Now that winter is officially closing in on us and the hours of daylight are slowly starting to dwindle, it is time to take a step back and examine our hair. Yes, that’s right, after months of soaking up the summer sun our hair deserves a break from all the harsh elements.
Fashion With Fifi had an appointment with Ben Stewart, Color Director at the Cutler Salon, this past Wednesday and learned that treating damaged hair at the end of the season is just as important as pulling those winter woolens out of the closet.
The salon, located at 47 West 57th Street on the second floor, is a sleek, contemporary studio that specializes in Redken hair products and offers an array of services from cut, color, and styling to texturing services that include curl reducers, permanent waves, and their special Redken Chemistry System.
The Redken Chemistry is a deep conditioning treatment intended to repair damaged hair. Each treatment is specialized and tailored to suit each client’s needs, whether she needs color protection, moisture, strength, softness, etc.
Fashion With Fifi received a complimentary Damage Repair Masque, a treatment intended to restore strength and shine to dull, damaged hair. (See the after-photo to the right!) This treatment is normally priced at $70, but Stewart recommends using Redken’s Extreme Rescue Force conditioning treatment at home between salon visits to keep hair healthy. The leave-in treatment should be applied to shampooed, towel-dried hair for no longer than 15 minutes and it will leave hair stronger, shinier, and more manageable
The Cutler salon also offers an Anti-fade Chemistry Treatment and an Ultra Chemistry treatment, each for $60 and uniquely tailored to each client’s specific hair needs. However, if you are getting another hair service at the salon, these Chemistry services are available for just $25 extra!
Ben Stewart, who has been working at the Cutler Salon for 10 years, says there are three main culprits that weaken women’s hair: exposure to the heat and UV rays from the sun, washing hair in really hot water, and over-use of heat products.
“Using heat products can damage colored hair and even virgin hair,” warns Stewart.
Stewart recommends the Treatment Protectant Spray from the Cutler product line. The spray, which is packed with heat-activated polymers, can be used on hair before using heat products or at the beach to filter out UV rays.
But perhaps Stewart’s most important advice pertains to our obsessive shampooing routines. “American women’s biggest mistake is that they wash their hair every day,” he says.
Shampooing hair every day strips it of its natural oils and makes hair much drier and more susceptible to damage and breakage. Breaking free of this routine will allow the oils to saturate hair and make it much healthier. Stewart suggests washing hair with luke-warm water every other day for two weeks to help balance out the hair and allow the natural oils to disperse.
“Ideally, you should only have to wash your hair every two or three days,” says Stewart.
Although breaking this hair care routine can be tough, it seems like a simple challenge: shave more time off the morning routine and get healthier hair. Now that’s a challenge we can all try!
"Fashion Is Foremost Inspiration"
Erin Simpson
I don't know about you, but my end-of-summer agenda includes logging as many days in the sun as possible... even if that means rigging up some sort of outdoor office situation. And now I've discovered another way to multi-task and save money! In an attempt to achieve beachy, straight-from-the salon highlights, I mixed together a half cup of lemon juice with three tablespoons of vodka and sprayed it liberally throughout my hair. The end result: subtle blond highlights that will keep me out of the salon chair for at least another two months! The sticky mixture tends to dry your hair into a stringy mess, so I would not advise trying this in front of anyone worthy of a great impression. But it's a perfect for an afternoon with your friends on the beach, in the backyard, on the roof....the possibilities are endless!
