Welcome to hair and makeup 1201, the basic principles of outer beauty for majors and non-majors.
Hair and makeup can be very complicated subjects, but knowing the basics can make any bewildering trip down the cosmetics aisle a little less stressful.
Hair type and shampoo
Since there are many types of shampoos and conditioners to choose from, it is easy to understand why people may be confused about what types they should use.
“There [are] so many different varieties that you can’t really say one is better than the other,” said Christine Lyon-Lorio, creative color specialist for Le Spalon.
Lyon-Lorio has 10 years of experience as a professional hairstylist.
She was trained at Lock Works, Vidal Sassoon and Paul Mitchell and has worked at Le Spalon for six and half years.
Lyon-Lorio said people should not look for hair products that will correspond with the texture of their hair; instead they should look for products that correspond to their hair type.
“Texture is often a point of confusion,” Lyon-Lorio said.
She said texture refers to the diameter of an individual strand of hair.
Lyon-Lorio said there are three different types of hair: thick, average and fine.
She said hair type is determined by roundness of an individual hair strand.
According to iVillage.com site specially targeting women, people of European descent tend to have hair that is fine and thin, medium or coarse and thick. Individual hair strands for people of Caucasian descent are oval, while people of Asian descent have the thickest hair type and individual strands of hair tend to be rounder than the others.
The Web site said people of African descent tend to have hair that alternates between thick and thin.
“This is what makes the hair curly, but it also makes it fragile and prone to breakage [at the thin points],” the Web site said.
African hair also can be fine, medium and coarse, the Web site said.
All hair, regardless of ethnicity, tends to fall into three categories: normal, dry and damaged or limp and lifeless, Lyon-Lorio said.
Consumers should shop for shampoo according to the category of their hair type.
She said consumers with normal hair should look for shampoos that strengthen, shine and purify.
All shampoos contain purifying agents, Lyon-Lorio said. Sage, a purifying ingredient, will clean and regenerate hair. Aloe Vera heals and enhances hair.
Shampoos that will hydrate and moisturize are best for dry, damaged hair, she said. Also, the shampoos should contain Lacithirand, vitamins and fatty acids. Jojoba oil also can condition and enhance moisture.
She said shampoos that add volume should be used for limp and lifeless hair.
Lyon-Lorio said shampoos that nourish and preserve the color, perm or relaxer will work best for someone with chemically treated hair.
Chantyle Beason, a political science freshman, said she uses the Chia line of products to keep her hair looking healthy and moisturized.
Beason said the line of products contain shampoo, conditioner, a silk infusion and a ceramic flat iron.
The flat iron is designed to hold in moisture, Beason said.
IVillage.com says since shampoos are designed to remove dirt, excess oil and dead skin cells, it is not necessary to lather more than once
The Web site recommends lathering a second time only if the hair and scalp is unusually dirty.
The site also says everyone should concentrate on the scalp when they are washing their hair, but it is important not to scrub the scalp because hair is fragile when wet. Also, rinsing well is important.
According to the Web site, shampoos contain common cleansing agents such as sodium lauryl sulfate and TEA-lauryl sulfate. These ingredients tend to be harsh and irritate the scalp.
The Web site said conditioners protect hair from styling damage and heat.
Color – the biggest problem
Lyon-Lorio said condition, cut and color are three of the biggest problems people can have with their hair.
The condition of the hair determines whether it can be cut and colored, she said. But hair coloring is the biggest problem for most of her customers.
Hair that is too light, too dark, too warm or too ash is considered badly colored, she said. And as a corrective color specialist it is her job to fix hair that has been poorly colored.
Lyon-Lorio also said customers should understand that correcting badly colored hair will take time.
The first visit someone has to a hair salon to correct the color of their hair should bring them close to their desired shade, she said. They should get the exact desired shade on their second visit.
“All corrective color involves naturalizing unwanted tones and requires all understanding of the law of color,” Lyon-Lorio said. “It also does not matter whether the client or the professional applied the product, factors such as porosity, texture, natural level and formation must be addressed before every color application.”
Porosity and Elasticity
Porosity is the ability for hair to absorb moisture, Lyon-Lorio said.
Porosity can affect a simple hair cut, blow dry and hair coloring.
Also, porosity can make temporary color permanent and permanent color temporary, she said.
IVIllage.com said porous hair will easily soak up water.
“If your hair gets fizzy on muggy days and flat on dry days, it is probably porous,” the site said.
