Curly Hair Tamed

If you are of the 67% of females that have some curl to their hair, then surely you have struggled to keep it under control at some point and time. Too curly on the ends and flat on the top. Not to mention the frizz. This is how so many look when they try to wear their hair curly. This is why so many just go straight with it and flat iron to death.

Introducing DevaCurl Night at Cary O’Brien’s. Yes we have blogged this before and since it was a sell out the last time we thought we would do it again. This Wednesday 3-8pm call and come in for the DevaCurl Squeeze. We will teach you how to apply product, squeeze properly, and then pin the hair in the most awesome curls you have ever worn.

The DevaCurl concept and technique is not new but coming around again just in time to save everyones hair from flat iron torchure.

This time you will be taking home the DevaCurl Claw, a unique diffuser to tame that curly hair.

New Age Thinking

Okay, I’m 47 years old. I can smell 50 from here. I have a team of young professionals that I have to try to stay at least one step ahead of in the hip zone. With all their texting between each guest they see, face booking, and emails they are the technology age kids. So what does the old guy do to grow the business and help them grow in this day and age? Groupon! Have you hear of it? On Wednesday March 19, 2010 we pulled the trigger and our groupon offer went out to 125,600 local daily groupon subscribers. We are happy to say that at least some of them knew who we are and 577 people bought a $70.00 coupon and paid only $30.00 for it. Cary O’Briens.com (our web site) sees about 100 -200 hits a day. Wednesday we saw 4,000 + with over 7,000 page hits. That’s cool.

I feel my job (resposnsability) is to help bring new guests into the salon. Their’s is to keep them. We as a salon do not see a big short term gain in this endeavor but, talent, skills, great conversation, and just being nice to people we hope to keep them and that is the win for our company and each team member. A few more people know who we are now. That’s a good thing.

If you purchased a groupon thanks and say hello to me when you are in. If you missed the offer get on groupon today and look for us to launch again in the future.

DevaCurl Great Summer Hair

What is DevaCurl? It’s several things. For one it is a new product line we offer at Cary O’Brien’s. It is designed for the guest with curly hair from slightly curly to very curly. It has a less aggressive shampoo, conditioners, and styling products that enhance the curl in the hair to become more natural and bouncy. For another (and my favorite) it is a service and technique to show the guest how to encourage the natural curl at the scalp.

When the proper support product (gel or cream) is used and the hair is softly squeezed into shape you can see the great curl take shape. Then the curls are held in place with small clips placed in a circle around the crown area. Now just allow the hair to dry naturally or use a Deva Diffuser and then remove the clips. Add some shine spray or drops and shake it out. Voila, you now have soft, natural, beachy, summer looking hair.

Try it for yourself at home or come to the Deva Night at Cary O’Brien’s on May 26th and let our team Deva you up. Call to reserve your spot.

Lindenwood Fashion Show

WOW! If you love fashion, run way, and great models you should plan to attend next years Lindenwood Fashion Show.

This is the 4th year we have been asked to participate and design the hair for the models on the runway. We did a pre-event meeting and had our hair design ideas on a big board, we discussed what the theme was to be and then I just got out of their way. Megan, Ashley, Danielle, Jen, Blair, Angela, Chantal, and Connie did a great job teasing, pinning and doing some over the top hair. YOU GUYS DID AWESOME!!!!!

Here is what I feel is so awesome about this event first of all the designs walking down the runway are unbelievable. I asked some of the designers if they would sell their items, NO WAY was the response. They just put so much into each piece. But I am most proud of my team. This is not a paid event, and I am not complaining. It should not be a paid event. Having a place for young hairdressers to do their craft and create something out of the box, and over the top is what this industry is all about. CREATIVITY!

This is our community, we have great fashion going on right here in St. Charles and I am very proud of our team and the unselfish giving of their time and talent. Teaching the next generation that giving back to the community, giving of time and talent is the right thing to do and makes you feel good about yourself. I am just glad to be part of the experience.

