Going Gray...or Steel, Pewter, Silver, Platinum, Sterling?

Gray is beautiful, and gray hair is in!  There is even a few super heroes to represent the strength of a grey streaked women both are in X-Men, "Storm and Rogue".  Gray left to its own device can be blah.  Sometimes it just needs a little nudge.  A bit of creamy blonde can pull the tone out of a dull gray category and transform it into a color I like to call "Swedish Blonde".  A better option for some is a bit of depth replaced with a lowlight to increase contrast with your skin tone.  Apart from whether it looks good is the perception that it ages you.

Sherry Maysonave elaborates in her book Casual Power, "Gray hair can be empowering or it can totally disempower an individual.  If gray hair suits your coloring and if it has a bright sheen to it, rather than a dull, tired tone, it can work well for you.  However, for this to be true, the cut and style of gray hair must reflect an updated look.  If the style is freeze-dried somewhere in the past, gray hair contributes even more to a not-living-in-present-time statement.  The problem with that, especially in the workplace, is that your hair can send the message that 'you' are tired or that your ideas and work methods are not up to date either.  On the other hand, stylish gray hair (in good condition) can convey that you have years of experience and possibly, wisdom, which can contribute to an authoritative air."

I want to see you in the salon when you want a lift or a treat instead of because your a slave to your roots! Check out the images below as well as some of the literature and websites I have found to be inspiring.  I hope the visuals will help you start thinking of the many options available to you.



Diane Sawyer "Swedish Blonde" using highlights to bridge a gray to a blonde.
















Embrace the white and add a silver hue with a cool toned gloss.



Add a bit of steel lowlights to create a pewter tone.



Diane Keaton has a beautiful example of highlights and lowlights.  This will add a touch of depth but will be easy to maintain.



A great way to transition out of high maintainance all over color is to leave a bit out in the areas that show first.  This is a softer version of what Anne Bancroft sported in "The Graduate".





I highly recommend:
BOOK:  Anne Kreamer's book "Going Gray, What I Learned about Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity, and Everything Else That Matters"
BLOG:  Want to Go Gray All the Way?  How to Go Gray Gracefully                                             
WEBSITE:  Going Gray Looking Great! Make every stage of going gray absolutely fabulous!
The official website of the first and only beauty bible for women of all ages who want to know how to make every stage of going gray absolutely gorgeous.

Diane Keaton a woman of substance embracing her gray with style!

I love the color that Diane Keaton is wearing in this image.  She has highlighted gray hair to a slightly creamy color while dropping a few low lights in to add depth.  One variation would  be to add more lowlights, another would be to add a third caramel tone for warmth.  The important attribute to help with maintenance is the creamy colored highlights near the predominantly gray areas while slipping in the low lights right behind those.  For example usually the part and hairline expose the root area first, so the highest of the highlights are placed there.  When done in sync with what your natural placement is you can now touch up anywhere from 2 and 1/2 months to 6 months depending on your tolerance and the amount of depth desired.

Recommended reading..."Going Gray" by Anne Kreamer

A Real Woman's Boudoir Photographs by Charise Isis

Our newest show features real women in their most intimate of settings. It is a collection of photographs by award winning, internationally renowned, boudoir and pin-up photographer, Charise Isis. She was recently featured on NBC and NYC Taxi TV for her pin-up photography.

I originally connected with Charise after being moved by her most recent art project "Grace". Her portraits reveal the courage, beauty, and grace of women who have survived breast cancer. The Grace Project was recently accepted for fiscal sponsorship through New York Foundation for the Arts. Charise’s own words describing this work: “In photographing the project I loosely use Hellenistic sculpture as a visual reference for the portraits, taking inspiration from such artifacts as the ‘Venus De Milo’ and ‘Nike of Samothrace’. These dismembered artifacts have survived the trauma of history and are still valued as objects of beauty within our culture.”

