Stressing Out?

We all feel stressed out at one point or another in our lives from deadlines to school, to crappy boyfriends. Stress can give us tense muscles, pounding headaches, and major anxiety. You may not notice immediately but stress can take its toll on your hair (falling out or dullness), complexion (blotchy or acne), internal inflammation, as well as premature aging… They all sound horrible. Seeing as we’re realistic here and will just accept that Stress is inevitable, here’s how you can make a difference in your life as well as your skin, hair, and overall beautiful self.

Top 5 ways to De-Stress (for stylists as well as clientele):

1) Exercise on a regular basis. It helps to not only fight stress but also keep depression and anxiety at bay… Think: Endorphins! I’m personally not one to be a hamster on a wheel (aka treadmills) but you can exercise in other ways: walk outside on lunch break, yoga, pilates, vacuuming living room, dancing to music, etc.

2) Allow yourself time to get to destinations. I have to remind myself this ALL the time, since I’m constantly in a hurry to get to appointments and meetings. Nothing’s more stressful than feeling like you’ll be late, so just leave earlier than usual and enjoy the extra few minutes to primp or rock out to music in the car.

3) Make time to talk to friends and family. Even if it’s just 10 minutes. I heard a phenomenal inspirational talk at a Paul Mitchell event and the speaker a famous deaf comedienne, Cathy Buckley asked us to take a minute to tell our loved one that we loved and cared about them. It really changes your day and keeps your perspective in check. Try it!

4) Make a play list of De-stressful and calming music. iTunes has fabulous Groove Essentials play list for ideas. Listen to the play list whenever you’re ready to pull out your hair or strangle any person near you. You’ll save a few extra lives (note earlier statement concerning strangulation) by musical therapy!

5) Treat yourself! Yes, I give you permission to treat yourself to a massage, or save a dime and have a spa day at home. It could be simply applying a mask, taking a hot bubble bath, or relaxing.

Tips from a Pro:

“Meditation and breathing techniques don’t cost a dime and you can do them anywhere, anytime.” – Sarah Kugelman

“I take a warm bath with pure lavender oil and have a cup of organic chamomile tea.” –Carol Shaw

“Eliminate toxic people from your environment.” –Karen Behnke

Not just a bad hair day... Let's talk Bad Haircuts!

So you have a bad haircut… What’s your first reaction?? Anger, immense anger as to how this could happen… Well, let me ask you, did you say anything to the hair dresser as your hair was being chopped off? One of the most interesting things that I learned from hair school is to speak up when you’re in the chair. I think that out of politeness, I have never found it within myself in the past to voice out that I was dissatisfied, which is ironic since I’m the one that is paying for the service. I never said “stop” when the stylist kept chopping off inches when I really said (and truly meant) a trim. Nothing is more powerful than communication (can be applicable to many situations my friends).


Well, after a disastrous haircut that I received in hair school (which ends up happening to everyone in hair school eventually), you are forced to get creative. Let me explain…I had some major split ends (hadn’t had a haircut in a good year) and wanted to create a nice side swept bang to help “frame my face.” Shouldn’t be so hard to ask, right? Well, I sat there and watched as my side swept bang turned into a quick snip to create a straight line across my forehead. There were no layers (like I requested) and my hair was severely heavy in the back (due the zero degree/no layer cut). End result, the stereotypical soccer mom hair-do. Refer to tip # 7 to see my personal disaster picture.

Now, at the same time I also worked Full Time in a business office and was in no shape to show up to work with a bad haircut. I needed to be creative and fast since the next morning was going to show up fast and I needed to keep my professional image and dignity intact. I spend most of that evening playing with my hair and finding ways to creatively hide the disaster I allowed to happen on top of my head (don’t deny that you allowed this if you didn’t say anything). Here are some tips I discovered to hide a gnarly haircut…

1) the handy dandy bobby pin (lots and lots of them)! – I have to admit that prior to hair disasters in my life I would find some way to sneak in a bobby pin or two in my daily coif but never have I found it so “supportive” with damage control! Bobby pins saved my life! I would creatively pin up my disastrous bangs into a nice little pomp in the front or braid my front hair line with a reverse braid and secure it with a bobby pin (current trend anyways). You could even take multiple sections of your front hairline, twist, and pin for a new sassy look or sweep them to the side and pin it in. The options are endless! Luckily, there are even adorable and fashionable bobby pins that you can purchase to adorn your hidden tragedy!




