UH-OH MOMENTS…
Joico Global Artistic Director, Richard Mannah
Joico Global Brand Ambassador, Larisa Love
Joico Brand Educator, Kelly McGowan
They say that learning from your mistakes leads to major skills. And our top pros prove the point by revealing some of their biggest oopsie moments; along with the strategic moves they now make to avoid/fix/navigate those fails from ever happening again.
UH OH: You cut curly hair too short and it “shrunk.”
Pro confession: “One of my oopsies was when I first started cutting hair on the floor. I was still very new to being qualified as a hairdresser and I didn’t really have much experience,” explains Richard. “I had a client come in with very tight curly hair. When I had the consultation with her, she wanted her hair to sit about four inches below her shoulders. But knowing that curly hair springs up, I cut the hair and left it four inches longer then where she wanted her hair to sit. When I began to dry and diffuse her hair, however, it sprung up so high, that it ended above her shoulders! We were both very shocked and surprised.”
The new technique: Richard accounts for extra shrinkage and doubles the amount of leeway. After all, you can always cut shorter…but you can’t add length. “This was a good lesson for me early in my career: to respect the curl and make sure I never cut too short again. You live and learn.”
UH OH: You missed those baby hairs and now have a dark hole in the hero piece.
Pro confession: “Almost everyone has baby hairs in their front hairline, and everyone has a different hairline,” explains Larisa, who had to find a fix to avoid missing important strands at this very conspicuous placement on the face.
The new technique: “Make sure your slices in the front hairline are custom to each client’s hair. One of my biggest learning moments this year was when I enhanced my hero piece with an extra foil at the hairline temple area on clients who have little baby hairs there. By adding that extra slice foil so it blends, you’ll avoid leaving a dark hole.”
UH OH: You fried those pre-lightened ends.
Pro confession: “It’s really easy to ruin the integrity of pre-lightened ends if you don’t protect them when lifting,” admits Larisa.
The new technique: “When foiling hair, I use conditioner – Joico’s Defy Damage — mixed with a lower volume developer, like LumiShine level 5, for those pre lightened ends. This helps moisturize the hair cuticle while processing and lifting at the same time; and has really made a major difference in the integrity of my clients’ hair, keeping ends intact.”
UH OH: You turned red hair pink. And not on purpose.
Pro confession: “One of my biggest mistakes that I’ll never forget was turning a bride’s hair pink,” recalls Kelly. “She wanted honey highlights all throughout her red hair, and I did not rinse cool!”
The new technique: “In order to fix the problem, I had to use a gold toner to neutralize and blend. It turned out beautifully, and I’ll probably never be able to recreate it… but ever since, I always rinse the red out first and in cold water!”
COOL PRO TIP TO KEEP THINGS NEAT…
Ever get frustrated when you’re toning and using different colors, and your towel keeps falling every time you go to wipe your hands?
Larisa Love has a brilliant fix:
Use a big clip at the shampoo bowl to attach your towel to the bowl. When toning and using different colors, you need to wipe your hands off frequently. Having your towel in the way and falling everywhere takes time and efficiency away from your craft. Clip it to the bowl so it can hang on the side; and move through your toning work faster and easier.”
