Because I'm a Nerd

As I posted earlier in the week, I went to the Holiday Open House/Beauty Show hosted by our local State Beauty Supply this past Monday.  CHI was there and explained how their products use MEA as the alkalizing ingredient rather than ammonia.  One of the benefits of using MEA in their system rather than ammonia is that you can perm or texturize and color in the same day.  I wanted to learn more about MEA and knew that just because it was different didn't mean it was damage-free.  I believe all permanent hair color lines have some drawbacks; heck,  it is chemically changing your hair so there are going to be some issues and I am interested to learn about how hair color works on a molecular level so I was cruising the internet looking for information.  Here is an article I came across on P&G's website that I found interesting.  I hope you like it too.

http://www.pgbeautygroomingscience.com/chemistry-at-a-glance.html

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Chemistry At-a-Glance

Oxidative Dye Formulas

Most oxidative dye formulations contain two or more ingredients that act as dye precursors or couplers, essential ingredients common to most permanent dyes. They generally consist of p-diamines and p-aminophenols. Precursors are oxidized to active intermediates when they have penetrated the hair shaft. Intermediates then react with ingredients called color couplers to create wash-resistant dyes. Couplers modify the color produced by the oxidation of precursor compounds.

A conventional oxidative colorant is made up of two components which are mixed together directly before application to the hair.

• DyePrecursor/Alkalizer/Thickening System—This component contains several ingredients, each with different functions. They are packaged together because they are completely compatible with each other and must be kept away from the oxidizing agent (hydrogen peroxide). 
• The first component is an alkalizing agent (usually ammonia and/or an ammonia substitute such as monoethanolamine [MEA]). This has a number of roles in the hair colorant process:
• Swelling the hair fiber to aid in diffusion of the dye precursors
• Raising the hair's internal pH and ensuring that the overall dye mix has a high pH
• Facilitating the formation of the dyes within the hair fiber and catalyzing melanin bleaching
• The second component is a mixture of dye precursors. These are the ingredients that react together within the hair fiber, resulting in the formation of color.
• The third is a surfactant (and optionally polymer) thickening system that provides the solubilization of the first two components (particularly the dyes) and, when mixed with the H₂O₂ component (below) provides the final viscosity to hold the product on the hair fibers without mess and dripping into the eyes, and if applicable, is tailored to work optimally with any application or mixing device supplied with the product.
• Hydrogen Peroxide Oxidant—It is essential that this component be kept at a low pH for storage to ensure stability; but it is only at high pH that bleaching and dyeing occurs. This component may also contain polymers or surfactants that thicken when mixed with the high pH tint, and/or provide conditioning and rinsing benefits when the combined dye mass is rinsed from the hair. Hydrogen peroxide plays the following roles:
• A source of oxidizing agent for catalyzing the reaction of dye precursors
• Dispersing and solubilizing the hair's natural pigment, melanin, while bleaching the hair's natural pigment and any previous artificial colorant present in the hair fiber

Once these components are mixed and applied to the hair surface, two complementary processes take place: bleaching the hair's natural pigment and other artificial pigments present in the hair, and diffusion of dye precursors into the hair, followed by coupling reactions that result in the formation of chromophores within the hair fiber, which are then too big to diffuse out of the hair. The end result achieved results in the balance of these two processes, the mixture of dye precursors, the initial hair color and hair quality.

More complex colors may contain several precursors and many couplers, and involve multiple reactions. To create each shade in the hair coloring spectrum,
formulators must become artisans, assessing which developers and couplers to combine, how much of each to use, and the ratio and total concentration of the
various intermediates.

How Coloring Alters Biology

Hair is protected by a covalently bound, mono-molecular layer of unique branched fatty acid - 18 methyl eicosanoic acid (18-MEA). 18-MEA, often referred to as the f-layer, is the fatty lipid layer that binds to the surface of the cuticle and acts as the hair's natural conditioning system. Because the f-layer has a natural lubricating
mechanism and is water repellent, it gives each hair fiber a built-in conditioning system that reduces damage caused by blow-drying and brushing.^{14, 15}  

f-Layer of a hair follicle

During permanent coloring, the combination of hydrogen peroxide, ammonia and high pH removes some of the protective f-layer, causing additional oxidation of the hair surface and some irreversible physiochemical changes in hair fibers. Repeated coloring can cause this protective surface to completely disappear. As a result, the hair becomes hydrophilic (water loving) instead of hydrophobic (water repellent), and the natural lubricating properties are removed. Hair is more susceptible to damage, feels dry and is hard to detangle. It looks duller and less colorful, and requires more conditioning.

