When I was growing-up, I was never the “hey, why don’t we have a sleep-over and we’ll braid each others' hair and be besties forever” type of girl. I spent a fair share of time ensuring I could throw fast and accurate from third base to first for my softball team, but that’s another story. But I did want nice hair as well, so I spent my fair share of time struggling with a hair dryer and curling iron. For me to be asked to be a hair model by Hair Plus, especially with my not-exactly-100%-curly-but-more-than-just-wavy-hair (with a multitude of cowlicks), well it was like the main character in the movie Carrie asking herself, "Was I just elected Prom Queen? Is this a joke?"
Ok, it’s not a runway in New York, Paris or London . . . nor is it an infomercial or a product segment on QVC ... but I got to say “model” when talking to my friends about my experience. How often does a person get to say that?
Ok, it’s not a runway in New York, Paris or London . . . nor is it an infomercial or a product segment on QVC ... but I got to say “model” when talking to my friends about my experience. How often does a person get to say that?
Stylists from Hair Plus regularly take classes to keep up-to-date on their industry knowledge. This particular class was offered by Kevin Murphy Co. to highlight their hair products line and at-home styling kits. The product line is available in the salon and utilized by the stylists, but this was opportunity to use a broader range of products for different styles. My kit was called Screen Siren and included the following:
HP Screen Siren– AntiGravity (an oil-free volumizer and texturizer)
– Curlers
– Hair clips
– Texturizing comb
– QR code (aka you scan the kit on your tablet or phone for step-by-step video instructions from Kevin Murphy himself, helping you reproduce the look in your bathroom.)
HP Screen Siren– AntiGravity (an oil-free volumizer and texturizer)
– Curlers
– Hair clips
– Texturizing comb
– QR code (aka you scan the kit on your tablet or phone for step-by-step video instructions from Kevin Murphy himself, helping you reproduce the look in your bathroom.)
Debbie, the co-owner of Hair Plus, conferred with me about issues with my hair and selected Angel Wash as the shampoo. The experience was a wonderful aromatherapy session. It wasn’t chemically sweet; just the intoxicating, natural scent of the ingredients filling the air around me and making me sigh as my normal, daily tension began to ease. But I digress . . .
The stylists then went back for another discussion with the Kevin Murphy educator and this is where I learned a new, helpful piece of information about hair - it was an A-ha moment. People should select their shampoo for the current state of their hair, but the conditioner selection should be based on what they want the hair to do. So although you use the same brand, you don’t necessarily use the same category.
A-ha!
The stylists then went back for another discussion with the Kevin Murphy educator and this is where I learned a new, helpful piece of information about hair - it was an A-ha moment. People should select their shampoo for the current state of their hair, but the conditioner selection should be based on what they want the hair to do. So although you use the same brand, you don’t necessarily use the same category.
A-ha!
Although we used Angel Wash as my shampoo (which is a product for colored treated hair) the conditioner selected wasn’t Angel Rinse as I had anticipated, but the Kevin Murphy product called Plumping Rinse. Shocking, I know! Plumping Rinse would provide volume to support the Screen Siren look Debbie was going to do to my hair.
After conditioning and drying my hair, Debbie sprayed my hair with Kevin Murphy’s Young Again product. This is a “leave-in treatment, infused with Immortelle to counter-act the aging process” and used to prime and prep the hair. So in plainer English, this spray left my hair very soft and smooth as I have highlighted, not-exactly-100%-curly-but-more-than-just-wavy-hair and readied it for styling.
Let the playing with the hair commence!
By the time we got to this point, I was over feeling nervous and I felt like I was having a spa day. Debbie was instructed to put two capfuls of AntiGravity product in my hair and both of us were taken aback that she was instructed to use that much. As I also recently had a Keratin Treatment, my hair needed two capfuls. Two . . . who knew?!?! Ok, the Kevin Murphy educator knew it should be two, but still . . . I also felt extra-special to learn how much of this product Kevin Murphy, the man himself, uses on his models for videos, shoots and shows. I can tell you it was more than was used on me – probably because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and the only people who would be seeing my hair after this class was the cashier at the supermarket. But I cannot, and will not, divulge such trade secrets!
Oh, all right. He said it was . . . get ready . . . a whole bottle! (Say what? Yup. A bottle.)
After conditioning and drying my hair, Debbie sprayed my hair with Kevin Murphy’s Young Again product. This is a “leave-in treatment, infused with Immortelle to counter-act the aging process” and used to prime and prep the hair. So in plainer English, this spray left my hair very soft and smooth as I have highlighted, not-exactly-100%-curly-but-more-than-just-wavy-hair and readied it for styling.
Let the playing with the hair commence!
