Witch Gardens will be playing at the Capitol Hill Block Party this Saturday, on the Vera Stage, from 4:00-4:30. Come check them out!

Post by Lancer

Post by Lancer

A new movie that is taking the world by storm is Sucker Punch. It is a beautiful flurry of punches and kicks. It follows Babydoll (Browning) as she attempts to escape an asylum with her inmate friends before she is sent to be lobotomized. From the shock of her situation, Babydoll plunges herself into her own fantasy world where nothing can stop her.

This may also take two processes, since after your hair is lifted it may not be the correct tone (too yellow or brassy). Browning’s hair in the movie is a very cool blonde, which many times can only be achieved with an additional application of tone after lightening.

It is always a good idea to have a consultation with your stylist to assess the condition of the hair andcreate a battle plan. Come in to Emerson Salon today to get your new blonde locks!

Post by Franz

This March we look forward to the film version of the heralded book, Water For Elephants (starring Robert Pattinson of Twilight, Reese Witherspoon of Walk the Line, and Christophe Waltz of Inglorious Basterds.) It is set in an extended 1930′s flashbacks of an older man who recalls his earlier life as a circus vet following his parents’ death. Reese plays a circus performer, the abused wife of the ring leader who falls in love with Pattinson.

In the film, Reese’s haircolor is a fabulous shade of buttery blond that mirrors the era’s starlets: Jean Harlow and Mae West. In real life, her hair is more modern and multidimensional with subtle medium and highlight gold tones. In order to achieve Reese’s movie look from your usual dimensional blond, we suggest the following:

- Reveal to your stylist your detailed color history to the best of your abilty.( If your hair is all natural than the light is green to go!) This will arm the professional with the knowledge of what previous damaged might still be on your hair and the appropriate measure to keep it in tact without breaking (ie, gentler formulations and/or conditioning treatments.) If you have had multiple overlapping applications of bleach highlights, your hair might not withstand another bleaching session regardless of whether its been colored over. The damage on your hair stays on your hair until it is cut it out. Bleach creates explosions and subsequent holes in the hair that can never be permanently filled in by synthetic haircolor.

- Use the correct support products to aid in avoiding color fadeage, breakage and moisture loss. Moisture in your hair is essential to manageability, strength and appearance. We recommend Blond Shampoo and Conditioner by Alterna Caviar. It uses the highest quality ingredients to balance color and condition for blonds. We also love styling with the new shimmery Bamboo Silk-Sleek Brilliance Cream which uses Shine-Amplifying Organic Indian Gooseberry to enhance luster and appearance.

-Pre-book regular color maintenance with your stylist every 5-7 weeks. You invested in a wonderful look now maintain it with root retouches, regular conditioning treatments and trims.

This film looks absolutely stunning and so can you if you sit in one of our chairs. Come on in!

Post by D’Arcy

Emma has donned many haircolors on her signature long layered locks and heavy bang. She has had dark chocolate brown, rich red and now blond . She changed her hue for her upcoming role as Gwen Stacy in the reboot of Spider Man. Transitioning red hair to blond can be tricky so here we have listed a few tips.

Book a consultation with an Emerson stylist to review exactly what is entailed in altering a vibrant red shade into a blond. It is not possible to put color on the red to make it blond as “tint does not lift tint.” This is the reason why it will be necessary to use bleach. If your hair is already damaged, your stylist may want to perform a test strand on your hair to see how it will behave once bleached. If the hair breaks when stretched following the strand test it might not be possible to lighten the hair without a conditioning treatment first. The Caviar Rejuvenation Treatment is a 3 step process that helps prepare your hair for bleaching if it is damaged. The treatment repairs and seals the cuticle of the hair. This is an in-salon treatment that is recommended to be performed at least 24 hours to a week in advance of bleaching.

Once your hair is bleached out, your stylist can either tone your hair, or balayage in dimensional high and lowlights. Either way, this hair will need a high quality color shampoo like Caviar Moisture which is also paraben free, sulfate free and uses moisturizing seasilk. Continue using the Born.Again Essential.Treatment as your hair will be dying for the moisture. Another great product for anyone who sees a little breakage on bleached out hair is Rapid Repair by Alterna. It shines brilliantly and aids to mask any flyaways. Once you have invested in coloring your hair it is absolutely imperative that you use what is recommended to you otherwise the color could fade or the damage to your hair worsened. You look great, now maintain your great look with us!