Free Radical Formation—EDDS Addresses The HO* Radical

Most hair color users understand that by its nature, permanent color makes irreversible changes to hair structure. The bleaching and oxidation action chemically alter hair proteins, lipids and pigments. While pigment changes are desirable, the changes to proteins and lipids can cause hair to be more susceptible to damage. Most consumers adapt to these changes by using conditioners to protect hair and limiting hair color application to once every 4-6 weeks.

However, what they may not know is that not all the damage done by hair colorants is necessary. There are two key reactive species in current permanent hair color: the perhydroxyl anion (HOO-) and the HO* radical. The HOO- species is the species intentionally put in by manufacturers. While it has some damaging side effects, it is the species that is responsible for the desired changes to hair color. The HO* radical, however, is an undesired by-product of a reaction between H₂0₂ and metal ions. It does not contribute to the development of color but does contribute to hair damage. The elimination of this unnecessary free radical can significantly reduce hair damage without compromising hair colorant performance. One approach to reducing the free radical is to eliminate the exposure to metal ions. Metal ions come into the hair through exposure to water. Studies show that protein damage, as measured by formation of cysteic acid, is significantly reduced by elimination of copper in tap water.

Suppression of Free Radical Formation The suppression of free radical formation can be visualized microscopically by comparing gas production from a formulation containing no EDDS chelant (0.1% EDTA)  s. one containing EDDS (1% level). Signifi cantly fewer gas bubbles can be seen being formed in the sample treated with EDDS - clearly demonstrating the ability of EDDS to reduce the gas formation signifi cantly.

Gas Formation after 10 min., no EDDS

Gas Formation after 10 min., with EDDS

Addressing the HO* Radical

Recently, hair color scientists discovered a way to reduce damage from the HO* radical, blocking its formation with the use of chelants—molecules that can coordinate metals through multiple binding sites. They added EDDS (ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid), a chelant which is highly selective to copper, to home hair coloring kits. During the coloring process, EDDS binds to the copper, preventing access to the copper by hydrogen peroxide, which results in better color formation and less damage. The preference of the EDDS for copper over calcium makes it superior to traditional chelants, such as EDTA or DTPA, and more efficient at preventing fiber damage.

A 5-cycle repeat test showed that EDDS prevents more than 95 percent of radical damage. After-care conditioners, which water-proof hair, additionally help prevent damage and copper absorption as color ages. By minimizing free radical damage, advances such as EDDS help hair remain resilient and retain a healthy, lustrous look.¹⁷

State Beauty Supply Open House

We got so lucky!  Originally we were scheduled to attend school on Monday the 25th, but since the schedule had to be rearranged we were able to be out of school for the State Beauty Supply Open House.  This was the first one I have attended and it was totally cool.  Educators from TIGI, Matrix and CHI/Farouk were on hand to do platform demonstrations as well as a few other vendors talking about their products.

The guy from TIGI was totally hot and did two beautiful hair cuts from their 2010 Anthem collection.  The 2nd one seemed like a modified scene girl cut and was very wearable while being a little edgy and different.  It was as completely disconnected as most scene girl cuts are, but you could see the street influence.

The chick from Matrix was an Arkansas native and had a beautiful voice and gorgeous blonde hair.  I had serious hair envy!  Since there were some high school students in the audience, she really tried to teach to them and ask questions of them and really explain as she went along.  It spoke well of her abilities as to how she adapted her workshop to her audience.  You could tell she had a passion for teaching and hair.

The CHI folks totally wowed me!  Jill and Maggie were enthusiastic and knowledgeable.  The did a color demo using alternating triangle placement of level 5 and level 6 copper shades.  The model came out with beautiful, dimensional color and rich shine.  The combination was great with her skin tone and the color was super believeable.  They also demonstrated their Orbit Irons on a model with long hair.  I really would like their double dramatic iron.  They also offered to shampoo anyone interested with their new Royal Treatment line.  I took them up on it since I had been an impromptu model for a mini contest with Matrix and had a ton of product in my hair.

Jill, who is a regional manager with CHI, shampooed my hair and offered to give me a cut as well.  I jumped at the chance!  She did a riff on my current cut, but gave me much more texture and made it asymmetrical - it was just the boost it needed.  They didn't have time to color my hair since this was a spur of the moment thing at the end of the day, but gave me a great color formula which I used on my hair today at school with fabulous results.  The CHI folks were super approachable and enthusiastic which was especially meaningful to a newbie like me.

