As For Beards...

It`s the time of year that a big fat man with a beard starts out on his journey of visiting everyone`s houses.  And wow what a beard!  Its funny that the big old guys beard always seems to be the same length,  Mrs. Clause must really know how to work that trimmer for him!  His beard always seems to be very well trimmed and maintained.  So it reminded me that I have yet to address the beard!  Believe that or what?!  I mean I sport one so what was I thinking?!  Maintaining your beard is something that most men seem to do pretty well.  I have taken notice of this recently because more and more men are sporting them fashionably and they are more in style today than they have been in a while.  The key to a well maintained beard is simple... Don`t forget that its on your face!  I find that the ones that look scruffy are the ones that are not trimmed down to a consistent length,  the sides are not well lined up.  It is imperative to keep the lines of the beard well formed and trimmed because it looks neat,  the right tools are important when doing just that.  A good trimmer with varying guards to adjust the lengths is very important. You wanna make sure that even if you decide to leave it a little longer it can still be a consistent and even length.  This will ensure that you do not see darker and lighter areas of hair.  A great trimmer I personally use is the Andis T-liner.  A phenomenal and professional tool that has a good strong engine and never seems to miss hair or pull hair with its blades.  A fabulous last minute gift idea for your wife and kids to buy "the man who already seems to have everything!".

HOLY SMOKES!!!!!

Normally its time to put forth a video showcasing the answer to a question iv`e  received but today,  I have to say...  I`m Exhausted!!!

I`m Exhausted because there have been few Saturday`s like this in my career,  today I had every single long,  thick haired, curly, wavy,  unbelievably massive haired client on my repetoir!   SERIOUSLY!  I blow dried more hair today than I have in my entire career combined!  I guess with the holidays on the way I was bound to get a day like this in there and well today was it!  


Everyone wants that smoothened out silky style and that means a workout for me people!  Holy moly if you think its hard on you to blow dry your own head of hair on a weekday morning imagine if 7 of you came in to see me in one day!  Well guess what... Today was THE day!  Anyway,  all i`m saying is at least I got through it with a smile :) 

WHOA! Now That`s a QR Do!

Hey guys! Today I am gonna post something that is gonna make our twitter followers pretty excited! We have been asked repeatedly by this group if we can achieve this particular style, I will say this.... We are working on it! This folks is NOT EASY TO DO! And before you commit to saying, "Yeah Sure we do Qr Code Engraving!" Maybe, just maybe we should try it out a couple of times first! I mean can you imagine doing a 2 and a half hour haircut ( Yes, I think it will take that long!) Only to have it not be readable by your iphone or Blackberry! That would be BRUTAL! Anyway check this video out and tell me if this looks EASY! Crazy Cool! Just let the first ad go by, trust me it will be worth the wait!

Don`t FLIP Out!

Hey folks! We Are OFF! with another week of blogging for you to enjoy and we want to start the week of right today!. Hope you guys had beautiful weekends filled with time for family and friends. Anyway, I would like to extend my gratitude to our readers for staying engaged in what we do and actively contributing to the blog. Thanks for your readership and continuing to ask great questions that get me thinkin! So here we go with today`s question!...


" Hi Jon, I am having a real hard time working with my hair :( I seem to have this crazy flip happening on my right side and I have no idea why it always forms in the same place! Its crazy because it does n`t matter what I do to work with it, it always comes back! My hair is cut in a bob and it looks silly having one side tuck under really well while the other flips up like crazy. It looks like my hair is being blown with a gust of wind in one direction... Please help."

Funny because you have no idea just how often I am asked about this! Its even more often because it does n`t only relate to ladies wearing bobs. Rather it relates to ANY length of hair on ANY person! That`s right girls it also effects the guys! Anyway the reason that flip is forming is because we ALL have circular growth patterns that dictate which direction your hair will move in. Think back to the last time you took a look at the top of a baby`s head... Remember, remember that cute little swirl that formed in their crown? Well, as their hair gets longer (like yours did) the swirl just becomes more and more pronounced. All of the hair that grows back toward the crown area (back of your head) will tuck under beautifully, you won`t even have to work at it! BUT, the hair that grows forward (toward your forehead) that hair, THAT hair IS your problem. It will flip... that`s what it WILL do. It is the same scenario with 99.9% of my clientele. I have found over time that the BEST way to work with it is to trick it. What I mean is, try and trick the hair into believing that it actually grows the other way. We can achieve a more balanced style that does n`t flip as much if we blow out both sides in a backward direction. So, when drying the front area of you style you drag ALL of the hair, from the front of your hairline on both sides toward the back. As you stretch these sections toward the back ensure that you release them at the back by the nape and that will help to force it to tuck under better. Works for me ALL day, so there is no reason it won`t work for you!

