FAQ: How Can I Get Free Samples?

Question: 
How can I get free hair care samples?

Answer:

There are several ways to get free samples. You just need to ask for them.

• When you get a haircut, ask your hairdresser for some samples. Companies provide salons with samples for their clients (that is if your salon sells professional products)
• Check out websites and Facebook pages of your favorite companies - they post on their sites if any samples are available (check out websites such as Walmart, Procter & Gable, Garnier, etc.)
• When you open google page, write into a search engine's window words like "websites that offer free samples" and many links will appear - then just sift through them (for example I googled quite interesting site called mysavings.com dedicated to free samples - click on this LINK to go directly to their free samples page, but do not limit yourself just to this site)

Note: The image above is the property of Garnier.

FAQ: How Soon Can I Shampoo My Hair After Coloring?

Question:
I colored my hair blond and I usually wait about two or three days before I shampoo my hair again. Can I wash my hair sooner? Will the shampoo fade my hair?

Answer:
If you use gentle shampoo for colored hair, you should be OK.  It is shampoos with harsh chemicals that alter the pigmentation of your hair. Another shampoo you should not use on a daily basis is a "clarifying" shampoo, which is supposed to prepare hair for chemical process, or it helps to get the build up from styling products. These clarifying shampoos are "stripping" shampoos.
Also, using the vinegar rinse may help to "lock" the color in and give your hair shine.

Alba Botanica Gentle Shampoo is one of the shampoos I would recommend

FAQ: How Should I Color My Resistant Gray Hair?

Question:
Hi, I was wondering if you have any suggestions for a permanent hair color that covers gray hair. I use "Nice and Easy", but my hair seems to have gotten resistant to that now. Which volume of developer is best for maximum grey coverage?

Answer:
Your problem is in your hair cuticle, which is very "tight" (pigment has a hard time penetrating into the hair). It was probably always stubborn, but because now you have more of it, you can notice "the pale look" of your hair after coloring it. You could try this:

• always do an allergy test 48 hours prior to coloring
• keep the color mixture on extra 10 minutes
• mix the color with a darker shade; example - if you color your hair with medium brown, buy also dark brown and mix 3/4 medium brown with 1/4 dark brown
• if you color your hair with one of ash or golden tones or red tones, you need to add to the mixture a color that is a balanced; example - if you color your hair with light ash blond, mix 3/4 light ash blond with 1/4 light blond if you do not have too many grays.... the more gray hair you have the more light blond you need to use
• you can pre-soften your hair (make the cuticle less stubborn) prior to coloring; apply the 20 Volume peroxide to your regrowth and let sit for about 10 minutes. Then rinse the hair, towel dry gently, let air dry or use cool settings on your dryer (the water in hair would dilute your tint) and then apply your mixed tint to your regrowth

Every permanent color uses 20 volume peroxide (developer), which is the best for a gray coverage. Lower number (10 volume) or higher number (30 or 40 volume) developers are not best for gray coverage.

There are other permanent hair color products on the market that cover the gray hair, such as:

• Clairol (Nice & Easy, Perfect 10,...)
• L'Oreal (Excellence, Preference, Feria...)
• Garnier (Nutrisse)
• Revlon (Colorsilk)

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: How Can I Protect My Hair From Overheating By Blow-dryers And Flat Irons?

Question:
I use my blow dryer and my flat iron often. What should I do to prevent my hair from damage? Can you recommend any products?

Answer:
Use your blow-dryer on cool settings when ever possible - the cooler air will not burn your hair. If you are in a rush and you use the high heat make sure to move your blow dryer around - do not stay in one spot too long. Before you use your flat iron (your straightener) apply a heat protectant for hair, which you can get at your local salon or a beauty supply store. If you use your flat iron on high heat, make sure you run it down your hair shaft very fast. If you stay on the hair strand for too long you may burn your hair overtime. Let the strand cool before you run your flat iron again. To save time alternate sides/areas = while one area is cooling you can work on an other strand and return to the first one (that is not finished yet) when it cools down.

Give yourself a deep conditioning treatment (or a mask) at least once a month. Go to a reputable salon in your area and ask for samples. Then, if you like any particular mask or treatment, you can purchase it at a later date. While at the salon, ask what each product does to the hair. This will save you money instead of buying something that doesn't work for your hair.

Above - a thermal ionic hair dryer by Solia (1875W)
Below - an example of Frederic Fekkai's Termal UV Protectant (a heat protectant), however there are many such as this one on the market.

FAQ: I Would Like To Use High Lift Color Instead Of Bleach

Question:
My son's hair is a level 7 and I bleach it to lighten but I would like to use a highlift tint as this would be less damaging to the hair. Can you recommend wich one to use? We use "Koleston" at my college.

And my other question is: sometimes with bleach it leaves some uneven tone around the Parietal ridge area; which toner could I use to even this out - gold ash tone is the target. Hope you can help, many thanks.