I was also able to reconnect with a stylist friend I lost touch with over the last few years.  She was at the show and it was great to sit with an experienced stylist and get their take on what was happening on stage.

The attendees got lots of free samples to try and State was giving a 15% discount on all their regularily priced items.  I wished I had more money yesterday because I would have loaded up on goodies.

First Senior Week!

I survived my first senior week!  I am worn out after the intense week at school and moving the weekend before.  I hope to be able to catch up on posting this weekend.

I am still having a fantastic time in school and have met tons of cool people - clients and other students alike.

I worked at my old job last Friday and it was so hectic.  It was more confirmation I made the right decision.

Update

I got a 100 on test and have 5 bonus points on top of it.  I really should be working on my report on Galvanic Current and it's uses in cosmetology, but alas I am procrastinating.

My first and only client today was my mom.  She came up today to get the works:  pedicure, facial, wax, shampoo and style.  She wanted a cut, but her hair is too freaking short right now so I vetoed that idea.  I did clean up her next line a bit with clippers to appease her.  I did her pedi, my sister-in-law, the fabulous Ms. K, did her facial, our friend and classmate J did her makeup which she loved.  At the end she came back to me and I shampooed and styled her hair.  She had a great day of pampering and loved every minute of it - she fell asleep during FMK's facial.

A, one of the students graduating in December gave me a great new hair cut today.  She said she wanted to get rid of my old lady hair - I didn't take offense and was glad for her honesty.  Tomorrow she is going to color my regrowth and possibly do some lowlights if time allows.  Everyone at school hates my bright red hair :-(  As I mentioned in my previous post, I used Redken's Color Extend Red/Violet color-charged conditioner injection  last time I shampooed my hair.  A and Miss W, our instructor, wanted me to shampoo my hair tonight and get the temporary color out of my hair so we could see what we are really working with.  I found some Suave Naturals Daily Clarifying Shampoo in my bathroom and it has Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate and Ammonium Laureth Sulfate two lovely alkaline ingredients guaranteed to open up the cuticle and suck the color right out of my hair!  Of course my hair felt like a brillo pad after, so I used Redken Silk Infusion and Redken Shot pHix to moisturize my hair and lock the cuticle layer back down.  A whole new meaning of better living through chemistry!  I would post photos of my new hair do, but that would mean styling my hair and applying make up which would be even more procrastination and the report is due at 8:00 a.m. tomorrow so that just isn't in the cards.  Hope to post pics tomorrow with new cut and color. 

In the meantime, here are photos of the products I used and a picture of my old hair do and mom post pampering.

Quote for the day from the school sign in sheet:  "Joy is the best makeup"

My First Client

I was the first student of my class to get a real client.  I am not sure if it was because the person working reception likes me or if they did it because they don't like me, but I know it wasn't because he was going alphabetically and I doubt it was a reflection of my skill level..  Maybe it is wrong to wonder why I got picked first, but things like this rent space in my head.  I certainly didn't mind and was very glad to get the experience under my belt. 

My lady, L.W., is 75 years old and has been widowed 3 years.  She moved to this town to be near her son when her husband died.  She came in for a pedicure, facial and waxing.  She was waiting at the pedicure station when I came up with all my supplies.  I introduced myself and found out her name.  I set up my lotion and implements and then asked what temperature she liked the water for the footbath.  Once I brought the footbath over, I asked if she would like for me to get her a magazine and she "No thank you, I want to talk".  My pedicure probably wasn't the world's best, but she seemed to enjoy it and it was obvious she was there as much for the company as the service.  I forgot to put cotton between her toes to separate them and she smudged her polish because she put her shoes on too soon, but she found out a lot about me and I pretty much heard the story of her life.  Making someone feel special is just as important as making them look beautiful.  I think she enjoyed the services she received today and she complemented me quite a bit on the facial massage. 

I couldn't help but be reminded about the foot washing ritual that is often performed in old timey churches and what a cathartic event it can be for a congregation.  It is something that is powerful and humbling both for the giver and the receiver.  I would rather have a pedicure any day over just about any salon service unless my grey is really showing - and even then I can handle my own grey, but you can't give yourself a satisfying pedicure experience.  Maybe I can knock off my own calluses, trim my own toenails and polish my own toes, but the joy of the experience of having someone else do that just isn't the same. 

Good night all.  I have a big test tomorrow and need to finish studying.

