Photo Shoot with Stephanie Hines

Today was a great day. It was photo shoot day! I was involved in a creative collaboration with Stephanie Hines of Shines Photography. She is a very talented photographer in the Nashville area. She shoots everything from babies to weddings to prom to musicians to editorial. She is young and has a fresh eye for style and knows the latest trends. You can see her work at www.shinesphotography.net. We had three amazing beautiful models for the day: Julie Canaday, Meghan Connors, and Carolina Gruber. We started all the girls with strapless looks and got bare shoulder beauty shots. All the girls have different looks and have their own styles. We put Meghan in a sweater and scarf with a HOT pink lip stick. We put Julie in a floppy new yorker style hat and a black leather jacket. It was very chic and a city girl look. We put a jacket with a fur hood on Carolina and got a tight close shot with the fur around her face. Then we put Carolina in her strapless shirt again and wet down her hair and face. It was very interesting to spray her in the face! I felt so bad but it turned out really amazing! The last look was Julie with a face painting technique I did with different color eyeliner pencils. With lots of experimenting with posing we found the perfect side shot and incorporated our fan. It is so wonderful to use our creative senses and get out of our comfort zones and come up with something special and unique. The salon is wonderful but sometimes it is good to get inspired and do something out of the ordinary. Results are still to come. The pictres are in the editing stages but here is a sneak preview of the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guy9NRzA8nY

Photo Shoot with Stephanie Hines

Today was a great day. It was photo shoot day! I was involved in a creative collaboration with Stephanie Hines of Shines Photography. She is a very talented photographer in the Nashville area. She shoots everything from babies to weddings to prom to musicians to editorial. She is young and has a fresh eye for style and knows the latest trends. You can see her work at www.shinesphotography.net. We had three amazing beautiful models for the day: Julie Canaday, Meghan Connors, and Carolina Gruber. We started all the girls with strapless looks and got bare shoulder beauty shots. All the girls have different looks and have their own styles. We put Meghan in a sweater and scarf with a HOT pink lip stick. We put Julie in a floppy new yorker style hat and a black leather jacket. It was very chic and a city girl look. We put a jacket with a fur hood on Carolina and got a tight close shot with the fur around her face. Then we put Carolina in her strapless shirt again and wet down her hair and face. It was very interesting to spray her in the face! I felt so bad but it turned out really amazing! The last look was Julie with a face painting technique I did with different color eyeliner pencils. With lots of experimenting with posing we found the perfect side shot and incorporated our fan. It is so wonderful to use our creative senses and get out of our comfort zones and come up with something special and unique. The salon is wonderful but sometimes it is good to get inspired and do something out of the ordinary. Results are still to come. The pictres are in the editing stages but here is a sneak preview of the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Guy9NRzA8nY

Dramatic Change

Every client has a haircolor or style in mind that they would never picture on themselves. This blog is a personal story from one of my clients about how dramatic change, an open mind, and putting trust and faith in your stylist can change your life in ways you never thought. This is my favorite hair story in my career so far and the one that I am most proud of. Laura Gruber is a nashvillian who is currently a student at Middle Tennessee State University. I met her two years ago when I began dating her brother. She is branded with Venezuelan beauty. She is a beautiful latina woman who embraces her life and always has fun where ever she is. When I met her she had long platinum blonde hair. Laura is a beautiful girl who can pull off any look, so obviously it looked great. In the back of my mind I knew that I could take her look to the next level, it would just take time and trust building. I did her hair blonde for about 5 months, building her trust. I dropped little hints about maybe going a shade darker. But I knew she was hesitant. Finally after subtle hints and convincing her that she would love it, she agreed. I knew that I would gradually go darker. You never want to shock a client. It is also a smart when taking a blonde darker to do it gradually over time to keep it from having a muddy green look. When you paint a white wall dark it takes many coats. I must admit while coloring I was quite nervous, I knew she would love it but this was quite a change. When we finished we were both so excited! It was so rich and beautiful. Her eyes popped off her face and I knew we had a winner! Being such a personal friend to her I noticed so many changes in her life after becoming brunette. This week she decided she wanted to take her brown hair, which lasted her 5 months without touchups, to black with caramel highlights! She completely loves it! This is proof that in life you cannot be afraid of change. Some times it can make life even better than you ever imagined. Its so important to not set limits on yourself with hair. Hair is an accessory that can improve your overall look. It doesn't have to be the same all the time because your life isn't the same all the time. If there is something you never considered just go for it!

