Busy, busy, busy

I would like to apologize for the long break on my blog.  I have been very busy with the salon, Paula sands Live, my charity events, and I have been formulating a new shampoo and conditioner.  I would like to announce that after 12 segments on Paula Sands Live on KWQC-TV6, I will be taking a break from the show to focus on the launch of my new product line called "The Lotus Life."

Wouldn't it be nice to have a professional shampoo and conditioner line that was organic, good for the environment AND affordable?  It seems like most of the time you have to pay a lot extra for professional/organic products for your hair.  I am pleased to announce that my new product line will be coming out in December of 2012 and will be organic and very affordable.

Keep your eyes on my blog or go to the Salon Lotus Facebook and become a fan for updates on the launch of "The Lotus Life" shampoo and conditioner.

Sneak Peak of Paula Sands Live for 5/14/12

Believe it or not, men like to get salon services too!

Are you a guy who has questions about your hair?

Are you a female who wants to make your man look more appealing?

What are the trends for men's hair?
How do you disguise thinning hair or even make your hair thicker?
What do you do about pesky grays?
Unibrows?


Stylist/Salon Lotus owner, Benji White has all the answers to these questions and more!

Tune into Paula Sands Live Monday, May 14th, 2012 at 3 pm on KWQC-TV6 for his 9th segment on MEN'S HAIR!

Tips On Picking The Best Hair Color

The most important factor to consider when choosing a hair color is picking a shade that compliments your skin tone.  Skin tones are usually warm or cool.  Warm toned skin has yellow, golden, or peach undertones whereas cool toned skin has pink, beige, or blue undertones. 

The easiest way to figure out which tone of skin you are is to look at the vein on your wrist.  If your vein looks greenish, you are warm toned.  If your vein looks blueish, you are cool toned. 

The two middle pictures are the correct tone for Angelina's cool skin.

Once you have figured out which skin tone category you fall into you can figure out which shade of hair color will compliment your skin.  If you pick the right color, your skin will appear more radiant and glowing.  Your eyes will appear brighter and wrinkles and blemishes will be less evident.  If you pick the wrong hair color for your skin tone, your skin will appear washed out and your eyes will appear to be dull and any darkness or bags underneath them will become more apparent.  The wrongs hair color for your skin tone can also make blemishes and wrinkles stand out and can make your teeth appear more yellow. 

 People with warm skin tones want to pick warmer toned hair colors.  If you want to be blonde, stick to golden or caramel blondes.  If you prefer red, stick to warm reddish browns or copper toned reds.  If you prefer brown, stick with golden browns with a warm depth. 

Jessica Alba's warm skin tone is best flattered by the last three colors.

If you have a cool skin tone you want to choose cooler toned colors.  Cool toned people can pull off platinum blonde, ash toned blondes, or beige blondes.  If you prefer red hair color, stick to blue toned reds, auburns, or wine toned reds.  If you prefer brown color, stick with cool toned chocolate browns and you can usually also pull off black hair color if you skin is not too pale.

Katy Perry's cool skin tone is most flattered by the second and third pictures.

When picking a hair color you must also consider maintenance.  If you are wanting to go a lot lighter than your natural shade, you will need to touch up your roots more often.  If you go with vibrant reds, you will also need to come in a little more often because reds are the quickest to fade out.

Another consideration in picking the right color for you is if you want your hair color to appear natural or edgy.  If you want natural looking color, it is best to only go three shades lighter or darker when choosing your color.  If you prefer edgy color, pick the color based on your skin tone and have fun!

The health of your hair is the last consideration in choosing the right hair color.  If your hair is damaged it is best to stick to rich browns because they make your hair appear to be more shiny and healthy.  You want to avoid lightening too much because it can dry out your hair more and unhealthy hair does not take red very well because the red color molecules are larger and have a hard time settling in damaged hair.

When in doubt, schedule a free consultation with me at Salon Lotus and I can walk you through the process!  I am running a March Madness Makeover special.  It includes a highlight, lowlight and cut for only $70.

Sneak peak of the 3/21/12 segment on Paula Sands Live

What is your skin tone?  Are you warm or cool?  How do you find out?

Once you have figured out your skin tone, picking the right color is important.

If you pick the right tone of color, your skin will glow, your eyes will be brighter and wrinkles will be less defined.

Pick the wrong color and you can end up looking washed out, your eyes will appear to be tired with dark circles under them and skin blemishes will be very apparent.

Tune into my segment on Paula Sands Live on March 21st at 3pm on KWQC-TV6 to find out the answers to these questions and more tips about choosing the perfect color for you!

Picking A Haircut/Style For Your Face Shape

This is the extended version of my February 13th segment on Paula Sands Live.

