So...what is Toner???

Hello beautiful people! 

Sorry we haven't had an updated blog for a few weeks, Alice has been tanning it up in Malaysia with the family and the salon has been wonderfully busy with school holidays and spring time around the corner.

...but do not fear, we are back to feed your minds with all the hair info and tips you wish you knew :)

Lately we have had a lot of questions about 

'Toner' what is it? and what it does for your hair?

The lovely Nicole has all the knowledge and we have racked her brains for some great info.

Toner is a demi-permanent colour. This means it is not permanent and does wash out.  Toner neutralises the harsh tones and leaves a more natural tone behind.

Why do people tone?

• To counteract unwanted yellow or brass tones
• To add a fashion tone to hair, for example, a silver, pearl or silvery pink colour
• To blend the roots into the hair colour
• To avoid the stripy effect from foils that is sometimes created.

 Can you see the yellowy tones in these two pictures? The hair looks 
raw and unnatural:

As opposed to these two pictures where the hair looks blended and fresh?

Should every colour be toned?

Not necessarily, it depends on the look the customer is going for, we tend to tone in the salon most of the time as it helps with the natural effect most people are after.  

How long does it take?

Toning can take anywhere from 2 - 30 minutes and may be applied to wet or dry hair. If you are having your hair toned after we have coloured it, we simply add it in after we have washed out the initial foils or colour. 

Why would you have your hair toned if you didn't have it coloured?

To avoid the yellowy, brassiness that hair will often create after multiple washes.

If you would like to make an appointment to have your hair toned, please call us 443 5678 we would love to see you :) 

A Tone and basic dry is only $40!

So come on in and have your locks toned and loose that raw look.

IT'S EASY!! 

How to curl your hair...

Soft bouncy curls are all the go at the moment, and we know it can be expensive to have your hair professionally done for a night out, so we have found some videos to help you get that look you are after, without spending a cent.

For those extra special occasions, it is always nice to have your hair done by a professional, take some time to relax in the salon before the big event AND to have faith that the whole style isn't going to 'drop' after a few hours.  

So remember if you do want to have your hair curled professionally, just pop into the salon at 62 Ardmore Street or call us  03 443 5678 and we can book you in. 

Curling starts from only $45!

Here are some great clips about curling your hair when you want to do it from home:

How to curl with Curling tongs

How to curl with Hair straighteners

How to Curl with no heat or curlers

How to curl with rollers

We hope these videos help you. If you do manage to pull off something amazing at home we would love to see pictures or video of you doing it..post them up to our blog or email them to us at aliceshop@xtra.co.nz

Until next time xxx

To wash or not to wash?...my hair

This is one of the most common questions we are asked!

...and unfortunately there is no one exact answer for it.

Not everyone has the exact same texture and therefore not every washing schedule will work for everyone.  Grease will build up differently in everyones head based on loads of different conditions e.g Excercise, hormones, shampoo and conditioner, different hair products, seasonal effects, air-conditioning and even how often you are brushing or running your hands through your hair...there you have it...we are all different!

People of different races and ethnicities may have different hair care needs e.g people with hair that is tightly coiled or coarse may find that they are able to simply wash just once a week.  This is because oils produced by the scalp take a lot longer to travel down the hair strand from the follicle. 

Whereas people with straight, fine hair may notice a much faster oil build up and find they wash their hair every day or every second day.  Sometimes hair can look dull, even though you wash it daily or every second day.  This may be due to 'over-washing' which causes the natural oils to be stripped.  Most standard shampoos on the market contain water, foaming agents, fragrances, and various amounts of detergents. Shampoos that are designed for oily hair have more detergent than shampoos for non-oily hair. Detergents while useful for washing away dirt, dead skin and excess oil, can make hair less manageable and cause it to become dry, brittle and lose body.

GAAAAHHHH - I hear you! 

                                                   So what 'should' I do?

