The Brush King: Alan Sporn

I was 15 years old when I was first introduced to Spornette brushes. I was working at a salon in my hometown and was in charge of setting appointments, welcoming guests and selling beauty products and tools. The Spornette round brush display sat on the shelf next to the thermal sprays. Women would check out with me, hair full and luxurious, purchasing whatever their stylist recommended, including the round brushes. I thought, how are they going to do that at home? Those round brushes look complicated and frightening.

Fast forward 6 years later and I am working at a salon using Spornette round brushes on Beverly Hills housewives (BHH).

Truth be told, I was never really good at blow-outs, but damn, those Spornette brushes saved me every time. Trust me, you don’t want to piss off a BHH with a bad blow out. The quality of the Spornette brush is unparalleled.  It’s no wonder why they’ve been an industry leader for more than 60 years.

When Alan Sporn and I first connected on Facebook, I was like, who is this guy? I dug a little deeper and discovered he’s the owner of Spornette. It was exciting to me to know the person who creates the beauty tools that I’ve used for the last 22 years.

I had the privilege to interview Alan, and since it’s his birthday today, I thought it would be a good day to publish it.

Happy Birthday Alan! Thank you so much for all that you’ve done for our industry.

Q. 60+ years in business, that’s a long time. What do you attribute your long running success to?

A. My father, Walter Sporn, started the company in the early 1950s. After meeting an engineer who was making eye liner and lip brushes for a large cosmetic company, my father convinced the engineer that if he could implant plastic handles with nylon bristles, then making professional hair brushes should be easy. The engineer took his suggestion and several months later, The Walter Sporn Company launched 2 items – the no-name 5 row and 7 row nylon bristle, plastic-handled brushes – to the professional beauty supply/distributor industry. 

Our family has always been very dedicated to our customers. Our customers will ask, do you have xyz brush? And if we don’t, we find a way to make it for them.

Q.Tell me why you’ve liked working your family.

A. Who can you trust beside your family? It’s a pleasure to see them and work with them. We’re building a future together.

Q. When have you been most satisfied in your life?

A. Different stages in life rings change, I’ve been to 58 countries, I’ve met people from all over the world.

I can’t change history,  it has happened,  and I have made peace with it. 

Only worry about the things you can affect.

Q. Tell me about a project or accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career.

A. Hard to say, certain brushes, when they are well received is very gratifying. Recognizing what’s leading edge before another competitor is satisfying.

Q. If Spornette didn’t exist, what do you think you would have done instead?

A. I would have been a business management consultant for small companies –   or doctor – no peds or geriatrics-a research doctor.

Q. What advice do you have for an aspiring entrepreneur?

A. Practice flexibility-not everything is going to go your way. If a door is shut, don’t be discouraged, don’t give up. Very few things are Earth- shattering that can’t be overcome.

Q. What positives do you think social media, like Twitter has on a company’s success?

A. It’s changing the industry- I connect with customers and vendors from Israel, Ireland, Korea— you couldn’t do that in the old days. The Internet provides more exposure and more opportunity.

Q. What do you think about the latest craze of blow dry bars? Here to stay or passing fad?

A. They have a few more years. It’s a function of location. They have to be near populated areas or shopping areas.

Q. What’s your favorite brush and why?

A. The Italian Collection. I value my relationship with the people in Italy who make them. I designed the brushes and the Italians make them with care and precision. They are top-of-the-line.

Q. I get so many beauty questions about tangled hair, whats the best brush for it?

A. The Feel Good Detangler and the Air Motion brushes.

Q. Tell me about Marche makeup brushes. What makes them different than others?

A. They are 100% sable and have a great price point. It has given us an opportunity to expand our brand.

Q. Favorite vacation spot?

A. Lahaina, Maui. I love London, I love driving around the UK. Sydney, Australia.

Spornette hair brushes and makeup brushes can be found at Sally Beauty Supply and Ulta or online at http://www.spornette.com. Spornette’s Deville 100% Boar Rounder brush ($21) was recently featured in People StyleWatch magazine paired with one of my favorite Thickening Creams by Living Proof ($26 at Sephora).

Silicone: Good For Boobs, Cupcakes and (Sometimes) Beauty Products

I often receive beauty 911 calls, such as,

Emergency: “Help! My skin is breaking out in hives? What do I do?” 

