The only acceptable mustache

Facial hair or "face salad" as Derek here at Anita Kurl calls it, has been a hot topic at the salon this week. Derek, it seems is channeling his inner Tom Seleck and growing his own. A few weeks ago The Boston Globe's Wesley Morris wrote a hilarious story entitled, "Who took my 'stash?, The sad and curious exile of the American mustache."In it he says, "For most of the 20th century, the mustache was a serious option for follicular self-expression - an elastic emblem of masculinity", but now "As far as pop culture is concerned, the mustache remains trapped in the land of porn and irony." For the first week of Derek's mustache I had a difficult time making eye contact with him with out bursting into laughter, but if he continues to listen to Kelly's words of encouragement he should be in full bloom and ready for viewing by this weekend!

Am I the only one that thinks this is pretty?

Most people will remember this years VMA"S for a different reason, but hairdressers across the country noticed this beautiful "etch a sketch" hair do. This is one of the moments I wish I had a more diverse clientele and could draw designs on my clients scalps. I imagine this same look would probably look creepy on someone with a pale scalp, but if anyone out there wants to give it a try, I am the girl!

Another idea for the long haired gals

Someone told me to check out Carmen Electra's new look and I discovered a model named Alice Dellal (on the right) who may have inspired her new hairstyle. I guess it is a way to combine the femininity of long hair with the edginess of a punk look. What it reminds me of was the time my friend Amy, Marie and I skipped school junior year and did the same thing to the back of our heads. Our goal was to go school with our hair down so our parents wouldn't notice, but once at school put our hair up in a ponytail. We wanted to freak out the nuns and impress the girls who were more concerned with 80's style big hair with what rebels we were. So I guess it is a similar objective, and another idea for those long hair girls who have run out of new ideas on how to change up there look!

Urban Dictionary definitions

Check out these hilarious hair style definitions I found on Urban Dictionary.com:

Mufro:

Is a hairstyle that is a combination of an afro and a mullet.

I.G.U hairstyle:

Is a short mannish hairstyle that is typically worn by middle aged woman. By adopting this hairstyle a woman sends a clear message that "I give Up" on trying to look either stylish or attractive.

Faux Horn:

Is a hairstyle that occurs when a Faux Hawk goes wrong, and instead of imitating a mohawk, it ends up more reminiscent of a horn, giving the wearer the appearance of a unicorn.

What is a good tip nowadays?

It is a topic which can make both customers and stylists uncomfortable, but I will attempt to share our feelings on the subject here at Anita Kurl. The short answer to this question is that you should tip the same way you would in a restaurant, 15 to 20% depending on the quality of your service. We would like to say that we don't expect it...but, well that's not true. We depend on tips as a part of our income, and we set our prices with that in mind. It is however, important that we make you happy, and a good tip lets us know if we are doing a good job. We have a tremendous amount of pride in our work, and hair styling can be very creative and personal work. In in a perfect world we would be getting 20% tips from all of our clients and leave each day feeling like we did good work that made us both happy.

Eyebrow Bleaching, Really?

My friend Jen sent me an article written by William Van Meter from the NY Times, that recommends we, "Forget shaping and plucking. The newest trend in eyebrows is to get rid of them altogether, either by bleaching them into oblivion or by shaving them off." Well, I wrote this whole article off as a trend that would live and die in the pages of high fashion until I watched the season premier of America's Next Top Model. Tyra Banks apparently loves this trend because she had three of the contestants bleach their eyebrows during their makeovers. I can't imagine this look crossing over into mainstream culture, but for those of you who keep asking us for a totally new look but without trimming more than an eighth of an inch and with no layers, maybe this trend is for you?

Why Drugstore Shampoo Sucks...

Is there a difference between the shampoo and conditioners you buy in a drug store and the ones you purchase in a hair salon? The answer is yes. The biggest difference is the concentration of the product or how much water is added, and the quality of the ingredients. I started to read the labels on the bottles and realized I need a little Chemistry tutoring first, so thank you Google. The most important ingredient in shampoo is the surfactant, or cleansing agent. The most common are Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate, the second choice being the more gentle, but the first being responsible for that bubbly lather that we all love. I checked a few labels and from what I can tell most professional shampoos have more of the good and less of the bad. The conditioners are all about moisture, and there are a lot of different possibilities for the ingredients added to the bottle. The reason we hate certain brands is because the ingredients used in their conditioners are so heavy that they actually adhere to the scalp and cause such a heavy buildup that you can scratch it off the scalp, and it often even repels water. I have had clients complain, and read many accounts online which claim this buildup has lead to the hair actually falling out.