Well...Some of us in the salon have been self testing the washing process. We washed as normal with professional shampoo and conditioner suitable to our hair type, then we left it for a couple of days (as per usual) then when it came to wash time we just washed it with water...a good old rub and rinse and then put some conditioner just on the ends of the hair strands (to eliminate any smells that may have built up from cafes/houses/work etc) and then washed this out. 

The results: ... the first few days were the hardest as you could feel a bit of an oil build up in the hair, but washing with water seemed to take that feeling away and hair came out looking clean.  Some of us 

found our hair was easier to style, and once you are over the hump of about 5 days (this is for people who tend to wash every 2nd day) hair looked really great. It styled easily and stayed in place, it is almost as if the natural oil process has slowed down, as its not over working to make up for detergent and soap stripping it away.    So now, half of us have left our hair for longer and it still looks great (but it is being rinsed everyday to freshen it up) but the other half have decided to wash just once a week, and continue on with the water rinse and conditioning act in between.

Now, we are most certainly not suggesting everyone goes around with smelly, oily hair, just to save on washing time...but hey, maybe give it a try, see what happens...all it's going to take is some time and will power. 

As usual, the best individual advice we can give you would be to pop in and next time you are having your hair done ask us what we would recommend for your hair type.

Here are a few tips for those of you who just don't have the time one morning to wash your hair:

• Some people recommend using baby powder if you cannot wash your hair (it will stretch it out for one more day most of the time) and one of our clients even swears by cornstarch!
• A matte bronzer will also work well for brunettes.
• Remember to also eat a healthy range of food to keep your skin and hair naturally glowing...diet plays a huge role in hair health and we can touch more on this in the next blog if you would like us to?

Love always, the girls at Alice 03 443 5678 

The moment you decide you need an extreme change...

We've all been there.
Wanted/needed a dramatic change.  Your hair is the first place you turn to!
  You feel the urge to do something new and exciting.

Maybe blonde to brunette, brunette to red, stripes of pink or green, ice blue even.

Now, it can be tempting to just do a 'home job', save your pennies and still try for that WOW factor.

Lets be honest though, who has actually had a successful dramatic change to their hair from a 'home dye kit?'

Maybe to start with, but then the colour faded out and you tried to do it again but it all eventually went wrong and you ended up with black instead of brunette, or your hair went like chewing gum?

Sure enough, sometimes it can look all right, and you keep doing the same thing for a while after, but you know, admit it to yourself, you always end up back at the hairdresser with your tail between your legs promising to yourself you will never do it at home again.

And sometimes it can turn out like this even after you try to 'colour correct' it yourself!

Please!...Never, ever, ever bleach your hair at home!

But WHY doesn't it work so well at home?

• Bleach is an unstable colour, it is very hard to control and therefore it can easily over-lighten or under-lighten your hair, often both in the same sitting.  You will end up with light and bright roots and dark orange tinged ends (hmm... sound familiar?!) 
• Home hair bleaching kits do not have toners with them. Toners are required to even out the lightening effect on your hair to finish your colour and to avoid the raw look. Bleaching at home is very rarely subtle and often ends in a more expensive trip to the hair salon for colour correction work and a hair repair treatment!

I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb.  I also know I'm not blonde.  ~Dolly Parton

And for darker hair:

Colouring your hair darker at home, is not such a mission, if you don't mind your expensive bathroom walls and floors getting the odd splatter of permanent stain!

Issues you may run into include:

• Non adequate coverage of grey hairs
• Too bright coverage at the roots
• Over colouring (this is very common) this is where the hair gets a colour build up, leaving the hair with a dull dead appearance - no vibrancy at all.  Colouring again will not correct this, it only makes the problem worse.