Inspired by her work, I contacted her to inquire about partnering up our hair and makeup skills for her projects, specifically her body-image-building “For Them or For You” pinup/boudoir photo events. We decided that the best way to start our collaboration would be to experience one of her events first-hand. The girls of Parlor got together for an evening of pinup primping of our own and had a blast. A little bit of wine helped to loosen us up as we prepared each other for our own boudoir coming out. Inspired by the collection of props that Charise provided, we rummaged through suitcases exploding with props, clothes, and jewelry to find our inner pinup girl. Each of us feeling a different degree of openness, we ended up with a variety of looks. Here are a couple of the images of myself that were created that night. We are planning a November date to be offered to our Parlor guests to experience this fun self-esteem building event.  .Please email us if you wish to be notified when the exact date is determined.

NBC Thread at P A R L O R for fashion week!

NBC's fashion blog "Thread" was in  P A R L O R yesterday filming a mannequin getting "done" in the hippest high fashion salon in the East Village"  We are so cool!!!  We will look for the commercial on UTUBE and post when it becomes available!  For now check out their blog .... http://www.nbcnewyork.com/blogs/threadny/

Horst Rechelbacher and Minneapolis, my roots...professionally speaking!

We tell our favorite origin myths over and over: We’re proud of our historical contributions to society-at-large, whether it’s the post-funk of Prince, Hubert Humphrey’s impact on the Great Society, or the notoriety Garrison Keillor has brought to life on the 45th parallel. Horst and the early Aveda is another one—he landed here like an alien superbaby in a wheat field and would go on to sell his shampoo empire for $300 million almost 40 years later. But it’s those first two decades that are remarkable, when he was stuck in the middle of nowhere, determined to find out just how beautiful nowhere could be.

For the complete story go to MPLS ST.PAUL Magazine ...The Golden Era of Hairdressing in Minneapolis

Our very own Bride Sarah Jones, hair by Katja!

It was a hot balmy day with a thunderstorm coming around the mountain.  The type of day your grateful to have your hairdresser by your side.  Especially true on your wedding day with the ceremony amongst the trees alongside a peaceful brook.  Katja (Sarah's Bridal Specialist of choice) was feeling no pressure even amongst Sarah's family of hairdressers, she has a cool head when it comes to any upstyling.  With a comb, brush, hot curling tongs, volumizing tonic and some pincurl clips Katja molded the exact hair style Sarah had her heart set on.  Glamour waved bangs secured into a side swept cascade of curls (hairstyle of the moment).  Sarah looked as fresh and beautiful as ever as she walked down her grassy isle to marry her sweetheart along a mountainside creek at The Full Moon Resort.  We wish you a long and happy life together!!!

Bride Carrie Herrara wears a tiera!

I LOVE doing bridal updo's! I find upstyling one of the most creative things a hairdresser does. I relish the feeling of the switch in my brain from left-mode to right-mode as I start whipping the curled tendrils into a "hair-do".




The first step in most of my bridal upstyles is a soft roller set. Once the hair has some movement I back brush the hair to give it structure and form. This stage creates a cushion for the hairpins to lock into.


Next comes the pleasurable switch in the brain from left to right and the hair dance begins. This particular hair style on my dearest friend Carrie was particularly fun for two reasons. One, she has great taste and would enjoy a dramatic style. Two, she has the best hair in the world!!!


Since her hair is abundant the challenge becomes not only getting it up but ensuring it will stay up. I used a pony tail technique featured in Ginger Boyle's "Upstyle" DVD to secure her length in three places. I then looped and secured the hair length with bobby pins in a balanced but scattered fashion. With everything secure and in its final place I nestled in the tiera. Another option would be little flower pins perhaps. It was so secure, she later admitted to sleeping in it the night of the wedding too exhausted from the festivities to take it down. Hmm I hope she didn't look too "scary Carrie" in the morning.

Yours In Service,
Gwenn LeMoine