Answer:

• Switching to a high lift color

If it comes to Wella products, I used to use Color Charm, Ultra Light Blond 1290 mixed with Wella 40 Vol. peroxide for highlighting jobs (I thickened the mixture so it would not "run" out of my foils). This shade produced on many of my clients a natural looking blond color without much brassiness - it is the lightest blond with combination of violet-blue pigment. However, the outcome depends on the pigments in your son's hair. If he has too much gold/warm tonality you may have to try different ash color - such as 1210 (Frosty Ash).
I never used Koleston. But from what I read about it, it is a permanent color, which you have to mix with its own developer. If the manufacturer allows you to use 40 Vol peroxide with Koleston, you can easily turn it into a high lift color. However the foaminess may be a problem if you want to use it as highlighter. If you want to use it as an "all over color", then the foaminess is not a problem.
Another thing you need to consider is how the previously bleached hair will match up newly "high-lifted" root area. You may have to tone down the bleached hair as the roots will seem "darker". To approach it the best way you could use a color chart of a semi-permanent blond to match the color to your son's new shade. Then mix the color and apply it to the lightest area (hair strands) only.

Besides Wella I used Clairol Extra Blond also (which is a high lift color), again mixed with 40 Vol developer by Clairol.

• Uneven tone

You said that sometimes the bleach leaves uneven tone in the Parietal ridge area. It can happen for a couple of reasons. If it is only sometimes and not always, then your application is not even - you need to saturate the area better. Other reason may be due to hair being more resistant in that area - apply the color first there so it can process the longest. And my last reason I can think of - the hair may be darker in that area, which your high lift color will always leave it darker than the rest of the hair, but if you would stick with the bleach then the bleach could be applied first to that area and the hair could get lighter.

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: What Curling Iron Is Best?

Question:
What are the best curlers a woman can buy? Something like GHD's but curlers?

Answer:
I think that any hair styling tool is very personal. It really depends on your tastes - how you hold your tools, what kind of hair you have (fine, medium, coarse,  straight, wavy, curly...), how is your hand developed (a small, medium, large palm), what you are looking for in a styling tool etc. If it comes to technical specifications (spects), you need to read what each tool can do for you and choose for yourself. For example - I may prefer curling iron that is ceramic, but someone else may prefer gold plated.
I found THIS website that can tell you a little about curling irons - so explore few pages and make a decision which curling iron (s) would suit you the best technically.
Then you need to go to couple of stores and look at the tools (in your case a curling iron) and pretend you are curling your hair and see for yourself how it feels in your hand. What is your inner "voice" telling you. In other words, when you hold any of the styling tools in your hand(s) it must feel like you were born with it.

Credit: The image of the above curling iron is from THIS site.


You can also visit Folica web site (below) to see if anything would suit you.

FAQ: How Do I Create A Fullness

Question:
My hair is layered and it seems to lay flat. Is there any way to make it more full?

Answer:
You need to start with shampooed hair. Apply styling mousse (foam) to your root area. Turn your head upside down and dry your hair. When your hair feels dried, either insert your rollers partially at the root area or roll your hair on the biggest Velcro rollers such as VELCRO Classic Super Size Plus Rollers-2pk 3" 76.2mm. (You could also try to use hot roller set such as Conair Jumbo Roller Travel Hairsetter - Styling Tools.) Then spray your hair with slight mist of hair spray. Let it sit, while you do your make up, eat breakfast or get dressed - or all of the above. Then take all rollers out. Turn your hair upside down again, brush your hair just a little, spray it again very lightly, stand up straight, shake your head so the hair falls in its natural way, and if you need to spray your brush with a hair spray and brush your ends to give it more curve. If you need more hair spray, spray it very lightly for the last time.

FAQ: Which Hair Dye Should I Buy?

Question:
My natural hair color is somewhere between light and medium brown. My hair was done in a salon few times, but that is too costly for my budget. When I color my hair with a permanent dye at home it usually turns brassy. I would like to achieve a nice natural looking blond color with some brown in it. Is there a product that is better than others? What do you think of "Sun In" product? Will it give me a natural, non brassy look? I do not want to waste my money on products that will not work.

Answer:
It is not about which product is better. You can buy Revlon, Clairol, L'Oreal.... practically any product. They have usually a similar quality. It is about the pigment in the bottle. Your hair is turning brassy for three reasons:

1. you are using a tint that has wrong pigmentation (aim for blue based blond dyes)
2. you are using too "dark" tint (instead of dark blond use light blond or even high lift color)
3. or both 1. and 2.

If you want some brown in your hair, then you need to highlight your hair instead of single process it.

Sun In will probably turn your hair brassy, since it will lift your pigment just a little. If you use it over and over it will make your hair light, but repeated application on already processed hair will make your hair damaged and brittle.

Credit:

The above image of Angelina Jolie is a property of  anythinghollywood.com. It is a perfect example of light blond hair being highlighted into the "ash" shade, probably using either high lift color or bleach.

Note:

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.

FAQ: Best Shampoo and Conditioner

Question:
What are the best shampoos and conditioners sold at salons and what are the best shampoos and conditioners sold at the regular store?

Answer:
There are so many great products on the market these days that you need to try them yourself and make your own decision based on how your hair feels after you use these products. You can get samples that your local salons provide (they get them for their clients to try them out). Over the counter products are usually not that expensive, so you may have to buy a normal size and try them slowly out that way. You can write down how you felt about each shampoo and conditioner (positive or negative) for your future references.

Note: 

This post should be taken as a first step for a discussion with your hairdresser and/or colorist about your ideas, desires or problems with your hair. Under no circumstances, you should act upon this post ONLY. I strongly advice you to have your hair done by a skilled and reputable hairdresser/colorist in your area.