In the salon we have soooo many colour to choose from, and often in one colour application we are actually mixing up a few different colours with different strength developers to deal to all the different hairs on the one head! Box colour doesn't give you this choice :(

If you want your colour to last longer, then the best thing to use is Joico colour endurance. It is a beautiful rich shampoo and conditioner specially formulated for colour longevity. Also Kpak argan oil (which we have mentioned in previous blogs) Both products are available in our salon.
(62 Ardmore street Wanaka)

"I can vouch for the Joico shampoo and conditioner, I originally had a very light blonde hair and now have the girls in the salon dye it a beautiful dark chocolate/red brunette colour...it is amazing how much longer the colour lasts with this product.  Its also awesome how much money I save as I only need to have my roots done instead of my whole head every time."- Jess Eastwood

And last, but by no means least: 
Maintain your tresses by making sure you have an in salon treatment put through your hair at the time of your cut/colour. Home treatments are affordable and the best way to know you are doing the best for your hair.


The hair is the richest ornament of women.  ~Martin Luther

So...who has a great 'home hair dye' story/photo...good or bad...leave us a comment or a picture!...people who comment get lucky sometimes!

A hair cut can be as good as a holiday!

Who's feeling rundown? flat? unmotivated? 

and most probably cold?

Well, did you know that a new hair cut or style can be as good for the spirit as a holiday. 

And for those of you who can't quite be like Audrey and have your hair cut while on holiday in Rome...this blog is for you!

Just think of that feeling as you walk out of the hair salon with shiny, glamourous, bouncy new locks. 

The wonders it does for your image and self esteem.

People ask "have you just had your hair done?"

You reply "yeah, yeah I have actually"

They confirm "it looks brilliant!"

Mood lifted = A Good day =  Happy people 

= Fun, laughter & good times

(and it cost a whole lot less than a holiday!)

When choosing a new hairstyle, the majority of women leave it up to their hairdresser to guide them and decide on a new look, and here at Alice that is what we love to do...we know what we are talking about and have experience to boot and therefore love to help you.

However, it's important to remember there are a few aspects to consider before you set your heart on a style you might have seen on someone else:

Do you have a short or wide forehead; long or short neck; wide or narrow shoulders,

What colour suits your skin tone; what is your lifestyle and personality?

These all play a pivotal role in selecting your new style,

THE SHAPE OF YOUR FACE is however, the main determinant of which hairstyles you will suit best. As we all want to look our best right?!!

So, before you say "Highlights, Cut and Action!", first establish your face shape by standing in front of a mirror with a piece of soap in your hand. Relax your chin and trace the silhouette, the outline of your face, with the soap on the mirror. Stand back and one of the below shapes will be prominent.

It is possible to have a combination face shape, e.g an oval face with a sweetheart chin, it is therefore advisable to read the notes pertaining to the 'sweetheart face' because you will have some restrictions in your choice of hairstyles.

Remember, we are here to help, so if you are confused...just ask us!

Oval face Slightly tapered towards chin: 

Best hair options:  

Any hairstyle an short, medium or longer hair length suit this face shape 

(yes, ovals you are the lucky ones!) 

Sweetheart face very tapered towards chin: 

Best hair options: 

Longer and softer into the neck, 

Less height over the top of head

Hair parted down the side

Soft feathered side fringe

Avoid:

Extremely short hair (chin looks pointier)

Height over top of head (elongates face)

Hair parted in the middle

Short, solid fringe (full cheeks will look fuller)

Round face Hardly tapered towards chin

Best Hair options: 

Hair tucked behind ears

Some height over head, length into neck

Soft curls or a straight style

Avoid: 

Short hair feathered onto face (face looks rounder)

Very short hair and extremely curly round styles (cheeks have no definition)

Square face Cheeks taper into chin

Best hair options: 

Long layered hair

Shoulder length with softness

A little height on top of head

Avoid: 

Very short back and sides (can look masculine)
Open neck
Long hair parted down the centre (shortens face creating width and squareness)

All right you gorgeous people...remember to wash the soap off the mirror!

Have a glorious weekend...I bet someone out there is going to go and rent some Audrey Hepburn movies after that wee teaser.

AND stay fresh, glossy and glorious with our help

ALICE HAIR SALON    03 443 5678    

Talk to you soon xxx

It's Friday...but are you happy?