There are seven face shapes.  The chart below shows them.

The oval shaped face is considered to be the most ideal shape and so your haircut and style should be picked to make your face appear more oval.  It really is that simple. 

The best way to determine your face shape is to look in the mirror and use lipstick to trace your face shape on the mirror and then compare the outline to the face shape chart.  If you want to be very exact about finding your face shape, you can get out a ruler and measure the width of your forehead, cheekbones, and chin and the length of your face.  If you want to save yourself work, contact me for a free consultation and I will tell you what shape face you have. 

A lot of people have a mixture of two face shapes and with some of the celebrity photos I have shown, the person is so beautiful that they can still pull off the "bad look."  Some of the rules can be broken.

Heart Shaped: Avoid thi

Heart Shaped: Try this.

1. Heart shaped: The most common face shape is a heart shaped face.  With a heart shaped face, the forehead is the widest part of the face and the chin is more narrow. 


To appear more oval you want to minimize the forehead and broaden the chin. 


Celebs with this shape include: Reese Witherspoon, Rihanna, and Tyra Banks.

Cuts/styles to try: Side swept bangs help minimize the forehead.  Long hair with chin length layers help widen the chin.

Avoid: No bangs and too much height in the crown make the forehead more prominent.  Hair without any body and layers that point in to the chin because they will accentuate the narrowness of the chin.

Round: Avoid this.

Round: Try this.

2. Round: A round shaped face is equal in length and width and the jaw line and hairline are rounded. 


To appear more oval, pick styles that elongate the face. 


Celebs with this shape include: Drew Barrymore, Christina Ricci, and Kelly Osbourne.

Cuts/styles to try: Longer hair with lots of volume at the crown work well on round shaped faces by drawing the eye up and down and making the face appear longer.  Center parts also help make the face appear longer and less round.


Avoid: Heavy bangs because they make the face appear smaller and avoid curly hair because it makes the face appear more round.

Oval: Try this or EXPERIMENT

3. Oval: An oval shaped face is considered ideal.  It is longer than wide and in between round and angular.

If you have this shape of face, you can pretty much pull off any look and so you should focus on finding a cut and style that work well with your hair texture. 

Celebs with this shape include: Heidi Klum, Jessica Alba, and Kate Beckinsale.


Cuts/styles to try: Angled bobs work well to accentuate the cheekbones.  If you are blessed with an oval shaped face, EXPERIMENT with lots of looks because you can pull most of them off.  You can also pick your best facial feature and choose a look that shows the feature off.


Avoid: Overly heavy bangs that cover your perfectly shaped face.

Square: Try this.

Square: Avoid this.

4. Square: A square shaped face is equal in length and width and has an angular jaw and forehead. 


To appear more you oval you want to pick a cut and style that elongate the face and soften the angles of the chin and jaw. 


Celebs with this shape include: Sandra Bullock, Demi Moore, and Calista Flockhart.

Cuts/styles to try: Curved, side swept bangs help to soften the squareness of the forehead.  Volume in the crown and shoulder length hair help elongate the face.  Wavy or curly hair helps soften the angles of this shape.

Avoid: Angled, chin length bobs because they make the jaw look even more square.  Avoid blunt straight across bags because they will make the forehead look wider and more angled.

Oblong: Try this.

Oblong:Avoid this.

5. Oblong/rectangle: An oblong/rectangle face is longer than it is wide and has an angled jawline. 

To appear more oval, pick styles that widen the face and soften the jaw. 

Celebs with this shape include: Sarah Jessica Parker, Hilary Swank, and Liv Tyler.

Cuts/styles to try: Try curly styles that have volume around the temples and cheekbones to widen the face and soften the angles.

Avoid: Long straight hair or hair with lots of volume at the crown because it will make the face appear longer and more thin.

Triangle: Try this.

Triangle: Avoid this.

6. Triangle: A triangular shaped face is the opposite of a heart shaped face.  The forehead is more narrow and the jaw is wider. 


To appear more oval, pick styles that widen the forehead and do not add width to the jaw. 


Celebs with this shape include: Victoria Beckham, Minnie Driver, and Bethenny Frankel.


Cuts/styles to try: Short shag haircuts and stacked haircuts work well for this face shape because the volume is around the temples and forehead.

Avoid: Long, voluminous styles because they make the chin appear wider.

Diamond: Try this

Diamond: Avoid this.

7: Diamond: A diamond shape face is the most rare shape.  With a diamond shaped face, the cheekbones are the widest point and the forehead and jaw more narrow. 


To appear more oval, pick styles that widen the forehead and jaw. 


Celebs with this shape include: Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Hurley, and Christy Turlington.


