If you follow the hair industry at all you may have noticed that hair extensions are having a moment. As a salon that specializes exclusively in extensions, we’re obviously pretty passionate about their place in the industry. So on the one hand it’s exciting that our niche is experiencing the spotlight. On the other hand, as a salon who specializes in extensions, we know just how much time, energy, and experience is involved in offering a high-quality extension service. Which is the part about extensions gaining popularity that makes us feel a little cautious. Not all extension brands and trainings were created equally.

For us, hair extensions are about changing women’s lives. Candice has been specializing in extensions for almost two decades. She has poured countless hours and money into certifications, advanced education, and most importantly, hands on practice. The entire culture of Garnish is built around offering the highest quality of service. And no matter what, for every guest, our focus is on how we can offer a solution through hair extensions that will change the way our guest feels about herself.

The popularity of hair extensions has come about for several reasons—some good, some less so. There are those stylists, like all of us at Garnish, who truly connect to the service and how it changes women’s lives. Then there are those who just see it as a way to bring in additional income due to the higher cost of extensions. There are also those who just want to be a part of the trend and post “pretty” before and afters on social media. We’re big believers that there’s room for everyone who wants to be able to offer the service of extensions; however, offering hair extensions with integrity is super important to us.

You can technically get certified in some methods of hair extensions in just a day, but just because you have a certificate from a company doesn’t mean you should just start offering the service right away. No matter what the method or brand, they all take time and practice to truly master. Putting in the time and energy to practice is absolutely vital with hair extensions because if not done properly, they can really do damage to someone’s hair. Even when you are still learning, you never want to compromise the integrity of the hair you’re working on. This is why it’s our practice to only begin performing an extension method on clients (even as models) after extensive practice on mannequins.

Through our NBR training we learned a method called “power practice” that all of our team members employ. Power practice consists of 15 minutes of intensive practice every single day. Our employees do this for several months before ever working on an actual client. We’re not looking for perfection, but confidence that you will not damage someone’s hair while performing the service. This is why it’s important to find an educational experience that not only certifies you but offers you a consistent platform of advanced, ongoing education—so you can get over any hiccups in learning and continue pouring into your craft.

Whether you were initially attracted to learning hair extensions because they are currently popular or because you were already passionate about them, we encourage you to be passionate about learning your craft so much so that you’re willing to put in the work to uphold the service.

We believe if we all have that mindset, everyone can win.

We did some research, checked out all of our fave celebs, and have come up with some of this year’s biggest upcoming trends to share with all of you!

Big Bang Energy!

One of last year’s hottest trends was all about bangs. We hated to say goodbye to this trend because we were just falling in love, but after a little bit of research, we’re happy to see that they’re not going anywhere! There’s usually a particular style of fringe that is more on trend at a particular time. This year we’re so excited because bangs of all shapes, sizes and forms are going to show up. We’re seeing super blunt bangs, baby bangs, pixie bangs, bardot curtain bangs, and more. Adding fringe to your look makes it trendy and modern while also adding softness around the face. It’s also the perfect way to update your look or change up your style while keeping your length and fullness. And if you’re going for something a little more dainty, you can do a sideswept bang or curtain bang that almost looks already grown out when you get it cut. Your bangs can be as bold or as subtle as you like—either way you’re on trend in 2020!

The next trend of the year is what’s known as the “French Girl Bob.” We especially love this one because it works perfectly with hair extensions. A lot of women simply don’t have enough hair to create the thick, blunt lines of a bob haircut. Just one row can thicken up your hair enough to create that super modern, edgy look. We find that this is just a really cool look with one row of NBR extensions. The single row isn’t too thick, but allows for that super straight edge along the bottom. Our favorite aspect of this year’s “french girl bob” is that the length is customizable. It can be all the way from chin length all the way down to the collar bone.

Last year was all about a middle part, but this year you’ll be seeing a lot more deep, edgy, sideswept parts. This look is characterized by sweeping a lot of the hair to one side or the other. We’ve seen this look in the past, but typically with some puff and froth on top. The 2020 version of this look will be much sleeker and shinier.

