Channel your inner Daisy Buchanan with this modern take on classic 1920s hair waves, inspired by Gatsby.

Model and Hair Artist:  Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012

Olivia Culpo, Miss Universe 2012, is always on the go and in front of a camera. To be “picture perfect” in a snap, she often relies on her favorite CHI hair tools. Follow the tips below to recreate these quick, event-worthy curls with the CHI ARC, available June 2013.

Are you best buddies with your blow dryer? Does the thought of leaving home without passing a straightener through your strands strike fear in your heart? You are not alone!

Heated hair tools are a daily essential for many. If you’re not prepping properly and using your tools correctly though, you could be headed for a hair-tastrophe! Read on for a few tips to heat up in a healthier way.

Get The Good Stuff!

There are a lot of tool options out there and quality varies greatly. Investing in well-made tools, utilizing the best technologies, pays off when it comes to hair health.

Healthier hair technologies and upgrades to look for:

• Power Settings: Professional quality blow dryers will offer a stronger air flow that reduces drying time. Less drying time, equals less damage. The higher the wattage, the stronger the air flow. Look for dryers that are 1500 watts and higher for best results. Variable speed settings are ideal to allow you to adjust the heat down to a less-damaging level for finishing touches.
• Heat Settings: Professional quality irons often have adjustable heat settings, allowing you to choose the lowest heat necessary for styling your hair.
• Ceramic: Ceramic irons and dryers distribute consistent, even heat that helps set styles faster. They also lock in more of the hair’s moisture to prevent strands from drying out.
• Ionic Technology: Ionic dryers help break apart the water molecules in wet or damp hair, resulting in a quicker drying time. Ions also help hair to retain more moisture, softness and shine.

Style for Your Hair Type!

As mentioned above, many higher quality irons have temperature control settings for styling. To protect your hair and prevent damage, use a tool that offers the recommended heat for your individual hair type. The finer the hair, the lower the temperature should be. Recommended temps for flat irons and curling irons:

• Thin/Fragile Hair:  around 200-250F
• Fine Hair:  around 225-300F
• Normal Hair:  around 300-400F
• Wavy Hair:  around 350-400F
• Coarse/Thick Hair: around 400F

Practice Protection and Prevention!

Thermal protection products act as barrier against heat damage to your hair. Always prepare your hair properly before blow drying or ironing with the right product for the job. Some of the heat protection options available from Farouk Systems:

• CHI 44 Iron Guard is a weightless, ceramic-infused spray for wet or dry hair. It offers superior thermal protection from the inside out, and is ideal for use with all CHI irons and dryers.
• CHI Total Protect is a lightweight lotion, designed to be applied to wet hair prior to blow drying. Total Protect locks in moisture and shields hair from daily thermal and sun damage.
• BioSilk Silk Therapy 17 is a weightless leave-in conditioning spray for wet hair that seals strands, strengthens hair, and protects against heat and environmental damage.
• CHI Silk Infusion and BioSilk Silk Therapy offer weightless styling protection with maximum moisture binding properties. Silk Infusion is ideal for normal to thick/coarse hair and Silk Therapy is best suited for fine to normal hair. Both can be applied to wet or dry hair.

Style Smart!

Educate yourself on the right way to use your tools! Read the manuals, consult with your stylist and always practice good tool techniques. A few key points:

• Hold hair dryers at least 6-8 inches from hair to reduce the possibility of heat damage.
• Blow dry until 90% dry and let the remainder finish drying naturally.
• Never flat iron wet hair. Blow dry first, then iron to finish.

How to Repair Hair Damage

Already suffering from hair damage? Here are a few recommendations to nourish stressed strands and prevent damage from spreading:

Get regular trims! Split ends usually occur when recommended trims aren’t kept up, so make a point to see your stylist on a regular basis for preventative care. How often should you go? Every 4-6 weeks is an average recommendation for trim visits, but this can vary based on your individual hairstyle and hair type. Talk to your stylist to find the best time frame for you. Once you have split ends, the only true cure is to cut them off above the split!

