Serious Business Conference in New Orleans Inspires

I recently attended Neill Corporation’s Serious Business: Soundbyte Wisdom conference in New Orleans at the Roosevelt Hotel, an inspiring event intended to provide Neill’s customers and vendors with the most current and innovative thinking and concepts in such topics as salon management, employee motivation, marketing strategies, retail sales and staff education. The event, which was attended by 1,000 salon owners, managers and professionals, featured presentations by Daniel Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future; Bruce Tulgan, author of Not Everyone Gets a Trophy: How to Manage Generation Y and It’s Okay To Be The Boss, Tim Sanders, author of The Likeability Factor and Saving the World at Work and the former chief solutions officer at Yahoo!; Peter Sheahan, best-selling author of Flip; and industry icon Robert Lobetta. Neill is an Aveda distributor for seven Southeastern states and owns the Paris Parker chain of Aveda salons and spas, 11 Aveda Institutes, the eco-friendly Etopa line of salon furniture, and SalonBiz and SpaBiz software. In keeping with Neill’s mission of taking the environment into consideration with every action it takes, the company encouraged attendees to make a $10 donation to help offset carbon emissions. During the event, they also asked attendees to text 90999 to make a $10 donation to the Red Cross’ Haiti relief efforts, in addition to holding a viewing party for the Saints/Vikings playoff game, with proceeds going to Haiti relief.

Ruth Roche Talks About Her American Salon Cover Shoot

Roche starting her '40s-style twist

The creative inspiration for this photo shoot for the February 2010 issue came from the idea of working with texture in the family of curls and waves. Influences came from different time periods and what fashion designers are showing on the runway. One look is reminiscent of the ’20s, one of the ’40s and one from the ’80s. The six looks are still wearable and beautiful, even though the textures and ideas are quite strong. They are soft and elegant, yet really strong shapes. The muted colors and soft textures in the clothing carries the Pureology look of luxury and elegance with rich ingredients and textures.

We knew we wanted to do something different. Sets of all kinds have been making a huge comeback, not only traditional looks but with alternative textures as well. These textures range from a slight wave to beachy to glamorous. Taking these textures and creating timeless shapes also provided a new twist on the classics.

Roche touching up her "Dynasty" bob

To create these styles in the salon, always begin by preparing the canvas. A great cocktail for this is mixing Pureology Powerdressing, Nanoglaze and a small amount of Shinemax to damp hair, and blow-dry smooth or rough dry, depending on the set that will follow. If the look will be more textured, it’s important, especially when going for something with hold or creating an updo, to create some “grab” in the hair. This first step to prep the hair creates structure and shape. Then while working use InCharge for flexibility. To finish the look use InChargePlus for high hold, intense shine and touchable hair. Make sure to stay 10-12 inches from the head—a little hairspray goes a long way!

My favorite look is a tie between the Dynasty-inspired bob and the 40’s-era red twist. I love the simplicity of both, yet the shapes are strong!

Ruth Roche is a salon owner, editorial stylist, platform artist and educator, whose work has appeared in magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Vanity Fair, Interview, Self, More and Cosmopolitan. Her celebrity clients have included Sheryl Crow, Claire Danes, Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Ripa, and Mariska Hargitay. With almost two decades in beauty, Ruth has been honored multiple times by the North American Hairstyling Awards, including Master Stylist of the Year, and is featured in the documentary Stars Behind the Chair: The Leading Ladies of Hair. She opened Rare by Ruth Roche/Pureology Salon in 2003.

Goldwell To Host Free Color Zoom 2010 Webinar

Just Naked was introduced at the 2009 global event in Las Vegas

On Wednesday, February 17 from 6 to 9pm EST, Goldwell will present a complimentary webinar designed to get colorists ready for the 2010 Color Zoom Challenge. The webinar will feature Deb Gavin, an international artist for the Color Zoom Team and the co-owner of Fresh Hair Studio in Southampton, PA. Gavin will be reviewing the Just Naked Trend World, which focuses on refined simplicity and essential sophistication, and offering advice on the following:

• Building a storyboard
• Collaborating with a photographer, fashion stylist and makeup artist
• Selecting a model
• Tips for hair color and lighting
• Writing up your technique

United States Color Zoom finalists will have the chance to compete in the global event, set to take place in Paris in October, and help Goldwell’s International Master Trend Team in designing the Color Zoom 2012 collection.

To register for the webinar, click here.

Sam Villa Wipes Out the Blocks to Creativity

Each of us possesses inborn creative abilities that can be strengthened just like physical abilities. If you love this industry and want to pursue a career in it, you don’t even have to be artistic. If you’re not great at cutting or coloring hair, you can express your creativity through advertising and promotion, product research and development, salon management or business training.

Many people, though, permit cultural and emotional blocks to limit their creativity. To keep your creativity fresh, push back against these blocks:

• Narrow thinking. We’re at our most creative when we’re very young. As soon as we go to school, we’re put on a schedule, instructed to color between the lines and “enlightened” about what’s right and what’s wrong, what’s possible and what isn’t. We learn this very well, and it can hold us back for the rest of our lives.
• Fear. When you’re afraid of making mistakes or appearing silly, you won’t take any risks. Becoming creative requires a very positive outlook, so soften your judgmental eye and don’t worry about what other people will say about you.
• Ego. While ego is somewhat the opposite of fear, it produces the same result. When you give in to self-satisfaction, you’ll stop experimenting with new concepts. You may fall in love with the cutting technique that made you a star and never challenge yourself to test out different methods. Pretend you’re a postage stamp: stick to something until you master it, and then move on to something else!

My own cultural block was being encouraged to be logical and discouraged to be irrational. I had to learn that what society considers a flaw was sometimes exactly the attitude I needed to lift me to the next level in my creativity. Ideas in your imagination may not always make sense at first, but they can turn out to work very well for you when you play with them. Throw your cultural and emotional blocks overboard, and start playing!

Sam Villa has more than 25 years experience as a platform artist and educator for major salon professional companies. Part of the Redken family for the past 11 years, Sam is Redken’s Education Artistic Director and Design & Training Consultant and appears on redken.com as a spokesperson for consumer consultations. He is in constant demand at international and domestic trade shows and in-salon programs, where his progressive teaching approach enables stylists to absorb new techniques quickly and for practical use in the salon. In 2008, Sam launched his website, www.samvilla.com, along with his own brand of digital media education and styling tools for salon professionals.