Blond Expert Provides Hair Tips
by Michelle Breyer on Monday, November 23, 2009
Rick Wellman, celebrity colorist and blond expert, specializes in blondes. As the head colorist and co-owner of Patrick Melville Salon, his clients include celebrity blondes like Heidi Klum and Blake Lively—the latter, who hits up the salon with her dog Penny, was recently credited with the hair of the moment by the NY Times.
As a former artist, Wellman has an uncanny ability to blend and paint color onto hair, using his unique signature style called Bio-Lights, finding the perfect, natural-looking shade which Wellman claims is dependent on your skin tone. While he is an influential colorist at a top salon, Wellman has also worked with companies like Clairol to develop boxed at-home color.
When coloring natural curly or wavy hair, Wellman says to keep in mind the texture is generally a little more coarse and dry.
One advantage though, most likely the curls will camouflage any missed spots. Treat and time the root area differently than you treat the ends, especially if the client already has colored her hair. Be careful to avoid excessive overlapping of color to the ends as curly hair tends to be more porous and can quickly suck up color and become dull. Try adding a tablespoon of natural coconut oil to buffer the remaining formula and help protect ends.
When getting highlights, avoid many tiny fine strands of light pieces as they can just get lost and melt into your curls. Generally, curly hair needs thicker pieces of lightness to be even noticed or worth the while.
Wellman says that the key to achieving natural-looking blond color is “to keep subtle dimension throughout. Solid platinum or monotone yellow are dead giveaways to fake hair color. Remember, hair naturally is composed of different shades blended in the same family. For a more natural look, blonde hair color should always be a little more toned down or ashy near the root area and gradually lighter and vibrant towards the ends, never the reversed.”
Salon Outlook Positive in Q3
The outlook for the salon/spa industry remained positive in the third quarter, as the Professional Beauty Association’s (PBA) Salon/Spa Performance Index (SSPI) rose for the second consecutive quarter. The SSPI — a quarterly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. salon/spa industry — stood at 101.9 in the third quarter, up 0.1 percent from its second-quarter level. The SSPI is constructed so that the health of the salon/spa industry is measured in relation to a steady state level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indicators.
“For the first time this year, salon/spa owners reported a net increase in service sales. However, they also reported that retail sales continue to be soft,” said Sam Leyvas, PBA’s director of government affairs. “Long term we are seeing growing optimism on the part of salon/spa owners both in terms of service and retail sales in the months ahead.
The SSPI is based on the responses to PBA’s Salon/Spa Industry Tracking Survey, which is fielded quarterly among 800 salon/spa owners nationwide on a variety of indicators including service and retail sales, customer traffic, employee/hours and capital expenditures. The Index consists of two components — the Current Situation Index and the Expectations Index.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in five industry indicators (service sales, retail sales, customer traffic, employees/hours and capital expenditures), stood at 99.1 in the third quarter – down 0.6 percent from its second quarter level of 99.7. The Current Situation Index has remained below 100 throughout 2009, which represents contraction in the current situation indicators.
For the first time in 2009, salon/spa owners reported a net increase in service sales, meaning more owners reported higher sales than lower sales. Thirty-eight percent of salon/spa owners reported an increase in same-store service sales between the third quarters of 2008 and 2009, while 36 percent reported a sales decline.
Although salon/spa owners reported an improvement in service sales in the third quarter, they continued to report soft retail sales. Forty-seven percent of salon/spa owners reported lower retail sales in the third quarter while thirty-six percent of salon/spa owners reported higher retail sales between the third quarters of 2008 and 2009.
The Expectations Index, which measures salon/spa owners’ six-month outlook for five industry indicators (service sales, retail sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), rose 0.7 percent in the third quarter to a level of 104.6. The Expectations Index remains well above 100, which indicates that salon/spa owners are optimistic about industry growth in the months ahead.
Third quarter growth in the Expectations Index was driven by growing optimism for both service and retail sales in the months ahead. Fully seven out of 10 salon/spa owners said they expect to have higher service sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year). Only 8 percent of salon/spa owners expect their service sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year.
Salon/spa owners are also much more optimistic about stronger retail sales in the months ahead. Sixty-one percent of salon/spa owners said they expect to have higher retail sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year. In comparison, just 9 percent expect their retail sales to decline in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year).
“PBA takes pride in providing timely and relevant economic data to the marketplace,” said Sam Leyvas “doing so is critical to our mission as the industry’s leading trade association.”
by Michelle Breyer on Thursday, October 29, 2009
The full SSPI and second quarter Salon/Spa Tracking Survey Report can be found at www.probeauty.org.
Celebrity Stylist Opens Multi-Textural Salon
Anthony Dickey is opening a new salon where all hair textures can co-exist under one roof.
Hair Rules New York, with its elite team of stylists and colorists, is located at 828 Ninth Avenue, between 54th and 55th streets in the diverse Clinto neighborhood.
“From the first day of cosmetology school, stylists are taught to process hair without regard to natural texture,” explains celebrity stylist Dickey, creator of the Hair Rules line of products for multi-textural hair. “What that means to women with highly textured hair is that their hair is a problem that needs fixing.”
As a result, says Dickey, generations of women with wavy, curly and kinky hair have battled their hair into submission, often with damaging chemicals and heat. “The result of that is not only damaged hair, but divisive notions about what’s socially, professionally and fashionably acceptable.”
Although the majority of salons work with a broad clientele with all hair types, many stylists do not feel comfortable working with naturally kinky hair. And for many salons that do specialize in highly textured hair, the main focus may be relaxers, weaves and heat styling to change the texture rather than work with it.
Full article at CurlStylist.com.