(I love this picture because it was around 11pm last night, I had been asleep for almost an hour like an old person, and I woke up dying of thirst. When I came out of the bedroom, I saw Jake in the midst of a full blown photo shoot with a guitar as his model. I walked over to say hi and Jake took this picture. So, this is what I look like with no make up and an hour or more of sleep under my belt/beastie boys tee.)

So, here is my hair! There is no trace of pink in it. I guess it’s been about 3 weeks, and I have probably washed it about 4 times since it was colored. The pink only lasted one or two of those washes. A few of my clients have been visibly upset to come in for hair cuts and not see any pink. Sorry guys! Maybe I’ll go pinky-er next time!

So, I wanted to follow up with my last post about preserving your hair color. I got a comment that was something I had never even considered, so I thought I would address it.

Q: “I have another question. So you said to not shampoo your hair right after it’s been colored, so do you rinse it with cold water to wash out the excess dye? Do you keep rinsing the next couple of days and then wash it with color safe shampoo/conditioner? Also how do you feel about box dye? I know it’s not as up to par with salon work but I’ve used box dye on others before, and they’ve always worked pretty well. What do you think? “

A: Yes, you rinse and shampoo/condition when washing out the dye. Preferably with cooler water, especially if you are doing a gloss (but a gloss probably wont be shampooed out!). There are chemicals in hair color that need to be shampooed out or they will continue processing in your hair until the dye has oxidized completely.

As for continuing to rinse the next few days, I’d say no. You are trying to avoid opening the hair’s cuticle which is what is locking the color in!

Box dyes. So this is the main reason I wanted to answer this question. I feel very strongly against box dyes. I really really do. There are two main reasons I say to avoid box dyes forever, and here they are….

~You most likely don’t know what you are doing. Even if you follow the directions on the back of the box, there is so much more to it than a list of 5 steps. There are colorists that assist for 3 years before going on to the coloring floor, it is really best to keep it to a professional. You could over-process, over-lap and/or cause breakage and damage. A professional knows things that you don’t (like all professions!). That is not an insult.

~The products are very cheap! I’m telling you, there is a huge difference in quality of professional hair color, versus grocery store hair color. In a salon, they will tailor the developer and color formula to what your hair type/base color/texture is. A box has no idea if you’ve had a Japanese relaxer before or if you’ve been previously lightened, or how porous your hair is.

Color is not easy. It might seem like it is, but there is so much to it! There are very few occasions I’d say it’s ok to do your own color, and at that point I’d still say to never buy it from a grocery store. Always use a good quality professional line.

Great questions!

Q by Sarah: So one of my BFFs is getting married this June, and I am the Maid of Honor. This is the third wedding for our group of friends, and in both of the previous two weddings, everybody’s looked really classic and timeless as far as bridesmaid hair and attire go. For this wedding, we thought it would be awesome if one of my Maid of Honor duties was having a really of-the-moment, trendy hairstyle on the big day. Ie. one that will be dated later so that we can laugh at the pictures in 20 years. Any thoughts on really of-the-moment, trendy Maid of Honor hair? My dress is one of those one-shoulder deals.

A by Reagan: This is definitely a fun question. The first style that popped into mind when I thought of trendy wedding hair, was long, loose wavy hair. This is how every bride/bridal party seems to be wearing their hair these days. I admit, at my own Vegas wedding just over 4 years ago, I did long, loose, flowing waves. It is more popular than ever now. It is a very Victoria’s Secret look. I think the look will keep around for a while, but it won’t be popular forever! I think one day you’ll look at the photos and know it was a 2011ish wedding. Remember when everyone wore their hair up for their wedding? Up-dos were the big thing? Most people are wearing it down. Down hair is the trendiest of all wedding trends right now. Also, look at the red carpet these days, down hair is all over that business too.

If you want to accessorize it in a trendy way, the bride can wear a birdcage veil, and the bridesmaids can wear a feather/flower piece.

The second look I thought of, is the topknot. The topknot (bun right smack on the top of your head), is definitely a big look right now. It can be done a lot of ways. You can make it slightly fuzzy for a soft/romantic look, thrown together for a messy look, teased to make it big like my party bun, or slick and smooth for a formal look. You can do it in the middle or off-centered. Do the topknot!

(i know the Mandy Moore topknot is very similar to a classic wedding bun, but it’s the fact that it is so high up that makes it trendy!)

Thanks, Sarah! I hope I get a picture of the look you choose!

I got an email from a reader who wanted to know if she could still wear her hair long even though she is now in her 30s. She read something online that said no, and wanted my opinion. Well, my opinion is YES. Want to know if I think you can wear your hair long in your 40s? Yes! I think you can. I have lots of long haired clients in their 30s and 40s who I think look great. They keep it trimmed, healthy and styled.