What Is In Your Shampoo?

I started delaying cleansing my hair everyday and try to go 3 days before "washing" my hair out of concern for how damaged my hair was.  In order to preserve my new intense red color, I have decided to try to forgo shampoo as much as possible and only wet my hair, massage my scalp and condition my hair.  I am hoping to only shampoo once every 10 days or so if I can stand it.  I am using dry shampoo on the days I don't condition to absorb excess sebum and avoid the greasy look.  I also decided to look at the ingredients in the dozen or so bottles of shampoo I have floating around on my counters and cabinets.

What an eye opener!  It is kind of frustrating to realize your premium, professional salon only shampoo contains Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Methylparaben and Methylparaben.  I expect these ingredients in grocery store brands, but not in products put out by one of the big names in haircare products.  The only shampoo I could come up with in my arsenal that is sulfate-free is Loreal EverPure Smooth Shampoo from Kroger.  I have a ton of Redken and Biosilk shampoo products and all of them have sulfates!  It is kind of hard to pimp these salon products when my Clairol Herbal Essesnces has many of the same ingredients.  It makes it really hard to justify the price difference with a straight face.

There are studies that say parabens are bad and other that say they are o.k.  Sodium Laureth Sulfate is an irritant and causes damage to the hair follicle.  It dissolves oil and denatures skin proteins which can cause skin to break down and allow in environmental contaminants.  Sodium Laureth Sulfate is cheap and that is why companies continue to use it.  I don't know that I want to cleanse my hair with a product that is also used as an engine degreaser.  I am going to do some more research and experiment with going shampoo free and see how it works out.  I need to look up the rest of the ingredients on each of the bottles so I know exactly what they do.  I kind of expect the shampoo lobby to come at me with their version of the high fructose corn syrup commercials.

My sister-in-law needed a deep conditioning treatment today at school and someone suggested Cholesterol.  I looked at the ingredients and Sodium Laureth Sulfate was one of them.  I can't figure out what a conditioner/moisture treatment would need with a degreaser.  It seemed counter intuitive.  I shampooed her with a Redken product not realizing it has SLES in it and then slathered Redken All Soft Heavy Cream on her hair.  We put a plastic cap over it and let her sit for 30 minutes.  I rinsed it out and sprayed Redken Shot pHix on it.  Her hair was super soft.  Now I feel like a dufus for ranting about SLES in the Cholesterol, but used a product containing it to shampoo her hair.

Onto The Lab Floor!

Tomorrow we will start taking clients.  Mostly manis, pedis, waxing and facials.  I am so looking forward to it.  We have to get 10 service points a day.  On Mondays, we practice state board drills and each section is worth a point.  I also did 40 foils of low lights on one of my babies and that counted for 4 points.  I did a deep conditioner service on my sister-in-law and styled her hair which was good for another 2 points.  Styling baby's hair gave me an additional point and put me at 11 for the day.

In order for my sister-in-law to get her points, I submitted to a pedicure and facial wax.  My sister-in-law, K, gives the best freaking foot rubs of anyone I have ever gotten a pedicure from. I was very impressed!  Preparing for the wax, caused me much distress because I found two freaking grey hairs in my brows!  WTF?  Way too early for that.

Foils

We were able to try our hand at foiling for the first time last week!  It was so much fun.  My first baby didn't turn out as spectacular as I would have liked, but she wasn't the worst in school either.  My second baby looked much better.  I have added low lights to each a couple of times since then and it has improved their overall look.

The photos above are of baby #2 after foiling highlights and then foiling low lights the next day.

K-Pak ReconstRx Vapor Iron Review

As a person of the naturally curly persuasion I have not used a straightening iron very often.  I am more of a blow dryer and big round brush kind of girl when I want to tame my girls and I will use a big barrel curling iron to cut down on frizz when necessary.  Also, being of the round faced variety, I prefer more volume than one can generally achieve with a straight iron.  That being said, I never expected to by a straight iron for my personal use - I figured I would buy a CHI Flat Iron at some point to use on clients.  After seeing the K-Pak ReconstRx Vapor Iron and talking to a stylist who uses it as her primary iron, I decided to buy it as soon as I had the money.  For those of you who don't know, the K-Pak purports to "resconstruct and protect your hair as you style".  The iron has resevoir, kind of life a clothing iron, to hold it K-Pak Vapor Fuel.  This fuel is infused with all kinds of good stuff that penetrates your hair as you use the iron.  Flat irons and other hot tools have the reputation for damaging hair.  Since February of this year I have, highlighted my hair 6 times (bad grey regrowth) and colored it twice so I have a little damage (understatement alert).  My is texturized and about 3 1/2 to 4 inches long in most places and stacked in the back so wearing it natural just is not a good option or good advertisement for a stylist to be.  I was hoping the K-Pak Vapor Iron would help counteract some of the abuse.