Puja Modha, a biological sciences sophomore, said her hair will be fizzy on hot summer days, but she learned to control the frizziness of hair.
“I started putting cold water on it after conditioning, and it stopped the frizzing,” Modha said.
According to the Web site, coarse and chemically treated hair is often porous.
Only hair in the normal stage will absorb porosity, she said.
There are six stages for the porosity of hair – normal, slightly resistant, resistant, porous, overly porous and damaged.
Lyon-Lorio said a simple test can be done to test the porosity of hair.
To determine porosity, hold two strands of hair away from the scalp and slide two fingers close to the scalp and go down, she said. If the surface of the hair is smooth, then it is less porous. If the surface feels rough, it is porous and damaged.
Lyon-Lorio said a similar procedure also can be done to test the elasticity of hair.
Elasticity is the ability of the hair to stretch and return to its ordinary form without breaking, she said.
If the hair immediately breaks as a result of the test, then it is damaged.
Hair cuts
She said the right hair cut depends on the shape of a face.
According to the Web site, face shape can be oval, round, diamond, heart or long.
Lyon-Lorio said oval is considered the perfect shape for a face.
She also said it depends on your lifestyle and how much time people are willing to spend on their hair.
“Are you going to get up every morning to blow dry it and flat iron it?” she said.
Lyon-Lorio said people who decide to cut their hair short should return to their hairstylist every four weeks because of hair growth.
“Natural hair growth on everybody is half an inch a month,” She said.
Lyon-Lorio also said people with medium hair should return for a trim every six weeks, and people with long hair should trim it every eight weeks.
Beason said she trims her hair once every month to make sure split ends do not form.
“Once I get split ends, it is pretty much over,” she said.
Modha said she follows Lyon-Lorio’s advice and gets her hair trimmed every two or three months.
Body shape and texture of hair also should be considered before considering a hair cut, Lyon-Lorio said.
Makeup
Face shape and features not only determine hairstyles, but they also determine how to apply makeup.
Lyon-Lorio, who also is a professional makeup artist, said makeup should enhance beauty.
Charisse Hurst, a biological chemistry senior, said she likes the appearance of her skin when she wears makeup.
Hurst said she does experience problems with application of makeup.
“My problem is with eyeshadow and making it look pretty,” She said.
Hurst said when she tries to use two or three brighter colors, the blush will form blotches.
“I have to shade with browns,” she said.
Kristen Davis, an English freshman, said she uses Mary Kay makeup products, but if she could afford more expensive makeup she would get it.
“You don’t want to look like a street hooker,” she said.
Davis said she prefers to use makeup with earth tone colors. Normally, she avoids bright colors.
“I like to look like I don’t have base on,” she said.
Lyon-Lorio also said how one applies makeup depends on the circumstances and time of day.
Davis said she does apply more makeup when she goes out at night, but she only does it to look presentable.
Lyon-Lorio said women who are going to take pictures should wear a bit more makeup than they normally would.
Lyon-Lorio also said women can use certain techniques when they apply makeup.
She said using a lip-lining pencil on the inside of the lips can make full lips look smaller. Lip liner also can help lipstick stay on the lips.
Powder application
Lyon-Lorio said the left side of the face is different from the right side, and women need to learn to properly apply makeup.
According to iVillage.com, women do not always need to wear facial powder. Powders should be used to cover excessively oily areas of the skin.
The Web site says there are two types of powders – loose and pressed.
Loose powder is preferred by makeup artists because it is less likely to streak the face than pressed powder would. It also will last longer.
According to the Web site, powder should be applied to the T-zone of the face, and a brush should be used to spread it to other areas.
Foundation application
The site said women should choose foundation according to the type of skin they have.
Women with dry or mature skin should use an oil-based foundation, the site said. Water-based foundations work well for all skin types.
Oil free foundations are good for women with oily skin because they will soak up excess oil in the skin.
The Web site said women with normal or dry skin also can use tinted moisturizers because this foundation will not seep into the skin like other moisturizers. They also pump up areas where wrinkles exist or are forming.
Cream foundations are not good for older women, but they do work well for women with a normal or combination skin type, the Web site says. It can be applied with a brush.
According to the Web site, “If you don’t use too much you could look flawless.”
The current trend is only applying foundation where it is needed.
Lyon-Lorio said products such as blush should be applied subtly, not applied so that a huge streak appears on the cheek.
The Web site said cream blushes should be applied with the foundation but before the powder is put on the skin. Powder blush is best applied after the powder.