by William McAllister | Jul 6, 2016 | hair, News
5 Simple Solutions for Keeping A Manageable Mane in Miami’s Humid Climate
While we all love summer, the season is home to myriad of beauty challenges we often struggle to overcome. Between unsightly tan lines, painful sunburns and enough bug bites to make a girl go insane, perhaps the most daunting challenge during the muggy months is fighting off frizzy hair.
Not to worry. With a bit of preplanning and strategic beauty routine swaps, it is possible to tame a misbehaving and frizzy mane.
We’ve tapped our top talent for their simple solutions for taming tresses in the South Florida humidity:
Spring For a Goldwell Kerasilk Treatment
Kick off the summer with smoother, more manageable strands by treating yourself to a Goldwell Kerasilk treatment. The miracle, two-component system redefines traditional keratin treatments, by making them suitable for all textures. Gone are the days of one uniform look. From curly to pin straight, depending on the way your stylist builds the formula, Kerasilk can be used to make your everyday style a little less frizzy. Best of all, the treatment lasts up to five months – enough to get you through summer and then some!
Sport a Humidity-Friendly Style
Braids are your new best friend and the secret weapon for fending off frizz. Avoid flyaways by securing your style with a touch of flexible hold wax (nobody likes hairline frizzies). DIY with one of the many YouTube tutorials out there, or (better yet) leave it to the professionals and drop by McAllister Spa’s StyleLab for a quick and simply hair braid for a budget-friendly $25 style.
Embrace Your Natural Hair Texture
Try working with your natural hair texture, not against it. Since hair has natural memory, you can blow, curl, and straighten ”˜till the end of time, but your style will immediately revert to its natural texture the moment it’s exposed to humidity. Save yourself time and a huge headache by going au naturale. For a chic, beachy style, spritz damp strands with a salt spray (try Kevin.Murphy HAIR.RESORT.SPRAY), divide hair into four sections, twist from root to end and tie back into a low bun. Let hair loose once it’s dry to reveal effortless, South Beach approved waves.
Practice Good Technique
If you absolutely must blow dry your own hair (never recommended but we knows it’s inevitable sometimes), be sure to do so with proper technique. A good blowout starts with the right brush. Look for a round option with dense, natural, uneven bristles, which will provide enough tension on the hair to provide smooth end results. Pull hair taut with the brush and point the dryer down the hair shaft to avoid fluffing up the cuticle. Blast with cool air to set the style and spritz with a light hold hairspray (try Kevin.Murphy SESSION.SPRAY) to lock in your hard work.
More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
by William McAllister | Apr 28, 2016 | hair
Beach Body? Check. Swimsuit? Check. Beachy Hair? Hmm…
While winter 2016 in Miami Beach saw the height of the lob trend (we loved every second of it, don’t get us wrong!), with summer quickly approaching, lengthy locks are about to see their moment in the limelight. Perfect for tossing into a pool-ready braid, or sporting effortless, beachy waves, long strands are on every lady’s warm-weather wish list. Only issue? Waiting for hair to grow can make watching paint dry seem like an exciting activity by comparison. Not to worry! We’ve tapped our our best hair stylists to provide five fool-proof tips guaranteed to grow locks to luscious lengths by summer – sayonara, hair envy!
Fool The Eye with Styling Tricks
There’s no denying that the “growing-my-hair-out” stage can be (very) awkward. Load up on decorative accessories including eye-catching hair bands, chains, pins and wraps and get creative with a few new transitional styles. We love these styles for a seamless transition!
Trim Your Hair and Trim It Often
Your hair’s ends have been put through the ringer and all that styling, coloring, and more can take a serious toll. Prevent ends from splitting and breaking prematurely by seeing your hair stylist for a trim every six weeks. The longer you wait, the more visible the damage to your hair, and – consequently – the more length you’ll have to chop off.
Color With Care
Calling all hair color junkies – you too can grow your locks to luscious lengths thanks to Olaplex. Where traditional hair color penetrates the shaft and alters the bond structure of the strand, Olaplex, a color additive used at McAllister’ Miami Beach, utilizes polymers (similar to those used in transplant surgery to prevent rejection) to maintain bond structure throughout the process, leaving hair strands in their natural state from start to finish. The result? ZERO damage and longer-lasting hair color.
Show Your Scalp Some Love
Dirt, oil, and dead skin cells congregate and form a barrier on the scalp (yuck!), making it difficult for new hair growth to break through. Shampoos with peppermint and tea tree oil create a tingling sensation to stimulate blood flow promote hair growth. Alternately, a daily two-minute scalp massage has a similar effect and is equally effective at promoting scalp health and increased circulation.
