REF Boho look Fall/Autumn 2012

Check out REF Swedish Haircare's BoHo look for Fall/Autumn 2012 !

Tip of the Day - Consultative Selling

As stylists work with certain brands and products, it is a big part of the job to also consult - recommend - and sell products to clients.

Remember: Nobody likes a salesman.  Be a consultative seller, listening is key. 

You want to provide solutions for your clients needs.  You want to recommend the right products to the right clients.  Your not just selling a product, you are in fact promoting your own professional advice as well as promoting the brand.

Learn how to be a Consultative Seller, and you will gain loyal customers who trust your advice time and time again.

Tip of the Day - Say Yes to Serum

Say 'Yes !' to Serum

Any hairstyle can benefit from some added shine. Weither you have a finer hair type, or thicker coarse hair, the use of serum is always recommended.

It is a common misconception that serum can only be used on thicker hair types.  In this day and age, serums are widely available and so, also available for any hair type.  

Serum is not only a shine tool, but it is also a great sealing product.  It can keep your split ends from damaging more by literally 'sealing' the ends.  It is also great to help prevent split ends, by sealing the hair and keeping it protected from the daily effects of your hectic life !

Serum is an all-round good essential product, and I will not ever finish a sleek style without it.  As I mentioned before, you may need professional advice to ensure that you purchase the correct serum for your hair type, but believe me once you have found the perfect serum you will not want to do without !

Here is a list of my favorite Serum's and for which hair type I believe they work best:

• L'oreal Tecni-Art Serum Liss Control Plus : Coarser, Curly Hair Types
  
• L'oreal Tecni-Art Serum Hair Mix Sublime Shine (Factor 1) : Fine to Normal Hair Types
  
• Matrix Biolage Smoothing Hair Serum : Normal to Medium Hair Types
  
• Tigi S-Factor Dream Drops Serum : Medium to Coarser Hair Types

Product Review : Wella Lifetex Straight Intensive Mask

Product Review : Wella Lifetex Straight Intensive Mask

So If you guys have read my previous Wella Lifetex Colour Shampoo review, you would already know that I normally use Matrix shampoo/conditioner/intensive masks.  As I have not been able to find my usual HHG (Hair Holy Grail) products, I had to opt for Wella instead.  Why Wella ?  Well, they have a Wella trade shop over here in Sliema-Malta and for this reason I decided to give the Wella products a shot.

So I was able to get 2 of these Straight Intensive Masks for the price of one.  They were small sizes of a 150ML but I wanted to give them a try before purchasing the bigger size.
This product is good for frizzy medium-thick hair.  My hair is very frizzy before I straighten it.  I always make sure I use products that are not too heavy for my hair, and as this is a smoothening intensive mask that can be a bit heavy when too much is used, I have to be cautious to make sure I concentrate mostly on the ends when using this.

The packaging, again, is the old Wella Lifetex packaging, because for some reason, in a lot of aspects, Malta seems to be behind a couple of years ;).  So basic packaging, cream with green lettering on the pot.  The scent is quite organic, it is enriched with Jojoba oil, which I think gives it this specific aroma.  Also quite sweet smelling, not unpleasantly strong, but still quite a strong smell to it.

This product is supposed to reduce the frizz by 50% when used frequently. 

THE VERDICT

After my hair was left feeling soft, smoothe and I do admit, when dry - the frizz was less !
I would not go as far as saying it was reduced by 50%, but it was definately more tamable.  Also, there was a noticable shine left on my hair after too.

I was very happy with the result and I will definately repurchase !

I will give this product 4.5 out of 5 stars !  Thumbs up to Wella Lifetex :)

Product Review : Wella Lifetex Colour Protection Shampoo

 

Product Review : Wella Lifetex Colour Protection Shampoo

For the past 3 years I have been using the same Matrix shampoo, which is definately my favorite brand for shampoo and conditioning products on my hair.  However, here in Malta I have not been able to find my beloved Matrix products anywhere !  So I had to go and find an alternative.

In the town where I am currently living (Sliema) there is a Wella shop.  They sell their products to professionals only which is great in my opinion (as it is a professional brand) and the prices are not too bad either.  I actually went into the shop to buy some tint for a client, when Igot 2 testers of this shampoo for free ! I had never used this on my hair before.  I had used the SP range before when I worked for one of the Regis salons in Edinburgh a couple of years ago, but I know the SP range can be quite heavy on my hair. 

I was very skeptical at first, as I am one of those people who stick to a product they like and never change it (lol), but I had to at least give it a try right ? 

The packaging I think is the old packaging.  I am not sure if they have renewed the Lifetex series just as they did with the SP range, but I do know that the Wella shop had the old SP range products, which indicates that they are a bit behind.  But the packaging was nice, pink in colour.
The scent was quite a flowery creamy smell.  Very sweet, yet it does smell creamy, almost milky. 

This product is supposed to offer up to 58% more colour protection.  Which is great in a hot country with the U.V rays of the sun and the chlorine in the pools, you definately need to purchase products that will effectively protect your hair from those elements.

