Coloring Book: An excerpt from your personal stylist of 20+ yrs….

Hey Jill!

I woke up this morning feeling a bit dry. My skin looks great, I have almost no stress, and I’m pretty happy in my career. SO WHY IS MY HAIR SAYING “TRAIN WRECK”??!!! Ok, let’s get it together here and recap on my goods.

#1 I have not had a cut in a few months.  Although I love my job, I have neglected getting my ends trimmed because an appointment just does not fit into my schedule.  Cutting it all, even by more than 1 inch, will cause a panic attack I think!

#2 I have a few shades and grades of hair. I am mostly a natural brown color with random shades that almost make my hair look a bit sandy.  I dyed my hair once about 10 years ago. I tried to do ash blonde highlights. Guess what? The image I had in my mind lied to me!

#3 My skin is light, but tends to be more yellowy-ish golden. Without sunblock I tan rather than burn

#4 My eyes are deep drown.

I am thinking of trying a new color to make myself look and feel  amazing. The current natural color is beginning to look a bit bland and lifeless as I get older.  HELP!

Thandie

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Thandie,

                

        You have made an excellent choice! I have a few options AND I have a specific option that will make you pop, sizzle, and turn heads in all the right ways. Let’s take a look at what you naturally have.

#1 It is definitely time for a trim/cut. I understand that you are afraid to make a drastic chop, but it does not have to be drastic to achieve healthy. I ultimately would need you in my chair to know the true damage. However, if you have a regimen outside of cutting that helps to sustain your hair follicles, we should not have to go too drastic on your first visit. A great regimen for maintaining your hair is to not over-wash your hair, never use heat styling tools on wet hair, check your hair care products for ingredients such as alcohol and detergents, and keep a solid nightly hair maintenance routine.  These steps will help reduce splits ends and the possibility of having to cut quite a few inches of your hair off.

#2 Hair’s the thing! We all have various grades and shades of hair depending on genetics. The fact that you have not dyed your hair repeatedly over the years is great because the integrity of it is more maintained without all of the chemical changes.  It’s coloring time!

#3 You are not married to a color: perfect! We can find the color best suited for you,  your skin,  your eyes,  and your life. Key is to keep the natural color theme by staying within 3-4 shades of your natural hair color. 

The chart is merely a reference for ideas and matches (www.fashionhair.net). We can also play with a few other shades that compliment your complexion rather than highlight any imperfections. By description, you have darker colored hair with warm skin tones and a darker eye color. You would look best in multidimensional warm tones.  This means that soft, light to medium brown base colors with dark blonde highlights or warm brown colors will work their magic on you! This coloring will also make way for your makeup palette. Can’t wait to color in the sassy new you!

Jill

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Side note: Maybe you aren’t a dark haired warm tone. Maybe your eyes are lighter. Here are some options for you! You never want to get an awesomely chic hair color that your skin and eyes murder! You must identify if your skin is cool or warm and go from there! Whether you go drastic or natural, always remember that it is your choice and you always want to make a choice that brings out the best you! Keep in mind that your hair color will determine the type and shades of makeup you use, jewelry you wear best, and clothing colors you will showcase the best. Now that you have your coloring essentials, let’s color!  

What is your eye color?

              

         

         Skin Tone (match yours) 

Skin Tone/Hair Color Matches

Warm Ø  Gold Ø  Honey Ø  Caramel Ø  Copper Ø  Red Ø  Mahogany Ø  Strawberry blonde Ø  Chocolate Ø  Ginger Ø  Orange based reds Ø  Dark browns Ø  Rust

Cool Ø  Platinum Ø  Ash-blonde Ø  Cream Ø  Sandy Ø  Coffee Ø  Jet black Ø  Fawn Ø  Mid-level blondes Ø  Flat browns Ø  Wine Ø  Mahogany Ø  Burgundy

Benefits of Pilates

“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old.  IF it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.”                                                                                                          -Joseph H. Pilates  

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The phone rings and I answer. “Hello?” On the other end is my good friend whose mouth is going a mile a minute with minimal breaths. In the back of my mind I am thinking, “I wonder how she does it?” I interject, “What’s that you say?” She is going on and on about how healthy I look, how she saw new pictures on my social sites, and that I must spill all of my secrets.

Stop! What do you say that?

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Breathing- “It’s all about the foundation. Breathe, breathe, breathe!” Breaths are taken in through the nose and out through the mouth. Diaphragmatic patterns of inhales and exhales are utilized to initiate movement and to activate deeper muscles (Swann, 2009). This means that how you breathe will affect how you live and move.  Holding your breath without realizing it can cause pain and eventually create chronic pains. Ouch! Pilates helps to properly generate and sustain those breaths.

Concentration.-“I’m focused!” Classical pilates, and other traditions of pilates, seeks to achieve the highest level of concentration and movement.  Relax, move, center!

Centering-“Core is key”. I always thought that the powerhouse was the cheesiest way to suck me into tube socks, a high cut one piece, and big 80’s hair, but I learned that it rocks! Exercises center on the core muscles of the body, called the ‘powerhouse’ (the abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles). The core muscles:

            -  serve as postural muscles and help the body to balance

            -  elongate and strengthen deep torso muscles

            -   work in tandem with the more superficial muscles of the trunk

            -  support the spine, thus increasing flexibility, agility and stability 

              (Swann, 2009)

Contrology- “Control those buns girl!” The only unchanging rules you must conscientiously obey are that you must always faithfully and without deviation follow the instructions accompanying the exercises and always keep your mind wholly concentrated on the purpose of the exercises as you perform them (Pilates, 1945; 1998, pg. 10). 

                                                                               

                Awareness- “My teacher says I need to learn me. Be precise.” Pilates is low impact. It is also a total body workout that develops body awareness. Testimonies  prove:

-  According to Hoyte Pyle, MD, "Pilates works the whole body in synergy, which is how we should be moving on a daily basis.”

- According to Aliesa George, a pilates instructor says, “The biggest benefit in my eyes would be personal awareness -- awareness of how you sit or how you stand or how you move and being able to relate those habits to the aches and pains and injuries you have or have had in the past” (Sarnataro, 2013).

- According to Richie Mastascusa, a choreographer and pilates instructor, “Pilates is an excellent way to work out. It strengthens your core and muscles. After class, your body just feels so good!”

                

             Fluidity- “Unlock those knees and elbows! Keep it all fluid and moving.” Joseph Pilates, himself, compares it to a slightly swaying graceful motion comparable to the effect created by a gentle breeze blowing over a field of growing wheat ready for harvest, causing it to gracefully sway in "waves" from its roots to its tips (Pilates, 1945; 1998, pg. 21).

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 I stopped and said, “Hello, are you there?” My friend says she is speechless because she never knew how great pilates was for her and her family’s life. With the right research of studios, technique, and a determination to have a better life, you can move your way into the strongest position ever!  

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Remember, too, that "Rome was not built in a day," and that PATIENCE and PERSISTENCE are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.  -Joseph H. Pilates

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to World Fit Foundation and Richie Mastascusa of Reforming NY

Pilates J H, Miller W J (1945; reprinted 1998). Pilates’ Return to Life Through Contrology. Presentation Dynamics, USA

Sarnataro, B R (2013).The Benefits of Pilates: Just what can Pilates exercises do for you?. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/the-benefits-of-pilates

Swann, J. (2009). The Power of Pilates. Nursing & Residential Care, 11(10), 520-523.