Many celebrities over the years have worn wigs, toupees, and hair extensions to accentuate a certain style, to wow their audience at an award ceremony, and to eliminate the long wait for hair to grow out naturally. Extensions are quick and easy; one can feel like Pamela Anderson running down the beach with wavy long locks of sexiness.
Extensions give instant gratification with longer, more luscious, and a fuller head of hair. We no longer have to accept the fact that our hair is too fine and flat to achieve the look we want or, perhaps, that our hair grows slower than others. The beauty industry today offers possibilities limited only by your imagination. Extensions are another tool of the trade to enhance one’s outer beauty. No need for countless medicines and magic remedies, a full head of extensions can be put in sometimes under less than 40 minutes and you can leave the salon feeling like a new person.
Balmain, an established well-known Parisian brand that started out in the 1940’s as a respected fashion house, has extended the brand, starting out with wigs and toupees as well as extensions as early as the 1960’s, evolving into what it is today: a glamorous haute couture clothing line as well as a distributer for 100% human hair originating from India and China serving celebrities and the girl next door. Where else than the famed Cinta Aveda Institute, located in the heart of San Francisco, to host a Balmain workshop?
At the Balmain extension class held at Cinta Aveda, Julie Johnson was the teacher. Julie is an entrepreneurial woman who has traveled all over the world. She visited Paris, France to meet with official representatives from Balmain where classes and demos are held, and went to Holland where the headquarters are located. There, she obtained the title of Master Trainer for the United States.
She began the class by informing us about the history of the brand as well as where the hair originates from and how her own business grew. Julie and her team then started demos on the different hair extensions that Balmain offers and what their purpose are; each client might need different systems to achieve the look they desire. Julie and her assistants checked in with each student as we learned about the brand and how to apply their line of extensions. Not only was it a fun class to attend, but it was empowering to know that we can always further our business if we are ambitious enough to succeed in the industry.
The class ended with everyone excited to start talking about extensions and hopefully start practicing what we learned, building a loyal clientele of extension “lifers”.