Real Talent

Okay, yes I think she is really cute. Put that aside and this girl is the real deal. Great to watch her do so well. P.S. her aunts were in the salon the other day. Enjoy!

PEOPLE MAKING NEWS Taylor Swift won five awards at last night’s American Music Awards. Congratulations Taylor Swift “Artist of the Year”       Salon City’s Beauty Entertainment  Magazine congratulates Taylor Swift for her outstanding showing in last night’s AMA awards show in Los Angeles. Salon City was on hand to catch it all. Taylor Swift was the biggest winner at the 2009 AMA’s, taking home five AMA awards. She showed once again that she has an appeal to music fans that stretches further than just country music. Spokane Examiner’s Ryan Gamble reported that Taylor Swift wasn’t the only big winner at the 2009 AMA’s though, as the late Michael Jackson won four awards.   2009 AMA Winners Best Artist — Taylor Swift Best Country Male Artist — Keith Urban Favorite Male Pop/Rock — Michael Jackson Favorite Pop/Rock Album — Michael Jackson (Number Ones) T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist — Gloriana Favorite Soul/R&B — Michael Jackson Favorite Pop/Rock Band — Black Eyed Peas Best Country Female Artist — Taylor Swift Favorite Female Pop/Rock — Taylor Swift Favorite Female Adult Contemporary — Taylor Swift Check Out The Digital Edition of Salon City’s NEW BE! magazine!      Click on Cover!LOOK FOR MORE MUSIC, SALON PEOPLE AND STYLE IN .UPCOMING ISSUES OF BEAUTY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE!! BE! In Beauty Entertainment The ‘Salon People’ Magazine. We are ON DEADLINE and have LIMITED SPACE in our New Year issues. Take a moment and email us. We’ll fill you in on how you can BE! IN NOW.

How Great For Kate

If you know about our salon you know we grow our team from just out of beauty school to true salon professionals. So today I get to brag on one of our team members Kate Reiling.

Kate has been with our team for about two years and just this past week had her busiest week ever.

About Kate, she is a cheerleader coach, newly wed, new home owner, and of course hairdresser. She has completed our 100 haircut training plan and is really starting to blossom.

You might ask why I blog about this? Because I am so proud of her. When my team wins I win. I do not do much hair these days, I get more excited when I help develop a stronger hairdresser. I grow people. Helping keep the salon industry strong and growing is a real passion for me. So, I say GREAT FOR KATE.

Just Made it in the Top 100 Salons

Wow! I didn’t even know there was a list. But I am glad to be on it. Pass this on. Tell a friend, and come in and see one of our great team members.

We grow our hairdressers from when they graduate beauty school and build them up to top salon professionals. My most favorite thing to do is watch each one of them mature and grow our business of beauty.

If you asked my why are we on the list, I would have to say great hair, professional team, and my wife and my desire to develop their skills.

Enjoy!

