Mama’s new ‘do

I get asked so many questions about my hair, I really wanted to take the time to make a blog post answering them. I was well overdue for a trim and a color for my hair. I don’t really get that much time to myself so setting up a hair appointment and knowing that I would be away from the kids for half the day wasn’t something I was very excited about. I researched salons in Myrtle Beach because it’s about an hour away from my home and I came across Marie’s profile on Instagram.

Marie Cusaac is a hairstylist at Mirage Hair Studio in Myrtle Beach. She has been a licensed cosmetologist for the past three years. Mirage is located in the same Plaza as Fresh Market (my favorite grocery store) so it couldn’t have worked out more perfectly. I was really nervous about being away from Scarlet Reese because I have only been away from her for about an hour max. Last minute, my babysitter fell through and when I told Marie she told me it was completely ok and that I could bring her along.

SR and I traveled to the beach, hit up Fresh Market and then went over to Mirage for my hair appointment. Marie couldn’t have been more warm and delightful to be around. We talked during the entire process and she was so calm and confident. She totally understood what I meant when I said I needed an update but something that’s low maintenance. I love what she was able to do with my hair and it really made me feel like a brand new woman. After my appointment, I sent Marie some of my most asked hair questions and she so kindly answered them for me and for all of you! If you set up an appointment with Marie and tell her that Amanda sent you, you will get $20 off of your first visit.

It’s important to regularly get your hair trimmed because it keeps it healthy and helps you keep the overall shape and style of your hair. When to get your hair trimmed depends on each individual client because everyone’s hair grows differently. I typically tell my clients with short hair that if they are keeping their same shape and style then we should trim it every 6 weeks. If they are trying to grow it longer then I would say a trim every 8 weeks. I’ve found that when you have shorter hair you notice how much its grown out faster than you would if you have longer hair. I see my clients with longer hair around every 8 weeks to keep their style and 10 weeks if they are trying to grow it longer. Splits ends happen when you don’t get a regular trim and those can hinder your ability to style your hair correctly and you’ll notice it tangles easier along with your hair feeling more dry than normal. If you are trying to grow your hair longer and don’t get it trimmed then those split ends continue to split farther up the hair shaft and break off so your hair never really gets any longer from not cutting it because its breaking off instead from split ends.

I did a process called balayage on Amanda which is a technique in where instead of using foils you paint the dye directly on the hair to create a graduation of color. In some instances it can be a natural sun kissed lightening of the hair where it looks as if you’ve been hanging out in the sun all summer long. Then you can also do a more dramatic effect like what we did with your hair but both blend into the roots so that as your hair grows out there is no harsh line of new growth. Its a very blended look and easy to keep up with.

Balayage is going to continue to be a huge trend in 2017. Another big thing is shadow roots. When someone has shadow roots that means the roots of their hair is slightly darker than the ends which creates the illusion of a shadow at the root. Its popular when you still like to have your regular highlights but this helps to camouflage the line of where your highlights grow out.

Do not color or cut your own hair at home. Coloring your own hair can damage it and its so hard to put out of your hair when you get it professionally done. The biggest thing I hear from clients is they cut their own bangs because they were in their eyes or were driving them crazy. At Mirage we offer complimentary bang trims between appointments because the last thing we want is for you to cut them yourself and accidentally mess up.

You don’t necessarily want to wash your hair every day because it can strip the natural oils in the hair that make it healthy, soft, and shiny. Washing it every other day is ok and it really depends on each individual person. If your scalp and hair really feel like it needs to be washed then its ok to wash it.

Any hair style that is long enough to put up is convenient for a busy mom because there are so many cute ways to wear it up that take only a minute to do. Something that is also short enough to style down in a couple minutes as well. You can throw a few loose waves across the top and call it a day but if you don’t feel like messing with it that day you can throw it in a braid or ponytail. If you have really long hair it can become too much to handle and take too long to fix but if your hair is too short for a pony tail then its something that you have to take time each day to style to make it look good.

If you want a style to make you look younger it all depends on your face shape. You don’t want a hair style thats going to accentuate anything that you don’t like. Finding something that takes the eye away from the areas that you find age you or areas of your face you just dislike of finding ways to camouflage those areas.

To create loose waves for short hair take a 1” curling iron and a thick section of hair and curl it where the curls go away from your face and hold it for several seconds and continue doing that throughout you whole head. After the curls have cooled off then run your fingers through your hair and hairspray where needed. For longer do the same process but with a larger curling iron around 1 1/4” to 1 1/2” barrel depending on how long your hair is. (you can see a video of the entire process of my hair appointment including styling on Marie’s Instagram @mariecusaachairstylist)

If you have any more hair questions, please feel free to ask me and I will answer them for you!