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February 23, 2013  by

Can we introduce you to an amazing woman?

Minu taking care of herself and her heart -- working hard on the treadmill.

Minu just six months after open heart surgery

I was flipping through my Facebook feed a few weeks ago and saw a slightly blurry picture of a beautiful woman on a treadmill. I’ve shared the photo with you above so that you can hopefully see what I did. There was something about her smile and the happiness dancing in her eyes. She had a look about her like she was ready for an adventure and her demeanor is not just inviting you to go with her, but daring you to. My eyes then glanced at the text above the photo in the Facebook feed: “Who would have known my mom had open heart surgery 6 months ago! Amazing.”

I nearly fell out of my chair and I had to know more. I asked my friend if she would mind bringing her mother in for a little bit of well-deserved pampering at Salon Khouri so that I could talk to her and learn more about the woman behind the mischievous grin.

Minu is 66 years old. She’s been battling high blood pressure for over thirty years. Over the last several years, she has been struggling with bouts of severe depression. During a visit to her cardiologist in 2012, it was discovered that her left main artery was 98% blocked. The scan also revealed that her aorta was about to tear. This came as a complete shock to Minu and her family. Quick to take action, the family met with the Medical Director of Cardiac Surgery of Inova Fairfax Hospital, Dr. Alan Speir, who soon after performed open heart surgery on Minu to save her life. During recovery,  both of Minu’s lungs completely collapsed and Minu was placed in ICU where she fought for her life. But, as you may have noticed from Minu’s grin, she’s a fighter. Just six days later, Minu was on a path to recovery and was released soon after. She began cardiac rehab sessions every other day for three months, and now visits for follow-ups, and to show off her amazing shape!

A gift that Minu serendipitously received from having the surgery is that her depression is now almost subsided. We both chatted about the possibility of the lack of proper blood flow that could have been a major contributor to her depression. I asked her what she now does to remain healthy and she proudly replied that she exercises thirty minutes a day and lifts light weights to keep her heart and body in shape.

As you may know, February is heart awareness month. Last February, we launched a “color for hearts” campaign at Salon Khouri, donating $5 from every hair color to the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women fund which we are again doing this year. I fell in love with Minu — her passion, her warmth, her teasing smile and playful eyes. We have nominated her as our role model for women’s heart awareness. Her story is remarkable and her determination is absolutely something that we can all be encouraged by.

Minu after a little pampering at Salon Khouri

Minu after a little pampering at Salon Khouri. Photo by Aliyah Dastour of Alimond Photography.

We love our clients and our community. If you ever have feedback on our salon or our blog posts, please always let us know.

Warmly,

Jennifer Elkhouri
co-owner, Salon Khouri

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February 3, 2013  by

Tired of flat hair? Here are a few tips from our stylists …

Photo courtesy of TheHairStyler.Com

Photo courtesy of TheHairStyler.Com

A common question we get from clients is, “How can I keep my hair from falling flat half way through the day?”

We’ve asked a few of our stylists for their top tip for keeping hair full of body and volume. Here’s what they shared:

Kelly recommends a quality shampoo and conditioner that will rinse well from the hair and not leave residue and build up. Try Eufora Volumizing Shampoo and Daily Balancing Conditioner.  And almost every stylist you ask will tell you that it’s not a good idea to shampoo your hair every day as that will actually overstimulate oil secretions from the scalp.

Tessa recommends to her clients to always use a styling product before blowdrying hair. It seems counterintuitive to many, but using product will actually extend your blowdry and will keep your hair full of volume. “The trick is to not slather the product at the root,” adds Jonathan. Yes, this is a no, no. There are very few products that belong at the root of the hair. For most styling products, take a dime to quarter size amount — depending on the length of your hair — and work the product from mid-shaft to the ends in damp hair, then blow dry.

Eufora Powder Lift

Orie recommends a product that you DO want to put to the roots, and that is Eufora’s powder lift. I tried this recently on my roots that were super flat to my scalp, and I was amazed at the difference just a few shakes of this miracle powder made. Powder lift utilizes unique technology that turns liquid into powder, then back into liquid during use. It provides excellent lift at the roots while leaving hair feeling and looking thicker and fuller.

Heidi’s go-to is adding a volumizer to damp hair just before drying, such as Sebastian Professional Volupt spray. “Be sure to give it a good shake before applying, though, as it also has a shine enhancer that you activate through shaking.”

Megan, who gave a most excellent hands-on Styling 101 class last fall, swears by over directing the hair when you blow dry. Sounds difficult, right? It’s not. Simply pretend that you are giving yourself a Donald Trump comb-over while blow drying, but continuously switch the direction of your comb-over to provide volume at the root.