If you are still worried, here are some pictures of beautiful ladies to convince you.

Reese-34.

Kate-37.

Jennifer-40

You want long hair in your 30s? You wear that long hair. And you love it.

(In case any of you are wondering, I would wear Jennifer’s dress everywhere if I had it. Club, party, gym, bed. Everywhere.)

Q by fluffy haired Julie: My hair is super, super, super thick and whenever I get it cut, I beg the stylist to thin it out with shears within an inch of its life. That keeps it flat for about 2 days. I finally purchased a pair of awesome thinning shears at Sephora and hacked away at my own hair and didn’t see any problem… but is this bad? Are there any tricks to using thinning shears that you can tell me? Should I stop doing this to myself and just see a stylist every week?

A by Reagan: Here is what I have to say about thinning your own hair…You are walking dangerous territory, FHJ. Dangerous. Please stop. Ok?

Here is what might be happening (in my expert opinion). You’re overly thinning your hair. You are creating lots of short hairs at the root which are then making a perfect volumizing “cushion” for the rest of your hair to poof off of.  The short hairs aren’t weighed down at all since there isn’t enough length to pull them down, so they are springing up, making your hair bigger. You are doing to your hair, what I do to women who have pixie cuts, and men who have faux hawks, when I want their hair to stand up on it’s own. To take out the weight in the ends, I texturize (by thinning) it so that it will stand straight up. I’m not sure if this makes sense to you, it is a little hard to explain.

My best advice to you, if you are planning on thinning you’re own hair, is to do it no more than every 3 or 4 weeks. Because you are just going to make chaos in your hair and destroy your stylists cut if you do it more often than that.

Here are a few tips for thinning your own hair:
1. Don’t thin any higher than half-way up the hair shaft.
2. Take small sections.
3. Start out doing the underneath part of your hair, thin each section starting half-way up, then gradually as you move towards the top section of your hair, thin farther down on the hair shaft. (for example, the hair growing out of the top of your head, will only be thinned on the ends. The hair growing underneath, will be thinned a little higher up.).

Also FHJ, don’t be so quick to grab the thinning sheers every time you have huge hair. It could be that you need a heavier conditioner to weigh down your thick locks, or maybe you just need to smooth it out with a blow dryer or flat iron!

Good luck, and thanks for your question!

Q by Claire: ***I have totally thin hair but I don’t want my hair shorter than ponytail length. Which cut is best for me? Also, I live in Australia. DBJ.

A by Reagan: Not to get all mushy on your Australian a’, but my heart really goes out to people with super duper thin hair. It is hard to feel beautiful when you aren’t happy with your hair. I have some really good tips for you though, Claire! So get pumped!

Tip number one-Get a trim often. Really thin hair tends to lose it’s shape much faster than thick hair. Keeping your ends trimmed up will make it look fuller.

Tip number two-Blunt cuts are best. Don’t let anyone use a razor or texturizing sheers on you. Avoid point cutting too. You want your ends blunt so that it doesn’t look stringy.

Tip number three-Avoid too many layers. It will make the length thinner. You can have long layers if you insist, but nothing shorter than an inch or two above the length.

Tip number four-Bangs (fringe) are awesome. I really try to talk my super thinnies out of lots of layers, like I was saying in tip three, so a straight, square cut with bangs makes for a nice style. Bangs prevent your cut from looking boring, and gives you a beautiful shape. There are many lengths and ways to wear bangs, so find something that you like with your face shape. A round face looks better with sweepy bangs.

Tip number five-Clip in extensions. You could also go for more permanent extensions, but those are very expensive and have to be redone every few months. I have clients who clip in a couple of rows when they go out, and it creates so much fullness. Remember, you can get extensions the same length as your hair if you don’t want your hair longer. Just a few rows will make a big difference. Give it a try!

Here are a few pictures of the ideal thinny hair cut.

Nicol Richie has extremely thin hair. This haircut is perfect for her. She has extensions all over the place for thickness, even in her bangs! I can tell, cause it’s my job to tell.

Agyness Deyn has a very similar cut, but shorter and with a heavier fringe. This look will be best between her length, and just an inch or two past your shoulders. You don’t have to have super short hair just because it’s thin!

***I wrote my own question for Claire, just to get to the point. Don’t be offended, Claire. I want you to be my friend, and one day I’m going to make it down to Australia.

ps, I give up with the pictures. no matter how I try, they never center properly. Boo.

