Color Conversations with Beth Minardi

My dear friend and colleague Beth Minardi held her “Color Conversation Class” this past Monday at my salon, Salon Ratay, which brought many state wide beauty professionals to see her teach. Beth and I have known each other for twenty plus years. We first met at a specific manufacturer conference. She later became my mentor on a professional level I was told information about hair color that I questioned. I reached out to Beth about my skepticism on the information that was being taught to thousands of hairdressers, and Beth said, I quote “Sherry if you don’t trust what I’m telling you, go home and do your own research.” I went and did my own research and found Beth gave me the correct information about hydrogen peroxide, which I have talked about in past blogs (“The Truth about Hydrogen Peroxide”). I was furious that a major manufacturer was teaching misleading information. This led to one of the reasons I have whole heartedly supported and had a part in the development of Beth Minardi Signature Shades. She was the first manufacturer to create a line and an educational agenda informing hairdressers on the truth about hair color including hydrogen peroxide, colorants, and the difference between ammonia and MEA.

Beth travels nationally to teach her hair color brand, Beth Minardi Signature Shades, along with Minardi techniques and applications in what she calls “Color Conversations”. We had a seven hour class lecture on different topics such as grey coverage, using proper color tools, PPD(which I talked about in one of my previous blogs), BMS color line, appropriate pricing for hairdressers, setting a higher standard of professionalism for the beauty industry, and Olaplex(which will be in an upcoming blog). I admire how she teaches others to achieve their greatest potential to follow Beth’s motto of “elevating hair color to an art form”. Beth teaches the importance of deeply analyzing the integrity of the hair fiber, to determine whether you should erase or lighten the hair strand when coloring and how to maintain optimal health because HEALTHLY hair radiates BEAUTIFUL haircolor!

Furthermore, it was a great refresher for me to discuss Olaplex, and the sensitivity some clients have to PPD. It is becoming more of a rising issue as the number of sensitivity to hair color continues to increase. I admire and respect Beth because she continues to lead and develop the way for hair color as it evolves in modern society. Leading into my motto, “No matter how skilled you are as a hairdresser, whether it is one week or twenty years, you never stop learning.” I believe it is extremely important to have a mentor figure in the beauty industry because it is always good to have someone to go to with questions. Two minds are better than one!

How to Create POP Colors the "Ratay Way"!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season and with a fresh new year upon us, 2015 is off to a great start! A very dear guest of mine wanted pieces of soft pink added to her already stunning hair color. I first mentioned soft pink colored hair extension but she wasn't having it, so we agreed on her January visit with me I would add these pieces in. I must first say that it’s my professional opinion that not every woman can wear what I like to call “Pop Colors” in their hair. Whether it is age, personality, or profession, these key factors need to be considered when consulting. In creating this soft pink or any vibrant shade it can often be challenging, most important is to create your Pop color without damaging the integrity of the hair. Hopefully by the end of this blog you will understand how to do it the right way.

When working with overly porous hair, a challenging part of creating a pop color is the application of the “Pop Color”. Porous hair means that the hair fiber is dry and malnourished due too many different elements. Such as over exposure to the sun, not properly conditioned, misusing hair color and/or technique, or styling tools. When this type of hair is colored with the “Pop Color”, it can become splotchy, fade instantly, or not take to the hair at all. To prevent this from happening ALWAYS think of the hair fiber first. For example, if a brunette wants a bright thatchy piece of color, we do not need to bleach the strand to cotton white. Instead, we would bleach it to orange; apply a glaze achieving our target shade from there.  This process ensures the integrity of the hair is not ruined allowing you the ability as an artist to create for future seasonal hair color changes.

I enjoy creating “Pop Colors” at times because it allows me to excel creatively, pushing me to step out of the box, as well as satisfying the expectations of my guests. Remember to inform your guest that this look does come with some maintenance; you must maintain the color with more frequent visits than a normal hair color service due to fading. A great tip in keeping the shade from fading is by using dry shampoo instead of constantly washing it, the less friction to the hair strand the better. Remember “Pop Color” is a stain dye which means the color molecule is larger so it does not penetrate the hair strand like traditional hair color.

Overall, this type of color is great for an accessory look or if you want a little extra “pop” in your life. Check out my tutorial video on how to create this interesting look the “Ratay Way”.

Quick Tip For Coloring Hair!

Ratay Holiday Party!

The holiday season is robust! It’s filled with a spirit of laughter and joy to which the word “merry” becomes a contagious action shown through everyone. Holiday parties with warm fires, cocktail toast and cashmere sweaters. I love having family and friends gather together every year for my Ratay Christmas party. Everyone comes together for an evening of great company, delightful drinks, my famous Italian meatballs and a gift exchange that keeps everyone laughing. With this being the fourth year hosting my party, I would consider it becoming a holiday traditions for Mike and I.

  

Wine and cocktails are served with appetizers of different Italian meats, cheeses and olives followed by an Italian dinner with my special meatballs (which I spend the weekend before making). They are always a hit. There usually are two types of pasta, this year it was Lasagna and pesto which were also delicious and paired perfectly with the Chianti wine. Mike, my husband, made a special shot this year called Cinnamon Crunch. He used the liquor Fireball with cinnamon whiskey and Caruva Horchata; oddly it tasted just like the cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, the spice flavor of it was perfect for the holidays and those who enjoy doing shots, personally I can’t stand them!

It truly is great to see everyone interacting together for the holidays that “merry” spirit just takes over making the evening delightful!  My favorite part of the whole night is our white elephant gift exchange, every year I do a different theme, and this year was any head accessory (such as a hat or head band). Gifts range from beautiful beach hats to hilarious elf hats that danced and sung on your head, as well as a leopard printed hat that extended to the length of the persons arms. Luckily, I ended up with a beautiful white scarf with a little silver shimmer inside I was really excited for my gift because past years I end up with the weird ones or funny ones that I probably would never use.