To finish off your style and to keep your hair from falling limp, use the cool blast setting on your dryer. Yes, many a gal has wondered, “what in the heck is the blue button for?” Always finish your style with a shot of cool air from your dryer to lock in the style, tame frizzies, and to add volume to your hair.

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January 6, 2013  by

Have a heart for HART

Our January community effort is to raise money and awareness for a wonderful organization called Homeless Animal Rescue Team (HART). We adopted our dog, Bogart, from this organization in 2000. Our experience with them was amazing. The care they put forth for ensuring Bogart was going to a good home was impressive. We hope that we can help this organization out through our salon’s community giving project. Take a moment to browse their website. Who knows, maybe you will find a Bogart to adopt for your family!

Furry friends rescued by HART

Furry friends rescued by HART

For the month of January, we will be taking donations at the salon for HART. We will also be donating 10% from the purchase of all Jennifer’s Silpada sales as well as 10% from the purchase of all Wella products to HART. To purchase a piece of handcrafted, .925 sterling silver Silpada jewelry for this fundraiser, visit Jennifer’s site and be sure to select Homeless Animal Rescue Team as the hostess at checkout.

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December 16, 2012  by

Tips to extend your blowdry

We hear it so often from our clients: “I can never style my hair the same at home — the blowout never lasts as long as when you do it.”

Well, we are here to tell you a few tips as well as the number one secret to extending your home blowout. Extending your blowout so that you are not washing and using heat on your hair daily is the best way to maintain healthy hair — styling your hair daily with hot tools is one of the worst things you can do to your hair. And, healthy, resilient hair is much easier to work with and will behave far better than dry, damaged hair. So read on to find out how you can achieve the same lasting salon blowout at home:

Tip #1: Product, product, product. There is a reason why one of the first things stylists do when you sit in their chair after a shampoo is to apply product. Product is the number one secret to extending your blowout. It helps shape the style but will also help your hair hold the style. A good stylist should be telling you about the product they are using and why, as well as telling you how much to apply and how. Not every product is a good fit for every hair type.

Tip #2: Use a quality blowdryer with various heat settings. These are usually available for purchase at a salon, and yes, they are higher in price than something you will find at a drug store. But there is a reason why they cost more: they work better. Their motors are better built, and will therefore last longer, but more importantly, they produce higher heat and air velocity than drug store dyers. These two elements, heat and velocity, make all the difference in drying your hair. Currently, the best dyers are professional dryers with ionic-ceramic technology, which will result in smoother, softer, and shiner hair, and in half the time.

Tip #3: Purchase a good dry shampoo. Eufora has a fantastic dry shampoo called Touch Up that we love. The best thing about this dry shampoo is that is comes in tints to help cover root demarcation. Dry shampoo is perfect to use to get another day out of your blowdry.

Tip #4: Section, section, section. This especially goes for you ladies with thick hair. You will not get staying power in your style if you are trying to dry too much hair at once. Plus, if not sectioned carefully, you could be overheating areas of your hair causing damage. Our advice is to purchase at least two quality clips and begin to section your hair as you blowdry.

Tip #5: Tossle-dry your hair 85-90% before sectioning and drying your hair with the round brush. This will speed your blowdry time but will also keep the majority of your hair from direct heat longer. The best way to tossle-dry your hair is by using a vented flat-brush and combing in various directions while drying. Once the hair is 85-90% dry, then section and use the round brush to smooth and dry small sections of the hair.

Tip #6: Use a blast of cool air to set the style. Once the hair is dry, but still using the round brush, finish off each section with a blast of cool air to set the style and tame frizzies.

Following these simple tips will help your blowout to last at least two to three days! All of these tips were covered in our Styling 101 class at Salon Khouri. Be sure to Like us on Facebook to hear about other events offered at our salon.

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December 4, 2012  by

Help Us Help Danny and Eileen

Eileen and Danny are a wonderfully sweet couple. They work hard, they treat people nicely. They had a nice home, and if you told them this past summer that it would be destroyed by one of the most devastating hurricanes to hit the Northeast in over 100 years, they would have laughed and thought you were crazy or drunk … or perhaps crazy and drunk.

Danny and Eileen's Home After SandyBut Hurricane Sandy did come, and she took their home – their entire home, and all of their possessions. Danny was recovering from back surgery at the time. We heard about Danny and Eileen from a friend, Tricia. She told us that she had called to check on her longtime friend after the hurricane and Eileen had explained that they lost everything. Eileen had been on the phone at the time of Tricia’s call, arguing with the insurance company over whether or not the contents of the inside of their home were covered.

That’s when we decided to adopt Danny and Eileen for our December community giving effort at Salon Khouri. It’s our goal to collect money to purchase Lowe’s gift cards for the couple so that they can purchase new appliances for their home once it’s rebuilt.

