Joico Trend Workshop on 13-14 June, Surabaya

 

JOICO Trend workshop during 13-14 June in Surabaya. We got participants from Surabaya, Makasar Jember and Malang. 2 full days of hands-on Cut and Color workshop and what more can I say; all the participants has achieved the requirements with extraordinary results. Job well done, guys.

My Story..... Part 9 (Last)

The Champion always stand in front of the 1st Runner-up, so I stand behind. :p

Up on the stage, I was kneeling down busy setting up my kit bag and when I stood up; I took a glance at the main entrance. There, standing right next to the main entrance, someone I never expected to see. It was my father. It was a real shock to me as I didn't expect to see him at the competition venue. He just stand there and without any expressions on his face. All I did was to give him a smile. I reckon that anyone would feel motivated when they have any family members supporting them during a competition. However, I didn't have this kind of feeling in me. I guess it might be due to the reason of   both my father and me have not spoken to each other since I joined hairdressing.

Just about this time, the MC announced the start of the competition. When I was preparing to start my haircut, I looked towards the door and I saw my father walking away. He did not stay and watched the competition. There's a sting of sadness in my heart but I knew that I must do my best in order for him to change his opinion on my career.

The music started pounding louder and louder with spotlights flashing around. The adrenaline was awesome. It might be due to the exposure of the last competition that I was feeling totally at ease with no more jelly legs and trembling hands in the Grand Finals. As the time ticking away, I stopped for a while and started to looking around at the rest of the contestants. Oh my God, they all seems so focused at their haircuts and I noticed a few of them were creating outstanding hair.

I was enjoying myself so much in the Grand Finals that I was smiling at anyone that my eyes laid on. Time passed quickly and I finished my haircut within the time frame. As usual, the MC announced that the time was up and we were told to stop our haircut and to leave the stage. The judges did the usual thing and within 20 minutes, we went back up on stage again for our blow-dry segment.

During this Grand Finals, everything seems to go on smoothly and fast. It might be due being more composed and relaxed. We waited for about 45 minutes before we were called back on stage. 10 of us, the finalists for the Man's Cut and Blow-Dry category. I was so nervous as well as excited. I was happy to be in the Grand Finals and at that moment, winning anything did not come into my mind. Over the P.A system, the MC announced: " Dear Contestants, congratulations for being in the Grand Finals. I will announced the names of the 7 contestants who will receive the Finalist award; that's means the remaining 3 contestants standing on stage will be the top 3 winners. "
The sound of drums rolling hit the air................ every one were so excited and there were so much cheering and whistling.  In fact, I told myself; it's good enough for me to have come this far in this competition. Each time when the MC announced a contestant name, I am always prepared to be called out but each time it wasn't me. The first 6 names were already called out and both me and my senior were still on the stage. I looked over to my mentor and he flashed a victory sign to us. He knew that our salon will at least win a top 3 award. Over the air, the MC said:" The Last Finalist Award goes to ..(drums rolling)........... Win Cut House................(Drums rolling).............Contestant No........(during this moment, I am prepared and ready to step forward to receive my Finalist Award) Drums continue rolling ........No.2..... Mr Sunny! HUH???????????? It's wasn't me, it's wasn't my name being announced. My senior turned to me and gave me a surprised and unbelief look. He turned away from me , shaking his head and walked forward to collect his Award.
The MC proceed to announced:" and for the 2nd Runner-Up Winner for the Man's Cut and Blow-Dry category goes to.......(drums rolling) .......contestant No..... (Drums rolling).(I am prepared and ready to step forward to receive my award)......... No. 9 ...Mr Daniel Kok from XXXX Salon.. HUH??????? it's wasn't me again?
This time, I saw both my mentor and his brother were throwing punches into the air. They kept flashing victory signs to me and cheering me.
"And now, we have 2 Contestants for the Man's Cut and Blow-Dry category left on stage. Who will be the Winner for this event?" said the MC. There were so much shouting of our names from the crowd. The feeling was beyond description; now I knew how contestants for Miss Universe feel when they were waiting for the winning results.
The MC announced: " And now!..... I will announce the name for the 1st Runner-up of the Man's Cut and Blow-Dry category........(drums rolling)....is.....(Drums rolling)....... [something funny happened in my mind.... during this moment; I was telling to myself.... please don't call my name... I want to be the Champion] Contestant No. 3...... Mr Thomas Foo from Win Cut House. There were loud cheering and I happily walked out to receive my Award despite wanting to be the Champion. The Winner for year 1991 Scissors Award; Man's Cut and Blow-Dry Champion is Mr Andy from Top Cut salon. We took some photos on stage and went on to received interviews from reporters.

