My name is Dallas Alleman. I work at a Salon Du Beau Monde in the Warehouse District of New Orleans, also know as the Art’s District. We are surrounded by world class art galleries, which I feel is a source of inspiration everyday. In this blog, I will be sharing some of my ideas and experiences from the point of view of an artist. I realized a long time ago that anything you do requires technique and passion. Perfect practice and years of experience makes anyone in any field an expert over time. Do you really think any of the great masters of the past just woke up one day with the ability to sculpt or paint? No, it took a lifetime of perfecting a technique and never thinking it is good enough. I myself, have 40 years of experience and a passion for learning. And the best way to learn I have found is to teach others. This is going to be for everyone, hairdresser or not. I will be answering questions that I am asked everyday by clients and the hair designers with whom I work. That way everyone can make an informed decision when it comes to hair.
Color correction is the one thing that I am asked about the most. When it comes to color, once the color of the client’s hair goes off track, it’s sometimes better to stop it before continuing. It’s not always easy to go back to the natural hair color. Most of my corrective color work is performed after the client has done several applications of hair color in an attempt to get a certain shade they desire. The reason it’s called permanent hair color is that it changes the color and texture of the hair. We will be unable to bring it back to the color it once was. Clients must understand that their expectations are limited by their natural hair color, their hair quality, and hair texture. Hairdressers can get into trouble when attempting to give what we’re asked. Our goal is to please the client. No one has the intention to damage hair or produce a color that isn’t expected. And over the years I have been in these sort of situations more than I care to count. Today, if I feel it cannot be done, whether it’s a haircut or color, I will explain my position. I would rather be the person who stands on the side of caution than to disappoint the client. It’s too stressful to be told “I don’t like my hair.”
On a regular basis I will be blogging about some of the corrective work we do, with before and after pictures. Also, we will be sharing the latest trends in hair cutting, hair color and styling tips. I personally recommend paying attention to what colors current fashion designers are using. You may see that the fashion designers use one predominate color for each season. There is a service called The Color Association which predicts what color will be in next year. It seems everyone uses the same color. The fashion designers don’t hire spies to steal each others ideas. Even advertizing agencies or manufactures rely on this… Believe me, there is a lot of research performed to predict what will become the next color. I like changing a client’s hair color seasonally. I’m constantly looking for the ‘in’ color. Opposite colors compliment each other. All I have to do is pick a complimenting shade that occurs in nature to decide what hair color will be in for that season and add brown to it.
Yours in service,
Dallas