We can’t wait to see what hijinx Emma gets into on her rise to the top! Get into some hijinx with us at Emerson Salon today!

Post by D’Arcy

Britney Spears is one of the pop idols that has managed to stay every present throughout the years. Since some of her first hits like “Oops I Did it Again” and “You Drive me Crazy” we have been moving to her lyrics and beats. This Tuesday comes the release of her newest single: “Hold it Against Me”

Britney has been a blond babe since the 90′s. Since her debut into the music industry, she was a blond. As time when on her hair became lighter and lighter. While earlier on, she was much more warm toned, now she is a very cool blonde. Her blond hair can be achieved through foiling different light, cool blonds, until all hair is colored (or in the case of the picture below, the new growth is broken up and softened.)

Her haircut has been a classic of long layers. She also has layers surrounding her face. Its a great look for sex appeal and versatility. Many of us remember when Britney shaved her head. This can be a great style for some women and very freeing. Take a great deal of precaution while considering it, though. It is a very drastic decision and really should only be done if you are completely certain that you want that look.

Britney these days is back to her long locks and creating music for our enjoy it. Check out the video at the bottom to listen to her new single.

Post by Franz

RED is a movie that follow Frank Moses (played by Bruce Willis), retired CIA operative who is the new target of the CIA’s assassination plots. He and his fellow retirees team up to uncover the truth and save their lives. This action/comedy is something I highly recommend seeing. It opened on October 15th and has a 70% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 170 reviews with an average rating of 6.3/10. Go see it before it leaves theaters!

One of the retirees is Victoria, retired MI6 assassin, played by the wonderful Academy Award winner Helen Mirren. She has he hair cut to fall just at her jaw, making this much more of a low maintenance haircut. She was further given layers to reduce bulk and weight while giving a bit more shape to her curls and wave. Her bangs are cut to fall at her brow and slope to connect with the upper layers of the main body.

For her color, they used two different levels of blond to give her a very soft depth to her color. The lighter blond is placed in such a way that it makes if that more defining of the curl. Also with this light blond color, her eyes are made to seem just that more blue. Blond hair and blue eyes is a classic combination, though whenever going blond, you should consult with your stylist to make sure that it will work for your skin tone.

To achieve the style that Mirren’s hair was given, one could start by using Kevin.Murphy Anti.Gravity then finger drying the hair. The hair would then be curled with a large barreled curling iron and then set to cool with large velcro-rollers. Once it has all cooled you can remove the rollers and brush out with a boar-bristle brush and finish it off with a spray of Kevin.Murphy Session.Spray.

Interested in making this look yours? Come into Emerson today and have a consultation with one of our stylist!

Warning! Though this trailer does show many more shots of Mirren’s hair, it also contains some violent behavior.

Post by Franz

The history of burlesque style theater is tied to its inherent meaning which means, “to send up,” or otherwise create a parody or exaggeration. Throughout the 20th Century we have come to know burlesque as slow stripteases with sexy dance numbers as seen in the movie Moulin Rouge. Our modern version would be the Pussy Cat Dolls who have been seducing audiences in LA with their sultry versions of old and new songs.

Soon we will be enjoying a star studded cast in the film,”Burlesque,” that releases Thanksgiving starring Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci, Julianne Hough, Kristin Bell, Alan Cumming and Eric Dane. The film follows Aguilera’s character as she arrives in the big city ready to take on the world as she cocktail waitresses and then auditions for the coveted chance of being in the burlesque spotlight.

For this role, Christina dons a long blond wig in the beginning of the film to reflect her naivete and innocence. Later, her character cuts her hair into a blunt bob and lightens her hair to pale blond to show off her brave, sultry and bold performances.