Q by Stacie: Ok, so here’s my question.  My hair is dry and color-treated and fairly long (about 5ish inches past my shoulders).  I end up putting my hair up in a bun nearly every day, not a pulled super tight bun and I do use only bobby pins to secure it.  I feel like maybe I’m further damaging my hair by wearing it up so often, what do you think?  I get regular trims and everything but I am just feeling guilty about the breakage I might be causing.  So, should I be feeling guilty about this or should I reserve my guilty feelings for other things, like my kid’s cavities?

A by Reagan: I’m no dentist, but I say, worry about your kids’ cavities before worrying about bun damage. If the bun is causing any damage, it would be pretty minimal. Unless you are using those old fashioned hair ties with the little metal connecting piece, you’re probably ok wearing your hair up every day, especially if it’s up loosely. You want to avoid twisting it too tight when you can (even wet, it’s so bad to wring out your wet hair by twisting!), so a loose bun is fine.

When you’re looking at what your hair goes through every day, there is damage everywhere! From the collar of your shirt, pulling it up, the sun, polution, too much brushing, playing with it (holler if that’s you…Holla!), etc. These are all kind of hard to avoid, so I just try to do the most important things to keep it healthy. Avoid too much chemical processing, avoid too much heat and keep it trimmed up.

A bun isn’t going to kill you Stace. And lookie here! I wear a bun too!

Thanks for your question Stacie. Nice buns!

This is an old question that I have been waiting to answer until the weather is colder. Because colder means dryer, and dryer means more static. Since I waited so long to answer this question, I can’t find it! So, to who asked this question, I’m sorry if I don’t answer it specifically enough, since I can’t remember everything you wrote. I’ll just make something up..

Q by Static Stephie: Help! My hair gets super static-y during the winter and I can’t stand it or get dates.

A by Reagan: This happens to me all the time. Especially since I wear a wool pea coat in the winter. I swear I look like a crazy person some days. So, definitely the dryness in the air creates a lot of static, so you want to keep your hair properly moisturized. I have found that using finishing oils and serums do the trick for the most part. I recommend this one.

If that doesn’t do the trick, or if you dont want to buy any new products (or presents for your hair), you can simply use a dryer sheet! It does wonders. The only reason I wouldn’t say to do this first, is because dryer sheets were made for laundry, not hair. And while I’m not sure of any bad effects it will have on your hair, I only use it when things are really bad. K?

First try rubbing the sheet in your hands, then run your hands over your hair. You can do it in a petting way rather than a combing way. Plus petting your hair has got to be good for its self esteem. If that isn’t doing the job, run the actual dryer sheet down your hair shaft until it is sufficiently de-static-ed. It will work. I prom’.

Love ya. Happy winter! (soon)

PS if we have time this weekend, we are going to film a Blake Lively Tutorial! I doubt we’ll have time, but I just want you on the edge of your office chairs. One is coming. Hooray.

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Q by Stephanie: Currently I cannot afford to get my hair trimmed by my stylist. (My hair is suffering!)  This means that I’m finding heaps of split ends. (seriously suffering!)  is it bad to trim them off, one by one?

A by Reagan: Stephanie, Stephanie, Stephanie….Of course it’s bad. Question answered.

I have a hunch you’re going to do it anyway. Let’s talk about this a little bit.

You’re supposed to get your hair cut every 8-10 weeks, but I know getting your hair cut is expensive. Personally, I think it should be treated like a hospital procedure (importance-wise, not scary-wise). It’s like this, you’re supposed to get your teeth cleaned and examined every year, and that’s pretty important, right? Let’s say getting your hair cut is that important, except let’s switch every year for every 8-10 weeks (12 weeks if you are one of those gifted healthy hairies). Some of my over-achiever clients come like every 3 or 4 weeks, and they get gold stars after the cut. Gold stars=blow outs.

Anyway, my point is, to keep your hair healthy, you need to trim it regularly. And I guess if you refuse to do that (shame on you), it’s probably not the worst thing to snip away at your own split ends. Otherwise they are going to start breaking off higher and higher, until you’re like “what the what? my hair totally stopped growing!”. Which isn’t true, but it does appear to stop growing due to the consistant breaking off of damaged ends.

Dang, you guys are going to make me very hated with your stylists.

So, while I’m not exactly giving you my blessing on this one, I have been too poor for a haircut in my lifetime. Now I can be too poor for everything and still have my haircut, hooray. If you really can’t get in for a trim, go ahead and do some little snippies on your dry hair to tide you over. But when you sit in your stylists chair, and he/she screems out “My haircut, my beautiful haircut. What has this world come to?” you might want to find a new stylist, because yours is super dramatic.

But for reals. The worst thing that can happen if you cut your own hair, is that your haircut will lose it’s original shape or become uneven.

Don’t forget to blame someone else if your stylist gets mad. This is our secret, Stephanie.

