Did somebody say Chocolate Decadence?

Valentine's Day is a day about romance.  We think of flowers, maybe a special dinner, and yes, chocolate.  Salon b has put some serious thought into how we can make your Valentine's Day special, and knowing that the skincare benefits of chocolate are so incredible that we're doing an month-long offer on organic chocolate facial!


If you've never heard about how great organic dark chocolate is for your skin, here are a few points to consider:

Rich in antioxidants, dark chocolate combats free radical damage, which causes inflammation and aging.
Highliy moisturizing, it improves both texture and hydration.
Chocolate is thought to increase blood flow to the skin, imporving radiance.
Layering chocolate as an ingredient rejuvinates your skin by helping increase collagen turnover and fighting against sun damage.

So by layering, we mean that every element of your Chocolate Decadence Facial utilizes and organic chocolate product - cleanser, exfoliant, massage oil, toner, serum and moisturizer.  The smell and feel of all of these are absolutely scruptious!
If the sound of chocolate, chocolate, chocolate is making you hungary, we're going to entice you a little bit more by offering you a cup of gourmet hot chocolate and a little chocolate treat to enjoy before or after your service.       

Even with Leap year, February has fewer days, so book your Chocolate Decadence Facial now.  Only $86, this is an outstanding value that both you and your skin will love!

4 Days with Sassoon

Ever since the start of beauty school there were always 2 things I wanted to accomplish in my career of hairdressing:
1. Become a color specialist
2. Take a cutting course/courses at the Vidal Sassoon Academy

That is primarily how I came to work here at Salon b, because their staff is trained on Sassoon cutting techniques and full of American Board Certified Hairdressers(ABCH). Perfect fit right?! Right! Since, I started assisting I was immediately taught Sassoons ABC's of haircutting and upon finishing the assistant program I was studying hard to become an ABCH. Success! So I've been on the floor now for a couple years and I was still craving the Sassoon experience, so I decided on taking the creative cutting course in Santa Monica as was recommend by our stylists who had also taken the class. What an amazing experience!
To begin, the academy is located right in the heart of Santa Monica, the Third street promenade. Shopping, food, music, people, so it was no place I'd get bored at night going alone. I stayed at the cutest little hotel 1 block away from the promenade and an easy walk to the academy, The CalMar hotel suites. I highly recommend this hotel! Not only was it clean and reasonably priced for that area, I felt like it was my little home away from home. I chose the suite with a kitchenette, dining table, a couch that turned into a queen bed and a separate room. They held my luggage for me while I was away at class on my check out day, there was a heated pool, and the staff left me flowers and a bottle of wine on my last day....BONUS!

I found a Whole Foods down the street for me to stock up the fridge with some healthy snacks and there were plenty of interesting restaurants to eat at. One favorite restaurant I found was Stop 'N Cafe Greek Cuisine. They had delicious breakfast and gyros for lunch. The owners were very friendly. He found out I was staying in town for the Sassoon academy and he showed me a photo on the wall he had taken with Mr. Vidal Sassoon himself in the 90's! Apparently the academy was originally located right across the street from their restaurant! Fun fact!

Another favorite was California Monster Salads, located right next to the academy, with a huge variety of salad toppings and healthy dressings. I went their frequently during lunchtime during class.

The Vidal Sassoon Academy is located right above Hooters, can't miss it, haha! Its 3 levels and is the only Sassoon location in US that is an academy, the other cities are held in Sassoon salons. Classes began with some haircutting theory, then the instructor, I had Randall, would demonstrate a haircut on a model. The demos were great because he would slowly walk us through his whole haircut, explaining every detail. This way we got to see how the masters work! After our lunch break, Randall would assign us to a live model to do a haircut on. Our haircuts took about 2 hours, as he would walk each of us through every step of the haircut according to our models needs. Working this slowly was a nice change of pace! In the salon we are on a time schedule which can be pressing on doing your best work. There were 7 other students in the class with me mostly from around California area. In another class we joined up with on the last day, the students were from all over the world...Australia, Korea, Russia, England, North Carolina, Jersey, Florida! Shows how much of a reputation Sassoon education has put on the world!

Although I was trained with the Vidal Sassoon techniques, the advanced class was extremely rewarding. I feel it helped refined my skills, simplifying haircuts that may seem complicated on the outside, but in actuality are the basics in a combination that are perfectly designed on the head. My week there has re-inspired me in my everyday life and has given me the confidence to tackle any hair design. I'm already planning my next class there, men's barbering and definitely another creative class! You can never stop learning and perfecting your craft, no matter what career your in!