Melani at Salon Inertia

This was a blast and turned out so vibrant and gorgeous!!

www.vagaro.com/melatsaloninertia.com

Love it when the client’s like, “I dunno, whatever you want… Sunset colors maybe ?”
GAME ON. 😍😘

www.vagaro.com/melatsaloninertia

(Service booked was the “I don’t know what I want color”
and what it ended up being was the “dual process tie dye hair” and added a haircut.)🩷

Something I have noticed as a veteran hairdresser—-
When someone has “dandruff”…

Technically there are two things, and people think both are “dandruff”. Usually it’s not actually dandruff and they’re trying to fix it but… making it worse.

I’m a hairdresser and I remember those “Head and Shoulders” commercials back in the day where they showed “flakes” on someone’s shoulder (not actually dandruff) in their ads. As a result, people get dry scalp and think they need dandruff shampoo…
Not the case.
Dandruff is a fungal.. oily… chunky.. thing. Medicated shampoos (ones marketed for dandruff) are made for this condition. That’s what head and shoulders is actually for. They DRY OUT the oily icky fungus. That’s what they’re for.
(Side note- dandruff shampoos and some hair loss shampoos are actually the only ones the FDA regulate, actually, since they claim to fix a medical issue.)

Most people have dry scalp from not drinking enough water, low humidity in their environment, allergies, etc.
They buy “dandruff shampoos” because they probably remember those dumb commercials lol…
And it doesn’t work. Because it dries their scalp even more. They just don’t know.
Some have psoriasis or another skin condition- and that is apparent if the “dry skin” is on their ear and forehead, other parts of the body.
Some have an allergy to something they eat and don’t realize (sometimes as simple as “eggs”) and it’s a mild allergy so it manifests this way.
Some may have an allergy to a hair product they use.
Winter is a big trigger in my area because it gets really dry as it gets cold and just like people experience dry, itchy legs or skin… They don’t really realize the scalp needs moisture too.

The first thing to try if you have white dry flakes.. is changing your shampoo and conditioner to a good Vegan formula.
Vegan products are all natural so they’re less likely to cause issues in your skin or give migraines from smells.
Choosing a little more moisturizing formula should help. Use the matching conditioner, let it sit.

-wash your hair less often if you are a daily washer.
- try drying with a blow dryer less. (Hot air= dry hair= dry scalp)
- drink more water. Eat more soup. Liquid in your body!!

If you are concerned with having greasy hair, that’s a whole other conversation actually- and maybe we will get to that at another time.
A vegan formula will help this too, but just rinse it well, and maybe don’t get the heaviest formula you can find. (Keeping it simple for the sake of this post.)

Anyway, the point is- don’t buy dandruff shampoo when you actually have dry scalp. And always ALWAYS put the conditioner on your whole dang head.
Yes, the conditioner will get on your ends where you think you need it most (to detangle) but the stuff is formulated to nourish your scalp too!

And if it doesn’t get better with all these things, see a dermatologist. But the stuff they prescribe usually is hell on your actual hair/ hair color.

I’m not a doctor. But I have this conversation all the time at work, especially in winter for sure.

Oh and if you want to know a good option to try- I really like Loma’s “moisturizing shampoo” and “moisturizing treatment”. It’s in a blue bottle. You barely have to use any, even with my long thick curly hair.
But this isn’t an ad for that. It’s a PSA. 🩷

Melani at Salon Inertia
St Louis MO

www.saloninertia.com
www.Vagaro.com/melatsaloninertia

Remembering those who fought for our freedom and their families today.

Sometimes you get someone to the most gorgeous blonde… Takes a long time to get to the point where the blonde just looks perfect even when they have show up for their (every 5 week) regrowth appointment….
And they come in and say they want to go back to their natural. 😭🤯
-Usually I’d tell the client “no way, you’re gonna think about it reeeeeal hard before we do this.”

But with this one, I initially said this, but she acknowledged that she’s just “so picky”, (her words) she didn’t like how in some lighting she would see ‘yellow’. We had already discussed lighting differences in the past… I told her NO ONE else sees yellow… But she’s still picky!🤣

And she’s busy… Health issues, work and school… It was even hard to get to appointments because of driving restrictions.. The upkeep was a lot for her.

It honestly pained me, because her “before” was still gorgeous—even with a bit of regrowth.

Whatever… It was time to make a plan.
• Repigment the hair properly so it wouldn’t look hollow or fade out quickly
• Maintain dimension, keeping the ends slightly lighter so we didn’t lose all that hard-earned blonde
• Account for porosity to avoid uneven or patchy fading between appointments

She wears her hair straight all the time so there is no “hiding lines with barrel curls” like a lot of googled “ombré” and “balayage” photos do.
(Not that curls aren’t great- it can be used as a crutch in photos though)

She couldn’t fully picture where I was going with this, but she trusted me—and we rolled up our sleeves and got to work.

I filled her hair with yellow first, working in small sections, then layered a light brown over it to create depth and blend into the lighter ends. After processing, we washed, dried, and applied a final layer to refine the tone and bring everything together.

This took about 5-6 hours start to finish—because good color takes time.

The result is rich, dimensional, and healthy. We’ll reassess in 8 weeks based on how it wears and fades.

I care about giving great hair—and setting both of us up for success at the next appointment. Continued hair health is important. Grateful for clients who trust me and trust the process. 💜

www.Vagaro.com/melatsaloninertia

Went out of town this weekend and met up with my youngest sister to do a Taming System on her gorgeous long hair…
Annnd forgot the actual product to tame it on my desk at work. 😖
However, I was able to do a nice deep conditioning treatment, cut, and blow dry and I didn’t forget my curling iron!
She was so gracious about it.
Either way, I get an excuse for more time with her again soon!😂
Her Birthday is today and she’s such a gorgeous, beautiful souled human. Look how shiny that hair is! 🩷