PEOPLE MAKING NEWS

Llongueras ( their model above ) is one of Salon City’s HOT 100 Salons Internationally.  Salon City’s HOT 100(SM) Salons in America  Ocotober 2009 Ratings   THE TOP 10 OCTOBER 2009 CHARTS Warren Tricomi Salon in New York City continued as # 1 for the fifth time in a row. Rounding out the TOP 10 in August’s HOT 100 list were:  (2) Allen Edwards Salon/Santa Monica, CA; (3) Frederic Fekkai Salon/ New York City; (4) Kim Vo Salon at The Mirage/Las Vegas, NV; (5) Depasquale The Spa/Morris Plains, NJ; (6) Eric Fisher Salon/Witchita, KS;(7) Umberto Salon/Beverly Hills, CA; (8) Philip Pelusi Salon/Pittsburgh, PA;  (9) Michael’s Salon & Spa/Centerville, OH.;  (10) Magnum Opus/Portland, OR.   THE BUZZ IS ON! Look for new names and shifts in upcoming monthly ratings as many more salons are responding to the HOT 100 opportunity. For full HOT 100 listings click on the link: http://www.saloncity.com See The Latest HOT 100 Ratings in Every Issue, Every Month of BE! Beauty Entertainment Magazine The ‘Salon People’ Magazine. Some Go Up, Down, In or Out! The HOT 100 Monthly Chart of TheHottest Salons in America ( October Ratings post the end of the month)   There are up to 250,000 Salons in America. These media-savvy salons “Made it to Salon City’s HOT 100.” Salon City Magazine Reports the News. Congratulations to all salons in America for making people feel beautiful every single day of the year! Salon City’s HOT 100 Salons in America are chosen because they reflect those qualities that make a salon stand out in their city and community. Regardless of size and number of staff, these salons are some of the most popular and positively committed beautymakers anywhere. Each month they may move up, down, in or out! Salon City rates its HOT 100 by media artistry, performance, popularity with clients, peers and by their interest and involvement with Salon City’s retail media network, licensed distributors and the brands they work with. Look for New Salons & our HOT 100 Charts each month in BE!. Not everyone we like makes our HOT 100 list, but these one hundred did. They’re talked about, they reach our radar, and they know how to get media attention. Call a HOT 100 Salon and congratulate them!   Salon City has led the salon industry in investing in the independent spirit of the beauty profession. In addition to Salon City magazi ne and our other social media products, we want you to get involved with us and bring success and elevate the role in society of today’s best beautymakers. Because you have supported our mission, we invite you to appear in BE! - our new daily and monthly online-print-digital-mobile publications. For smaller boutique advertisers, email us today if you would like to hear more about our fabulous introductory rates for new, exciting market category leaders. Click to Request a Media Proposal  ( Click on e-media kit image below to see Beauty Entertainment Magazine’s kit )

Still Doing It

Just back from Milwaukee. Talisa and I along with 8 other couples went there over the weekend to run the 29th Milwaukee Marathon. Only the husbands ran except for Shelly Hester. Her and Dave both ran. Hats off to Shelly. We call the non-running wive the marathon managers as they have to approve where the marathons will be ran in order for them to attend. i.e. Little Rock, no, Napa Valley, yes.

Great course in Milwaukee, probably the best course I have ever ran. That makes 24 full marathons for me. This past weekend also brings the total of states up to 12. I am now qualified to attempt the 50 states club. That’s right, run a marathon in every state in the union. In our running club I think only Kay McVey has that honor.

Moving a bit slow today, but I thought I would post out and encourage everyone who has ever thought of doing something even close to a marathon to just go for it. You will never know if you never try.

Day Break At Harvester C.C

Day Break at Harvester Christian Church is a womans retreat. We have been invited to participate for the last couple of years. It is a very nice event.

I think it is so important for ladies to take time for themselves to recharge and unwind. From my many years in the industry I have noticed that they rarely take the time to do so.

Our class is of course about salon ideas and how we can help ladies look and feel better. If we can solve some problems and save them some time even better.

We had three 45 minute classes to get our message out. We love to bring in our team members who are our rising stars to participate. We choose our models right on the spot from the audience and do a live conversation and then give them the make over in front of the attendees. As you can imagine cutting and speaking live is a bit more of a challenge than in the salon. Here’s what they did.

Lindsey has been with us for 1 1/2 years and is so technical at her approch to hair. It is a pleasure for me to watch her cut as every move is on task. That might sound insignificant, but it is very important. She did a great job. Gave her model a great new look and update.

Danielle has been with us just over a year. When she started to speak Talisa (my wife) and I just looked at each other and smiled. Talisa whispered “you can go now” indicating that Danielle had it covered and I was no longer needed. She spoke like a seasoned veteran. Having done stage work for over 15 years myself, she performed way beyond her years of training.

Stefanie is a seasoned veteran. With 12 years of experience she made the task look so easy. Although new to our team (6 months) she brings a great new approach to our salon. She gave wonderful time saving tips and styling ideas to her model.

I am so proud of our team. They gave up their time behind the chair in the salon where they are comfortable and make money, to give back to the community where we all live and prosper from.

