We will be giving away free hair chalk again this Friday! Hair chalk is a great way to temporarily dye your hair for a day. Hair chalk washes right out and you can change your look every day. Go to our Facebook page and like and share our posts for your chance to win free hair chalk!

MAHALO!

Okay ladies and gentlemen, we here at Aloha Hair Chalk have been so overwhelmed by the support we have received in the last few weeks with our business we just wanted to send out a big MAHALO. That is why this Friday we are going to be giving away a Large Broken Pieces Bag and all you have to do is like our Aloha Hair Chalk Facebook Page and share a post! It is that easy to win FREE HAIR CHALK!

Win free hair chalk from Aloha Hair Chalk!

Win free hair chalk from Aloha Hair Chalk, here is how to win.

1. Click the link to our Aloha Hair Chalk Facebook Page

2. Share any of our posts

3. Check back on Friday when we announce a winner!

It is really that simple to win free hair chalk and don't to look at older posts for great hair chalk photos and our simple guide to applying hair chalk! 

I truly just can not get enough of these beautiful hair chalk photos. Remember to see below for Aloha Hair Chalks simple guide to applying hair chalk.

Aloha Hair Chalk!

So the shop is officially up and running. You can find a link to my Etsy shop right here on the blog. Hair chalk is really just starting to take off. And why not? You can dye your hair with hair chalk and not worry about it. Don't like the color? Just wash it out. You don't need a salon to use hair chalk. Here are Aloha Hair Designs simple steps to applying hair chalk.

1. Apply your favorite leave in conditioner to clean hair

2. Style hair to your taste that day.

3. Rub chalk on hair downward.

4. Apply a light coat of hairspray 

That is all it takes! Hair chalk really is that simple. Like and share our facebook page for a chance to win free  hair chalk every week at Aloha Hair Chalk

So, I find it really interesting that I seem to have my finger on the pulse of hair trends for young women.  I really should have been writing way more about the hair feathers while it was all going on but, I vow I'll do better with this trend!  HAIR CHALK!  SO FUN!  Has anyone tried this yet?  I did the other day and it really put a smile on this tired mom's face!  One streak of orange and I was good to go!  Anyways, hair chalk is trending in a big way right now and all the celebrities are doing it too!  Just like feathers, this hair chalk craze really seems to be taking off!  Here are some fun photos I found about the web ...

What's a Eurohackle?

The feather trend started in Colorado by a girl named Dakota Hill.  She began putting feathers in people's hair at concerts and eventually, it caught on and exploded into what it is today.  Eurohackle is a type of saddle that Thomas Whiting distributes for fly-fishing.  These feathers are the longest, thickest prettiest feathers that exist.  They come from birds that are fully-matured and have been growing their plumes for at least three years.  It's just like growing hair!  The longer you wait to cut it, the longer the locks you'll have!  These coveted birds produce excellent feathers for tying flies (their original purpose) but, they're even more excellent for hair feather extensions.  Eurohackle are the "original salon-grade" hair feather.  These have become impossibly hard to find as there are only a handful of birds each year that give up these feathers.  In the summer of 2011, these saddles were going on ebay for $1000.  Here is a picture of a Eurohackle compared to a Metz saddle:

As you can see in the photo, some of the feathers are so long that they had to be tucked into the bag.  I took this picture because I purchased the saddle on the right on ebay because it was advertised as a "Eurohackle."  When I received it in the mail, I knew for a fact that I had been scammed.  The seller didn't realize that she was dealing with an expert!  I quickly received a refund and sent back the inferior saddle.  You can always tell a Eurohackle by it's label.  It's the only all maroon label that Whiting makes.  

Hair Feather Extension Storage Containers

Once I started getting into the hair feather extension business, I encountered some interesting challenges along the way.  One of the first ones was, how to keep the hair feathers straight and organized.  Keeping them in plastic bags wasn't doing the trick because inevitably, they'd get all tangled up!  This runs the risk of damaging the feathers.  If they're every which way, they snag on each other and make ugly little sections.  So, I invested in these:

I bought these at Fisher Hawaii - which is an office supply store.  I would imagine you could find something similar in a hardware store.  I'm not sure what it's original intention is for but the length was pretty appropriate for the feathers.  Some of the Eurohackle would inevitably have to curl at the bottoms  to fit in their compartment, but that's okay because they would straighten right out with a little bit of water.  I would say these boxes are about fourteen inches long and have a nice top that latches shut and could be transported very easily.  It certainly solved my feather storage problem.  They are also really nice because I could take them to craft shows and people could see the colors through the top of the container without touching them!  Needless to say, little kids fingers sure can mess up your stash!

We're Back!

