Interview with Jonathan Torch of Curly Hair Solutions - Curl Keeper

JT: Well, do you ever notice how amazing curls look when they are wet? I developed a product that basically works the way water does on curly hair. I don't use wax, silicone or oil in my products - Curly Hair Solutions. Water is it's main ingredient. Curl Keeper ™ took 12 years to develop because it was quite challenging to create a product without silicone ingredients - which are common in most other products.

The way to use Curl Keeper ™ is to add it to wet hair and let the hair air-dry. You must play gently, slowly and softly with your curls. The water helps to distribute the Curl Keeper ™ throughout the hair.

CHS: Jonathan, how different is it to style wavy hair than it is to style more tightly curled coarse hair?

JT: Basically my clients with wavy hair also use Curl Keeper ™ on their hair, but what they do is they wait for the surface to dry and then begin finger-styling their hair. This adds more volume to the waves.

As for clients with coarse hair, many of these clients use it on wet hair but will let the Curl Keeper ™ completely dry first before they begin to finger-style their hair. This will avoid frizz.

Basically, once you use the products you learn when to touch the hair and when to leave the hair alone based on your desired look.

CHS: What is the best styling advantage of Curl Keeper ™ ?

JT: The best thing about Curl Keeper ™ is that it reacts well to water because it's a water-based product. All you have to do is wet your hands and place them on your hair to re-activate Curl Keeper ™.

CHS: Tell me a bit about this cutting method "the tunnel cut" that your clients have been raving about.

JT: Well, the Tunnel Cut is an advanced cutting technique. With the Tunnel Cut, the angles change. I try to keep the cut invisible. Some women have tighter curls while others have looser curls. Basically, no two cuts are the same. I study the person's hair first and then apply the cut. The Tunnel Cut controls the bulk and movement and bounce of the hair. I try to break up the hair around the face and create the most flattering look for that particular client.

Actually in January 2005, we will be opening a new salon "The Curly Hair Institute". The majority of our clients will be "curly heads". We will be teaching, giving lessons to clients and hair stylists and we'll also address scalp issues etc. It should be exciting.

CHS: WOW, Jonathan, that sounds like it will be a lot of fun! It will be great for women and men with curly hair. There also seems to be so many more people with curly hair now. I've noticed this on television and especially in print ads. Am I being biased since I am so involved in everything curly? And do you find any challenges when working with curly hair?

JT: You’re absolutely right. Curls are in fashion. Look at Oprah sporting her hair in curls. Now there’s a new freedom for many curly haired individuals - especially with so many products available now for curly haired individuals. With Curly Hair Solutions ™ products, we want to remove the anxiety many people have about their curly hair. They need to experience the new-found freedom and they can with our products because they are water-based.

And as far as challenges, the humidity factor is no longer a challenge because I use water in my products. Most of the testing that was done before the launch of our products was done on cruise ships where there is a lot of humidity. Our water-based products work so well in this environment.

CHS: What is the difference between curly hair and straight hair?

JT: Curly and straight hair are at opposite ends of the scale. Whatever you do with curly hair you cannot do with straight hair. Many people don’t realize how important it is to use the right products. Straight hair is very porous. The oils are on the outside whereas with curly hair the oils are on the inside. That is why by the end of the day, many individuals with straight hair find that their hair is greasy again.

CHS: Straight hair has always been the "star". However, there seems to be so many new products aimed at curly hair.

JT: That’s true. A lot of the managers of these large companies know curls are "in". They have big budgets and they can make a lot of products and a lot of money. However, many of these products contain silicone. We don’t use silicon, lanolin, oil or wax in our line of products. That makes our products work so well with curly hair.

CHS: Jonathan, what difference do you find between afro-tight curls and looser European curls? Do you find there are differences?

JT: Yes, and I adjust to these differences when I’m styling a clients hair. But in terms of frizz control, I use the same products to style loose curls as I would for hair with a tighter curl pattern. However, tight curls don’t need gel. Instead I use the Curl Keeper ™ product.

CHS: Who should use your products?

JT: Anybody can use our products – from kids to seniors. We don’t use harsh ingredients in our products so they work well with everybody. In one case a woman was on chemotherapy and after her chemo, she had curly hair and didn’t know how to manage it. She began using our products and was very pleased. Curl Keeper ™ is not a heavy product. None of our products are sticky and they are water-based so there is not build-up.

CHS: What is special/unique about your line of products compared to other product lines?

JT: All of our products inter-mix well because they are all water-based. You cannot over-do it. No matter how frizzy your hair is – “if I can control water, I can control the hair with Curl Keeper ™.”

CHS: I love that saying! Well, thank you so much Jonathan. Our curly haired readers will be pleased that there is a line of products available to help them with their curls.

JT: Thank you. It was a pleasure!

Web www.curlyhairsalon.com