Wedding Season: Spring Is Here!

Spring is upon us, which means that the birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing, and people are hitching up like it's their job! We, at Adorn, are so excited for the wedding season. If it's one thing we love, it's wedding hair and makeup!

Here are a couple sneak peaks of trial-runs we have been working on:

Keep checking in for more wedding looks!

Botched Bangs: A story of regret

By Kimala Luna

                   I'm not sure what possesses me to cut my own bangs repeatedly when every single time I end up regretting it. I also can't believe that this occurred immediately after writing a post about children cutting their own hair and how these kinds of things are best left to the professionals. At any rate, I spontaneously decided a few days ago to cut my own bangs. Standing over the bathroom sink with scissors in hand, there is something almost cathartic about cutting off locks of hair. About halfway through, I realized that I wasn't only cutting my bangs very crooked, but also that they were way too short, regardless I continued to hack away at my hair believing that it would all turn out right in the end.
                Hats, headbands, bobby pins, and lots of hair product seemed the only options for my future until my hair grew out again. I came into work at Adorn on Tuesday morning and showed Amanda McKenzie what I'd done. She immediately insisted that I let her fix them.
               There are a few things about working in a hair salon that should have deterred me from trying to be a D.I.Y. stylist: The first being that Adorn offers free bang trims for clients and employees. This is a commonly utilized amenity amongst our clients who need bang trims in between cuts, it takes fifteen minutes total and it ensures that you leave with your dignity in tact. The second is that I've done this before and had to come in to have them fixed. At that time, I was appropriately shamed for how bad of a job I'd done, I knew I'd be shamed again. "Were you drunk?" Amanda McKenzie softly asked me this time around. No I wasn't drunk, but I did do that badly of a job. Lastly, I'm trying to grow out my dang bangs and this was a pretty big leap in the opposite direction of that goal.
             The moral of this small tale of misjudgment is that tending to one's own bangs is not a D.I.Y. activity, it's simply not worth it to do it that way, it's such an inexpensive thing to have done professionally that there really isn't any excuse for botching the job yourself.

Before Amanda McKenzie fixed me

After Amanda's help

Try This Look At Home

When Kids Cut Their Hair

When children cut their hair and it goes terribly....right!

What to do when your child has cut their own hair is a topic most parents cringe to consider for several reasons. There’s the loss of all those baby curls, the feeling of helplessness in that you can’t go back and undo what has been done, and then there is the hard issue of how to handle the situation in a way that conveys to your child that it isn’t good behavior to hack off their hair when no one’s looking.

A few years back, Courtney Bloomfield, owner of Shady Grove Flower Shop, located on Lexington Ave, was faced with this scenario:

First off, how long have you been the owner of Shady Grove?
I have owned Shady Grove for 11 years now (it's easy to keep track as it is as old as my first born child!)

Courtney is the proud mother of three. She has a son, Desmond (11), and two daughters, Zaida (7) and Naomi (3). Some years ago her first daughter, Zaida, hacked off her hair, causing Courtney to have to come into Adorn in order to get it fixed.

What was the story behind Zaida's haircut? Where were you and how did you find out that she had cut her own hair?
Well, I was at work (busy time of year). It was Spring (May) and she was a few months into being a "terrific" two year old. A friend was babysitting her and she called to tell me that something bad had happened (I freaked out!!!). Then she said what it was, and I totally relaxed. Until a minute later when I remembered that Zaida was to be the star of the show as a flower girl in my sister's wedding the following week. So, needless to say, I went back to the freak-out phase knowing this would just devastate the bride and MOB! I asked her how bad and she said pretty short. All the while I am recalling the horrible haircut I gave myself in my preschool. A whole other story, however it ends with a truly terrible haircut right at my forehead hairline. Pretty typical, I'm sure. Zaida, on the other hand, had cut hers in the back, mostly around the crown of her head. So we came into Adorn, and seriously, she got the cutest little pixie haircut ever!!! In fact, it is probably the haircut I would love to give myself if I ever thought it might even work with my hair (which it wouldn't). Cute and short in the back, slight little angled-effect to keeping some of the length in the front, with cute little pixie-esque wispy-ness! Turns out Zaida knew just what would be adorable (she does have quite the sense of style!). As it turns out, she was a cute little flower girl who didn't "ruin the wedding pictures" and even added the enhanced comic relief that the flower girls usually bring to wedding ceremonies. I did, however, have a little sadness of her first haircut happening so abruptly as they are sometimes a little bit of an "emotional" thing. Also, I must say I was a little attached to her beautiful long silky soft and wavy baby hair (which is never the same again!)



