My Lipstick is Poppin'

My forte may be hair but I have to say, I really do love a good lipstick. Some of you may know this about me - my lipstick color is one of my many questions I get daily in the chair. Most days, especially during fall and winter, I will look to a sassy dark lipstick that feels like the cherry on top to my outfit. Lipstick can be challenging though - as a stylist I don’t get a lot of breaks and usually shove in my meal for the day within 5 minutes. Eating means messy re-applying and is not the perfect formula for perfect looking lips. We all need a worry-free lipstick that we can put on in the morning and forget about for the rest of the day. I have done some investigating, and there is only one lipstick brand that I trust: NYX Liquid Suede.

The Liquid Suede is a matte drying lipstick that stays put after it dries. The other huge benefit is that it doesn’t stain your lips. When you want it off simply wipe with a paper towel. That means you can change your lips and your look throughout the day and easily go from dark to light in an instant.

The amount of color options NYX Liquid Suede has available is pretty incredible also. I have shades from light pink to dark purple, and every color in between is very pigmented.

If you do try out a liquid suede lipstick, tag me in your selfie on Instagram and tell me how much you love it. 

Love, Paige Noelle

Going Darker?

Hey Y’all,

We are in the midst of winter, which means it’s time for darker tones and lots of warmth! In my previous blog posts, I have talked a lot about the process and steps it takes to go lighter, and just the same, going darker is just as much of a process.

When you lighten your hair, you remove your natural pigment, so in order to get to a natural brunette, you must put the pigment back. These pigments have the underlying colors of red, orange, and yellow tones. It sounds a little scary but if you don’t put these pigments back, the result will be muddy and grainy color.

When you go darker with pre-lightened hair, the cuticle is already lifted so you may loose your color quicker then you expect. Each time I take my hair darker, the fading process is my favorite because it brings warmth and a natural sun kissed glow to my face. And who doesn’t want this in the dead of winter?

If you are wondering about going darker and embracing your winter glow, the first step is to contact me for an appointment. One important step I recommend is coming in every 6-8 weeks for a gloss if you take the leap towards darker hair, so we can maintain fading. We can talk about what the process looks like for you and any extra steps that need to be taken in the future.

Love, Paige Noelle

Dirty Hair

Dirty hair is my favorite hair because it shows me that you are taking care of your hair. I know, I know that sounds like the exact opposite of what you would expect! But everything your body does is for a reason, and the oils

your scalp produces are made for your hair. The sebum (oil produced by the sebaceous glands on your scalp) protect and moisturize your hair strand and scalp, so shampooing too frequently strips the hair of this.

Let’s get down to the science of it. When your hair is in water, the ph of water is 7 and the ph of hair is 4.5-5.5. Water raises the cuticle of your hair, and when shampoo, which is a surfactant, is added, the oil clings to the water. Cheaper shampoos use harsh sulfates that are chemically based, while more natural products are coconut based. This is why your shampoo is extremely important.

I suggest shampooing every 3 days. However, keep in mind that it also depends on your hair texture. Curlier hair types always need more conditioning and moisture. The more texture you have the longer you can go without shampoo.If you shampoo your hair every day and stip it of its needed oils, your scalp will start to produce more oils to compensate. You have to train your scalp to stop producing as many oils. The key to this is being patient. You will start with oily hair but over time that will decrease. The best way to start that process is to try rinsing and conditioning every day.; it gives you the satisfaction of washing your hair without stripping the oils. From here, you can eventually start washing every two days.

As this process goes on you will create healthier hair; your heat styles will last longer and so will your color. It is a great way to save your hair and your time.

For more information, look at my “Why I Stopped Shampooing Hair” blog.

Grow your Hair Fast!

Here is what I believe to be every girl's dream: to cut her hair and have it grow back in a month. I agree that would be ideal, but unfortunately, I don’t have the magic potion for that. Instead, I have something a little different! Today I will share about my favorite hair mask that quickens hair growth. 

A pumpkin seed oil and peppermint essential oil mask is my favorite for hair growth.

Let's break down why this works:
Pumpkin seed oil is one of the most underrated miracle hair growth supplements; it encourages fast hair growth and the thickening of hair. Pumpkin seed oil can actually be used for many health benefits and can be taken in a pill form. I prefer to use it directly on my scalp for hair growth, but for those of you with thinning hair who are looking to thicken it, the supplements would be recommended. Because it has many mineral antioxidants and nutrients including vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, and iron, pumpkin seed oil not only helps with hair growth but also nourishes healthy hair follicles, which are the root of all hair growth. With hair loss or Androgenic Alopecia, pumpkin seed oil or peppermint oil will help with dandruff or clogged hair follicles, giving you a clean scalp - something that is necessary for hair growth.