*Braiding hairline and securing with bobby pins

2) Heat tools- My mini flat iron (I had shoulder length hair but could be used for really short or really long hair as well) and my Marcel curling iron became fast friends with me. Now I was “blessed” with stick straight hair and thus any bad “precision” haircut would always turn out to be unavoidable if you didn’t have any texture or curls to hide the holes that were cut into my poor “do.” There were many days where in I would create a mass of fun curls or a combination of straight hair and curly bits for an interesting look (mini flat iron create the best curls in my opinion.)



3) Texture- as I just mentioned, texture can hide a lot! Dry wax and Dry shampoo became a “must” for me. Since my bangs took a rough “cut” (apology for the pun), I would utilize dry shampoo to make my bangs easier to slick or braid back, then I would use a little (and I mean little) bit of wax to slick down the stray hair. As pictured below, you can fashionably wear this slicked back look anywhere!



4) Consult with a more trusted stylist- There’s nothing wrong with consulting with another stylist about your current predicament. With that being said, you should seek help, not another hair cut! Don’t subtract! It’s better to add then subtract my friends; you don’t want to make it any worse for yourself. I found that even though I was a current cosmetology student, it was always a good idea to pick another stylists brain for creative ideas. You never know what kind of ideas can be thrown our way. Don’t feel guilty for going to another stylist; no one is going to put you into time-out for going to someone else for help that you trust (remember it’s your hair that is on the line here).


5) Ponies- I love pony tails, especially high pony tails! You can really hide a hair disaster and look professional with this simple and easy to do look! There are a lot of noted celebrities that choose to wear ponies for the Oscars or even for casual events! (Also consider buns and braided ponies as alternatives).




6) Accessorize! - Use what you have! I had a variety of headbands and scarves that were collecting dust and I almost was glad to have an excuse (a good one) to utilize what I had. Really take the time to experiment with accessories and find one that suits your style.  And if you are in a professional work place or school, find a cool wig ASAP and wear it like it's your own hair (wigs can be really fun and stress relieving if you’re not savvy with fixing your hair).


7) Work it! – I can be one of those delusion people that take a bad experience and “work with what I got.” I actually had more fun with a bad haircut than I ever did with my old ho hum hair before. I used my accessories, I used my hair tools, I busted out the gels and hairspray and I walked into work with my head held high as though this was what I wanted. Of course, there were some comments about what happened to my hair and I would respond politely back that, “You don’t like it? You just don’t know what’s “in”.” The funny thing is that the same week I flaunted this new “do”, there were others at work doing the same thing with their hair. There is something to be said about working a bad cut with a delusional confidence! Refer to initial Christmas photo for a ridiculous and fun way to flaunt the “do”.



8) Bald is beautiful – A lot of women put their self esteem into their locks of hair. It’s our vanity. So when our hair is irreparable and in shambles, sometimes it’s best to start clean… shave it! I know that there are numerous noted women that have sported the bald look, i.e.: Courageous cancer survivors, Sinead O’Conner, Megan Fox (who is a sultry young starlet), Demi Moore, Natalie Portman, and even Britney Spears. It can be done and it can be sported (but it’s not for everyone).



9) Poppin’ Pills- lots of people I know swear up and down that vitamin make their hair magically grow like no one’s business. I’m not one to take pills specifically for my hair to quickly grow out of the mullet I have but at the same time I think that no matter what your current hair circumstances, it’s never a bad idea to add a multivitamin to your diet (please consult a physician, just in case).


10) Don’t forget, Hair grows- It won’t last like this forever and learn to forgive yourself and your stylist and embrace the experience. Trust me, eventually you’ll laugh about this later (probably not now, but def later)!


Have fun experimenting and salvaging what locks you have left!

Here’s to happy locks!