Hairdresser on Fire

AvocadoJen’s wedding.

Reagan — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:40:26 +0000

My friend Jen (avocadojen to you insta-friends!) got married last weekend. I’d love to post some more pics with her hair and beautiful flower crown, but today I’ll 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 she’s clearly the special one.

The other bridesmaid, Kylie, and I wore these beautiful green ACNE gowns that we got from Barney’s NY. I’m so lucky to have a very close friend who works there and treats me to an occasional discount. I’ll wear this beaut’ many more times. Kylie and I didn’t 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 groom’s-lady and I’m really hoping someone got a good picture of her hair, because the back was a braided creation!

Some of my friends walked by Roberta’s 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 they’d never seen a sillier wedding dancer in their lives. Which wasn’t hard for me to believe, because I cannot tear myself away from the dance floor at a wedding.

More to come! And it’s time I did some more tutorials!

Photos by Laurie Sales

Hair Answers: Confidence

Reagan — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:55:24 +0000

Q by Kim: I’ve been a hair dresser for a couple of years. I still struggle with my confidence level with people. Sometimes I don’t 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. I’ll 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 isn’t every-day, but it’s not all that uncommon either. In any case, here is how I handle it…I walk away while the client is getting shampood, and give myself a pep talk. I usually say (in my head so my co-workers don’t think I’m 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 I’m pretty and good at making nutella sandwiches, which isn’t related to hair, but I’m just a believer in speaking kindly to yourself in general. And it’s 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 men’s cuts, so I ask her what she did with that one guy’s hairline. Or if I see someone use a certain product for curly hair that I wouldn’t 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 I’ve 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?

Met Ball

Reagan — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:34:43 +0000

I have gone through this photo gallery from NY Magazine’s “The Cut” blog 4 times. I love the Met Ball. My salon spent the last two weeks making wigs for the event, which added to the excitement of the evening. I look forward to seeing the beautiful gowns, hair and make up more than any other red carpet event of the year. This year, all my favorite looks were people who had their hair up, which is funny because I love long-down hair more than anything else on the planet. But there is such a statement made when hair is warn up. And these ladies nailed it..

I can’t stop looking at Nicole Richie’s eyes. She’s like a hungry vampire. And I would have definitely worn a deep wine colored lip like her to the “punk” themed ball.

Blake Lively’s body was made for gown wearing. She is almost always a favorite. If I could pull off a sleeky pony like her, I’d never wear it down..but have you seen her hair down? I mean…

Strappy pointy shoes, cut-out dress, up hair. Emma Watson, ladies and gentelmen (slow clap).

Gwen Stefani, as usual pulls off the perfect balance of rocker and lady-like. Normally I would HATE a heavy chunk of hair randomly pulled out of a bun like above, but she’s convinced me to be accepting of it. Probably because of the way her top is tied. Asymmetry at it’s finest. This look is so her, which is my favorite thing about her. She is so Gwen, without being a one noter. Love. Yep, Love.

Dakota didn’t wear her hair up, but this dress is bananas in a good way. Maybe my very favorite of the night. Her hair was nice and naturally parted, not too straight, and not too fussy by being brushed to the side. Any longer, any straighter and I think it would have been too much. I remember when Dakota was a little girl, look at what a beauty she grew up to be!

Sienna Miller doubled her weight with this jacket. Seriously, I want to just try to lift the jacket to see how much it weighs. She looked awesome.

All photos from The Cut. Make sure to check out the whole Gallery!

Roaring 20s

Reagan — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:09:24 +0000

(Karrie’s gorgeous headband C/O Andrea’s Beau)

I think the motto for the way people did themselves up in the 1920s was “leave no accessories behind”. Diamonds and feathers piled up on top of pearls, beads, fringe, gloves, curls and bold lips. Amazing. I sometimes think I was meant to be friends with Daisy Buchanan on the Long Island Sound, long long ago.

