Day 204 ~ 82 Hours Left ~ 5/27/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 204 ~ 82 Hours Left ~ 5/27/14

1418 Hours
111 Guests

Just over a fortnight left. Hard not to countdown now. Accroding to my progress report I have 301 Hairstyling credits out of the 330 needed. I have all categories filled so now everything counts as an elective. I have 75 of 80 Hair coloring complete. And I have 68 of 80 Perms / Relaxers. I also have a mock state board to take which will give me several of those. So I will graduate on time as long as I'm there. On time meaning when I want to. When I am aiming for. So the earliest clock out date will be on the 12th of June. With a celebration to be had at the school on either the 20th or a later friday.

This is probably going to be one of the best gifts I will ever receive. Its a mirror that Mrs D gave me because she knew I like purple. Everytime I use this mirror I'm going to remember everytime I handed one including this one to her.

Thank you for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 202 ~ The Final Countdown, Under 100 Hours Left ~ 5/22/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 202 ~ The Final Countdown, Under 100 Hours Left ~ 5/22/14

1404 Hours
109 Guests


It has been a week since I updated but it has been a great week. I had several new people come to see me. I did several practicals on manikins. I did my second Salon project and presented it today. I retook the quiz for Business Building 2 because Mrs C asked me to go ahead and refresh myself to see if I still knew it. I got 100 % last time and again this time. I finished all 75 of the haircutting credits and the rest of Skin credits. That leaves me with Perms / Relaxers, a few more Colors, and then a bunch of Hairstylings to do. But they're gonna fill up fast now.


So I'm just trying to keep myself booked. Its really what I must do one way or another.


Thank You for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 195 ~ This One Has Pictures ~ 5/14/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 195 ~ This One Has Pictures ~ 5/14/14

1355 Hours
103 Guests

Performance Floor Wednesday: Its been a while since I've done an entry for a single day but today was worthy. Originial plans for the day were changed but I was planning ahead to fill some time by bringing some manikins. Good thing I did. Since I'm over 1300 hours I can now decide for myself what to work on. I decided that I needed to knock out a few haircuts since I only have a handful left. I brought 5 manikins with me that were meant to be practised on. Of those I did cuts on 4 of them. So I'm going to post their befores if I have some and then what I did today.

First up was this manikin I got from a student who gave me a bunch of her manikins when she graduated. She was wearing what appeared to be a round layered cut. I decided to give her an angled bob of some sort. But I didn't want to go too high up with graduating it so I cut the guide right at the bottom of the nape hairline in back. And then I basically overdirected all the hair to that spot and kept snipping it right there including the hair from the sides. As it turns out there was a bit of a hole as we say by the left ear which can happen when cutting the round layers so that spot was already too short to reach back to my guide. But the imaginary line should continue to the front.

Next up I had Penny / Penelope that came with my Regency kit. This was the shorter haired one of the two I have and the one I did the copper front hair in workshop. I think I may have let someone borrow her for a haircut because her hair was fairly short in the back and it seemed shorter than the last time I cut her for the Rehearsal Rubric. But in any case It looked like she had a long flattened out mullet in back that was reaching at least halfway down the neck. It was like she slept on it. So I basically just trimmed her up to the nape for a more rounded line. First is a before from a while back. Then from today after.

Next up we have both of the Lori twins. First is the one that had what Virginia Farrell's book called a Bias Flair cut. I basically made a short version of the same cut but my line was using the corner of the eye to the bottom of the ear and going back to a sharp point in back. Which does not look as sharp when dry but it was like a V when wet. Again a Before and then today's afters.

And now for other Lori. Last time I cut her hair I cut the nape trying to do shear over comb and snipped a bit too much in one spot. So my intent today at first was to simply cut the nape shorter this time to blend it. But then I got a bit obseesed with trying to get the upper hair to taper more and blend into that shorter area without the mushroom look. Well I almost got it where I wanted it by the time we had to stop. But I also took it a bit higher than I meant to. So she now has a very extremely high line back there. I did not get to finish the sides so there's a bit of trimming to do there. So before and after and this will do for today. I guess it doesn't look as extreme as I thought. It does just about line up with the chin line. She basically has the opposite cut as her sister.

Thanks for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 192, 193, 194 ~ 30 Days Left ~ 5/13/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 192, 193, 194 ~ 30 Days Left ~ 5/13/14

1348 Hours
103 Guests

Thursday was Quiz day. My last quiz. I got 95 % or 19 of 20. It was the quiz on wigs and hair additions. So I made it through every quiz without failing any. If I recall correctly I only had one with 80% so the rest were 85 or higher. This leaves just my Final to take before graduation. All rubric / practical on model tests are done and passed. There's one more Mock / Practise State Board coming up in June before I clock my last hour. This will be my 4th Mock. And then there will be the real thing when I attempt to get my license. So I just have to finish my credits. And get through these next few weeks of repeating subjects.

