Favorite Hotline Calls with Doreen Guarneri

Doreen Guarneri, Simply Smooth co-creator and master keratin artist, shares her five favorite hotline calls.

1. Recently, a client called whispering into the phone: "My hairdresser is preparing to do a keratin treatment on my hair. With all the recent publicity in the media about keratin treatments, I want to be sure that the product she is about to apply is being done in the correct order of steps." Hairdressers need to know their products inside and out and be confident with their client. If they are not, the client will sense the lack of confidence.

2. I recently had a hairdresser call our hotline as if she had a major catastrophe. She was very upset, as she had used an l/2 a bottle of our Simply Smooth keratin treatment on a client and wanted to know if this was the correct amount. My questions to her: How long is your client's hair? Is it virgin hair? Obviously, if someone's hair is long as opposed to a short crop cut, you're going to use a lot more product on them. Always use your judgment in relevance to doing a service. And remember, charge accordingly!

3. A hairdresser phoned our hotline and was faced with a client that had two different solid colors on their head. The top was a level 10 and the bottom was a level 6. The hairdresser wanted to know if she could apply keratin over both sections. My reply? With Simply Smooth, we take a hair color approach to texture management. You can use one or two separate keratin formulas on the same client but you must cure the two sections of the hair with two different temperatures when ironing. The more lightened section needs to be ironed at 400 degrees while the less lightened section can be ironed at 450 degrees.

4. A hairdresser called, wanting to do a hair color service and keratin treatment on a client during the same salon visit. However, the hair color was already applied and they were unsure on how to proceed. When working with hair color and keratin, the hair must be clarified before the hair color is applied with the appropriate clarifying shampoo. You don't want to clarify the hair after you've applied the color because you'll pull the color right out. My advice was to have him rinse the hair color out but not shampoo or condition it, as the color will have its own natural cleaners and the keratin will create a ph balance to the hair. Please, know your products before you get started!

5. Recently, a hairdresser called and said that their client's hair felt sticky and "beachy" following the keratin treatment. Why? One of the most common problems that I see in the keratin world is the hair is often not properly cured. When the hair is left sticky, one or two things have occurred. One, the hairdresser used too much product on the hair and it is going to take longer to get it into the hair. Two, they need a hotter temperature and a faster plate on the iron. I compare irons to developers. A ceramic iron is like a volume 10 and titanium is like a volume 40. Very different! When using the proper iron and temperature, you can re-cure the hair to eliminate the stickiness, even if it's the next day.