Taglio Salon

guide to gorgeous hair

top 10 frequently asked questions

1. I can never style my hair they way my stylist does it or how do I style it in different ways?

Wow, if we had a $1 for every time we were told this, the whole industry would be retired! Without a doubt, this is probably the single biggest challenge that women face every single day. First off, we are professionals and we do this everyday. Second, styling someone else’s hair is much easier due to the fact we have full use of our arms and can access all areas of the head. That all being said, you must be patient and practice. It is highly unlikely that it will come out right the first time or even by the tenth! Practice makes perfect. Ask your stylist how to section, what tools are they using, what products do they recommend, and how do I get to those hard to reach areas. When all else fails, ask your stylist for a blowdry lesson. This way, you can work through the style under the supervision and guidance of your stylist and they can show you all the little tricks. Here’s a checklist for creating a great style at home.

Cleanse and condition with professional products. Today’s technology in shampoo and condition is truly remarkable. Depending on your desired style, whether it’s curly, straight, fine or damaged, we probably have a shampoo and conditioner designed just for it.

Remove excess moisture. Apply proper styling products and use the correct amount. All to often, products are over used. More doesn’t always mean better!

Choose your desired tools. Whatever brush that works best for you is the right tool! Clients often get hair tangled around a round brush. Don’t be frustrated. Sometimes it can be solved by changing the type of round brush you use. There are various styles and materials used ranging from metal, ceramic, bore bristle, plastic, nylon etc. All have their pros and cons. When choosing a particular style, look at bristle pattern, length, density and firmness.

Remember to section off your hair when styling and use a clip to section away hair that you are not styling. Your section should never be wider or longer than the brush as this often leads to tangling. ***Tip*** If you have a particularly difficult growth patterns or fringe section, start in these areas as if left to air dry they can be much more challenging to style into the desired finish.

After blow dry is complete, use any recommended pastes, pomades, silicones or sprays. Again, watch product usage as too much of these products can leave hair looking greasy, heavy, and flat.

2. My hair is always dry, what should I do?

This can be a very complex or simple solution, lets explore this issue. First off, we live in the desert and deal with a lot of environmental dryness and sun damage to start with. A good daily cleansing and conditioning ritual is a great place to start along with a weekly deep conditioning masque at home is always highly recommended too. In-salon conditioning treatments have been the fastest growing segment of our industry and for good reason. THEY WORK! Technology has come a long way in this area and your trouble areas can be targeted from dry/damaged hair to fine hair and even scalp challenges. There is a in salon treatment for your specific need whether it is hair of scalp related. Last but not least, keeping a regular haircutting schedule is often an overlooked component. You know the term “split ends” right? Well those splits don’t just stay at the ends. They will split all the way to the scalp if left to their own devise and the only way to get rid of them…cut ‘em!

So that’s just the environmental aspect. Let’s examine all the other torturous acts we do to our hair. Think of all the ways we put heat directly on our hair, there’s blow-drying, flat irons, curling irons, hot rollers. And then there’s the chemicals, haircolor, straightners, perms.

When you add up all these ingredients, you can see why most of us walk around with dry hair. Sit down and figure out your hair beauty schedule and remember to be kind to those precious cuticles!

3. My hair is too frizzy and/or I have lots of fly-a-ways, what do I do?

Sounds like a simple answer to a simple question but it could be a variety of issues so let’s examine some of the reasons why it may be frizzy and then we will discuss some of the solutions. Firstly, this could just be the natural texture of your hair, unfortunate but true. This could be the result of chemically damaged or over-processed chemical services. Or even split ends that have gone array and have split all the way up the hair shaft and even to the scalp.

The good news is there are many simple and quick fixes to this challenge. As previously discussed, regular haircuts is the only way to solve split ends. A few simple styling tricks; use strong and consistent tension when blow-drying and always aim the nozzle of the dryer down the cuticle. Use flat irons or curling irons to help smooth the hair but be mindful of the usage as overuse could lead to damaged hair. You can mend them with in-salon conditioning treatments and using at home conditioning masques. And by using a variety of styling products including crèmes, silicones, pastes and pomades you can get them to lie down.

4. I have fine hair, what do I do to get more volume?

Good news, this has to be one of the biggest improvements in product development over the last several years and only continues to get better. Not only do we now have volumizing styling products but we now can choose from volumizing shampoos and conditioners. They are many options and combinations to choose from. Consult your stylist for the right cut, the right cut can make a huge difference especially on fine hair. When it comes to the actual styling, use the right brush, good tension, and make sure you lift the brush straight up from the scalp to get maximum lift. Again, this would be a great opportunity to sit down with your stylist for a blowdry lesson to make sure your doing what you can to achieve maximum volume.

