Hats Are Back In Fashion

People have covered their heads since time immemorial. Over the centuries head coverings became symbols of social status, authority and an art form. In fashion terms, the hat is the most noticeable fashion accessory anyone can wear.

At the turn of the 20th century both men and women were rarely seen out and about without a hat perched upon their head. By 1960 American men and women decided "en masse" to drop an item of apparel that for centuries had been considered a vital part of a wardrobe. Most likely, the demise of hats can be traced to changing hair styles and the ongoing trend towards more casual life styles. Yet hats are due for a full on resurgence with today’s star and celebrities paving the way. Over the past five years sales of hats and caps for both men and women has increased by more than 80 per cent. The sustained increase "led by baseball and sports caps” would suggest it's more than a “passing phase."

Hats are both functional and stylish. They can cover a bad hair day, keep your head warm, hide a receding hairline and shade your eyes from the sun. A cool hat can quickly become a signature piece and give you extra swagger like many rock stars and celebrities. The sporty flat and puffy news boy cap can be a stylish way to add interest to a casual outfit. When worn at a rather "jaunty angle" a sporty cap can give tired jeans and t-shirts a stylish touch.

The Fedora while once the go-to-lid for men in the 1930’s. Today both men and women seen sporting fedoras are considered trendsetters. For more formal occasions, the fedora is the answer though when paired with a blazer and jeans and tilted slightly forward a Fedora can add a sense of panache and sophistication.

In adopting the hat as your signature piece, you must also accept the responsibility of "hat etiquette." Often ignored, hat etiquette will show that your uniqueness extends not only to you choice of head wear, but to your manners as well. So  always remove your hat upon entering a restaurant or someone’s home. Touch the brim of your hat lightly when greeting a friend and raise it by the crown when meeting a female in public. Never put your hat on the bed as its bad luck, similar to opening an umbrella in the house. And unless you’re a catcher, baseball caps should be worn in the direction that your life is heading.

For star hairstyles & beauty secrets visit:  http://www.georgecaroll.com/

Johnny Depp / Star Hair Style

Drawing inspiration from the hair style trends of our favorite stars and celebrities has become national past time. One such star whose hair style is a must have look is Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Depp.  Never one to follow the crowd Johnny has always created his own unique look. You might say Johnny Depp is a modern day "style pirate".

TO GET THE LOOK:  Do you sometimes feel like you’re the “invisible dude” at a party? Do you wish there was away to get those hot ties to check you out?  If that’s the case, take a hair styling lesson from Johnny Depp’s and turn this picture around. But be forward this head turning do’ is loaded with sex appeal and a major “babe magnet” style. If you’re up for a cool new look, let’s take it one step at a time, starting with style cut and shaping. 

 

LET’S SHAPE IT:  For Johnny Depp’s style cut, start with a long layered silhouette with off centered part, tapered sideburns and neckline stylishly over the collar. Add long face framing love locks through the top for a seductive look. This artsy look is best suited for straight or slightly wavy hair and slender face shapes like Johnny’s. With a few adjustments (trims) as it grows you can easily find the ideal length and shape for your style.

 

LET’S STYLE IT: To jump start your style, just run a dab of shaping gel or mousse through damp hair or nothing at all. Comb in place to dry au natural or give it a quick tousle with a blow dryer for a full straight look. To turn up the sexy appeal, when dry, add a dab of foaming pomade or hair polish and comb sides over your ear or slicked back and you’ve got the look.

NOW, LET’S COLOR IT:  Movie actors change their hair color often for the many roles they play so dying their hair is no big deal. If your hair color is light or dark brown and beginning to lose its luster or gray around the edge, trade it in for Johnny Depp’s deep dark brown “almost raven black” hue. Adding a deep rich color will define the shape, thicken thin hair and turn up the shine. This "extra step" may cost a few bucks but what the hell, it’s a small price to pay for a stylish look and all the attention you'll get.

