ISSE LB 2015 (International Salon and Spa Expo, Long Beach)

 

I got to go to the Long Beach hair show for the first time this year!

I gotta tell you, this show was INSANE. It is a much bigger expo than IMATS is. I was honestly overwhelmed by all there was to see, do, buy, and learn there.

I simply didn't know what to do first. Even if I had been there for all three days the expo was open, I wouldn't have been able to see and do everything they offered.

The actual room where the expo hall is held (brands, booths, exhibitors, shopping) is jaw-droppingly giant. I walked in and was overwhelmed with the amount of booths there were. 

 

 

I loved the atmosphere of this expo. There were beauty professionals just like me everywhere. I could feel the excitement and passion in the air.

Every corner I turned there was a different demo going on, or a celebrity hairstylist, or product giveaways. I just couldn't keep up, but boy was I in my happy zone. 

 

I tried to pick what my favorite part of this convention was, but I couldn't settle on just one favorite thing. I LOVED the hair/nails/skin/makeup products available for purchase, I LOVED the free education that was offered, and I LOVED the demos and shows!

This is definitely a great expo to go to if you're looking for inspiration. If you are a professional makeup artist, esthetician, nail artist, or hairstylist, you will be inspired by what you see.

 

Okay so enough ranting about how much I loved this convention and how much you would love it too.

Let's talk about what I did there!

Unfortunately I could only afford a one-day ticket there, and on top of that I arrived late, BUT I still managed to buy some awesome products for my kit and I attended one business class.

The class I attended was "But First, Let Me Take A Selfie: The Art & Science of Instagram with Larisa Love".

The entire class focused on the importance of social media in association with marketing and branding yourself to an audience/clientele. It was taught by Nina Kovner, with help from Larisa Love.

I absolutely loved everything about this class. I learned so much, but above all I was inspired. Nina and Larisa were both extremely down-to-earth and funny. They both shared their tips on how to build a brand and a following on instagram. They talked about the importance of building that online connection with your clientele. 

I can't fully describe how honored and grateful I was to be there.

Please take the time to follow Larisa @larisadoll and Nina @passionsquared on instagram. They are both such incredibly inspiring women.

You can also check out Larisa's blog at www.hairbylarisalove.com

Trust me, it'll be worth your time to follow these women.

Also, sorry for the fuzzy picture below. I had a hard time getting a good picture. Their class was jam PACKED with people that were trying to get in just to hear their wisdom.

 

 

~Haul Time~

Girl, you know I bought some stuff for my kit. The prices at professional shows like this are so much cheaper than what they would normally be sold for.

I needed more round brushes since I've been getting into blowouts lately. Plus, the handle on one of my old round brushes broke off, so I was definitely in need of some new tools. I bought this pack of three from the same makers as "The Wet Brush".

 

 

 I also snagged a sample of an Argan oil hair treatment. I haven't tried it yet but I'm sure it's awesome. If you guys read my post about short hair care,  http://brittkaye.blogspot.com/2014/12/how-to-care-for-short-hair.html , you would know how much I love using Argan oil for my hair.

I picked up some replacement razors for my hair razor too. I needed them, and when I saw them it was a no-brainer.

 

There was an area of the esthetics expo room that allowed attendees to donate a minimum of five dollars to charity, and in return they got to choose five sample-sized beauty products. I LOVE SAMPLES AND I LOVE CHARITY SO NATURALLY I JUMPED AT THE CHANCE.

I picked out a mini OPI nail polish, a color therapy styling oil (used on damp hair or mixed in with hair color for extra shine), Satin Smooth Renewal Facial Cream Cleanser, Satin Smooth Daily Moisturizer Broad-Spectrum SPF 30, and a facial scrubber for use in the shower.

I am in love with the Satin Smooth products I got. They both smell like pina coloda. I am so not exaggerating. They smell so good, just like coconut and pineapple. I also love the cleanser because it is super rich and doesn't foam. It is a cream cleanser that you work into your skin with warm water, and then rinse. The moisturizer is great because it has SPF 30, but it doesn't leave that whitish glow that a lot of sunscreen moisturizers leave. It also soaks right into my skin without leaving any sort of oily feel or residue.

 

 

And finally... definitely my favorite thing that I purchased at ISSE...

an Amika flat iron!

I've wanted one of these for so long. They are extremely versatile. You can use them to straighten, curl, or wave. 

 

 

I chose the peacock print, too. They come in all sorts of colors and styles. I am one of those goofy hairstylists that enjoys personalizing every part of my kit as much as possible. So, now I have a peacock flat iron. Even my blow dryer is bright teal and sparkly. Yup.