My charge is to help each team member challenge themselves to do more than they thought they could and evolve into the salon professional that I know they are. Sometimes I know it and see it before they do. “That’s the best part of my job”

Keeping It Professional

If you have never watched Tabitha’s takeover it is worth the watch. I find it sad that a person like Tabitha with such a strong personality has to come into some salons to teach them that they must look, act like, and talk like they are in the Beauty Industry.

Salon owners get lazy (some times I know I have) they let the team dictate how the salon should operate. When this happens the salon moves away from the vision that made the salon great to begin with.

I find it refreshing to bring in new talent and revitalize the salon from time to time. Some times it is just time for stylists to move on a see if the grass really is greener. Often it is not. However, that is another story.

PEOPLE MAKING NEWS

Tabatha Coffey Tabatha Coffey Takes Over Again! ‘TABATHA COFFEY CONTINUES HER MISSION TO SAVE STRUGGLING BUSINESSES ON THE SECOND SEASON OF BRAVO’S ‘TABATHA’S SALON TAKEOVER,’ PREMIERING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT 10 PM ET/PT Read it First in Salon City Magazine Last year’s sleeper hit, “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover,” returns for a second season featuring the forthright and smartly styled Tabatha Coffey as she transforms the lives and businesses of salon owners in the Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami areas. The new season of Bravo’s “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover,” premieres Tuesday, November 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. With the economy contributing to the dire situations of fledgling small business owners nationwide, Tabatha hits the metropolitan cities of Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami to work with ten different beauty salons literally about to go under. For one week, she confiscates the keys to the establishments and takes over as boss, bringing her no-nonsense approach to these salon owners and stylists in dire need of her skilled business direction. For a sneak peek at the second season of “Tabatha’s Salon Takeover,” go to: http://www.bravotv.com/tabathas-salon-takeover/videos/tabathas-taking-over. Fans first met Tabatha as an acerbic contestant on the first season of Bravo’s “Shear Genius,” and since that time she has increasingly earned respect for her unapologetic, brutally honest approach. Tabatha speaks from years of experience as a stylist and salon owner. Since her start as a salon assistant at the age of 14 in her homeland of Surfer’s Paradise, Australia, she instantly fell in love with the field. At 15, she started a four-year apprenticeship program in Australia, and her love for hairdressing grew. Next she moved to London for eight years to continue her training, and has since been working in the beauty field in the U.S. for 19 years. She has a large clientele nationwide and owns the Industrie Hair Gurus salon in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Entering the salon doors donned in her signature all-black attire and perfectly coifed short blond hair, the awed reactions of the salon owners and stylists upon seeing her are a testament to the respect she has earned in the field. Love her or hate her, Tabatha’s expertise is indisputable. The stakes are high for these salon owners, who literally can lose everything and quickly realize that in order to save their livelihoods, they need to step up to Tabatha’s strict business and styling standards. She will stand for nothing less than passion and commitment from the stylists she coaches. Her critical eye probes the salons’ customer service, cleanliness, professionalism, and overall styling techniques. This season, she will again make her recommendations for which stylists should have a higher profile in the salon, and which ones might need to be fired. The end results are often dramatic and inspire all those who have come in contact with Tabatha to strive for only their best. The salons Tabatha will makeover in the Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami areas include: Orbit Salon - Chicago, Ill. Allure Salon - Miami, Fla. Eclectic Salon - Los Angeles, Calif. Bang Salon - Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Plush Salon - Chatsworth, Calif. Brownes and Co - Miami, Fla. Refuge Salon - Los Angeles, Calif. Chicago Male - Chicago, Ill. Tantrum Salon - Covina, Calif. Earth Moon Sun - Western Springs, Ill. Brand your Name and Company in Salon City’s NEW BE! magazine! LOOK FOR MORE TV SHOWS, STYLE AND SALON PEOPLE IN THE NEW ISSUES OF BEAUTY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE!! BE! In Beauty Entertainment Magazine The ‘Salon People’ Magazine.