Beauty School Directory Blog

Posts Tagged ‘cosmetology’

Salons Go Green – Just in Time for Earth Day

Posted on: April 22nd, 2009 by Beauty Schools Directory No Comments

These days, many of us care more than ever before about taking care of Mother Earth. Whether we use reusable grocery bags and energy-saving light bulbs, or get that old bike out of the garage instead of taking the car, we all can find ways to do our part.

Now salons and some cosmetology schools are joining the green movement, too. For example, Leon’s Beauty School in Greensboro, North Carolina has been taking steps to make some environmentally responsible practices a way of life. Many of the employees and stylists at Leon’s hope their efforts will inspire other salons and beauty professionals to find new ways to be more environmentally friendly.

Do you work in a salon or teach/study at a beauty school that is striving to be more Earth-friendly? Here are a few green ideas that have worked in Leon’s Beauty School and in other salons across the country:

• Bring in recycling bins! – Businesses like salons go through a lot of disposable containers. Recycling those containers is much friendlier to the planet.
• Switch from commercial cleaning products to home-made or natural cleaners! – For example, Leon’s Beauty School uses a natural water and vinegar solution to clean their windows instead of the traditional chemical-ridden glass cleaner.
• Ban Styrofoam cups! – Leon’s stylists and employees bring their own reusable cups to use throughout the workday.
• Offer discounts to customers who bring back empty plastic hair care bottles for refills.
• Replace old appliances with newer, energy-saving hair dryers or curling irons.
• Use natural beauty products like mineral-based makeup (try Bare Escentuals Get Started Kit), natural henna hair dyes and sugar and water solutions to set hair curls.

Leon’s Beauty School even took their green ideas to a more creative level recently by hosting a “RecycleRama” hair and fashion show. Instead of showing off clothing made of expensive materials by A-list designers, models in this show sported creations made of second-hand fabrics, cardboard boxes, magazine pages and soda cans to spread awareness about being green.

But even if you don’t go the route of designing your own soda can couture, you can still make green beautiful! Got other green tips that you’ve used on the job? We’d love to hear ’em!

Beauty Schools Go Green

Sephora.com, Inc.

Incoming search terms:

How much is too much?

Posted on: March 11th, 2009 by Beauty Schools Directory 3 Comments

Some companies have gone to the ends of the earth to seek out the miracle ingredient that can help anyone with enough cash turn back the hands of time.

Do you want softer, smoother, more supple skin? It’s going to cost you. It costs $230 to purchase just 2 oz of Crème De La Mer. Why is it so expensive? It probably has something to do with one of its main ingredients: a rare sea kelp that is harvested twice a year and transported back to the lab on ice. However, according to its creator, Dr. Max Huber, it’s not the fancy ingredients that make this skin miracle happen – it’s the way they are distilled. The fermentation process, which takes three to four months, includes harnessing the powers of both light and sound.

Think that’s expensive? Compared to Switzerland’s La Prairie, it’s a steal! A few of La Prairie’s products also purport to harness the miracles of the deep. Ingredients like sea water and caviar in products sporting $500 price tags have people asking why eat this appetizer when I can put it on my face?

This company doesn’t just rely on the treasures found under the sea. When it comes to beauty, La Prairie leaves no stone unturned. Just 1.7 ounces of Cellular Cream Platinum Rare costs $1,000 thanks to its star ingredient – you guessed it: platinum. Rarer than gold, platinum’s unique ability to bond with the human face insures ageless performance by protecting your skin’s DNA. Its most expensive product boasts an even heftier price tag: $2,000. Although caviar is included, the limited edition Jeweled Skin Caviar Luxe Cream is probably so expensive thanks to its packaging. This refillable jeweled jar features 2,400 Crystallized Swarovski elements and targets the makeup jar collector audience.

Do They Really Work?

Although many people have seen results from these products, there isn’t an unbiased consensus among the scientific community on whether they’re worth it. In fact, most experts say that maintaining a youthful glow has less to do with spending exorbitant amounts of cash, and more to do with taking care of yourself. So, protect yourself from the sun, stay hydrated, eat a healthy diet rich in omega threes, exercise regularly, and of course, avoid smoke at all costs.

Want to see more outrageously priced products?

Forbes Magazine published a list of the 14 most expensive skin products it could find. Here’s a list of more really expensive skin serums and wrinkle solutions:

1. RéVive Intensité Volumizing Serum
Price: $600 per oz.
Star ingredient: Keratinocyte growth factor.

2. Sisley-Paris Sisleya Elixer
Price: $582 per oz.
Star ingredient: Extract of weeping willow.

3. Clé De Peau Beauté La Crème
Price: $475 for 1 oz.
Star ingredient: Actually comes with a silver spoon.

4. Dermagenetics DNA Test & Custom Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream
Price: $400 per oz.
Star ingredient: Your DNA. After your genetic propensity for wrinkling is tested, you receive a customized night cream.

5. Natura Bissé Inhibit-Dermafill
Price: $385 per oz.
Star ingredient: Octapeptide and black pepper extract.

6. Kanebo Sensai Ex La Crème
Price: $368 per oz.
Star ingredient: Extract of apricot kernels.

7. Dermalab Swissline Cell Shock 50% Pure Cellular Extract
Price: $331 per oz.
Star ingredient: Pure cellular extract.

8. Darphin Replenishing Anti-Wrinkle Serum
Price: $310 per oz.
Star ingredient: Iris isoflavones and essence of mamaku.

9. Valmont L ‘Elixir des Glaciers
Price: $288 per oz.
Star ingredient: Extract of coneflower, sea buckthorn and rosa moschata.

10. N.V. Perricone M.D. Neuropeptide Facial Conformer
Price: $285 per oz.
Star ingredient: Peptides and neuropeptides.

11. Orlane Hypnotherapy
Price: $277 per oz.
Star ingredient: Red tocol arctic cranberry.

12. AmorePacific Time Response Skin Renewal Crème
Price: $235 per oz.
Star ingredient: Green tea.

13. Guerlain Sérénissima
Price: $210 per oz.
Star ingredient: Patented H-Captine Complex.

14: Estée Lauder Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lifting Eye Crème
Price: $100 per oz.
Star ingredient: Crushed South Sea pearls.
So, how much is too much?

How much would you pay for these top-of-the-line cosmetic products? Do you know of any that accomplish the same goals with a much smaller price tag?

Incoming search terms:

Celebrity Style – Nail Trends

Posted on: May 7th, 2008 by Beauty Schools Directory 3 Comments

We at BSD like to make sure that we stay current on celebrity beauty trends. What’s in, what’s out, and who looks the craziest trying it?

So I was surfing the Internet earlier this week, and ran across a People Magazine Online slideshow on celebrity trends. It shows 13 celebrities and their “trendy” nail polish.

Here’s the run-down:

• Baby blue (Rihanna)
• Gold (Eva Mendes)
• Black (Debra Messing)
• Buff (Katherine Heigl)
• Gunmetal (Mischa Barton)
• White (Scarlett Johansson)
• French manicure (Victoria Beckham)
• Pale pink (Hilary Duff)
• Natural (Selma Blair)
• Orange (Fergie)
• Rose pink (Rihanna again)
• Dark red (Jessica Alba)

So … am I supposed to see a pattern here? I don’t see any sort of summer polish trend, other than ‘somewhere over the rainbow”. It seems to me that this summer (and maybe always) “trendy” polish is just about being true to yourself and your style.

Those of you in the nail and cosmetology business: what do you think? Are there any polish shades that are really “in” or “out” this season?

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...