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Gina: Hope you’ll remember us when you’re rich and famous. Truly one of the most talented women we’ve had the good fortune to connect with—Happy Birthday!

Love you,
Goldielocks

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Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair.

Wow, a Big Cherry Hola goes out to Gina and partner, Kristin Wingart. Their pioneering approach to hair extensions has won over most of the well coiffed women from Palm Beach to South Beach. Ever want to look like Barbie or have those long smooth Demi-Moore-Straight-From-The-Charlie’s-Angels-Set-Surf????

Ms. Diaz had originally intended to pursue her law degree having worked as a paralegal for several years, but a (pardon the pun) brush with a bad salon that burnt the majority of her hair off within an inch of her scalp changed all that…..distraught, she flew to Atlanta to salvage the few tresses which remained, got her own set of extensions, and became a Believer.

Kristin and Gina are in the process of releasing an instructional video to teach her own innovative method of extension applications featuring ‘flats’ of hair to stylists interested in broadening their skills. While the field has been continuing to grow over the past six years of mainstream hair accessories, few leaders have emerged from the pack. Gina Diaz is one of them (and hey fellas, they can work for you, too….).

Gina works with a range of products from virgin Russian tresses to the famed ‘Great Lengths’ brand which she recommends for those of us who travel and encounter different types of water in doing so.

Her specialty, however, is the interwoven ‘panels’ of hair (aka ‘Flats’) which she skillfully blends and attaches JUST off the scalp with her mystery fixative and surgical tape (no, I’m not kidding).

The ‘Strand By Strand’ concept, a more common technique, uses keratin based adhesives to connect the hair individually. The drawback to this process is the time that it requires to provide the installation service. Plus, due to the fact that it’s really time intensive, it is generally more expensive to maintain. Of course, I am a ‘Hybrid’ and sport a combination of both methods. (That would happen to me.)

How to choose? Cost vs. Time. A consultation with the Divine Ms. D., of course– but the rule of thumb is that the maintenance of panels is more frequent but requires less time, the same level of service for the strand-by-strand requires less upkeep (don’t let that stuff tangle), but I personally attest to spending nine hours in Gina’s chair in one stint.

Some other links for extensions:
SoCap, Cinderella, Balmain, Great Lengths

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I initially was introduced to Goldwell products to maintain the extensions that I had styled and blended by Gina Diaz of Glam Hair Extensions, North Miami. While her talents continue to WOW me, I did discover a terrific product (probably loaded with all those nano molecules that the Japanese live to create….)

Aufhe Deesse Shampoo and Conditioner (aka Goop) not only tamed this outrageous mane of locks I’ve affixed to my own coif, but seemed to make it meld ‘like butter….’

I’m sure the product is Japanese, although the name attempts to give it a rather Germanic twist (and we all know that no one twists like the Germans). Still, even if Shinzo Abe were named Steve Abe, he’d still be Japanese. Besides, all the rest of the print is in Kanji and Hiragana—on the bottles, not Mr. Abe. (Better ask his wife before you look.)

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