Image Expo Houston 2015

For the past show I went to, I traveled to the Lone Star State for Image Expo hair show in Houston, Texas. It was an exciting weekend filled with a few curve balls. Although, they ended up being an exciting learning experience for me.

Jennifer Aniston's baby lights technique.

The show in Houston started with my color conversation on Sunday from 9:30am to 11am. We discussed the trends in 2015 such as the sombre, which is here to stay. The sombre is different from the ombre because it is a much softer version. I would almost describe it as the marrying of colors instead of such a huge contrast in the midlengths and ends in the ombre. Another trend is called baby lights this year; Jennifer Aniston looks amazing with this trend. Baby lights incorporates soft delicate pieces that, unlike sombre, go from the scalp to the ends. A more complex version of the baby lights would be incorporating many of these highlights which are around the same level such as 6, 7, and 8 or 7, 8, and 9. I love my color lectures and the hour I have always seems so short.

I also had two hands on classes which ended up being over sold. It was a great thing but I was very stressed because I was really only prepared for half the amount that showed up. When I found out the night before the class, I had so much anxiety I couldn’t sleep. In the morning I planned a solution to have stations, and oh my…it was one of the greatest ideas I have in a long time. Since my classes are usually long being 3 hours the stations made the time break up and time went by quickly. For an hour and a half I described the techniques and demonstrated so the attendees would be able to repeat the same process. Then going from station to station, experienced attendees wouldn’t have to take as much time on each mannequin head, but newer students could take as much time as they wanted and add more foils. It was a huge AHAH moment for me, and I knew it was meant to happen because I am definitely running my classes that way from now on. Then to end my class we had an intimate Q and A which is always my favorite part. I love conversing about color and even more about business. It so interesting to me to hear from people what works in there salon and what hasn’t. It’s beneficial to all of us business owners to see how other businesses run and maybe even learn something.

I left so enthused about how a bad situation turned in to such a good solution. Beth Minardi and I also got together for dinner. We went to a great place called the Groove. I had a mouthwatering chicken with crisp chardonnay. We chatted about the new studio Beth just opened in New York, and how excited I am to I will be joining on a monthly basis. Houston was definitely an eye opener and a great experience. I also have recently heard about the floods there and my hearts and prayers go out to everyone and their families living there.

Sherry Ratay Color Forum

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!