Back before Christmas, I did an Instagram Live with my hairdresser so she could answer some of the hair-related messages I receive from y’all! We tried to save it to keep for 24 hours, but all that did was save to my phone. Not sure why?! Oops! I decided to put all that information back in a blog post for you to reference if you had asked a question or where ever curious about what she does to color my hair. So cringe-moment aside watching a video of myself for 20 minutes {WHY is that so awful to put yourself through?!}, I actually am really excited about today’s post and think it will be helpful to quickly reference while you get your hair done.

Britany Marshall does my hair and she works at Parlor E11evin hair salon off Camp Bowie in Fort Worth. She’s done my hair since college when I first met her. From color to cut to hand-tied extensions, or just as simple consultation {to find out the best coloring for your skin tone and cut for face} you can book with her through her Instagram or e-mail:

britanymarshallbeauty@gmail.com

Before we get to the Q&A, I also wanted to take a moment to talk about something that has truly made the start to my 2019! A few weeks ago, I found out I was nominated for the Like to Know It Best of Beauty Award this year. There are so many incredibly talented women that use the Like to Know It platform {aka Reward Style} and so I honestly had to keep blinking when reading the e-mail, because I just didn’t think I was seeing it correctly. From each nominee in this category to the award itself, this has been such a heart-fulfilling honor.

If you didn’t see this post here, I wanted to share it so you can see why this award was a huge honor for me. Here’s what I shared:

“Yesterday I cried happy tears in a coffee shop. I was nominated for the 2018 @liketoknow.it Awards, in the Best of Beauty category. I didn’t cry because it was an award, but rather the CATEGORY it was in. I’ve shared my story before, but it never ceases to amaze me how faithful God is.

It took me about 2-3 years to get diagnosed with Discoidal Lupus as a child. From middle school to my freshman year of high school- I went to pediatric rheumatologists all over the country trying to find answers. I have never even shown my husband pictures of my skin at that point because I cannot bring myself to look at them. Although I was physically sick- my emotional pain of kids asking what was wrong with my skin far outweighed how I felt internally. If you have autoimmune, you know the exhausting rat race to get diagnosed. I wanted to go to a sleepover and not be scared that another girl would ask what was on my face. That is when I found beauty blogs. 

I found comfort in the women who taught me how to apply concealer like a pro, so I could go to school and feel like I was a regular girl. While waiting to get diagnosed by doctors from Atlanta to Oklahoma, I learned the power of a blog. These beauty blogs were my safe space and I promised myself to do something similar because I didn’t want another girl spending hours on the internet trying to find a product to help her. To help women find skincare routines, hair products, or even a lipstick to give them confidence is SO much deeper than silly vanity. It is a comfort when life is hard. 

So yesterday I cried in a coffee shop nominated for an award in the exact thing that gave me hope in middle school- I mean how detailed is God! I will never feel worthy to be placed next to these talented women in this category but rather, I feel blown away this was God’s plan all along. You can vote for me for this award, but honestly, I just want to share this to say thank you. To be in the company of THESE women nominated and do what I do is proof God can take our lowest point and use it to stir a passion inside us.”

Seeing this nomination wasn’t this moment of, “Oh wow, people love my beauty blog posts!” It was a moment filled with tears where I thought, “God really does map out our lives so intentionally and with such detail!“

People will ask me casually, “Don’t you get tired of talking about beauty products?” And I never do because I think of how long I spent trying to find something to help me, and I know there are a million girls out there just trying to find one product that makes their life a little easier when something else much bigger is going on.

Award aside {because honestly, being in a category with these women is quite mind-blowing to say the least!}, I just want to express my gratitude to you all for reading COF and for trusting my recommendations. One product may not work for all, but if one reader says a product worked for her, I feel like I did my job. I wanted to share this nomination here because honestly, it feels like we all got nominated since the readers are what make COF.

You can read more here and vote here. Thank you again!

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Now on to the beauty post for the day! Here are Britany’s answers to your questions.

What is the best shampoo to combat brass {orange tones in blonde}?

My personal pick is Oligo, they have purple and blue options. If your hair is really brassy I recommend that you use the blue. It is $28 at our salon.

Katey’s note: Linking it here so you can see the bottle. 

Katey’s Color Formula.

Blacklight lightener and 30 volume with Olaplex mixed in. I always use Olaplex to protect the integrity when going blonde and have Katey use the Olaplex #3 once a week as a treatment. Her toner is Goldwell Colorance 10v and 10p.

How does Katey get such volume?

Katey has really textured hair, and truly, only a handful of my clients have that kind of hair. You have to work with the hair type you have because we each start with a different canvas to start with. If volume is most important to you, tell your stylist and she can do a specific cut to aide in that.