By the time we got to this point, I was over feeling nervous and I felt like I was having a spa day. Debbie was instructed to put two capfuls of AntiGravity product in my hair and both of us were taken aback that she was instructed to use that much. As I also recently had a Keratin Treatment, my hair needed two capfuls. Two . . . who knew?!?! Ok, the Kevin Murphy educator knew it should be two, but still . . . I also felt extra-special to learn how much of this product Kevin Murphy, the man himself, uses on his models for videos, shoots and shows. I can tell you it was more than was used on me – probably because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and the only people who would be seeing my hair after this class was the cashier at the supermarket. But I cannot, and will not, divulge such trade secrets!
Oh, all right. He said it was . . . get ready . . . a whole bottle! (Say what? Yup. A bottle.)
Debbie then commenced to add the nine rollers to my hair to create the waves/curls. Normally, the Screen Siren look would be eight sections with curlers but since I was blessed with cowlicks in the front AND back of my head (call me Alfalfa) we had to do nine to tame that back devil! I naively asked, “Doesn’t my hair already do the wavy, curly thing? Isn’t this all a little redundant?” Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids. So, no, my hair does NOT just naturally look like Kate Beckinsale or Ava Gardner.
After we spent some time chatting and catching up, it was time to take out the curlers and use the texturing comb. The educator came by and together he and Debbie used the clips from the kit to make more pronounced Veronica Lake-type curls/waves. Then a brush was used on my hair for final placement of the style and of course, it was all finished with Kevin Murphy styling spray.
Because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and my big event that Tuesday was grocery shopping at noon, the curlers weren’t left in as long as they would be if I was going to a wedding or had a hot date that night with my hubby. We didn’t want crowd-control issues in the grocery store if I looked too much like a supermodel!
After we spent some time chatting and catching up, it was time to take out the curlers and use the texturing comb. The educator came by and together he and Debbie used the clips from the kit to make more pronounced Veronica Lake-type curls/waves. Then a brush was used on my hair for final placement of the style and of course, it was all finished with Kevin Murphy styling spray.
Because we were in West Windsor New Jersey and my big event that Tuesday was grocery shopping at noon, the curlers weren’t left in as long as they would be if I was going to a wedding or had a hot date that night with my hubby. We didn’t want crowd-control issues in the grocery store if I looked too much like a supermodel!
Debbie asked me what I honestly thought of the kit for at home use. I told her I thought the kit was a great idea, but it’s meant for someone more fearless than me; someone who enjoys styling their hair and isn’t the Alfalfa Cowlick Queen. I explained that my hair never does the same thing twice for me, so I’m that client that has to book a session at the salon for a special event. I do, however, think there are people out there who will love this! I did take the curlers when offered to me and I have been styling my hair more than usual. I have gotten compliments in the supermarket, so there you go …
Side note: If you aren’t familiar with Kevin Murphy, I suggest you Google him as soon as possible. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with him or his product line until Hair Plus started to carry the products; it’s not sold in supermarkets. And probably like many people, for the longest time I assumed products in the supermarket did the job with less hurt to my wallet. Boy, was I wrong about that!
Kevin Murphy’s products are made with all natural ingredients and the company does not do any testing on animals. I think that’s wonderful, but is it still worth the bigger price? The answer is yes and for quite a few reasons. 1) My hair looks better, my hair feels better and I can style my hair more easily at home using a salon-level product line on my hair. 2) I am using less of the products because I’m not constantly trying to correct my hair or get the product to do what the label says it should be doing for my hair. I’m initially spending more money on a bottle of product, but it’s lasting much, much longer than when I used supermarket products. 3) And I’m saving money on spa-day aromatherapy sessions.
I may not be looking to braid my besties’ hair any time soon, but I’m looking forward to the next Hair Plus education class so I can “take another turn on the catwalk!”
Renee Hedden is a freelance writer residing in Roosevelt, New Jersey with her husband, Gene, and their dog, Nina.
Side note: If you aren’t familiar with Kevin Murphy, I suggest you Google him as soon as possible. To be honest, I wasn’t familiar with him or his product line until Hair Plus started to carry the products; it’s not sold in supermarkets. And probably like many people, for the longest time I assumed products in the supermarket did the job with less hurt to my wallet. Boy, was I wrong about that!
Kevin Murphy’s products are made with all natural ingredients and the company does not do any testing on animals. I think that’s wonderful, but is it still worth the bigger price? The answer is yes and for quite a few reasons. 1) My hair looks better, my hair feels better and I can style my hair more easily at home using a salon-level product line on my hair. 2) I am using less of the products because I’m not constantly trying to correct my hair or get the product to do what the label says it should be doing for my hair. I’m initially spending more money on a bottle of product, but it’s lasting much, much longer than when I used supermarket products. 3) And I’m saving money on spa-day aromatherapy sessions.
I may not be looking to braid my besties’ hair any time soon, but I’m looking forward to the next Hair Plus education class so I can “take another turn on the catwalk!”
Renee Hedden is a freelance writer residing in Roosevelt, New Jersey with her husband, Gene, and their dog, Nina.