Ch ch ch changes........

So one of my guilty pleasures is watching some solid trash tv so I can just zone out and have a good chuckle.......... or have my blood pressure rise......depends on the show. Tonight I happen to be watching an episode of Sister Wives. The big topic of the evening was the husbands hair, how much it was thinning and how much longer until he finally cuts off his atrocious long hair.

I personally am not a fan of the hair. I just don't get it. I would not recommend it to any of my clients as a style choice, regardless, here it exists before our very eyes. But this is not what actually appalls me. It is that it had to become a major discussion where all four wives got to weigh in on the big cliffhanger of whether Cody cuts his hair off or not. And how they prefer him with long hair because apparently a buzz cut he once had was awful and unattractive. Wow. Tough crowd!

Now I know this is not a conventional situation but as a stylist I see this in my chair all the time. It just all of a sudden made me think......why does it matter soooooo much to everyone else?? The amount of times I had to adjust a clients cut or color because her sister/mother/husband/friend didn't like it! I believe that hair cut and color, make up, clothing etc are are form of personal expression. Your hair is a part of fashion, your own personal style. I believe your hair can allow you to put your best foot forward, makes you walk a little taller when you feel your looking good.

Don't get me wrong, I know that my husband likes my hair long, preferably curled to be specific. And I have had it long several times, like right now. But I cannot remember a single time when I have decided to change my hair if my husband would like it, or approve, or be upset. I get an urge, and I need a change, and sometimes it's drastic, and he has always made a point of telling me how attractive I am no matter what. And I have to say it feels pretty great to just be who I feel like in that moment. To not have to make something that is fun and expressive be stressful.

And who are all these fashionistas with all this vision?? How come they aren't behind the chair??It is nice to get a little input from friends and family as they know you well and want the best for you. But you also want the best for you, so.....

If you want to cut your hair short, or be platinum or red.....go for it! Be daring! Of course make sure you have a thorough consultation with your stylist so they can guide you toward a transformation that will suit you.

In closing I say to Cody on Sister Wives that if your thinning hair is a concern and you feel like you are ready to cut that mop down.....go for it. If your not, hang on to it.

The people around you should love your soul, your heart and your mind. Your appearance should reflect those things. And if someone is not a fan of your new look they should just respect the fact that you feel amazing.

A couple of my favorite make overs Tatiana & Teresa:

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First kick at the can.....

Ok so my very first blog post. I have started and deleted this a hundred times I feel like.

How does this work?
What do I say?
Is this a work project?
Is it personal sharing?
How much of me do I expose? ( I am not sure of this one, guess we are about to find out together!)

To say the least these are only a few of the many many many questions that have rattled around in my head. I have several blogs that I follow and admire and that has been part of the problem, they are so good and I am so new! And torturing myself over how I wanted to do this made me realize that I wanted this blog to be me. Simple, honest and hopefully at times informative. I will share interesting factoids about my work and at other times some raw moments about my life.

So I think I will start with a short bio of me.....you will learn more as we go I am sure! I am a 32 year old married lady of 5 years with a hubby working in Fort Macmurray for the last 4, I am a hair stylist and hair-apist, photographer, new writer, amateur furniture restore-er, dog owner, philanthropist (getting better at this one), sister, daughter of landed imigrants, salon owner, amateur interior decorator.

I have been in the hair world for 12 whopping years now! I started as a make up artist first working in the independant film industry and then dove into hair not having any idea as to where this was going to take me. The photography thing has always loomed in the background....and thanks to my amazingly supportive husband and a good friend of mine I have recently decided to try to turn this into a secondary hobby-job. I have never wanted to call myself an artist as this was not always encouraged growing up.....it just was not a tangible career area for my parents to understand.....but I am an artist. I see things develop in my mind and want to try to creat them so that others can see them too. And I have without knowing it always done this, whether it has been thru make up, hair, photography or furniture restoration or any of my other creative outlets.

Why start this now?? Well I actually wanted to start this last year when I left the salon I worked at for almost 8 years. I felt it was time for me to go my own way and carve out my own future.....mistakes and successes and all and I really wanted to share it. I wanted to take everyone with me not just physically at my job but I wanted you all to be able to crawl around in my head and feel it with me. Again, why now and not last year?? I have to say mostly fear! Fear that what I would write would sound silly, that my blog would not look awesome enough. What if people did not like what they read about me? Plus no time! Starting a new business was way more overwhelming than I thought it would be!

I have decided I will have very few limits as to what  I will share. I have a small and growing business, I am going back to school, I have fertility issues, weight issues, have dealt with drug addiction in my family, and a lot of the same life problems and insecurities as everyone else. I will respect the privacy of my marriage and will not share anything my husband Andy does not want out there. I have some incredible clients and friends with amazing stories of survival, humor, confidence and struggles and I hope to share some of those with permission as well.

Where did the name of this blog come from?? Well ages ago I heard someone say that hairdressers are a cheap form of "hair-apy". I thought this was soooooooo true! I have had the privilege over the years to get to know so many people, to have them share laughter and sorrow, tragedy, victories and achievments. And I have had a chance to share mine one on one as well. I have been told time and time again that my life is nuts enough to write a book or turn into stand up comedy......this is the next best thing!

This last year has taught me so much! I have an appreciation for my life I never had before and confidence I have never experienced before. We have dealt with family hardships, marriage hardships, personal and professional triumphs and now that I have begun this I don't know when to stop writing! So I will stop now that this monster has been created and I am so excited to have who ever is out there joining me on this bumpy ride!

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