NOVAHAIR

Giving Hope to thousands of children battling cancer

For Hope Veazey, diagnosed with leukemia at seven years old, HopeCam brought a peace of mind knowing that she could stay connected to her friends and her education. It brought normalcy to a hectic schedule that included many clinic visits and in-patient hospital stays. For Ted and Kristin Veazey, Hope’s parents, HopeCam brought a ray of hope when they were going through the toughest of times.

The mission of Hopecam is simple: to overcome the social isolation experienced by children in treatment for cancer. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it is important to keep the child connected to school and friends. In fact, research by Suzuki and Kato in 2003 shows that children who felt more supported from their classmates during cancer treatment were “less depressed, less anxious, and had higher self-esteem” than children who did not feel supported by classmates.

We are honored to once again partner with HopeCam this January as our community outreach partner and will be donating $1 from each haircut at both our Fairfax, VA and Dulles Landing, VA locations. It brings us so much joy as a Northern Virginia salon able to give back to our community in this way!

Paying it Forward in Memory of Mathias: Our December Community Outreach Partner

Mathias Giordano

This December marks four years since cancer stole Mathias Giordano from his family and friends. We are honored to remember Mathias through selecting the non-profit created in his name, Team Mathias, as our December Community Outreach Partner. We are donating $1 from every haircut from our Fairfax and Loudoun locations this month to this local, non-profit who is making a difference in the lives of children battling cancer. We will promise to do random acts of kindness in Mathias’ name and would love for you to join in using the hashtags #PayItForward and #MathiasStrong.

The heartbreaking yet beautiful words from Mathias’ mom, Roya, are shared below:

“4 years ago today our world changed forever.

I now realize that the hardest part of losing you, wasn’t to say goodbye but to learn to live without your beautiful smile, your hugs, your sense of humor, your love for life, your care for friends and family, your passion for food and your sophisticated taste for beautiful & contemporary things in life.

The emptiness that your dad, Troy & I feel in our hearts and in our home not just today but EVERYDAY is killing us. There is truly no greater heartache than having to live our lives without you! I was convinced that my heart would stop beating when yours did. 4 years later I’m still wondering how am I still breathing? If the broken heart syndrome is as real as they say it is why hasn’t it made my broken heart stop!

Being your mom has and will always be my biggest accomplishment in life. Your strength, determination and your love for life will always guide me to be a better person & my one and only mission in life is to protect your name and your legacy and to make you proud. I want you to keep smiling down on us in knowing that we are making a small difference each and everyday in the lives of those effected by cancer in your LOVING Memory.

We are blessed to have a lot of loving, caring & supportive friends and family who still remember and honor you daily.

Friends please #PayItForward in Mathias’ memory today. Go out of your way to make someone smile today because of Mathias. Make a donation to your favorite childhood cancer charity, Donate blood or platelets, do something small or big just to remember my sweet, beautiful, handsome boy. My soulmate, my Mathias.”

 

We urge you to please learn more about the facts of childhood cancer. Then we urge you to do something. There are some amazing ideas on the Team Mathias site, on their Take Action page. Register with Be the Match, donate blood, sponsor a Team Mathias Care package, volunteer at an event, share facts on your Facebook page.

 

 

Our November Community Outreach: Coalition to Support America’s Heroes

Jsalute-heroes-logoonathan and I, and our entire team at Salon Khouri, are humbled by the sacrifice of those in our Armed Services. They risk limb and life for the freedoms that we get to enjoy each and every day in our great nation. We look at guys like Rob Jones, and what he has overcome after losing both legs above the knee in an IED explosion while he was serving in Afghanistan. It’s astounding to think about his courage, absolute grit and utter determination to overcome injury and become truly inspirational to others. I think we sometimes take for granted just how much these men and women — and their families — sacrifice so that we have the freedoms provided for us in our Constitution. In the 241 years since this nation was founded (and in those years leading up to our independence), there have been countless men and women willing to give up comfort and safety so that generations after them would not have to. We may not be a perfect nation, but we are a very good nation striving to be a better one. And we are a nation founded upon the truth that “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

We are taking time this month to thank those men and women, through the Coalition to Salute America’s Hereos, who have defended and who continue to defect these rights afforded to us in the United States.

