Princeton is full of barbershops and salons, all offering their customers unique services. I visited Salon Pure, located in Palmer Square above the bustling Princeton streets, to talk with Samantha Kemler. Kemler is the salon’s curly hair specialist, and she emphasized her value of protecting those luscious locks.
What are the best ways to take care of your hair at home? Using the right products. Always ask your stylist what products are going to be best suited to answer some of your needs. For taking care of it at home, stay away from box dye. Box dye is going to be your number one worst enemy.
How does box dye treatment differ from getting it at the salon? Box dye is just fabric dye and fabric softener. The salon’s color [is made of] many different types of hair colors. Here, we’re also able to customize colors. If you want a specific shade, [go] to a hair salon. Some people that even have some clients that come in and ask [to] use henna instead for hair color.
What is the healthiest color to dye hair? Are bright colors more harmful for your hair compared to toned-down shades? I wouldn’t necessarily say that bright colors aren’t good for your hair. It depends on hair history, what services you’ve had [done], as well as your goals. If you have jet black hair, and you want to go platinum blonde, you’re not going to get that done in one session without your hair being damaged ... you have to do it gradually. You’ll probably get your platinum blonde hair by like two years. And if somebody wants a certain color, like if they want blue, for example, [it’s] going to wash out after some time. Blue [is] what we call [a] fantasy color ... anything that is not like a natural hair color. If you like your hot showers, don’t get a fantasy color because the way to preserve them for longer is using a color safe shampoo and taking cold showers.
For people with different hair textures, what do they ask their stylists for specifically? Well, I’m a natural ginger, and I have curls ... if somebody has curly hair, they’re probably going to want a deep conditioning. They may want something that’s going to help them with frizz. A lot of times that can also be addressed with a deep conditioning as frizz can result from weather.
What advice would you give to people to help them take care of their hair? If you want to do highlights, [that’s] perfectly fine, but don’t go to the beach right after. Give your hair some time. If you’re planning on going to the beach, get the highlights the week before. If you’re going to go to the pool ... [which has] chlorine, go to the pool all you want but just make sure you’re protecting your hair.