Solution: “Change your diet to include more Vitamin B, C and E-rich foods and avoid foods that high in histamine.” (It worked.)

Emergency: “Help! My flat iron broke. I need a new one.”

Solution: “Buy the Chi Turbo.”

Emergency: “My hair is thinning. What products should I use?” 

Solution: “Aveda’s Invati Shampoo and Conditioner- the best hair growth shampoo on the market,.” 

I received this 911 message today:

Emergency: “I have started to get greasy hair in the last 6 months and prior to this point in my life, I’ve never had it. turns out the products I’ve used are full of silicone… but I don’t know where to go for non-silicone products. Help!”

Before answering this damsel in distress, I want to make it clear that I am not a silicone hater. Silicone can be our friend. It can  boost your bra size and can help your cupcakes from sticking to the pan.  But you need to know the purpose of silicone and if it’s a fit for your hair type.

SILICONE’S PURPOSE- it retexturizes the hair leaving it smooth and shiny. It coats the hair to make it easy to comb through. It’s reduces frizz and repels moisture throughout the day (moisture can cause frizziness). It acts as a thermal protectant, reducing heat damage to the hair. Some silicones are water-soluable, some are not.

SILICONE’S DRAWBACKS- it can be tough to remove silicone from the hair, creating build-up. Thus making it tough to style the hair.

SILICONE’S VISCIOUS CYCLE- silicone attract particles in the air, making hair feel dirty.  Dirty hair equals more hair washing = more stripping hair of its natural oils =a dehydrated hair and scalp. The scalp reacts by producing more oil= greasy hot mess, and suddenly you’re stuck in a never ending cycle.

WHO IS A SILICONE CANDIDATE? Those with chemically compromised hair (a.ka. damaged hair) will benefit from a silicone-based product. Those who do a lot of thermal style (blowdrying, thermal irons). Or those who like to use a dry shampoo and don’t need to wash their hair everyday.

Here’s the solution for my greasy haired friend.

Living Proof Hair Products (Sephora, Nordstrom). These products are silicone-free and have a unique molecular structure that changes the way your hair behaves (think Christian Grey-like domination, but for your hair). Read more about Living Proof on a previous post of mine here. Plus Jennifer Aniston is their spokesperson and she’s kind of cute.

I also recommend the following silicone, paraben and sulfate free shampoos/conditioners:

Kiehl’s Sunflower Color Preserving Shampoo ($18, Nordstrom). While Kiehl’s doesn’t employ the same type of advanced technology in their formulations, they are a tried and true brand that have been around for 160 years.

Curly Hair try Deva Curl ($18.95, Ulta). All of my curly haired girlfriends swear by this product. Plus they call the Shampoo “Poo” and that’s funny.

And while you’re hair is getting back in balance try one of my favorite Dry Shampoo’s Batiste ($7.99, Ulta).

For more detailed information on Silicone in hair products check out this SELF article here.

Xo,

Julie

Say Yes To Products that Do What They Say….And my First Kiss

Last week I had the opportunity to meet Ido Leffler, Co-Founder of the natural skin care and hair brand Yes To Carrots. He was in town to promote his new lip balm collection available at Target at the end of this month (10/27).

I have been using Yes To Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Towlettes ($5.99) on my brides, clients and in my makeup workshops for a while now. Everyone swoons about the aroma when I wipe last night’s makeup off their face, the next morning.  I like these towelettes almost as much as I like  Effen Cucumber Vodka. Almost.

But enough about booze, let’s talk about the new lip balms!

So I get it. You have a lip balm on your vanity, in your purse, in your car, and probably in your washing machine right now, why do you need yet another lip balm? Because this lip balm actually works.  But how is it different than my (Insert name of inferior lip balm) Julie? Because of the unique blend of ingredients like Coconut Oil, Olive Fruit Oil, Shea Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, and Cocoa Seed Butter. This powerful combination of ingredients protects, nourishes, repairs and restores the lips. AND you don’t have to reapply it every 5 minutes. AND it comes in 3 sweet flavors: Grapefruit, Pomegranate, and Blueberry. AND they are only $2.99!