What was the main thing you had to remind yourself to not do?
Mostly, to just not be mad at the babysitter!


What your advice be to other parents going through this experience?
Go to a professional hair stylist and have them analyze your situation before making any drastic moves. It could turn out great. (I do realize though that this is not always the case. Mine, as a child, was a total disaster.  Or perhaps my mom just didn't know the right stylist).


5. Did you or Zaida learn anything particularly important from the experience?
Well, to just roll with it, to not let family get you upset over stuff that matters more to them and less to you, to enjoy baby hair while you can and to try to not get attached, to remind babysitters that you can't take your eyes off toddlers, to always trust Zaida's opinion when it comes to stylistic matters. Zaida - probably learned that when Mama's away, scissors are easier to get a hold of and perhaps mischief is more easily achieved. She probably also learned what it was like to have short hair. And to be honest, to this day, she prefers it on the shorter side. Although I don't know if a 2 year old really knows the ramifications of what they are doing when they cut their hair. I think they get a hold of some scissors and hair is just a logical easy thing in arm's reach to grab hold of and start cutting!  And thank goodness it doesn't cause (hopefully) any real damage.



What to do when your child has decided to be their own stylist:

• Don’t panic - hair grows back fast
• Remember that children learn everything by mimicking what they see.  It may be a good idea to explain beforehand the rules of scissors, but it’s also a good idea to remember that this happens to almost every child at one point or another - it’s an expression of learning and exploring.  The most important thing is to make sure you don’t shame your child away from that, but guide them to do it in a way that is easier on you both. A good example of this is allowing them some freedom in deciding their haircut when going to the stylist. You can make it an activity and let them cut out pictures of haircuts they like from magazines to make a collage to bring to their stylist (Hint: this helps the stylist too!).

Something to remember that help you, your child, and your stylist out when bringing your child in to have their hair cut:

• Bring something for your child to do while they sit in the chair. Sitting still for an hour is extremely difficult for most adults, but almost impossible for children. Bring a coloring book, or a comic book, a hand held game, or something that they can do that keep their head somewhat still. Adorn has a few coloring books and childrens books handy, but for most salons it’s not a guarantee that these items will be available.

Special thanks to: 

Amanda McKenzie Color Educator

Amanda McKenzie Interview
Interview by Kimala Burklow



Amanda McKenzie is one of Adorn Salon and Boutique’s cherished darlings. She is one of the most passionate stylists in Asheville...perhaps the world. When clients request Amanda before knowing her name, they often say something like, “Can I book an appointment with that bubbly girl with the short blond hair? She is so friendly!” McKenzie often contemplates her clients’ hair in between appointments and whenever she sees something that might be the best fit for them. McKenzie most recently has become a color educator and technical advisor for Schwarzkopf - one of the oldest hair product and color companies. This has taken her to many places all over Western North Carolina, but most recently it took her all the way to Los Angeles, California. McKenzie agreed to drinks at the Vault to talk about her trip.


I got invited for a big Schwarzkopf symposium in L.A. It was the first time that they brought together all of the sales people and the technical people and had them all under one roof to let them know all of the new and exciting things happening with Schwarzkopf. It was absolutely amazing! There was so much to see, so many people to meet. There were probably at least 300 of us all in the hotel. They fed us, paid for our place to stay, took us out to eat, and bought us drinks. It was amazing.

What are some of the changes that they’re making?

They’re completely changing their number one Igora Royal and Igora Viviance color lines - they’re both being transformed. Igora Royal is Schwarzkopf’s permanent hair color line, it’s the heart and soul of the company. It’s been around the longest out of all of the other colors that they have. Igora Viviance is Schwarzkopf’s demi-permanent color line; their changes are that the Viviance is super shiny now. It has more care ingredients, more colors, and way more options to get creative. Just endless potential - and it’s the same with Royal - amazing coverage. Now colors are true to tone so you’re going to get red-reds, coppers are going to be coppers, violets are violets. It’s true colors. Their whole thing now is true color and high-definition.

Wasn’t the color like that before? It seems like they have always been pretty true to tone.

It was, but with the coppers, some of the coppers were red-coppers or gold-coppers. The violets were more of a red-violet, now they’re going to be a true blue-violet. So you’re going to get the true colors - true pops of color.

What is the most exciting aspect of this for you as a stylist?

For me as a stylist, being able to give somebody the exact tone that they want. So if they want a violet, it’s not going to be a reddish-violet, it’s going to be a true violet and it gives me, again, endless potential to get creative. And they’re also coming out with a ton of pastel shades which is super exciting because we keep getting asked about pastel shades, so it’s really exciting that we’re going to be able to offer those in a permanent line.