All the contestants had gathered together with the judges to receive comments and feedback and I found out that I was penalized for pre-cut as my model's hair was not long enough. I was deducted 5 points from my score and one of the judges told me that such penalty is unwanted and it's a shame to lose out in this way for the Champion position. Nevertheless, I am still happy with the result and it was all luck that got me through so far in this competition.

The next morning, my parents were happy to see my Awards and my father finally talked to me. He told me that he will try his best to support my career and he's proud that I got myself a 1st Runner-up position. However when I told him that I lost due to the penalized points, he gave me a eye piercing look. :p ... I didn't stay in my mentor's salon for a long time after the competition. My seniors made my life there even harder after I won the award and I could not take the verbal abuse anymore and I chose to leave the salon; and from there, I started my adventures on my chosen career. 

To all budding hairdressers out there, do not give up easily. The road may be tough, it takes a little bit of luck, good guidance and lots of hard work to succeed; I am sure every one can achieve their dream regardless of any obstacles. Most importantly, is to find yourself the right hair academy or a good mentor

Thank you all for reading my story. I will end it here in Part 9 as I do not want to bore you all any further with my story..:p

Please stay tune to my Blog as I will continue to post articles or any events. Thank you for your support...CHEERS!

Ammonia Free colors? Think about it! ( in Bahasa Indonesia)

Saat ini, banyak yang sedang membicarakan tentang pewarna rambut yang “amonia free” . Jadi apakah arti sebenarnya dari : untuk penggunaan pewarna rambut “amonia free” tetap harus dicampur dengan Hydrogen peroxide . Apakah ini tidak terdengar aneh ?
Saat ini, banyak yang sedang membicarakan tentang pewarna rambut yang “amonia free” . Jadi apakah arti sebenarnya dari : untuk penggunaan pewarna rambut “amonia free” tetap harus dicampur dengan Hydrogen peroxide . Apakah ini tidak terdengar aneh ? Seperti yang kita ketahui , terdapat banyak industry pewarna rambut kami yang “ammonia free” dengan “acidic in pH” yang tidak perlu dicampur dengan hydrogen peroxide atau activator. Sesungguhnya pewarna rambut jenis “amonia free” ini bagus jika dapat digunakan secara langsung dari kemasan . Tanpa ammonia, pewarna rambut tidak dapat mengangkat atau merubah warna asli rambut manusia .Pewarna rambut jenis ini digunakan untuk depositing warna pigmen rambut dan sifatnya tidak bertahan lama pada rambut. Warna pigmen rambut akan berkurang setiap kali kita mencuci rambut .
Mari kita kembali ke topik awal yaitu tentang pewarna rambut “amonia free”. Pewarna rambut “amonia free” yang membutuhkan hydrogen peroxide untuk oxidize adalah mengandung ethanolamine atau dapat disebut juga dengan 2-aminoethanol atau monoethanolamine ( atau disingkat dengan ETA or MEA ) . Ethanolamine juga biasa disebut dengan monoethanolamine or MEA. [ Ethanolamine atau Monoetaholamine tidak berwarna dan berbentuk cairan seperti air , hygroscopic liquid dengan bau ammonia yang sangat lembut . Sebuah Zat kimia yang digunakan untuk pembuatan kosmetik, surface – active agent, emulsifier, pharmaceuticals, dan plasticizing agents ; a gas –scrubbing agent untuk penyerapan dan menghilangkan H2S dan CO2 dari refinery dan natural gas streams ; carbon dioxide dan pembuatan ammonia ]