We’re so excited that the trend for embracing texture is continuing into this new year. It’s a little bit more smooth than the wild boho looks that have been popular recently. Summer of 2019 texture was beach waves and messiness. This year’s texture is a little more structured, where you might still have curls in the hair, but instead of loose and boho and wild and free, there’s more form to it. Tightly coiled curls will appear with more structure, or they will be stretched out and loosened up a bit.
Our final observation for 2020’s hair trends is that the classic blowout is back!

But with a twist of course. The classic blowout features a sleek, full, rounded look. It’s full and big, with not a lot of curl, but also not bone straight. This year’s twist is almost a throwback to an 80’s look, but instead of having all the fullness on top, there’s more fullness on the bottom.

We’d love to know what you think about these new trends! Which ones are you going to try first? Drop a comment below and let us know.

When you think of hair extensions, you probably picture long, thick hair. Maybe even celebrity style mermaid hair. You may even think hair extensions aren’t for you because your hair is too short or too fine or long hair isn’t something you’re remotely interested in having. We wanted to shine some light on a few of our recent SHORT HAIR extension transformations to show you just how versatile they can be.

The reality is—you can do almost anything with hair extensions at almost any length—with the right artist and realistic expectations. Here at Garnish we have been able to turn a carefully selected pixie into a bob, fill in and give volume to a bob with very fragile sides, and create a really beautiful short modern shag style. If you’ve ever doubted that extensions can be added to your short hair, chances are they can be! Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean a long length can be achieved—it’s still all about the blend—but volume and some length can completely change your look even and especially with shorter hair.

Through our personal experience at Garnish, we’ve found that adding volume through hair extensions can almost be like an instant fountain of youth. If you have a hair style or haircut that you really like, making it a little fuller and adding more volume in specific places can make all the difference and really transform the end result. It may even be something that you don’t realize how much of a difference it will make until you experience it. (Make sure to check out our transformation photos to see what we mean!)
We wanted to share a couple of personal short hair stories with you in case you’re a short-haired babe wondering if hair extensions are possible for you.

Our first guest came into the studio just looking for something different. Her hair was super dark and fine and she pretty much ignored it other than to just keeping slapping on the same dark color. This badass business babe owns a major construction and roofing company and had fallen into the same habit so many entrepreneurs and business owners do—ignoring her own needs as she hustled for her business. She told us that one day she looked up and realized she didn’t love what she sees in the mirror.

First up was a Color Revamp to lighten everything up. Candice formulated her new look to be a beautiful almost bronde that would complement her skin tone. Next up was the extension transformation. Candice added a Crown extension on the top for volume, and 2 shorter rows of NBR Extensions underneath. The two aspects (color and extensions) came together to create a more youthful, soft, and vibrant look. You could see the change just pouring out of her as she saw her new look.

The second client spotlight is someone who came to Garnish not really knowing what she needed, just knowing she wanted to look amazing for her wedding. She was in the process of trying to return her hair to it’s natural color from being lightened, and it was overall “fine,” but she just knew something needed to change. She didn’t have enough for an updo, but still wanted it to look sexy and amazing for her wedding day.

After evaluating her hair, Candice knew that despite the fact that it was pretty short and some of the layers were a little choppy, she could create something really beautiful. They started by updating her color to look subtle and natural. Then they added three rows that had been customized for her specific curl/body wave. Just looking at her before photo, you may have thought she wouldn’t have been a great candidate for extensions, but her before and after photos are breathtaking.

She left absolutely ecstatic about her new look. Stay tuned for wedding pictures coming soon…

If you’re a short-haired gal and you actually LOVE having short hair, but wish it would be fuller, or hold a style better, or there’s a specific cut you’ve always wished for, but could never achieve (such as a blunt bob that requires a certain amount of thickness to really work), hair extensions may be the solution you didn’t even know you needed.

Head on over to our application page to get started. Your dream hair is just a click away.

Even though the temperatures have yet to drop here in North Carolina, we are still eagerly awaiting the upcoming season change. Our love for Fall runs deep and we particularly love the different ways we can style our extensions in the cooler weather. We wanted to share with you some of our favorite Fall inspo—from cuts to styles to accessories—that you can rock this upcoming Autumn.

If you follow us on social media you may have seen our “Fringe Feature” from a few weeks ago. We’re kind of obsessed with adding fringe to your haircut, but we particularly love it because it’s a small change that make you feel a big difference. If you’ve been rocking the same style for a while, but you’re ready to do something a little different, adding bangs to your look is the perfect way to mix things up.

