Top Knots All Around!

A growing and popular trend I’ve had my eye on is the top knot. It’s a great, quick, easy look for summer. It actually started with guys and has been adapted by women in different variations. There are a few nuances between how its worn between men and women. For guys, it’s more undone. Using your fingers instead of a comb or brush to pull it up and back. For girls there are more defined partings and seems to be a little more polished. Below are some examples of various lengths and top knot looks.

 

The top knot has two distinct things that can add a lot of variation and a multitude of looks.

The first is to decide how much hair you are going to pull back. You can just pull back a rectangular section from the recession areas back or you can pull your hair up all the way from above the ear or anywhere in between.

The second thing to decide is what to do with the tail once you fasten the hair with an elastic. You can twist the hair around and tightly enough that turns in on itself and fasten with a pin. You can simply loop it through the elastic and don’t pull it through all the way, or my pick is to use your favorite braid (three or four strand, rope, fishtail) and wrap it up and around the base of the elastic to get a very unique looking knot.

Finish the look off by adding loose waves to the hair that’s down. Add a shine spray or serum to smooth fly-away’s from the part that has been pulled back.

Experiment, have fun, and rock a top knot this summer!

Cool Braid Alert!!

Shailene Woodley won several awards at the 2015 MTV movie awards, including Best Female Performance and Best Kiss for the movie, The Fault in Our Stars. She was also the recipient of the Trailblazer Award for The Fault in our Stars and the Divergent franchise.

Now normally I’m usually not a fan of her styling, but Shailene sported an amazing small dutch braid starting from the front of her hair around to the back where it was twisted into a small bun. To add to the look, her hair was slicked back on the opposite side while the top added loose height to create texture and balance to the shape.

The main reason I’m a big fan of this look is that it shows even with shorter hairstyles you can add big drama to them with braids. Anyone that knows me well knows that I’m mad about braids! I love doing them, learning different variations, and integrating them into a hairstyle whenever possible. Another reason is, it’s perfect for summer and on trend with the bohemian hair look. Lastly, if you do have a short hairstyle that you’re in the process of growing out through perhaps and awkward stage this look or a similar look is a great solution.

Back, and Better Than Ever!

Hello Hair Fix Fans,

It’s been a little while since my last post, but I’m back and better than ever! My very first post from November, 2012 was all about the Lob, and two and a half years later this trend is still HOT! Thanks to celebrities like Julianne Hough, Kate Mara, Rose Byrne, and Ciara the trend has stayed strong.

The reason it’s been so popular is because of how versatile it is. Of course it all comes down to customization by your stylist to make it work for your face shape, hair texture and hair type. In general though, the Lob suits most face shapes by simply adjusting where the part falls and how long you choose to keep the length. The length of a Lob should be anywhere from just grazing the shoulders to a few inches below. Another reason why it’s so versatile is it makes finer textures look fuller and can bring out a natural wavy texture for anyone that has long thick, heavy hair. This style can be worn sleek and straight, natural, or textured by using a curling iron and using a dry texture spray. I like Shu Uemura’s Texture Wave. Lastly, because it’s a Long-Bob, if you don’t like it, it won’t take you very long to go back to your long locks. Give it a try, summer is coming!

I’ve shared a few pictures below of recent Lobs I’ve done, at my home, the Antonio Prieto Salon. There are 5 main techniques that go into a well executed Lob for me.

1. The ideal length, cut with a soft A-Line
2. A combination of surface layering and undercutting
3. Long or no layers around the face
4.  Diffusing any blunt lines to create texture
5. Directional slicing & channeling to add movement

A big source of inspiration for me is stylist, Anh Co Tran, from the Ramirez Tran Salon. He does beautiful, cutting-edge work. Follow him at anhcotran on instagram. Follow me as well on instagram at brianzinno.

10 Foods for Stronger Nails and Thicker Hair

New Press

Hi All,

 

It’s been a busy, fantastic summer (hence not blogging in a while). Although I’ve been busy soaking up some sun before the fall and winter hits, I have been fortunate to write a few hair related press articles. The first one is on stylebistro.com. It’s a “how to” step-by-step.

http://www.stylebistro.com/Hair+How+To/articles/rDdZ5dVcqSp/Hairstyle+Need+Try+Inverse+Ponytail

The second article was featured on seventeen.com. I was asked to comment on one picture out of a serious of six regarding fall trends.

http://www.seventeen.com/beauty/tips/fall-hair-trends-2014?click=main_sr#slide-5

Check them out!

Great Lengths Makeovers!

Hello All,

It’s been a busy June so far and extensions are the reason for it. I’ve done two big Great Lengths makeovers that I wanted to share with you. Both were between 5-6 hour services, and both were to add length and thickness.

Rachel has fine hair and slightly damaged due to over styling and over processing. I used 12″ Great Lengths hair in colors 64, 19, & 09, standard bundles cut down to extra fine and custom bonds. The placement blended quite well into her ombre hair color done by John O’Brien at Antonio Prieto Salon.

Before…and….

 

After!

My next client Erin also wanted a bit of length and fullness. I used 16″ Great Lengths hair in colors 64, 84 & 09. Standard bundles cut down into extra fine bonds to blend with her natural density.

 

Before…and…

 

After.