After 11pm the “normal” party stops and the after party begins. We danced, drank and played an array of games; it was a blast! This year Mike added a disco ball for all the dancing that takes place which everyone actually enjoyed.  This is what the holidays are all about; letting go of all worries, spending time with family and friends enjoying the spirit of “merry” which flows through the air and counting our blessings in which we have received.

From the Ratay family to yours, wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Mike, Sherry, Savannah, Ashley and LeeMichael 

Today Show Hairstyle Tips

Here's some great tips I shared with the Today Show on how to have a hairstyle that lasts five days after a blowout, based on Duchess Kate's past trip to the US! This is perfect for the holidays to look like a queen even when you're away from home.

Today Show Hairstyle Tips!

Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family and cherish the blessings in your life. This year, like every other, I continued the tradition of returning home to the house where I grew up with my husband and children. I grew up in a small, country town called Groveland, FL with my mother Janet, father Richard and four brothers Rick, Scott, Kurt and Chris. I delight in the peace and simplicity of returning home as I watch my children play carelessly with their cousins on the vast open property that I as a child once roamed. We celebrated Thanksgiving last Saturday which was the 22^nd of November and just so happened to also be my birthday! The year I was born Thanksgiving happened to also fall on the same day, from what I was told my father accidentally burnt the turkey that year because I’m assuming he was over taken with excitement that his new baby girl was finally here! Since that day anytime Thanksgiving falls on November 22 my brothers make a burnt turkey in remembrance of dad.

When the whole family comes together we have about twenty two people with my mom, brothers, aunts and uncles, and everyone’s kids and significant others. Mom prepares a feast fit for an army; the spread is huge! But isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? To eat, enjoy family and friends in a relaxing loving environment… and eat again. Just to give you a taste of what was prepared, we had two turkeys (one deep fried by my husband the other smoked), a ham, my mom’s signature baked mac and cheese, fruit salad, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, rolls, oh and not to forget the desserts: pumpkin pie, pecan pie and chocolate delight! Sitting around the table listening and watching all the different conversations take place is one of my most favorite parts. Another tradition we have is after dinner everyone plays a game of kick ball together. It doesn’t matter what age you are; everyone participates in this exciting family game. The kids love when it’s them against the adults.

I truly enjoy the family time gathering at Thanksgiving every year at moms. I also have a thanksgiving dinner at my house with my intermediate family, and we lounge around all day. It’s very causal usually after deep frying turkeys for all these dinners Mike is pretty tired of it. ;) This year my group of friends is having our first annual “friendsgiving” dinner on Saturday night (I will defiantly need my trainer Matt next week). I love spending time with my loved ones near and far Thanksgiving is the start of a joyous time in the year. We just got our Christmas tree Wednesday night I can’t wait to decorate it with my kiddos. This season is my favorite time of year when we come together as a family and appreciate what we have and sharing our blessings with others less fortunate than us. 

Ending My Teaching Tour with Premiere Birmingham

This past month has been a busy one for me, as I finish the year with my educational tour my last stop was in Birmingham, Alabama for Premiere Birmingham.  I must say the attendees of this show strive for education and seem to engage more in the classroom with Q & A in wanting to know How, What, & Why with the nuts and bolts of haircolor.

The first day of the show was my “Gold Standard of Haircolor” workshop hands-on class which seemed to fill up quickly. Most hairdressers learn by physically doing what is being taught, so I believe you have to get your hands in it at times to understand it. The workshop included three applications: an Over-the-top application for a seasonal change, taking the Ombré to a Sombré look, and the American Baliage which is panting the hair in long foils to create a natural look using shade on shades. It was ratifying to show these attendees how to hold the brush in creating a soft starting point with each section they foiled. With each workshop hands-on class I hold, the attendees leave with a goodie bag filled with a few pieces of Beth Minardi Signature shades which include the Demi-Crème & Demi-Liquid lines along with some MLCC  (Minardi Luxury Color Care) styling products  and a single DVD from my Hues of Natural Perfection collection.

After the morning hands-on workshop class, I had one ninety minute lecture class. I actually loved this lecture “The Truth about Hair Color” because it was a more intimate lecture, which started a great deal of conversing between the attendees and me. I always tell them the lecture is about “you guys” rather than the agenda I am supposed to follow. As I mentioned earlier, the attendees at this show were very passionate about learning and much more comfortable with asking me questions.

The last day of the show I did was a special VIP class called “Beautiful Moments”, where attendees register to spend a very intimate hour with me discussing haircolor. Premiere randomly selects ten attendees to spend this time with me; a major part of this class was talking about celebrity haircolor formulas. Some of the celebrity color reformulations we discussed included Emma Stone, Carrie Underwood, Blake Lively, and Shea Mitchell, just to name a few!  We went in depth about the formulas and how to achieve these rich dimensions. I felt this was a wonderful topic to chat about, because most of the time clients bring in pictures of celebrities asking for that particular look and or haircolor. (Side bar) it’s important during a consult with your client that you are able to distinguish every aspect of the photo they bring in, because we all know majority of the time it’s never 100% of the celebs natural hair. There are many “tricks” Ms. Hollywood has in glamourizing celebrities ;) My VIP members also received a goodie bag filled with many special gifts.

Overall this has been a great year full of exciting shows, great lectures and fun workshops. I have really grown to love the open communication with attendees and listening to their thoughts and opinions about haircolor. I honestly cannot be more thankful that I’m able to live my passion, inspiring the minds of beauty professionals near and far! I am excited to see what next year will bring!