Coalition to Salute America’s Hereos is a local non-profit, but one that serves wounded vets from across our nation. Their mission is to help severely-wounded veterans and families of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn recover from their injuries and illnesses, and to inspire other organizations and the general public to participate in this effort.

Coalition to Salute America’s Hereos has many great programs. One of them is is emergency financial assistance given to our wounded veterans to help pay for necessities such as food and rent.

Their Road to Recovery Conference is a life-changing experience that brings severely wounded troops and their families from all across the U.S. together to encourage hope, healing and to continue on the Road to Recovery.

Through their Employment Initiatives, Coalition to Salute America’s Hereos provides job placement through partner organizations as well as part-time employment for the catastrophically wounded, which provides income through customized jobs for these wounded vets.

It is our honor to partner with Coalition for America’s Hereos this November. We will be donating $1 from every haircut from our Fairfax and Dulles location to this amazing, local non-profit.

How We Are Reducing Ocean Waste Plastic

Our hope is to turn this ….

 

Back to this …

We are proud to announce that Kevin Murphy will be re-working packaging on their square-shaped bottles to be made from 100% recycled ocean waste plastic. It’s true; they will be the first ever beauty brand to implement this practice, and they are hoping to start an industry-wide conversation about the heart of the issue: safe packaging disposal. As a salon, we are committed to doing what we can to keep our planet as beautiful as the day it was created. Through their new project, they have projected to save the planet over 360 tons of new plastic each year. We are excited to be a Northern Virginia salon committed to helping with reducing ocean waste plastics through this initiative.

Every minute of every day, one garbage truck full of plastic is dumped into our oceans, which has led to over 5 trillion pieces of plastic currently littering our beautiful water and affecting its sea life. Every piece of plastic that has ever been made – ever – is still here on our planet, and currently only 9% of our world’s plastics are recycled. KEVIN.MURPHY is committed to changing these statistics and reducing plastic in the best way they know how: by cleaning up our oceans and reclaiming that plastic to package their hair products in order to create a circular supply chain. They call this responsible packaging, and we encourage you to get involved.

As part of the KEVIN.MURPHY brand commitment to The Choices We Make, their latest initiative is a reflection of their unwavering attention to our environment through everything they do. This is an urgent call-to-action to help protect our vast oceans and marine life. Through this new initiative, KEVIN.MURPHY is aiming to change the industry standard on packaging.

Second and third images provided courtesy of Luis Murphy and Natasha Childs.

Helping Children Through Child Help: Our October Community Outreach Partner

This October, our community outreach partner is Child Help, the largest non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of child abuse and neglect as well as at-risk children. With a home in Culpeper County, Child Help gives hope and much needed services to children who so desperately need healing and love.

The Alice C. Tyler Village in Lingum, VA, is a private, nonprofit, psychiatric residential treatment facility located in Northern Virginia. The Village provides a clinically sophisticated therapeutic program utilizing an interdisciplinary approach specializing in the treatment of children and adolescents with mild to severe trauma or neglect, psychiatric disorders, and neurodevelopmental disorders.

The Village brings the light of love and healing into the lives of countless abused and neglected children, and those suffering from psychiatric and behavioral disorders. Their unique location on a 270-acre horse farm provides a nurturing treatment setting with a variety of therapy resources. Children live in separate home-like cottages based on age and gender. Each child has daily opportunities to pursue a variety of recreational activities: horseback riding, community outings, hiking and biking trails, rope courses, team sports, Go-Kart track, swimming, and a children’s choir.

We are honored to partner with Child Hope this October and will be donating $1 from every haircut we do in both our Fairfax and Dulles locations to this amazing non-profit!