5. How do I keep my hair color from fading?

We hate to say this but you can’t stop fading completely but we can slow it down. Don’t shampoo for the first day after the color service. This will give the cuticle a chance to close. Then shampoo and condition with products that are made for color-treated hair. These products are designed to be gentle cleansing and help keep the cuticle closed. If your spending a lot of time in the sun, look for products that have sun block or wear hats. Spending a lot of time in the pool or at the beach? Chlorine and salt water can expidite your fading too. Wet your hair down with fresh water and apply conditioner to create a protective barrier. Your hair acts like a sponge, if its already wet, it can’t absorb all the chlorine or salt water. Also, be careful of abrasive shampoos and volumizing products as they aggressively open the cuticle and can promote fading.

6. How do I backcomb my hair without it looking like a helmet?

This ain’t your grandma’s backcombing! Yes, you can backcomb your hair for volume and support and still have movement. First, lets choose the tool you will be using. Some stylists’ like combs, some like brushes and all things in between. You can even use a backcombing comb or brush. The key is to use something that will help you achieve the look you want. The choice will also be influenced by the texture and density of your hair.

So your hair is styled and your ready to backcomb. Use a “working spray” to help get a little grit in the hair so your comb or brush can grab on easier. Take a section of hair, about a 1” to 2” section, start just above the scalp and work to about mid-strand and make your downward movement towards the scalp. Gently “packing” the hair on to of the scalp. Work only to the middle of the hair strand to keep the ends free to move and look more natural. Continue to use this method throughout the desired areas. Take a smoothing brush over the top of the hair to soften any fly-a-ways and smooth out any “dents” in the hair and use a finishing spray for hold.

7. I hate my curls! They aren’t even, they're frizzy and I feel like I just got out of bed when I do my hair curly. What should I do?

You need to embrace your curls. There are quite a lot of styling and product options for you to choose from but know that you will need a different set of products if you want your hair curly as opposed to straight. You need to access what type of curls you have. Is the curl tight, loose, weak, or is it wavy? Do you need to control the curl or enhance it?

When dealing with such challenging texture, we want to start of with a good shampoo and conditioner. With the advancement of technology, product companies have developed shampoos and conditioners just for curly hair. Curly hair needs moisture and depending on the type of curl, needs a heavier product to control the curl.

When getting ready to style. Choose the proper styling product. Whether it’s a leave in conditioner, lotion, gel, mouse or foam, apply the recommended amount and comb through the hair. This is often an overlooked secret. You want to make sure you are evenly distributing the product throughout the entire hair strand to ensure that you end up with consistent curls throughout the head. Next, take your towel and “squeeze” the product in and any excess water out.

Now we have several variations of styling depending on the desired finish. We can use a diffuser, do rope twists, or knots. For this discussion, we will choose the diffuser, ask your stylist to demonstrate the other techniques for you, they are easier to do than what you might think. Take your diffuser, a “finger” style works best, and tilt your head so the hair falls away from the scalp. You want to use the diffuser in a supporting way and do not scrunch or squeeze the hair. The more you disturb the cuticle the more frizz you will create and the end result will be inconsistent curl. Work around the head every 15-30 seconds. Don’t stay in one area until it is completely dry as this will cause inconsistent curl too. The final movement will be to tilt your head over forwards and dry the fringe and top area, again, drying the hair away from the scalp will let the natural curl form and give you more volume. Dry hair completely. A common misconception is you should leave some moisture in the hair, this can work on some curls but it often will lead to more fly-a-ways and flatter hair.

Once drying is complete. Apply a finishing crème, paste, or oil to keep the curl formation strong and protected from the environment and daily stresses. In many cases, you can use a reactivating mist the following day to revitalize curl and not have to shampoo, condition and re-style.

8. My color grows out so fast and my natural color shows so quickly, what can I do?

It must be said that the further you get away from your natural color, the quicker you will see the re-growth. Whether you go darker or lighter but lighter will almost always show quicker as there is more contrast. There is a delicate balance that a colorist can try to accomplish but if blonde or pretty light blonde is your choice, you won’t have many options other than do your color service more frequently. So picking levels and shades close to your natural is your best bet for less maintenance.

9. I have long hair and I don’t want to cut it but I get bored, what options do I have?

Another very common challenge. Unfortunately, there are really only so many ways to cut layers and leave hair long. We can change the length of the layers or the angle in which we cut them, but if you want your hair long, your options are a bit limited.

This is why having a variety of styling options is crucial to having happiness with your long hair. So lets take a quick look at some of the ways or tools you can use to create change and get out of that long hair rut.

Do your hair straight. Do a nice blowdry and finish with a flat iron. Use a working spray or spray silicone to make it look clean and shiny. You can even use a large curling iron in a flat iron fashion but you get a bit more of a bevel and volume finish.

How about curly. Lot of ways to achieve a curly finish. Hot rollers, curling irons, steam rollers, velcro rollers, hot sticks, perm rods, soda cans, hair twisting or even zulu knots can create some amazing looks. Ask your stylist for a demo or even book in a service so you can watch them achieve a completely finished look.

Ponytails, braids, updos. These can be a bit more involved but can create tons of endless options. From classic to couture, just by learning a few basic techniques you will be able to do so many more looks. We recommend sitting down with a stylist for this. They can guide you through the different techniques as well as show you the best way to move your body into the right position to make it easier for you.