MEA hampir tidak berbau dan tidak mengeluarkan bau yang menusuk hidung seperti ammonia. Pada saat kita menuangkan pewarna rambut yang mengandung ammonia ke dalam mangkuk dan dicampur dengan hydrogen peroxide , emulsion mulai oxidize dan ammonia mulai menguap sehingga mengeluarkan bau yang sangat tajam dan menyengat . MEA tidak memberikan efek bau yang menyengat pada saat dicampur dengan hydrogen peroxide dan inilah yang membuat customer dan para hairdresser berpikir bahwa pewarna rambut yang mengandung ammonia lebih agresif daripada pewarna rambut yang mengandung MEA. Pada pewarna rambut yang biasa digunakan mengandung 1-4% ammonia dan pewarna rambut dengan jenis “ammonia free” mengandung hampir 12% MEA. MEA adalah zat yang lebih agresif pada rambut daripada ammonia dan biasanya pewarna rambut yang mengandung MEA mempunyai efek kusam pada saat warna rambut mulai luntur.
Pada kenyataannya , beberapa produk jenis pewarna rambut yang menggunakan zat ammonium hydroxide dan mereka berusaha untuk membohongi para hairdresser dan para pengguna dengan mengatakan bahwa pewarna rambut tersebut “ammonia free”. Jadi permasalahnnya adalah either kita menggunakan pewarna rambut ammonia free yang tidak memerlukan developing agent atau lebih baik kita tetap menggunakan pewarna rambut yang biasa yang mengandung ammonia rendah. Dan pada kenyataannya masih ada beberapa jenis pewarna rambut yang menggunakan ammonia serendah 1-3% pada produk mereka.
Apa yang saya coba untuk jelaskan adalah : sebagai professional hairdresser itu merupakan tugas kita untuk mendidik diri kita dan memberikan saran dengan jujur dan tulus kepada client kita terhadap product yang dibutuhkan untuk rambutnya. Jangan diperdaya oleh perusahaan besar yang mencoba untuk membutakan keprofesionalan kita dengan trik marketing yang digunakan oleh mereka .Kita adalah profesional dan kita tidak dapat berpura-pura tidak tahu . Berhenti mendukung perusahaan-perusahaan yang membodohi kita para hairdresser.

Check out this link for more on "ammonia free" colors.. https://lorealinoa.wordpress.com

Ammonia-Free Colors? Think about it first!

(Will try to get this posted in Bahasa Indonesia soon)

Currently, there are a lot of hype and hoo-haa on ammonia-free permanent colors in the market now. So, what really is it all about of the so called; "Ammonia-Free" colors that still require to be mixed with Hydrogen peroxide in order to work? Doesn't it sounds suspicious? Ask yourself this simple question on why does ammonia free colors need hydrogen peroxide?
As we know, there are a lot of Ammonia-free colors in our industry that are acidic in pH and does not require to be mixed with any hydrogen peroxide or activator. In fact, these kind of ammonia-free colors are so convenient that it can be used directly out from the tube. Without ammonia in them, these colors cannot lift or change our natural melanin in human hair. These colors are meant for direct colors pigments depositing only, thus these range of colors do not stay long on the hair. The direct color pigments will be washed out excessively every time when the hair is being shampoo.
Let's get back to the so called "ammonia-free" colors. These so called "ammonia-free" colors that requires hydrogen peroxide to oxidize; contains Ethanolamine, also called 2-aminoethanol or monoethanolamine (often abbreviated as ETA or MEA).Ethanolamine is commonly called monoethanolamine or MEA. [Ethanolamine or Monoethanolamine is a clear, water-white, hygroscopic liquid with a mild ammoniacal odor. A chemical intermediate in the manufacture of cosmetics, surface-active agents, emulsifiers, pharmaceuticals, and plasticizing agents; a gas-scrubbing agent for the absorption and removal of H2S and CO2 from refinery and natural gas streams; carbon dioxide and ammonia manufacturing.]

MEA is almost odorless and does not produce a pungent smell as strong as an ammonia. When a color cream that contains ammonia is being squeezed out into a color bowl and mixed with a hydrogen peroxide, the emulsion starts to oxidize and ammonia is released and starts to vaporize, thus releasing the pungent smell that is choking. MEA does not have this effect of pungent smell when mixed with hydrogen peroxide and this led to end-users or even hairdressers to think that the colors that contains ammonia are more aggressive to the hair than colors that contains MEA.  Traditional colors contains about 1-4%of ammonia, while so called "ammonia-free" colors contains almost 12% of MEA. MEA is more agressive on the hair than ammonia and usually color lines that uses MEA have the effect of the hair color "brown-out" after the colors fade.
In fact, some products uses Ammonium Hydroxide in their color line and try to pass off as ammonia free to hairdressers and end users. As a matter of fact, either we uses real ammonia free colors that does not need a developing agent or it's still better to stick to our traditional color that contains low ammonia. There are some color line that use as low as 1-3% of ammonia in their colors.

What I am trying to express is; As a professional hairdresser, it is our duty to educate ourselves and to truthfully advise our clients on their hairdressing needs. Do not be mislead by those big products company who try to blind our professionalism through some form of marketing works. We are professionals and we cannot afford to be ignorant. Stop supporting those product companies that lies to us; hairdressers. 

 Check out this link for more on "ammonia free" colors.. https://lorealinoa.wordpress.com

Lamaran Anda?

