SQUARE FACE SHAPE

I would like to go over what hair styles will look great for those with a square face shape and those styles that should be avoided.

As I have been looking through pictures of people with a square face shape I found quite a few actresses with this face shape. People with the square have a wide forehead and a very dominant jaw line. The goal for those with this face shape should be just to soften these features instead of enhancing them.

Things to stay away from:
-Any hair styles with really blunt straight lines.
-Forward, straight across bangs.
-Hair length ending at your jaw line. (defining jaw line more)
-pulling hair completely away from your forehead such as pulled all back in a pony tail.

Things that will look great for this face shape:
-Very textured or layered hair. This will give you more of a soft look.
-Side swept bangs.
-parting your hair down the middle.
-really long hair would look great Just make sure it has layers in it because if it is all one length and cut very bluntly then it will continue the square look.
-soft curls or waves look great because it softens the face.


** These pictures below don't necessarily show women with a square face shape. I am just giving examples of the actual hairstyles**

Pictures of what not to do:
This haircut has two things that are wrong for a square face shape. First, the bangs are very blunt and straight and second, the hair length hits right at the jaw line enhancing it. Not to mention that it is a very straight look, something that should be avoided.

These side bangs are actually good but I wanted to point out that the sides are really straight. This hair cut would work ok if styled more round and soft instead of flat ironing it really straight like this. (the bangs are good though)!
Styling your hair back like this shows off the exact squarness of your face. Jessica Simpson does have a square face shape and you can see how this style really shows it off.
The bangs in this one are ok too but the length with these curls would make a square face shape look even more square.
again, stay away from these blunt straight lines
and pulling hair away from your face


Pictures of what you SHOULD do:

Really long hair looks great especially for those with really thick hair. Make sure to keep the layers soft and stay away from the hair becoming all the same length.


The side swept bangs look really great with a square face shape because it softens the width of the forehead. Also bringing the hair length right about the jaw line will round out the sides of the face and make your face appear to be more oval instead of square. This haircut would look great with a square face shape.


Parting the hair down the middle and having longer hair also looks great. The part cuts the width of the forehead down a lot. Waving your hair like this will also really soften your face and would look fabulous!!


Curls will also really soften your face shape. Just make sure your hair is longer then the jaw line or shorter.


Another great example for square face shape is just a really long, softly layered, style with a side swept bang.
This style will really round out a square face shape.
Long waves and part down the middle look really soft.
another soft look for a square face.



*Remember also that if you are doing what I have written not to do, its OK! These are just helpful hints. Be creative and have fun with your hair I don't want anyone to feel limited. I encourage trying new things because in doing so you may discover something you absolutely LOVE. I just think it is helpful to know your face shape and understand what styles might look the best!

FACE SHAPE

Not many people know what the best hairstyle is for their face shape. The next couple of posts I will be giving examples of some flattering styles for all different types of face shapes. Hopefully this will help some of you understand your face shape a little more and what styles really will work for you and look great.

First you need to find out what your face shape is. To do this pull your hair all back into a pony tail make sure your hair is all away from your face. Now have someone take a close up picture of you or if you prefer you can just look in the mirror. (the picture might work a little better but make sure you stand in front of something dark so that your face is defined) Now as your looking through all of these face shapes hopefully you will be able to find one that looks like yours. A lot of times someone will have two shapes in one.

For example I have an oval face shape although on one side of my face my jaw is more defined (more square) So I sort of have a mix between oval and square. For the most part though you will have more of one than the other. Sometimes it helps to have a friend nearby to figure this out with you. Sometimes it's hard to do it yourself.
This is the HEART face shape. (widest at the forehead, narrow at the chin)
In this picture it looks to me like Tyra Banks has a Heart face shape.

Square face shape (widest at the forehead and the jaw area)
I'm pretty sure Sandra Bullock has a square face shape.
Oval face shape
The beautiful Julia Roberts
Diamond face shape (very dominant cheek bones and narrow at the forehead and chin area)
Im not 100 percent sure on this one. It's hard to find Diamond face shapes.
Round face shape
Kirsten Dunst has a round face shape.
Oblong face shape (long and narrow)
Sarah Jessica Parker definitely has an oblong face shape.
So figure out what your face shape is and then in the next few posts I will give great hairstyles for each one. Leave a comment if you have any questions!

