Research Paper

Chartent Thompson
Professor Harmon
English 1020
February 22, 2011

Hair Art: Tools used to Create Hairstyles
Laid, dyed, or fried to the side, there are different kinds of hair art. No matter the texture of the hair: coarse, fine, medium, oily, dry, thin, thick, curly, frizzy, or straight, one must be qualified to do hair, as well as know how to use the various tools and instruments that make one stand and wonder how did they do that. When doing hair, they realize that all hair is not the same. Every person’s hair is unique and very different in some way.
According to Vincent and Sherry, they say that you must determine the proper cleansing and conditioning care for your hair. Flat-irons, natural products, and blow-dryers are the essential tools to style ones hair, and when taking on a client you have to think about the hairs texture and how to treat it.
There are three main items people use to style their hair:
· Flat irons
· Products: natural, perms, relaxers, color treatments
· blow-dryers
Flat-irons have two settings, high and low. High setting is for hair that is hard to get straight and low setting is for hair that is fairly easy to straighten. Most people use the high setting because it gives a smooth and silky look and this look is very demanding if one has curly or frizzy hair, because flat irons make the hair straight and more manageable. It is recommended that one not flat iron their hair twice in one week because it could damage the hair and could lead to other problems.
According to Daniel Burfeind article in Dermatology Nursing (2008, pg. 484-485), Dr. Mirmirani a professor of dermatology at University of California, presented evidence that when ceramic flat irons are used improperly or too frequently, hair breakage can occur (Burfeind 1). Dr. Mirmirani said, and I quote, “The newer flat irons that have a ceramic coating instead of a metal one has marketed, and provides a more rapid and uniform heat transmission.” Dr. Mirmirani also states that when these ceramic flat irons are used at the highest heat settings and on a daily basis to achieve straight hair, they can really take a toll on the structure of the hair and cause very noticeable problems that can be hard to repair.” Dr. Mirmirani also states that, not taking good care of your hair can lead to hair loss when using hair devices too frequently.
Other tools used to style your hair, are different types of products. These natural hair products are used to chemically strip and free your hair. Most people use herbal shampoos, these products take great care of leaving your hair moist, shiny, and feeling great.
Roppatte and Suib argue that all shampoos are not made equal. Some shampoos have more cleansing agents than others; heavy fragrances, stronger chemicals, and some have built in conditioners. They say people should find a shampoo that has great natural oils and won’t strip your hair of its natural texture (Roppatte and Suib).
Some people’s hair can’t take certain chemicals such as: relaxers, colors, or fragrance free chemicals. Perms and relaxers are one of the chemicals many people can not use on their hair, but they do, and sometimes regardless on how great of a stylist you are these chemicals can damage your client’s hair to the point of expensive treatments to try to reverse the damage. And at time this can’t be reversed, one has permanent damage to the scalp and hair follicles.
Vincent Roppatte and Sherry Suib lets us know that there are many products you can whip up that are totally natural and free of any additives, preservatives, and chemicals (Roppatte and Suib). Both Roppatte and Suib claim that olive oil and avocado mash adds moisture and shine to the hair giving it body and nutrients. (Roppatte and Suib)
When it comes to the hair you want, Leesa Chalk Suzman lets us know there are now, various solutions for taking good care of your hair as well as many promising new hair products on the market (Suzman).
Gary Howse of Gary Manuel Salon in Seattle said, in Leesa Chalk Suzman article, “Get the Hair You Want”, that as any good hair stylist or colorist should know that straying from your roots can lead to bad hair days no matter the style of your hair (Qtd. by Gary Howse). When it comes to getting fine hair colored and cared for, the stylist must consider that the thinner the strands the faster the dye will process. When it comes to caring for fine hair stylist must give aid to the hair to add body.
The stylist should use build-up removing shampoo, this helps remove extra scalp oils without stripping the hair of its moisture, lather up the hair protects the hair color from being pulled out of the cortex (Suzman ).
On curly hair the stylist wants to make sure, there’s not too many highlights, also curly hair needs a great deal of moisturizing due to the texture of the hair. Stylist use shampoo every other day with low-foam, and non-drying formula to keep the curls from unfurling (Suzman ).
Coloring medium or thick hair, the stylist makes sure that they leave the color in a certain amount of time so that it will go through, because with thick hair it’s very tough to color and it needs more time to penetrate through the hair follicles. When caring for medium or thick hair, the stylist must make sure that they tame the frizz with condition treatments but with silicone ( Suzman). What every the texture, treating colored hair the stylist always make sure that the cut and colors blend in, to give the hair a healthier and better look.
Last but not least, Vincent and Sherry, the writers of Cool Hair: a Teenager’s Guide to the Best Beauty Secrets on Hair, Make-up, and Style states that blow-dryers are needed to straighten hair after it has been wet. Blow-dryers can also take out all the natural oils in your hair, leaving it brittle and dried out. In some instances it is recommended, depending on the type and texture of the hair, to put some moisturizer on the hair before or during blow-drying to give it a glossary or silky look after it’s dried. High watts on a dryer are somewhat good depending on what type of hair texture you have. Also when blow-drying your hair one has to be careful when choosing you’re setting. High is for thick hair, medium is for coarse hair and low is for very fine hair. Many people prefer the high setting to dry their hair faster, even though it dries faster it still could be damaging to the hair follicles. According to the book Cool Hair: a Teenager’s Guide to the Best Beauty Secrets on Hair, Make-up, and Style on the blow-dryer there is a volumizer, this lifts the hair away from the roots, and creates body for the hair. There is also another part of the blow-dryer called the diffuser, this softens and spreads the hair leaving it to stay pretty without frizzing up. A cool-off button on the blow-dryer is for your hair to cool. In the end the blow-dryer has many options that fit the consumer’s style.
Regardless to what type, texture, tool, or style, you choose. Know that you are in control of what you want done to your hair to fit your personality, characteristics, etc. You know what makes you look good and feel good about you. So enjoy the hair and the hair art you wear.