One of the questions the Yes To Team asked us  at the launch party was when we experienced our first kiss. Well I was 22 years old.  Just kidding. Anyone that knows me knows that’s a bold face lie.I think I was 6 years old when it happened. I had the biggest crush on a boy named Tom. He was an older boy. I knew this because he was growing leg hair, and also because I knew his age.The rest of my family was sitting down to have dinner but he hung back with me in my living room. I remember staring at him and maybe because he just wanted me to quit being a creepy girl, he kissed me.I just sat there stunned, not saying anything. Eventually we met up with rest of my family and acted as if nothing happened. I doubt Tom remembers kissing me, he probably has a phobia of Asian women and can’t quite figure out why,

Anyway, I am a huge proponent of the Yes To Carrots products, not only because they do what they say they will do but also because they are organic, free of parabens, SLF, petroleum and phthalates (bad stuff) and affordable! Check them out at Target, Ulta, Walgreens, Whole Foods, CVS, Amazon, and at www.yestocarrots.com.

Yes To Carrots Hand Cream ($8.99)

Birchbox: Better Than a Papa John’s Coupon

I discovered Birchbox 2 years ago. A friend of mine from Los Angeles posted beauty items on Facebook that she received in the mail in a pretty box with a bow. I looked up Birchbox’s website and learned about their concept and thought, how clever, deluxe beauty samples by mail (try before you buy). I purchased a yearly subscription ($120/yr. or $10/mo.) and was elated every time I saw the box  on my front doorstep. I didn’t even care what was in it, I was just thrilled to get something other than Papa John’s coupons in the mail. And I was always pleased with at least 2-3 items in the box (they give you a total of 5). I would get samples of products like BlowPro hair care, Color Club nail polishes,  and Jouer lip glosses. Sometimes I would get a square of chocolate, which always reminds me I need more chocolate in my diet.

I was excited to get a referral from a fellow makeup artist, Emily J, about an opportunity to work with Birchbox, Ann Taylor and Cate of Wild Ruffle Blog.  Hell yea I want to do hair/makeup on a fashion blogger with a box full of full sized Birchbox brands! Brittany from Birchbox sent me a big box of love. Some products I was familiar with like Dr. Jarts+ Beauty Balm (which I recommended to one Exec at FOX TV, Los Angeles, and apparently the whole 4th floor is using it now), and Benefit’s They’re Real mascara (ah-mazing) because it’s a cult classic loved by celebrities like Winona Ryder (who by the way I have helped pick out shampoo in my shampoo selling days and she did pay for it). Products that I hadn’t tried but was eager to was foundation by By Terry and Mereadesso Lip Treats. Both were as I expected– easy to apply and look fresh and clean on the skin/lips. And as always, not available via Birchbox (yet), I prepped the skin with Elizabeth Dehn for One Love Organics Active Moisture Serum.

Cate, creator and writer of Wild Ruffle Blog, was a joy to work with. Her down-to-earth personality matched the look I gave her for the photo shoot- effortless and radiant. I used Birchbox’s Captain Blankenship’s Mermaid Sea Salt Hair Spray to give Cate’s hair some texture and grit (think 2nd or 3rd day dirty hair). I wanted her topknot and style to look disheveled sophisticate (yes, that’s a look, I made it up). And I used the Dr. Jart+ Beauty Balm to even out the skin and make it glow.  Noemi Hedrick the photographer and the Ann Taylor team were also amazing to collaborate with.

Read more about Cate’s experience, her product reviews, and about her event tonight at Ann Taylor’s MOA location from 6-8pm here.

Thank you Cate, Ann Taylor, Birchbox and Emily J. for the chance to try new products and to spread the gospel of product sampling. It’s a very smart way to shop.

All photos courtesy of NoemiPhotography.

Living Proof Hair Care Products

What you do get when a bunch of scientists, venture capitalists and hairstylists kick around some ideas?  A revolutionary hair care product line.

Living Proof’s team of scientists have invented and patented new molecules that changes the way your hair behaves.  In other words, each product does what it says it will do.  But they are not just creating your run of the mill hair products, they are inventing entirely new, never been done before, products like a primer for your hair.

Prime Style Extender, $20, contains Living Proof’s “miracle molecule” OFPMA that protects and extends the life of your style twice as long. Its weightless formula smooths strands while correcting hair texture. It can be worn alone or layered under your favorite styling product. No need to touch up in your cubicle or in the car on the way to happy hour, your style will stay all day long!

Disclaimer: Your style will not stay through a nap, in a hot tub, or on a bike going down a steep hill.