Friday: My morning guest had to cancel so I once again volunteered to be on desk at least until Mrs D came for her roller set. In a few weeks I'll be walking her to her car for the last time. I'm very grateful that I was able to have her as a regular.

Tuesday: I started my first repeat subject today. Business Building Part 2. And as it turns out I have Mrs C for it this time as well. Last time Ashlee and I were partners and we did a large salon and spa with lots of goodies. But this time I'll be going at it alone. Main reason being that this time I have to do this for real and figure out if I can even do chair rental anywhere. Its not quite as easy as having a rent to pay and naming my own prices. I have to have insurance, make sure I pay taxes, have products for using. I know me too well. I have to be careful. I have a $20,000 loan that I have to start paying back around December. That alone is going to take about $200 per month away from me. I want so badly to take the challenge and show it who I am. I can't let money run my life. I have more important things to do. I'd rather go broke trying something I feel is a better fit than make a ton of money somewhere that's not what I meant to be it when I went back to school. Doubting myself has to go. Its been almost a year since I said I was tired of being afraid. I'm not going to start being afraid again. I'm done with fear. I think back to my quote about the only hurdles that matter are the ones you want to jump. I couldn't get over that first hurdle in Jr High. Then I did and couldn't keep enough speed to get over the second. But I got over that first one and that's what I wanted. Well this time I'm about to finally get over the first hurdle. Then I'm going for that second and so on......
 Positive Train Forward ---------->

 We had guest speakers from Regis / BoRics / Mastercuts today for doing some updo demos. First they did a few on manikins and then asked for volunteers. I gladly volunteered. This was the result. Two rope braids pined into a circle.

Thanks for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 189, 190, 191 ~ Getting Good Reception ~ 5/7/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 189, 190, 191 ~ Getting Good Reception ~ 5/7/14

1327 Hours
102 Guests

Monday: I brought my friend that I did the purple haircolor for the rubric test to the school so she could get a facial. I was going to do a few more things for her but my Friday guest needed us to try and get the red out that was showing after we tried to lighten her dark color to a light brown. It was once again a learning experience. 

Tuesday: Day 3 of Wigs and Additions. We did some theory review on the history of wigs to start the day. Then after first break we had to do some sort of braid or updo or something related to the chapter. I decided to do some sort of braiding. I got my longer haired manikin from the car and started making a crown braid since I only have a tiny bit of experience with it. But after I got around back to the beginning I still have a long tail of hair that I didn't want leftover so I just started braiding a little lower from the first braid and continued the coil around again. But instead of taking it over her face when I got to the other side I reversed and started braiding lower again and kept going back and forth until I reached the nape and only had the length left to braid and finished that off. Then I brought that up and pinned it in place. Then I was wearing a clip in flower so I used it for the topper.
Here's some pictures from my phone and some newer from my camera.

After lunch we were free to do personal services or manikin work. I decided to try getting as many perm wraps as I could done. So I got Debra set up and sectioned and I did a white rod perm in 40.5 minutes. I set the timer for 40 minutes because that's what was left before break. I was starting the last strand when it buzzed. After break I set her up again and set the timer for 40 minutes to try to beat it. This time I was about 20 seconds faster but just barely past the buzzer. This left me with less than 40 minutes left to remove the rods and try again so I opted for a third using the larger Orchid / Purple rods. And I got it done with plenty of time left. So in the time it used to take me to do 1 perm I did 3. And I wasn't as fatigued as I used to be when timing myself. I was just looking back at my entries from February during the perm chapter and I timed myself with the orchid rods but I don't see a timing for the white rods. But in any case 45 minutes was always the time to beat for the rubric test. Which I ended up doing a spiral perm for anyway. But when i last timed myself at home months ago I had just barely met the 45 minute time so I've managed to get another 4-5 minutes off of it and could probably get a few more. So I had a good day yesterday.

Wednesday / Today: I had my Salon Fair model and another friend scheduled today but both had to postpone so I tried to scramble a bit this morning to get some replacements but ran short of time to make it happen. When I got to school I started trying to clean some of my items and then it was roll call time. I then went to the desk to let them know I had my two cancellations. That's when I noticed Mrs J was trying to help the newer student that just came from Workshop learn the computer and I offered to help out. So I worked the desk with her all day help teach her and learned a few things myself. Acording to the calendar for May I'm not scheduled for desk or dispense so this may have been my last time behind ithe desk. But it was nice being the more senior student this time. It may not have been the day I had made plans for but it was a good addition to the Positive Train and I'll gladly take it. It was a Great Day At Regency with Robert Speaking......