 The winter blues are settling in and everyone seems to be so busy with hectic schedules and mundane tasks...aside from a fresh new do with some of the girls @alicehairwanaka we have researched a few other tips to keep you happy and motivated over the winter.  Sure this is a bit of a bizarre tangent on hair...but we just want to keep you happy!

Like this guy. He is STOKED!

If you find you're not quite as enthusiastic as him about life today then here are some tips:

• We have been told that rather than apparently focussing on a lifetime of happiness one should focus on flourishing in our day-to-day lives.  The website authentichappiness.com provides a survey to identify your top 5 strengths from a list of 24, Dr Martin Seligman believes that if you incorporate the 5 strengths into your lifestyle  and develop new ways to use each characteristic you will develop greater wellbeing and satisfaction with life.

• The next step is to set aside 10 minutes before you go to bed every day for a week to write down what went well today and why.  Apparently the long-lasting effects on your sense of wellbeing will be seen and you will be less depressed, happier and addicted to this exercise six month from now.

• In the salon we recommend getting out there and getting active, exercise releases endorphins which motivate you to keep going and are often dubbed 'happy hormones.  We also recommend tasty treats (especially if you have done your exercise before hand) chocolate, coffee, wine, cheese just a few of these naughty treats

• Probably our best advice would be LAUGH, get together with your girlfriends, man-friends, family or whoever you can relax around and have a good old giggle!

Now we are not at all saying that all of our readers are depressed by any means...but we all have our good days and our bad days and if you are having a sluggish one then why not try something new?

I must admit,
I spent 5 minutes writing down 5 things that had gone well in my day and why I believe they had and if anything it certainly reminded me how much control I have over my day.  It also made me think about what I could do tomorrow to make it a good one.
I mean It was all very exciting...

e.g 1) My children ate their vegetables because I made a smiley face out of them and fed them before they were over-tired and over-hungry 
You can see how this makes you dwell on the positive rather than the negative like...
e.g 2) My child told me he hated how I cut square peanut butter sandwiches and that all the good mums cut them in triangles...awesome!

ANYWAY!!!! What we are really trying to say is
FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE BITS, HANG IN THERE...THE DAYS ARE COLD AND TRYING..BUT LIFE IS PRETTY AWESOME (most of the time)

Now, we can't sell you this:

but...we can freshen up your hair style and have a laugh with you while you sip your tea or coffee.

Call us 03 443 5678 or pop in to 62 Ardmore st.  

It's the shortest day of the year

...Wow, where does the time go?

I guess that means we are one step closer to summer...not that winter has really hit home yet!
Seeing as we do live in an Alpine Resort, and all want some sliding action, it's time to ask...

is everyone doing their snow dance? It goes something like this:

Reckon you can beat that?

Make or find the BEST SNOW DANCE VIDEO 

 and WIN a $30 voucher to spend in the salon towards a cut or colour!!!

To enter: Either post your video on youtube and comment with the link or email us your video at thinkalicehair@gmail.com and we will post them up on our blog for everyone to vote.

Go on, what are you waiting for?...we all want the snow to start falling, and we all want a discount on our lovely locks. So get dancing people!!!!

We are busy little bees in the salon today, seems the lack-of -needing-a-hat situation is keeping everyones hair looking marvellous!
We really want to spread the love and have you all feeling good about yourself so here is

Todays Hair tip:

Argon oil is an awesome product used to reduce breakage and frizziness.

It creates silky smooth hair by restoring moisture loss in your tresses. 

Argan oil can be used on wet or dry hair as a styling product, a treatment and can be mixed with your other hair products

You only need a small amount (about the size of a 20c piece)

We recommend Joico K-Pak color therapy Argan oil ONLY $10

Come on down and see what it is all about, we're at 62 Ardmore st (opposite BP)

Just look for the bright lights on this cloudy day.

 Lots of love until next time

The girls at ALICE  xxx