Color!

I used to think that the stylists in a salon (cheap and high quality alike) went to school and just learned how to cut hair and color. Indeed, we do learn that. However, there is a lot more to it than just those things. There is anatomy and physiology, geometry, chemistry, and a lot of other rather scientific aspects to cutting, styling and coloring hair. 

When you step outside the box (yes, play on words with box color), you realize that there is a lot more to the formulas that go into achieving the proper color for your guest. Color theory is huge, but there is also quite a lot of other math and chemistry that plays a big role in getting it right. Last week, we learned a lot about what is in our products (Redken colors) and what is, but shouldn't be, in box color. I can't stress enough how horrible the box colors, perms and even temporary colors are for your hair and your body in general. After all, you are putting it on your scalp which will absorb some of the chemicals in these inferior products. The goal of proper coloring is to avoid the scalp directly, while still covering all of the hair to keep the still somewhat harmful chemicals from entering your blood stream so easily. 

Another thing that has struck my classmates and I again and again through our few short weeks at Tricoci is that whenever we have been in a salon setting (again, of any type), there has very rarely, if ever, been any attempt on the part of the stylist to recommend any sort of home care for our hair. Let's be hypothetical for a minute. You walk into the doctor's office. You have something simple, let's say seasonal allergies. The doctor does a bit of evaluating, helps you blow your nose and sends you on your way. By the time you get home, your eyes are itchy and watering again and your nose is running like a faucet. You still have the same problem, and have no better knowledge of how to handle your problem than you did before walking into the office. You would be likely to "fire" your doctor for something like this. Even more so, if you asked him or her what you should do to help your symptoms or condition and were told nothing. So often, this is what we have found in salons! It absolutely should not be this way. The person behind the chair is supposed to be the expert. They are the one who went to school to gain superior knowledge of hair, products and care procedures! At Tricoci, not only do we learn about products and how to recommend them properly, it is a requirement for each service we provide to our guests. My goal, upon graduating from Tricoci is to give each guest I see, at least one product recommendation and tips for how to use it. 

If you are struggling with your hair on a daily basis, or tired of using the same old styles all the time, come see one of the near-experts at Tricoci! We can, and will, help!!

(I apologize for the long winded post)

Week 6 day 1

Friends, I am so sorry that I have been doing such an awful job at keeping up with this these last few days. The graduated bob is now complete. We tested on it Friday and I aced it with 100% again! We also took our written test on Friday and I did very well on that too. It is still a long way off, but I am getting more excited each day to be on the floor and able to put all of these awesome things that I'm learning into practice! 

Last night, we started color. It was mostly just theory which can be boring, but my teacher is awesome and keeps it from being that way. We played with frosting to learn about color correction (and then got to eat it!) and tonight we get to paint color wheels and learn some more. 

One of the best things so far about Tricoci is that we don't spend weeks or even days on theory before we get to all the hands on fun stuff! We may even start practical applications of color tonight! 

I also learned last night that the hair color you buy in the box at Walmart and such is full of fillers like tar. If you color your hair, please do it professionally. It may cost more, but you're putting so much crap in your hair with the box that its not worth the savings! If the cost is what keeps you from doing it, look at beauty schools in your area. For instance, most salons will charge $60 or more for a full application. Tricoci charges $35, if I'm not mistaken.

Week 5 day 1 (and all the days in between my last post)

I have had a crazy week! I sincerely apologize for not updating better, although they would've all been about two sentences long and not very informative.

Food wise: last night, I was really impressed with the impact that being more conscious of what I'm eating has made on me in such a short time. Last night, I forgot to bring my "dinner" with me to school. I considered ordering from jimmy john's or Tom and Jerry's (both sandwiches and wouldn't have been too horrible calorie wise), but I decided not to spend the money. At break time, I was hungry and went to go peer into the vending machine, waiting for something to strike my fancy. Well, not only did nothing strike my fancy, I also decided that I would like to see if there is such a thing as a fruit vending machine, and what it would take to get one for school. I ended up still getting the Gardettos that's on my log, but only becaus I was getting shaky with lack of food. And I even got ice cream yesterday without going crazy on the calories!

