about your hair? What don’t you like about it? And when did you last get your haircut?” I asked to begin the consultation with Leslie, a new client. Through Squaw Valley Writer’s Conference in “07, I met a group of women writer’s from the Bay Area. Some of us have remained in contact, some have read at the readings I’ve held at the salon, and a few have even become clients. One of the writer’s that I had become a client, referred her friend Leslie. Her curly hair was lovely, and way over due for a cut. The longest layer on top reached to about her chin, sagging her beautiful face down
“I’m one of those annoying clients, who wants to keep some length, but feel it’s too heavy up here,” she replied, pulling at her hair on top. “I just got it cut six weeks ago. That isn’t very long is it?”
“No, it isn’t, not for curly hair.”
“I feel like always leave with the same haircut.”
“What attitude do you want your hair to have?”
“Ooh, that is a good question. I’ve never been asked that. Hmm. Well, what do you think I have?”
“Long hair.”
“Yeah, I feel like I look like a hippie, but without the hippie.”
“Do you want to move into something a little more edgy?”
“What does that mean?”
“Edgy means to me a stronger shape.”
“What does that look like?”
“Okay well, let me get my hands in here. I think if you brought the length up to shoulder length, then took
this hair away from your face a bit, slightly off center, then layered out this top, we’d be getting somewhere. I want to round out it out, so that you don’t have a pyramid shape, and I’ll do some dry cutting.”
“Sounds, good. Yeah, I’ve had the $30,000 pyramid quite often.”
“You are funny.”
“Well, you come up with all kinds of names when you’ve had this kind of hair for a long time.”
She removed her glasses, which was as slight discomfort, because she could not say anything. And so we cut, and cut and cut. I asked at one point I asked if she would like to put the glasses back on. No, she said, she was enjoying not seeing. Then product instruction, then I twisted the hair and diffused. Her hair looked fabulous. Bouncy, full, sassy. 
I unwrapped her, she reached for her glasses, and as we spun the chair around, she exclaimed, “Oh wow. I love it.” She remained in the chair a bit, wanting to take in her image a bit. We laughed about her looking for reflective surfaces to gaze in, on her way home. We agreed it was a transformation.
http://search.creativecommons.org/photogirl7
http://search.creativecommons.org/Neil Carey’s photostream
What part of colouring hair is intuitive, and what is years of practice? As I worked with a new assistant yesterday, she said she used to work with Logics haircolor, and where she worked before, they couldn’t look at a color chart. They learned by knowing the boxes of color, the color level and tone. As we talked, I realized I trained myself in haircolor, and that has it’s pluses and minuses, right?
Knowing levels and tones of haircolor without a chart is a definite must, because it is about training the eye to see color. Some stylists have this gift, this natural ability. Since I did train myself, and with practice, it is intuitive, and knowing what level and tone is second nature. And, I still refer to a chart to get a visual strongly placed in my head, and it happens within minutes.
We are playing with Dia haircolor now. I like it. The range of tones, flexibility, and shine is wonderful. The other day, I saw a new client for a weave and haircut. I liked her, she seemed to respond to my ideas, and our communication felt on track and we articulated a plan. She had a natural level 5, and she was heavily highlighted. We decided to not go that light. So I highlighted her hair with slices of Blondor and 9%. Then I went back through with a thin slice of light brown, with a bit of copper, and a bit of gold. I like that you can add a squirt of this and a squirt of that. I thought, after I shook the formula in the jar that maybe I needed to add more gold or natural to the formula, but I didn’t. but I did at a toner for the blonde of Richesse 9.3, which undid the shine, I am sure. Next time, I would see what the Dia equivalent would be.
The color was beautiful, definite coppery lowlights, but not brassy. The overall look had a zing to it. I loved it, and she was happy. The finesse of color formulating is to see what the gut says, and listen, or to follow through with what you worked up, and take a risk. To me being a great colorist is not perfect formulation, but knowing how to get back when you’ve gone too far. Some of it is intuition and some of it is practice.
