This past Monday was my Color Forum here at Salon Ratay. It
was an exciting, long day full of color! Additionally, I’m going to give you a
step-by-step story of how busy my daily routine is on a normal day. To start I
wake up at 6:15am; wash my face, brush my teeth, and get dress then I head down
stairs to fix LeeMichael my son’s breakfast before waking him up. I enjoy bringing
him to school it’s like our special time together to chat about all kinds of
different things. This particular morning I had a parent-teacher conference
scheduled with his teacher at7:45am. (He forgot to turn in a few assignments)
After the conference I arrive at the salon around 8:15am. Alicia, the creative
artistic director arrives at 8:45am and she shampoo and styled my hair, so I
look great for the day. Jacob, the salon manager also arrives at 8:45am to set
up the tables and chairs and place all the color literature out. The rest of my
staff arrives at 9:30am to help with any finishing touches and we are ready for
the day to begin!!
Before the attendees
arrive, my first model Paige arrives so that we can prep her hair. It is
important to have the hair smooth down so that you can see the texture of the
hair and previous color application. Attendees start arriving, once everyone is
signed in we begin with an introduction of myself then I go around the table
having each person tell everyone a little bit about themselves. Before I start
the first model I like to read haircolor facts that are recently published from
creditable sources. So now let’s talk about Paige’s hair. We were actually
fortunate because she came in with a previous Ombre application done wrong.
First, I showed everyone how we needed to approach the previous application in
what to erase and how to recreate a new fresh beautiful Ombre. Her color was
placed too far up the hair strand; and the ends were oxidized to dark. It
drives me crazy when I see an Ombre application!! During our color process I
showed the correct technique in order for us to have a softer, more appealing
version of the Ombre. While Paige was processing we discussed the way a
colorist should analyze the hair strand as a piece of fabric, and the
importance of knowing where the hair lives in placing your haircolor. We
discussed many topics during the day such as the difference between MEA and
ammonia, “organic” haircolor, and the new technology from Proctor and Gamble
called ME+ which is a derivative of PPD and PPT.
Our second model cancelled last minute due to an eye
infection which kind of left me in a bind. Luckily one of the gracious
attendees needed a base retouch. This was a coincidence because when I first
noticed her upon arriving I knew I would use her as a model. She was a soft
redhead but her color was very hollow. It was an open discussion on what to
create on her considering her eye color, skin tone and personality. We decided
to lifted her foundation to covered her grey here is what we used; Beth Minardi
Signature (BMS) permanent 1 oz. of 6NCB and ½ oz. of 7OG with 20 vol.
developer. On her mid-lengths and ends we created different shades of red with
the following two formulas; the first was BMS Demi Crème 1 oz of 5CB and 1oz of
7NCG with 5 vol. developer. The second formula was 1 oz. of BMS Permanent 11GO
with 40 vol. developer. She processed for 45 minutes (at room temperature) was
cleansed, dried then glazed with BMS liquid 10C and 5 vol. developer. It was
absolutely beautiful, full of shine and soft dimension. As a finishing touch we
softened her brows with BMS permanent 8G and 6G equal parts with 20 vol. giving
an end result of 7G.
After lunch, which was provided by my dear friend Jean, it
was right back to business. I handed out a color assessment test for each
attendee to take so I could see what they really knew about hair color, I like
to go through each question in helping the group to fully understand each
answer. Our last model was our very own colorist here at Salon Ratay, Rebekkah
Breeding. Unfortunately she is so young, in her 20s, but already has 25% grey
hair. Her formula consisted of BMS Demi Crème 3BB and 4BG with 5 vol developer
she processed for 20 minutes under heat and 20 minutes without. We closed with
a discussion about my next local hair show, Premiere Orlando on May 30 through
June 1
st hope to see you there!!
Once the attendees left at 5pm my staff and I cleaned up the
salon, and I scooted off to watch my son’s baseball game at 5:30. The game lasted until 8 and we headed home
for dinner. I cooked spaghetti and meatballs while also preparing the kids lunches
for the next school day. By the time I got in the shower around 10:30 I was
exhausted, but it is always worth it! It was a fantastic color filled day!
This year’s Orlando Premiere Beauty Show was bigger and
better than ever before. It also happens to be the biggest beauty show put on
in the country every year. Premiere also puts on Premiere Columbus and Premiere
Birmingham which are always the largest every year followed by Orlando. The
show floor has a mass amount of exhibits from booths on salon software,
building business, color manufacturers, salon furniture, and of course my
favorite booths on face and body products. I actually spent a bit of time in
the PCA (Physician's Choice of Arizona Company) booth looking at all of their new products, wishing I could own all of
them.
Additionally, there are stages for all categories of beauty
such as hair color, hair design, makeup, and many more. Many people come to
watch experienced professionals share their knowledge on their spin on their talented
skill. There were even some special events such as fashion shows by Paul
Mitchell and Keratin Complex that are always exciting to watch. I had one of my
color conversation lectures on one of the color stages on Sunday morning. The
audience was filled with over 200 talented hairdressers; it’s always rewarding
to share my knowledge with them.
In even another section of the convention center where
Orlando Premiere show was held, there were many classrooms where you could take
a class on basically anything you wanted to learn or increase your skill on. I
had two classes of my own just like most of the shows I go to about my Haircolor
Applications, Techniques, and Trademarks. When I was not teaching my classes I got
to sit in a class through a company called Summit. The class was on business building
which was refreshing to listen to new ideas and reinstate others. Christina the
teacher spoke on topics such as the front desk, customer service, and livelihood
of a successful business. It really helped me take a look inside my own
business to make changes to improve and make it the best it can be.
