This week was all about the textures of peoples' hair and how to change them. I.E. Perms and relaxers! We started the week learning about PH (Potential Hydrogen) and Acid and Alkaline and the affects they have on the hair. We also watched a video with Ladonna Dryer, which taught us all about the bonds that are broken during perms and relaxers, which are Hydrogen Bonds, Salt Bonds and Disulfide Bonds. I didn't realize there was so much chemistry in hairdressing! We also went over the three different perm products Paul Mitchell uses: Acid Perms (which smelled like apples, haha), Alkaline Perms (which didn't smell good at all), and Exothermic Perms (Which had a fresh, soapy smell).
We had an activity in class using the acid/alkaline scale where we tried to figure out where everyday items fit on the scale, whether they were more acidic or alkaline based. It was really intruiging.
On Wednesday we had a guest speaker, Claudia Smith, who is from JPMS (John Paul Mitchell Systems). She works at their corporate offices in Beverly Hills and she came to our school to go over the new Cut & Dry, a Paul Mitchell magazine that comes out twice a year. The magazine was featuring a lot of amazing new products from Paul Mitchell, some go green ideas, a spotlight on the six favorite Paul Mitchell hairdressers, and ways to imporove your salon. We were split up into nine groups and each group had to go over one article in the magazine and present it to the class. There were some pretty creative and informative presentations in the class and we all got two new products out of it as well. Claudia passed out the new Hot Off the Press thermal protection spray, which smells heavenly and works great. I used it before curling my hair the other day, not only did my curls come out soft and smooth, but they stayed that way all day, and didn't fall out. She also gave us sample bottles of the new Fast Form which is a cream gel that you use before blow drying that speeds up drying time and helps you keep your hair manageable for the day. (It also smells unbeliveable).
After our guest speaker we went back to class and learned about the 19 Perm Steps, which is the routine you need to follow when giving someone a perm.
Later in the day we got some amazing news from the Student Council: We're having a Prom! The theme is Dance Your Hair Off and it's gonna take place on October 10th. Everyone at school was extatic about it, including me. At out POW WOW at the end of the day our learning leaders told us about a contest the school would be having based on NAHA (North American Hairstyling Awards). NAHA is an amazing contest and award ceremony for hairsressers and students alike. To get an award at NAHA would change a persons life completely and put them at the top. SO our school is having their own mini-NAHA for us students. We have to have 3 or more pictures telling a story with hair, makeup, and wardrobe. The learning leaders at our school will help the winner of tha contest enter in NAHA in the student category. It's a pretty big deal and everyone is abuzz about it. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with.
Thursday we worked on our dollheads doing perms all day. Friday we learned about relaxers to chemically straighten the hair and worked on our doll heads doing the procedures for that. And saturday we were downstairs on the floor all day learning thermal styling with our curling irons and smoothing irons. We also learned how to use the old curlings irons and smoothing irons that you have to use with a little oven. We also learned how to do scalp treatments and a blowdrying technique. It was a pretty busy week overall and we got to do a lot of hands-on activities, which I love.
I'm gonna need some models, a photographer, and a makeup artist for the Paul Mitchell Hairstyling Awards, so if you're interested let me know!
Love,
Hanna Compton