(The pictures are from Google images.)

GOOD THINGS TO KNOW

I wanted to do a post on questions I get asked often when doing hair. A lot of people have the same concerns and questions so I will try to do my best to answer some of them.



Q: When I am washing my hair I feel like I loose a lot of hair. Is this normal??



A: Everyone looses about 75-150 hairs a day. I have noticed though that if you haven't washed your hair for a few day's a lot more hair comes out then if you wash your hair daily. It is very healthy and normal to loose some hair. If you feel like it is coming out in chunks or your getting handfuls at a time this might not be normal and you should probably check with a Dr.





Q: My hair seems really dry, I have even tried leaving my conditioner on my hair for hours to help it but this just seems to dry it out more. Why does this happen and how do I prevent my hair from getting dry?



A: If you are feeling like your hair is dry it is not necessary to leave your conditioner on your hair for hours. In doing this you are actually drying your hair out more. A lot of moisturizing conditioners or reconstructors have protein in them which is good in helping your hair become stronger. It is good to use these products but you need to make sure you use them in moderation. If you are applying these products to your hair too much it actually will dry out your hair more. The protein in these products if used excessively makes your hair brittle and can eventually make it break.

If you have dry hair try using a professional, moisturizing shampoo and conditioner. Be sure to only leave the conditioner on as long as the directions advise. Also, I would try going a few day's between washing your hair, making sure you brush it often so that you don't get a flaky scalp. Brushing your hair regularly will also help your hair's natural oils to penetrate the hair giving it more moisture.



Q: When I use a curling iron on my hair the curl doesn't seem to last very long. How can I get my curls to stay in longer.



A: There could be a couple of different solutions for this.

1. If your hair is really healthy or if you have virgin hair. (Hair that has never been colored) A lot of times the curl will not stay in very easily. This happens a lot with little kids hair because it is still so healthy. In this case I would use a product called "Spray Starch" By Redkin. Spray it on each strand of hair before curling it. Your curls will last much longer and will not have any sort of stickiness that hairspray sometimes leaves behind.


2. If your hair is really thick and straight sometimes it wont hold curl very well. In this case make sure the amount of hair you are curling with the curling iron are really small. If you have too much hair that you are trying to curl at one time the curl will not last. I would also use the Spray Starch from Redkin, it will make your curl last much longer!


3. If you are using grocery store shampoo and conditioner this can cause your hair to be limp leaving it without any body and no chance for curls to stay in. In this case you will need to buy a professional clarifying shampoo. Wash it once or twice and it will get rid of a lot of the build up on your hair. Then start using a professional shampoo and conditioner and in weeks you will notice your hair holding curl much better!!

Q: How often should I get my hair cut? And why?

A: Every 6-8 weeks. Your hair needs a trim every so often to prevent split ends and breakage. You would be surprised what a tiny trim can do for your hair. If you are growing out your hair it is sooooo important to get a trim. For one it will grow faster when it's frequently trimmed because it will be much healthier. Also, who wants long hair with really bad ends? The longer you go the worse it gets!!

Q: Is it ok to use curling irons and flat irons on kids hair if it's really fine?

A: YES! I have had so many people really convinced it is going to burn their child's hair off or something. Just Make sure the heat is turned down a little bit so as not to damage the hair too much. Hair is hair regardless of how thick or thin it is and it is completely fine to curl or flat iron any hair as long as the heat is changed accordingly.

I thought I could think of more questions but I'm drawing a blank. So if anyone reads this blog and has a hair question feel free to ask me and I will do my best to answer!

DARLING GIRLS WITH OPPOSITE HAIR TYPES

I wanted to show an example of some really great haircuts for two completely different types of hair.

Kylie has really straight, fine hair. I wanted to give her a hair cut that would give her the appearance of thicker hair. This hair cut really gives kylie a lot more body and this is one of my favorite haircuts for little girls with really thin, fine hair.