There are so many different variations of fringe from side swept bangs to micro fringe aka baby bangs to one of our faves—that parted in the middle, intentionally grown out, brushing your cheekbones fringe. While we love a good fringe on anyone, we think it’s the perfect addition to hair extensions for a couple of different reasons. For one thing, when you’re wearing this really big beautiful ponytail, having fringe adds style to your look. It also shows off your color and gives you some face framing without having to wear your hair completely down. If you’ve been wearing extensions for a while, now is definitely the time to consider a fringe!

Next up on our list of fall inspo is almost the opposite of our typical Summer look (those messy, beachy waves). This Fall we expect to see a whole lot of satiny, sleek looks. Especially for our longgg extension wearing ladies. From the long sleek ponies to wearing it parted down the center, straight hair is in for the upcoming season. We’re going to be seeing that 70s inspired center-parted look in an updated way this Fall. You know the one—blown out with a little bit of natural volume, but still sleek and shiny ends. We love this look because even though there’s no movement from texture, the hair still moves so beautifully! If you need assistance with styling your hair extensions straight, let us know!

Finally, the third upcoming Fall trend that we are so excited for is HAIR ACCESSORIES! You’re going to be seeing barettes of all kinds, scarves of all colors, and fall-inspired big brimmed hats. We’ve seen a ton of hats with feathers in the currently debuting fashion, and can’t wait for alll the fall hat days. We’ve also been seeing head scarves worn in different ways and are so ready to incorporate the look in with our hair extensions.

Our new fave is definitely winding a scarf into our extensions braid. This makes your big fluffy NBR braid even fuller and adds such a cute, trendy look to it. We’re also in love with the idea of combining the two—scarves with hats. Wearing a scarf in your hair peeking out from under your fave felt fall hat—we’re all heart eyes over here. Can we also have a moment for how far barettes have come since when we were small?? If you haven’t seen the latest in fall hair accessories, definitely check out Anthro, free people, and even Etsy for some of the cutest barrettes, scarves, and headbands you’ve ever seen.

If you can’t tell—we’re anxiously awaiting the temperature drops so we can get in on all of these Fall trends! And if you’re interested in the fashion side of the upcoming season, check out today’s post on candicemotley.com as she shares her personal obsession with the season and her recent scouting of what’s gonna be HOT this Autumn.

We are in the midst of award season with this past weekend’s Grammy Awards as the latest edition. Awards shows always bring a great fashion spectacle, from gowns to makeup to glamorous hairstyles.

We all love to watch to see what the current trends are, and this year there is one particular trend that we are LOVING. You all know how much the Garnish team loves curls (as so many of us are curlies), and we were thrilled to see so many stars rocking their natural curls on the red carpet and the Grammy’s stage.

We’re all about hair health and loving your own curl pattern, and it’s great to see celebrities showing the world that every texture of curl can be glamorous and beautiful.
Check out some of our favorite curly looks from the red carpet.

Sza

Alessia Cara

Rihanna

Erika Ender

Kimberly Schlapman

As, you know, we love Curls here at Garnish Hair Studio + Extension Bar! If you’re ready to rock your curls and need some help styling, revitalizing, or just want to know the best curl product for your particular curl pattern, give us a call! We can set you up for a consultation with one of our stylists, or walk you through a great curl regimen. Stay tuned for our upcoming Valentine’s Blog about the all new Davines “LOVE” Curl Line.

New Year, New 2018 Hair Trends!

The Garnish gang got together and talked about what we thought would be the upcoming #hairtrends in 2018 and here’s what we’re prettyyy sure you’re going to see a lot of in the upcoming year.

1. Lived in Top Knots

Did you catch our blog post on lived-in hair and why it’s one of our favorite hair trends? The lived-in look is not going anywhere, and top knots have officially joined braids and waves as an acceptable messy look. Top knots are super easy and cute while still being functional, so of course, we love them.

2. Rich Colors with Subtle Dimension

Highlighted hair and Dimensional hair CAN look very different, and we think subtle dimension is about to be all the rage. No more super light ‘lights… We’re anticipating that rich chocolates and beautiful auburns are going to take over the haircolor scene in 2018.

