April Showers

Grant Tatum
Salon Coordinator

April showers bring May flowers - and lots of other positive changes as well. That is, now that the plant world has stopped trying to kill us with pollen.

Arrivals:
We're all very happy here to have Rachelle returning to cut, color and style - and we're sure you will be too! As owner, Rae has worked many hard hours over the years to making sure the service Blue Velvet delivers to you is exceptional. After spending some time devoted to herself, some home remodeling and taking care of her dog, Goblin, she's ready to spend a little time back here.

Her schedule is open on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Appointment times are limited, so give us a call to reserve your time now. 879.2080

Departures:
Senior Stylist, Jenny Pittman has been a part of the Blue Velvet team for many years. Apart from BV, Jenny has volunteered often at homeless shelters and service organizations in Birmingham, giving a lot of herself back to the community. After the January 2010 earthquake which devastated Haiti, Jenny found another opportunity to make a difference, this time, a little more globally. She has moved to Haiti to help in the recovery efforts. We anticipate her being gone for at least 6 months, perhaps longer. As she readied herself to go, Jenny asked us to express to her clients her deeply felt thanks for your years of loyalty and friendship.

While Jenny is sad to be leaving us, she also wants to make sure you know that you are left with a very capable team stylists who are ready to take care of your hair style needs. And having your color and haircare history at hand, we are able to us make that transition more comfortable for you. Just give Grant or Michael a call at the salon and we'll be glad to make a stylist recommendation and set up your next appointment. 879.2080

Other Travel Arrangements:
We're certain this warm Spring weather has stirred a little something in you too. Ready to start your own adventure? Maybe a trip to the beach, or just out to the pool? The sun, salt water and pool chlorine can all do a number on your hair. Ask your stylist how to best keep your hair healthy this Spring and Summer. And if you want to give Mother Nature a little assist with those sun-kissed highlights, this is the perfect time to schedule a trip BV.

Your Big Day

Kelly Yokel

Master Stylist

So, he popped the question… finally! Let the planning begin – the dress, the flowers and most certainly how you want your hair to look on your wedding day.

This is your shinning moment, and it should be relaxed, fun and full of wonderful memories. A little planning and preparation will make it all the more easy. The first step to that end is to make a consultation appointment with your Blue Velvet stylist 4-6 weeks prior to the wedding day.

Bring with you any hair accessories you plan to incorporate – falls, extensions, a tiara or of course, the veil. Another helpful thing to bring your stylist is pictures. Whether they’re from your favorite fashion magazine or from last year’s vacation when your hair looked “perfect,” these are a very valuable resource when trying to communicate to your stylist exactly what you do, or don’t want your hair to look like.

When calling in to set up your consultation, go ahead and check with customer service to make sure your stylist will be available on your wedding day. And, when you book your wedding-day appointment, be certain to create adequate time for your service without any rush to make it to your ceremony or photographer’s session.

On that note, keep in mind that your wedding day will be well documented in pictures. If you don’t normally wear your hair up and an updo puts you far out of your comfort zone, then simply don’t. You’ve no obligation to do so—and that’s not the memory you want your wedding album to preserve. There are plenty of ways to style your hair that’ll make you a beautiful bride.

Just remember, this time is for you to enjoy. So, smile.

Kelly still considers herself just an easy-going girl with a pair of shears and a blow drier. She understands the hard work it takes to balance career, family and time for the beach – which makes her equally sympathetic to the needs of her clients and their busy lives.

Finding a Happy Medium

Hair Models Needed
Thursday, March 4th from 9 until 11 am

We're seeking 6 volunteer models for our next style class. Models should have medium-length hair (long enough to put in a pony tail). Straight, wavy or curly is fine with us. The class is on quick-and-easy updos.

Models will be required to sign a salon and photo release. Spaces are limited and available on a first-come first-serve basis.

To participate, please call us: 879.2080

It's Not a Sin to Indulge Your Hair

Sure, there are plenty of times when restraint is called for, even admirable - but not when it comes to your hair. Your hair deserves to be indulged. And to make it easier, when you're here and you pre-book your next appointment, you may enter to win a $150 Bumble & Bumble gift basket. That's what Stacy D. of Mountain Brook did. Congratulations to her, Stacy is our January winner!