 

 

Wrapping it up, ISSE LB was a simply fantastic experience. I learned so much, got hecka inspired, and bought some rad tools.

ISSE is an expo only open to professionals. Unlike IMATS, you need professional criteria to attend.

Much love as always,

BKL 

How to Care for Short Hair

 

Hello loves!

 

I thought I would write a post about hair care, specifically caring for very short and/or shaved hair.

 

The general principles for caring of short hair versus long hair are basically the same. You should cleanse your hair, moisturize it, and brush it... etc.

 

These steps differ as in HOW you execute them depending on how long your hair is.

 

So without further ado, here is a list of hair care steps for extremely short/shaved hair:

 

1. Cleanse. Just like long hair, it is important to still wash your hair even though it's very short. (I understand that this is a given.) With short hair, however, it is much easier to go longer without washing it. This is mostly because short hair looks better messy generally and washing it regularly is not required to style it. Long hair often requires being washed anew in order to freshen the style, especially if you like to give yourself  a blowout with a blowdryer. It is healthier for your hair if you don't wash it every day. In my case, I'd say I wash my hair every three days. For some people this may seem crazy, but my hair is only four inches long or so and it really only needs to be washed every three days! I also do this because it is so much healthier for my hair to keep its natural oils longer, especially since my hair is colored. The way you cleanse your hair (and the products you use) will largely depend on the type of hair you have as well as your scalp. My hair is very thick, with medium texture, and my scalp tends to get dry easily. So in my case I always use a moisturizing shampoo (usually infused with some type of oil) or cleansing conditioner. Sure, moisturizing shampoo is cool...but using conditioner to cleanse? YES. There are conditioners made that do the cleanse and moisturize step all in one.

 

Products I recommend:



-WEN cleansing conditioner http://www.wen.com/

-REDKEN diamond oil shampoo http://m.redken.com/products/haircare/diamond-oil/diamond-oil-shampoo

-One n Only Argan Oil shampoo http://www.sallybeauty.com/argan-moisturizing-shampoo/ONEONL17,default,pd.html#start=56&sz=12&viewAllProducts=true

 

2. Moisturize. Just because you have short hair doesn't mean you shouldn't moisturize/condition it. Yes, you can probably get away with not conditioning it as much as someone with long hair, but in my professional opinion conditioner is more important for the integrity of your hair than shampoo is. This is especially the case for people like me that have chemically treated hair. Your hair is stripped of its moisture when you wash it, dye it, and style it with hot tools... so conditioning it and replenishing the moisture that was stripped of your hair is an extremely important step in anyone's hair care routine. Moisturization of your hair doesn't stop at conditioner, either. Conditioner has its benefits, but it can only do so much in the few seconds/minutes that it has in your wet hair before you wash it out. It is also very important to use leave in products after you've towel dried your hair. I personally love using hair oils for my hair, but any type of leave in moisturizer will work in this situation. (cream based or otherwise) Once your hair has been towel dried, work in a quarter sized amount of oil and /or leave in product into your hair. For people with fine and thin hair, I recommend only using a dime's worth of product. Most people will want to blowdry their hair as the next step. I personally let my hair air dry, but if you must blowdry your hair it is critical that you use a heat protectant. Either spray or work it into your damp hair before blowdrying.

 

Products I recommend:

-WEN cleansing conditioner (see above section)

-ALTERNA Caviar CC Cream http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod6340113

-CHI 44 Iron Guard (heat protectant) http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=xlsImpprod4730015

-LUSH R&B Hair Moisturizer http://www.lushusa.com/R-B/03080,en_US,pd.html#q=r%2520and%2520b&start=1

 

3. Brush. Please don't stop brushing your hair just because you don't have any. I know, I know... this sounds crazy. Let me explain. Brushing your hair is also an extremely vital part of taking care of your hair. Not only is brushing used to detangle and style, but arguably more important is the use of brushing for scalp stimulation and the distrubution of natural oils/moisturizing product. My hair is only 4 inches long on top with the rest of my head pretty much bald. You would think that I wouldn't need to brush my hair at all. In a way you'd be right. I don't necessarily need to brush it. I could usually just run my fingers through the top and be done with it, but I actually brush my hair too. I brush the top, where my hair is longer, and I brush the rest of my head where it's nearly bare. My scalp needs brushing too. Brushing your scalp and short hair like this stimulates blood flow, helps remove any dead skin on your scalp (exfoliates), and helps distribute your natural oils through your hair, as well as any leave in product you put in. My recommendation for brushing short hair is that you brush before you wash it, while it's still dry, then again after you've washed it and put the product in it. Then brush once more at the opposite end of the day. For example, if you shower in the morning, brush your hair before and after you shower and then again that night before bed. This kind of routine brushing really helps your hair stay as healthy, shiny, and soft as possible.