Johnny Depp’s head turning hair style with tapered neckline stylishly over the collar and sexy face framing “love locks” is loaded with sex appeal.  A slim mustache, shapely goatee and rich blue black hair color gives you an artsy look and just what you need to stop those babe’s dead in their tracks. So be prepared to take names, cell phone numbers and e mail addresses when you show up to the party with Johnny Depp “style pirate” look.   

For more star hairstyle profiles visit (www.georgecaroll.com) and make your hair shine like the stars

Polaroid Hair Styling Experience

If a picture is a thousand words than a Polaroid picture speaks volumes. To help make a new client’s first salon visit a “hair styling experience” for years I use a Polaroid Camera to take before and after pictures of their new hairstyle.

Because a new hairstyle is often a major change and happens quickly (snip, snip, snip) it’s hard for some to remember what their hair looked like minutes ago. Using a Polaroid camera has helped me point out just how much of an improvement the new style has made in their over all appearance. As a part of their introductory visit the pictures are theirs to keep along with a home studio styling kit. This extra step truly makes the visit memorable, fun and has helped bring new clients into the salon.

I'm now using the new Polaroid's Pogo "digital camera" that lets you view and print a wallet size color picture from the camera on the spot. The Pogo comes with all the "bells and whistles" you'd expect of a 21st century camera. It’s made using a Polaroid camera more fun then ever before and is affordable to use with each print costing only 30 cents and the color and picture quality is awesome. What’s more, because it’s a digital camera you can store the images into your salon computer for future references.

For years I've also used Polaroid camera's to create artistic images of every day life that I call Pola-Art. When you have time take a peek at my Polaroid Art Collection online in the Polaroid Studio.Com Gallery. And while you’re there order the new Polaroid Pogo digital camera and make your new clients first salon visit a… Polaroid Hair Styling Experience!

Robert Downey Jr / Star Hair Style

Drawing inspiration from the hair style trends of our favorite stars and celebrities has become national past time. One such star whose hair style is always on the must have list is Hollywood’s bad boy Robert Downey Jr. His tousled finger combed hair style and movie star persona is irresistible to ladies who are attracted to the wild side and quite the catch for those girls who are drawn to the sensitive, creative types. 

TO GET THE LOOK: Are looking for a hair style to go with your bad boy image? Try Robert’s hair style on for size and walk on the wild side. Be forewarned, this bad boy hair-do’ is a “babe magnet". To get the look, let’s take it one step at a time; starting with a style cut and shaping. 

LET’S SHAPE IT: start with a contoured silhouette with full tapered sides and neckline stylishly over the collar. The crown is cut short for a full look with a few “love locks" casually covering the hairline. This shapely finger combed head turning-do’ almost styles itself. With a few adjustments (trims) as it grows you can easily find the ideal length and shape for your personal style. 

LET’S STYLE IT: To jump start your style; apply a dab of shaping gel or mousse or nothing at all. Just run either through damp hair and comb in place to dry au natural, or give it a quick once over with a blow dryer for a full tousled look. For the “bad boy” look, when dry, add a dab of hair gel or pomade through the top and sides and you’ve got Robert Downey’s sexy tousled star style.

 

LET’S ADD WHISKERS: Nothing can reshape a face or add a dramatic look like facial hair. This simple addition can make a weak narrow chin stronger, a double chin disappear, cover a wide upper lip or a ruddy complexion and add a few years to a baby face and  defiantly adds a rugged, stylish or artsy look. Let your whiskers grow for a few weeks and visit a stylist to have it shaped for your face shape and features.

NOW, LET’S COLOR IT:  Movie actors change their hair color often for the many roles they play so dying their hair is no big deal. If you have brown hair with gray around the edge a rich brown tint or a shade closest to your natural hair color will define the shape and wash way the gray away. After, a clear glaze seals-in the color and turn on the shine. For a cool sun kissed look, a high-lift golden blond tint only takes minutes. To keep it up you'll need to have the  re-growth colored with every other style cut. This will cost a few extra bucks but is well worth the price for “totally cool new look” and all the attention you'll get.