Conscious about Curls

Having a great salon is like having great hair. You want it to look effortless. But as will all good things, it takes some work and care to keep it maintained. Throughout the year, we evaluate the services we render and look for ways to improve the salon experience for our clients. And, we understand that our clients have a variety of special hair care needs. That's why once a month Blue Velvet takes some time for ourselves to facilitate ongoing educational workshops for our team. Niki Guin, Senior Stylist and Director of Education, facilitates our programs. She co-ordinates with our stylist, representatives from Bumble & Bumble — or Blue Velvet Salon owner, Rachelle Perrin, as she did this month for the topic of styling curly hair.

Got Curls?? Here's a few tips from our resident Curly Girl

As a kid in the late 70’s I was really jealous of the smooth “Farah Faucet” wings, unfortunately I felt cursed with frizzy curls. Like a lot of my naturally curly brothers and sisters, I grew up hating my curls. I lived through bad haircuts that were always cut too short because the stylist didn’t consider “shrinkage.” I tried every crazy thing I heard of to get those long straight locks. Like orange juice cans as rollers, really harsh chemical strengtheners that broke my fine hair, and I have to mention how my best friend would help me use an actual clothes iron to straighten my hair out! That’s not healthy.

Even when I became a stylist, I was motivated by vicariously living through the silky straight hair of my clients. As the years passed, new products were developed and my knowledge grew of the hair world. I finally learned to love my curls, but it wasn’t will out a lot of trial and error… and a few tears.

If you’re a curly girl, my hope is to share with you some tips to take to your stylist that will help you get the best cut for your curls. Be prepared! Stylist love pictures! It gives us a visual to work from. Think about the texture of your hair. For instance if you have fine thin curly hair, don’t take your stylist a picture of someone with thick course curls.

Long layers work great with curls! It doesn’t matter if your hair is a chin length bob or curls down to your waist. A common complaint I hear from new curly clients is that they have flat hair at the roots and “poofy” hair toward the ends. It creates a triangle shape. Long layers will help create balance throughout the shape of your hair. Ask your stylist to cut your hair where you part it. I have often seen clients come in with imbalanced haircuts because who ever cut their hair last parted it in the middle. Cutting hair with a middle part is fine if you part it in the middle every day, but if you part your hair to one side, get it cut that way. Your curls will hang better and you will have a more consistent style every day.

Okay, so here is where I get controversial. I believe cutting curly hair with even the sharpest razor makes it frizz. Your stylist may not agree, but I am a scissor girl all the way! There’s a time and texture for the razor but on curly hair it acts like curling a ribbon on a Christmas present.

Lastly, depending on how tightly curled your hair is, remind your stylist that your hair shrinks up! I suggest adding an extra 2-3 inches to your desired length. You can always ask to have it cut shorter .As you probably know curly hair seems to take longer to grow because of the curl.
-Rachelle Perrin, owner Blue Velvet Salon

February Salon News

Blue Velvet News

Newsletter Spotlight
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Blue Velvet goes Green - we’re donating hair to help clean up oil spills
Hair used to absorb oil spills
"You shampoo your hair because it gets greasy. Hair is very efficient at collecting oil out of the air, off surfaces like your skin and out of the water, even petroleum oil. Hair is adsorbant (as in "clings to" unlike absorbant which is to "soak up.") There are over 370,000 hair salons in the US and each collects about 1 pound of hair a day. Right now, most of that goes into the waste stream, but it should all be made into hairmats." - Phil McCrory, inventor and stylist
Stylists and barbers are generously mailing in hair clippings to us and excited about this program and cleanup of oil spills.
Salons are sweeping up their hair clippings into plastic garbage bags, reusing the large boxes they get from shampoo deliveries and mailing us the hair. As well as for emergency oil spills, the mats are extremely efficient for drip pans during oil changes or under leaky cars, machinery, pipelines, even as booms for storm drains.
For more information go to www.matteroftrust.org