More Help for Fine or Weakened Hair

If you know me as a hairdresser, you also know that I am the go-to guy if you have fine or weak hair. You know, the kind of hair that doesn’t seem to grow past a certain length? It’s always fly-away. Never shiny. And it’s the kind of hair that is often mistaken for dry hair and yet, if you load it up with moisturizers, it goes limp and looks like you’ve used olive oil for a styling product.
You also might know that I have, for years, used a little known product (among others) called, Emergencee, by Nexxus to help me bond a polymer to weak hair shafts in an effort to increase diameter, strengthen, add body and allow my clients to have longer hair. Well now I’ve found my new favorite product(s). It’s made by Kérastase, a French brand that the salon, where I work, just partnered with. I’ve been aware of the line for years but I had never worked in a salon that used it. But now I’m very impressed Kérastase and pleased to tell you about its treatments for fine or weakened hair and that it’s now available at Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa.
The entire staff was being given the in-salon product knowledge class where we got to work with the products and see, first-hand, what the treatments lines can do for our clients. These types of classes are great for stylists because we get to use the products on ourselves to touch, feel, work with and experience them before we even apply them to our daily repertoire of hair remedies for clients.
Since I don’t have any hair no one picked me to be their partner for trying out our new Kérestase treatments.
But I got the last laugh because I had the opportunity to see everyone else’s results from the different treatments for varied hair problems each staff member was asked to address. All of the results were instantaneous and substantial, from dry or curly-rebellious, to mature hair.
But the fine weakened hair of my friend & co-worker, (& part-time gorgeous model—she’s on the cover of my book!) Eileen was definitely the most dramatic. Eileen has the kind of hair that looks fine yet straight when it is blown out and flattened with a heating tool. It is long and appears to have body due to the blond demensional highlights. But when it’s freshly shampooed, it feels dry and tangles easily and no amount of conditioner seems to make it feel nice until most of the water is blown out of it. This is the exact type of hair that I used to coat up with the polymers or weightless oils so that can be thicker and not flimsy once it’s styled.
The stylist who did Eileen’s treatment shampooed her hair with Kérastase Bain De Force shampoo. It’s made specifically for hair that is weak or damaged (highlights!) and hair that doesn’t have a lot of elasticity (think: stretchy = bad). A good fine-hair shampoo will not over-cleanse the outer layer of the hair shaft but should leave a top-coat of protection and this one does just that. If a person has dry and weakened hair you would use Bain Age Recharge and Eileen could easily also have used this one too. Both are available for home use.
The in-salon treatment that was used on Eileen was called Concentré Age Recharge. It would cost a client $35 in our salon to have it done and it’s worth every penny. The stylist applied the strengthening liquid on her hair and suddenly her hair was smooth, shiny, radiant, and it looked like younger and naturally colored hair. But the proof was in the blow dry. Her hair was easy to blow dry and the length had bounce and shine.
How long will it last? I tell my clients that their treatment lasts as long as they keep on supporting what I did in-salon at their very own homes. That means using the right shampoo, hair masques, and strengtheners vs. moisturizers and/or thermal protectors. Everyone is different and has different lifestyles. For Eileen, she’ll use either of the shampoos I mentioned and Care Volumactive, an at-home conditioner.
I hope that you check out the Kérastase line. I’m going to be blogging more about the results I get in the future and I want to hear from you too.
jon-david is a professional writer as well as a Master Stylist at Joseph Michael’s Salon & Spa.

Fine Hair gets Thicker

You can go to the Best Hairdresser in Chicago and they may never have heard of this product: Nexxus Aloxxi Polymeric, formerly called Emergencee.
We don’t even officially use in my own salon but I buy it myself and laminate it on my clients who have fine, wimpy, never-grows, wispy-weak hair.
This product is a polymer that coats the hair, thereby thickening it. And once the diameter of the hair is increased it is also stronger, shinier and more reflective of light. And “Emergencee’d” hair also accepts color better and the product keeps your color lasting longer. Does your hair seem to grow a certain length past your ears and then just look too thin? Does it just break off after a certain length? Not anymore! You can order it yourself online from HairCareChoices.com, and do the treatment yourself. Or you can bring it in to the salon and have your stylist do the treatment on you, if he or she doesn’t mind. We can do many other treatments over Emergencee’d hair, they always work better when we do. Nexxus Aloxxi (Emergencee) Polymeric Reconstructor
Here’s the Nexxus explanation:Stops hair breakage, repairs and strengthens severely damaged hair.Dramatically improves hair's health, condition and shine.Contains a renewing blend of Polymers, Elastins, Amino Acids and Collagen.Creates an internal framework within the hairshaft to restore integrity.Strengthens internally and externally.Repairs and smoothes damaged cuticle; restores flexibility.Magnifies shine and depth of colour.Improves body and stylability.Acidifies hair, pH 2.5. (Closes and fills in cuticle.)Excellent pre-treatment for delicate hair prior to all chemical services.Great nail strengthening treatment. (I wouldn’t know this one but interesting.)How to do the treatment the way I do like to do it:
On the bottle, it does not say it needs heat, but it does! On wet clean/towel-dried hair, I put about a 1/4 ounce amount (Quarter sized) of the product on and work it through. Since it goes on like honey, you will not be able to get a comb through it. Then I put a layer of foil on each panel of a flat Iron with a control setting. I would use a 2 out of 10 range. So not too hot! Then I just laminate the product right on the hair directly with the foiled iron, section by section, root to ends. Five to ten sections all over the head. No need to "linger" on the hair with the iron. Just run the iron quickly through the hair shaft. The foil is the "buffer" that insures you are not boiling the hair. When done, rinse with cool water and follow with your regular (salon bought) conditioner. When you start out, do Emergencee 3 times in one month then one time per month after that. Once the hair is coated up well, there is only so much more thickness you will achieve.
Good luck. That’s how I do it. I just wanted to help ya’ll fine haired gurlz and guys. Especially the ones who need color for body but are so tired of “trashed” hair.
No, Nexxus does not endorse me or my way of using their product in anyway. And please don’t sue me if you burn your head off.

This is a tip I learned from some of the Best Stylists in Chicago.

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