AT A GLANCE, this shapely head turning finger combed style let’s the ladies know you’re the type of dude that walks on the wild side. The contoured silhouette and tapered neckline stylishly over the collar with a few casual "love locks" across the forehead turns the style meter up a notch. The sun bleach hair color and whiskers gives your style a creative edgy look that's irresistible to the ladies attracted to the “wild side". So be prepared for to take names and cell phone numbers when you show up with this “bad boy” star style.  

The Beauty Profession

The beauty profession dates back to the early Greek, Roman and Egyptian cultures making it one of the world’s oldest professions. Many monarchs and prominent individuals throughout time have employed the artistic services of a hairdresser or barber, as a result the beauty profession has long been held in high esteem. Over time the tools and skills of the profession were passed along through an apprenticeship program. It wasn’t until the 20th century that modern beauty schools were established with unified standards and procedures making it possible for more people to enter the beauty profession. Just like their ancient counterparts, modern hairstylist’s as they are called today, must keep up with new techniques for cutting, coloring, waving, relaxing and styling hair as well as fashion trends making Cosmetology an exciting and financially rewarding career choice.

If you’re looking for an exciting career alternative or in high school and don't see college in your future, but don't want to work in a meaningless job your whole life, then a career in beauty might be just what you’re looking for! It’s creative, fun, financially rewarding and offers unlimited opportunity in all area’s of personal enhancement. And the best part, you’ll get paid for making people feel good and look their best. How cool is that? If this sounds like something you’d wish to pursue let’s take it one step at a time, starting by enrolling in beauty school.

Be forewarned beauty school is not a cakewalk and something to be taken lightly! The beauty profession calls for dedicated, motivated and ambitious individuals. Beauty school is not just about hair styling and makeup, either. You’ll study anatomy and body systems, chemistry basics, hygiene, professional image, business practices, and more! You’ll be expected to read your cosmetology textbook, study the things you learn in class, get hands-on practice and experience in a student salon atmosphere, and take written exams, lots of them. Cosmetology is a professional career where life long learning through continuing education and practice is essential.

If you’re shopping around for beauty school you’ll no doubt be confronted with a wide range of schools and tuition's. I’m often asked what school I would enroll in today. Although there are many excellent beauty colleges to choose from my first choice would be a Paul Mitchell Beauty School. With state of the art schools throughout the United States and highly skilled instructors each with the Paul Mitchell passion for beauty and the highest professional standards along with cutting edge hair care and styling techniques you can be assured of a successful career in beauty. And with over 2000 PM salon affiliates they can help you find a salon to practice in after graduation. As well as access to advanced classes throughout your career.

As a salon owner finding a highly skilled hair stylist fresh out of school has always been challenging and required months of training to bring them up to speed. Hiring a new stylist with a PM School diploma tells me they are ready from day one to step behind the chair. And if time is money a Paul Mitchell hair styling diploma says.. Ca Ching !

Wigs... Instant Hair Styles

Throughout history wigs have played a significant role in fashion. Depending on the era, wigs frequently were worn to demonstrate wealth or were associated with particular professions. During the Egyptian and Roman Empires wealthy women wore elaborate hairpieces made with wool, horse hair, vegetable fibers or human hair cut from the heads of slaves.

In contrast, people in the Far East, including China and Japan, rarely wore wigs except by actors performing in the traditional theaters (Noh or Kabuki) or by female entertainers such as the Japanese Geisha or the Korean Kisaeng. Today many actresses and entertainers have based their stage image on the use of wigs; just look at Cher, Dolly Parton, teen star Miley Cyrus, Beyonce’, pop-star Lady Gaga and most notably Raquel Welch, the actress best known for her line of trendy high fashion line of wigs. 

 

Wig manufacturers are constantly developing better wig cap construction, fit, and styles. One of the latest innovations is a new lace front wig featuring “SmartLace” technology by Jon Renau. The lace hairline is precut and ready to wear with individually hand-tied fibers along the front which allows you to style the hair off of the face and creates a completely natural hairline. It seamlessly contours to the shape of the forehead and requires no tape or adhesive to hold it in place. Smart Lace wigs are a bit more pricey but well worth the investment.

