Donna Bella Milan – Hair extensions blog

Author Archive

Extension Throw Down – Idea #2

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Most small business owners are afraid of what the competition is doing, especially if the competitor has a shop right around the corner from theirs. So rather than fear the competition, take control and become the epa center for hair extension expertise in your community.

Learn a lesson from Food Channel’s Bobby Flay, who has restaurants around the country with plenty of competition everywhere. Bobby stars in a Food Channel series known as Bobby Flay Throw Down. The theme of the show is simple. Try to upstage other great chefs who have specialized in a particular food dish.

Every challenge turns into a fun, light hearted event that endears Bobby to both competitors and fans. And Bobby is not afraid of losing. Notoriety is the goal.

So how do you create a Hair Extension Thrown Down in your market? Simple!

Test the idea with one challenger, perhaps you start with another hair extension specialist in your own salon. After completing your first throw down, go to your real world competition down the street with the idea. It’s your event. Don’t let a competitor take over. You may even want to hold all of the events at your own salon.

Each of you invites a customer who is ready to get extensions to join the challenge with you. You pick a date when both customers can be at the shop at the same time. In front of everyone in the salon, challenge the other stylist and their client to a contest to see who can create the best before and after look.

Here are some other ideas for the event.

Put a required time limit on the event that will push you to perform at your best. Maybe that means a full-head application in a one and 1/2-hour period. Each of you has an assistant to speed up the time.

If each stylist uses a different application method, (micro bead vs. fusion for example) the competition is usually more interesting.

Ask independent judges from the community to determine the winner. This will give you additional advertising exposure. Judges could be female business leaders, newspaper reporters, teachers, high-school student body officers, or anyone who will promote the contest and get others thinking about extensions.

Competitors should invite their friends, relatives, or other customers to the competition. Have some drinks and snacks and make it a party atmosphere, with plenty to do during the two hour event. Help your throw down clients feel like models and that losing is not a negative reflection on their appearance.

Perhaps you give your models a big discount on their extensions for participating in the contest.

Don’t give our any prizes. This competition is all about bragging rights. Your exposure is equally great, whether you win or lose the competition. The key is making it your event, not your competitors. Watch some Bobby Flay Throw Down shows to see the format and how well he reacts when he loses a hard-fought food battle.

This is just one more way to earn a reputation as the top hair extension specialist in your city or state.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Extension Marketing, Manager's Corner, Salon News, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Adjusting Hair Extensions

Tuesday, March 29th, 2011

As hair grows almost every person who wears hair extensions must replace some extensions or make adjustments for new hair growth. Otherwise, there is a risk that the tip of the extension will become exposed and be seen peaking through the back of the natural hair.

How much work and effort goes into adjustments depends a great deal upon the method chosen to attach the applications. Here are the challenges and benefits of adjusting four different types of application methods.

Sew-In Extensions

Sew-In extensions are tied directly to a cornrow or braid from your natural hair. As long as the cornrow remains in-tack, the tip of the extension will never show. However, anyone who wears braids needs to allow the hair to “breathe” and relax by undoing the braid and exposing the natural hair to fresh open air from time-to-time.

When braids are undone, extensions must be completely re-sewn into new braids and should be given a few days to recuperate from their tightly woven condition before re-braiding. Shampoo, conditioning, fresh air, and sunshine are equivalent to sending your old braided hair to a day spa.

Tape-In Extensions

Tape-In extensions are easy for professional stylists to apply but preserving the quality of the tape when adjustments are made is a little different story. We’ve all had occasion to try to re-use tape when we are positioning paper around a birthday present or re-gluing a postal envelope. It works but not very well.

That is true with making adjustments to tape-in extensions. If you can successfully get the tape undone and the adjustment made, then the tape will hold for a while but not to the same extent that it did when the tape was first applied.

Be careful not to give your client a high expectation that their tape-in extensions will remain secure after the adjustment. We recommend that stylists and customers start from scratch with new tape-in extensions.

Bond or “Fusion” Extensions

A bond extension is sealed to the natural hair with heated keratin tips. Adjustments are made by reheating the tip to liquefy the keratin and cleaning the area with a bond removal agent.

Fusion extensions can be re-applied and adjusted closer to the scalp by wrapping a small keratin “rebond” around the old tip and re-applying the tip to the natural stands.

The process is a simple process but it takes time to make adjustments and fill in spots where an extension may have come loose or grown out. When making adjustments, build the cost of the adjustment into your original price for extensions or charge an hourly rate for the additional service.

