Solution for Hair & Makeup owner Mark Horn names Claire Carmichael-Grant as Artistic Director for the salon. Hailing from England with eighteen years of experience as a stylist and in salon management, Ms. Carmichael-Grant also holds licenses in massage therapy, aesthetics and nails, giving her knowledge and expertise in all areas of the beauty industry.

Prior to her arrival in Houston and at Solution for Hair, she traveled the world as a salon manager with top cruise lines and has both editorial and fashion experience. Claire worked as a consultant for Hotel ZaZa in developing the concept for the upscale hotel chain’s first full-service spa. In addition, she worked as Executive Spa Director for the West Coast division upgrading the Spa brand for Hilton Corporation.

Today Claire’s main focus is making people feel good about their total look. As a certified image consultant, she understands lines, form, and balance. This translates into understanding the lines of hair, face shapes and coloring, which gives her the ability to easily determine what suits each client best, including color and tone.

As Artistic Director, and together with Horn, Ms. Carmichael-Grant created the first seasonal collection for Solution. The purpose of providing seasonal collections for the salon’s clients is simple – translate the newest beauty trends into everyday life. Davines hair colors, known for using milk proteins, vegetable lipids, low ammonia content and cream bases that hydrate and restructure the hair while coloring, were used in the creation of the Winter Collection. Three unique color techniques were used to create each look.

Ombre – this look is cascading dark to light of color and is becoming a celebrity and city girl favorite. Think Khloe Kardashian, Drew Barrymore and Elle McPherson. French for gradation, ombre refers to a dark-to-light fade of color. Rather than color that starts at the root, ombre features darker roots blend into a lightened mid-shaft that goes all the way to the ends. This trend is inspired by the organic and sustainable lifestyles being embraced today. People want a more natural look, and because ombre means there is no color line at the roots, clients are leaving the salon with a exactly what they want. “In the hair industry, we like to translate what we see in the fashion industry into hair. We’ve seen many designers showcase the ombre effect in their collections. We’re making it more natural and softer to fit into our current lifestyles,” says Carmicahel-Grant.

Dimensional Block – This technique is used to create dazzling crown of ruby-toned rich color. This technique gets us away from the usual one step color and brings in subtle dimension, gentle shadings or dramatic accents streaming through the hair. Nature doesn’t color hair in one solid dimension… why should we? Healthy, young natural hair always has variations of color, highlights or shadings. It is these nuances of color that give hair special radiance and beauty.

Peek-A-Boo – This technique is especially effective on people with wavy or curly hair, as the color literally peeks out of the curls. To create this look, transversal placement is used, weaving a pattern throughout the hair. The colors of nature can be recreated through contrasts of copper and ash tones, recalling the effect of sunlight penetrating through the woods.