KILLER.WAVES

by Kyrsti Ashmall

WHO IS THIS PRODUCT FOR: Those with fine hair that requires definition and volume. This product is weightless, invisible and is as light as air. For coarser curl management, check out KILLER.CURLS.

The newest CURL on our block is here: KILLER.WAVES. This weightless wave-enhancer is your one-stop-shop to add volume, texture and definition for your locks, and will give you that effortless “mermaid hair” you’ve been dreaming of. KILLER.WAVES was created with the curl-haired girl in mind, as each and every curly and wavy head of hair is unique, and no two heads are the same.

Our new KILLER.WAVES uses the same technology that is used to thicken and lengthen eyelashes in order to make your waves feel and look fuller, weightlessly. Infused with Baobab Seed Extract, Hibiscus Flower Extract and Yerba Mate, our favourite new wave-maker moisturises and maintains your curls and waves while fighting frizz, adding strength and offering overall protection and manageability for your ‘doo.

Just as curly and wavy hair is personal, so is the combination of products needed to keep it just so. KILLER.WAVES acts as the foundation product to lift and volumise your hair, giving you the flexibility to create a routine that is as unique as your curl.

Watch our video below to learn more about KILLER.WAVES!

It’s better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness: DC Candlelighters

We are honored to partner with DC Candlelighters, our August Community Outreach partner. DC Candlelighters is an all-volunteer organization providing emotional, educational, practical and financial support to families of children fighting cancer. The name Candlelighters comes from the ancient proverb: “it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” DC Candlelighters strives to provide a light in the darkness because we believe no family should face the uncertain world of childhood cancer alone.

DC Candlelighters was founded by a group of mothers whose own children fought cancer, to give families facing the devastating discovery of a child’s cancer something they had wished for themselves – someone who has “been there” and understands the fear, helplessness, and financial and family pressures that grow out of a childhood cancer diagnosis. The DC Candlelighters Board of Directors consists of parents who have had a child with cancer and professionals who have worked with families who experience childhood cancer. The non-profit serves all children with cancer and their families, long-term survivors of childhood cancer and their families, and bereaved families who live or receive treatment within 50 miles of the Washington DC, metropolitan area.

We will be donating $1 from every haircut we do in August from both our Fairfax and Dulles salons. We also wanted to share with you information about their biggest fundraiser of the year: Dancing Through the Decades. The event will have hors d’oeuvres, beverages, entertainment, dancing and a silent auction! All proceeds raised that evening will benefit DC Candlelighters so they can continue their programs and events. Purchase tickets before August 31st and receive a special price of $60 per ticket! Your ticket includes entry to the event, dining and two adult beverage drinks.

Ingredient Spotlight: Kakadu Plum

by Kyrsti Ashmall

Wave goodbye to dry hair with our HYDRATE regimen, which is formulated with a blend of powerful antioxidants and vitamins to nourish and moisturize your hair. Our ingredient spotlight this month is on Kakadu Plum, a super-fruit native to the Northern Australian Territory.

Rich in nutrients, Kakadu Plum contains a blend of powerful antioxidants and is known as the world’s highest source of Vitamin C. To the taste, this fruit has a sweet flavor with a pleasant bitterness at the end — but please don’t eat our HYDRATE-ME.WASH, RINSE, or MASQUE!

In addition, the Kakadu Plum found in HYDRATE-ME.WASH, RINSE and MASQUE is considered eco-friendly, as our source of this ingredient has developed innovative practices that ensure a sustainable approach in the extraction and manufacturing of this super-fruit. Our source practices green chemistry innovation, including a sustainable extraction process with friendly solvents and waste limitation. In addition they work on biotechnology processes to offer renewable sources so as not to disrupt biodiversity, and they use bi-products from the food industry to limit waste. Among many other practices, they also protect endemic species by using harvest cultures and encouraging replanting.

Together with the other ingredients in our HYDRATE regimen, Kakadu Plum helps to smooth the surface of the hair and lock in moisture. To learn more about our HYDRATE regimen, click here.