Since I am not too facile with using a straigth iron on myself, it took a bit longer than if I were having it done which also meant that I used more Vapor Fuel.  The literature says that someone with coarse hair should bet 2 styling sessions out of a resevior full.  I barely got one on my short hair.  I may dial the heat back next time to save the Vapor Fuel.  I had my mom do the back of my hair because I couldn't see what I was doing and didn't want to burn myself.  All of this was after I had performed the Redken Time Reset service and colored my hair with Wella's Color Touch Relights Demi Permanent color, both of which left my hair looking spectacular!  I couldn't mimic the curl I get with my curling iron normally, but I did get some sort of curl and it left my hair more voluminous than a normal straight iron would have.  It seems the Vapor Fuel is responsible for that.  According to JOICO, you can use the iron with or without the Vapor Fuel, but you cannot use anything else in it's place!  This morning when I styled my hair before church, I just brushed out last nights "do" and went back over it without the Vapor Fuel.  My hair was a bit flatter but still styled well.  I think I will need to make a trip back to CosmoProf this afternoon to get more Vapor Fuel because I don't think the bottle that came with it will last me all week.

I am going to try it out on my daughters' hair this afternoon.  One child has thick, curly hair and the other straight and baby fine.  I am hoping the Vapor Fuel will plump of the youngest's thin tresses.

Please remember, that what I write only represents my personal experience with a product or tool and in no way is a guarantee that you will have the same results, good or bad.  Sometimes the hair fairies smile on us and sometimes they laugh!

My Kitchen-tician Service

I bought the Wella Color Touch Relights in /57 red-violet brown and applied to my regrowth and worked through the rest the last 5 minutes.  I LOVE IT!!! It is vibrant and dimensional!  I decided to apply the Redken Shot Phix pH 3.5 to my hair after I shampooed the color out and then follow with Redken All Soft Heavy Cream conditioner.  I don't know if was the Shot Phix or the Heavy Cream, but my hair feels much better than before I colored it.  I just blew my hair mostly dry and am waiting for the rest to air dry so that I can try out the K-Pak ReconstRx Vapor Iron.  If the vapor iron does what it says it will do, my hair should be in much better condition in the next little bit.

Monday my new phone will be here and I will be able to post some pics to go along with the blog.  My current phone's SD car reader quit so I can't use the camera function.

Mom's Kitchen-tician Salon Service

After running errands and coming home to clean the bathroom, organizing my hair color supplies, picking up the puppy pad, sweeping the floor and starting a load of laundry, I performed the Redken Time Reset service on my mom's hair.  She said her felt better after the service versus how her hair feels when she does not condition her hair.  She blew her hair dry and we apply the Wella Color Touch Dark Blonde 6/0 to her regrowth.  Her hair is so short (not my cutting work, she still sees her old stylist) so I couldn't properly section her hair so I went around the perimeter of her hair and applied color to the regrowth and then went back in and worked in quarters as best I could.  As her hair is so short, it is hard to keep it from getting on the ends as I work through the rest of a section, but I did better this time than last.  Probably only because her hair was a tad bit longer.

The Wella Color Touch color and developer have a VERY pleasing smell.  It if probably the least odiferous color product I have ever used.  Mom's hair turned out the perfect shade and we are very pleased.  After I shampooed the color and before I conditioned, I sealed her hair with the Redken 3.5 pH Shot Phase.  Hoping it would neutralize the hair's pH.  I conditioned with the Redken All Soft Heavy Cream.  That stuff rocks!

Saturday To Do List

Go to State or Cosmo to buy gloves.  Thinking State b/c I haven't been there in a while and maybe they will have some good bargains on their clearance shelf.

Do the Redken Time Reset Salon Service on my mom's hair before I do a color re-touch.  Read the instructions and it says to perform after the color service for best results, but I am planning to do it pre and post as I want to even out he porosity so the color will grab evenly.  I am trying the Wella Color Touch Relights, "A multidimensional demi-permanent color".  Mom's regrowth is less than a 1/2 inch, but her hair is so thin and short it really stands out.  I am using the demi color every other color service to spare her hair the harsh treatment of a permanent service, yet satisfy her desire not to have gray shining through.

