Search Results: Devri Velazquez
If you are like me, you are a busy person who is trying to fit wedding planning in with your daily activities. I am in graduate school and preparing my wedding, so my time is very limited and can’t spend hours in front of a computer doing research to find the right hairstylist.
Although I did not know (and still don’t know!”> what hair style I want for my wedding day, I knew I wanted someone who could do all types of curly hair. My mom, my sister and I are planning on doing our hair together, but we all have very different types of hair so whomever works on us should be skilled with tight and loose curls.
I started my search by asking my wedding coordinator for a few names. Unfortunately, the woman whom she suggested and whom she trusts the most was already booked for that day. I moved down the list and booked an appointment with another contact my coordinator gave me. The stylist was very nice and seemed to be knowledgeable but I was not fully convinced that she would be the one I would want to have doing my hair and make-up. I should have mentioned that I love make up and although I am not a compulsive obsessive bride, I am striving for flawless work when it comes to my wedding hair and makeup (as are most brides, right?”>.
Tips for choosing a stylist
- Allow plenty of time before your wedding day to select a stylist. The ideal amount of time is about 6 months. This is strongly advised in case you decide to grow out or crop your hair and then need time to settle into your new style.
- Ask for referrals. Friends and family members you trust should be able to steer you toward at least one reliable and talented hairstylist.
- Find friends, coworkers and even acquaintances with hairstyles you really like and ask them for referrals. Feel free to ask strangers about their hairstyles, as well! They’ll probably be flattered to hear how much you admire their hair.
- Compile a list of four or five hairstylists and their phone numbers. This step helps you stay organized when calling and interviewing potential stylists.
- Check out one or more of the hairstylists on your list. One of the best things to do is to observe stylists on Saturdays, when they’re often their busiest.
- Schedule a consultation with each stylist. Be sure you know what the consultation will include. For example, some consultations include a cut and style, while others do not. Find out the exact charge, if any, for a consultation.
- Make an initial appointment with the wedding day stylist you finally choose. Express any concerns you have about your hair, and do not let him pressure you into anything you don’t want.
- Maintain a respectful and productive long-term relationship with your wedding day stylist. Be clear about dates and scheduling, and treat her with respect and courtesy.
Since I was not successful with the coordinator’s list, I turned to my curly friends to ask them about a hairstylist. Most did not know one since they are not getting married anytime soon and the one friend who is tying the knot three weeks before my wedding has very different hair so this approach did not work either. After feeling a bit frustrated, I decided to use the Internet to find my “perfect” stylist. Recently, I have learned that consumers’ reviews are very powerful since people tend to express their true feelings about a product or service when they are online.
So I searched for all-inclusive salons (hair and makeup”> that specialize in bridal sessions. This is where I found Keep Austin Gorgeous. I loved the fact that they have before and after pictures with all kinds of brides with different hair types. This tool allowed me to have a vision of what I could look like the day of the wedding. I visited the place and realized that the studio is comfortable and nice, although a little bit far from my hotel.
The hair stylists—who are also makeup artists—are courteous, reliable and do great work, according to the online reviews. What I like the most is the fact that you can have the entire place for your group if you have a party of five or more getting their hair done. This means that I can bring mimosas, fruit, light snacks and anything else I want to the salon while enjoying a nice time with my family and girlfriends. What else could I have asked for?
I am looking forward to enjoying my wedding and I am very excited about spending a fun time with my loved ones while getting my hair and makeup done in such a fun place. This will definitively complement our Mexican/Colombian wedding, which will be by far the most exciting wedding anyone has ever attended!
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Ana Paula Cota
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| Ana Paula Carneiro Cota, a senior member of the Devachan Salon and Departure Lounge Team, has found the perfect way to meld her passion for people, communication and beauty by becoming a hairstylist. | |
Q: I’m a sophomore in high school and I have (I think”> 3a to 3b hair. I used to fight with my curls constantly, and they would always win. Eventually, before freshmen year in high school, I got layers. My hair is long, and I found a good enough method for my hair. My problem is that I want my curls a bit looser without having to chemically treat them. Is this at all possible? I am so desperate! I want to have no-frizzz, defined curls.