Cuts/styles to try:  Opt for shoulder length hair that is wavy or curly with the volume at the temple and below the chin.

Avoid: Too much volume at the crown can cause the forehead to appear more narrow and pointed.

As Paula Sands mentioned on air, the texture of the hair is also an important consideration when choosing the perfect cut.  Feel free to contact me for a free consultation so together we can choose the haircut and style that is the most ideal for your face shape and hair texture.

Sneak Peak of 2/13/12 PSL Segment

Heart?  Oblong?  Triangle?  How do you find out what your face shape is?  What haircuts and styles flatter your face shape?  Which haircuts and styles should you avoid?  Tune in to Paula Sands Live on February 13th at 3pm on KWQC-TV6 to find out.

2012 Hair Trends (Extended Version)

My models on the set of PSL.

If you missed my segment on Paula Sands Live showcasing some of the hair trends of 2012, here is a link to the show: PSL.  I am the second segment.  KWQC only has the link up for limited time, so check it out soon.






In 2012 we are seeing a lot of the trends from 2011 carry over into the new year, but with some tweaks and little more refinement.

Hot haircuts for 2012:

Lacey on the set of PSL.

Rihanna rocking the 2012 pixie.

1.  The pixie revisited.  In 2011 the pixie cut was huge.  We saw many celebrities with this fashion forward style, including Michelle Williams, Emma Watson, and Ashlee Simpson.  In 2012, this haircut is still red hot, but with some minor adjustments.  We are now seeing the pixie with a longer top and bangs with lots of texture or a completely rocked out version called the rock crop.  The rock crop has super short bangs and a more rockabilly/androgynous feel.  The pixie is a great cut because it is so versatile and can be tailored to almost any face shape and age group.  My best friend Lacey recently had me give her a pixie cut and she loves it because she has a couple of styling options in under ten minutes which is very helpful when you are a working mother.

The mod bob haircut on PSL.

Long and bouncy on PSL.

2.  The mod bob.  This cut puts a new spin on the classic chin-length bob.  The mod bob takes inspiration from the 1960s and is all about volume and messiness.  This haircut is very versatile and easy to style.  Any texture of hair can be used with the mod bob, but the cut works the best on medium to thick hair and/or wavy hair.

3. Long and bouncy.  In 2012 we also find that long hair with loose layers is very popular.  This look is inspired by the 1970s and is very glamorous.  You can achieve this style with a roundbrush set at Salon Lotus.  A curling iron can also be used to create a tighter curl.

Hot color for 2012:

Warm toned colors on PSL.

Blended purple lowlights by me.

1. Warm toned color.  In 2012 we are seeing a lot of warm browns and caramels.  In 2011, vibrant or outrageous reds were all the rage, but in 2012 it is all about natural red colors.  Blended, natural looking color placement is very popular.

2. Wacky colors.  In 2011 we saw Nicki Minaj, Katie Perry, and Rihanna using vibrant pinks, greens, purples and reds as an all over color.  The trend in 2012 is to blend these edgy colors in more subtly with natural tones.

Jessica Biel with ombre color.

3. Ombre color.  Ombre color is a placement technique in which the base or root area is darker than the ends of the hair.  In 2011 we saw more a drastic, "rooty" ombre look.  In 2012 it is all about a more blended ombre effect.  There are a lot of celebrities sporting this color trend, including Jessica Biel, Drew Barrymore, and Rachel Bilson.  This color technique also masks outgrowth and makes allows less trips to the salon for touch ups.

An ombre inspired color by me.

4. Silver toned blonde.  Believe it or not, gray or silver tones are very in for 2012.  We have seen many models and trendsetters with this color trend and it is now filtering down to the general population.  This color also helps mask grey outgrowth in between appointments.

Silver toned Kate Moss.

Hot hairstyles/updos for 2012:

1. The side part.  In 2012 we are seeing a more drastic side part.  No matter what length of hair or style you choose, you can incorporate this trend.

2. The center part was hot in 2011 and is still very popular in 2012.  This trend is in sync with the '60s and '70s style revivals we are seeing in the fashion world.

This client has hair past her shoulders.

3. The retro faux bob.  This style is perfect for women with medium to long hair who want to give the illusion of getting a shorter haircut.  This look is achieved completely through pinning and twisting.  No cutting is required.

An effortlessly undone style.

4.  Piled up and pinned.  This style is a marriage of beautiful styled hair and an effortless undone look.  This look is best on medium length hair.









2012's trends can be summed up in a few words: blended, undone, and natural.

It is a new year and there is no better time to get a makeover at Salon Lotus.  I am offering $10 off any service for new clients in the month of January.  Please go to facebook.com/salonlotus for more information and more examples of my work.