Wigs have always been expensive and out of reach of the average person until the 20^th century with the development of "synthetic fibers" making owning a wig affordable for everyone. Synthetic wigs look and feel like natural human hair and are easier to maintain and far less expensive then human hair types. One draw backs of synthetic hair wigs is that they could not be exposed to heat styling tools until recently with the introduction of the “Tru2Life Heat-Friendly Synthetic Hair”. This innovative fiber technology now offers the same styling options as natural human hair, making it possible to use a flat iron, curling iron or blow dryer without damaging the synthetic fibers. This revolutionary heat-friendly synthetic fiber is now available in a verity of trendy styles called “Always” by Raquel Welch. 

 

Making the decision to wear a wig can be a fun and simple way to instantly change your hair style or hair color for any occasion. For others dealing with hair loss due to medical conditions wearing a wig can be a very emotional decision. In the past it was pretty easy to tell if a woman was wearing a wig however with this new technology in wig making today it is almost impossible to tell if a woman is wearing a wig. Regardless of your reasons for investing in a wig making sure you’re wearing it properly can make all the difference. A visit to your hair stylist for a custom shaping is well worth the time and investment. See www.wigs.com

Andy Garcia / Star Hair Style

Drawing inspiration from the hair style trends of our favorite stars and celebrities has become a national past time. One such star whose hairstyle is emulated by stylish men around the world is Cuban born movie star Andy Garcia.  His movie star good looks and stylish persona is irresistible to women attached to the creative types.

TO GET THE LOOK:  Are you looking for movie star style that’s sure to blow the competition away? If that’s the case, try Andy Garcia hair style on for size and watch the ladies heads turn when you show up looking drop dead handsome. Andy’s style comes with all the “bells and whistles” to make your pick up lines irresistible to women that go for the stylish types. To get the look, let’s take it one step at a time; starting with a style cut and shaping.

LET’S SHAPE IT: To get the look, start with a close contoured silhouette, close tapered sideburns and neckline stylishly over the collar. The crown and sides a bit longer to brush back with or without a part. This stylish look is perfectly suited for straight hair and most faces shapes, especially those with angular facial features like Andy’s. With a few adjustments (trims) as it grows you can find the ideal length and shape for your style. 

LET’S STYLE IT: For style support start with a dab of shaping gel or styling mousse or nothing at all. Just run either through damp hair and comb in place to dry au natural or give it a quick once over with a blow dryer for a full look. To turn up the shine, when dry, finger comb a dab of foaming pomade or styling cream through the sides and top.

 

LET'S ADD SIDEBURNS, WHISKERS AND ACCESSORIES: Nothing can reshape a face or add a dramatic look like facial hair. Sideburns or a close clipped beard can make large ears appear smaller or a narrow face wider and definitely adds a stylish or artsy look. Include whiskers and topped it off  with a silk neck scarf or white shirt and tie paired with a Giorgio Armani blazer, blue jeans, sunglasses and you've got the look.

NOW, LET’S COLOR IT: Movie actors change their hair color often for the many roles they play so dying their hair is no big deal. If your natural hair color has lost its deep rich hue or graying around the edge, a dark brown tint (almost black) will define the shape and wash the gray away. After, a clear glaze seals-in the color and turns on the shine. To keep it up the new growth is colored every 4-6 weeks. This extra step will cost a few bucks but it’s a small price to pay for a youthful stylish look and all the attention you'll get. 

Andy's movie star style comes with all the "bells & whistles" to stop women dead in their tracks and make your pick up lines irresistible. The contoured swept back silhouette with close tapered sides and neckline stylishly over the collar pushes the style bar up a notch. A rich hair color has defined the shape, thickened the hair and swiped the gray away. Mid length sideburns or whiskers, stylish neck scarf, Armani blazer and Hollywood sun glasses gives you a cool casual look and pushes the "style bar to the max". Your buddies will be green with envy when they see all the babes making a fuss over you and your movie star style.