Replenish At Home! If your hair is damaged, you need hair care products that will provide extra nourishment to prevent damage from spreading.

Products to try:

• The CHI Keratin line replenishes hair’s natural protein to protect and rebuild strength.
• CHI Nourish Intense products infuse hair with intensive doses of moisturizing nutrients to relieve dryness and recharge dull strands.
• BioSilk Fruit Cocktail is a reconstructing treatment, formulated with natural fruit acids that restore moisture and softness, while improving hair’s elasticity and strength.

Deep Treatment Additions:

• Mist the CHI Keratin Mist on damp hair (after conditioning) and blow dry in once a week for added strength and pH balancing.
• Porous hair treatment (can be done once a month or so). This treatment should be done when you have nowhere to go, like late at night:  Shampoo hair with favorite shampoo, apply a generous amount of CHI Silk Infusion (almost to the point where the hair looks greasy), and blow dry it in.  The following day shampoo and condition as normal.

Seek Professional Help! If your hair is excessively damaged, at-home care may not be enough. Consult with your stylist about options for more intense restorative and strengthening treatments.

Have questions, need advice or want more tips for maintaining healthy hair? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help!

Hair by: Rocky Vitelli Model: America’s Next Top Model 2007, Jaslene Gonzalez

This gorgeous updo made its television debut March 24, 2013 on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice. The look was created by Farouk Systems Creative Artist Rocky Vitelli, as he assisted with the efforts of Apprentice’s Team CHI in their challenge to market the CHI brand. Team CHI may have lost on the show but this hairdo is definitely a winner!  We reached out to Rocky for the secrets to creating the look at home. Read through the steps and give it a go! TIP: If your hair is wavy, you may want to straighten it with a blowout or flat iron first.

Section off the top of the hair, starting at the corner of the eye, straight to the back.

Back comb the top section and roll/fold it over to the side to form a cone.

Pin into place inside the cone.

Pull the remaining hair into a ponytail on the lower left side in back and secure with a hair tie.

Split pony into two sections and create a figure “8″ shape using one section to form the top curve and the second section to form the bottom curve.

Pin the ends into place.

Finish with a spritz of CHI Helmet Head hair spray for long-lasting hold.

Tune in Sunday, March 24 at 9 p.m. EST to NBC for a showcase of styling, celebrities and charity! The season six All-Star Celebrity Apprentice contestants compete in a series of business related tasks to win the CHI & BioSilk brand challenge presented by Farouk Shami, Founder of Farouk Systems and CEO Basim Shami.

We’ve got your sneak peek at the coming episode in this video!

Since the 2007 premiere of the “Celebrity” version of the franchise, the series has generated millions of dollars for charities worldwide. This year is no exception. The first-ever “All-Star Celebrity Apprentice” includes 14 fan-favorite celebrities fighting for a second chance to raise money and awareness for their charity of choice. The last person standing will have the honor of delivering a $250,000 bonus check to their designated charity.

Mr. Shami presents an additional challenge on the March 24th Farouk Systems episode! To raise additional money for the project manager’s charity of choice Farouk Systems will donate $1 for each new fan who likes the BioSilk & CHI facebook pages between March 24th and March 31st at 9 p.m. EST*.

The celebrity contestants are: Trace Adkins, Stephen Baldwin, Gary Busey, Marilu Henner, La Toya Jackson, Penn Jillette, Lil Jon, Claudia Jordan, Bret Michaels, Omarosa, Lisa Rinna, Brande Roderick, Dee Snider and Dennis Rodman.

Check out more of the fun with exclusive behind-the-scenes images from the episode’s taping in New York below and follow along with CHI  and BioSilk on Twitter during the show to chat, cheer your team on and see more pictures from our files!

Team CHI

Team BioSilk

*Up to a maximum of $50,000.

Pinterest is an absolutely addicting site! If you haven’t joined it yet, consider yourself warned! It’s not ALL fun and games, though. Pinterest can be a really effective marketing tool for independent hairstylists and local salons, too. We’ve got a few hot tips to make the most out of your pinning efforts and create some buzz for your business. Read on and enjoy!