So my first impressions were good.  Now for the testing part.
So the product is a thick consistency, which is good so that you dont have to use a lot of it. (Out of the 50ML tester bottles, I got about 3 uses out of each small bottle.)  I always shampoo my hair twice to ensure a thorough cleanse, and to really get the product to 'do its thang'.
The shampoo had a good lather, and emulsified very nicely.  After the second shampoo my hair literally felt squeeky clean.


THE VERDICT

I was pleasantly surprised with this product, as I have always thought of the Lifetex series as the cheaper alternative to the SP range.  I never expected it to be this good !

Great smell, great consistency, lovely usage, and it left a great shine on my hair afterwards.

Definately will purchase this product when my testers run out, and I will let you guys know about the exact price over here.  I will obviously get it for a 'trade-price' which will be slightly cheaper than what you would buy it in the salons for I would assume.

I'll give this shampoo 4.5 out of 5 stars !

Product Review : LAKME K-Style Hot Iron Spray

Product Review : LAKME K-Style Hot Iron Spray

The most VITAL styling tool needed for any girl (or fashionably sensitive boy ;) ) that uses a lot of heated equipment on their hair, is a heat protection spray.  The heat protection works by being activated when it comes in touch with extremely hot conditions - Which in my case is my 200 degree GHD hair styler.

I use my GHD's very regularly.  Almost daily I must say.  I have to use several products and reconstructurants to ensure that my hair stays in optimal condition. 

The LAKME K-Style Hot Iron Spray was new to me.  My previous hot iron sprays have included :

Matrix Gold Heat - which I found quite heavy.  Better for coarser hair types.

GHD Heat Protect Spray - which they have to suit both fine to normal and normal to coarse hair types.

I have been looking for a professional salon heat protection spray that was both within my price budget of 15 euros, (as I was out of pocket at the end of that month, due to my extravagant make up addiction *oops* ) and that was not too heavy for my fine-medium caucasian hair type.

So I decided to give this one a go.  The price was great, only € 10,40 (which is around £ 8 ) for a 250ML container.  The packaging is very classy, and I love the nozzle which has a small amount of movement when being pushed, so that the product that sprays out is just enough to cover a section of hair without it being overbearing.  Very smart. 
This product also has a Level 3 holding power (out of a rank of 5),  I LOVE that.  I prefer it to have a bit of hold as it will keep my hair tamed more than it would without the slight hold.  The level 3 hold still allows the product to keep the hair flexible.
The smell of the product is not anything special.  Just smells like a hair product, not really any other way to describe the scent of this.

It is best to use this when sprayed directly onto the dry section of hair, although I always prefer to spray some in when wet as well.  I feel that when I comb product through when my hair is wet, it is evened out nicely by the mixture of the product and the water, throughout the midlengths and ends of my hair.  Then I add slightly more when dry too for total protection..


THE VERDICT

After I had used this to straighten my hair, my hair was soft and shiny but not soft to the point where it becomes static. The product has lived up to it's expectations and for the price, I would definately repurchase !

I'll give this product 4.2 out of 5 stars !

Product Review : LAKME Ultra Clair Shampoo

Product Review : LAKME Ultra Clair Shampoo

I bought this product at a salon at the very reasonable price of around €8,- (which is around £6.50 at the current exchange rate I think ! ). I wasn't specifically searching for a cheap option, but as I had already gone into a couple of salons looking for a violet-toned (yellow/brassy tone fighting) shampoo, I thought I may as well give it a shot.

The reason I purchased a violet shampoo, was to slightly tone down the goldness of my warm medium-light blonde locks. I wanted to see how much a cool toned shampoo would actually do to my hair, before I went down the chemically toning road.

Here in Malta there are quite a few salons using the Italian LAKME brand. I have never used any of their products on myself or any of my clients, but I am always open to trying new product ranges and testing their products on myself are always the best way for me to be able to give advice to others.

So the product is a very dark almost aubergine colour, and it is quite runny for a shampoo. This doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, but it will more than likely mean that you will use more of the shampoo and because of that run out of the shampoo faster than what you would with a thicker one. The product smells very nice, fresh and almost fruity. I always shampoo my hair, and the hair of my clients twice, to ensure a thorough cleanse. With the first shampoo, the product was not quite as emulsifying (frothy) as I thought it would be, but with the second it was definately foaming up nicely (Usually a shampoo froths up more when more water ans friction is used, so with the first shampoo, this is usually a lot less than the second, as the hair absorbs more water into the cuticle itself by adding shampoo).

The product was quite messy on my white bathroom tiles, but that is what you have to deal with when using these toning shampoos. It was easy to clean off when rinsing the shower after use.

After drying my hair, I was not quite as impressed as I thought I would have been with a toning shampoo. Especially as I left the first lot of shampoo on for 15 minutes, to really sink into the hair and deposit some tone. I know that these shampoos have to be used repetitively for proper results, but I have had better results on a single use with other products like Paul Mitchells Platinum Blonde Shampoo on clients.



THE VERDICT
Quite a nice product for a regular, reasonably priced salon brand shampoo.

I would not recommend this to my clients who are wanting to keep their blonde clear and cool as I feel that the tone isn't depositing enough.

I would personally not repurchase.

I'll give this shampoo 2.5 out of 5 stars.