the fresh perspective...

Season's greetings to you all!   Once again here's a snap from our Christmas card this year! The girls had fun and we are very excited for the holidays.  All the best to you all!

That's the fresh perspective...

the fresh perspective...

Going gracefully PART 1 -The conversation- So the day has finally arrived.  You are going to let your grey come in and just 'see' if you like it or not.  You're just a bit curious to see what you'll look like.  Also, you're tired of coloring every month.  Whether you do it yourself, or pay someone to do it, you're done.  So how do you do it?  Well people, let's get to it...

I believe, and most of you know, it starts with a conversation with your stylist.  Then it will be an appointment to start the color process of going lighter, then it's the cuts, and then it's your homework.  After those four steps you should be on a path to no coloring bliss or at least fully grey.  Now this all depends if your locks are short or long.  This depends if your hair is thick or thin.  This also depends on the state of your hair.  Are you curly or not so much?  All of these factors will come into play while your going through the steps.

It will be a conversation to tell your stylist what you want and then they can tell you if it's possible and if so, how to get there.  The conversation is very important because this will determine what happens next.  You need to realize that whatever plan your guy/girl sets out for you will only go as far as you allow it.  If you break down and throw some color on your hair during the process you will make it harder on your stylist and most importantly yourself.

Why do you want to be grey? Start there.  I feel like most of us want to do it because we are tired of coloring.  So fine.  You stop coloring your hair and you are now grey.  Your problem won't be solved overnight if you aren't prepared to start DOING your hair.  If you let the grey come in then I believe that a good time to start looking for a really good cut would be now.  Grey hair that is cut and styled nicely is quite stunning.

This conversation should cover all areas.  Your hair might be more coarse so you'll need to change your products.  Depending on the type of cut and style, you might eliminate hot tools all together.  Maybe you can GROW your hair now that you're not coloring?  Don't ask for other people's opinions on what you should do.  You and your stylist should decide.  Trust me, if you let your grey come in and you just neglect the cutting and styling part you will appear to be lazy and unmotivated.  Your friends and family will urge you to color your hair again.  If you're going to commit to letting the grey come in then you need to really buckle down, focus, and put the work in.

While your deciding, look around you and take note of the folks with greys that you see.  The ones you like will be the ones who have found the cut and style for them.  Maybe that sleek bob or that short shag.  It's all going to depend on what you think you might like.  After you and your stylist get it all out then you can figure out what method would be best.  This depends on where your majority of grey is.  Temples? Part line?

In the next Going gracefully we'll chat about the coloring process.  I urge you to get friendly with your stylist and if he/she tries to talk you out of it, let them know how serious you are in going grey.  If they still aren't being supportive then it's time to find a new stylist.  Yeah, I said it.  That's the fresh perspective...

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the fresh perspective...

How much is too much? How do you know when you have let yourself be overcome with 'stuff'?  During this season of giving and getting, it's a wonder we have space in our lives for the things we will be getting...

We go from shop, to boutique, to mall, looking for that perfect something to give the ones we hold the nearest and most dear to us.  We anticipate seeing their faces light up when they open their gift.  Something about that, I guess, is why we give.  But why must we give things?  Why do we fail to see that the gift of time-spent is something much more valuable?

Giving time instead of material things seems easy but let me tell you, it's harder than you think.  Even now as you read this, your mind has already traveled to all the places you need to be by the day's end.   All the things you need to accomplish before you sleep, gently nudge you through your day.  So to think that you would need to spend little or no money, but time, might be challenging.  Let's face it, it's easier to buy someone a gift than to give them four uninterrupted hours of your evening.

I'd like to challenge everyone this year to maybe give time as a gift.  This holiday, begin with one or two people.  Start small because your time is valuable as well and if your family or group of close friends are many, all your time will be gone.  That's the fresh perspective...

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the fresh perspective...

FULL AGAIN

This product is bananas!  It makes your skinny hairs full.  The amount of thickness you can get from this little bottle is mind-blowing!  I know I'm sounding a bit pumped but...I'm pumped.

Depending on the amount of hair you have, you have to be careful not to use too much.  I used a bit more than I should have once, and my clients hair felt just a bit too full. (hee hee)  It felt a little too producty... ( Yes.  I made that up.)    I know you all know what producty means...  When you go to touch your hair it feels like it's full of gooey, goop, products.  Hence, producty.

Just a couple more pointers about this gem of a product.  It has very little hold and may need to layered with a mousse or styling product to achieve better hold.  It is a thickening lotion and should not be confused with a volumizer.  It does make your hair feel full and a bit bigger.  It just depends what type of hair you have.  It may work as a thickener and volumizer for you fine haired folks and maybe just a thickener for those of you with an average amount of hair.

If you're curious, ask about it when you come for your next appointment.  For those of you who are not from around these parts, look for Kevin Murphy products in your area or ask your stylist.  That's the fresh perspective...

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the fresh perspective...

With the holidays quickly approaching, it's sometimes hard to keep it all in perspective.  December will be upon us next week and we'll all be operating on auto pilot.  Just going through the motions to get through this time.  We shouldn't view December as a pain but, let's face it, most of us do.

There are family gatherings, shopping excursions, holiday parties and winter events happening all month and it makes it hard to appreciate December when it seems it's the busiest time of the year.  If you're in retail, your ears have probably been bombarded with Christmas songs already and I'm sure you seen a few Holiday displays around.  If you're fortunate to NOT be in retail (sorry mall workers...) you might be able to stave off the aforementioned Holiday preparations for a few more weeks.  Eventually we'll all be in it, spending, waiting, eating, laughing and crying with our friends and family alike.

This time of the year is by far my favorite because it helps to remind me about what's really important.  Spending endless hours with my children 'doing' things, chatting about the past year with my mom and mother-in-law,  getting into it with the boys about why the Bears will/won't go to the playoffs, and just being surrounded by love and life...

Regardless of what you believe in or celebrate, please try to accomplish December with a small amount of joy in your heart and laughter in your voice.  It only takes a minute to get caught up in the material-ness of the upcoming month and I urge all of you to try to remember that there are other ways to approach December.  That's the fresh perspective...

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the fresh perspective...

For CP- In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years.

-Abraham Lincoln

Abe Lincoln seems to have been an amazing man.  I'm excited to see the movie about his life and learn more about him.  It seems like he was a man who wasn't afraid to be the first.  I don't know very much about him but his quote above spoke to me.

For all of you who have lost someone and feel like you can't pick up the pieces, this Lincoln quote should be able to give some perspective on the current life that you do have.  Are you spending time with the ones you love?  Are you making a difference?  Are you happy?

That's the fresh perspective...