Beauty

Hair Care Lessons At Suite Tart

Taking it back to the basics

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The thing is, we think we know how to take care of our hair. Wash it, brush it, style it, repeat… right? But it turns out there’s a lot more to hair care at home than that – and of all the haircuts in all the gin joints in all the world that I’ve had, not one stylist has ever given me a home care lesson. Not until I went to Lulu Locks’s Hair Care 101 at her West Side salon, Suite Tart. Her motto is “be a bombshell” – and just like you can’t wear red lipstick well on dry lips, you can’t have bombshell hair if it’s not healthy.

I was lucky that the snow stopped everyone else from joining the class, so I got a solo lesson for the first in the Tart’s new series of hair classes. The next one is Better Blowdries ($20) on April 2. (For the record, that’s the beginning and end of my list of good things about the snow this winter.) I’m a regular at Suite Tart to get my curly hair blown straight, so I know the drill – except this time, Lulu sat me down in her chair instead of the sink. “We’re going to brush your hair,” she said, explaining that frequent, gentle brushing is the key to a healthy (flake free) scalp. “That 100 brush strokes a day thing is for a reason. Your curls stop scalp oil, the best natural moisturizer, from distributing evenly to the ends of your hair. So you’ll look like Diana Ross for a minute, and then you’ll see the difference.”

And I have to say, I did. She dry brushed my curls out with a boar bristle brush, which is best for detangling, and frequent sprays of Alfaparf’s Cristalli spray, which smooths and moisturizes. Did I say dry brushed? I meant painlessly dry brushed, which any curly girl knows is a miracle worthy of sainthood. Then, during my wash as Lulu repaired my dry winter damage with Alfaparf Semi di Lino Frizz Control shampoo and butter mask, she asked me, “see how there aren’t any tangles to wash out? A pre-brush is good for your scalp, but it’s also great for your wash, too.”

As she blew out my hair using Semi di Lino Frizz Control cream, Lulu went over the basics of choosing brushes. It turns out, there are different ones for different kinds of brushing. (For the record, I own precisely one and I hate it. Every time I buy a new one, I hate it for a different reason.) She explained that while boar brushes are great for detangling and smoothing, they’re best for dry hair. The ceramic vent brush by KareCo that she was using to blow out my hair is a better choice for wet hair, and doesn’t have any of those embellishments on the handle that snag your hair. Lulu finished my hair with more of the moisturizing Cristalli spray, explaining that lots of moisture, both natural and from a bottle, is the best way to prevent styling damage. I especially needed that at the end of this near-endless winter. I finished my lesson with a promise to dry brush once a week, and with a pop of color from a retro-fabulous headband from Blvck Market on Block Island. It was exactly the pick me up I needed.

Suite Tart
150 Broadway 272-8278  
April 1 Lulu’s Birthday at the Dean Hotel, A fundraiser for Gloria Gemma
April 2 Better Blowouts Class

Suite Tart, Providence, lulu locks, west side salon, providence monthly, julie tremaine hair care, blowdry

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