The Legend: Vidal Sassoon

  On May 9, 2012 the hairdressing industry lost a legend. I was so upset when I heard that Vidal Sassoon passed away at the age of 84. It's really taken me some time to put my thoughts and feelings into words.
What he did for the hair industry affects me and every hairdresser today and I have always had such a tremendous amount of respect for him. Although I never got the chance to meet him in person I did have the pleasure of attending a intensive course at the Vidal Sassoon Academy last year. His way of cutting "The Sassoon Way" is still to this day the foundations of every single hair cut. Many of you may not know much about Vidal Sassoon and what he did for the hairdressing industry. So let me tell you a little bit about him and what he did to become the legend.

  When he became a hairdresser he said he was going to do something big change something. To say that he "changed" or did something "big" is an understatement. Back when he began apprenticing women were stuck in the old ways of weekly rollersets. It was all about the style and making sure it kept for a week. He made it about the haircut. He was the first person to give somebody a "wash and go" haircut. When he cut the infamous a-line bob on Nancy Kwan for Vogue and the pixie cut on Mia Farrow he became a sensation. His work was edgy and different nothing like anyone had ever seen before. Most of the work he is famous for are very geometric short cuts, but what he teaches still applies to every haircut long or short.

Nancy Kwans bob on the cover of the Vidal Sassoon Movie

   His two loves were hair and architecture, specifically he loved the Bauhaus school of architecture. He saw the similarities in both and as you can see much of his work was inspired by architecture. He spent nine years of his life devoting himself to learning, creating, and mastering shape and how to create  a shape on a someone's head. Some people think he only created specific haircuts. But what he really created were the techniques. With the techniques there are endless posibilities. His philosophy is about creating a haircut to suit the individual. He made cutting hair an art.

  Without him the hair industry would not have been able to evolve to what it is today. We wouldn't be doing what we are doing today. He started the revolution, and as long as every hairdresser is passionate and loves what they do the possibilities are endless. 

"If you don't look good, we don't look good" - Vidal Sassoon may he Rest in Peace. 

New Year New 'Do

What a year 2011 has been. It felt like it has come and gone so fast. November and December are the busiest months of the year. I have my latest product review coming early 2012 & lots more in the New Year. The holidays are always a time that we change things including our hair. Here's a little makeover I did on a co-worker of mine. 

Celina is a stylist in training and her hair has always been long. She has experimented more with colour than with her hair cuts. After going darker in the fall she still felt like she needed a change. It's a little dried out as well from flat ironing often. Giving it a good cut is the best way to really get rid of all the split ends, and the first step to having healthy hair. 

As you can see the ends are a little dry and her cut has lost its shape. She has a good face shape & facial structure and a shorter cut will really help accentuate her facial features. She wanted something fun that she can really play around with. Something versatile that will look good curly or straight. 

I didn't want to change her colour too much so I just did a semi-permanent chocolate glaze over it to give it some more richness and shine. She has pretty thick hair and as I mentioned earlier it is slightly wavy. We decided on an asymmetrical layered bob with graduation in the back. The layers and graduation will remove bulk and prevent it from looking like a triangle.

I gave her a slightly angled side bang so she could have some versatility and also wear it straight across. The shorter hair really makes her cheekbones pop. She can wear it super smooth and also textured and wavy. 

Short side, long side & back. The graduation in the back removes bulk & allows thick hair to sit nicely  

This is a great cut for almost any hair type. It can be adapted to suit almost anybody. The beauty of it is that it's a short cut but with some length in the front. If you're thinking of going really short this is a great way to ease into it without shocking yourself too much. It also looks fantastic on curly hair. The shortness in the back makes the back shrink up more and gives you the look of a more extreme angle. 

I'd also like to thank all of my viewers in this past year. I promised that I would update more in 2011, and I promise to do even more in 2012. I have a lot of plans for this blog and lots of more great content will be coming soon. I hope you all have a fantastic New Years and an amazing start to 2012.