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Robert Husar - hairstylist, colorist, hair extensions specialist, Bellevue Seattle Washington
Did you knowMost people think that haircuts are the only way you can enhance your facial features, but a great hairstylist not only utilizes haircutting but coloring as well... Colors can also raise or diminish your personality as well as change the way other people perceive you. Let's start by thinking about hair color like painting the interior of your home. Dark colors make spaces appear smaller. Where as light colors will make the same space appear larger and open the space up. Now lets talk about face shape... there are several basic face shapes to which we all fall into and they are (upside down) triangle, round, square, heart, diamond, rectangle and oval. Generally the most ideal shape would be the oval, but there are few people who have a true oval shape. So what then do the rest of us do with our face shape? Here is where the art of hair color can come in. We can use hair color to visually make face shapes appear oval. To achieve this we utilize our knowledge of interior painting. We would strategically place dark or light colors to either enhance or detract from certain features of your face or profile. For example, those that have a triangle, square, or heart face shape have larger foreheads so we could color their bangs a darker color so it makes it appear smaller. For those that have diamond shaped face they have wider cheek bones and a smaller forehead, so we would lighten the bang area creating height and darken around the sides of the face to slim down the cheeks. Another technique of great colorists is the ability to choose the right shades of color for you: Warmer tones create softness and cooler tones make things appear harsh or more dramatic. So how this pertains to you exactly is that your hair color should compliment your skin tone as well as your eye color. Hints that colorists look for are the shades of yellow or orange for warmth and blue or pink for coolness. If the wrong colors are used, they may result in washing your skin out making you appear too pale or sometimes it will make your skin too red or orange. However when the right colors are used your eyes will pop and your skin tone will look healthy and balanced. Just as our features can influence the hair color being used so does our age. The younger we are the more we can get away with having dramatic hair color. As we age the effects that the sun and gravity have on our skin is better masked with softening hues. Remember there is always the exception to the rule as artists we are able to manipulate these rules to best suit our clients needs. Which is why it is important to understand the purpose that hair color serves in the Art of Hair. ***This is not a consultation. You should always talk to a licensed stylist before you make any decisions.*** Did you know
One single hair bulb or root will produce 10 - 12 single hair strands within the lifetime of average person. That means your average person will produce about 1,000,000 meters or 3,280,869 feet of strands in their lifetime, which if you place them end to end would measure around 1,000 km or 621.388 miles. If you added up the growth of each individual hair strand on your head it would total about 30 meters or 98.425 feet of growth a day! The average diameter of the mid shaft of an individual hair is .07mm so if you would use all 100,000 hair strands from your head and place them side by side you could produce a length of 7 meters or 22.965 feet wide. Did you knowYou naturally lose up to 100 strands of hair a dayThe hair growth cycle Our bodies contain all the hair follicles we'll ever have from the very day we are born. Although over time, some may change in size, often due to hereditary hair loss, new hair follicles do not develop. As adults, we have about 100,000 individual strands of hair. Losing around 100 of them every day is completely normal and is simply the result of the natural hair growth cycle, similar to an \'on-off\' system. This means that when an old hair 'dies', the growing phase starts again for a new hair to replace it. The hair growth cycle has three different phases: Phase 1 - Anagen The anagen phase is the growing, or the 'on' phase. In humans, this lasts for approximately 1,000 days, but can range from 2 to 6 years. During the anagen phase, hair cells grow rapidly, producing the hair shaft from the follicle, which itself grows deeper into the scalp. The length of your anagen phase determines the maximum length of your hair. So, the longer your anagen phase, the longer your hair will grow. Phase 2 - Catagen The catagen phase only lasts for one to two weeks. It is the transitional or regressive phase. Essentially, it is when the hair stops growing. During this period, the hair follicle shrinks and part of it starts to die. Phase 3 - Telogen The telogen phase is the final resting stage, or 'off ' phase. When the old hair is in this phase, the hair follicle becomes active again and a new hair in the anagen phase develops, forcing the old telogen hair out. This is when you might notice hairs in the bath or in your brush or comb. At any one time, around 90% of most people\'s hair follicles are in the 'growing' anagen phase and approximately 10% are in the 'resting', or telogen, phase. Thinning hair and the hair growth cycle Once you understand how your hair grows, you can start to understand why, for many women, it also stops growing. Lack of growth causes the overall effect of thinning on the scalp. Noticeable hair thinning is usually caused by a short anagen phase and a particularly long telogen phase, which eventually leads to the hair follicles shutting down completely and the ending of their growth cycle. Women who experience thinning hair also have follicles which shrink due to changes in hormone levels, resulting in finer, barely visible hairs. Did you knowDifferent ways your hair can be damaged
Did you knowHow Minerals "Hard Water" and Oxidizers Affect Your Hair and Skin
What is an Oxidizer?
