How To Put Hair Extensions

When it comes to hair, it’s not only how healthy and shiny your hair is that counts, but a big part of your signature “crowning feature” is how you style it.  Hair styles that celebrities have donned over the past century have shaped hair cut trends amongst the general public and will for years to come.  If you thought the power of celebrity was strong forty to fifty years ago, that’s nothing compared to the trend shaping that occurs today from the Hollywood elite.  Just look at what haircuts like the “Rachel” inspired by Jennifer Aniston’s “Friends” character, spawned in terms of salon requests and lookalikes or spinoff haistyles.  I even donned a style that was similar to the Rachel, only longer, as did an army of women.  It was  great, versatile and almost universally flattering cut that a lot of women took advantage of in one way or another.  With the exception of a few of the latest tress-trends, most of them are very versatile, and that is part of the appeal.  You have the longer, layered cuts, and then you have short do’s that appeal to a generally smaller pool, but all in all most of them are versatile.  Same goes for men’s styles.One of the more recent fads is bangs.  Thanks to one adorable actress who sported shorter, but very stylish bangs, Reese Witherspoon, many hairstylists around the US began to experience higher demand for bangs, specifically bangs to copy the look of Ms. Witherspoon.  Reese, another actress with a reputation for being America’s sweetheart, had unknowingly started another craze in the world of hair!When I was in high school, which was almost twenty years ago (I can’t believe I just spoke that aloud!), every girl was trying to copy the look of the supermodels, like Cindy Crawford, who was the biggest supermodel back then.  The look was definitely long and wild, and the bigger you could get your hair, the better.  The really big bangs and perms of the eighties were out, but big, natural, sexy, just got out of bed hair was totally in.  This trend was great for women who had naturally full hair, but it had women who were on the fine and limp side grabbing up volumizing hair products off the shelves to emulate this hot look.  All you had to do was look at any Guess Jeans ad, which was the biggest brand right about then, and you invariably see a model with bedhead, wild hair, and dark, sultry eye makeup.  This big hair look has made a comeback recently, after a long bout with an obsession over stick straight, smooth hair.  Rewind to the nineties, and you’ll find another few years that were influenced by another sweetheart of America, Meg Ryan.  Her cute, curly and full bob was followed up by her signature choppy, short hair do, and women flocked to the stylist to get both.  Not only was she the queen of the romantic comedy, but she was also one of the major trendsetters of the nineties.  More recently, we’ve seen a lot of copycats of the Victoria Beckham style, which she sported for a while, her signature hairstyle which was a very simple, straight cut that was chin length, but cut higher in the back.  This was one of the more universally flattering cuts that wasn’t actually long, but not quite short either.  Not as many women followed her into her pixie cut phase, but that’s probably because not so many women can pull off such a cut since it can come off as severe and not very feminine.  I have to admit, this was not my favorite on Posh, but she has since started to grow it out a bit from pictures I’ve seen, and it’s much more soft looking on her.  And what of the men?  Well, male haircuts don’t seem to change or evolve in trends as often as female haircuts do.  These days, as I write this in August of 2009, the “in” thing is to have messy, longer hair for men.  Think Patrick Dempsey or Benicio Del Toro.  Out are the buzz cuts and close cropped haircuts of yesteryear, and in are the low maintenance, but product consuming hair styles that make women want to run their fingers through men’s hair.  Longer hair on men has garnered a certain sense of sex appeal, and men are no dummies in picking up on that, lots of them are taking the cue and growing their hair out for a more natural, individual look rather than a cookie cutter buzzed hair cut.  Scissors only for men these days, no clippers!

Maybe you need a Gia Makeover!

When it comes to hair styles, there are so many different
options today to make changes. You can change your color, add
highlights, add bangs, add layering and even add length or
thickness with hair extensions. Makeovers are becoming more and
more popular as television shows such as ABC’s Extreme Makeover
outline how a makeover is done and drastic changes that can be
done. Hair stylist, Gia Wood of Salon D in Dallas, Texas
specializes in makeovers and hair extensions and is considered
Dallas’ makeover specialist. She has hundreds of clients locally
and many clients that fly or drive in to Dallas for her
services. One of her clients flies all the way from Spain just
to get her hair done. Gia says, “I find that clients who are
willing to drive or fly that far just to get their hair done are
the biggest compliment and the proof of my success.”

So what is this makeover fuss all about? Gia explains that most
of her clients have either been the victim of an inexperienced
stylist or have simply not thought enough about the change in
hairstyle they wanted and they are now stuck with something they
hate. Gia adds, “Most of my makeovers include color correction,
which can be highlights, color, gloss or all of the above.
Makeovers also include a haircut and style, along with makeup
application. The total process can take around 4 hours to
complete.”

Gia says, “When dealing with color correction, the first thing
every client asks me is ‘…how damaged will my hair be after a
color correction?’” Believe it or not, color correction is not
as damaging as it used to be. The old way of stripping hair
color out with bleach is history. Modern day products allow hair
stylists to remove ‘artificial pigment’ only, meaning that it
will not open, damage, or split the cuticle of the hair in any
way. This allows hairdressers to remove the most intense colors
from hair, and allow it to be re-colored in the same appointment
time.”

Gia will also offer suggestions for change in color and style to
fix any problems a client reports with their hair. “For example,
if a client has a brassy blonde color, I will suggest a bleach
highlight or an ash toner to offset the brass color.” She
explains.

Getting a successful makeover depends on the experience of the
stylist. Gia further explains, “My previous clients and even new
clients trust my experience level and let me do what ever I feel
like with their hair. Most of the time when I’m doing a
makeover, I am usually correcting another stylist’s color or
haircut. I usually ask my clients what or who they would like to
look like and to give a firm example of what they like and don’t
like. And, even if a client loves the way her hair looks, they
may be looking for a change to further improve their hair style.”

Photos of styles the client likes are very helpful to hair
stylists. Gia adds, “Clients and stylists have different
vocabularies. For example, Bangs. There are a thousand ways to
wear bangs.” Gia recommends bringing at least three photos of
the hair style you want so your stylist does not get confused.

Gia also keeps a computer at her work station to look up hair
styles online (such as a past hair style of a celebrity) if a
client does not have photos or cannot remember certain styles
they like. The computer eliminates the need for bulky portfolio
books.

“Once the client and I have decided on a style and color,” Gia
explains, “We discuss what it will take to get the clients hair
to that hair style.” Most of the time the exact cut and color
are achieved in one day. But Gia mentions that some clients that
are growing their hair out may take several months and
appointments to reach their overall goal. Human hair extensions
(human hair extensions are attached directly to the natural
hair) are also an option for clients that don’t want to wait for
their hair to grow out.

Gia’s makeover experience is well-documented on her website:
http://www.hairbygia.com Many before and after photo examples of
makeovers, including hair extensions can be seen for your
reference. Gia is quickly becoming the talk of the town with
recent appearances on the television show “Austin Nights”
(Segment can be viewed on her website) for her hair extensions
services. She was also interviewed for the Number One best
selling E-book by Hair Resources, 2005’s Most Popular Hair
Extensions and participated as a Judge in their Nationwide
Bridal Hair Style Contest.

In short, if you are sick and tired of your hair style and need
a makeover, a trip to visit Gia Wood at Salon D in Dallas, Texas
may well be worth your time, money…and happiness!