Processing at Eden Salon & Spa

If you’ve ever had your hair colored, you are aware of the time it takes for the chemicals to do their magic under the foils.  It’s a great time to relax, make plans for the rest of the day, catch up on texting, read a magazine, or just daydream about how gorgeous your hair is going to look by the time you leave the salon.  This weekend while processing at Eden Salon & Spa, I was passing the time doing all of the above and came across this little gem in the magazine I was reading.

I think this perfectly encapsulates my feelings exactly.

I love anticipating how my hair will look when it’s all done and I think it turned out wonderfully, thanks Eden!  Check out my After picture that I took on my way out for a Girls Night:

Ask Me Anything – Question 3: Color Safe Shampoo Dilemma

Here’s the question:  “When you have colored hair, how important is it to use color care shampoo and conditioner?”  This person also mentioned that the goal would be to use Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo and Conditioner even with color treated hair.

You know how people say that once you drive a brand new car off the lot, it immediately loses value and will continue to depreciate in value for as long as you own it?  That is also true of hair color.  Your color will stay put until you get your hair wet, then it will immediately start to fade.  The only thing that makes it fade faster than water alone is normal shampoo, with its high concentration of sodium laureth (lauryl) sulfate (also the main ingredient of dish soap).  Color care shampoos can really help keep the fading at bay but won’t eliminate the need for touchups entirely, especially when transitioning to a difficult color like red.  Color care conditioners aren’t necessary but if you’re like me and don’t want a lot of fragrances mixing, go ahead and get the conditioner it comes with.

So the answer is yes, color care shampoos are essential for prolonging the life of your color but color care conditioner is not necessary (just check the label to make sure it doesn’t contain SLS).  I spoke with a stylist at an Aveda salon and she told me that according to Aveda, all of their shampoos are safe for color treated hair.  I would err on the side of caution, however, and stick with Aveda’s many other color safe alternatives such as the Color Conserve Line.  I personally use Blue Malva Shampoo and Color Conditioner and when I had red hair, I used Madder Root Color Conditioner and had great results with it.  Blue Malva and Madder Root work by depositing a little color with each wash to help keep your color looking as fresh and new as possible.

• If getting your hair wet leads to fading, the obvious fix would be to not let your hair get wet.  You do need to wash your hair (please wash your hair) but not every day.  Next time you’re at the drugstore, pick up a shower cap to limit the amount of water that can reach your hair.  Only shampoo when absolutely necessary.
• The amount of times per week that you need to wash your hair varies depending on hair texture and scalp oiliness.  Curly haired ladies can go the longest between washes while girls with pin-straight hair will need to shampoo more frequently.  I have wavy hair so it’s a day-by-day judgement call.
• Aveda’s Color Conserve Line is pretty great but if you can’t afford this luxury brand, I dearly love L’Oreal Everpure Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner.
• Sulfate-free shampoos do not lather but that’s ok.  You will still be clean, I promise.

Do you have a question for me?  Let me hear it using the Contact feature on my blog.  All questions are completely anonymous.  Want to see other questions I’ve answered?  Click here.

Saturday Morning at Eden Salon & Spa

I love a trip to Eden Salon & Spa any day of the week, but there is something awesome about Saturday mornings for me.  I don’t have anywhere to go, and there isn’t a lot I can do while I wait to process other than relax.  This trip would be different though because Nicole left out Aveda’s color samples for their rainbow colors and I wasn’t able to set it back down.  I decided on a whim that I wanted, no, NEEDED violet on my hair.

Later my mom had her appointment and we got to spend some time together reminiscing about when Eden was the architectural firm we both worked at.  Her hair turned out gorgeous!

Oh, you want to see my before and after?  Well, ok.

Before:

After:

As you can see, I’m a little blonder.  The purple is hard to see (which is what I was going for) but you get a peek at the bottom there.  Why did I do it?  Because I needed to let my Freak Flag fly for a little while before I lose it entirely.  Seriously, I never thought I’d be discussing and thinking about roof shingles and mortgages at 25 so this is a neat, temporary break from all that.

A Weekend with My Sister

A while back, I accompanied my sister on a Saturday filled with adventure.  Well, first we went to Bob Evan’s, but then… Adventure!

We went to Truth & Triumph to get her ears pierced.  Beth has some serious issues with ear piercing (she even had to get earrings surgically removed one time, and it was Prom!) so she decided to go to a professional piercing place to ensure the highest precautions were taken.  The people there are wonderful and made sure she had fun even through the inherent pain of having sharp surgical steel forced through her ear lobes.  Sorry for the bad photo but I was trying to hide because every time Beth looks at me, she laughs.

Next, we went to Salon Noir so she could get a pixie cut for the first time!  I love Salon Noir and now Beth does, too.  It’s a very neat place to spend some time while your sister has her hair cut.  There are so many things to look at, like empty frames on the wall, or silhouettes.

Here’s what she looked like after all the adventure was over:

Pictures from My Palm Pixi

Palm Pixi Plus

After my Palm Pixi shattered, I wasn’t able to use the screen at all but the phone still worked.  Using my awesome research powers I looked up online how to retrieve the data off of it using the keypad.  I was able to pull most of my information off the phone but I didn’t do much with it after that.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from my Palm Pixi, which was in operation from 2010 – 2011.