If you intend to be as light as her shade we recommend the following:

• Book a color consultation with an Emerson Salon Stylist. If you have naturally lighter hair, this will be an easy all over color going lighter. If you have previously colored or medium brown or darker hair, this will be a bleach and tone or color correction service.
• Deep condition your hair for 2 weeks before lightening your hair. Use Moroccan Oil Moisturizing Masque for 5 minutes after shampooing for up to 2X a week leading up to your color service. Lightening can cause moisture loss, breakage and frizz so the more you prep your hair for the service the better off your hair will be in the long run.
• Factor in ongoing maintenance and support products into your budget for the service. We recommend Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner by Alterna Caviar for gluten, paraben and sulfate free care for your new shade. It has built in violet tones with optical brighteners that will keep your blond hue from fading into a brassy tone. Also, bleach and tone retouches are cheaper than the all over service but must be scheduled every 4-6 weeks to keep up the look as it grows out.
• Some great products for styling:Alterna Radiant Smoothing Lotion which contains Rhodiola extract (antioxidants) and this product cuts down on blow dry time by 50% (which is great for porous hair that dries slower.) To finish, use Alterna Rapid Repair Spray which contains vitamin C and shine to control frizz and fly-aways.

Ever since Chicago and Dream Girls released, we have enjoyed more and more movie musicals like this one. Elevate your sense of style like these films do and come on in to Emerson Salon today!

Post by D’Arcy

I don’t watch a lot of TV but my guilty pleasure is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. There is something about this show that I can’t seem to get enough of!  Every time I watch it I wish I had the girls’ wardrobe and a hair team to make me look this great!  Three of the show’s characters have amazing hair color. Here are some great examples of blond, brown and red color done right.

Grace –Blond
I am tired of the over-processed, solid blond look. Here is a more flattering blond option.  Grace has a darker base of a level 6 (light brown) that gives the blond dimension. There are two different levels of blond in her hair, Level 11 (platinum blond) and a darker level 9 (yellow or honey blond).  The platinum is more prominent, to give hair that overall light blond feel and is broken up by a few light pieces of the darker honey blond.  Foiling with two different blonds and having a darker base makes for a perfect blond.

Amy – Light Brown
Amy is a great example of light brown in this picture.  It is a warm (red brown) level 6.  It is a simple all over color but, at a level 6, it shows a lot more of the red brown tone.  This color, with her skin tone and eye color is very striking and shows why not EVERY woman is a blond!

Madison-Red
Although she is a natural redhead, you too can have this amazing red even if you’re not!    She is considered a copper (red /blond) level 7.  There are many different types of red you can pick from. This one is so great on her because of her skin tone and blue eyes.  Red works really well with blue or green eyes and with a fair skin tone. Don’t rule out being a redhead, it is a great option for a lot of girls!

Tired of your basic over-processed blond or dull brown color? Maybe feeling like a dramatic change and want to go red? Take a cue from these beautiful stars, and make your appointment at Emerson today!

Post by Ellen

On June 8th, Christina Aguilera will release her newest studio album, Bionic, which she says is a reflection of her life changes over the last 4 years. She has already released her single, “Not Myself Tonight,” to great reception on the radio and iTunes. The Grammy award winner also recently became a new wife and mommy in addition to working on a new movie with Cher called, “Burlesque.”

Christina is a style maven who has tried many haircuts, extensions and even darker hair color in the past. She recently took her signature bright blond locks into a shorter blunt bob haircut with added texture. This classic look is fun and can be modernized depending on styling product or techniques. Christina does have a short texturized bang added to the haircut but it can be easily hidden when parted to the side with a heavier type of pomade. Try using Sheer Pomade by Alterna or Hair Shaper by Fudge.

This style of haircut needs to be maintained once every 2 months to keep the precision of the perimeter and texture. This haircut is somewhat different to the inverted style that Victoria Beckham made popular a few years back. The perimeter is even all the way around the head shape instead of gradually getting longer towards the face. Also, Christina’s haircut is emphasized in that the weight is allowed to hang at the perimeter and any texture is created on the top of the haircut. This gives it a more “piece-y” feel. This hairstyle looks good on square, rectangle, oval, or heart shaped faces as it creates horizontal volume around the face shape.

When wet-dry styling this cut on wavier textures, try using Radiant Smoothing Lotion by Alterna for shine and smoothing on this haircut. On straighter textures, try using Anti Gravity by Kevin Murphy for control and volume.

Hint: When blow drying a bob hairstyle- use a paddle brush or denman brush to encourage the hair’s natural fall into the haircut. These brushes are flat or have a slight bevel and provide minimal tension on the hair. Round brushes tend to alter how hair lays and can de-emphasize the quality of the haircut.

We look forward to Christina’s entire album and are just as excited to see what inspiring looks she dons in her videos and concerts!

post by D’Arcy