Salon Suites and My Life Well Loved

One thing we love at Salon Suites is a good collaboration. Our salon owners collaborate all the time to provide an unique and comprehensive beauty experience for their clients, so when Heather reached out about getting her hair colored we were thrilled. Heather is a blogger and fellow Birminghamian (if that’s a word). She chronicles her life, likes, loves, and foray into motherhood on her blog, My Life Well Loved.

Being a new mother she needed a refresh to her locks and Christina Durham, salon owner at Salon Suites Shops of the Colonnade, was happy to help Heather create a quick, easy, and beautiful look. Christina is a new mom as well and so she could relate to the struggles to care for a child and still get a little pampering. Since Heather was using this time to be pampered we thought let’s really go for it. Jessica Morris of Nail Swag at Shops of the Colonnade has a portable LED light and is able to perform manicures, even gel manicures, right in the salon suite while the client is getting their hair done or while the hair color is processing.

One of Heather’s many hats is that of an instructor at Pure Barre and that compiled on being a new mom keeping the length to through her hair back on the go was a must. Here is Heather’s before.

After her consultation with Christina they developed a hairstyle and color that would suit her lifestyle and incorporated her style. Heather’s hair is curly so they discussed what would work with and without a blowout and with and without curling. It is always important that your stylist discuss with you how you wear and style your hair daily so that the look will work for you in your daily life and you still look like a million bucks.

While Heather was getting her color we maximized her time and Jessica Morris of Nail Swag came in and started her nail service. Heather is a self admitted bitter. Trust us Jessica has seen her share of bitters, pickers, and those that are overall tough on their nails. She even offers a “Prescription Pedicure” for those that need a little more TLC and more extensive consultation, you know who you are. We admit that all of our corporate staff at Salon Suites picks or bits their nails, sad but true! After consulting with Jessica, Heather decided to go with a Vinylux manicure. Vinylux is a hybrid between a gel manicure and a regular nail polish. It does not require a LED light to cure (although using one can speed up the dry process) and can be removed with nail polish remover. See Jessica’s blog here that details polish and manicure options.

 

Christina focuses on hair health from start to finish. Her hair color, All Nutrient, is a green brand and colors the hair while nourishing, protecting, and revitalizing the hair. The products used for cleansing, cutting, and styling vary based on the clients needs and are also organic or naturally based. For Heather she used Moroccan oil to hydrate the strands and Volumizing by Bamboo to add body. Christina retails Crack and used it on Heather to help tame the curl. Crack, and yes that really is the name, can be used for curls as a get up and go product or when styling. Now, let’s get cutting.

Christina styled the finished look two ways. A traditional blowout and Heather loves loose curls that are so on trend now but has trouble with getting those loose waves to stay put. Christina walked through the blowout and then gave us some great tips for those lovely loose curls. Let’s take a look at the blowout without the curls, and look at those nails all polished and cleaned up. We would say she is one happy camper after all this pampering.

On to those envious curls. Christina says first start off with a quality and high temp curling iron and as you curl be sure to let the curl set. As you curl keep the curl tight as it cools to lock the shape in place as the follicle cools.

Once those curls cool you are ready to spray with a hair spray and getting ready to get messy. Now that those curls are in place it’s time to get mess them up. Get your fingers in there and finger through the hair. That creates that loose carefree look. Now you spray again for staying power and you are all set.

Now let’s check out the before and after.

What do you think of Heather’s before and after? If you want to book with Jessica or Christina, click here.

Check out Heather’s blog here on her first hand experience at Salon Suites with Jessica and Christina, plus check out her other blogs and let us know what you think.