School hairstyles just made easier!

In the next few weeks, families everywhere start organizing their calendars around the customary necessities and rituals of getting back-to-school.  Here is a new revolutionary service that can save you precious time on squeezing in those hairstyles for school.

Great Clips, Inc. has just introduced their new Online Check-In service. The new service allows you to add your name to the wait list at any Great Clips salon from your computer or iPhone.  Although Great Clips has always worked off the principle of low wait times, this gives the customer more control in managing their busy schedules.

“Not surprisingly, our research shows customers don’t want to wait,” says Rhoda Olsen, Great Clips CEO. “We’ve always been focused on keeping wait times low, but with Online Check-In we can make our customer’s wait even shorter; our test markets show about 80 percent of folks who check in remotely wait less than five minutes on average once arriving at the salon.”

What a great idea this is for everyone! If you’re busy out and about getting back-to-school supplies and clothes for the kids but also want to squeeze in haircuts, just log in to greatclips.com to see where and when the most convenient timing is for you. Your information is immediately put into the salon’s computer register and your name will appear on the wait list. Customers are taken in the order they were added to the list, whether they check in remotely or in person.

With back-to-school haircuts starting to fill salon chairs everywhere, you may find waiting periods longer, especially at family orientated salons like Great Clips. This innovative step by Great Clips seems especially timely for all to get familiar with using their new technology. And this service is sure to be helpful for not just the back-to-school group, but for anyone who wants to have more control on how long they wait for a haircut.

The new Online Check-In service is available at Great Clips’ 3,000 salons across the United States and Canada, including free iPhone and Android apps. Thanks Great Clips!!

Barb Quinn on Google+  

Got a question, war story or comment about this topic? Click on the "Leave Your Comments" link at the very bottom of this article. Some of my best ideas for future articles come from reading reader comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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You asked for funky hair styles, so just take a gander at what these hair stylists give you!

I love it! I wait all year to see the novel creations that hairdressers will whip up for the North American Hair Styling Awards. NAHA 2011 Awards Show was held last week in Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the most prestigious photographic beauty competition hair stylists can participate in. Give hair stylists a reason to create some funky hair styles and pair that up with some equally imaginative, photographers . . .and here you have it!

Hair designers from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia and Switzerland contended to become the best in a specific category of their choice. These dedicated hairdressers work extremely hard to compete and are recognized with unlimited networking, educational and professional growth opportunity, not to speak of the confidence boost this work gives them.

Congratulations to all who participated . . . and may the force be with you!

If you haven’t had your fill of funky hair styles yet, check out last years winners of the NAHA Top Hairdresser Awards to see more of what inspires you!

Master Hair Stylist of the Year

Kris Sorbie
New York, NY
Photographer: Nico Iliev

Hair Stylist of the Year

Eli Mancha
Chicago, IL
Photographer: Helen Berkun

Salon Team of the Year

Jackson Ruiz Salon
Austin, TX
Photographer: Tania Quintanilla

Editorialist Stylist of the Year

Dimitrios Tsioumas
New York, NY
Photographer: Babak

Student Hair Stylist of the Year

Giovanna Simington
Huntington Beach, CA
Photographer: Babak

Makeup Artist of the Year

Clarissa Luna
Austin, TX
Photographer: Tania Quintanilla

Avante Garde Winning Hairstyle

Jake Thompson
Salt Lake City, UT
Photographer: Kevin Schidel

Contemporary Classic Winning Hairstyle

Simon Chercuitte
Montreal, QB
Photographer: Ara Sassoonian

Fashion Forward Winning Hairstyle

Zahir Ziani
New York, NY
Photographer: Ara Sassoonian

Haircolor Winning Hairstyle

Dimitrios Tsioumas
New York, NY
Photographer: Babak

Hair Texture Winner

Carlos Cintron
Lewisville, TX
Photographer: Babak

Barb Quinn on Google+  

Hair feather extensions, tweet tweet!

You haven’t gotten a hair feather extension yet? Why not??  It’s time to be thinking about great back to school hair styles and tips . . . this year definitely think feathers as an accessory for your hairdo!

Hair feathers may only have been available for purchase at a few of your local edgier hair salons a few months ago . . . but now a majority of salons can get you feathered quickly and for a reasonable price!  If you have a knack for working with hair, you can buy feather extensions online and with a few instructions, apply your own feather creations for your own feather hairstyles!

The feather trend was fueled by some of Hollywood’s more outrageous, untamed types, like Johnny Depp, my favorite pirate, and American Idol favorite Steve Tyler.

At the Premiere Orlando International Hair Show in June, the feather extensions were a huge hit. “They drew crowds for the entire 3 days of the show,” reported Modern Salon, “though some starter kits sold out within just hours.”  Hair feathers have caught fire and women everywhere are embracing the sultry, sexy look of feathers in their hair!  Rooster feathers are particularly hot now.

Short feathers in hair look great!

Hair feathers add to ponytails!

Blow-dried feathers

Who can wear hair feathers?

Hair feather extensions can be adapted to fit all hair types.  The feathers are real, not synthetic, so they can be washed, blow dried or curled with an iron to blend into curly hair. They also can be cut, short, medium or long, to blend in with all hair lengths.

How long will they last? Can I reuse them?

When beaded onto your hair as an extension (vs. clip-in) the extension can last from 4 to 8 weeks before needing to be re-threaded. With good care the quality of your feathers will last for months and you will be able to reuse them.  Be careful and go light on the heat of your styling tools and they will last for months.

How much do they cost? Where can I find them?

Salons in my area of Minneapolis, St. Paul, are charging $10.00 to $15.00 for one feather extension beaded in to your hair. A great resource to find a salon near you that does this service is www.finefeatherfriends.com

If you are a DIY’er a 10 feather pack will normally run you around $15.00 to $25.00. But you will also need some tools to attach your feathers. Other sources are www.ebay.com or www.etsy.com where you may find feather packs of 10 for $12.00 or more.  The feather packs come in all different colors and some include a bead pack for attachment. Make sure the bead is a fit for your hair color.

How do you apply hair feather extensions?

There are plenty of videos available on how to apply hair feather extensions. Here’s one that I think you’ll like. Just in time for the perfect back to school hair accessory! So what are you waiting for? Go out and get feathered!

Barb Quinn on Google+  

For more feathers in headbands check out my article Homecoming Hairstyles With Headbands

Don’t miss these other hairstyles for school articles:

• Back to School Hairstyles
• Hair News Round-Up November
• Tips for Back to School Hairstyles
• Cool Hairstyles for School
• Hair Styles for School From Christina