the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

surface hair products

i would like to take this time to shine a light on surface hair products. this canadian product line’s focus is the growth and development of strong healthy hair as well as promoting the health of the planet we all share. they are very eco conscious and offer a wide range of products. from curly haired folks to those experiencing hair loss, surface hair has something for all heads. my personal faves are the oils and products from the blow out line (image above). the curls mousse is really great and delivers on hold, shine, and volume. the surface products we carry in the store are the products that our stylists use and love. but if you stumble onto any other surface products you’d like to try that we don’t carry, please let your stylist know or even the front desk. we can order in anything you’d like to try!

curls products

Surface was established in 2008 and is headquartered in Saskatchewan, Canada. Inspired by salon owner and international hair stylist Wayne Grund. Surface was founded on the principle of respecting personal health and the Earth. The Surface culture is committed to growth while encouraging personal health, respecting the Earth and helping others. The name Surface came from a passion to develop superior, all natural products that create a strong surface of success from which salons and their guests could grow. The Surface Tree represents a strong foundation of life from which there will be never-ending growth.

We offer a culture of education, guest service and technical expertise. Surface is committed to giving back to the environment, providing natural, organic ingredients for their products and packaging as well as giving back to the community.

wayne grund (founder) and family

OUR ETHOS

Surface was founded with a deep passion to develop superior, natural and organic products that respect personal health and the Earth.

Surface is a corporate sponsor of the Arbor Day Foundation, and together we have planted more than 88,000 trees across North America. We are also proud partners of World Vision, sponsoring over 50 children and their communities across 6 counties with food, water, shelter, medicine and education. With every Surface purchase, you are supporting our goal of leaving the world a better place than we found it.

wayne loves his seed oils! you can use them on your body as well! BONUS

these products are made without parabens, gluten and sulfates. surface products are vegan, cruelty free and made with natural ingredients. the scents are tolerable and the pricing is competitive. the packaging is a little small but with our recycling program, you can save when you bring your bottles back. i just wanted to shine a spotlight on one of our canadian lines to give our clients more information. you can check out their site and take a quiz to see what products could work for you! let me know if you like these products or have even tried them in the comments below!

✌🏾-p

*i copied and pasted the surface info from the site so, if you’re in it and notice…🙊

the ramblings of a chronic over thinker

how’s your health?

this top is so funny, i love it!

i have a busy job and as many of you know, i’m on my feet for 90% of my services. i get my steps in but sometimes i do feel like my job has GIVEN me some health issues. back pain from shampooing, shoulder pain from blowdrying and hand pain from braiding and styling. although i do love my job, it has some pain and at times, has challenged my health.

i’ve managed to get a hold of my fitness, more or less. i have a decent routine and make the time to move and get sweaty. i also like to get a daily meditation in to get my mind right. what are the things you do to stay fit and focused? are you one that has a routine or you’re more flexible with your fitness and focus. i mean, it takes all kinds right?

i really enjoy boxing as well

i try to stay strong by lifting weights and exercising. i do monitor my sugar (aging and sugar are a bad combination) and at times i wish i could more… just in a bit of a slump these days and i need some fitness motivation. real talk, i’m just waiting for the snow to melt so i can see some green grass. i’d love to hear your fitness and focus routines, maybe it’ll rejuvenate me because, you know, march.

✌🏾-p

march is just dank and gloomy sometimes, with the melting snow and the brown grass? 👎🏽👎🏽 deflation city…

I am not my hair analysis

I like to think about hair a lot. As a hairstylist, this should make sense, but sometimes I think hair might be taking up too much of my brain space. Lately, I’ve been noticing a lot of it in music, so I’ve decided to analyze a few that mention or talk about hair, in a short and simplified format just to put a little rock in your shoe. So that maybe next time you turn on your favourite Spotify playlist or absentmindedly turn the radio on in your car, or while you’re walking down the aisles at Safeway and you hear a song you know arbitrarily, you’ll stop and think a little bit more about the words.

I’m writing about the song “I am not my hair” by India.Arie featuring Akon. If you’ve never heard this song, I would suggest you stop reading now, go listen to it, and then come back. 

The song opens with rapper Akon taking us back to a time in his younger life, trying to get girls and trying to land a job, but having problems with both because his hair is deemed unattractive for one and inappropriate for the other. What would you do it this situation? Style your hair so you can land the girl? Cut it all off so you can nail that job interview and impress the big guys in suits? Either way you’re sort of forced to compromise what you really want right? He says so himself at the end of this verse; he didn’t see success, until after he cut it all off anyways.

Then bops in India Arie. She she gives us a timeline of hairstyles in her life from a young age up until adulthood, dealing with harmful hairstyles, harsh chemicals, and dealing with hair loss. All of these are very common scenarios for young black women with tight afro hair. And along with that comes, shame, embarrassment, sometimes bullying, all in an effort to conform to an image that other people want you to be. 

Later on in the song, India asks a very important question: does the state of her hair actually matter? And that question can be extended to us, and even beyond hair. Does our appearance inherently change our value as human beings at all? I think the easy and obvious answer is no. But if we all believed that as a society, songs like this wouldn’t be written, right? 