Ana Paula: The best way to keep your curls elongated naturally is to leave more water and more moisture in them. Apply your styling product in the shower, and use a very lightweight towel afterward. To keep your frizz factor low, keep hair hydrated hydrated and don’t touch it until it’s dry.
Q: I am a 2b-2c (wavy to a loose ringlet”>, naturally dark brunette. Just recently (2 weeks ago”>, I highlighted my hair to a sandy brown/blonde color. Now it is so dry it won’t even wave, let alone curl. I love the color, but I hardly recognize my hair. Any advice? My hair looks like hay.
Ana Paula: Let’s hope that the level of damage isn’t permanent. It could be that your hair is temporarily stressed out from the coloring process. If so, you can do an intense treatment at a salon or at home. Try our new Heaven in Hair Intense Moisture Treatment. If you’re doing it yourself, keep a hot towel around your hair with lots of a great conditioner for 30 minutes to an hour. Make sure to also leave conditioner in your hair after you rinse the treatment. You may also need a hair cut to clean it up.
Q: Any tips so that I don’t walk out of the house looking like a wet dog? I diffuse with cold air for about ten minutes each day. Any longer leaves my curls frizzy with little hairs sticking out, which is unbecoming. I can’t use a towel or even the t-shirt that I plop with to blot out moisture or else the curls will be upset and frizzy as well. Help me!
Ana Paula: Have you tried doing your hair at night? A lot of my clients find that they get better curl that way as long as they allow some time before they go to bed for it to dry. Make sure you have enough product in it. If you can’t do it at night, make sure not to touch the hair even if using a dryer. Not having enough product in it also creates frizz.
Q: Is it possible to have a Deva cut, yet retain your length? When I had mine cut last fall, I lost several inches I didn’t really want to. But figured I had to in order to get a proper Deva cut. Now I’m wondering if I could have kept the length, and I’d like to know what I should tell my stylist the next time I get it trimmed. Before the cut, it was a few inches away from mid-back/bra strap, which was my goal.
Ana Paula: A Deva cut doesn’t mean your hair will get shorter. Make sure that you communicate to the stylist what you want, and that you trust the person enough that they will listen to you. I’ve given haircuts where the length hasn’t changed at all visually, and I worked more on the layers.
Q: My hair seems like it’s losing its curl. I was a 2b with occasional 2c moments, and my hair started relaxing during the last two months. The only days I got good curl were during days of moderate to high humidity in warmish weather during this time. I now feel like a barely-2a. I don’t mind occasional 1c/2a, but I just hope this isn’t permanent. How can I get my hair back to normal?
Ana Paula: It may be that your hair is getting too hydrated. Use a lighter moisturizer. Maybe even dilute your conditioner. Also, remove more water from your hair.
Q: I’m curious about the best way to conditioner wash. How do you really know how much of your conditioner to rinse out? I think I might be rinsing out too much, but I feel like if I leave too much in, my hair will feel gummy or sticky instead of smooth and soft.
Ana Paula: It depends on your hair. If you have fine but porous hair, dilute the conditioner but keep all of it in. If your hair is porous and coarse, don’t even dilute it. Keep it full strength. For low to medium porosity, it’s okay to rinse more of the conditioner out. If you have the right product with no silicone or synthetics, you won’t see any build up.
Q:I’ve got the Devacurl productsl But how do I apply the gel? Obviously, I do it soaking wet. But I’ve tried raking upside down, raking it right side up. But my hair hates being raked. Whenever I rake, the clump factor goes from 87 percent down to like 3 percent or so. And that 3 percent is frizz city. Yet if I don’t rake and go straight to scrunching, the curls that didn’t get broken up are thick and frizzy and look more like dreadlocks than pretty ringlets. So raking and scrunching are a no-go. Is there any other way to apply a gel?!
Ana Paula: Make sure you’re using the right products in the right order. Smooth the hair first with conditioner, placing it as you wish with your hands. By the time you apply the gel, you just need to scrunch.