3. Middle Parts with Tousled Texture

Not everyone can pull off a middle part, and not everyone wants to, but for those that can and do… 2018 is going to be all about ‘em. Particularly when paired with tousled texture that makes the middle part look so effortless and amazing. We know it feels like late 90’s hair is back, and maybe it is.. There’s nothing wrong with a good throwback trend!

4. Haircuts that are Get-Up-&-Go

A great haircut cannot be understated, and going along with the lived-in hair look, we are loving the haircuts that are so perfect for your hair texture and style that you can just get up and do the quickest styling sesh ever (optional) and then run out the door. When the cute cut IS the style… you’re definitely winning the hair game.

5. A Focus on Healthy Hair

Over the past few months we’ve noticed a trend that we foresee continuing all the way through 2018. Women are ready to really focus on restoring the health of their hair if it’s been damaged, or to maintain their healthy hair. Healthy hair means committing to a healthy color process (even if that means it takes 6 months to go blonde), and using quality products (that won’t buildup or damage your hair further).

Healthy hair means more gorgeous, shiny, amazing hair in 2018!

Which trend are you most looking forward to in 2018?

It’s that time of year again: #HairGoals

You may have heard the saying, “Invest in your hair—it’s the accessory you wear every day.” And you’ve probably experienced that powerful feeling of “I can take on the world” when you’re having that better than ever kickass hair day. So what happens if it’s a crucial part of your daily look and can change your entire attitude? It only makes sense to invest in making your #hairgoals a reality.

Here at Garnish we specialize in transformations. Transformations, to us, encompass all the wonderful things! It can be as simple as the perfect haircut to enhance your face shape and revamp your style, or complete makeovers involving coloring, extensions, and more.

Have you ever seen a celeb on t.v. or in a magazine and thought, “Oh my gawd I love her hair”? What about the person you passed in the grocery store and thought, “Her hair looks amazing”? Then you already have #hairgoals whether you knew it or not.

Last year we created a Garnish Goal of helping as many women as possible discover their #hairgoals and begin down the path to achieving their hair dreams. This year we are reintroducing our #hairgoals worksheet so you can revamp last year’s goals, or create brand new ones. You will be able to download this fun and fast #hairgoals form and bring it in to share with your stylist or you can ask the front desk team for a copy when you arrive for your visit.

#hairgoals can encompass cut, color, length, style, and texture. Some of our most common transformational services include extensions, which come in a variety of methods to address varying hair needs—color services, including color corrections, balayage, blonding, and creative coloring—and treatments, such as our GK Keratin Smoothing Treatments, American Wave, and relaxers. Our artists also focus on providing you with the knowledge and ability to care for your hair at home (a vital part of making #hairgoals a reality), along with empowering you to be able to recreate the style component of your #hairgoals yourself. This includes prescribing the products that will best address your hair needs, along with educating you on the steps to take to achieve your ideal style.

January is always a month of reflecting on what you hope to achieve in the next year. Make your #hairgoals a priority and allow Garnish to help you become the best version of you in 2018.

Download here!

The Garnish Holiday Gift Guide

With only two weeks left until Christmas, it’s crunch time for finding the perfect gift for your bestie, mom, and big sis. If you’re anything like us, we find any excuse to avoid the parking decks at the mall this time of year, so we thought we would help you out with some ideas. We’ve put together the perfect collections for all of the hair-loving ladies in your life.

For Your Curly Girl

• A Cowash such as R+Co’s Analog or Kevin Murphy’s Restore.
• R+Co Twister Curl Primer aka the anti-frizz prep cream that makes all her other curl products work even better.
• Davines Curl Building Serum for curl enhancing and shine or LOVE curl revitalising spray.

For Your Gym Babe

• Davines Hair Refresher aka dry cleansing, scent refreshing, and volume boosting.
• R+Co Skyline a dry shampoo powder that works magic balancing the scalp and absorbing oil
• Travel Size Shampoo & Conditioner to toss in the gym bag (duh).

For Your Lazy Girl who Loves Lived-in Hair

• Davines Doo Over for second day hair refreshing.
• R+Co Badlands for texture at the root and oil absorption.
• Davines perfecting hairspray for definition and hold for those lived-in waves.