There are people who look different from us, who behave differently from us, who speak differently from us, and we judge them. I think all of us are born with prejudice towards others not like us, whether we like it or not. 

The answer to this question is given in the song specifically in the chorus as India sings: 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am not your expectations, no 

I am not my hair

I am not this skin

I am the soul that lives within

One of my favourite things about this song is that the answer is in you. 

It’s 2024. We all know racism exists, that’s not a secret. If you pay attention to the news, you will know that there are still children in the U.S. that have been suspended from school because they refuse to change their hair to meet the standards of the school dress code. Standards that are inherently racist. You may know that we’ve come very far since this song has been released. There are laws that have been enacted so that people with different hair textures can’t be refused jobs based on their hair. (For more information on this, I highly recommend you Google “the Crown Act”). 

This song is almost 20 years old, and its message is still incredibly accurate to today’s society. But I think this song is really trying to get across the message that it’s about self acceptance first. It’s about the soul that lives within. It’s not about placing the blame on the people that create the expectations, or even making them change their perspective. It’s about you accepting you for who you are, knowing where you’re worth comes from, and that your hair has nothing to do with that.

Chanté 

💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵Happy Valentine’s Day💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

The Fresh Perspective...

So fresh and So clean!

Hi-hi to everyone that cares about our blog! I am back on! Full disclosure, I’m back in school and for some reason, that helps me focus on writing. My classes finish in April so here’s to hoping the posts continue past that! Ha! I make no promises…

As most of you know, new years bring on new goals, challenges and dreams. That’s the same for the shop as well! Since the pandemic, and the changing of our lives, much has shifted. Our goal to have an eco-friendly boutique was stymied by the pandemic and the new and strained shopping habits of absolutely eveyone. Now that we all seem to be back on track, the boutique is as well! We found some new items for all of you to try as well as some new gift ideas and joy bringing jems!

moisturizer? sunscreen? you use this stuff?

There will be a new skin care line we will be revealing next month for our birthday celebration. We have been on Academy Rd. for 14 years and are honoured to still be a part of this street and it’s surrounding community. Come check us out on the 23rd of February and celebrate 14 years with us!

-p

….aaaand if you wanna bring ME joy, like this, comment or share! 😉

The Fresh Perspective...

Get ready for it!

protect yourself

We’re here! We made it to June! As most of us know, Winnipeg is heading for a pure and certain heat wave. It’s looking like nothing but 30’s and up from here on out. I’m here for it because I love the heat! But even me, sun worshipper number 1, is aware of it’s dangers.

dehydration will set in…

Hydration is the name of the game here folks! For healthy hair, skin and nails, we need water first. *Consuming a proper amount of water daily will help keep your hair skin and nails balanced with moisture as well as keep you cool! I would call this the first step. Keep hydrated with water and you’re already doing more than you know

I use spf on my skin and I’m sure to apply cuticle oil to my nails as much as I can. I have a bottle in my office and one in my car. At red lights, my cuticles get some love! Honestly, if I don’t have a few bottles of cuticle oil kicking around, I would never use it! When it comes to my hair it’s a little bit tricky because I can’t always wear a hat. (sometimes the afro is really poppin off and nothing can hold it down) All of that to say, the best way to protect your hair from the sun is to cover it up. Wear a hat! If you can’t cover your head, opt for some heat protection products and serums to keep from dehydrating your mid-lengths and ends.

I love you

In store we have a great variety of heat protecting products that not only protect from your hot tools but the sun and her rays as well. Unfortunately we don’t sell hats yet, but I may be onto something. Stay tuned and stay cool! If you really want to make my day, subscribe below!

-peace

*there is a specific amount of water everyone needs, do what’s best for your body.

The Fresh Perspective...

ARE YOU NICE?

Winter is coming to an end and we all know what comes up next, SPRINGTIME! For some of us, this is our jam! For others, it’s another change that is dreaded. Puddles, rain, remnants left from the various snowfalls hardly seem springish but in Manitoba, you know how it is. When stages end and new ones begin, it’s hard not to look back and see where you were. Life hasn’t been easy as of late…

what a nice smile

so nice!

I haven’t been that nice actually. For real, somewhere during the turmoil of 2022 I began to stop being nice.

I was annoyed 9/10 times everyday. Folks weren’t kind, folks weren’t nice and it drove me crazy! I began to realize that I too was part of the problem! I would focus on whatever task I was into and wouldn’t look up to engage anyone or anything. If I was on a run, I would never look at the oncoming runner. Walks too! My eyes just face forward. NOT NICE.

There were a few times I smiled at a face and was met with nothing. Even at times I would say ‘hello’ and not an answer at all! Nothing! I think that’s when I became less nice. Tired of people being tired, I too started slipping and I started being unkind or rather, out of touch and out of connection.

This entry is reminding me that I actually like being nice and I like engaging humans in real life. I do. Sometimes though, it’s easy to forget. Be nice and subscribe to this blog. Hehehehe 😉

-peace