 

Products I recommend:

-for when your hair is wet: Tangle Teezer (I LOVE using this brush to stimulate my scalp, distribute leave in product/oil, and give scalp treatments.) http://www.sephora.com/tangle-teezer-compact-styler-P386485?skuId=1620004

-for when your hair is dry: WIGO boar bristle brush (this brush is great on the scalp and also adds wonderful shine/cleaning properties when used on dry hair) http://www.ulta.com/ulta/browse/productDetail.jsp;jsessionid=xsrG7LLol1S3bD5v8Gdee94I.pr-a3-app1?productId=xlsImpprod4440041

***the key to picking a brush to use on your dry hair is boar bristle. Any boar bristle brush will work perfectly.

 

OKAY.

 

So, there you have it! If you have any questions about this post please feel free to ask in the comments below.

 

Love,

 

BKL

 

 

Purple Hair!

 

My hair is purple! Not just purple purple...but, PURPLE. Like, SUPER PURPLE. I love it. No, that's an understatement. I'm in love with it. Bless the hair color gods!

 

So, you wanna know how I did it?

 

No bleach, permanent color, lightening, or damaging dye was used at all to achieve this.

 

Before the purple, my hair was bright orange, pink, and purple. You can see it in my previous posts. My roots had grown out about an inch, so I had an inch of dark brown roots, and then the other colors.

 

Basically, I had to lighten those colors before adding the dark purple to ensure that it didn't end up looking muddy. There are lots of ways to lighten semi permanent hair color without using bleach. Mostly just washing it a lot will cause the color to fade quite a bit. You can also mix a paste of baking soda and warm water and put it in your hair. Let the mixture sit for quite a bit to allow it to pull as much color from your hair as possible.

 

After your old hair color has faded, you can add the new color over it. This only works well if the new color is darker than the previous color. In this case of course, my purple was much, much darker than the previous colors I had. The second color has to be dark enough to cover whatever was left over from the washing/baking soda.

 

Also, make sure you condition the crap out of your hair after rinsing the new dye out to ensure that you keep the integrity and health of your hair.

 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, my roots are technically still there. When I put the purple in my hair, it tinted my brown hair purple as well. No bleach needed here!

 

*makeup deets below*

 

 

Makeup:

 

*Tarte tinted moisturizer

*Anastasia dip brow in Chocolate

*Nars matte lip pencil in Cruella

*Tarte mascara

*Urban Decay Naked 2 palette for eyeshadows

*Urban Decay liquid sparkly eyeliner for inner tear duct

*Sephora Collection blush

*Becca pressed highlighter in Opal (MY FAVORITE)

 

 

Ulta Haul

 I picked up a few things from Ulta that I'd like to share with you guys. Me being the hair nerd that I am, most of the things I got are for my hair. I try to keep my hair really healthy and take good care of it, especially since I dye the crap out of it.

1. Redken diamond oil shampoo and conditioner: I picked these up mostly because I was trained with Redken in my cosmetology school, but for some reason we never carried the diamond oil line. It's probably because it's a newer Redken product. The shampoo and conditioner are described as perfect for dry and damaged hair. They're formulated with oil for extra hydration. I tried these on my hair and I have to say I really like them! The smell was really nice, and my hair was really soft afterwards.

2. AG "the oil" extra virgin argan miracle hair oil: Well, the name is kinda a mouth full... but the oil itself is great. I love using oils on my hair. Anything that's going to moisturize my hair and make it shine is my thing. This oil also has a great scent. It's moisturizing without being greasy, which is very important for my hair. My hair can get greasy easily if I use the wrong products.

3. Not Your Mothers Beach Babe texturizing hair cream: Pomades, creams, and pastes are all great for someone with short hair. I picked up this texture cream to try. It smells like coconuts and it's super light. It doesn't have much hold, but I think it could be used well as a primer for texture, applied to hair while still damp, then styled.

4. Tweezerman tweezers: Basically I just picked these up because I needed a new pair. Tweezerman makes the best tweezers out there.

5. butter London nail polishes: I chose two in the shades Scouse and The Black Knight. They both reminded me of winter... dark, cool hues throughtout...

Scouse is a shimmery royal blue/purple. Depending on the lighting, it changes from blue to purple and back to blue again. The Black Knight is the one I tried first. It has a grey base color with pink and blue glitters mixed throughout. I could see this color being used as a perfect holiday party nail color. Both colors are very festive and perfect for the upcoming holidays. Another thing to note here is that butter London uses no Formaldehyde, Toluene, or DBP in their polishes, making them a healthier choice for those concerned with carcinogens.