After a long hiatus, we've returned to the web!  Since the last post, we spent time at our house in Nicaragua and brought a baby girl into the world.  Her name is Liv Aloha and she is absolutely perfect in every way.  Being a mom certainly takes up quite a bit of time and before we left for Central America, I sold the feather business.  While I miss the fun of owning my own business, I certainly have more time for my little girl.  Just because I've sold the business though, doesn't mean I should stop following the feather world!  I have a ton of information to share with you and now I can blog while the wee one sleeps.

Hair feather extensions are still going strong after last summer.  Now that it's June again, I see them popping up everywhere.  Hair feather extensions on dogs!  Hair feather extensions on Moms!  Hair feather extensions on young kids too!  I love seeing them and knowing that this isn't just a trend.  It truly is beauty and it truly is fun.

This is an example of Thomas Whiting's Red Badger feather.  It came off a a Eurohackle that had feathers in excess of 18"!  It was one of my favorite saddles last season.

  

Whiting Farms

Well, this post is over a half a year later and wow, was I on to something.  In the time that's passed between my previous entry and now, I've grossed over $65,000 in feather sales.  I was right.  Hair extensions was a great business to go into.  I figured it out in a short amount of time and watched my sales go through the roof.  It was such a great business venture and my boyfriend and I have enough money to get back to Nicaragua and live comfortably for a very long time.  I'm going to share with you everything I know about hair feather extensions starting with the ultimate brand of feathers, Whiting.  Check out this website for the man who breeds the perfect feathers.  whitingfarms.com

Like I said in a previous post, you're looking for saddle hackle feathers.  Buying a full saddle will yield you the greatest profit.  I spent time in the beginning ordering Whiting 100's which, mistakingly I thought, would be 100 feathers.  They are actually packages of 18 feathers that tie about 100 flies.  Remember, we're just visitors in a fly-fishing world.  It takes some time to get to know their lingo.  The other thing you should know about is feather sizes.  The higher the number, the more width you have to the feather.  So, Whiting 100's come in sizes like 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20.  The higher the number, the wider the feather.  Wider feathers are more ideal for extensions.  So, a size 18 or 20 is good.  A size 12 is pretty skinny.

Here are some links for some good feather suppliers.

chifly.com

flyshack.com

Currently, most suppliers are out and you'll have to delve into the black market of ebay where old fisherman have come out of the closet and are selling their pelts for exorbitant amounts.  As the bell-curve of this trend goes up and down, so do the prices of feathers.  They are slowly coming back down which is good news for you.  Here are some fun pictures of a craft show I did this summer.  My favorite of course, the dog picture.

Behind the Research - Saddle Hackle Feathers

As I began to scour the internet for feather information, I found that indeed, the feathers are real and that they come from roosters.  Premium rooster feathers used to tie flies, in fact.  Delving into a world I knew nothing about, I was led to fly fishing forums discussing which feathers are the best for certain flies and which colors and combos attract certain fish.  I felt I was getting closer to the information I needed to start a small internet business but was still not certain which feathers were going to make good hair extensions.

And this is where the real madness began.  What I didn't know when I began to arbitrarily order feathers from sights like Cabela's and JS Fly Fishing, was that there are many different lengths, widths, grades, and brands of feathers and that not all of them were going to work for my venture.  I've spent a good amount of time getting it wrong.  This site is designed for the amateur to get it right the first time, as there isn't a whole lot of information about using fly feathers as hair extensions.

The first thing that you need to know is that people use "saddle hackle feathers" for extensions.  The key word in this description is "saddle."

This diagram would've saved me a great deal of time and energy had I found it before I began the feather ordering process.  Please note where the saddle of the bird is.  The longest feathers come from the wing. Many fly fishermen also use the cape to tie flies.  Full capes and full saddles are available for purchase on most websites.  They also come in halves and quarters.  Before knowing about saddles, I purchased a bunch of capes that had to be sent back.  Capes are not the way to go - not for hair extensions at least.  

Feathermania

A cocktail waitress walks into my bar one day and says, "Hey Mel, check these out."  Buried amongst the thickness of her brown locks were three thin colorful strands of feathers.  Her mom had ordered them on ebay for a little over a dollar a piece and had spent an afternoon adorning her children in a quickly emerging fashion trend.  The waitress and I spent some time formulating theories about whether or not the feathers were real, if they had been dyed and how long they could stay in your hair.  She then, proceeded to tell me that there was a girl at the North Shore Farmers Market who was charging ten dollars to put a single feather in people's hair.

DING!  DING!  DING!  My wheels began turning, instantly.  Ten dollars a feather????  I went home and began researching the method behind feathermania.  

Having about ten thousand dollars remaining on a mortgage in Nicaragua, I've been racking my brain for a way to make a quick buck, pay off the house and get back down to Central America so my boyfriend and I can live happily ever after.  Feathers?  Sure, I thought.  Why not.

Little did I know, how quickly this would become my own obsession.