How To Communicate With Your Hair Stylist

Are you never quite satisfied with your visit to the salon? Your haircut and/or color isn't what you pictured in your mind? It may be caused by failure to communicate thoroughly. It is the responsibility of the stylist to ask all the right questions during a consultation, but stylists could use your help! Follow these steps and you will be on your way to getting the great hair you deserve!

1. Go to the salon looking how you normally do on a day to day basis. Pass on the comfy clothing outfit unless you have a stylist already that knows you. The way your dressed can show your stylist more of your personality and lifestyle. The perfect hairstyle looks great and fits into your lifestyle.
2. Bring a picture! Consider it a sin to enter a salon without one. Stylists aren't mind readers. Pictures help ensuring that magical moment of meeting of the minds. Make sure you are being realistic with your style as well. For example: if you have fine short hair, don't bring in a picture of someone with thick long hair. Also, make sure it's the hair style in the picture you like. Not how it looks on the model. Sharpie her face out, or cover it with your thumb and really look at the hair.
3. Speak up! Share with your stylist problems your experiencing with your hair. What you like and not like. It's also important for the stylist to know your hair routine. How often you wash your hair, styling time and what your trying to achieve. Know what shampoo, conditioner and styling products you use in your hair. That way the stylist can properly recommend products that will help. Trust me, products are our friends and can make a world of difference!
4. Watch what your stylist does while styling your hair and mimic it at home. Styling challenged? Ask your stylist to coach you step by step. Remember your in the salon for you hair, so talk about it. It's a great time to get helpful tips!

Stylists want to give clients the hair they'll love and clients want hair they'll love. You both have the same goal so make it easier on the two of you. Take my advice, it's a win win for everyone!

Make New Friends And Keep The Old

Love your friends? They will love you more when you gift them this super yummy treat! Don't have any? You will after you share your tasty baked goods. Thoughtful plus a good baker? Your a shoe in! Besides, it's in the name...Duh! So do yourself, your friends and your taste buds a favor and start this edible chain letter. No superstitions attached!

Amish Friendship Bread
Prep time: 30 minutes
Ready in:  10 days

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup hot water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups white sugar, divided
• 3 cups milk

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart non-metal bowl, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix with a non-metal spoon thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature. Do not refrigerate. If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.
2. On days 2 thru 4; squish-squish and mush the bag. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; squish-squish and mush the bag.
3. Day 10; Baking day! Mix and divide the starter as follows:

Pour entire contents into a large stir in 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup milk. Measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter, 1 cup each, into 4 separate Zip lock bags (one gallon size). Keep one for yourself to bake and give the other 3 to friends. If you keep a second batch for yourself you will be baking every ten days. I recommend doing this!

     4.   Preheat the oven to 325 F. To the remaining batter in the bowl, add:

• 3 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking power
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 large box instant vanilla pudding

Use butter to grease 2 large loaf pans and mix an additional 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon. Dust the greased pans with half of the cinnamon/sugar mixture. Pour batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle the top with the remaining sugar mixture.

Bake for 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from sides of pan (about 10 agonizingly long minutes) and turn out to serving dish.

Break bread literally! Hand out Zip lock bags, a sample of the bread (sharing is caring), and instructions to the lucky chosen ones. If you want to show off your soft spot even more you should include a note with  a friendship quote. Such as, "A friend knows the song to your heart and sings it back to you when you have forgotten the words." Awe, so sweet I think I have a cavity.

If bag isn't passed on to a friend on the 10th day, be certain to tell recipient which day the bag is at when given to them.

Enjoy! xo