Hair turmoil turned to hair success
Back in 2014 our younger sister Tanya’s hair was at it’s worst. When I say worst, I mean the overall condition and look wasn’t appealing. At the time we weren’t using clean products or ammonia free colour. Getting her hair done then became a big ordeal. From something that is suppose to be relaxing, calming and make you feel good, turned into not wanting it done at all. You would think having two sisters who owned a salon and having your hair done for free would be something you would look forward to?
Let me give you a bit of background about Tanya so you can get to know her a little better. Tanya is the younger sister out of us 3 girls. When we first opened our salon, Tanya use to work for us, we were like the three musketeers! At the time she was as University studying to be a teacher. She would clean up for us, sweep hair, mix colours, make tea and coffee and sometimes we would get her to apply root tints. She was our ‘tea and tidy’ girl, as you call it. Out of all of us, she was the most adventurous with her hair. She would go from bright red, to white blonde, back to brown and then back to blonde. She coloured it a lot. I remember at one stage she was coming in 3 weekly for us to lighten her white ends over and over. It ended up getting so damaged that she had to go back brown and it eventually got so ruined that she would say things like ‘I hate getting my hair done. I hate my hair.’
We tried to explain to her that what she was having done was naturally going to damage her hair at some level. We use to say to her, ‘you either have healthy hair or damaged hair, what one do you choose?’ She had to learn to trust us and let go of thinking she knew better. Over the years of being in the industry, clients will sit in my chair and at times tell me how to cut, how to colour or what to do in general. I relate it to going to getting your car serviced and telling them how to do it. I believe that trust takes time and also sometimes that involves people letting go a little. I’m guilty of this myself. When you leave your hair in capable hands, trust they know how to get to the result that you need. It may not happen instantly, but when it comes to the health of your hair and extravagant results, it is a process we and we just have to be patient.
Let me share where she is at now….
After years of colouring, she finally gave it a break and listened to the advice we were giving her. She started to leave it longer in between colours, getting regular trims and it helped that we started using clean products, resulting in her hair repairing a lot quicker. There is a big myth about ammonia free colours and a debate on weather or not they are as effective as ammonia colours. For those of you reading this that may not know what ammonia free is, it is as the name suggests. It is when hair colour is free of ammonia containing other ingredients that help impart hair colour to your hair. These hair colours contain emollient oils and other ingredients so that the hair cuticle does not lose moisture or protein during the hair colouring process. The colours we are currently using are not only ammonia free but also resorcinol free and PPD free! Without getting to technical, there are no hidden nasties.
As I was saying, there is a lots of hair myths been passed down from stylists (people like us) that may have not known enough about ammonia free colours when they were just coming into the market. There were some companies that had only 10 shades ammonia free or a very small percentage of colours that didn’t contain ammonia. Then came along companies like Chi, Natralique and Original Mineral. We have gone through all three of those ranges. We found chi first. This at the time was the cleanest product on the market. Then came Natralique, which then took the lead, being the cleanest range to use. And last but not least Original Mineral, which is now the cleanest on the market and the range we are currently using and couldn’t be happier!
As we progressed through the ranges, so did our clients hair. Tanya is a prime example of this. Her hair was so broken and damaged that we then went right back to basics. We believe that anything great always has a solid foundation. So that’s what we did, we rebuilt her foundation. We started firstly with how to shampoo and condition her hair. Now I know what you are thinking, everyone knows how to do that right? This is actually the biggest unknown that we have discovered from clients in our chair. A lot of people actually don’t know how to do this effectively. In this step we also showed her the best shampoo and conditioner to use at the time for the condition her hair was in. A common saying I hear is ‘my hair got use to my shampoo.’ Your hair doesn’t get use to your shampoo; it simply has fulfilled its purpose. For example, if your hair lacks moisture and you start using a moisture shampoo, eventually your hair will have repaired through using this, and now it will be time to re-consult on what to use next.
The next step was how to brush her hair. I know this seems simple too, but this is also a common unknown area from most clients. We taught her how to do it, what to use and when not to do it. This in itself will transform your hair for life.
Then we moved onto products. We taught her what she would need for the ultimate protection of her hair and what was required for what she was using in terms of her styling tools. Using products to protect your hair from styling tools and also things like UV rays is crucial. Your hair is exposed on a daily basis to external elements that can damage it, so it is important to protect it, just like you would protect your skin.
We then moved onto little hacks like using a silk pillowcase so her hair could glide while she slept, preventing breakage. Using a cotton pillowcase will ruffle and knot your hair over night-especially if you are a restless sleeper. This is crucial for those who are blonde, as blonde hair is more prone to damage.
Then we moved onto styling tools. Teaching her what brand to use, how to use them, what heat to use them on and tips and tricks to styling. When a woman knows how to style her hair she becomes unstoppable.
Now comes the last part of building the foundation; routine. She needed a solid routine to stick to in terms of how often to colour her hair, and how often she should be getting a haircut. We taught her how long to go between visits and all the benefits of being consistent. We re-built her foundation and now to this day, her hair has never looked better! Foundations, in every aspect of your life are important. When you have a solid foundation, no matter what happens, it will always be the most solid and best place to start again.
‘My hair has never looked or felt this good in my life.’ — Tanya Bode
Tanya is now blonde, uses our very own BODE shampoo, conditioner and mask, and uses the best products to match her lifestyle. It really is that simple. We are here to educate you on the best way to manage your hair for whatever lifestyle you have. There are so many tips and tricks learnt over the years after being in the industry for as long as I have. After noticing the gap in the industry, in terms of client-stylist communication and general knowledge clients need to have great hair, I have created everything woman would need in one package. It is everything you need to know about how to build your foundation. Going over everything I have mentioned in this blog but in a lot more depth. I’ve even paired with the absolute essential tools that I have mentioned and have done all the hard work for you! I’ve put all my 15 years experience and bundled it into something that is just a click away! Don’t waste your time and energy researching and finding the best products, nor the best tools to make sure you have all the essentials. I can’t wait to share it with you and I can’t wait to be a part of your hair journey! I’m truly excited because I know that healthy hair is not longer a thing of the past, it’s the way of the future.