(unless you’re my client. in that case HANDS OFF!)

Q from Newbie- so i am a hairdresser my self. but i am still a baby at it. and i love love love jennifer lopez’s color. i just can’t seem to understand how they get her all over color so light with lifting with color. i know she has foils but her natural is probably a level 3 or 4 and her all over looks like a 6 with blonde foils. i need someones elses imput. or how you think they acheive such a pretty color. thank you so much. it would be awesome to hear a response back from you.

A from Reagan: Dear Newbie, great question. I’m sure you are right about JLo’s natural color. There is no way she is anywhere near a 6 or 7 naturally*. One of my dearest friends from beauty school and I have a huge pet peeve of people trying to be blonde with only highlights when their base color is so dark. You have to lift your base first. If you don’t, my friend will call you calico hair. And she’ll have a right to. Because your roots will look like a coat pattern, or a scarf at best. Lift your base first!

Although I am not Jennifer Lopez’s colorist, I can tell that Jenny gets her base done. A lot of times, if you are just lifting one or two shades, you can still use 10 volume. But I would guess for J.L’s color, she uses a 20 volume developer. And most times when I have gotten my base done, they only leave it on 10ish minutes before rinsing.

After the base is lifted and the color is rinsed, THEN you throw in the foils.

The beauty of a two process color, is that you don’t always have to have highlights every time. Someone as dark as JLo, probably has to get their base done every few weeks, but only needs foils every 8-10 weeks.

This hair lingo might be foreign to everyone besides me and newbie.

Here is a translation for you hairclients on fire.

You: Help! I think I have calico hair. The coat kind!

Me: Not for long. (rubs evil hands together). Let’s start by lifting your hair to at least a level 6, but for you dirty blondes, lets go an 8 or a 9. If you already have highlights, you can just have the color applied to your roots. Since the color is touching your scalp and lifting slightly, it will probably tingle/burn a little bit. After rinsing the color, you might worry that you look like the singer, Vitamin C (you wont, I just think it’s a funny comparison), this is just because you aren’t used to having light roots!  Next, blow dry your roots and add the foils.

When you are all done cooking, you are going to be amazed, because for the first time in your life you will look like a natural blonde with subtle highlights. Most blonde celebrities do this, that is how they basically never have roots (except for when they’re doing Ombre!). Think Jessica Simpson, Reese Witherspoon, Gwennyth Paltrow… all those light blondies.

A base isn’t necessarily needed if you have light hair naturally. When I’m not getting my ombre on, and I’m foiling to the roots, I like to have a base done just to change the tone of my color since naturally I’m so ashy. I want to be flashy, not ashy. That was bad, don’t laugh at that.

A base is especially awesome if you have grey hair that needs to be covered. Something to think about ladies (and I guess maybe a man or two).

*Levels are how we describe how dark/light your hair is. Black is a level 1, Platinum blond is a level 12 (right? why am I not sure?).  My natural color is about a level 8. Is this helpful? Or confusing?

I’m easily all over the place with these hair answers, because I get really excited when I talk about hair. Super sorry. But you’ll have to like me the way I am, because I just can’t help the excitement. hooray.

Q by Emily: Can I dye my hair while pregnant? How dangerous is it? I’ve heard varying opinions and am interested to hear yours.

A by Reagan: Emily, I think you’re right to question this. There are many opinions out there and it’s hard to know where to side. In fact, I had a client who I thought was going to get into a screaming match with a pregnant woman who was touching up her highlights about a year ago. That was a the closest I ever came to having a heart attack at work. (and the closest I ever came to divorcing a client)

Here is my answer. I think it’s safe to color your hair while you’re pregnant. The truth is, haircolor used to be made with harmful ingredients, like lead. Lead, can you believe it? No wonder there is still so much confusion. I really don’t blame people for being afraid, or even for choosing not to color their pregnant strands. But really, you’ll be fine.

If you’re still too scared, but don’t want to stop coloring, here are a few tips to help you out.

~Avoid on the scalp processes. Anything with foils wont be touching the scalp, and so if you are worried about something seeping into your blood stream or pores, this is the way to go.
~Avoid coloring in the first trimester. Most pregnant women are sensitive to smells. Having color done might bother your snout. Get plenty of fresh air.

I know of some colorists who will not take pregnant clients, which I think is likely for legal precautions, so keep that in mind if you are turned away.  And as always, talk to your Dr. if you are having doubts. What is your opinion?

*This episode of “hair answers” is strictly HDOF’s opinion. Although I’ve done some research myself, and spoken with several colorists about the issue, I am not a scientist or a doctor and should not be used as a main source for health/pregnancy advice. Please don’t sue me is what I’m getting at.