Pop Some Pills
Proper nutrition is the key for a healthy, shiny, and strong mane. While a well-rounded diet provides the majority of your body’s necessary vitamins and minerals, added supplements have been proven to fortify and accelerate hair growth. Our Miami Beach hair stylists recommend stocking up on these three key players:
• Folic acid – stimulates scalp cell turnover and hair growth
• Biotin – promotes healthier texture by protecting against dryness, scalp flaking
• Keratin – increases elasticity of the hair’s cortex to prevent breakage
So Let’s Book Something!
Are you ready to get started on your hair growth journey? McAllister’s top stylists and best hair colorists are available on demand to answer any and all of your questions. Request an appointment online here or schedule a live stream consultation here.
More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
by William McAllister | Mar 24, 2016 | hair, News
Cop Their Cut This Spring Season at Miami Beach’s Best Hair Salon
From the runways to the red carpets and from the offices to the spring break beaches, the Spring 2016 hair scene is awash with new cuts and styles, including a few revamped versions of classic favorites. Pulling inspiration from a few of our favorite style superstars, McAllister’s seasoned stylists predict the four “must-have hair cuts” of the spring season. Which is your favorite? Tell us in the comments below!
Fierce Fringe
Looking to freshen up your style for spring around South Beach? Bangs are the quickest way to instantly revamp your look with minimal effort. A welcomed evolution from the mod, blunt bangs of yesteryear, this season’s fierce fringe features styles that skim the eyelashes, framing the face and accentuating your fabulous cheekbones. Fiercey fringe lends itself to a “grown-out” feel and should seamlessly blend into long, textured layers. For a universally flattering look, try a bang that’s shorter at the centermost part, and gradually gets longer toward the temples. Not ready to commit to full-on fringe? Try a clip-in pair to test drive the look before taking the leap of faith.
Textured Bangs
Curly girls, rejoice – textured fringe is in! While textured fringe is a sexy way to embrace your natural hair and add an instant “cool girl” element to your look, it’s important that you talk to your stylist here at McAllister, voted one of Miami’s “Best Curly Haircut Salons,” about wearing your bangs naturally before making the cut so he or she can manipulate strands in a way that will be flattering for your face shape. For curly girls especially, this can mean not cutting hair like an actual bang section at all.
Single-Length Bob
Short hair is having a major moment in 2016, with a cheekbone-grazing crop weighing in as the “It Girl” cut of the season. The versatile style can be worn on a multitude of textures. A blunt bob styled sleek and stick straight reads modern and high-style, while a natural wavy texture offers a nod to the romantic, beachy styles seen gracing the Spring/Summer 2016 runways. The key to crushing this cut is making sure ends are in tip top shape. Keep strands healthy with a routine trim (every eight weeks is recommended) and a weekly deep conditioning mask. We recommend KEVIN.MURPHY HYDRATE-ME.MASQUE (available in-salon), which contains Kakadu Plum, Seaweed and vitamin-charged treatment capsules, which explode on contact to deliver hydration and moisture. To use, simply apply treatment to freshly washed hair, massage into hair below the ear, leave for 5-10 minutes and rinse thoroughly. Or if you prefer to leave the treatments to the pros, book a customized hair conditioning treatment with one of our New Talents in the StyleLab (also recently voted Miami Beach’s best blow dry bar experience).
The Polished Lob
While the lob is no newcomer to the style scene, this year’s variety offers a completely new take on a classic cut. For spring, textured, tousled waves are taking a hike, making way for an upgraded style, which can only be described as polished, sleek and super sexy. The new lob, defined by its long layers and blunt edges, offers all the sexiness of traditional long hair with an added modern, cool-girl twist. The key to killing the polished lob is maintaining high-shine strands. After styling, lightly mist locks with a finishing spray, like Kevin Murphy’s Shimmer Shine (available in-salon), to instantly enhance shine, and illuminate your hair color.
Ready to Make the Cut?
That new women’s haircut is a click away – so if you’re ready to change it up with a haircut that will take you from Spring Break straight through the season, Miami Beach style, just follow these simple instructions. Request an appointment online here or schedule a live stream consultation here. To see additional information relating to the best haircuts found anywhere in Miami, check out our spa menu here.
More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
by William McAllister | Feb 9, 2016 | hair
Valentine’s Day is arguably the most romantic day of the year. Whether heading to Lincoln Road for a hot date, spending a cozy night in, or hitting South Beach with girlfriends, a light and loose romantic hairstyle fits the bill for any V-Day occasion. From free-falling locks to more structured styles, “I woke up like this” seems to be the overarching hair trend for 2016.
In the midst of Awards Season, there’s no better place to turn our heads for beauty inspiration than the red carpet. Here’s a few of our favorite celebrity styles to inspire your Valentine’s Day ”˜do:
1. The Half-Up/Half-Down
Our Style Star: Amy Schumer, 2016 Golden Globe Awards
Give your man a front row view of those pretty peepers with a half up/half down ”˜do a la Amy Schumer. The comedian scored big in the beauty department at the 2016 Golden Globe Awards with a perfectly-coiffed style, reading retro with a touch of modern texture.