What was the most inspirational part of the symposium?

I guess the most inspirational part was probably the very first night I was there. We had a huge cocktail party with a runway fashion show at the LA exchange, which is the old stock exchange in downtown LA, and it was mind-blowing what they did. I mean everything at this club was Schwarzkopf-related. Everything from the cocktail napkins to the decorations that they had were Schwarzkopf and the show that they put on was a high-fashion, fashion show - music, runway, lights, graphics, art. Just being there and being a part of that was like, “Wow! I am a part of something huge.”

Who did the work for the fashion show?

The fashion show was put on by our regional managers. So all the people that are higher-up, they put in all the time and the effort. They’d been preparing since Thursday, the show was on Sunday and they were just putting the show on for all of us.

Did you make friends with anyone out there that particularly inspired you?

I ran into several friends that I had made in Orlando being certified and most of the people that I really liked ended up being there that weekend. So I got to see all those people again, plus meet a ton of new people. I mean, I got to meet some of the really high-up people in the company. Everybody gets inspired from each other and if you put in your time and dedication to Schwarzkopf, they’ll take care of you. It’s a family thing - you can’t do it without each other, which is really cool. Anytime I get to be around the people that share my intense passion for hair, it makes me feel alive. I feel continuously grateful to be a part of such an amazing team. The talent and dedication is so inspiring, I'm always ready to dive in head first as soon as my feet touch the ground.

In what ways do you rely on each other?

I wouldn’t be able to go out and teach a class if I didn’t have my regional manager being able to provide me with dates and my training and then she gets trained by the people above her and brings that to us and then I’m able to take that out and share that knowledge with other salons that are using the color.

What do you love the most about being a color educator for Schwarzkopf?

I love all of it. I think that going to these get-togethers and updates are my most favorite because I get to come back so inspired and just ready to go. Ready to just jump in head first and take off. I love the teaching. The more I do it, the more comfortable I am with it. Before I ever got to be up in front of people presenting, I was super nervous and I still get nervous, but when I’m up there I’m on such a high that I love it. I love it.
We had to present in front of all of our peers and technically, I’m only 3 months in and I’m presenting in front of people that had been presenting for 10-15 years, so being able to do that somewhat comfortably and then having them come up and tell me I did a great job was awesome.

Is there anything in particular you’ve been itching to try?

There’s a bunch. There’s a whole bunch. There’s one that I’m dying to put one client in particular. It was on Nicole Hartman, who is actually the fashion director for Schwarzkopf. She takes runway fashion and brings it to real life to let you be able to transform it in the salon for everyday people to use. She has a killer haircut, just almost a shag - a-symmetrical, piecey.

What are the looks being rolled out? What are some of the upcoming trends going to be?

I would say, again, coming back to pastels, I saw a ton of pastels. I feel like that’s gonna kind of be coming. The kind of untamed messier styles are pretty popular, I feel like, as opposed to a straight sleek style. People are liking waves. Blondes are always happening and with the Schwarzkopf BlondMe line, we have tons of options. I could take just about anybody blonde with these new colors - some shade whether it’s a caramel blonde, or a honey blonde, or some cool-ashy blonde, absolutely.

What Schwarzkopf does twice a year, in the spring and in the fall, is their Essential Looks collection, which I didn’t get to take a good look at this time around, but there is a goth-inspired one in there which is basically sharp edges, jagged, dark colors, but then they also have soft romantic versions with lighter blonds and coppers and long flowy hair.

Tell me a little bit about the history of Schwarzkopf.

Schwarzkopf has been around for a very long time. It originated in Germany, in Berlin in the 1800s. It started out in a chemist shop. It was Hans Schwarzkopf’s chemist shop; he sold pharmacy stuff and perfumes and he started out making the very first permanent hair color and he also had the very first dry shampoo and a few other different things that happened throughout time. So they’ve had a lot of time to perfect what they’re doing. And they also...they’re one of three color companies in the world that actually produce their own pigment and so what that means is that they take the best pigment for themselves and they sell off the rest of the pigment to other color companies, so you know you’re getting quality with you’re using Schwarzkopf.

Lastly, it’s clear that you have found your passion, but what would you say you love most about being a stylist?

I love that every single day I get to be artistic. Every single day I get to be creative and every single day is different. It’s never the same, it’s constantly different, there’s constantly new trends and it all links back up to fashion and design and the latest trends and it’s fun.  It’s a fun industry to be a part of. And to be able to make somebody’s day better, to help somebody out who is having a hard time smile. It’s an amazing gift to be able to give and I love being able to share that with people.