From split ends to chapped lips, the obstacles on the road to pretty can seem not only endless but, sometimes, insurmountable. Luckily, stylists from Plymouth’s top salons have shared their behind-the-scenes beauty tips to keep you looking chic, fresh, and pulled-together, even in the dead of winter.
Tina Wherry, Christopher J Salon
Style emergency: Frizzy curls
While having a unique hair texture can make for difficult styling, Tina Wherry, master stylist at Christopher J Salon, suggests embracing natural texture rather than fighting it. When it comes to enhancing not only her own natural curl, but that of her clients, Wherry has a not-so-secret technique: scrunching.
“I use a Deva Towel to lift and scrunch, removing excess water, apply a light defining gel, scrunching it in from roots to ends to add lift, air dry, and go,” she says. To create big curls, she recommends using a large-barrel curling iron on large vertical sections of hair. And she swears by MoroccanOil to protect hair from heat damage and to add extra shine.
Other must-have tools to help you embrace and improve your hair’s texture include a straightening iron with a titanium plate (Wherry recommends Theorie for its lifetime warranty) and a good hair dryer, like the ones by MoroccanOil. “I have to have a good blow dryer in order to smooth hair out quickly,” she explains.
And when you’re ready to turn to the pros to help improve your hair’s texture, Wherry highly recommends a keratin treatment. “It’s a nonchemical service that will last up to six months. It will smooth out hair and cut dry time in half.”
Kati Giles, New Reflections Spa Salon
Style emergency: Dry skin
Kati Giles might be a hairstylist and color educator at New Reflections Spa Salon, but she’s picked up plenty of pro tips to keep her skin soft and smooth along the way—and there are some products that she simply can’t live without.
“Clarisonic has changed my skin,” she raves. “It’s a gentle scrub brush I use to wash my face.” Giles treats her skin daily with the small, lightweight Clarisonic tool and the brand’s refreshing gel cleanser.
When it comes to keeping dry, flaky winter skin at bay, Giles has tricks for every part of the body. For calloused feet, she recommends scrubbing with a foot file or pumice stone once a week, then finishing with a creamy moisturizing lotion to help break down dead skin. She also uses Aveda smoothing body polish on her lips bi-monthly to keep them soft, plump and smooth, and is never without a bottle of Aveda beautifying composition oil.
“I use it with my lotion; I apply it to my hair randomly as a sleep-in deep conditioner; I use it as a cuticle oil around my nails—it’s magic.”
Jada Mettling, Merrill Hair Designers Inc.
Style emergency: Fried hair on a budget
Between work, budgets and a busy lifestyle, it’s natural for beauty to occasionally slip to the back burner. Jada Mettling of Merrill Hair Designers Inc. understands this. “I’m home with three boys all day and work evenings. Sometimes I get time to shampoo, and sometimes I don’t,” she says with a sad laugh. Rather than letting your routine suffer, Mettling has plenty of tips for getting the most out of your beauty treatments.
She recommends ghd, Hot Tools and Babyliss and Theorie tools for the hair. “They’re all affordable, durable and reliable,” she says, and inexpensive products that do double-duty earn extra points from Mettling, who swears by baby wipes for makeup removal and cleaning hair products off of hot tools.
If time or budget constraints have stopped you from heading to the salon, Mettling suggests an at-home deep-conditioning treatment to restore moisture and life in your strands. Shampoo right away once you get in the shower, then smooth in your deep conditioning products and put on a shower cap, then rinse just before finishing your shower. “It can be beneficial even if only left in for five minutes.”
Mettling also suggests giving yourself a break when it comes to beauty. “Don’t try too hard to make your hairstyle look perfect,” she says. “The most beautiful thing about hair sometimes is that it has a mind of its own.”
Kylie Anderson, Simonson’s Salon & Spa
Style emergency: No time to style
Time is a valuable thing, and Kylie Anderson of Simonson’s Salon & Spa understands this, making her the queen of low-maintenance chic. “Being a hairstylist doesn’t leave you with a ton of time to pamper yourself,” she explains—and that means that everyone can benefit from her time-saving tips.
Velcro rollers are often lauded as a thing of the past, but Anderson praises them as a morning time-saver. “Just dry your hair 90 percent, put your rollers in the direction that you would round-brush, blow-dry them for up to one minute, and then go drink some coffee. Take them out when they’ve dried. It’s much less work than round-brushing every section,” she says. She recommends a Babyliss blow dryer for its lightweight feel and fast-drying technology.
To save even more time during the week, Anderson suggests a style that can be extended for a few days. And the first step is to set down the shampoo bottle. “There’s really no need to wash and dry your hair daily. Once your body adjusts to the oils on your scalp not being stripped daily, it will stop producing as much.” Either add loose curls with a large-barrel curling iron or run a flat iron over strands for a sleek look, then spend the next few days reveling in your low-maintenance glory. “Blow dry it for a few seconds if it’s feeling flat and if needed, do touch-ups on any hair that’s unruly.”
For long-term time-saving, however, Anderson’s best tips are far less technical. “Consult your stylist to learn how to work with your hair and texture instead of fighting it … And don’t be afraid to ask. I’m more than happy to walk through a process step-by-step with clients.”
Cristina Restrepo, The Style Room Salon
Style emergency: Everyday makeup foibles
Whether it’s putting together a clean everyday look or time to glam up for a night out, stylist and makeup artist Cristina Restrepo of The Style Room has you covered when it comes to cosmetics. “I have a ton of makeup, and my supply keeps growing all the time,” she says.
A perfect canvas is Restrepo’s first necessity. Dry skin is a common winter complaint for her clients, and Restrepo suggests oils as the solution. “What I have found works for chapped lips is Josie Maran’s Argan Lip Treatment, and for the rest of the body, a body butter by Bliss or L’Occitane.”
For a simple, polished look, Restrepo recommends starting a makeup routine with a CC, or color-correcting, cream. “You apply it just like a moisturizer, so you don’t have to mess with brushes or sponges … CC cream has a primer, SPF, moisturizer and color, which will cut out a few steps.” A cream eye shadow stick, eyeliner, mascara (she loves Dior Iconic Overcurl mascara), a bit of blush and a light lip color finish off an easy everyday face.
To take this simple look to the next level, Restrepo suggests warming an eyelash curler with a blow dryer to further encourage curl. She also recommends putting a bit of highlighter in the dip of the upper lip and a little bronzer under the bottom lip to give lips an extra plump appearance before polishing things off with Dior lip gloss, one of her all-time favorite products.
Resources
Christopher J Salon
763.404.8606
New Reflections Spa Salon
763.559.3185
Merrill Hair Designers Inc.
763.557.0190
Simonson’s Salon & Spa
763.550.1121
The Style Room Salon
763.231.0877