Katey’s note: You can see how I tease my hair here and the products I use! 

Is it helpful to bring in photos for hair inspiration?

Yes, especially with blonde! Bring at least 3 photos, because clients can sometimes have different coloring in mind than what is true to terms of color. Some people say “baby lights” thinking it is platinum and that’s actually a technique as opposed to color. Platinum, golden blonde, ashy blonde can all be different in your mind than your stylists’. Bring 3 photos minimum and point to the exact pieces you like, not just the look. You may like the cut on one photo, the lowlights in another and the tone in another. So make sure to point and be very specific about what part you love.

Katey’s note: When going to a stylist for the first time, make sure they give you honest feedback when you show a photo. I believe so much post-appointment disappointment comes from thinking a stylist didn’t do what we wanted or understand the look we are going for. And while I think 40% of the time that can be the case, I think the majority is when we want a color that our base color can’t work with or our cut with texture, etc. Britany is always very honest with me and says, “Okay we can do that but in a week it would pull green tones, etc.” You may be disappointed the first 10 seconds, but it’s better to take that inspiration and create something achievable for your hair. 

What should we do for gray coverage?

For brunette, you’re going to want to do an all over root color and a few highlights to camouflage throughout. Depending on the intensity of your blonde, bleach can cover that.

What do you do with Katey’s root melt?

Baby lights and then a 7NA in Redken root smudge.

What is Olaplex?

Olaplex is a bond multiplier {bonds are what holds the keratin together in your hair so it doesn’t break} that your stylist applies while adding bleach to your hair.

Katey’s note: When getting highlights you can ask that your salon provides Olaplex to your bleach! Some salons have alertanatives to Olaplex, so your stylist will know what you are asking. If you have dreadlock, you can read more on how to maintain it at lionlocs.com.

What is Katey’s natural blonde level?

A 6 or 7

What is the best product for damaged hair with bleach?

Olaplex and make sure to have your stylist review the products you use at home. I make sure to have Katey use the Olaplex #3 once a week and then she uses the Olaplex shampoo & conditioner once a week as well. You want to make sure you cycle your shampoos and you aren’t using purple shampoo daily or treatments daily, etc.

What tone do you use for Katey?

A pearl toner that I offer, which you can do every 3 weeks if you want.

Katey’s note: Depending on the time of year, I’ll go in every 5-6 weeks.

What’s one hair product you can’t live without?

Dry Shampoo by Living Proof because it actually cleanses your hair!

Which extensions does Britany offer?

Hand-tied and tape in human hair extensions and it depends on what is best for your hair texture with your consultation. Not everyone is a candidate for each type.

What’s the best way to keep hair from breaking?

Olaplex, turn the heat down on your hot tools, never pass over your hair 3x with a straightener, try to go heatless with styling for a month and cut down washing as that really dries your hair out.

What do we do to prevent postpartum hair loss?

Because this is hormonal, you can’t really prevent, but you can help. Every one of my clients gets it, your body has gone through a lot. Keep up your nutrition and your prenatal vitamins and make an appointment with your stylist to come up with a cut, color, and routine that will help make this transition as smooth as possible for your hair!

Katey’s note: I used Aveda Invati when I got my postpartum hair loss and it was like liquid gold to me! Nutrafol vitamins were also key for me to get my thickness back. I listened to a few medical podcasts on hair loss and hair growth {I know, I was a little too interested in this process} and what I found was that biotin isn’t actually proven to grow hair, it’s proven to grow nails. However, in studies, many times when a patient has their nails grow from a supplement, the hair follows suit. But if you can take biotin all day and not see a difference in hair growth {ME!} then you’ll love Nutrafol because it’s not a biotin hair vitamin. I did cringe I was spending this much on vitamins, but now I can’t imagine not taking them. They’ve gotten my hair to be thicker than it was before baby!

How do you cut Katey’s hair?

She gets textured layers, some call them invisible layers. A textured cut is key to not being choppy when you straighten your style.

Best cut for thin, fine hair?

A blunt cut.

Best cut for thick, wavy hair?

Katey’s cut.

Best clip-in extensions?

Barefoot Blonde are my favorite clip-in extensions I’ve ever tried!

Katey’s note: I have also used them for braids and love them! My shade is Honey Butter. I’ve used the fill-ins for updo styles or braids.

Always note, that your recommendations could be different based on your hair type and texture! But Britany does offer consultations or virtual consultations so you can e-mail her!

britanymarshallbeauty@gmail.com

I hope this little q&a helped answer any questions you might have related to how she does my hair.  Have a great start to your week, friends!