I am also going to run the Wella Color Touch Relights /57 red-violet brown through my hair as well.  I colored my hair a dark red (ION 4IR and ION 5N) a couple of weeks ago.  I have about 1/3 of an inch regrowth of SILVER and the color has faded quite a bit because it was applied over badly damaged blonde highlights.  I am hoping the Wella Color Touch Relights Demi will be gentler on my hair, pump the red back up, provide shine and if not cover the grey hopefully it will knock down the contrast a bit.  I am thinking I will use the Redken Time Reset process on my hair as well.

After this I will play with my new K-Pak ReconstRx Vapor Iron!!!!

I am hoping to handle some household chores like sweeping, mopping, clean my room and go through some old clothes to see what I will realistically still wear.

Ciao!

Joico Vapor Iron

I bought it today after work!  Too tired to play with it tonight.  I will watch the DVD tomorrow and then try it out.  CosmoPro had the Pink one on sale for $99!!!!!

Financial Aid Check

If I can work it out so that I can leave long enough tomorrow I am going to run down to school to get my student loan check.  I am going to pay up my car payment and insurance a couple of months in advance and get some my credit cards paid back down.  I am seriously thinking of splurging and buying a JOICO ReconstRx Vapor Iron because I have damaged my hair a bit in the last few months.  I don't normally straighten my hair and am not crazy about the sleek straight look for my less than sleek, round face; but, my hair needs all the help in can get.  If the Joico Vapor Iron works as well as they hype claims, it would be a big help for my stressed tresses.  I really want the pink one to support breast cancer awareness and because it is pretty.  I haven't been in CosmoProf or State Beauty Supply in a few weeks and as of my last visit neither had it in the Pink promo version.  I am going to around tomorrow and see if they have it and how much it costs right now.

http://www.joico.com/mediaroom/press/id/137

204 hours and 8 minutes

As of clocking out this afternoon I have 204 hours and 8 minutes of my 1500 hour journey completed!!!!  We had our test on Chapter 3 Anatomy and Physiology today (we are using Pivot Point International's curriculum) and I aced it with a 100.  The drawing of the cell we did last week was counted as a bonus of 5 pts. so I ended up with a 105 on one of the hardest test we will take. Very happy!

We practiced facials today and then played around with my Luminess Airbrush System.  I bought the Luminess back in August from HSN and played with once after watching PART of the instruction video.  I was kind of disappointed in it, but now I know I didn't follow instructions well.  After watching the video at school yesterday and learning the proper technique, I think the machine is pretty cool.  I would like to run some of the M.A.C. silicone based airbrush make up through it to see how it compares.  Luminess' make up is water based and feels a little odd on the face.  My sister-in-law and I tried the Temptu at Sephora and LOVED it, but were concerned because of the way it was set up we would be limited and could only use Temptu's proprietary make up.  That would be fine if it was for personal use, but if we are going to invest that kind of money in a tool it needs to be able to make us some money at some point.  The Luminess is an "open" system so you can use any product that can be "dropped" into the cup on top of the airbrush gun.  In theory you could paint T-Shirts with it and if the whole beauty school thing doesn't work out momma may have to do that ;-)

One of my "freshman" classmates, JS,  is very interested in make up artistry so she painted two of our classmates faces as Gene Simmons and Star Child of K.I.S.S.  She also did beautiful flower at the corner of another classmate's eye.

We are out of school tomorrow, so I am back working for my old employer's for the day.

xoxoxo,

Confident One

How School is Different Than I Expected

There is a lot of sitting around doing nothing in the afternoon because we are slaves to the clock.  The state board will only let you get 8 hours and 5 minutes a day unless it is because a service went over at the end of the day.  They don't want us making a habit of this, so we don't take clients after 3:00 p.m.  4:00 p.m. is the start of clean up and we leave at 5:00 p.m.  Our cleaning duties take anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes and add another 5 minutes to tidy your station and roll about you can see that leaves extra time.  So we sit.  I am not good at doing nothing - my mom might disagree with that statement - but really just sitting and doing nothing at all drives me bonkers!

I expected to have learned more by now.  In theory, I could be out on the floor because it only takes 5 weeks to accumulate the required 150 hours of training before you can be turned loose on the lab floor.  Super scary for the unsuspecting public!  I feel we have barely scratched the surface of things we need to know.  I realize the lab floor (practice salon) is still a learning environment, but I also feel it is an opportunity to practice what you know and learn to improve upon your foundation. 