Micro Beads

Of all the application methods, adjustments are easiest with micro beads. Even though the bead has been crushed in the initial application, beads can be easily opened and the hair extension pushed back to its original position on new hair growth.

Beads made of aluminum will normally open and close again without breaking apart. Occasionally, when the bead does break, just take an extra minute to pop on a new micro bead and reset the extension.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Biz Tip, Extension Tip, Hair Care, Hair Tips & Tricks, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Create Your Own Magazine

Thursday, March 24th, 2011

Salon owners entertain their waiting customers in a variety of ways. Providing a wide range of glamour magazines is one of the longest standing traditions.

Some customers actually arrive early for their appointment just to read the latest fashion magazine or thumb through hot paparazzi photos. People clip articles, point out hair styles of movie stars, and generally catch up on the latest Hollywood glitz.

Why not create your own fashion magazine, featuring not only the extensions found on the runways and at the music awards, but highlighting some of your clients who have added extensions themselves.

Creating Your Own Extension Magazine is cheap, fun, and easy to do. Here’s how!

Start with a 3-ring binder that has a plastic dust-cover so you can name the magazine, put a picture on the front, and label the publication’s month and volume.

Do your own clipping and cutting from fashion magazine pages to find celebs that have naturally long hair or extensions. Few people can tell who has naturally grown hair locks and who has extensions.

As clients, finish getting their extensions put in, take a picture of them in similar poses to the famous people in your magazine. Don’t worry that your customer is not wearing a runway dress. If the movie star is standing looking left with hair draped over her shoulder, take your customer’s picture using the same angle.

Purchase some clear plastic 3-ring binder sleeves for the pages of your book.

Place the celebrity’s picture so that when the binder is open, that photo is on the left hand side of the open binder. Then place the picture of your hair extension customer on the opposite, or right hand side of the open pages. Perhaps you may create more than one client page on the right hand side. In other words, five hair extension customers may fit the look-alike page for the same movie star.

Decide how long it will take to fill a binder and how many pictures you want in each publication. Start new volumes when needed and keep past volumes on a shelf so that customers can go back through some of the older issues, especially if they want to look at the issue that featured their own picture.

Finally, when your client returns for another appointment, have them autograph the photo that you took of them and make them feel really special. You may even want to give out awards to your photo customers, after finishing a publication.

A customized hair extension magazine is one good way to highlight your expertise as a hair extension specialist.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Beauty Business, Biz Tip, Fashion, Hair Extension Contest, Manager's Corner, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Sanitize For Clients

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

Every day, more and more customers look for services that promote safe, clean, and green businesses. Grocery stores, offer wipes for shopping carts. Tissue dispensers are starting to be placed near bathroom exits and door knobs. And Yogini clean mats in between yoga sessions.

Whenever you have a service where one client leaves and another takes their place in a chair or work station, you owe it to the new client to make sure that the area has been refreshed and sanitized. That is especially true for beauty shops.

You would not believe, the germs and illness that visit your salon each day by way of customers, suppliers, and co-workers. With so many people, from so many different micro environments, it is almost impossible to remain immune from potential micro organisms that are anxious to spread their wickedness.

There are two major reasons for taking the issue of cleanliness seriously.

First, from a practical standpoint, you want to stay healthy so that your income remains steady. Stylists understand that if they are sick at home, cash flow comes to a screeching halt.

Second, there is the importance of customer perception. If your client senses that your salon is a germ factory, they’ll find another stylist. Most modern consumers have been taught that “cleanliness in next to godliness”.

Here are some ideas for you to consider.

Before a client sits down, wipe the chair down in their presence or before they reach your workstation, as long as they can see you doing it from the reception area. The key here is not only cleaning the chair surface but making sure they see you do it. If you have to, make them stand by the chair until the work is completed.

Pay particular attention to the arms of the chair and the area that your client places their hands. Another sensitive area of the chair is where your client will be resting their neck and head. That should be thoroughly sanitized from the previous customer.

Regularly clean your combs and brushes in a dishwasher but remember that some dish washers get so hot that they could melt the products. Also consider storing or spraying them in alcohol prior to use.

Wash you hands before starting a hair extension application. And if you leave the work area for any reason, particularly to handle money, be sure to wash your hands again when you return.

Mirrors reflect your image and dirty mirrors turn people off. Keep a spray bottle of cleaner on hand to touch up wall mirrors and hand mirrors. If you offer someone a hand mirror, clean off the handle with a sanitized wipe.

Make sure that the floor does not have hair clippings, extension packaging, beads, or hair extensions from the last client. Floors tell the story of cleanliness in a salon, especially if your station is near a corner wall.

