Q&A: Miguel Estrada, Director of Education

1.What is your favorite Julien Farel product? I like the Magnifique Fortifying Hair Serum. I will say that it’s my favorite because there’s nothing like it out there right now and what it does is amazing. I have seen the results with my own eyes and how it makes people feel. 2.How have you connected your past work with your work at Julien Farel? Editorial work is very creative. It’s more abstract than anything. It is important to be connected in that because it refreshes you. It makes you aware of what’s going on out there and when you do editorials, you have to part of a creative team, where you share your ideas and you have to research. For example, the creative director says that the theme is an ice cream story, how are you going to put that into the hair? The idea is to extract the elements of the ice cream and then try to bring them into the hairstyle. Editorial work makes you think. It is very important for what we do here. We are in a salon in the midtown area, and the clientele that we cater to is very classic, so we need to know how to do that which is totally the opposite of any editorial work. Nevertheless, we have clients that want the artistic part of it. 3.What is your favorite hairstyle for long hair? Why? When I think about long hair it’s sexy hair. When I think about short hair, it’s about more chic, architectural hair. When I think about medium hair, I think about boring hair. Right now people go either for long, sexy and gorgeous or short, chic and elegant, like very structural and moderate, but long hair shows womanhood, sexiness, and stops traffic. 4.Can you recall a specific runway show or editorial shoot that has inspired you? Why? A long time ago I worked with a photographer whose based in Taiwan, and we did the princess of Calabria. I had a good experience because everything came out gorgeous, flawless, maybe because everything happened nicely. 5.Any tips for keeping hair healthy and stylish? You have to take care of your hair. Products actually matter. A lot of people underestimate the job of hair products. Hair products protect your hair from the heat, environmental changes, and weather. You need them to seal your hair, nourish your hair, and moisturize your hair, it is very important to keep your hair healthy. There are two types of conditioners: conditioners that nourish your hair and conditioners that hydrate your hair. The hydrating part you find in leave-in conditioners, like the Julien Farel Smooth Crème. If you put it on your hair it is going to suck it because the ingredients are almost like hydrolytes in a way and your hair is going to absorb it so you don’t have to rinse it out. Julien Farel products are very well made and the ingredients that they have are amazing like hyaluronic acid. Using products on your hair is very important, there are bad products out there but there are also good products. If I don’t use products on the hair, it’s even better, it’s important that we use a good conditioner, good shampoo, and good treatment to seal the hair. Physical and mental wellbeing is also important. Your hair is at the end of the nervous system. When someone touches you and gives you goosebumps, it’s that energy that goes into your hair. All that energy is going to be released on your hair. Your nervous system has a lot to do with your hair, so you have to try to lead a healthy lifestyle. Book an appointment with Miguel here.