I don’t know who thought this stuff up but now you can wear nail colors inspired by Spiderman like Shatter the Scales, Your Web or Mine?, Into the Night, Coil Me Gwen-ever, Just Spotted the Lizard, My Boyfriend Scales Walls and Number One Nemesis. Oh, actually I do know who thinks these up – it’s OPI, the premier professional nail company.

If you aren’t into Spiderman, maybe you’ll want the Minnie-Cure inspired by Disney’s Minnie Mouse, you know Mickey’s gal pal. How about a confetti light pink called Nothin’ Mousie ‘bout It, or a magenta shimmer of color called I’m All Ears? I fell for If You Moust You Moust, a hot pink, and The Color of Minnie, a great red polish.

But don’t just wear color, consider the new creams and shimmers of a pure lacquer nail app. These look great, last for weeks, and have zero drying time. I hate to wait for my nails to dry so this is my personal fav. There are lace, floral, fishnet, snakeskin, peacock, reptile and Parisian crèmes.

And there are shimmers of waves, sequins, geometrics, zigzags, laces and girly glams. These create your special look. They are like jewels for your nails on hands or feet. And you don’t have to choose just one pattern for all your digits. How about a mix and match combo? Get your individual choices on.

Did you even know you can cure your toenails under a lamp so they last and last while you show them off in the season’s newest open-toed looks?

OPI colors have gone everywhere! The “Let’s Make a Deal” TV show gave away a year of mani/pedis and a 100-bottle collection of OPI’s premium polish. Fashion designer Jason Wu had his pre-fall collection models wear OPI’s Got the Blues for Red polish. And one OPI fan created paint-by-numbers art using 40 OPI colors. Now that’s nailing it!

Don’t have time to read all the fashion mags, then you’ll want to know that SHAPE called OPI’s Lemon Tonic Massage the best foot cream. Seventeen called Be a Dahlia…Won’t You? a “Bestie”! Natural Health magazine and ESSENCE called OPI the Best Nail Polish Brand, no doubt because it’s Formaldehyde, DBP and Toluene-free.

Your professional salon can help you with these great looks! And most of them carry the OPI products. We also have them at our academy and our students are sporting the latest Nail It looks for spring and summer. Stop in for a hot stone pedicure and check them out.

Reprinted by permission from Facets Magazine, a publication of Stephens Media Iowa.

Onward and upward!

I want to thank you again for the wonderful ipad mini you gave me through the drawing. What an unbelieveable gift. Thank you!! Your generousity is tremedous and I am truly grateful for your kindness. I have been a customer of PCI since still located at 4th and Grand. I am happy to play a part in your students’ learning experience…& look forward to many more years of services there. Again thank you for this generous gift. It is truly appreciated and enjoyed it.

Keep up the great job of making your clients

Sharon Thornton

You’ll be seeing lots of color in the fashions for spring – brights, florals, fun patterns – what fun! Midriffs are exposed with halter-like stops over skinny skirts. White is white-hot. And skirt lengths can be up, down and all around – flared, skinny and circled.

Look for fancy and fun tracksuits as the casual look of the season. Nothing baggy and shapeless need apply. Skinny pants and tailored jackets that look sleek and slim are in vogue.

Soft fabrics are in for day dresses and evening wear. If it flows it’s right. Delicate fabrics and patterns are ready for your spring summer look. And if you like the edge in your clothing you’ll find it in asymmetrical tops, bottoms and accessories. There’s even a bit of the sixties thrown in.

If all this sounds crazy, it isn’t. Designers have to design for women you want their own sense of style not what someone said they should wear. So more than ever there is variety and flexibility. Get out there and check out what’s in the stores. It’s not just in New York on the runways. It has already trickled down to us.

Fashion leads with fabrics and couture and then there is the frosting on the cake – the professionals who create hair, makeup and nail art for every look.

And the hair styles are beautiful. Gone are the wild and crazy looks that have been the rage for the last few years on the runways. We’re seeing coiffures that are a look back at the past and a look to the future. There are updos that are controlled but with a bit of softness. There are rolls that harken back to the forties but offer an asymmetrical edge. And braids are still beautiful atop the head but are looser not taut.

Hair color just doesn’t stop! And with the improvements product companies have made you can have beautiful and intense colors like never before. No ammonia, no odor and up to 100% gray coverage can be had today replacing older types of color. Redken’s Chromatics is an example of this.

Makeup is set for a new look to go with the clothes and hair. The angel look is soft with subtle pink lips. The look almost shimmers like a dream. The eyeliner tipped up at the end creates a cat’s eye effect that is steamy and mysterious and magic. If you over-tweezed your brows you can use brow powder not liner for a diffused look.

And nails are still HOT – the accessory everyone can wear. Nail art makes a comeback with strong colors and designs on one or all nails. Don’t worry if your dramatic nail look doesn’t match everything you wear. They’re art and art doesn’t match it enhances and excites.

Visit your salon professional or future salon professional to see style books full of these new looks!

Reprinted by permission from Facets Magazine, a publication of Stephens Media Iowa.