Are You scared of the Dark?

Alright,  so this is how I know that we are getting closer to the fall,  When I start hearing the initial grumblings about whether or not its time to go dark!  Around this time ladies everywhere start to think about what colour they want to be over the fall season and into Christmas ( a great time for a hairstylist!)  So I was not surprised at all by the question I received from Sarah in Toronto,  lets take a look at it and I hope to answer some of your questions along the way!....


"Hey, I was just curious whether or not it was too early to get into a darker tone now?  Or should I wait a little longer until it gets a bit colder out?"

The answer to that question is simple... Do NOT RUSH SUMMER!  No in all seriousness it depends on your personal feeling.  I mean there was n`t really a reason to get away from the dark tones to begin with,  in that colour is very much a personal thing.  I feel like ladies should go slightly lighter in the spring but not sway to far because come this time of year most will want to go back to a warmer and deeper tone.  The amount of work required in going darker from that lighter shade,  and the amount it costs is lessened  if you haven't gone too much lighter.  However, at this time I have to say that yes (even though I am not ready for it)  the summer is winding down,  and if you are not planning to see your stylist again prior to October or even November than now is the time to deepen it up.  Gather some pics,  and prepare yourself for your visit as there are many deeper tones to choose from.  Also,  make sure that if your stylist is taking you a little darker they "fill" the hair shaft first to allow for better staying power in your colour.  Thanks again for your question Sarah and I hope to have answered it effectively!

Saturday Night Lights, Camera, Askin!!!

HELLO!!!!! Hope all is well out there! Okay so tonight I answer a question that I think might interest you ladies looking for long flowy locks! That`s right... extensions! Anyway I`m gonna just get right down to it then, Check out this Vid! and then have a nice weekend!

Saturday Night Lights Camera Askin !!!

Alright guys here we are again on Saturday Night! Whoohooo!!! Hope you are all gearing up for cottage country or something fun like that. Anyway before you take off for the weekend here is another segment for Saturday Night Lights, Camera, Askin !!! Tonight I talk about mens styling products and what is hot right now, Check It Out!!!

the HAIR DARE !!!

I am going to start and finish this post saying that I am proud of and inspired by the WONDERFUL team we have with us at evoke Salon.  I can honestly say that I am astonished, overwhelmed and feel truly fortunate to be surrounded by great people everyday.  When J and I opened our doors in July of 2002 I can`t say we thought we were going to luck out with the team we have.  A team that is as compelled and driven to make change as we are, and not just when it comes to hair either!  As you have seen in our recent blog entries Jason and I were in Texas recently  for this year`s SXSW.  However, BECAUSE we have an amazing team, evoke keeps on moving with or without us!  As was evident on Monday the 14th of March 2011.

The HAIR DARE is a wonderful cause that we were very happy and fortunate to be involved in.  It all started when a great client of ours named Grace Poon (@grayspoontweets) came in to see Erin Bick at our Bloor St. location. Grace mentioned to Erin that she was going to be putting together a fund raiser and that she was curious whether or not we would like to be involved (we would ALWAYS like to be involved! In pretty much anything and everything!) So, we then took a little trip over to thehairdare.com and looked at the why? section on the top bar, it reads...

"Children across the world suffer from conditions like cancer treatments, alopecia and burns in which they lose some or all of their hair. There are a few organizations out there who help to alleviate some of the pain of losing hair by providing hair prosthetic to children made from real hair in hopes that they can help restore their self-esteem and face their situation with greater confidence".

We read one paragraph and realized that not only were we willing to support this cause,  we were willing to sponsor it,  donate to it, and be actively involved in spreading its word!  I really believe that the hair dare will make a great impact on the lives of children in need in Toronto. This is a specialized cause that works with local organizations to really have an immediate and lasting impact... and its like crazy fun to do! We cannot wait to do it all again next year, and the year after and etc...

What really made us proud though was the effect it seemed to have on our team,  who seemed to really feel like they were a part of something bigger and really worth while.  I look at the amazing images provided by Justin Ing also known as @sensei88 and can really see how happy everyone was to be involved and make a great change. Well,  here check out the link for your self! ... 

http://bit.ly/eoJJgS

Anyway, we were inspired by our staff and the commitment that they showed.  We were captivated by this amazing dare that these wonderful women followed through with! This took a lot dedication showed by so many people to make this happen!  Grace,  you are an amazing girl with a wonderful cause.  Justin we thank you so much for bringing it to life on film! Chenessa a.k.a @_chenessa we thank you for your generous gifts and involvement.

Thank you to our fantastic team for taking care of home base while we were away, and for performing some awesome changes on some inspired women! Please check out theHAIRDARE.com to live the dare next year!

Jon Di Mauro