Running out of time this morning!

To be continued . . .

xoxoxo,

Confident One

Skills

Learning to make thermal curls with a marcel iron has been a challenge to someone with naturally curly hair.  I just haven't used a curling iron much in my life even on my  own hair and when I have it has been more to reduce frizz and reform to a larger curl pattern.  They get better each week as we practice our state board drills.  I am excited though because yesterday we did our second 90 degree cut on our babies.  I performed my cut on Martha rather than shortening Estelle's previous 90 degree cut.  Martha's hair was in a 45 degree cut and the nape was about 5 inches long.  I used that for my guide so Miss Martha now has 5" hair all around which will make thermal curling and perm rolling so much easier on our state board drill.  It will also help me control the color and relaxer portion so she doesn't have product soaked hair all over her face.

Uphill Battle

Although the decision to go to school was an easy one, getting here has been an uphill battle and a test of my faith and commitment.  I am not really an overcoming obstacles kind of person, I am more of a path of least resistance kind of girl.  Which is great because it makes me very flexible, but it also means I have settled for less many times in my life.

The first obstacle was how am I going to pay for school and have money to live on.  I completed my FAFSA online and found out I had a defaulted student loan.  I know you are thinking "How can you be a grown adult and 'forget' you have a student loan?"  Well, I had two student loans and was paying one of them back and somehow in the intervening years assumed I was paying on both of them.  Yes, it was boneheaded.  One cannot receive additional federal financial aid unless one is in good standing or has paid off one's student loans. I worked for six weeks trying to consolidate the loan and was a war that I lost.  I have battle scars from bureaucracy, red tape and and unconcerned employees at a certain loan servicer. I first called them on June 14 to find out what I needed to do and at that point they could have told me to contact the law firm that filed a judgement against me for the unpaid loan, but the didn't.  Imagine 6 weeks of daily and sometimes twice daily phone calls getting the run around only to find out at the end of July they couldn't help me and I needed to call XYZ Law Firm.  I was a bit torqued.  However, it was a lesson in persistence that I sorely needed.

I finally made contact with the law firm only to find out that I could not consolidate the loan and had to pay the entire $5,000 in bad debt in full before they could release the judgement.  If I had contacted them back in 1996 when they first got the judgement, I could have worked out payment arrangements and had it lifted.  However, I never knew about the judgement, it wasn't on my credit report which I stalk religiousily as of the last 2 years.  Not paying back student loans is a bad idea in general and it really complicates your life down the road!  I didn't know what to do because I couldn't consolidate the loan and I definitely did not have the cash laying around.  I was ready to give up going back to school.

Fortunately, I have a younger brother who was very supportive of my goal and believed it was the best thing for me to do.  His wife is also going to school with me!  He came up with the money and paid off my debt on August 6th, just 10 days before school was to start.

It took another month due to beaurocracy and red tape for the payment to be recognized.  Tuition for this semester was right at $1,400 plus another $640 for our kit.  The school had $500 pledged from the local workforce center to hold my place, but this would be returned to workforce center once my federal aid came in.  My brother and sister-in-law paid for my kit and books so I was able to begin school.

I am very appreciative of my family and the sacrifices they have made for me to follow my dream.

The Search Begins

I started looking for beauty schools in my area.  I checked out Regency Beauty Institute, where I got my hair cut the week I was off work after my dad died.  I had been very impressed with the campus and it was a brand new school.  I contacted the girl who cut my hair after I found a post by her on Regency's Facebook page.  She was super cool and excited to hear from me and had glowing accolades for the school.  I made an appointment for the campus tour and was further impressed.  I wanted to make sure I checked out all the schools in the area so I made appointments for tours at Paul Mitchell, The Salon Professional Academy and another local school which shall remain nameless.

Imagine, A Paul Mitchell Partner School was beautiful, upscale, posh and loud!  The music blared on the cutting floor and I think my 38 year old ears wouldn't be able to take it.  I was impressed with the marketing rep's enthusiasm and knowledge.  She really knew the same geeky stuff I knew like that there is a projected increase in demand of 24% in the next 5 years for cosmetologists.  (I checked the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation Outlook section on their website to make sure I wasn't looking into a dead end career ;-) ) I also felt what I would learn here would be on the cutting edge in both color and design.  The Paul Mitchell name carries quiet a cache and would look good to potential employers and clients.