We have been working hard on the graduated bob. I learned how not to cut it (when you feel really sick and aren't concentrating), because then you cut "holes" where the layers don't line up properly because the bottom most layer is missing. I learned how to fix said holes. We've gone through the cut 3 times now and will do another tonight as well as the blow drying. 

Last night we also learned how to make some awesome advanced styling looks: the ric rac set and flat iron curls. I'm excited to try to use some of them on myself. Mostly the flat iron curls because the ric rac set turns into a 'fro.

Week 4 day 3

Last night we completed most of our first g-bob cut. Then I got to be a demo for how to cut it! Now I can be confident in knowing that I have a super cute hair cut. I just have to figure out how to style it myself.

In the interest of full disclosure, here's a big confession. I have never been really good at styling my own hair. I could do an updo and a killer ponytail, but other than that, I've always been a "just let it do its own thing" kinda girl. I am now begging my teacher to help me learn how to do my hair myself because as I was saying in my realization post, I can't very well walk into an appointment to do someone's hair with crazy unstyled hair. I'm very excited about my new cut and will share any self-styling tips I learn along the way.

Food wise, yesterday was pretty good. I blame staying up too late for me going slightly over my "allowance" but I'm not really concerned about it.

I am trying to encourage my kids to eat healthier as well. We have been horrible about offering fruits and veggies with every meal, and I intend to start. This morning we had fruit for breakfast and there may be some toast as well with a glass of milk.

Week 4 day 2

Yesterday was very emotional, but I chose to not let that affect my eating this time around.

We started working on the cut of the graduated bob last night. It's a lot more complicated, but a lot more fun! Pics soon to come.

Week 4 day 1

Last night was my written test on sculpture (96%), and our practical on the classic bob and the proper blow-dry technique (100%). I was really proud of my practical. I was very accurate and the blow-dry was nice and smooth.

I am super excited to start on the graduated bob (aka g-bob) tonight! It's supposed to be one of the hardest cuts, but it's so cute! I'm seriously considering getting my hair cut in that style as well. And I'm even more excited to start color in 2 weeks!!!

I did decently in my food yesterday, though having pizza for breakfast was mostly because my youngest woke up at 4:30 and I was somehow hungry.

Saturday Sadness

So, food-wise, today was horrible. I ate comfort food. I dropped my phone in the toilet this morning which threw off my whole day with sadness and emotional eating. And then my new-to-me couch wouldn't fit through the hallway into my living room. But even in spite of that I came out slightly ahead on calories and only vaguely behind on the nutrients.

I don't have anything else fantastically interesting to post about today, so I think I'll just leave it at that.

Repêchage T-Zone Line

About a week ago, I purchased the Repêchage T-Zone Line of face care products. Specifically, I bought the cleansing complex, toning complex and moisturizer. This line is designed especially for combination skin (oily in the forehead, nose and chin, dry everywhere else). When I started using this product line, I had horrible dry skin (flaking and itchy) just below my eyebrows, and every time I washed my face, with Philosophy products, my cheeks would feel like they had been stretched to maximum. This is one of the signs of combination skin, along with the oily t-zone.

When we worked on facials a few weeks ago, I learned about these products and had them used when I was a model for the facial. I noticed that I wasn't feeling the tightness that I was used to. Knowing that I was nearly out of my Philosophy products, I purchased the line for myself. Within a few days, the dryness under my brows was gone and my cheeks are never tight when I get done washing my face!

Another awesome thing that I accidentally discovered last night: if you get it in your eye, it doesn't hurt or burn. It will put a film over your eye, but simple saline eye drops will help to clear it out. (Whoops!)

The biggest difference in these products from others is that they have no alcohol and are formulated to balance out the "problems" in your skin.

