I want to share some photos of my London trip soon, but first (and most importantly) I want to talk about the hats!

I’ve written about my love for the British hat culture before and now that I’ve seen it in person my love for it only burns deeper. First I tried on a few in a vintage store.

Then on my second day in London, as if by magic, I walked past a wedding. Hats galore. Now I’m pretty sure this was a rich and powerful wedding, because the bride and groom were married in St. Paul’s Cathedral, and that is pretty serious. Also, we caught a peek at a program and later googled the couple to find they are rich and powerful (and sexy!). This might explain the wonder and amazement of the hats. They were spectacular. 

 I really must invest in more hats.

Hi guys!

I’ve gotten the most awesome emails lately, I’m excited to talk about a lot of stuff on here. I’ve been really busy with starting at a new salon last week, so Hairdresser On Fire hasn’t been updated like it should be.

Above all else, I’m excited for more tutorials. I love making tutorials. They are so fun.

More to come, I miss this place.

I have no idea who to credit for the hair/make up/photography with these stunning pictures, because they have been saved in a folder on my desktop for months. I love everything about these pictures. One of my dreams in life is to appear to have precious metal hair like these ladies. I’m sure Jake could figure it out for me. So, basically I’m overly obsessed with shiny hair that looks like gold. I especially like the top one.

I have a client who texts me with all kinds of code words. I’ll get one randomly and laugh so hard. Here is an example of what one might say….

“Hey curlypants! Do you think you have time for scissorhands and a full monty this afternoon?”

Translation:

Curlypants=Reagan’s nickname
Scissorhands=Haircut
Full Monty=Blow out, Curling iron and set in pins (she takes them out later)

It makes me laugh and it also makes me feel like a secret agent doing super spy hairstyling.

Q by Mikaela: I have long (as in mid/lower back length), fine, VERY straight strawberry blonde hair. I love that it always looks smooth, sleek, and shiny, but I feel like I can’t do much with it. It doesn’t really stay curled or braided, and I feel like I’ve exhausted the option of headbands and such. Can you give me any advice about hair styles I can try, or maybe some products I could use that would help? I suppose I’m just getting tired of wearing my hair pretty much the same way all the time.

A by Reagan: My first thought after reading this question is that I’m wondering why you can’t braid your hair. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it is too slick and slicks it’s way right on out of that braid. The best advice I can give you, is to use product like crazy. Got it? Like crazy, Mikaela! I’m talkin’ root lifters, mousses, waxes and texturizing sprays. Your hair is too soft and silky (who would have thought that is a bad thing? It’s not, but we need change sometimes!) to hold styles, so you need it to be dirty and grippy.

I would start out with a root lifter and/or a mousse. This should be done on towel dried hair. Then spray a texturizing (like the Garnier wonder waves I talked about a few posts back) all over. If you are doing this on dirty hair, nix the mousse and just use a texturizing spray and root lifter then mush around with your fingers (make sure you are getting it in evenly and not over dosing on product. Once your hair is dry, rub a small amount of wax together in your hands and run through your hair. By now, your hair should have a good amount of grip. Braid away, my love!

And if a regular braid still isn’t holding, try what I call a “mermaid braid”. See below. I often do this braid in many variations. I’ll do identical to the picture, or I’ll do a center part and braid both sides. There is absolutely no reason your hair shouldn’t hold this. Especially if it’s secured at the bottom with some heavy duty criss-crossed bobby pins.

Next thing, when using a curling iron, use a much smaller barrel than what you’re going for. Maybe that is a 3/4 inch just to get loose waves! Try wrapping the hair around the iron instead of clamping it. I’ve been doing this for as long as I can remember, and it creates a really beautiful curl/wave. Do this after you’ve used all the above products (minus the wax). Go get ‘em Mikaela!

Q by Andea: Is there a limit on the number of questions I can ask you
I cut bangs and I don’t like them.  They are cut in a triangle shape (that’s the best way I can describe it, since you do hair you probably know what I mean) and they are getting too long to really wear as bangs anymore.  When I don’t have bangs I like to part my hair really far over on the side, but now when I do that I get long hairs mixed in with my non bangs and it looks weird.  Is there some way I can tell my stylist to cut it where it won’t look weird while it grows out?

A by Reagan: This is actually a question that a lot of people can relate to. I call myself a “Bang Pusher” because when my clients are getting tired of their hair, I often recommend bangs. Bangs really change your look, but they grow out pretty quickly and can be styled a lot of different ways at each length/stage. I am always prepared for the chance that they might not like them since it is such a big change, so here are some ways to help grow them out!

Ask your stylist to part the bangs in a half circle instead of a triangle. I often cut bangs in a triangle-ish half circle combo myself, because I know how fickle I am with my own parting throughout my day to day styling. The half circle will help it with the blending into the rest of your hair.