(This post is in Bahasa Indonesia)

Pernahkah anda bertanya mengapa lamaran anda untuk posisi hairdressing selalu ditolak ? Meskipun anda sudah melampirkan surat pengalaman dan semua penghargaan yang sudah anda dapatkan dari menghadiri kursus .
Atau meskipun anda sudah mendapatkan pekerjaan tersebut tapi tidak mendapatkan gaji seperti yang and harapkan?
Itu pasti menjadi pertanyaan yang membingungkan untuk anda bukan ? Ya pasti !
Pengalaman kerja merupakan sesuatu yang penting untuk wawancara kerja, tetapi yang terpenting adalah riwayat hidup anda . Apa yang diinginkan oleh seorang pewawancara adalah kepribadian anda. Semua penghargaan adalah untuk menunjukkan dedikasi anda dalam meningkatkan ketrampilan . Anda dapat membayar dan mengikuti kursus sebanyak yang anda bisa tetapi semua itu tidak dapat membuktikan seberapa baiknya anda selama wawancara kerja . Yang dibutuhkan bagaimana anda menunjukkan seberapa baik kepribadian anda .
Tunjukkan ketrampilan anda dengan membuat portfolio kerja anda . Mengumpulkan portfolio merupakan hal yang lebih penting dari semua penghargaan yang telah anda miliki. Anda dapat melakukan dengan cara :

A. Miliki camera digital (tidak perlu harus camera yang mahal ,tetapi bila anda mampu mengapa tidak) dan mulailah untuk memotret semua kreasi yang telah anda lakukan .

B. Cetakkan hasil karya anda pada kertas foto yang berkualitas dan simpan di dalam map ( warna cover berwarna hitam ) atau simpan di laptop. Bawalah serta hasil kreasi anda pada saat anda melakukan wawancara kerja , semua hasil karya anda akan menjadi topik pembicaraan selama melakukan wawancara kerja .

Penampilan pada saat wawancara kerja :
1. Rambut
.. Warnai rambut anda
.. Tata rambut anda dengan baik
2. wajah
. Untuk wanita , aplikasikan riasan yang sederhana . Hindari melakukan wawancara kerja dengan wajah yang terlihat pucat .
. Untuk pria , pastikan wajah anda terlihat bersih . Bersihkan minyak dan keringat pada wajah anda sebelum melakukan wawancara kerja .
3 Pakaian
. Pakailah pakaian berwarna hitam
. Anda tidak perlu memakai pakaian yang mewah untuk sebuah wawancara kerja . Anda bukan melakukan peragaan busana. Cukup dengan memakai Kaos hitam yang sederhana , kemeja warna hitam , celana panjang berwarna hitam , rok atau celana jeans.
. Hindari memakai celana pendek
4. Sepatu
. Memakai sepatu berwarna hitam
. Hindari memakai sandal
5. Peralatan
. Selalu ingat untuk membawa serta peralatan anda . Anda tidak akan pernah tahu kapan saat anda akan diminta untuk melakukan demo .

Wish you success!

My Story..... Part 8

Time ticking very slowly and without knowingly, the MC announced for all contestants for the Man's Cut and Blow Dry category to come on stage. The results for the Top 10 finalists will be announced soon. The whole room was filled with anxiety and excitement. I believed every contestant at this moment were so nervous and hoping that they are able to get into Grand Finals.
One by one, the MC called out each of the name of the contestants who made it to the Grand Finals. One of my Seniors name was called out and he had made it to the Grand Finals. We were so happy for him and we cheered so loudly that I thought; we looked like a bunch of monkeys jumping wildly around the room. As the number of finalists increased, the situation started to get tensed. The MC called out: " The 8th finalist goes to contestant no. 11, Mr Thomas Foo from Win Cut House. I was completely stunned and all I did was just to stare at my mentor. At this time, my model reacted faster than me; he pulled me along and both of us walked towards the front of the stage. All the audience were cheering and whistling very loudly, this feeling is indescribable. Still, I can't believe I had made it to the Grand Finals.
All 10 Finalists were called out and we were all standing on top of the stage with our models and Letter of Invitation to the Grand Finals. The first thing I did when I got off stage was to run to the public phone and called home to break the news to my mother. She sounded so happy on the other end of the call and she kept giving thanks to God.
I hung up the phone and walked towards my mentor and my seniors. All my seniors failed to qualified for the Grand Finals in the other categories except for that one senior who qualified for the Man's category together with me. My mentor told us that the Grand Finals will be 1 month away and need to start searching for new models and creations. Sad to say, the rest of my seniors didn't even congratulate me on my qualifying but instead they kept telling me that I was super lucky and I got a model with a good and nice hair texture and hairline. I happily acknowledged all that and I totally agreed with them.