Peppermint oil.. talk about tingly! When placed on the scalp, you will feel tons of tingling that is really just stimulating your scalp. That is what encourages hair growth. During this tingling, the peppermint oil is also balancing your scalp's PH. And keep in mind that a healthy scalp is one that produces healthy hair, so these natural ingredients will help not only help hair growth but will keep your hair healthy as well.

How to make the hair mask:

1. I like to measure out about half a cup of pumpkin seed oil and 5-6 drops of peppermint oil. You want it to be at room temperature. Combine the two oils to make the mask.
2. Place the mask on your scalp and massage it in. I usually flip my hair upside down and take my time brushing my hair gently while the brush massages my scalp.
3. I wear a shower cap while I sleep, and sometimes I tie on an old headband to keep the oil from dripping.
4. Shower the next morning. When washing out the mask, remember that the peppermint oil will diffuse into the steamy shower air, so I recommend keeping your eyes closed (trust me, I learned the hard way).

You can do this as many times as you like, but I only do it once a week.

This is the first of many things you can do to help your hair grow. Be on the lookout for another blog coming soon that will continue on this topic! Until then, I hope you all have beautiful hair days!

Love, Paige

Going Blonder

“If you haven’t gone through your blonde phase have you even lived in the hair color world?”
- Basic Paige

Just kidding. But seriously, everyone has been there! Either is has been done well or it has given you PTSD.

Friends, let's talk blonde.

The darker you are naturally the more warmth you have to work through to get to a nice clean blonde. Dark hair has to work through red, orange and then yellow. To get rid of this warmth, your hair must go through toning, which will counteract/cancel out the warmth. But, keep in mind that everyone has warmth and goes brassy over time (dark hair more so than light hair).

There is nothing more frustrating than a client saying, “I know I haven’t seen you in a year, but my hair has gotten really brassy.” I know getting into the salon can be hard. Life happens and it isn't always in the budget, schedule and it isn't always a priority. However, like most things, hair does not stay perfect if it has been neglected over a period of time. The key to going blonde is maintenance - being blonde requires maintenance. When your hair gets more blonde, its bonds break down and remove the eumelanin and melanin that make up your natural hair color. We lift the desired amount and then tone out the natural warmth left. The toner or gloss, as I call it, sits inside your cuticle, but every time your hair hits water your cuticle gets lifted and the color washes out. The more you wash the less your color lasts.

But, no need to fear! Here are some tips and tricks we can do:

1. Olaplex. It is a pure gold juice - a.k.a it's a bond builder that not only helps protect your hair but also seals down your cuticle. When your cuticle is sealed, your color lasts longer. I recommend it anytime you are going lighter.

2. Be patient. If we take our time going lighter, we can do it gently and preserve your hair. I have found that my favorite blondes take their time and progress into their color. I usually alternate between bayalage and a melted highlight. If you don’t know what this is, take a look at my earlier blog on it.

3. Purchase the proper products. Y'all might think I am crazy for saying this again and again, but trust me! You need to protect your hair every day. You need a proper leave-in, protectant and serum. These things will be great for your color and your hair. That long blonde hair that every girl dreams of requires work but is possible with the right products.

4. Purple is your best friend. Purchase a purple conditioner. You might wonder, why conditioner and not shampoo? I am biased because I try to steer clients away from using shampoo altogether, but there isn’t a single purple shampoo that I don’t find extremely harsh on the hair. Purple shampoos lift the cuticle and place purple molecules inside the hair, which you can imagine is incredibly harsh on the hair. I would much rather have my clients use a purple conditioner once a week and leave it on their hair for 10-15 minutes. This not only helps the tone but also keeps the hair healthier.

5. Visit me. Regular 6-8 week visits make a huge difference to hair. We will keep your hair healthy and beautiful and give you the happy hair you dream of!

Love, Paige

What is the difference between drugstore and salon products?

My second most asked question.

I am taking us back to middle school science class to explain why quality is better over quantity. Let's use ingredients as the example.