My Most Favorite Products

Products can be so tricky can't they? How much to use? What to use? Why is this not working? This blog is dedicated to all my product lovers. My favorite styling line is S Factor by TiGi. If you have ever been to my chair you know it smells wonderful! This is the result of my styling products! All of the products in this blog are available for purchase at my salon at very reasonable salon prices.

S FACTOR BODY BOOSTER- This is my most frequently bought item. It has the most delicious smell and works miracles. A couple sprays on your roots with wet hair and blow dry with a round brush. The result- GORGEOUS volume and a va va voom look with lots of shine.

S FACTOR SMOOTHING LUSTERIZER- This is my own personal favorite product. I use it all the time. For those of us with that "frizzy curly unmanagable" hair the smoothing lusterizer helps with smoothing and taming. You can apply it to wet or dry hair and if you look at closely there is a shimmer in the cream that makes your hair shine!

S FACTOR SHINY HAPPY PEOPLE- This is a shine spray that I typically spray on each section before flat ironing. It is a thin sheen that leaves the hair looking shiny, however not giving it a greasy dirty look like most shine sprays. Everytime I use it in the salon all the girls say "Oh Kayla is spraying the smell good stuff!" Trust me you'll love it!

These are for sure my top 3 favorite products! Questions are welcome! Make your appointment soon!

Trials and Struggles of Bangs

My first blog is going to be about my most frequently asked question......bangs. How do I know if they are right for me? What is the best way to style them? How do I fight this crazy part? Bangs are the best way to change your look without cutting length off your hair and changing your cut dramatically. It can change the appearance of your face shape and update your look! My main concern when cutting someones hair is cowlicks. Sometimes if they are too strong perhaps bangs isn't the right choice for you. Or perhaps we can modify how we cut them and style them so they are manageable in your daily life. The best and most efficient way to style a straight across bang or a side swept bang is with a simple hairdryer and flat paddle brush. The hair goes where the air from the dryer is directed. The hair must go forward first before going to the side. Position the hairdryer above your head with the nozzle facing forward. Brush most of your hair to the front so it is completely in your face. Blowdry to the front and both sides keeping the hair moving at all times. This eliminates the moisture and will keep the hair directed to the front fighting cowlicks. This is the most efficient way to dry your bangs. For more of a side swept look after you have removed the moisture use a round brush to act as a roller right on your forehead. This will give you a slight flip or curl! Questions are welcome! At the salon I do complimentary bang trims! Come in with dry hair and you can get a free bang trim! See you soon!

The Stylist.

Hello Everyone! I am going to be starting this blog for hair, makeup, and styling tips! Mention this blog on your next visit and you will get a special $5 off for girls and $3 off for guys. I will keep updates of photoshoots, weddings, and other fun things that I get to do with my amazing job. Graduating high school quickly allowed me to start my career very early. I went to cosmetology school at Paul Mitchell the School Nashville. My class was the very first class to go through the new school and I was the youngest of my class to graduate. For the past two and a half years I have steadily built my clientele with much help from word of mouth from my amazing committed clients. I have worked with numorous photographers and have been a part of so many beautiful weddings. I was also fortunate enough to travel with a musical as the lead hair, makeup, and wardrobe. I am also currently working on my associates of business degree to further my education.
All of these things have led me to where I am now. I work at Hair and Body Day Spa and Salon. I have learned in the beginnings of my career that putting the client first is the main goal. That is my goal as a stylist. My favorite part of my job is seeing looks on client's faces after they are finished and knowing that they feel better leaving than when they came in. I feel as if I have added something positive in their lives even in a simple hair style. This is my motivation an this is what makes work not seem like work. As your stylist, I will never do any style that I know will be difficult, unmanagable, or too shocking. I like edgy looks that are mantainable. I assure you I am always thinking of new ideas for all my clients!
I hope that you will check out this blog for tips, updates, latest trends, and experiences as a stylist. Enjoy!