Anything that adds oxygen (for example, water, sun or air) to something else (in this case, your hair or skin)is called an "oxidizer" How Oxidizers Can Affect Your Hair? In Moderate amounts, oxidizers can cause loss or fading of hair color. Chlorine: Is an oxidizer. Chlorine is put into drinking water and swimming pools to kill bacteria Active chlorine in the hair can cause hair to feel gummy when wet and straw-like when dry. (Before entering the pool or even salt water, wet down your hair, soak it with conditioner or even drinking water which contains less chlorine than pool water. This way your hair will absorb less chlorine while being in the pool) Water/Sun/Air: Oxygen in the air and water coupled with heat and light from the sun causes accelerated oxidation of the hair. The more exposure to the outdoors the greater the amount of oxidation. For example, color treated hair fades faster. (That is why even natural hair color lightens in sun exposure. To avoid this you should use the right products... for example, containing SPF/sunscreen or just wear a hat) How minerals Get Into Water Ground water and surface water are the sources of water Ground water is from rain passing through aquifers, which are layers of minerals. Surface water comes from rivers or lakes, usually containing fewer minerals. This source gets polluted and grows bacteria. Chlorine is added to kill bacteria, and lime (a calcium compound) to help control chlorine levels.
How Minerals Can Affect Hair Calcium Effect on Hair: This mineral is in most of the water in the United States causes serious problems not usually recognized by most professional stylists and their clients. Naturally found in the ground. Three ways calcium affects hair: 1. Calcium builds up on the hair, leaving the hair feeling dry and weighted down. It can even cause perms to be relaxed. 2. Calcium salts build up on the scalp and cause flaking, often known as dandruff. 3. Calcium "build-up" can clog the hair at the mouth of the follicle, causing the hair to break off, and may coat the scalp blocking further hair growth (in extreme cases) Copper: Oxidized copper discolors light hair, producing a green tint, and causes dark hair to tint darker. It can weigh hair down, and also cause problems in perms, colors, and relaxers. Copper is found naturally in underground water. Iron: Concentrations of iron will slowly cause hair to tint darker, add weight to the hair, and prevent proper chemical processing... Magnesium: Like calcium, magnesium attaches to the hair, leaving it feeling dry and weighted down. Silica: Water borne silica can build up on the hair, causing the same effect as calcium - dryness, dandruff, weight, and hair loss. Sand-like substance found in areas of volcanic of desert-like areas. Lead: Lead acetate is used in certain home remedy gray cover-ups, such as Grecian Formula. This element can build up, leaving the hair feeling dry and preventing proper chemical services, such as perms and colors, form processing properly. Minerals affecting the hair are charged positive. Hair (especially oxidized, chemically treated hair) is charged negative. Positively charged minerals are attracted to the negatively charged hair. When a positively charged mineral comes in contact with negatively charged hair on the scalp or skin, it attaches on like a magnet. Air alone can act as a catalyst and cause minerals to bond to hair creating a wall of tiny rocks that are usually invisible to the eye, but can block solutions preventing proper penetration of color, perm, and relaxer chemicals. Minerals found in water at home are continuously exposed to hair during bathing. Since hot or warm water is usually selected to wash hair (use luke warm water), the cuticle is opened, allowing positively charged elements, such as minerals, to get inside the cuticle and attach to the protein. But not to worry there are products out there to help these problems. Your first line of defense is to fix the water problem itself by getting either water filters or water softeners. Your stylist should know when it is necessary to do something with the build up of minerals and recommend treatments and products. Did you knowHair loss & what can I do about it...