Thanks for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 187, 188 ~ 1300 Hrs & 100 Guests~ 5/3/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 187, 188 ~ 1300 Hrs & 100 Guests~ 5/3/14

1307 Hours
100 Guests

A few personal milestones. 1300 hours out of 1500 reached. This means I no longer have to do the assignment given to the others when on the floor. I can instead choose from a list of things and do as many of those as I can get done in a day. Although the fact that I've been lucky enough to be fully booked for 3 weeks straight with a 4th already booked means I haven't been thinking about the manikins too much. From here on out filling the chair with someone who wants to be in it is the mission. And doing my mission of caring for them and about them and listening to them and what they want. It doesn't mean I can give it to them. But I will at least listen and not be mean about saying no. Nor will I try to force my own ideas upon them.
 The other milestone is the 100 guest mark. This means that 100 times someone has been to see me. Some of those 100 are repeating for the same people. I count at least 8 people with at least 1 return visit. Thank you to all of you who are included in those 100 and to those who've tried to book me so far as well.

This week has been a bit of a reality check. Things that seemed like they would be hard were not so difficult while others that should have been simpler had some snags. But that's what's going to happen when you deal with hair color. I want people to feel comfortable coming to me after using at home color but at the same time there are realities involved with that. Certain changes just can't be done in one try. Even for the experienced pros. There's a lot of guess work when it comes to it. Then there are my rookie skills when it comes to doing multiple things at once. It caused my plans to change and I ended up missing strands that I intended to color. The brush just doesn't get all of them. Yesterday when I once again did a color I made sure I went through with the brush, my fingers, and a comb. I was not taking a chance on a repeat. And it worked this time. At least it appeared to have worked when she left. But that's not to say it will work every time. You just cannot promise anything when it comes to color. You shouldn't promise anything period when it comes to hair care. The simplest shampoo can have an issue. That's why I have to pay for insurance when I get my license. But I want to learn. And there's only a few ways to learn. So thank you to those who are letting me learn with them.

Thanks for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~

Day 184, 185, 186 ~ Wiggin Out ~ 5/1/14

Cosmetology School Journey ~ Day 184, 185, 186 ~ Wiggin Out ~ 5/1/14

1293 Hours
97 Guests

Tuesday Classroom Day - Its the start of  Wigs and Hair Additions with Mrs C. We did some theory and then in the afternoon we had to make some braids and then get at least 3 cornrows in the back to sew a weft in. Well the sewing part was furthest from my mind as I had to first conquer the cornrow. I can braid. I can French braid. I can Dutch braid. I can make a samller braid of each. But I'd never been able to get a tiny one that would be a cornrow. So needless to say this was going to be a challenge. This is my last course of study in Rehearsal class before I start repeating a few I've already had. If you've been reading this journal from early on you may know that I've not always had the easiest time with learning things from Mrs C. I love her a lot and there's mutual respect and all that good stuff. But back then it was a bit difficult to learn from her because I have to be hands on more. Sometimes I just can't grasp the task until I have done it and told it was right or wrong. So combine her and this task I've struggled with and I was hoping for smooth sailing. I struggled a bit. I did a few small braids but not what I wanted. And then I went to the nape and went for it. And I made some fairly small braids. Small enough that when I asked Mrs C to come show me the sew in she commented that they might be too small for the fine hair. But she did some sewing and let me do some and I got a weft in there. So mission accomplished.

Wednesday Performance floor - I brought my friend in that I'd brought a few weeks back for a light brown color. This time she wanted red with black ends. Unfortunately we had to go with a mixed red instead of some of the more wanted choices so it didn't come out with as much pop as we'd hoped for. But it is red with black. She also let me get some tweezing and brow waxing practise in.

Today Classroom - We split into groups in the morning and each group made a cap style wig with wefts glued to it. Then in the afternoon Mrs C let those of us that wanted to try it individually give it a go so I did. Back on August 21 a salon owner came for a demo and made the same type of wig. I volunteered when she asked for someone to come help measure a weft. So I got a close up look back then. But now it was my turn to hold the glue and apply it and try not to make a mess. Well it is messy. If you're not used to squeezing that bottle its hard to get it to come out slower. But the students earlier in the day who had made wigs before showed us a trick with using the blow dryer a bit on the glue that you just squirted and then stick the weft to the cap and then blow dry it more. So I moved along fairly well with it. I got the nape up to the occipital area done before we took 2 pm break. Then I came back and gave it the side burn hair and then wound the crown around to the top. Then I rolled a cap piece but another student said to try it a little tighter and rolled one for me to glue on. So I did 99% of my own wig. Which I'm thrilled with. Another I can do that.

I'm booked for the next two days with more people I booked for color as well as Mrs D tomorrow. So I hope to be back by Saturday night on here with good results to post about.

I have some awesome news to talk about but I'm holding back for now. Instead I'm enjoying that I met two good friends on Saturday and no matter what happens I'm going to benefit from just being their friends. I hope to be able to help them too. My main intent with meeting the one friend was to learn and observe and possibly help out if something came up that I could do. And I am happy to say that I'll be back for that the next time our schedules match.

Thank you for reading
I Love You All <3
~ No Tangles ~