In both cases, cutting and blending the extensions into their natural hair is key. In my opinion it’s the difference between noticeable extensions that people on the street point at and stage whisper to their friend and say, “she has extensions” and seamless extensions that are undetectable and people on the street say to their friend, “I love her hair”. While there is skill and an eye for placement involved with an extension service, once you have your rhythm down, it’s 4-6 hours of the same repetitive movement. You only get one shot at blending the extensions into the natural hair. If you cut the extensions too short or create an awkward layer you have to take those out and put new ones in.

These will last approximately 4 months and dry with a soft wave to blend into their natural texture.

You don’t always have to go for length and fullness. Some clients are happy with their current length, but just want to add fullness and volume to what they have. In that case you need a lot less Great Lengths hair and it’s also a great way to experiment with extensions.

If you’re curious, make a consultation at a certified Great Lengths salon. http://getgreatlengths.com/salonlocator.aspx

 

Passing Along A Great Article I Found…

 

Check it out! I particularly like #3,7 & 8.

10 Things Your Hairstylist Wants You To Know

Grow Out Your Bangs for Summer…and I’ll Tell You How!

Springtime is finally showing signs of life which means Summer is not too far behind. It’s the perfect time to start thinking about growing out those bangs you got in the Fall or Winter. So many times I’ve seen women walking around New York City in the middle of Summer with their bangs stuck to their forehead with sweat. Not a good look!

If you have a heavy bang like this picture, two things need to happen…

 

The first thing is to ask your stylist to texturize or thin out the ends to take the blunt edge out. This will collapse the weight and allow you to sweep them to the sides easier without being bulky. The second thing to decide is if you’re going to eventually wear your hair with a center part or side part. This is important because it will tell your stylist how to start subtly angling your bangs to grow out.

 

If you have a wispy, thin bang like the picture below, here are a few tips to grow them out.

I would suggest to actually add more hair to them. I know, sounds crazy but if you add a longer fringe over the existing wispy bangs it will camouflage and blend them into the rest of the haircut. You can add some face framing layers to add softness around the face and also to integrate and blend the bangs.

When all else fails…braid them away!

It’s quick, easy and braids are continuously on trend. Simple, clean and fresh!

Good luck, and stay cool!

A Scandalous Up Do!

The Screen Actors Guild awards were on Saturday night, and there were some really beautiful hairstyles from the evening. I was looking through all of the styles and wanted to find a hairstyle that I could explain how to achieve the look at home. I wanted to find something that was simple, elegant and playful and could be worn to a formal event or to a Friday night dinner.

I chose Kerry Washington’s updo from the Screen Actors Guild awards. It’s clean, simple and fun!

There are a couple of things to consider for this style like, how high or low do you want the bun to sit and how much height do you want on top.

Step 1. With all of your hair down, take a round, “halo” section where you want the bun to sit. If it’s straight off the back of your head like in the picture then your section will sit somewhere in the lower crown area, above the occipital bone. The halo section will vary depending on hair density. The more hair you have the bigger the section.

Step 2. Gather that hair and make a ponytail. Slide a hair donut (matched to your hair shade. I prefer the donut to always be slightly darker than your hair color) over the ponytail and bobby pin into the round base of that section. The donut gives you the elevation off the back of the head without having to excessively backcomb.

Step 3. Gather all of the remaining hair, pull it back and over the hair donut and join to the existing ponytail. Place another ponytail holder over that section.

Step 4. Take the ponytail and lightly twist and coil around the base of that section, pin and secure.

If you are using a headband that has a velcro, snap or adjustable closure you can add it at this time. If you are using a headband that stretches to fit snugly to the head, put the headband on FIRST before any of the steps. Wear it around your neck and after you finish the last step you can pull it up and into place.

Finish with take a metal tailcomb and spray it with hairspray and glide it over the style to smooth out any fly away hairs.

Here are some other variations of the same look. Enjoy!

Shortie’s Rule the Emmy’s…In My Opinion

The Emmy awards were on last night, and although I was in a heavy, Italian feast coma, I caught most of it. The standouts for me were the short, cropped hair styles. Long, soft waves are never going anywhere, but I love risk takers and you create your own trend.

The two standouts from the red carpet last night were Elizabeth Moss and Robin Wright.

I get the attachment to long hair from working with my clients everyday. I also get short hair is not for everyone and in some cases is more maintenance than being able to pull it back into a ponytail. That being said let’s look at Elizabeth Moss from two years ago and last night’s Emmy’s.

The shorter hairstyle, coupled with the perfect pale blonde actually makes her a standout! The length is perfect for her face shape and the deep side part gives the shape drama. The cut is finished with texturized ends, giving it a light, modern feel.

Robin Wright is another example from last night’s Emmy’s where shorter is better!

The transformation is undeniable. The shorter style takes her from blending into the crowd to looking powerful and unique. Again, we see here a lighter hair color which makes this style pop. I don’t think this short crop would work as well with the dark honey blonde. The common thread of these two shorter cuts is the way they were finished with softness and movement. Hard, geometric lines are probably not going to work for you if you’re over 30 and not a size 2.

So, ask yourself these questions the next time you’re in the mirror.

1. Am I hiding behind my hair?

2. Does my hairstyle feel boring and the same for more than a few years?

3. Do I need to shake-up my look?

4. How much time am I willing to give a new look?

5. Have you ever wanted to try a different hair color?

The main thing, in my opinion, is to work with your hair stylist and hair colorist. Ask your hair colorist what your color options are based on your age, skin tone, eye color, maintenance/upkeep, etc. Ask your hair stylist what your cut options are based on your face shape, age, maintenance/upkeep and how much risk you’re willing to take. They should work together to come up with a great plan, personalized just for you!