I just got home from a glorious trip to France and Italy with a few friends. We saw beautiful things, ate delicious food and drank the best wine.

andI didnt do my hair a single time.

I brought a curling iron, but the European converters made short work of that. I opted not to pack a suitcase full of leaky liquids, so I also didnt have much in the hair product category. I suppose this was my very lowest maintenance trip Ive ever taken (not to mention my luggage was lost the first three days)! I relied on dry shampoo, my pocket Mason Pearson hairbrush, and my trusty old hair knot (ties hair up in an actual knot and forgets about it for forever) to get me by. I keep toying with chopping off my hair in the fall, and then I remember the love affair I have with my easy, long hair. So, theres that.

Holy smokes I havent posted on Hairdresser On Fire since the fall!

In other news..

Im posting hair relateds on a new(ish) insta feed I created in the middle of the night when I was Jetlagging hard after a trip to Southeast Asia in March. Feel free to follow! And tag your haircuts/Dos if youre coming in to see me!

Insta:

@snipsnip_reagan

Miss you all dearly <3

I have been working on the best jobs lately. In September I did a little work shooting a TV pilot (cross your fingers!), this Monday Im shooting 6 Holiday hair how to videos, and next week Im off to South Carolina to teach a class on styling. I love being in the salon, but find that getting out for shoots, education or other creative projectskeeps me feeling excited for work and my skills sharpened.

I dont think I could work in an industry that doesnt provide so much variety.

I woke up this morning and realized I have my dream job.

Sorry, I havent been around..Ive been tied up.

But I do hope you have a spooky and exciting Halloween. Ive already worn two costumes this year, Ill post the other one soon!

Stay safe out there my little Ghouls!

Im so excited to announce that Ill be running the ING New York Marathon this year. Im in the early stages of my training program, but the miles are building up swimmingly (runningly?) despite this blasted July heat. If I can only cut back on the popsicles and fro-yum, Ill be good to go.

On November 3rd, 2013, Ill be running on behalf of a fantastic charity called Crutches 4 Kids. Its a small, but great little charity that helps provide injured children in third world countries with proper walkers, canes and crutches. As you can imagine, these crutches arent all that expensive, so your donations will really help a huge number of children who would otherwise not be able to play or attend school on their own.

I feel fortunate every day to have a healthy body that functions just as I need it to, and Im so excited to have the chance to use it in a way that will help others who dont have that luxury.

Id consider myself very lucky to have your support throughout my training, and it would mean a great deal to me to receive any donations that you feel comfortable contributing towards Crutches 4 Kids. You can also help by forwarding this to anyone you think might be interested in helping.

Lastly, if youre a local, for crying out loud come out on marathon Sunday and cheer me on! Ill be the girl with the huge, impossibly grateful grin. I cant promise I wont tackle hug you at the finish line.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

A million Xs and two million Os,

Reagan Breinholt

I get asked frequently on instagram about the technique my colorist (Carla Naya) uses to highlight my hair. Instead of foils, there are large panels of hair taken and painted with free hand, which looks scary if youve never had it done. Please enjoy the video Joe, Carla and I made to better explain the art of Hair Painting!

HDOF Hair Painting from Joe Varca on Vimeo.

My friend Jen (avocadojen to you insta-friends!) got married last weekend. Id love to post some more pics with her hair and beautiful flower crown, but today Ill just post a few of my hair and crown! All the women in the wedding wore a little braid detail and a little flower (or not so little) detail. In my head I kept saying this wedding was urban hippie, which felt right. The wedding party was put up in an incredible loft in Williamsburg, and the wedding was held at a cool outdoor pizza place in Bushwick.

Here are some photos! The hair was fun, the gowns were fun, the wedding was real fun.

I made myself a little Caesar style flower crown, that only went around the back, because I decided the bride should be the only one with flowers in the front..since shes clearly the special one.

The other bridesmaid, Kylie, and I wore these beautiful green ACNE gowns that we got from Barneys NY. Im so lucky to have a very close friend who works there and treats me to an occasional discount. Ill wear this beaut many more times. Kylie and I didnt have plans to match, but we both loved this color and shape so much that it just worked out that way! Tara, the redheaded cutie, was a grooms-lady and Im really hoping someone got a good picture of her hair, because the back was a braided creation!

Some of my friends walked by Robertas that night and remembered I was at a wedding there that night, so they peeked in the tents to see if they could spot me. They said theyd never seen a sillier wedding dancer in their lives. Which wasnt hard for me to believe, because I cannot tear myself away from the dance floor at a wedding.

More to come! And its time I did some more tutorials!

Photos by Laurie Sales

Q by Kim: Ive been a hair dresser for a couple of years. I still struggle with my confidence level with people. Sometimes I dont feel good enough in my skill level, but many people like my work. Any advice?

A by Reagan: Yes! I have great advice, if I do say so myself. Ill break this up into three parts.

Part 1, Self peptalks. Sometimes a bit of a project comes in and sits in my chair. It could be that their hair is harder than normal, that they want something particularly challenging, or maybe that the client themselves are just a little picky and difficult. This certainly isnt every-day, but its not all that uncommon either. In any case, here is how I handle itI walk away while the client is getting shampood, and give myself a pep talk. I usually say (in my head so my co-workers dont think Im a lunatic), Hey, Reags! you have done this a million times! She/He is going to LOVE your work!, etc. Sometimes I also tell myself that Im pretty and good at making nutella sandwiches, which isnt related to hair, but Im just a believer in speaking kindly to yourself in general. And its nice to hear those things sometimes.

Part 2, Ask lots of questions. Sometimes I humble myself by picking my co-workers brains. There is a girl I work with who is a ninja at mens cuts, so I ask her what she did with that one guys hairline. Or if I see someone use a certain product for curly hair that I wouldnt have thought of using..I like to know why. It helps so much to have a nerdy little industry chat with people whose work you respect.

Part 3, Continue your education. I still take cutting classes. I still go to hair shows sometimes too. My salon provides styling and cutting demos that are so informative. Trends come and go, and as long as you want your craft to stay up to date, take classes! Work on models! Practice on your friends! One of the most talented editorial stylists Ive ever worked with used to ask me all the time if she could try things out on me. Keeping my skills honed definitely helps my confidence.

Bonus, Trust yourself! Early on, all I cared about was pleasing the client..whether it was at the salon, at a wedding or out on a shoot. And I never felt completely sure of the results. Now, I realize that I attract people who are coming to me because they want me to work my true work on them. I listen to their requests, but do my very own spin on it. They booked me for this job because they like my work and they want my perspective, after all.

What do you think? I have a lot of friends in various careers who feel a lack of confidence from time to time..have you experienced this?