Perfect Your Pinning!

A few key basics to keep in mind when pinning:

Create An Online Idea Gallery!

You know how some clients like to browse through hairstyle magazines for ideas on cuts, color and style? Make your Pinterest account an online gallery for inspired hair ideas. Clients can peruse your boards from home or the waiting room and pull up their top picks to show you before their appointment begins. If you have a tablet available, you can even hand it to clients who show up early and let them browse on a bigger screen. Idea boards to include (of course, make sure anything you pin you have the supplies and skills to do):

Capture More Local Clients!

Getting tons of repins and likes are great but what you REALLY want are more clients and repins from outside your state aren’t likely to help you all that much. Most pins have very little to do with any specific location but there are a few tricks you can do to help bring more followers in from your surrounding area. Try adding boards like these to your mix:

Share Some Simple How-Tos!

Want to make your clients feel like you go the extra mile for them? Pin a few simple at-home how-tos to a of Pinterest board. After a new color or cut for a client, recommend a look for them to try at home with their style from the board. A simple send-off like this will do the trick and make clients feel like you’re looking out for them here and at home: “There’s a couple of really cute braids (ponytails, updos, etc) that are really simple to do and would really look great with your hair. Take a look on our how-to Pinterest board when you get home if you’d like to play around with your style.”

For a great sites to pin a few home how-tos from, try The Beauty Deparment, Hair Romance or the CHI Pinterest board, of course!

Be the Original!

It’s fast and easy to pin from other pins on Pinterest and it’s a nice way to get seen by others with similar interests. Occasionally, though, you should be the original pinner of some pins, too. The original pinner is always referenced on a pin so no matter how many times it gets repinned, your information will stay visible to any future pinners. This is fabulous for your visibility so search the web outside of Pinterest a few times a week for interest content and pin directly from the source.

Final thoughts: Pinterest is a creative, visually compelling site so keep that in mind when choosing your pins. Above all, explore and HAVE FUN!

P.S. A few quick don’ts:

Don’t overpin! Just as with Facebook, flooding your followers’ streams is considered a faux pas and will often result in several unfollows. Pin a few things at a time (5-10) and spread out your pinning.

Don’t remove an image’s credit! Never upload (that’s upload, not PIN) an image that isn’t yours or remove the source link from a pin that isn’t yours. All images are all copyrighted upon creation and to remove the credit or redirect a link to your own site is copyright theft.

Have questions, need advice or want more tips to improve your Pinterest marketing? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help!

Hair By:  Anna Cantu, Farouk Systems Executive Creative Artist, Model:  Ana Yancy Clavel, Miss Universe El Salvador 2012

Turn up the volume with the miracle of silk! Gorgeous, high volume hair is easier than ever with BioSilk Volumizing Therapy products and this step-by-step guide to the perfect blowout. Enriched with rice protein, BioSilk Volumizing Therapy hair products penetrate and expand the hair shaft for a noticeably fuller look. Get ready to enjoy lift like you’ve never seen before!

Facebook is an inexpensive, simple and FUN way to market you or your salon and connect on a personal level with clients. Whether you’re just starting out on Facebook or already have a page, you’re sure to find a few nuggets of information here that will help you take your page to the next level and drive more business through your door.

Set Yourself Up For Success!

Create a Facebook “PAGE” for you or your salon to use for business, not a personal “PROFILE”. It encourages many more people to find and follow you, it’s more professional and you’ll have access to great statistics and applications for pages. Pages are easy to set up, simple to administer and help keep your work and personal life separate. Worth noting: Facebook has policies against using personal profiles for business purposes, and, as they’ve recently announced, you may wake up one day to find your “misclassified” profile was simply deleted. Helpful page links:

Promotion Pays Off!

Once you have your page setup, let everyone know about it! Invite your friends to join (admins can do this), share it to your personal profile wall, and add the URL to your email signature and business cards. When you have a client in for a visit, mention it in person, too. They may just whip out their phone and follow you right then and there.

