Myths Your Mother Taught You

Moms have always been masters at being the "jerk of all trades" for.... well, forever! They do their best to pass on the knowledge they have learned or been taught in their life. Sometimes that knowledge is priceless and should be written down in a book so no one will forget it. BUT! Sometimes they come up with some crazy ideas that we can probably leave in the past.

Obviously, I hear all kinds of crazy things in the salon...so here are few myths that I hear a LOT!

• Your Hair Must Be Dirty When You Get Hair Color

Way back in 1950 this was probably a true statement. Salon color was typically full of ammonia & harsh chemicals. It smelled horrible for days and burned the skin while it processed. But hair color is science... and the science behind hair color has changed rapidly over the past 20 years. Today we are so lucky to have cleaner products available to us through our professional product distributors. Cleaner product means it will perform better on cleaner hair. There are no harsh chemicals strong enough to push through product build-up & oil build-up. I urge each of you to ask more questions about the products being used on your hair, no matter where you are.

At #Hairwizards Salon I use KEVIN.MURPHY color only! Why? It's completely Ammonia Free, Honey Based (meaning that honey is the first base ingredient in the actual color), there is no harsh smell & does not contain any adaptive allergens.

• All Products Are the Same

I wish this statement were true. It would save everyone a lot of time and confusion. But the reality of the product industry is: Big corporate companies want to make money and they want the consumer to be uneducated about their products. Uneducated consumers are the beauty industries favorite people!

Most store-bought brands are filled with low quality ingredients. Before your products ever go into the bottle that sits in your shower, the formulas are created in a lab somewhere. That lab has access to millions of ingredients to create your products & each individual ingredient has a Grade. For example, Argan Oil. Argan Oil has to be broken down from its original state to blend into your product formula. Depending on how the product is broken down determines the Grade quality.

Large store brands are also riddled with fillers. What's a filler? Fillers are ingredients that don't do anything except make you feel like you're buying more product for less money. What you are actually buying is excess water, gluten, silicon, parabens and harsh sulphates. These filler ingredients can lead to hair loss, skin problems, build-up & the feeling that you have to buy more products to fix all of that!

Please feel free to ask me about the brands I carry in the salon & why. Each product line has very specific functions that I did ample amounts of research on before bringing them into the salon.

• My Hair is Thinning Because of My Genetics

Thinning hair is a topic I tackle every day in the salon and it royally sucks as a woman to start losing your hair. Most women who are thinning have already given up the fight before it started, they say, "well, my mom has thin hair and that's just what is going to happen to me too." Yes, genetics can cause hair loss (that cannot be denied), but so can stress, bad nutrition, dehydration, hormones, age, new medication, lack of physical movement and (yes, I'm gonna say it again) years of using crappy products!

Obviously, I am not a doctor so I can't tell you if your thyroid has waged war on your body or if you are experiencing massive stress in your life.

What I can tell you is that you are not just thinning because your mom's hair thinned out. As a hair professional I can offer solutions through product. Because....Science! No, I can't sell you a magic product that will thicken your hair overnight, but I can offer products that help with your hair's natural growth, fallout & stagnation cycles. Products that keep your scalp clean & free of build-up while also moisturizing the skin of your scalp area. Products that block DHT and help your hair over time become denser again.

• You Have to Sit Under a Dryer to Get Highlights

Heat is truly an unnecessary practice during the highlighting service. The application of heat to a foil service only speeds up the process of lightening but is not required to achieve results. As you & your hairstylist chat about your desired results, the hairstylist is thinking about what formula they need to mix to achieve this hair color.

A highlighting service is mixed and formulated based on your hairs texture & porosity. A powder or cream lightener is mixed with a developer. The developer is broken down into percentages of hydrogen peroxide present; 3.5volume, 5volume, 10volume, 20volume, 30volume & 40volume. Starting at 3.5volume with the lowest percent of hydrogen peroxide present to 40volume with highest percent.... these percentages determine the speed of which your hairs cuticle opens and releases pigment.

Let's add foils to the equation. Aluminum foil is a heat conductor! Your body is naturally 98.6 degrees...that's pretty hot! Now, we have hydrogen peroxide, foil & body heat all working together to safely lift your hair. Adding an external heat source throws this balanced formula into overdrive and this is typically when you experience breakage or permanent damage.

Is using a dryer incorrect? No. Is it necessary? Also, No.

Thank you if you made it this far reading this blog! I really appreciate it and truly want all of my clients to be as educated about what I'm doing as possible. When I sign off at the end of each blog or newsletter you'll see "10vol No Heat" I hope you understand it better now.

If your mom has told you crazy stuff through the years post a comment down below!! I want to hear them all & I can tell you if it's true or if it's a myth.

10vol No Heat,

Carmel