Pantene Nourishing Shampoo
Water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Glycol Distearate, Sodium Citrate, Cocamide Mea, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Polyquaternium-76, Sodium Chloride, Tetrasodium Edta, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

The first problem is with the first ingredient: Water. You are paying for a product that is largely made up of water. This means that you are using more shampoo than necessary, and therefore, are probably spending more money than necessary. Water also has a negative affect on your hair. Shocking, right? Water PH is anywhere from 6 to 8.5, while hair PH is 4.5 to 5.5, meaning that hair has more acid than alkaline.

Why is this important?

When you rinse your hair with water, you are rinsing it with a substance that has more alkaline than acid, which lifts the cuticle layer. The lifting of the cuticle layer is what we describe as split ends or frizziness. With this hair product, you are damaging your hair each time you wash it.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is what makes our showers sudsy and what makes us feel like we are truly cleaning our scalp. Sulfates have been around since the 1800s. They have been used in shampoos because they are a surfactant. Surfactants attract oil and water and remove the oil from the scalp(as you may remember from middle school, oil and water don’t mix). Sulfates are a great cleanser, but also a great stripper of color and those natural oils that keep your hair healthy and color vibrant. As you can see, Sulfate is the third ingredient in the shampoo.

These first three ingredients are stripping and drying to the hair!

Now I won't bore you with the whole ingredients list - let's look at a common, higher-end shampoo.

Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Shampoo
Water/Eau/Aqua, Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, Decyl Glucoside, Glycol Distearate, Octafluoropentyl Methacrylate (OFPMA), PCA Glyceryl Oleate, Behenyl Alcohol, PEG-150 Pentaerythrityl Tetrastearate, IPDI/PEG-15 Soyamine Copolymer Dimer Dilinoleate, PEG-200 Hydrogenated Glyceryl Palmate (Thickening Agent), PEG-7 Glyceryl Cocoate, Dihydroxypropyl PEG-5 Linoleammonium Chloride, Polyquaternium-47, Laureth-4, Laureth-23, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glyceride, Fragrance/Parfum, Tetrasodium EDTA, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Limonene, Hexyl Cinnamal, Linalool, Citronellol, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Magnesium Nitrate, Magnesium Chloride.

Again, the first ingredient is water and this time, the second is Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate. I know this sounds like lots of mumbo jumbo, but here is what it is: It is a oil base product that prevents separating and is a foaming agent. This is basically what sulfates do but in a more gentle and natural way. It leaves skin and hair significantly stronger then sulfates do.

Cocamidopropyl Betaine is also another form of a surfactant that helps cleanse the hair of oil, but unlike sulfates, it is an oil-based product. That means that as it cleanses, it moisturizes.

You truly pay for the ingredients in your hair products, which is why you can feel quality when you use quality. It is amazing how proper products can change a head of hair. I promise you friends; you get what you pay for!

Can’t wait to see you in my chair!

Love, Paige

Why I Stopped Shampooing Hair

Yes, I know this sounds disgusting, but the results are in: my hair has never felt better! I have found that my hair is healthier, shinier and growing like crazy.

 Disclaimer: My hair texture is thick and curly so it absorbs oils easily. Also, because I was already going 5 days without shampooing my hair, it was already well trained.

Let's break down the reasons I stopped shampooing:

1. It strips the oils of your hair. 
   The oil your hair produces is called sebum, and its purpose is to seal down and protect your hair.
2. The chemicals in shampoo are toxic.
   Parbens, Sulfates, and many other cancer causing chemicals live in the products we put on our heads every day!
3. It preserves your color longer.
   Water is already stripping enough without shampoo added to the mix.

What does shampoo do?

Shampoo is a surfactant. It causes the oil to cling to water and remove it from your scalp. It is during that process in which the cuticle is lifted. A lifted cuticle causes the color to fall out of the inner cortex, and furthermore, it is the gateway to split ends. 

What about the oils?

When you stop shampooing your hair you will notice your scalp getting oily, but over the next week the oils significantly decrease. Your scalp produces oil because it is dry, so the more you shampoo the more oils there are. These oils are made up of everything your hair needs to stay healthy. I find that when I just rinse and condition, the oils distribute equally over my entire hair strand.

So does it feel gross?

No! My hair has never felt better. For the first time my hair feels soft, healthy and strong.

How do I get started?

Talk to me. Come on in and we can discuss your game plan to work towards your healthiest hair. For of those of you not in drivable distance, I recommend starting slowly. Start by rinsing on the day you would normally shampoo. Give it a shot! You never know, it could lead you to growing your dream hair.

Good luck pretty ladies!

Love, Paige