Next Level Stylist

Over the past few years I’ve been introduced to organizations and knowledge that have revolutionized the way I do hair. Thanks to Board of Certified Haircolorists and HeadShapeMatters the knowledge and skills I’ve developed afford me complete confidence in all my services.

Board Certified Haicolorists, BCH, formed by Andre Nizetich, and a group of like minded Haircolorists, who wanted to “raise the bar” amongst professional Haircolorits by developing a Brand-free curriculum and testing process for those whiling to challenge their knowledge and skills as Colorists. It’s an elite club I hope to join someday. In the meantime the BCH curriculum and past education events have taught me the: WHAT & WHY of coloring and lightening hair. The beauty of BCH’s process is Haircolorists don’t have to guess or pray for reliable results. We can also determine what CAN be done on whom, and when we should just say NO. Guests often request, or even demand, a service or process that isn’t possible. (I want platinum blond hair, but don’t use bleach.) Unknowingly they “rent our hands”. All too often a stylist will ignore all their teaching in order to do what the guest wants with disastrous results. If you’re going to seek the skills of a professional, let them do their job. That’s what they were trained for, not you!

Head Shape Matters is the patented hair cutting system developed by Kim Weaver Moore. This smart, talented hairstylist took the time and energy to figure out WHY the same haircut could take on such dramatically different results on various client’s heads. What she discovered is Head Shape Matters, it’s all about the Fall, Angle and Slope, and Math does not lie. Thanks to her hard work hairstylists everywhere can take her one day classes, 7 week online course or hands-on certification course, and master this revolutionary system. As a result HSM’s cutters can reproduce any haircut, and repeat this cut for that guests again, and again, and again. Ask anyone, guest or stylist, and they will say Yes Please! I’ve taken the online course twice, and just completed the 4-Day Hands-On Certification Course along with the 3 Stage Testing process and am proud to announce “I’m a Certified HSM Cutter!”

Thanks to these two systems I’ve allowed myself to be “turned inside out” where my comprehension, skills and comfort zone is concerned. With almost 4 decades in this beautiful industry that’s monumental. It’s all too easy to decide you’ve “arrived” and, that like an old dog you’re beyond “new tricks”.

Ok, that all sounds good, but what does it really mean? How, are you doing things differently?!

Glad you asked. Let’s begin with hair cutting. When I, and every hairstylist, learns haircutting we are taught to view every head the same way. At best, we learn you are all eggs. At worst, we learn you are all cubes. Add to this we are taught to hold the hair at angles that relate to the floor or the wall. Example: 90 degrees is usually holding hair parallel to the floor. But that’s only 90degrees from the head if you have a cube-shaped head. Over the years I’ve been taught techniques that try to account for the roundness of heads but never account for where your head changes Shape. As a result I would do a cut I’d learned at a class on one guest with huge success only to have it look terrible on another guest. And don’t even get me started with being able to repeat the successful cut again. With HSMs I create a “map” for each client and then use the power of geometry to create each cut. I keep a record of my angles for each quadrant of the head shape making it effortless to repeat.

With hair color I was taught the Level System. Levels 1-10 or 12 is pretty standard. 1 is black, while 10 is light blond (12 is platinum) the numbers in between represent the shades of brown and blond in between. Sounds simple right? Wrong. Every manufacturer has the freedom to put their spin on that system. This means there can be  differences, manufacturer to manufacturer, and it’s usually where you can have the most underlying pigment. (aka red, orange and gold or as we like to call it, Trouble)  When I found out about BCH I learned to classify color in a whole new way, beyond  levels of light and dark. They, BCH, taught me to look at hair in Families (Soft Brown- aka Blonds, Warm Browns, Brown Black and Redheads). These Families denote the concentration/dilution of pigment in hair along with certain types of pigment that challenge your hair’s ability to lighten. Once you know the Color Family, the level system is easier to use on natural hair. For Color manufacturers we use swatch charts and make our own swatches for accuracy. BCH taught me What color is and does. What bleach is doing to the hair. How porosity and texture interact with all of the above.

Now I know the WHY of what I’m doing when I cut or color, which means I have a greater comprehension of HOW to cut, color, or blond in a way that optimizes the outcome. This means meeting, or exceeding, expectations along with beautiful healthy hair. This can mean it takes me longer because now I’m allowing chemicals to do their job with the utmost care for the integrity of the hair fiber. With cuts I’m using applied geometry to Your head shape so I can formulate You perfect shape. If you ask my guests they will say it’s well worth the time. I have them spoiled with the comfort of a relaxing suite, good music, mountain views and the best hair of their life.

What are you do to challenge your skill set? How have you carved out comfort and peace for yourself? Your guests?

lyndadoesmyhair@gmail.com

LyndaDoesMyHair at VG Beauty Lounge

3964 E Pima St

Tucson, Arizona 85712

usa