So when my friend Kristin threw a 20s inspired costume party, I saw nothing but curls and diamonds in my hair’s future. I started with setting some finger waves in my hair with some Styling Cream by SachaJuan, and finished off by curling my ends (from the chin down) with this iron before combing them out with my Mason Pearson. I quickly put together this little headpiece with some trimming I picked up in midtown, and clipped on this jeweled piece I made for my sister’s wedding back in September. Here is a photo of my hair setting:

Costume parties are always fun when everyone gets into it. In NYC, there is always that moment of panic when you’re taking public transit to your destination, and you get a sense of what it will be like if you are the only one taking the theme seriously. Thankfully this was not the case for my friend Karrie and I, and Kristin’s friends all came very well prepared. Here are a few photos of the party..

Psst..how incredible was this venue? The penthouse of a downtown highrise with a wrap-around terrace for the best views of the city.

Yes, finger waves..if you’ll allow me to toot my own hair horn for a minute, I was kind of a young genius at them in beauty school on my mannequin. The state required a certain amount to be passed off, and I remember loving them and not understanding why everyone complained so much. I’ve done them quite often since then, however, they’re pretty hard to do on yourself! Towards the end of the party, when I was really ready to dance, I took off my headpiece and shook my hair out. I love the effect the finger waves had on my hair once it was completely shaken out, and I actually might start doing it more..for a daily kind of wear. (unfortunately it does take some time to set!)

Are you excited to see The Great Gatsby? Baz Luhrmann and Leonardo DiCaprio can do no wrong in my opinion. Plus the book is just really something special, I’ve read it three times!

Most photos by Ty Mecham, but some not.

All kinds of Collaborations

Reagan — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 02:28:38 +0000

I guess you could say Hairdresser On Fire has been on some kind of Halfie-Hiatus over the last few months..but only a halfie, because I’ve been super busybusy with collaborations. Along with the Physique 57 tutorial series, I’ve also done some videos recently with Divine Caroline! I’m very proud of them and hope you’ll take a look! I mean, they are full of some of the best/worst puns and one liners my career has ever seen. For instance, I proudly suggest grabbing “Mer-tinis” with your mer-friends after completing a beautiful Mermaid Pony.

RIGHT?

At least watch them so you can make fun of me! (I swear, as I’ve aged I’ve become nearly unembarrassable, much to the dismay (entertainment) of my friends and family.)

Below are the ten videos:

Mermaid Pony Tail (with a bungee)

Getting Volume with a blow dryer

Fishtail Headband

Thank you for reading, and also for watching! This team at Meredith/Divine Caroline is a lot of fun!

3 hair tutorials for your work out!

Reagan — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 13:49:04 +0000

I recently did a collaborative series of workout tutorials with Physique 57, featuring 3 ways to wear your hair in and out of the gym!

I hope you’ll go take a look. They include me, my friend Kristen, my friend Holly, and my friend Ty who photographed the series!

Click here for The Braid at the Barre with Holly

Click Here for the Pony Up with Kristen

And click here for the Zipper Braid at the Barre with Me

In A Hairry: The Date (60s Hair Headband)

Reagan — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 03:06:19 +0000

In this second episode of “In a Hairry”, I do my hair for a very special night in. Watch the video to not only see who this mystery date is, but also to see if I can complete my “60s Hair Headband” in time!

Hairdresser on Fire – In A Hairry – The Date from Joe Varca on Vimeo.

I’m not going to say that this has to be for Valentine’s day, but it does make good date hair, am I right? And when I say date, you know I mean a night out/in with any of the following: your boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, the Lifetime Movie Network, Netflix, your favorite Brazilian, some Chinese take-out, a good book, a glass/bottle of wine, your kids, your cats, etc.

Instructions for my 60s Hair Headband:

Part your hair as desired.

Grab a section of hair above your ear, but far enough down that it will be covered by the hair on top of your head.

Cross the section of hair to the other side of your head, smoothing as you go and pin in place.

Repeat on the other side.

Optional: Tease the crown of your head for more volume.

Theme song by Imagination Head and video Directed and Filmed by Joe Varca!