Thinning hair is not simply a few lost pieces of hair after your shower (that is natural). Truly thinning hair is a significant loss of hair that is visible on the head. This means that you can see places on your head that have less hair than there used to be.
Two most common thinning hair causes are: aging coupled with hereditary and hormones.Also: Anything that can coat your scalp and does not allow hair to grow can cause thinning: : heavy dandruff : heavy smoking : heavy impurity... Note: Any unhealthy life style like smoking, consuming alcohol, etc... is not good for your hair and especially not good if you are already in the phases of thinning. What can be done to help if the thinning is mostly hereditary? 1)There is a medication called Minoxidil (FOR USE BY MEN ONLY) this was a drug that was originally used to treat hypertension, and a side effect appeared to be stopping hair loss, which was later marketed as a use of the drug. Consult with a doctor! 2) Another drastic approach to thinning hair is to have hair transplants. (Surgically implanted hair follicles) 3) One more option would be hair replacement (hair system, wig, toupee.) which can achieve a 100% natural look if done right. Androgenetic alopecia is a condition where hormones make the hair follicles shrink, causing hair to fall out and not grow back. Occasionally there are things you can do to cause your hair to fall out, but most of the time this condition cannot be prevented. It can be controlled, though with the proper care. :Hair loss can be triggered by anything that involves a change in the estrogen hormone balance in your system: :Discontinuation of birth control pills or any other hormonal type of birth control method :Miscarriage or stillbirth :Abortion :A hormonal imbalance Pregnancy and thinning: The most common period of hair loss occurs approximately three months after delivery. The rise in hormones during pregnancy keeps you from losing your hair. After delivery, the hormones return to normal levels, which allows the hair to fall out and return to the normal cycle. The normal hair loss that was delayed during pregnancy may fall out all at once or over the next 6 months. Hair cycle will return to pre pregnancy (normal) cycle within 6-12 months. One of the most common preventable causes for thinning hair is diet. Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables, which contain flavonoids and antioxidants that may provide protection for the hair follicles and encourage hair growth : Supplement your diet with the following nutrients: :Vitamin B complex :Biotin (Possibly safe; orally and appropriately) :Vitamin C :Vitamin E ( Likely safe if amount does not exceed the RDA; possibly safe if it does) :Zinc (Likely safe when used orally and appropriately; likely unsafe when used orally in high doses) + :Protein :Iron :Vitamin D There are various pills made specifically for hair health that you can buy over the counter and those have important ingredients to nourish and stimulate hair growth. Also: :Consult with your health care provider to ensure a proper balance of hormones and level of iron. :Avoid pigtails, cornrows, hair weaves, braids and tight hair rollers which can pull and stress your hair :Use shampoos and conditioners that contain biotin and silica :Hair is fragile when it is wet, so be gentle; avoid fine tooth combs :If you need to use blow dryers and other heated hair instruments, try to use the lower settings Note: I do not recommend hair extensions for people with thinning hair. Any added tension and/or stress will only make the problem worse. Hair extensions can build density and length for people whose hair can support the physical tension and people who take care of the extensions properly. But after all just relax! STRESS does not do your body or your hair any good. Take it step by step and try to find out if it is thinning caused by diet, lifestyle, hormones, or just hereditary genes. Once you have established that then treatments are available for you, so just take it easy and allow your body to get better. Robert Husar |