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Dual Expressions Salon – Dayton, OH

In my lifetime, I may have had hundreds of trips to nail salons, nail spas, salons and spas that offer nail services, cosmetology schools that teach nail services, etc. but I can honestly say that on New Year’s Eve, I had the best manicure and pedicure of my life!  Let’s back up a little:  A few weeks ago, I was actually able to have a latte “for here” at Ghostlight Coffee with my sister.  As we were looking around at all the cool stuff to look at in Ghostlight, I found a card for an organic spa called Dual Expressions:  an Organic Salon for Faces, Hands, and Feet.  I was impressed that this spa offered any organic services at all but that they also perform nail services?  I wasn’t expecting to ever see that on a card on a coffee shop community board – in Dayton.  So I called and scheduled an appointment for a mani/pedi on New Year’s Eve before a big party my husband and I were throwing in hopes that I would look great for the evening and maybe get some me time to relax before the shindig.

Arriving at Dual Expressions, I met Kelly and some of her helpers and I was immediately struck by how well they had worked with a small space to create a calm and relaxing environment without making the customer feel claustrophobic.  They accomplished this by utilizing smaller furniture and making the pedicure stations perpendicular to the front door.  Speaking of the pedicure stations, Kelly made the bold decision to do away with the traditional ultra-shiny glitter, chrome, and plastic throne of most nail salons, opting instead for a lush wicker swing.  Basically, rather than feeling like you’re getting your nails done, you end up feeling like you’re just enjoying a glass of wine on the veranda on a summer day.  The services are personalized to you based on your preferences – I chose grapefruit oil for my pedicure to help get me energized for the party.

I left Dual Expressions feeling completely calm and relaxed and my nails looked amazing, I can’t wait to go back!

I apologize for the fuzzy iphone photos, I was trying to be stealthy.  Except for the last one, I was trying to show how awesome the glitter looked for NYE.

Dual Expressions 

931 A Shroyer Road

Dayton, OH  45419

937-298-3825

Salon Noir – Dayton, OH

I love opening my email each morning to find a new Groupon or Living Social deal – trying new things is awesome.  A while ago, I bought a Living Social deal for Salon Noir in Centerville, OH and couldn’t wait to use it.  When I arrived for my appointment, I was very happy with the decor – especially the portraits of women in the 1800s who had never cut their hair; it leant a sense of the macabre.  The color palette is a rich ivory and onyx with surprising little details all over the place. 

The staff is talented and able to take a tame hairstyle and give it some edge but also can help you maintain your tried-and-true style if you’d like. 

The only issue I have is the parking – hardly their fault in a historic section of town – you have to park on a hill in a small lot behind the salon, accessible by alley.  As long as there are spots available, it works. 

I would definitely visit Salon Noir in the future.  Especially if they offered to make a silhouette after your service, frame and all! 

Salon Noir

24 East Franklin Street

Centerville, OH  45459

937-723-6397

Shear Joy Gets a Website!

Recently after a very relaxing facial from Shear Joy Salon & Spa, I was confronted by Teresa, the salon manager, “Are you Girl About Town?”  I was sort of shocked and had to take a moment to try to remember exactly what I had written about Shear Joy before answering in the affirmative.  “I knew it!  You need to look at our new website.” 

So I’ve taken a look at it and couldn’t be happier.  The website achieves it’s purpose, which is just to occupy a space on the internet for people to land when searching for their salon.  The colors and design match the salon and spa exactly – almost as if they had the web designer take paint swatches.  The layout is simple and clean and easy to navigate. 

Take a look at their website for yourself – and while you’re at it, make an appointment!

Skin, an Apothecary Gets a New Website!

I am pleased as punch with Skin, an Apothecary’s new website.  It has all of the features of a normal online store and none of the frames from their less-than-perfect website of the past.  Take a look at the new and improved site here. 

Here’s a glimpse of the simple, clean design they’ve chosen.   (Also, their new Aquamarine scent is divine, give it a try at Preen Apothecary).

Eden Salon & Spa – Oakwood

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2400 Far Hills Avenue was not always the chic, stylish salon and spa that it is today.  No, it was once a small architectural firm called DAE Designs.  I worked there for many years, bookkeeping and filing the days away.  It was the perfect place to work considering its proximity to Starbucks and Dorothy Lane Market.  Above us was a little salon called Salon Bliss, with whom we feuded frequently over parking spaces and water damage.  Once when I was at the innocent age of 19 I extended the olive branch by getting a manicure there. 

After 13 some odd years in Oakwood the architectural firm relocated to Centerville, and the little salon upstairs moved in, growing in size and transforming the nautical-inspired, smoke stained environ into a fresh, luxurious, city chic salon and day spa.  When construction had been complete for a few months, I decided it was time to get a good look at the improvements and was astonished at what they were able to accomplish in a short period of time.  The building is actually a house, a very old and poorly constructed house but when Eden Salon & Spa opened its doors, the space seemed to have lost several years of wear and tear. 

The services at this Aveda salon are wonderful and the staff is friendly and frequently the whole salon will be involved in the same conversation like one big girls’ afternoon out.  The spa section is in the furthest room from the main entrance, ensuring a calm and relaxing service no matter the time of day.  The shampoo bowls are located in a room that they keep dark to help their clients relax during the scalp massage.  The waiting area has a comfy couch and chairs, magazines, products to browse, and a closet to hang your jacket.  They offer Coke, Diet Coke, coffee, hot tea, and water while you process or wait.

The prices are what you’d expect from an Aveda salon but when you take into account the expertise of the stylists, they’re much more reasonable.  Perks include proximity to Starbucks and Central Perc if you need coffee or a snack, Preen and Gamine if you’d like to shop and show off your new look, lots of parking available, easy to get to.

I highly recommend this small, busy salon and spa for anyone looking to enjoy a few hours in a chic, city getaway reminiscent of Chicago or New York.    

Eden Salon & Spa

2400 Far Hills Avenue

Dayton, OH  45419

937-294-5187