It is the little things in business that are noticed. Customers may not mention anything to you about cleanliness but believe me, good or bad, it’s going through their minds, even when they are sitting in another stylist’s chair. Pick up a few new clients by being extra clean.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Beauty Business, Biz Tip, Manager's Corner | No Comments »

Silicone – Damages Extensions

Friday, February 25th, 2011

Be careful. Many hair extension manufacturers are promoting the idea that silicone is beneficial to hair extensions. The benefits of silicone are highly overrated and chemical silicone ultimately damages hair extensions.

Misleading Claims About Silicone Hair Extensions

Helps Retain Moisture

Keeps Hair From Tangling

Protects Hair From Blow Dryers and Other Devices

Maintains Softness

Shields UV Sun Rays

Reduces Hair Frizz

Improves Hair Luster

Combs Easier

Allows For Cleaner Cuts

Longer Lasting Extensions

Real Truth Revealed

Don’t believe the claims. Once silicone is worn from the hair extensions the whole story changes rapidly.

Silicone never helps retain moisture. It actually blocks the ability of moisture to penetrate hair and bolster moisture content.

Tangling actually increases as soon as the silicone washes off the extensions. The natural oils are gone and the exposed dry hair promotes tangling.

Silicone is a man-made chemical that diffuses when used with heating appliances such as flat irons.

Softness disappears when the silicone is stripped from the hair extensions and exposes inferior quality hair.

UV rays can penetrate clear silicone coatings. If UV rays get past sunglasses don’t you think they would burn through silicone?

Frizz occurs because of dryness, poor shearing, lack of nutrients, and other possibilities. Frizz increases within a few short weeks when using silicone extensions.

Luster suffers because the quality of human hair is usually sub standard and revealed after the silicone is gone.

Combing and brushing becomes increasing difficult and troublesome with silicone extensions.

Extension tips dry faster, fray, break, and cut inconsistently, in part because the hair will no longer lay flat or curl properly.

Silicone shortens the length of time that extensions can remain in the hair before removing them for new extensions.

Silicone usually has added ingredients including alcohol or mineral oil that dry and negatively affect hair extensions.

On the other hand, top quality Remy human hair extensions restore all of the vital nutrients that are found in your own natural hair during processing.

Silicone is anything but natural so don’t listen to people who claim that chemicals add benefits to your skin or hair.

Donna Bella Milan never applies silicone to their hair extensions.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Extension Tip, Hair Extensions, Natural Hair Extensions, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Why We Don’t Have Green Hair

Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011

In public school art classes we learn that with just three primary colors – Red, Green, Blue – most any other color can be created. That being true, why don’t we have people all over the globe being born with one of those three unusual hair colors?

Primary Colors And Why

Our brains are programmed to see color based upon various light and wavelength that is detected by the human eye. Not everyone sees the same color in exactly the same way. Normally, we use cone receptors in the eyes to see the full 3-D range of color. Color combinations are based upon three main colors? Red, Green, and Blue. Cone receptors are also known as TRI-(three)chromats.

Few people on earth are natural red heads, and no large populations of green heads or blue heads have been found to my knowledge. Even though Red, Green, and Blue are the primary colors, hair color is determined by two pigments found in all human hair called Eumelanin and Pheomelanin. The quantity of these pigments provided by our DNA is dictated by heredity.

Sometimes pigment strength jumps from generation to generation. That is why you may be born blonde but your children have brown hair from birth. Also, hair color is often dominated by the other parent. When it comes down to it, natural hair color can be basic brown, black, blonde, or red.

Pigments Make The Difference

It is the quantity and strength of Pheomelanin and Eumelanin that formulates the combination of natural hair colors that we see. Each person has more or less of these pigments and therefore more or less of one basic hair color than another. For example, Pheomelanin colors hair red. Eumelanin colors hair black or brown. The Irish have much more Pheomelanin pigment in their genes than African-Americans.

Speaking of the Irish and Scottish population. It has been reported that 13 percent of their populations are redheads, while worldwide that number is only between 1% and 2%.

Grey hair comes about because of lack of pigmentation and the way light is reflected on the hair. In some light, hair appears to be grey while in other light there is a sense that a person has blonde hair.

Most hair extensions are harvested from women who have high amounts of black Eumelanin pigment. The pigment is extracted from the hair and colored to suit the preferences of the stylists and their customers.

Luckily for us, hair color usually looks much the same for each individual. It would be concerning if I thought that some people saw my hair as brown and others thought it was purple. Thank heavens for our trichromats.