Curls made with this one inch Marcel iron
Stila Lipstain

29. And special hair.

Reagan — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 03:52:00 +0000

My 29th birthday was on Monday (February 4th). Yay! If you are interested, I’d love to share how I celebrated!

I had a plan to go to Verameat in the East Village and pick out a piece of jewelry for a present to myself with my friend Anna, but then we ended up going early because they had a huge sale on January 31st! I felt so lucky that Anna noticed the sale and told me about it. I was able to pick out a few pieces that I wouldn’t have splurged on otherwise. Like this spine duster and feather ring. I also bought a “little teeny” (as I call it) ring that goes inbetween my knuckles. Those rings have always reminded me of my mama, who wears more rings than anyone I know. My siblings and I joke that when she’s late for something, it’s because she’s still putting on rings.

On the day of, I celebrated pretty casually, but still had a beautiful dinner with some of my best girlfriends at a great restaurant downtown. We went to Freeman’s on the Lower East Side, where I had a white bean soup with a side of roasted brussles sprouts. My friends were so sweet to treat me to dinner and fancy drinks, which made me feel even more special considering it was nice enough of them to come out on such a cold night (which might be the worst part of a winter birthday!).

Jen, Me, Kristen, Karrie and Anna.

Even though it was a cozy and casual event, which is really just the way I like it, I still wanted to feel a little special. Lately, my “special” hair secret weapon is a row or two of clip in extensions! My friend Lacy has her own hair extensions company, and recently came out with a new line of ombre clip-ins. I trimmed them to my own length, and had my colorist ,Carla, gloss them to match my hair exactly. They blend perfectly, and just thicken up my hair a little more on the ends, which actually makes it look much longer! It’s perfect for someone like me, who likes almost no daily fuss or maintenance when it comes to my hair, but really likes to go all out once in a while. Plus, I have a drawer of hair in my bedroom which literally makes me laugh out loud every time I open it.

If you have a special occasion (or not!) coming up, and want fancy hair, please check out Laced Hair Extensions!

And I’ll be doing a tutorial on how to put in your clip-ins soon!

The best brush for detangling.

Reagan — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 02:59:59 +0000

This brush recently appeared at my salon in the shampoo sink area, and I’ve enjoyed it so much, it really just needs to be shared. It’s by LuxorPro and is just called “The Wet Brush”, and is meant to detangle your hair quickly and painlessly even in the shower. I’m not sure if you know this, but at a salon, long hair can easily tangle up while being shampooed at the sinks, because it kind of balls up on top of itself in there, rather than having room to hang freely like in the shower. It can really set a stylist back if they have to spend ten minutes combing out someone’s tangles, so this brush is my idea of convenience! I’m not sure how, but it really does glide through the hair, removing tangles so quickly!

It would be so great for those heads of hair that are long and incredibly thick and tangle easily, or for children with very tender scalps. I have heard people mention they’re also great for extensions, but I haven’t used them for that purpose yet.

Get one here! I like the black, which has a cool matte finish.

Also, detangle even quicker with these two leave ins!

It’s a 10
SachaJuan

Men’s hair with a razor

Reagan — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 09:34:39 +0000

I’ve been using a straight razor more and more on my man haircuts these days. I’m not really a fan of that crunchy hard “gel” look, so any and all texture that can be added to their hair just means less product needed for styling. One of my very favorite clients, Clay, (who I should mention is engaged to my good friend Jen B!) only uses a spritz or two of Ocean Mist, which he discovered because Jen uses it! The combination of the razor with the salty spray and his natural waves is like money in the bank. I don’t know how it’s like money in the bank, but I heard a rapper sing that and I knew I wanted to use it on my blog (I believe in honesty even when it proves that you’re a huge nerd.).

Oh, don’t let me forget the neckline! Undercutting the neckline so it lays softly is the key. I need a picture, don’t I?

Hairstylists, what’s your favorite trick for man haircuts? I like calling it a man haircut. It sounds caveman-ish.