Let’s help Danny and Eileen out. Let’s help them rebuild their home. Help us show them what big hearts our clients have! We will be helping too. Throughout the month of December, we will be having various promotions to raise money for Danny and Eileen. In addition to the promotions, if you bring a Lowe’s gift card to the salon, we will take $5 off your appointment for gift card donations under $50 and $10 off your appointment for gift card donations over $50.

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December 3, 2012  by

Holiday Hair Tips

We had our first ever Holiday Hair class in November, and hopefully shared a few tips on how to create a simple holiday hairdo at home. Yes, some would call us crazy. Aren’t we supposed to be luring you into the salon to have us do your updos and holiday hair? We aren’t crazy, we are realistic. We understand that not everyone will have the time or the wallet to come in to have their hair coiffed before their event. So, we wanted to share a quick recap of a few things we learned during our event:

  1. Be sure you have the right tools and products. Bobby pins, a thermal protection spray, a good hairspray, and a curling iron or a flat iron (you can curl with a flat iron) are essentials.
  2. Never spray hairspray on your locks BEFORE you use your heat tools. It’s a no-no and it will fry your hair.
  3. The relaxed updo is completely in fashion. Don’t try to put every hair in place. Trust us, that’s almost impossible to do at home.
  4. Pick up some cute accessories to finish off your look. For short hair, you can’t go wrong with a thin, cute headband. For long hair, rhinestone pins look stunning.

We found this GREAT low side but with tutorial on a low side bun at loveMaegan: Image

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November 20, 2012  by

Laid Off? We’re Here to Help.

Being laid off can make you feel like you’ve been kicked in the gut. It’s personal. And it can oftentimes shake our confidence.

Like it or not, studies have shown that appearance does matter, especially when it comes to landing a job. A study by Beth Winfrey Freeburg Ph.D. and Sally E. Arnett Ph.D showed that “prospective employers‘ and interviewee‘s determination of job fit in part are based on appearance.” The same study references over twenty-five  articles and studies that confer their findings. An article in Elle titled, Is Your Hair Holding You Back, reminded us of the line in the ubiquitous film Working Girl where Tess takes a pair of scissors to her ultra long locks and mile-high bangs, lops them off with one fell swoop announcing, “You wanna be taken seriously, you need serious hair.”

So, we’d like to help. Now through December, if you have been laid off and are currently looking for work, we would like to offer you complimentary hair makeover with one of our fabulous stylists, Kelly Stoneberger. We simply ask that you email us your resume as payment. We will post your resume on our Facebook page in the hopes that one of our fans can help.

We believe, and I mean we truly believe, that looking good boosts confidence. And confidence, along with some solid interview preparation techniques, will help you land your next job.

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June 24, 2012  by

Pay it Forward in Memory of Casey

We’ve been so inspired at Salon Khouri by the good works of others. And we noticed that when people do nice things for other people, it makes not only us feel good, and the people we help feel good, but it also (hopefully) inspires others to do the same. You know the term, “pay it forward.”

One year ago today, a friend lost her precious little boy to atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT), a rare form of brain cancer. He was just 6.5 months when diagnosed and fought until he was 14.5 months. You can read more about Casey here. We wanted to do something to help the family, and asked what we could do. Casey’s mother simply asked for people to perform random acts of kindness to honor Casey’s memory. She asked, “Donate anything to any charity in his name, help an elderly person carry their groceries out to their car, mow the lawn for the old lady down the street, anything you may not normally do but can do within your means.”

She also asked that people post what they’d done for others on Casey’s CaringBridge site. To honor Casey on the one year anniversary of his passing, we ask that you do something kind for someone today. To help lift the family during this difficult day, we would love for you to post your random act of kindness to their CaringBridge site.

Thank you, as always, for helping! Our clients are kind, as is evident in the many charitable efforts you have helped us with over the past seven years.

Warmly,

Jennifer and Jonathan Elkhouri

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May 17, 2012  by

Does a perm mean you will look like a poodle?

When I was young, my mom gave me an Ogilvie home perm. I should also mention that my hair was so blonde that a kid in my fourth grade class wrote that I had white hair when asked to write a description of me for a class assignment. Combine the bad home perm and Casper-like hair color and you have what looked like a dead poodle perched on my head.

Needless to say, that was the last tight perm on this gals head. Fast forward a few years (ok, maybe MORE than a few), and we now have an innovative new perm technique that originated Japan called the Air Wave. Forget tight, frizzy locks and think sexy, loose, big, bouncy, soft curls.

We are excited to have this incredible, new curl technique available at Salon Khouri. Orie, fluent in amazing hair, English, and Japanese, is available for complimentary consultations for the service. Unfortunately, the Air Wave is not for all hair types, so please be sure to come in for a complimentary consultation and hair analysis prior to booking the Air Wave. The a la carte service is $145. To a view a menu of our complete list of services, please visit our Hair Services.

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