Mirror Magazine

Mirror Magazine

Colourful strands
What's the difference between frosting, tipping, painting and streaking? Are there any advantages over regular bleaching?

These are all double-process techniques that involve bleaching selected strands or streaks rather than all of the hair. Each technique gives different effects. Frosting gives an overall salt-and-pepper effect by bleaching selected strands all over the head to blend with darker hair.

Tipping is a variation of frosting in which only the tips of selected strands are bleached, the process being known as streaking. In hair painting, bleach is applied to the outside of the hair with a paintbrush in either chosen or random patterns. These techniques can produce interesting or dramatic effects, especially on dark hair.

Two methods are available for frosting and tipping. In one, a special plastic cap with tiny holes is placed on the head and fine strands of hair are pulled through the holes and then bleached.

In the other method, a few strands of hair are selected and placed on a square of aluminium foil. Bleach is applied starting about 1/4 to the 1/8 inch from the scalp (or just to the tips), and the foil is wrapped around the hair until the bleaching process is completed. The degree of frosting or tipping is controlled by the number of strands bleached. The foil technique is slower, but some people prefer the effect achieved. It is the only technique used for streaking.

The bleach used for all these techniques is very active and comes in the form of a paste for accurate positioning. After bleaching, a toner can be applied to provide a more desirable shade.

There are several advantages to frosting, tipping, or painting compared with overall bleaching. Since the bleaching solution does not come into contact with the scalp there is no danger of irritation. All the hair is not involved so only those hairs that have been bleached are damaged. The procedures do not have to be repeated as frequently as for all-over bleaching, so damage to the bleached hair is minimized.

Are you happy at work?
Most people feel a bit grumpy on Monday mornings, although this does not automatically mean you are in the wrong job. Try this quiz to find out whether it is you or the job that needs to change.

1. When the alarm clock goes off on a workday morning, do you:
(a) Jump straight out of bed and make breakfast
(b) Daydream for five minutes
(c) Roll over and go back to sleep for half an hour
(d) Meditate or do your daily exercises?

2. When you dress for work, do you:
(a) Wear your best clothes
(b) Wear your second-best clothes
(c) Wear whatever comes to hand when you open the wardrobe
(d) Wear your cheapest or most unglamorous attire?

3. While commuting to your place of business, do you:
(a) Wish it were Friday
(b) Think about your next holiday.
(c) Think about the night before
(d) Think about and plan your day?

4. Which statement is nearest the truth?
(a) You only go to work for the money
(b) You go to work because you like to get out of the house
(c) You enjoy your job - most of the time
(d) You are over-qualified for the job you are doing?

5. Which of the following would you most object to doing:
(a) Making tea and coffee for everybody
(b) Covering up for your boss's frequent absences
(c) Working a lot of overtime
(d) Doing your boss's shopping during your own lunch hour?

6. Workwise, what could be the worst thing that could happen?
(a) You get severely reprimanded for a small mistake
(b) You are passed over for promotion
(c) You lose your popularity
d) Your boss starts making sexual advances?

7. Was your last salary increase:
(a) An insult
(b) Less than you expected
(c) More than you expected
(d) About right?

8. Which of the following is your biggest "fault":
(a) You are unpunctual
(b) You often get too involved in internal politics
(c) You frequently get irritable with colleagues
(d) You are a workaholic?

9. You discover that a close colleague, who has less responsibility, is earning more than you. Would you:
(a) Complain to your boss
(b) Be nasty or ignore the colleague, without offering an explanation
(c) Threaten to leave if your money is not increased
(d) Be puzzled and upset, but say nothing?

10. If you won or inherited a lot of money, would you:
(a) Take a long holiday and then seek part-time employment or charity work
(b) Leave your job without giving any notice
(c) Carry on working and put the money in the bank
(d) Buy as many shares in your company as you could afford?

11. If you lost out on a promotion opportunity, would you:
(a) Feel bitter
(b) Feel relieved
(c) Work even harder to prove yourself
(d) Demand to know why you did not get the job?

12. Your firm is proposing to form a social club. Would you:
(a) Not be interested - you see enough of your workmates
(b) Be extremely interested and attend regularly
(c) Only go once a year - at Christmas
(d) Volunteer to serve on the social committee?

13. In the evenings, do you:
(a) Discuss any work problems with your partner
(b) Push the day's events from your mind
(c) Take the work home with you
(d) Have frequent nightmares or sleepless nights over difficulties at work?

14. Your company is looking for voluntary redundancies and offers generous financial terms. Would you:
(a) Volunteer immediately
(b) Reassure yourself that the company could not do without you
(c) Find it a difficult, heart-breaking decision to make
(d) Find yourself another job before you consider the offer?
15. When you go on your annual holiday, do you:
(a) Leave a full and detailed list so your stand-in knows what to do
(b) Ring your boss from the airport or railway station to make sure everything is okay
(c) Spend a fortune on postcards to your workmates
(d) Forget everything and everybody for two lovely weeks?

How to score:
1. (a)2 (b)3 (c)5 (d)1
2.(a)1 (b)2 (c)3 (d)5
3.(a)5 (b)3 (c)2 (d)1
4. (a)5 (b)2 (c)3 (d)1
5. (a)2 (b)1 (c)5 (d)3
6. (a)2 (b)1 (c)5 (d)3
7. (a)3 (b)5 (c)2 (d)1
8. (a)5 (b)2 (c)3 (d)1
9. (a)5 (b)3 (c)2 (d)1
10. (a)3 (b)5 (c)2 (d)1
11. (a)3 (b)5 (c)1 (d)2
12. (a)5 (b)2 (c)3 (d)1
13. (a)2 (b)5 (c)1 (d)3
14. (a)5 (b)1 (c)2 (d)3
15.(a)2 (b)1 (c)3 (d)5

What your score means:
15-29: What a saint. You are in love with your job. Not many people can genuinely say they look forward to getting up and going to work, but you do. Come rain, or shine, you are always cheerful and enthusiastic, which is rather nauseating to everybody else first thing in the morning. You thrive on work - but don't be such a willing dogsbody. Being too useful in one job can cause you to lose your promotion. You are certainly not ready to vacate your post, but be careful you don't become too much like part of the furniture.

30-44: Look around. You have the balance just right. You enjoy your job and you take it very seriously - when you are there. If a better offer came up somewhere else, you would consider it but for you it is sometimes a question of better the devil you know, which could hold you back from a better opportunity. A change of scenery might do you some good, but you are fairly comfy where you are at the moment.

45-59: Go, go, go. You are definitely feeling rather unhappy and insecure in your present position, and it shows. No-one wants to work alongside a misery, so either grin and bear it or get yourself another job. You can find all sorts of excuses as to why you should stay put, but you are only fooling yourself. You are not reaching your full potential so think positive and do something about your stagnating career. Who knows, a nice new job might put a spring in your step and a smile back on your face.

60-75: Who needs you baby? You love to hate your job. It helps to pass the time. It's always fun spending your pay cheque at the end of the month, but that is as far as job satisfaction goes for you. You are bored but that is your own fault because you are basically a lazy person who clock-watches and wastes time. Try hard to take an interest in the job you have - you'd be surprised to find how much a little learning can get you through the day. If this fails, look for a career change and this time, have a serious think about your interests and what you'd like to do in life.
(Asia Features)

Back to Mirror Magazine