Fabulous Freaky Friday and the MQH Ghost

Christopher Patterson had quite the hair-raising experience when ghostly things began happening in the salon while he was on his own Wednesday night. He was concentrating deeply on prep work for our Fashion Week finale on Saturday night when he heard the till drawer pop open. Though startled, he shut the drawer and was about to go back to work when he noticed that the computer screen was going crazy! The salon software had been shut down at the end of business, yet here it was back on, scrolling up and down and changing days! Clearly, there must be an MQH ghost playing tricks on Christopher.

I was a bit thrown when Christopher phoned me (Jolie) at home and asked "Are you on the computer!? Are you on the computer!?" He sounded rather worked up and repeated himself a few times before I had a chance to answer, "yes". As it turns out, Christopher had just phoned Michael and demanded he come back and join him in the salon. Michael told Christopher I was probably logged onto the salon computer and working from home, but he didn't quite believe him until he verified it with me. He's very devoted, but hanging out with ghosts in the salon is beyond Christopher's limit!

I'm afraid I couldn't resist torturing Christopher and logged back in a short time later to type a message on the computer screen:: "Chris....Chrissssssss....Ooooooohhhhhhhh! It's the MQH ghost and I'm watching you! Boo!" Luckily, he's a great sport and was able to laugh about it the next day....in the daylight....with lots of other staff around!

Tip of the Week: Frizz Control

If you discover that you have any flyaway or frizzy hair after styling or perhaps after being on the go all day, rub a little Matrix Biolage Smoothing Serum between your hands and use your fingertips to gently apply the serum to problem areas. This will get your frizz under control without making yoru hair feel heavy or greasy.

This week, get 20% OFF Matrix Biolage Smoothing Serum when you mention that you read it on our blog. Special offers are valid for 1 week from the date published on our blog.

Hair Medic Monday

Suzanne recently emailed us to ask, "Whenever I get my hair done in the salon, it looks all lovely and smooth, but when I dry it myself it often goes frizzy. Why does this happen and how do I fix the problem?"

There are several reasons that your hair might go frizzy and most of the problems are easily solved. If you aren't currently using a heat protection product, such as Vavoom Gold Heat (available in our salon), you definitely should be! Drying your hair without thermal protection is to the hair cuticle what lifting a hot dish from the oven without protection would be to your hands. Now imagine doing that several times per week! Your hands would sizzle and fry...and that's what happens to your hair too.

Another common mistake is not towel drying your hair well enough before beginning to blow dry. By removing as much excess moisture as possible, you reduce the amount of time you need to apply heat to your hair. You may also be drying your hair on too high of a setting. Try setting your hair dryer to a medium heat and keept it moving to avoid any part of your hair getting too hot. You should hold it at least 6 inches away from your hair, with the nozzle pointing down the cuticle, so you do not aggrevate the hair shaft. Don't overdry your hair either...it only needs to be about 60% dry to hold its style and drying it too much may actually make it harder to style.

If you notice the problems begin a few weeks after your last visit to the hairdresser, the problem could be product build-up. Your hair needs to constantly replenish its moisture, but if you have product build-up, your natural oils will not be able to permeate through to the cuticle layer and your hair will begin to look dry and frizzy. To solve this problem, wash your hair thoroughly with a deep cleansing shampoo, such as Biolage Alternative Action, to remove build-up and follow up with a Biolage Cerra Repair treatment to replenish the moisture in your hair. Ask your stylist which shampoo and conditioner is best for your hair type for regular use.

Your hair will go frizzy if you don't get it cut often enough, so make regular appointments with your hairdresser to keep split ends at bay. The average person should visit about every 6 to 8 weeks, but that can vary depending on how fast your hair grows and how your hair is treated. Someone with coloured hair who uses heat styling tools daily will need their hair cut a little more often than someone who doesn't. You stylist can recommend what is best for you.

To get answers to your hair problems, email your question to hairmedic@michaelquinnhairdressing.co.uk and our salon experts will do our best to answer them here on our blog. If we choose your question, we'll send you a salon voucher for £10! Photos help tremendously when answering questions, so if you book in for a treatment and don't mind us sharing your photos on our blog, we'll also give you a voucher for a FREE power conditioning treatment (£15 value) as a thank you.

Fabulous Friday

Like millions of other people across the globe, several staff here on the MQH team have recently devoured (pardon the pun!) the fabulous Twilight novels by Stephanie Meyer and most of us are anxiously awaiting the release of Twilight New Moon! Even the trailers are explosive and exciting, so hopefully the movie lives up to the hype. While looking for New Moon trailers, we came across a few pretty fabulous spoofs too. Enjoy!