Start the framing or angling higher up. Tell your stylist to start the framing (if there is any)  closer to where your bangs end so there wont be so much of a disconnect…making your long bangs look intentional instead of screaming “I’m growing out my bangs!!”.

Lots of texture in those bangs. Make the ends nice and soft. Blunt looks weird when growing out.

Have your stylist cut your bangs dry. It is a much more accurate length since wet will shrink up so much after dried. I am a dry bang cutter. And proud to say so.

Last but not least, try parting your hair in a diagonal, instead of a perfect line so that it starts with a heavy part, but ends up being a center part the further back it goes.

*there is no limit to how many questions you can ask. wink.

ps I hope this answer is easy to understand. I was visualizing a lot of stuff in my head and just writing it down as fast as possible. Like I couldn’t write fast enough for all the ideas. You know that feeling?

Also, bang blow drying is going in my “tutorialize” basket. you guys are in for it…

Q by Tarryn: I’m wondering what I should be putting on my hair (especially for protection) before I straighten it with a flat iron. What do you recommend? Right now I’m using Argan oil and a leave-in conditioner although I often put the oil in after my hair is straight. Thoughts? Thanks!
PS- I just noticed the super cute shirt you’re wearing in your pic looks exactly like the one I want from Urban Outfitters. Is it the same?
A by Reagan: As far as post-shampoo products, I think you’re doing great Tarryn! Pat yourself on the hiney for me for doing a good job! Or back…

Leave in conditioner and any kind of oil are a great way to add moisture to hair you are doing mechanical damage on. Especially a flat iron. The only other product I would recommend is a deep conditioning treatment once every few weeks or more, depending on the shape your hair is in. You can buy a deep conditioner at any salon, or even just go in early to your next apt for the treatment. They are usually meant to be left on for about 15-20 minutes.

I’m glad you used the word “protect” instead of “repair”, because the only way to repair damage, is to cut it off! It’s a shame, because so many products claim to repair broken or split ends. That is why a good conditioner, leave in, and moisturizing products make such a difference. They often have proteins in them that can strengthen the hair to prevent damage.

Another great question!

Yes, my shirt is from Urban Outfitters

BTW this picture of Giselle doesn’t have much to do with anything, except for that she has amazing hair.

Guys, I’m not lying.

I plan on doing some tutorials.

I’m hoping to do them soon. I have like 20 I want to do.

I am having issues with one or more of the following things:

~time

~models

~video editing

I mostly feel bad because I told you all to buy marcel irons and then I got tons of emails that were like “hey, we don’t know how to use these!”

Probably next week I’ll start on some. I think about it every day when I’m supposed to be listening to Jake talk about bills or life.

Love,

Reagan

Q by Ashley: I have a two year old with hair identical to the girls in the photo you posted here. No one in our home has curly hair so my partner and I are drawing a blank on how to care for it. We wash her hair about once a week, some times less and use a conditioner every time she bathes to remove the knots (with our fingers). Beyond that its a total mess. Is there a no fuss (and natural) way to tame her hair? Would you please post about caring for curly/wavy hair?
Pretty please and Thank you!
-A

A by Reagan: Buy this product. This is my biggest seller by a landslide. I recommend this product to almost all of my clients, many men included, but as soon as I find out they have kids it goes from a recommended product, to a must have product. This is the best de-tangler I have ever used. It is a leave-in conditioner, a smoothing cream, a de-tangler, anti-frizz and a little hold all in one.  Kids hate to have their hair brushed, and it can become a rat’s nest (as my mom often called my hair growing up), so a great de-tangler is the most important, if not the only product you need for children.

When using this product on your daughter’s dry hair, you would want to spray just water on it first to get damp on top and wet on ends, then spray It’s a Ten in the palm of your hands, rub together and then apply evenly to her hair. Then gently comb or brush through. I usually spray enough in my hands to be about the same size as a small grape, but you’ll learn what is right for her after you’ve used a few times. Also, you can spray directly into her hair, I just prefer my hands first so that I can deposit onto the hair more carefully.

This product is kind of expensive, but very very worth it. Good luck!

forgive me for the not so nice post I am about to write…

I don’t understand it. The first thing it seems you do to prepare for being the new “bachelorette” is to get some really bad extensions. Now, I don’t watch the Bachelor/ette, but the show is unavoidable with it’s commercials, media coveriage and the fact that my favorite show is “the soup”. It seems like everywhere I turn, Alli’s yellow-y, straw-like extensions are staring me down. In Alli’s defense, it was probably the show’s idea as part of the dolling up phase, and they were probably provided for her. They also probably had all the budget in the world to spend on them, so why so straw-like? Why such poor blending?

And I know this image has nothing to do with the rest of the post. I even think this is when she still had her real hair…I just can’t handle the styling of this picture. Why is she wearing dirty Chuck Taylors? Why is she wearing such an ill-fitting wedding dress? Why is there a velvet-y curtain behind her? I saw this photo in several magazines promoting the show. I don’t get it….

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