The next day, everything was back to usual. There was no hype about the oncoming Grand Finals and I'm back to my usual salon cleaning chores. In fact, I didn't really went to search for a new model, as I reckon that my model's hair will out grow very fast in a month time. I decided to take the risk and I told my model to shampoo his hair twice or thrice a day; hoping that his hair will grow faster. ( is that a myth or what?) :)
Time passed very fast, in a twitch of the eye; the Grand Finals is here. On the day of the hair competition, I felt confident and in fact; the only thing that I worry about is that my model's hair might not grow long enough for the competition. I'm sure that I do not want to get some points deducted as a pre-cut model. The rest of my seniors did not attend the Grand Finals and only my mentor and his brother came along to support both me and my the other Finalist senior. The atmosphere of the Grand Finals was totally different from the Qualifying Rounds. There were a lot more audience in the Grand Finals as it was held in the Grand Ballroom of the hotel. The Grand Ballroom was decorated like a grand wedding and 8 course dinner were served. 
The procedures were the same and I waited patiently for my turn. However, the good thing about this time is; I didn't get "jelly-legs". After the Ladies' category, the MC announced for the Man's Cut and Blow-dry Finalists to get ready. As usual, our names were called out one by one to go up stage. When my name was called out, I walked towards the stage with confidence and no trembling of legs at all.
Up on the stage, I was kneeling down busy setting up my kit bag and when I stood up; I took a glance at the main entrance. There, standing right next to the main entrance; someone I never expected to see........

My Story..... Part 7

The MC announced that we had 10 minutes left for our hair cut and at this point of time, I had only completed about 50% of my hair cut. Pressure started to step in and I tried to increase my speed of cutting. That was when the worst fear of mine which I thought of everyday prior to the competition happened...........
I gave out a loud :"OUCH!" I had cut my finger! It was a very deep cut and my blood keep oozing out. It was a disaster and the pain was quite unbearable. In fact, before the start of the competition, I had passed my model some plasters and I told him to keep it just in case I cut my finger. I guess my prediction came true. I told my model what had happened and he offered to put a plaster for my cut; however I thought it doesn't looks good if I stop my cutting and get my finger plastered. I decided to continue my haircut without the plaster and all I could do is to keep wiping my bloodied finger on my model's hair. :p

Finally, I finished my hair cut with three minutes to spare and I was pretty satisfied with the result of the haircut I created. Soon enough, the MC announced:" Contestants, your time is up! Stop all your cutting and please leave the platform." That was when the judges came onto the platform again and did the final examination on our hair cut. It took the judges about 20 minutes and it gave me the time to wash up my bloodied finger and get it nicely plastered. In fact, I no longer felt nervous or trembling; in fact I felt so relaxed and for once, I really felt professional. I felt like a celebrity hairdresser whenever I walked past or mingle with the audience.

I met my mentor at my holding area and he told me: " Tom, you did very good. That was a great haircut and I am sure you will get into the finals". I felt happy to hear from my mentor saying those encouraging words, but deep in my heart; I told myself not to daydream, I will not win. Now it's time to get back on stage to complete our blow dry and style for our creation. We were given 15 minutes to complete that segment and it was a breeze. We were judge again for the the complete look for our creation. Our group segment was over and we watched the last group of contestants fighting out on the stage. The judges need to pick 10 contestants out of 60 contestants for the Competition Finals 30 days later.

I went to join my group of seniors for a drink and smoke and they all seems so confident and full of smiles. One of my senior (Albert) asked me: " So, Thomas; how's your competition?"
I replied: " Ya, so-so, nothing impressive; but it's kinda good experience and exposure for me."
Albert replied: "It's okay, you are just a shampoo boy and cleaner; you should be thankful that you were able to compete here." But anyway, don't forget to come early and clean the salon tomorrow morning." after saying this, my group of seniors and their friends started to laugh.

I just walked away with my drink and cigarette and headed to a quieter corner of the ballroom. I hate this kind of feeling, I may be just a junior or cleaner in the salon, but I guess all human beings have their pride and ego. However, being looked down by my peers and friends, does really motivated myself to go all out and accomplish what I should learn or do. It really felt like ages sitting there alone waiting for the next group of contestants to finish. Time ticking very slowly and without knowingly, the MC announced for all contestants for the Man's Cut and Blow Dry category to come on stage. The results for the Top 10 finalists will be announced soon...........