Michael's Weekend Hours

Michael was originally booked out of the salon for this Saturday, 24 October, however, he will be in the salon and available to take appointments afterall. If you were previously looking for an appoinment with him and still wish to get in for this Saturday, give us a ring on 028 9043 4003.

Tip of the Week

Most male pattern baldness is hereditary and unfortunately, there is no cure. Hair loss is usually most noticable along the temples and crown of the head and is caused by an excess of the chemical dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This excess causes the hair follicles to make thinner and thinner hair until growth eventually stops completely.

Besides, heredity, there are a few other less common causes of hair loss, including a fungal infection on the scalp, an under active thyroid, iron deficiency, some medications and stress. These causes are often reversible, so if you begin to lose your hair, it may be worth discussing with your doctor.

If you've been reading our posts recently, you'll know that all hope is not lost if you are going thin and that we do have a simple solution for you. A quick tip to turn a thinning head of hair into a fuller looking head of hair is to use Mane Hair Thickening Spray, which fills the thinning areas in with natural looking micro fibers. This week, get 10% OFF of Mane Hair when you mention that you read it on our blog. Special offers are valid for 1 week from the date published on our blog.

Hair Medic Monday: Male Pattern Baldness

In this week's Hair Medic feature, we will be answering a question about male pattern baldness. Though thinning hair is primarily a male problem, some women can suffer from hair loss as well. Parts of our answer will be helpful to anyone experiencing this problem, so be sure to read on, ladies!

Dear Hair Medic, I'm going a bit thin on top. All the men in my family go bald, so it is kind of a given for me, but I'm just not ready yet. What can I do to hide it?

Our Hair Medic team answer: Let’s face it...”the comb over” has never worked! Go on, admit it, we all think, “You’re not fooling anyone, mate!”, when we see some poor guy caught in a breeze, hair waving high above his head. This just draws more attention to the fact that he is bald. Don’t try hiding balding by adding length either. The longer it is, the skimpier your hair will look. A short cut will make your hair appear thicker.

Instead of trying to hide it, you can embrace your baldness. Can anyone say, Bruce Willis?”...bald can definitely be sexy. Wear your baldness with confidence and nobody will ever give it a second thought.

If you’re really just not ready to be bald yet, you do have a few options. Hair transplants have come a long way, but they come at a hefty price. Do your research and spend the dosh, and a good hair transplant will even fool a seasoned hair professional. Alternatively, you may have recently read our post about Mane Hair Thickening Spray, now available in our salon. It's the more affordable and practical alternative to hair transplants and it really works! Mane is a micro fiber spray that grabs on to the hair that you have and fills it in for a healthy, natural appearance. It's very easy to use and doesn't wash out until you want it to with shampoo and water, so no worries about getting caught in the rain. For more info, stop into the salon and ask for a free consultation.

Fabulous Friday

Michael is heading over to London for Salon International tonight, so we were browsing Youtube for some video of last year's fabulous event. Not only did we find a few of those, but we also stumbled across this video from Destination Fame a few months back, posted by HJI. Our Christopher Patterson was one of the 3 first place winners, but we didn't realize this video even existed! So not only is Salon International fabulous, but HJI and Youtube are ranking pretty high up there as well!

Tip of the Week

By now you've probably read about the new Dream.Age colour by Matrix that we are so in love with. If you haven't, be sure to have a look at our last few posts.

To make the most of your Dream.Age makeover, you'll want to use the companion products for your after care. Matrix has introduced shampoo, conditioner and treatments, which are rejuvenative products specially formulated to keep your hair looking and feeling youthful, with plenty of bounce and shine.

This week, get 10% OFF of all Dream.Age companion products when you get a Dream.Age makeover in our salon. To take advantage of this offer, you must mention that you read it on our blog. Special offers are valid for 1 week from the date published on our blog.

Hair Medic Monday

Pauline's hair was course and dry and had lost its lustre. She wanted to be able to cover her grey and regain her hair's youthful appearance. Michael recommended a Dream.Age makeover by Matrix to infuse moisture and create rich colour that would really pop.

Grey hair can appear at any age and is a result of loss of melanin. This is the pigment that gives your hair and skin its natural colour. With this loss of melanin also comes reduced elasticity and texture changes, often leaving you with wiry, unmanagable hair.

Grey hair is notoriously stubborn and can be quite difficult to colour. This is because the cuticle layer is very  compact, making it difficult for colour to penetrate the hair strand. In the past, this required many tedious steps and didn't guarantee absolute coverage, nor a difference in the feel and managability of the hair. Matrix has solved this problem with Dream.Age, a specially formulated colour that is far easier on the hair than previous methods, plus leaves it looking and feeling soft and bouncy. Michael assisted Pauline in selecting a colour that was both beautiful and natural looking.