The t-zone line features St. John's Wart which is antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, soothing and balancing. It also contains glycerine which binds water to the skin, helping it to retain moisture. Over time, the t-zone line will help the oil glands to regulate and balance to reduce the oily t-zone and moisturize the dryer areas. There is a honey and almond scrub for any skin type that can be used once a week to soften and renew skin. Finally, in this line there is a balancing, hydrating mask for weekly use. It absorbs excess oil, draws impurities out, and stimulates new tissue growth.

There are also products for oily (Hydra Refine), and dry/sensitive (Hydra 4) skin types, which I can only assume work just as well. A word of caution about all Repêchage products other than the t-zone line, they have seaweed in them. From experience, if you are allergic to shellfish, use the t-zone line!

If you are interested in purchasing any of these products, or anything else that we sell at Tricoci (Redken, Pureology, Avlon or OPI) please stop in and let the receptionist know that I recommended it! This will help me with my retail experience (mark offs). I appreciate it!

Week 3 day 5

Last night we cut a classic bob again and learned how to properly blow dry it. It made me wish that my hair would do a good job staying that way every day, it is so cute! I can't wait to try it on a real person! We will cut at least one more time on Monday for our practical. Next week is the graduated bob.

Yesterday did not go as planned for eating. I started out doing fairly well, but then I went to Panera for lunch. I tried to pick out something healthy, but when I put in what I ate, it ended up ridiculously high in calories. After lunch, I only had 300 alotted calories. I tried to just deal with it, but then there was free pizza at school, so I figured it was a good cheat day.

Yoga!!!

Along with my working on eating better, I am going to strive for a healthier lifestyle in general. I woke up this morning with a horrid headache. One of those where all you want to do is curl back up under the covers and sleep for about 6 more hours. Instead, I unrolled my dusty yoga mat and planned on doing a few back-stretching poses. Once I got through those, I realized that it was only starting to help and I was also feeling much more awake and relaxed. So I continued for another 20 minutes. Guess what? No more headache!!

Here's what I did:
1. Cat/cow pose - hold each part for several breaths and repeat as many times as you like
2. I'm not sure what the next one is called, but you stay on hands and knees and extend one leg backwards with toes pointing down and extend the opposite arm forward and hold for several breaths.
3. Twist stretch from sitting on knees - reach left arm behind your left side while resting right hand on left leg, switch, and then both arms directly behind.
4. Downward dog - hold for several breaths
5. Plank pose - I did it as long as i could before my very out of shape arms gave out, but if you're not out of shape, a few breaths
6. Upward dog - again, hold for a few breaths
7. Plank transfer to downward dog
8. Warrior I -> warrior II -> triangle -> warrior II - hold for several breaths each
9. Downward dog
10. Repeat 8 on the other side
11. Forward bend
12. Run to go get the crying baby ;)

If I hadn't had to go do #12, I would've finished with, I believe it's called, mountain pose.

Week 3 day 4

Tonight was week 3 day 4 at Tricoci for me. We finished our first attempt at the classic bob haircut. I did well and was definitely proud of myself.

On to more telling things! Last night after coming home, I singlehandedly, in less than 15 min, devoured 3 beefy 5 layer burritos from Taco Bell. This was my low point, my moment of realization. I am studying to help people take care of their hair, nails and skin. It's possible to still make those things look healthy despite a person's poor nutrition and diet, but it would be much better for the person to help themselves as well. But who am I to comment on someone's eating habits when mine are so completely awful. As a cosmetologist, it is part of my job and responsibility to model to my clients the way things could be. If I walked into an appointment with a drip of nacho cheese still hanging off the corner of my mouth, I most definitely would not be modeling good eating habits to my clients, just as much as if I came in with horrible hair or clown makeup. That would speak volumes to them, and not the good kinds.

So, that being said, I have started this blog, not to only be a food log, or a place to just rattle off what I ate for the day, but also as a suggestion for recipes and to share what I am doing in class in more detail. I will probably include a snapshot of what I've eaten, but I will also talk about what I'm learning.