10. I’ve had the same cut and style for years, I hate it! What should I do?

Learn to let go. That’s the very first thing you must do. We have a little saying around the salon, “if you haven’t had a compliment on your hair recently, its time for a change! Hair is one of the most recognizable accessories that we have and it is often the first thing someone notices about you. Our hair is a direct reflection about how we look and feel about ourselves. So go ahead and take the plunge! Let’s take a look at some of the steps, do’s and dont’s, you need to do to get ready for your big make-over.

Do collect some pictures of styles, shapes, cuts, colors that you like. This will help in the consultation process. Often a client cannot express in technical terms or may have been misinformed in the past about a technical aspect. Sometimes we see color, shapes, and lengths differently. This helps us break through the clutter and ensure better communication.

Don’t bring pictures in of yourself from 20 years ago. We often go back to periods in our life when we were happier, younger, or thinner and think this will be the perfect color or style. The fact is the time is now, we are what we are at this moment and this is what we must work with and enhance and be happy with ourselves at this moment. We cannot change the aging process and our hair texture and density is continuously changing throughout our life.

Do seek out plenty of advice and get consults from professionals.

Don’t get so much that it leads to indecision. Ever hear the expression, “over-analysis leads to paralysis?” Find a colorist or stylist that your comfortable with and trust their direction.

Do ask lots of questions and listen. This is a two way street for both the client and stylist. There is nothing wrong with bringing a list of questions with you to make sure you cover all the basis that you wanted. Think about what you dislike as much as what you like or want. Seek re-confirmation on the desired color and cut before the service is started to solidify the direction.

Don’t just say “do whatever you want, I trust you!” This will often lead to dissatisfaction on both sides. We all have our limits and have certain colors or styles we absolutely cannot stand. So the next time you say “do whatever”, backtrack and think about what those words really mean.

Do be honest with your stylist or colorist. Your hair and its chemical history is very important and some chemicals do not work well together or can lead to severe damage. When trying to correct or change previous done color, think about the chemical processes and what has been used in your hair. Whether its color, relaxers, straightners, or perms, we need to know. And one last thing about chemicals, be realistic. Often when correcting or making big color changes is a process and cannot be achieved just in one service. This can often take multiple services and you and your colorist should make a plan for evolution of your color.

Do try and take some time to get used to your new cut or color. Often big changes can take time to become comfortable. Think about how your new look will affect your make-up or even your wardrobe. Wear it for a couple weeks before making drastic decisions to change your color back to its previous color or do a different haircut.

Do enjoy!!!

guide to gorgeous hair

Gorgeous hair, we all want it and it has never been easier to have! We have so many options when it comes to buying products it can be a very confusing process. And unless you’re a celebrity, you probably don’t have a professional stylist around to make your product choices and style your hair for you. Unfortunately, to achieve certain looks it does take some effort. But take heart! With a few simple guidelines, a little know-how, and some great shortcuts, anyone can achieve the look they desire.

Getting gorgeous hair is a lot easier than you think. Just follow some basic guidelines, create a simple haircare regime, and be patient.

Haircare

Shampoo and condition everyday/every other day.

Use a deep conditioner/mask once a week.

Use a large tooth comb for combing out wet hair. This will be much gentler on the hair.

Receive exclusive in-salon conditioning treatments once a month or anytime after receiving a color service. This will actually help prolong the life of your color and help slow down the fading process.

Use a heat protectant product when blow drying, styling or using flat irons and curling irons.

Use the recommended amount of products and layer/mix/cocktail according to directions. Start with a small amount as you can always add more as needed.

Receive regular “trims” to keep hair ends fresh and even and prevent split ends.

When it comes to purchasing products, buy the best you can afford. Often we get what we pay for. Less expensive products or grocery store brands will often use cheap fillers that not only make products less effective they can actually cause damage in the long run. Many high quality products are so concentrated that they actually last twice as long because they are more “pure” in their construction.

Styling

Pre-dry. This will save you time and effort. Remove excess moisture, you’ll want to get the hair to about 70% dry but still have moisture so the hair will be pliable and mold around the brush.

Brush selection. Use a natural or bore bristle brush to smooth hair, metal or ceramic brushes will tend to give you more volume and lift, and flat brushes will more often give you a smooth finish with lots of movement.

Sectioning. We recommend always sectioning the hair as this will help limit the amount of tangling around the brush and let you blowdry only the section that you are working on.

Cool it. The cool button is there for a reason! Finishing each section with a blast of cool air helps seal the hair cuticle and wards off frizz.

Go both ways. Especially for the very front section. Brush the hair from side to side concentrating on drying the roots which ever way you are brushing. Continue brushing side-to-side and to the front and to the back and then back into its final destination. We call this “wrap drying” and this will help create a more “seamless” look with lots of movement.

Finish. Any way you want. Use a hair spray, spray shine, paste, or smoothing serum to achieve your desired finish.