Dream.Age is brand new, and while we always expect quality with Matrix, we were still stunned with the transformation in Pauline's tresses. Her hair, which had been dry and a bit dull, appeared obviously soft, supple and shiny, even before her blowdry was complete. The shimmer and lustre was truly impressive!

Click on the photos to get a better look at the transformation in Pauline's hair. The photos are from a camera phone with limited capability and the effect in person was even more dramatic. Pauline loves her new hair and we think the smile says it all!

Fabulous Friday

We are so excited about Mane Hair Thickening Spray and Dream.Age Colour by Matrix, two new salon products that are the answer to rejuvinating your hair and restoring its youthful appearance.

Mane Hair Thickening Spray is for both men and women suffering from hair loss. It gives your hair full, natural look through the use of microfibres that grab on to your hair and fill in patchiness. It's a very quick and cost effective way to address your hair loss woes.

What makes this product even more impressive is that you don't have to worry about it while you work out, play sports, or even swim! It comes in 11 different colours, so it's easy to find one that's perfect for you.

Dream.Age by Matrix is a brand new product that was specifically designed for hair that has lost its youthful appearance. It's an incredible new colour that delivers 100% coverage on grey hair with a truly multi-dimensional finish. It also contains specially formulated conditioners that add moisture and restore softness to hair that has become course and unmanageable.

We received our first stock of this today and gave our first few Dream.Age makeovers to a few clients. Not only were we all thrilled with the colour results, but we were also astounded by the gorgeous lustre and shine! The change from drab, course hair to luscious, multi-tonal and soft, shiny hair was amazing!

Both of these products are fabulous and we are really looking forward to working with them in the salon. We will be covering them in more detail on the blog next week, as well as rolling out some fantastic introductory offers. For more information, ring the salon on 028 9043 4003.

Tip of the Week: Repairing Damaged Hair

While you can't truly repair damaged hair, you can restore moisture and improve its feel and appearance dramatically, as well as improve strength by treating your hair with a moisture rich home treatment, such as Biolage Cera-Repair. Simply replace your regular conditioner once per week with a tube of Cera-Repair to revitalize your tresses and give yourself that healthy 'just walked out of the salon' look.

This week, get 20% OFF of Cera-Repair (while supplies last) when you mention you read it on our blog. Special offers are valid for 1 week from the date published on our blog.

Hair Medic Monday - Blonde Hair Colour

Julie Campbell posed this question to our hair medics, "I love my blonde hair, but it's a bit too bright and it's getting weak and dry from bleaching. My roots also seem to be showing too quickly. How can I keep my blonde, but not have to colour my hair as often so I keep damage to a minimum?"

Because bleaching is one block colour, Julie needed to have her roots bleached frequently to keep them from being obvious. Her hair was getting brittle and appeared dry. For Julie we recommended a full head of foils with different tones of blonde, which will be gentler on her hair and not as glary of a colour. It's much softer looking and and multi-tonal, giving Julie's hair a very natural, healthy look, while keeping the blonde she loves. Because it's multi-tonal, Julie's roots won't be as obvious as they grow in, so she won't have to get it coloured it as often.

In addtition to giving Julie a colour make-over, we applied a Matrix Protopack restructurizing treatment, which restores moisture balance and repairs fiber by infusing the hair with protein. Her hair now looks and feels much healthier. To maintain Julie's gorgeous colour, we suggest washing it with Matrix So Silver shampoo. For more information on this product, see our most recent Tip of the Week post.

To get answers to your hair problems, email your question to hairmedic@michaelquinnhairdressing.co.uk and our salon experts will do our best to answer them here on our blog. If we choose your question, we'll send you a salon voucher for £10! Photos help tremendously when answering questions, so if you book in for a treatment and don't mind us sharing your photos on our blog, we'll also give you a voucher for a FREE power conditioning treatment (£15 value) as a thank you.

White Sapphire Ball

The White Sapphire Ball is mere hours away and boy, are we excited! The black tie event has been organised by Northern Irish actress Séainín Brennan in order to raise funds for Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, and promises to be a star studded entertainment extravaganza. The ball will be hosted by Gloria Hunniford and John Daly, two of Northern Ireland's most recognisable TV personalities and include performances by Riverdance, West End star, Lee Mead and comedian,Tim McGarry, as well as appearances by a variety of other A-list celebrities. Michael and part of the team are on their way to style the celeb's tresses before heading down the red carpet to enjoy the event. Should be an amazing evening!

Fabulous Friday

Happy birthday to Melissa Johnston, who is celebrating her 18th this weekend. Melissa has been with us since earlier this year and not only is she fantastic at her job, but she's also great fun to have around the salon. Anyone who is willing to spare a few moments to show off her best Derek Zoolander 'Blue Steel' impression with Michael has just got to be fabulous!