You are most welcome to visit our haircare vault. We ask that you leave your scissors at the door, wipe your feet before entering, and leave with an abundance of knowledge to assist you in growing the most beautiful hair you can!
These were some questions that Long Haired Rennie asked when she visited a GM salon in Dallas in June 2003.
On the bangs theory - George Michael says that the longer hair is, the stonger the root - it's the same as weight lifting; if you don't work the muscle, it won't get stronger. Longer hair works the muscle/root more, and shorter hair doesn't. Also, the shorter the hair, the shorter the growth cycle. All hair grows for a period of time, falls out, and starts over again. The shorter the hair, the shorter the time period in between the growing and falling out. Someone with 3" of hair will have the hairs fall out often and grow back in - someone with 40" of hair will have a much longer time of growth before the hairs fall out. When someone has bangs/layers/etc., the roots of the shorter hairs are not as strong as the roots of the longer hairs, and the shorter haired areas tend to thin out (I can attest to this, as when I had bangs, my front hairline was extremely thin and I could clearly see my scalp from the front - I'm growing my bangs out, and now the hairline is much thicker!). George Michael says that if you let the bangs grow out, the roots will get stronger, and the hair surrounding the area will fill in (i.e. new growth). People with thin hair and bangs/layers can try growing to al the same length and see if it makes a difference.
On parting on the right - Bill agreed that not all people's hair grows from left to right - a large percentage does, but not all. Parting one's hair on the right side (if it grows from left to right), or the left side (if it grows from right to left) gives the hair a slight natural lift, and looks nicer overall. Also, parting one's hair in the middle can attribute to thinning of the hair along the part, especially if the hair is parted and pulled back tightly, as several ballerinas like to do.
On silicones - this product literally coats the hair like shellac - it's simillar to plastic. People that use products with silicones may like the effects simply because the coated hair feels very smooth and looks shiny - however, the coating on the hair doesn't let moisture in (hence the need to use clarifying shampoos - to remove the coating and attempt to let moisture into the hair shaft). Bill says that henna is the same way - people that henna their hair can't have the 1 hour treatment done, since the treatment won't penetrate the hair shaft.
On the treatment itself - Bill says that the difference between the treatment and your basic conditioner is that the molecules in conditioner simply coat the hair, and the molecules in the treatment actually penetrate the hair shaft. He's not sure what other GM salons are talking about when they say "15 minute treatments" or "12 minute treatments", since the only treatment done takes a full hour to actually work - 20 minutes to open the hair shaft, 20 minutes to penetrate the hair shaft, and 20 minutes to close the hair shaft. Over time, the treatment actually helps "rebuild" hair and restore it to its best condition (a note - it doesn't "heal" split ends - nothing will actually "heal" split ends - the ends must be removed to prevent further breakage).
On split ends - when a strand of hair splits, you're getting 1/2 (or 1/4 or 1/6 or some fraction) of the hair shaft breaking off from the shaft itself. A hair shaft sort of has scales (think fish), and splits are part of the hair coming off. Splits should be trimmed with good scissors (just the tips) right above the split, perpendicular to the shaft. Left alone, a split will continue up the shaft, and break off at some point, leaving you with a length of hair that's not complete.