I’ve been hanging around salons my whole life. I have worked the front desk, sanitized combs and brushes, swept up hair after haircuts, removed end wraps from perm rods, washed, dried and folded dozens of towels, cleaned color bottles, brushes and bowls, and cleaned my family’s salons as a part time job in high school. I decided I was not a good fit for the world of a stylist.

And yet here I am the co-owner of a beauty school, a former multiple salon owner, a consultant to salons, schools and distributors, and the daughter, sister, aunt and mother of cosmetologists. The truth is that while I don’t have a license and I don’t do the work of these professionals I can’t stop hanging around them. I enjoy their energy, their passion for the work of making people beautiful and especially their devotion to serving others.

When I ask prospective students in the admissions process why they want to be in this profession nearly all of them say they love making people feel good about themselves. That’s a powerful statement from an 18-year-old who may not have even figured out she can make a living doing that.

It’s what Becky Nelson, a stylist who once worked with Finesse at Welch Avenue and Green Hills locations used to tell the newbies. “If you don’t love serving others don’t go into this career. If you’re too good to do this work serving others you’ll never make it here,” Becky would say. She loved serving clients.

I love the passion of the four educators from Trend Setters School of Cosmetology in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, who spent today (February 20) at PCI Academy learning from our educators how we grow people for a living, how we help future industry professionals find their way into the business of beauty.

I love that today one of the graduates of our first class (June 20, 1978) came to a continuing education class to continue her professional growth. She was Suzy Fitz then and now works are JC Penney salon and serves clients at Northcrest.

I love that they never stop learning and I love to learn from them. And because I had the good fortune to work with my mom as my boss, my mentor, and my friend, I am forever grateful to all of the Finesse and PCI staff that worked with us in these companies. I appreciate every one of them – too many to name. When my mom said “the girls” my sister and I had to listen to figure out if she meant us or the staff.

So when you experience the services of these licensed experts in hair, skin, nails and massage enjoy the experience and their passion for fashion, fun and service. It’s a gift beyond price what they do for us as they help us move through life just a little more beautiful and happy with ourselves. They are there for us at our weddings, our child’s first haircut, our daughter’s prom, and finally to comfort us on our losses. So I guess the real reason I work in this industry is that we change lives daily and love doing it.

Reprinted by permission from Facets Magazine, a publication of Stephens Media Iowa.

We are the educational staff of PCI Academy and have more than 100 years of experience working in salons and spas and in our academy. We teach hair, skin, nails and massage therapy.

We consider it a privilege to be asked to write this column for you and will do our best to share what we know, to search out the latest information and to challenge your thinking about beauty.

Let’s start with skin! Skin is the largest organ of the human body and yet it gets very little attention. Now as the New Year begins make it your resolution to learn more about your skin and to actually help it be more beautiful.

Simple steps to keeping your skin in good condition include the basics. Moisturize daily, not just your face, your whole body. Develop a skin care routine for your face. Keep in mind that your face doesn’t end at your chin, it includes your neck and any skin exposed above the neckline of your shirt. If you currently have no routine, start one step at a time.

Step 1 – REMOVE
Twice daily cleansing is best, but if you can only commit to once a day that’s better than nothing. When you cleanse your face, your cleanser should not leave your face feeling ‘tight’- that will be too drying on your skin. Your goal with cleansing is to remove dirt, excess oil, and makeup.

Step 2 – BALANCE
After cleansing, the next (often skipped) step is toning. The purpose of toning is to rebalance your skin. Most toners also help with product absorption and aid in moisturizing.

Step 3 – HYDRATE
The key to finding a great moisturizer is experimenting until you find what’s best for your skin. Invest in a few travel sizes to help you determine what you like best. Keep in mind that you will probably have to change moisturizers with the seasons. What works well in the winter months may feel too greasy or heavy in summer. Make sure you use a moisturizer that protects your skin from the sun.
Products are designed to work best when they are from the same line with specific items for specific problems. But sometimes you might not like the cleanser for dry skin because you prefer a bar to a cream. Take a mix and match approach within the product line that allows you to customize your skin care regimen.

Challenges like acne, aging, dry skin, oily skin and so on can be helped with proper products for those types. Professional products (those sold at licensed salons and spas) tend to be more concentrated and therefore last longer even as they cost more.

In any case, you don’t need a thick coat of any product for it to work. The product only works on where it touches the skin so having it a half inch thick is a waste. Following directions on the packaging with the advice of a professional is always a good idea.

Your skin changes as you age, due to hormones, the environment and for many other reasons. For example, if you fly often your skin will be dehydrated by the environment on the plane and will require extra moisture.

Chemical peels and microdermabrasion are advanced treatments that will aid the skin in remaining more youthful. Proper skin care before and after these treatments is very important.

Regular skin treatments often called facials are just as important as regular hair care and nail care. Give your skin the same respect you do your hair and nails by treating it to daily and regular professional care.

Love your skin and take care of it. You wear it every day.

Reprinted by permission from Facets Magazine, a publication of Stephens Media Iowa.