After

Jaydin has a beautiful head of thick, curly hair. Her hair was all one length when she came to see me. As you can see in her before picture the top of her hair is a lot straighter then the sides and underneath. So to help give the top more bounce and curl we layered her hair a little bit especially on the top and in the front of her hair. It turned out really cute and hopefully will make it easier to style for Jaydins mom!
*If your hair is naturally curly it is always a good idea to have layers in your hair. The worst is when its cut all one length making your hair look like a triangle (close to your head on top and really puffy and big down near the ends). Layers will soften your style and help give you more even curls on top and underneath.

Before

I wish I would have got a picture of her hair all the way down on top so you could see the layers. I will have to have Jaydin come over again so I can get a better picture.

After

TIPS ON BLOW DRYING

I colored and cut my friends hair last night and wanted to give a few pointers on how to round brush and hair dry your hair straight.

Before you start to blow dry you need to put some product in your hair to help give it some control and texture. For curly hair I would use a mousse and curl enhancing creme. For straight hair I would use just mousse and for curly hair that you want to blow dry straight use mousse and as well as a straightening creme.
I love Extra volume mousse by Kenra and Ice whip by Joico.
I use bouncy creme by ISO for curly hair and Redkin also makes a good creme for curly hair.
For straightening your hair I love Purologys creme (not sure what the name is).

Before you ever use any sort of brush on your hair you want to make sure to get 80 percent of the moisture out of the hair first. The reason for this is when you use a brush on hair that is too wet it breaks off really easy. Also until your hair is almost dry the round brush is doing you no good.
1.blow dry your hair using your fingers to direct the hair the opposite way that it will fall.
*as you are doing this pull the hair tight as if your straightening it with your fingers.

* I usually do my bangs first. They usually dry the fastest and if I get to them last then they end up looking funky. scroll down to get directions on how to blow dry bangs.

2. When you have removed most of the moisture from the hair then you can start using your round brush. The easiest way to do this is to pull up the hair and blow it dry in sections starting with the hair down by your neck and ending at the top of your head.

*The most important thing is to make sure you are over directing your hair. (Drying and brushing the hair the opposite way that it will fall). This gives it so much more body and bounce at the root of your hair so that it doesn't stick to your head.

*how big the round brush is all depends on how long the hair is and how much curl you want in the hair afterwords. The smaller the round brush the tighter the curl.

*Make sure that the sections of hair you brush are no bigger then your round brush. Otherwise it will take forever to dry and wont give you a great end result.

3. When you feel like the section of hair is completely dry roll the hair up into your round brush and push your cool shot button, (the button that blows cool air) Hold it on the hair for a few seconds and this will cool down the hair, closing the cuticle and it will hold the curl much better!

These pictures should help show what it should look like when your round brushing your hair.


These are examples of the way you over direct the hair while your blowing it dry.

The bangs are the most important part and they finish of the hair making or breaking your style. For Alyssa's hair we decided to do a longer sweep bang which is best for her hair type.

This first picture shows me round brushing the hair in the opposite direction that it will fall. The second picture is me then blowing it down smooth and pulling it tight so that it isn't too bouncy.
*again make sure to use the cool shot button after its completely dry!!


4. After round brushing I usually take my flat iron and smooth pieces that might have a little to much bounce or are too frizzy.

5. Back combing is SOOO important and here is an example of the right way to do it.

1. Take a section of hair at the crown of your head and comb it up completely straight.
2. place the bristles of your comb into the hair completely. make sure it is atleast 3inches away from your head. Comb straight down towards your scalp. Repeat 2 or 3 times until you have a big poof at the base of your head.
3. Then spray the poof with hairspray.
4. After that take the bottle of hairspray and pull the hair over the bottle and hold it really tight for a few seconds. (this creates a bigger poof and compacts the hair so it doesn't look so ratty.
5. let down the hair and comb over the very top layer just to be sure that you don't see any of the back combing underneath.
6. Do this not only on the crown of the head but allover the top section of hair.

6. The last step before you are finished is to to use a finishing product. For Alyssa I used a smoothing serum which really helped smooth her hair out leaving it shiny.

This is the end result from the back.

BEFORE

AFTER