It is also wonderful that with modern technology, we can experience any length and color of hair that we wish to have. Even the natural colors produced by Pheomelanin and Eumelanin.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Coloring News, Hair Gossip, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Cold Weather Extension Care

Monday, February 21st, 2011

Harsh, freezing weather plays havoc with hair and hair extensions. Protect your hair with a few easy to follow tips that will keep your hair soft and subtle until warm weather returns and spring flowers begin to bloom.

When possible, keep the temperature of your hair above the freezing point of 32 degrees. That means that every time you leave home and the weather report predicts cold, cold conditions, put on a hat or wrap a scarf around your head. Hats, particularly knitted hats, often ruin a good hairdo, so when possible place a cotton or wool scarf under a loosely fitting cap.

Use a vaporizer or humidifier in your bedroom at night to maintain moisture in your skin and hair. Cold air dries and cracks hair extensions just as it affects your natural hair. Dryness is especially prevalent in locations that experience snow that remains on the ground for the duration of the winter or have high winds.

Condition your hair extensions more often during dry, freezing conditions. Moisturizers in a professional conditioner are absorbed into the hair follicles and keep the strands pliable. Never cut corners by purchasing a cheap, poor quality conditioner. Remy human hair extensions deserve a conditioner that does not contain a long list of chemical ingredients.

A vitamin and mineral supplement from a whole foods grocery store or health food store will help maintain nutrient levels in your natural hair. Use this tip year round to retain luster and consistent hair growth. Diet makes a big difference in how your hair looks and feels. Eat nutritiously during cold periods.

Avoid high temperature blow dryers that dry your hair immediately. Consider lowering the temperature and fan speed of your hair dryer. If time permits, blow dry at lower temperatures, let the hair rest for 15 to 20 minutes and then blow dry again to lengthen the time it takes to completely dry your hair and extensions.

Water may be the single most important factor in maintaining moist hair and hair extensions. Of course, extensions are not directly connected to your natural roots. Add moisture to your natural hair by drinking more water. Any water… tap, spring, or filtered. Any kind of water helps but carbonated water in soft drinks is harder for the cells to process and absorb.

To moisten your hair extensions, soak you hair in warm water twice a week and then use a moisturizing spray to pull that water into the hair extensions.

Be aware that poor quality human hair extensions will not respond to these tips.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Extension Tip, Hair Care, Hair Tips & Tricks, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Standing For Long Hours

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

Working while standing all day can create some long-term health problems unless you pace yourself and have the right footwear. Use these six ideas to ensure that you have a long, stress free, and healthy salon career.

Over time, even the healthiest, physically fit stylists start to feel the affects of standing over a chair all day long. You may not feel the pain for a year or two but eventually you may begin to question your ability to maintain your strength over a thirty-year stint.

Here are some tips that will soften the physical strain of standing all day long.

Keep Your Legs Moving
Standing in one place or sitting for long periods inhibit the blood flow to arms, legs, and the brain. In between clients, take a quick stroll through the salon or out the front door and around the parking lot. Ample blood circulation keeps your mind, muscles, and fingertips in tip top shape.

Drink Plenty Of Water
Hydrate your body with lots of water. Talking to customers all-day and working around hot appliances dries out the skin and pulls liquids from the body. Resist the idea that soft drinks, coffee, and energy drinks do as much good as water. If they did, God would have made underground springs taste like 7-up.

Wear Shoes That Feel Great
Find shoes that fit comfortably, don’t pinch, and are not so large that you slide around inside the shoe while moving. Firm soles offer the back support that will get you through a ten-hour workday. Cushy insoles protect your feet from sores and potential blisters.

Take A Break From Standing
If you get a chance, sit down and elevate your feet to relieve tension and pressure on your lower body and skeletal structure. The spine bears the brunt of standing all day. Treat the spine like a great employee. Give your back a well deserved rest, two or three times a day.

Make Bathing A Ritual
A tub full of hot water and herbal salts is one of the best ways for your body to heal on a daily basis and regroup for the coming day. The muscles relax and prepare your mind and body for a guaranteed good night’s sleep. At the salon, a quick ten minute foot bath at lunch will do wonders for your stamina.

Build Your Muscle Strength
Your legs are more important to your career than a sharp pair of scissors or a blow dryer on steroids. Outside of work, do some regular exercises that strengthen your upper leg muscles, calves, and stomach. You will notice an immediate difference in your ability to stand for long periods of time.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Health, Manager's Corner, Shop Talk | No Comments »

Human Hair Prices Set To Rise

Tuesday, February 15th, 2011

Costs for a variety of commodities are inching their way higher and in the not-to-distant future, sticker shock will be setting in for food, clothing (especially items made of cotton), and of course fuel. Be aware that some changes are coming for human hair extensions as well. How you manage those cost increases will be important in keeping loyal customers.