Brag A Bit!

It’s okay to brag a bit. You do beautiful work and you deserve to show it off! A look of the day or look of the week post would be perfect to show off a cut, color or style you’ve done and it might just nudge someone into making a change for themselves. With today’s cell camera quality, you can take great shots on the go and use fun programs like PicsArt (available for iPhone and Android) to create before/after collages, add fun filters and put text on the pics quickly and easily.

Leverage The Big Brands!

As a stylist or salon, you’re likely using products from a major manufacturer like Farouk Systems every day. If you’ve posted a look you’re particularly proud of, don’t hesitate to share it with the company that manufactured the products you used. Most brands would love to see what you are doing with their goods and many may share it with their own fans, giving YOU tons of additional exposure. To increase your chances of being shared from a brand, post to their page and include a sentence or two about what you did and what products of theirs you used.

Mix It Up!

Your page will primarily be filled with posts about your work, events and promotions, but from time to time, mix in other items you think might interest your fans, too. Fun fashion, new beauty finds, inspirational quotes and tasteful humor are always popular. Follow other pages that post the type of content you’re looking for and share a few now and then with your fans. Remember that images typically get the most response on Facebook! For fun content ideas, visit:

Always Say Something!

Speaking of sharing content from other pages, try to always add a comment when you do. Statistics show that posts shared with at least some text from you will often get more than twice the response than those that are shared without a comment. It can be something as simple as “Check out this gorgeous look!”

Consistency Is Key!

Try to build yourself a routine for posting. You don’t necessarily have to post every day but posting with some regularity will keep you in the mind of your fans and encourage them to look forward to the next post. Try to post at least three times a week, if you can’t do daily, but no more than three to five posts in a day. It can also be helpful to establish regularity with the types of content you post. for instance, maybe you post a morning inspiration and at lunch a photo of your work. Or, every Monday a new look of the week.

Timing Is *Almost* Everything!

When your primary audience is in a local area, you have the advantage of being able to time posts to go out when the majority of your fans are online. Many people check Facebook before work (6:30am-7:30am), during lunch (12:00pm-1:00pm) and after work (5:30-7:30). Weekends are also popular. You can use Facebook’s built-in scheduler to set your posts up in advance to release at a specific time. See what works best for you with a bit of trial.

Keep In Touch!

Nothing is more frustrating to someone reaching out to you, than being ignored. Don’t let messages on your fan page go unanswered. Try to check in daily, or at least every other day, to respond to any questions, comments or private messages that need follow up. Facebook has a mobile app for page admins now that you can download to help you out. It’s available for iPhone and Android in most areas.

Make It Yours!

Facebook has quite a few options to customize your page to really make it your own. Take advantage of all of them.

There are so many options so explore and, above all, HAVE FUN!

P.S. A few quick don’ts:

DON’T GIVE UP! It takes time to build a good following of fans who are genuinely interested in what you do and engage with your posts. Quality over quantity is the rule – having 100 fans that are likely to do business with you is worth ten times more than 1,000 fans who don’t care about anything you post and will likely never use your services. Remember – if you build it WELL, they will come.

Don’t overpost! Space your posts out throughout the day and try to avoid too many – more than five posts a day is typically too much and could drive fans away.

Don’t link your Twitter and Facebook together. Ever! They are two very different mediums and auto-posting from one to the other looks messy and can discourage engagement.

Have questions, need advice or want more tips on how to do something on Facebook? Leave a comment and we’ll be happy to help!

We fell in absolute LOVE with Jennifer Lawrence’s braided low chignon at the Golden Globes, so we just HAD to create our own version. Inspired by Jennifer’s gorgeous updo, we tapped into Farouk Systems Creative Artist Rocky Vitelli for the “how-to” and set to work. Our version was created on shoulder length hair, showing this look doesn’t require super long locks, either! Editor’s Note: I am not a hairstylist so if I can DIY this, so can you! Give it a try!