Every time I go to a salon I suffer an ecstasy of indecision regarding the tipping process. How much do I tip- and to who? Do I have to tip if I hate my hair? Often I end up not tipping (shame on me) as I simply don't know what to do, so I've decided to clarify this by asking top hairdressers to tell me what they think. A good rule of thumb (in my opinion) is to always carry cash, and try and tip the juniors rather than the salon owner, as they're on less money.
I asked top UK hairdressers: What do you think is an appropriate tip in salon, and who should you tip?
Dom-Creative Stylist for Sebastian Professional
As with restaurants I would recommend 10%. It may be worth asking the receptionist how your Salons tip system works, it may be shared evenly amongst the team. Its great if you can tip whom ever had direct contact with you.
Adrian Allen
I don't believe in tipping for bad service and I like clients to actually give my team their tips so that the team member knows they have done a great job and can thank the client. I personally don't expect tips but I think a fair tip is around ten percent but only if you have had amazing service. It's interesting how a team member can start to wonder what they haven't done so well when they don't get tipped!
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After some major indulgence last month, I decided it was time to take action as bikini season is looming once more. I turned to BodyChef for help with my diet as they offer a personalized diet delivery programme which provides all the calories you need, without the complication of having to weigh and measure everything yourself.
They have a wide selection of plans to choose from- 7 in total- which include a flat belly plan and a Low carb Diet Plan. I opted for the two week Vegetarian Plan as I wanted to shift pounds fast, but they also do 3 day, 4 day, 5 day and one week plans.
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Tattoos have existed thousands of years, dating back to the Inca civilizations when one would use ink under the skin as a method of healing the body or warding off demons. Today this art has evolved to be more decorative than protective, but certain markings still denote clans and tribes, from Asian sub cultures to soldier's sleeves.
Different tattoos can mark someone as part of an era, and it's interesting to look at what symbols evoke in popular culture. Chanel is joining the fray by creating temporary tattoos, which will be available from March in boutiques. They've chosen to create a design which is ultra feminine with a delicate floral and bead design. Their £49 tattoo transfer is destined to be a sell out, but what other tattoos have existed that have marked certain stages in human culture?
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The temperature must have been at least 25 degrees and I lathered on the lotion to prevent my pale skin from blistering under the strong Thai sun. Gulping down water I prepared to get back on my bicycle, as my Thai guide started pulling out a sweater. Sweltering I stared bemused as she proceeded to layer herself up in extra clothes, covering her arms neck, and the bottom half of her face.
'Are you cold?' I ventured, a little confused. 'No,' she replied, 'I want to be white and pretty like you'. Just to reiterate, my skin at that moment was the unattractive English blotchiness meets high temperatures, a nice mix of reddened sweat and shiny perspiration. We continued our bike ride for another two hours, and our guide never removed her excess clothing.
This was my first direct introduction to the 'white princess' style of beauty that infiltrates the East, as despite their natural complexions being the kind of creamy caramel fake tan users aspire to, their own appreciation is very much turned towards our pasty complexions.
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Beauty is subject to more crazy speculation and weird beliefs than almost any other major industry. In our quest to look good, we tend to pick up on anything that might help us have better skin, fewer wrinkes, more hair or less of it - and it amazes me how many of the silliest myths persist. I've picked out a few of my pet hates, and would love to hear what ludicrous claims you've heard made about beauty.
You need to drink two-and-a-half litres of water a day to keep your skin healthy
. In my experience, that much water affects very little beyond your bathroom habits. Make sure you drink a large glass with each meal and drink as much as you need to quench your thirst during the day, and your skin will be just fine.
Cellulite means there's too much bad stuff in your diet. Really? Well I'd love to know how it manages to affect newborn babies, anorexics and people who've never touched caffeine or alcohol. The dimpled effect we call cellulite is actually just fibrous bands under the skin, which pull down around pockets of fat, and is usually inherited.
Frizzy hair means poor health: not so. This is a pet rant of mine as I know that my own naturally frizzy and 'dull' looking hair turns as shiny and appears as 'healthy' as any straight-haired person's when I attack it with the GHDs.
Wrinkles are caused by dry skin. Wrinkles are caused by two things: ageing and the sun. To minimise them, all you can do is wear a good sunscreen, all year around if possible.
Cocoa butter can prevent or heal stretchmarks: I've consulted to several real-life pregnant women on this one and think we have the issue covered here.
The old adage 'if it's to good to true it probably is', has existed for a long time, yet still people keep hoping they'll be the one who gets lucky. In the cases of the lottery a very very few people manage to beat the odds, and occasionally on eBay you get a bargain due to someone misspelling their product. But when you see a Chloe bag selling for £50 you should smell a rat, and equally suspicion should kick in when you see GHD's selling for half their in store price point. But it's not always easy to tell that the company is fake, as many of the websites look very professional, have all the right logos and have a .co.uk URL!
Type 'Cheap GHD's' into Google and literally hundreds of sites come up promising you everything from limited edition models in multiple colours, to buying a model for the low price of £40 odd quid- around 60% cheaper!
So how do you spot a fake before you buy, and how can you double check your straightener is the real deal?
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Have you noticed that it's often the most widely accepted 'miracle cures' that turn out to be the most bogus? Everyone knows, for example that cranberry juice is the 'cure' for cystitis, but anyone who's ever had a UTI knows that it's completely uselss once you're at the 'ow it hurts' stage.
And now it looks like cocoa butter is to stretch marks what cranberry juice is to UTIs: a remedy so long-established, so inherently associated with the ills it's meant to cure that everyone just assumes it has to work.
To reinforce this belief, many of the best-known brands now sell cocoa butter with a picture of a pregnant lady on the front. But since the current baby boom kicked off, one unexpected fact I've learnt about pregnancy is that (a) stretch marks happen if you're genetically predisposed to them and (b) cocoa butter 'doesn't make the blindest bit of difference' - quoting Mother-to-be Katie Lee over at Parentdish. Her scepticism is backed up by a recent study, which shoes that application of cocoa butter does not prevent stretch marks - or to give the condition its medical name, striae gravidarum.
However, another expectant Mum - Laura over at Montpellier beauty blog - also wrote this morning that she's found some relief from using cocoa butter, although the benefits she's found seem to have more to do with soothing dryness than reducing the scarring itself. And I suspect it's these basic moisturising properties that have given cocoa butter its reputation as a miracle cure, along with benefits provided by the simple pleasure of massaging cream into a sore area.
If you suffer from stretch marks - either through pregnancy or for other reasons - would you agree that cocoa butter is useless? And if so, what do you find helpful?
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