I  loved The Salon Professional Academy and felt it would have been a great match for me.  They are a Redken Partner School, had REAL spa chairs for pedicures, an in depth aesthetician program and used Redken's proprietary performance evaluation system. I was particularly impressed with the evaluation system and their explanation that it was the same one that Redken uses for their salons to gauge a stylist's performance.  It gave you reasonable, attainable goals and showed you rewards for progressing.  The atmosphere was upbeat without being overpowering.  I felt their curriculum was top notch and it had the power of the Redken name behind it.  They also took a different philosophy towards the kit purchase than some of the other schools in that they didn't include clips, combs, etc in them as they provided those to each station on their own.  This practice they said cut down on some of the drama of  "so and so took my such and such".  Of the "Big 3" schools, this was my favorite AND it was the least expensive at about $14,000. The only drawback was that they were not accredited at the time and therefor were not eligible to receive federal financial aid.  The only way I can afford to go is to get as much federal aid as possible.

The "School that shall remain nameless" has been around town for about 30 years and looks like it.  The owner seems to run it like her private fiefdom and I got a bad vibe when I checked it out.  She was the most expensive of all the local schools and her facility looked shopworn and tired.  Maybe I had been dazzled by the pretty shiny shops down the road, but even the housekeeping seemed lackadaisical the day I was there. I now go to school with a girl who went to this school for a while and from hearing her war stories feel validated in my gut reaction to run away fast!

Here is the breakdown of local school prices in my area as of Summer 2010.

Nameless - $20,000 out of date facility, looks for ways to accrue additional fees.  If you miss a day you pay to make it up, no ifs, ands or buts.
Regency - $18,000 and probably worth it.
Paul Mitchell - $17,000 and probably worth it for name recognition alone.
Salon Professional Academy - $14,000 and will probably regret not going.

There is a new school opening this month and looks like it will be a good one.  It is only $6,500 for the program and they are offering a $2,000 discount for the first 38 people who sign up. Since they are new, I doubt they have their ducks in a row for accreditation and probably don't have access to federal financial aid. It looks like they are going to have a kick butt aesthetician program and are offering laser skin treatments.  Skin isn't the area I want to go into, but I am fascinated by it and want to learn as much as I can.

In future posts I will write about where I ended up going, how I got there, who helped/is helping make it possible, more about my "team" because I didn't get and can't stay this fabulous on my own.  Come back soon.

Confidentially yours!

New Journey

I decided in June to take a big step and give up my job as an insurance agent and start beauty school ASAP because I needed more flexibility in my work life.  Well ASAP turned out to be August 19th and now with a month under my belt I know that it is and isn't what I thought it would be.
Let me back up a little though, because folks out there are probably wondering why I would switch from a relatively stable, established career to something that seems less stable.  I had been working for a small office affiliated with a national insurance company since August of 2008 and loved the couple I worked for.  Things clicked along well until April when my dad died.  They told me to take the week between his death and funeral off to handle the arrangements, be with my mom and brother and grieve.  I was so appreciative of their kindness.  Then in May after Mother's Day, I lifted a fern planter that sits outside our building to bring it in for the night and didn't use my knees as it was too unwieldy.  The next day I woke up in tremendous pain and could barely move.  At the time, I didn't remember lifting the planter and didn't know that was what jacked up my back.  I fought with my back off and on the next week.  There were a couple of days I came in late, a couple of days I left to go to the chiropractor and then to the doctor and I a day I had taken more pain medicine than I realized.  Fast forward to June, my daughter started throwing up late on Sunday night and threw up all through the night.  I knew she needed to go to the doctor so sent my boss a text message about 5:30 a.m. Monday morning telling him I had to take daughter #2 to the doctor first thing and would be in right after.  Later that morning he texted me back "We will talk about it when I get back in town".  I could tell from the terseness that he was unhappy with me, but I felt I needed to be the one to take her to the doctor, not my mom.  Once we got to the doctor's office, they were concerned because of how sick she was.  They wanted to rule out appendicitis, etc.  We were in there until 4 p.m. when they decided to admit her for observation because she was dehydrated and we in the hospital until after 5 p.m. the next day.  My boss had a heart to heart talk to me about my reliability as an employee and I had a serious gut check conversation with myself about where my priorities lay.  I realized I needed to find a career that would allow the flexibility I needed to handle these life crises.  I would like to add, though, that I had not missed but one day for being sick and one day off for my birthday in the previous 20 months, so it wasn't like I was a flaky employee in general.