- What to ask for: Replicate Amy’s lust-worthy look with piece barrel curls, gathered above the ears, and twisted and secured at the back of the crown. Volume and height on top add sophistication and glamour to an otherwise timeless style.
- Pair it with: With hair pulled away from the face, it’s the perfect time to put your eyes on display. Opt for an elegant cat eye accented by a shimmering silver pop of color on the inner corners to make eyes appear bigger and brighter.
2. Perfectly-Tousled Tresses
Our Style Star: Kiernan Shipka, 2016 SAG Awards
What man doesn’t love running his fingers through long, silky-smooth strands? Actress Kiernan Shipka slayed at the 2016 SAG Awards with tousled waves, which were equal parts beachy and bombshell.
- What to ask for: Take a page out of Kiernan’s book this Valentine’s Day and ask your stylist for loose, deconstructed waves using a large barrel curling iron. Leave the last two inches of hair uncurled for a look that reads less pinup, more beach babe.
- Pair it with: Nothing compliments this understated style like a bold brow. To achieve the look, use a brow comb to brush hair upward, following the direction of growth. Use short, quick strokes with a brow pencil to fill in sparse areas.
3. Old-Fashioned Chignon
Our Style Star: Eva Longoria, 2016 Golden Globe Awards
An elegant yet touchable updo is the epitome of a romantic Valentine’s Day ”˜do. A go-to for the ever-fabulous Latina fashion icon, Eva Longoria sported a low-riding chignon for the 2016 Golden Globe Awards. The celeb’s center part and piecey bangs offered a modern interpretation of a more traditional style, perfect for either a wild night in South Beach or an intimate candlelight dinner.
- What to ask for: “Chignon” is essentially a fancy term for a bun. Ask for the style fastened loosely at the nape of the neck with plenty of twists and tendrils to up the romance factor.
- Pair it with: With hair secured behind the head, an updo offers the perfect opportunity to add a fun pop of color to the face with a punchy, vibrant lip. Candy apple red is the color of the season.
More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
by William McAllister | Aug 9, 2015 | hair
Everyone know that summertime is the perfect opportunity to lighten locks, but the beachy blonde trend of years past is taking a backseat this summer to give “bronde” a moment in the spotlight. Trending on celebs like Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Cara Delevingne and the latest convert Ashley Tisdale, bronde is a universally flattering, bespoke color, blending honey blonde and brunette shades.
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More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
by William McAllister | Jul 7, 2015 | hair
Beat-the-Heat Summer Hairstyles
The summer hair struggle in South Florida is real. We’ve all been there – spending hours brushing, ironing, curling, spraying and smoothing strands into the perfect position, only to walk outside and have your carefully-crafted creation blow up into a hot, frizzy mess.
All too familiar to South Floridians, humidity takes a toll on your tresses by penetrating the hair shaft, causing swelling of the outer layer (the cuticle) and altering the interactions between keratin proteins – all of which bring about a headful of frizz.
Not to worry – with a few simple fixes, it is possible to have a good hair day during the warm-weather months.
Here are our stylist’s favorite tips and tricks for sleek summer strands:
Stay Hydrated
“Dehydrated hair is extra porous and absorbs moisture in the air at a rapid rate. To keep your hair healthy, hydrated and fuzz-free, treat yourself to a deep conditioning mask one or twice a week. Apply the mask to towel-dried hair and let sit for 15 minutes before rinsing thoroughly.” – Mark Holloway, Creative Director
“Alcohol-Free” is the Way to Style
“Avoid styling products with a high alcohol content, which are known to induce swelling of the hair cuticle. Choose an alcohol-free formula or skip their application altogether.” – Eddie Altaweel, Senior Stylist
Go Au Naturale
“Cut back shampooing to once or twice a week. The natural oils produced by your scalp are surprisingly fantastic frizz-fighters. If you can’t bare the idea of not lathering up on a regular basis, opt for a co-wash, which gently cleanses hair without stripping essential oils.” – Laura Bernal, Senior Stylist
Test Drive a New ”˜Do
“Summer is the perfect time to test out a festive braid. These intricate styles are meant to be tastefully messy, so a flyaway here and there is actually a good thing. Our Style Lab can fix you up with a one-of-a-kind braid in a matter of minutes. Stop by and visit us today!” – Destiny De La Paz, Senior Stylist
More than a decade ago, William McAllister hatched an idea to disrupt the beauty salon industry in Miami Beach. He contemplated what salons once were in years gone by. He yearned to recapture their unique contributions to both personal beauty & community. In the past 10 years, he’s forever changed the industry, and according to him, he’s just getting started! He draws from a unique background – encompassing everything from neurophysiology, business to firefighting- and built South Beach’s busiest & most reviewed beauty concept in South Florida.