Of course, human hair is not manufactured like I-Pods or cell phones. There are limited resources for hair. But conditions in the world play an important role in dictating the price of human hair and the extensions that come from that hair. Here is just one example of how that happens. When unrest surfaces in the middle-east, oil prices spike. As oil prices increase, the cost to deliver human hair from India to factories in China jumps as well. And then transportation to the U.S. adds more to the cost of human hair extensions.

Human hair is not something that you should stockpile. That is one of the great advantages of working with Donna Bella Milan. You can have little or no inventory at your salon, and within days, order the exact amount of human hair that you need for your client. That arrangement keeps your cash in the bank and saves you hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year.

Many salons are reluctant to raise prices during economic downturns. When and how to increase prices is a matter of your local economy and clientele. You may want to start mentioning to customers how you’ve been able to hold prices down for three or four years and help your regular clients understand that the prices for your services may increase over the next few months. Every person sitting in your chair, grocery shops, buys gasoline, and will understand your need to bump things up a bit.

Start now, even though prices to you have not yet changed. Small, incremental increases will be less noticeable to your customers. If you get some push-back from your best clients, then consider performing an extra service to make up for the increases. Maybe you could throw in a shampoo as part of the hair extension application. Test the market. Talk to other stylists in your salon, and put together a plan that will keep your customers happy.

Make sure that your skills continue to improve. No one minds paying for a service when the provider is remarkably competent. The client gets what they pay for, so creative styling, color skills, and the finest human hair extensions in the marketplace goes a long way to satisfying a customer.

Be smart about increasing prices. If the salon’s wholesale prices go up 20%, that does not mean that the retail customer prices need to go up 20%. Perhaps all you should do initially is to raise the price of the extension service to cover your addition cost of the hair extensions. You still make the same amount of money as before by passing only the actual increases onto the client. That makes the increase painless for the customer.

Many of your salon products will be increasing in price. Think about where you make your money. Perhaps some of those products should be eliminated or the amount of inventory on-hand reduced. The price of your SERVICE is the key factor during any inflationary cycle. Don’t be afraid to raise prices. If you are as good a stylist as we think you are, then what you charge today or in the future will never be a problem.

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author

Logan Woolley

Posted in Biz Tip, Donna Bella News, Hair Extension News, Hair News, Salon News | No Comments »

Surprise Your Love With Extensions

Friday, January 28th, 2011

We have always known that “variety is the spice of life” and there is no better way to spice up a romantic weekend than to surprise your partner with long, flowing, seductive hair extensions.

Too many relationships get caught in the same old, same old rut. If familiarity breeds contempt, then we ought to go out of our way to create a refreshing new look from time-to-time that keeps our closest relationships vibrant and sexy.

One good way to do that is to surprise your partner with a romantic getaway that you have planned well in advance. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or expensive to ensure an adventurous, seductive evening. Perhaps it could be as simple as arranging for a quiet table in the corner of an intimate low-lit dinning room, or wearing a dress that tells your companion that you made a special effort to look great.

Between, location, apparel, perfume, make-up, and music, you can create a memorable occasion that will bring your relationship to new heights.

If you really want to get someone’s heart pounding (or resuscitated), then visit your stylist for a hair extension makeover.

Seeing you in new long-flowing extensions will light a fire in the heart of your partner. Sure it’s the same lovable you, but you get to remind him that you are special now, have always been special, and will be special for years to come. If you look great, it makes your man look great! When you look beautiful, it reminds him of why he fell head-over-heels in love with you.

Try it for a weekend and test the results.

A weekend? Wouldn’t hair extensions for a weekend cost a small fortune? Absolutely not, if you ask your stylist to sell you some clip-ins or if you purchase human hair clips from your local beauty distributor. Clip-in hair is an inexpensive way get the sparks flying again. If you have no local source for clip-in human hair, then call our customer service department at Donna Bella and buy direct from the company.

Clip-in hair extensions are easy to apply by yourself or have a friend help with the installation. Clip-ins can be attached in such a short period of time that your spouse will think you have a complete makeover team hidden in your clothes closet. You will amaze him. You will overwhelm him. You will bedazzle him with your new look.

If the clips work the way I think they will work, then consider permanent hair extensions that will keep the momentum going for three to six months longer. Why not turn one miracle weekend into six months of romantic bliss?

Logan is founder of Donna Bella Milan hair extensions and lashes and an author of the Donna Bella weblog.

Meet The Author