The Hard to Buy for Gal

• R+Co’s One Prep Spray, a spray that provides benefit to all hair types.
• A Garnish Gift Card… can be used on all services or products to help her reach her hair goals no matter what they may be.
• Davines Body Butter, because who doesn’t love a luxurious, skin-nourishing cream.
• O&M Know Knott Detangler… one of our best seller’s for a reason.

For Your Sparkle & Shine Addict

All giving shine and shimmer to hair.. and who doesn’t love shiny hair?!
• Davines Shimmering Mist
• R+Co Tinsel Nourishing Oil
• Kevin Murphy Shimmer.Shine
• O&M Frizzy Logic Shine Spray
• R+Co Shine & Texture Spray

If you keep up with the fashion trends (as we love to do), you may have heard the term “lived-in” hair before.  It sounds cool, but what exactly does it mean?  Lived-in hair refers to a style or vibe more than one particular look.

Imagine you’ve been riding in a Jeep or strolling through the park on a windy day or you curled your hair yesterday, but the theme of the day is “I woke up like this”… THAT’S lived-in hair.  Have you seen the gorgeous piecey, almost-falling-out boho braids?

Lived. In. Hair.

What about the rooty balayage look where you can’t tell if they just left the salon or got their hair painted six months ago?  You guessed it.  Lived-in hair.  Want to know more about how you can get in on this amaze trend?  Of course you do…

First up…

Lived-in Waves

(because they’re our current obsession tbh).

Lived-in waves can look a lot like beach waves, and can be achieved in a few different ways.  Our obsession with them comes from the fact that they look great on basically everyone, they compliment pretty much EVERY hair color, and they exude casual beauty (which, of course, goes right along with the current minimalist makeup trend).  We also love a hair trend that can be achieved through a variety of methods because some things work better for different hair types and lengths.

Method One: Start off by curling your hair either with a flat iron or curling iron (we love a good flat iron curl) then comb out the curls to create loose waves.

Method Two: take a section of hair, twist the hair tight, and run your flat iron down the twist.  Boom.  Waves.

Method Three: if your hair is long enough for a braid, braid it while damp, let it air dry, then undo your braid and comb it out.

Method Four: Curl your hair, wear it for a day, sleep on it, get up and go.  (We gotta admit, that’s our fave.)  No matter the method, a few spritzes of texture spray and a good hair flip add the perfect finishing touches to this care-free look.

Next up…

Lived-in Braids

We talk about braids a lot because, well, they’re timeless and gorgeous, and look great on everyone.  Lived-in braids, which pair wonderfully with autumn’s classic over-sized sweaters and blanket scarves, give off the same casual, perfectly undone vibes as lived-in waves.

The braid version of the look can be created with a french braid, dutch braid, or fishtail.  The key to making a braid look lived-in is to loosen it up by pulling gently on the outside of the braid.  If a few strands fall out—even better!  That just adds to the whimsical wind-blown look of lived-in braids.

Now that you’ve got the styles down, it’s time to explore…

Lived-in Color

Invented by Johnny Ramirez of the renowned L.A. salon, Ramirez-Tran, lived-in color is thus named because it’s designed to only be done or freshened up a couple of times a year.  The main characteristics include an extended darker root and hand-painted dimension, often in a balayaged ombre.

The look also typically features brighter face-framing pieces (aka the “money pieces”).  Lived-in color is most often a blonde or brunette color palette as it’s inspired by the natural sun-kissed hair that children magically have.

The lived-in color takes a bit longer to create as it often combines hand-painting and foiling, along with requiring a root extension or smudge and always a glaze.  The benefit to that longer salon visit is that you can go several months in between colors and still look just as gorgeous and on-trend as you did when you left the salon.

Lived-in color is beautiful, customizable, and unique to each person.  Those aspects combined with the option of flexibility in terms of how often you need to get it redone makes this trend pretty fantastic.

Once you’ve got your lived-in color you can work on your lived-in waves and braids and you’ll be winning the “lived-in” lifestyle.  If you’re struggling with your waves or braids, talk to your stylist about which method might work best for your hair texture and length.

And don’t forget to pick up a can of Kevin Murphy’s Bedroom.Hair or R+Co’s Death Valley… they’ll be your lived-in hair’s best friends. Stop by the Garnish counter to get yours!

Hanna by Christine

Heather by Niko

Natalie by Tish

Sarah by Candice

A Passion for Transformations