men’s hair care — Samuel Cole Salon

Baxter of California Master Barber Katie Lopez Features Skin Fade in Advanced Class

Katie Lopez shared her passion for men’s grooming in our Advanced Class featuring the barbering classic cut -the skin fade. A critical takeaway from the class was, any man can have a skin fade haircut, but not every man can have the same skin fade haircut.

Katie demonstrated using every tool for the haircut – clippers, edgers, razor and shears. No one tool is right for a haircut start to finish, it’s about how to use each tool for its purpose to get the best results!

I loved Katie Lopez’ passion for barbering and hearing her experience working with Baxter of California and competing (and winning!) in the North American Hairstyling Awards!
Fallyn Mireault

Baxter of California Global Educator Josh Velazquez Leads Master Men’s Grooming Class

Baxter of California creates carefully curated products that allow men to express their individual signature statement. Creating a signature look is critical since “Men’s Grooming” is a growing trend, and men are asking for more custom styles to reflect their individuality. Baxter Global Educator Josh Velazquez shared several techniques to expand our stylists’ range of skills regarding men’s cutting and styling. Samuel Cole Salon’s education has kept stylists’ skills on the forefront of new trends for men.

Velazquez demonstrated a short, textured crop haircut that can be styled polished for a formal evening with Baxter’s Hard Water Pomade or textured for a casual day watching the game with their Clay Effect Style Spray. Velazquez also demonstrated a taper cut with a short, precise fade – perfect for gentlemen who like to maintain a clean, consistent look.

Josh’s instruction was extremely informative, especially in his demonstration of the close fade. He thoroughly walked us through his thought process from the first trim to the last finishing detail of the look. He also gave us alternative uses for some of Baxter’s most popular products, like using the Grooming Cream as a beard conditioner!” – Stylist Carmella Williamson

Now Carrying Award-Winning Baxter of California for Men

Baxter of California was created to Defy the Expected. It’s thoughtfully curated collection of superior hair, skin and shave essentials are designed to enhance what makes you, you.

Baxter values enhancing each individual’s personal story and signature statement. Their superior collection of hair, skin and shave essentials gets the job done in the most simple and powerful way possible.

Since 1965, Baxter’s top-notch products have proven that premium doesn’t have to be pretentious. Performance is everything so every formula is tried and tested at the award-winning Baxter Finley Barber + Shop in Los Angeles, whose clientele includes David Beckham, Adam Levine, Will Ferrell and Patrick Dempsey.

See a stylist for your custom consultation and recommendations.

Coby Alcantar + Gardner Edmunds Reveal Inner Layer Haircut

Oribe Educators Coby Alcantar + Gardner Edmunds, highly sought after stylists in the current world of hairdressing. Coby owns Little Axe Salon in Brooklyn, NY where she creates fun and effortless styles for her clients, and Gardner’s salon home is Ramirez Tran Salon in Beverly Hills, CA. His notable clients include Lea Michele, Olivia Palermo, Rebecca Minkoff and Kim Cattrall.

Their combined expertise brought incredible energy to this class, which focused cutting inner layers that don’t sacrifice overall length of the hair. This technique can be used on all lengths of hair. The final look was a light and airy style that allowed the hair to move freely. To style the haircut, they used a combination of Oribe Foundation Mist, Maximista and Featherbalm on damp hair, and twisted the hair damp and let it air dry.

Creating inner layers removed weight and made the haircut look softer. I love learning from Coby and Gardner together because they showed variations of the same techniques to get an amazing fresh haircut” – Stylist Michelle Larry

Master Stylist Nikki Kepley Announces New Boutique Hours

Q: Tell us about your new life… How’s motherhood?
A: Oh goodness! Motherhood is crazy. All the emotions! It’s been the biggest, most consuming and confusing, rewarding and exhausting blessing I’ve ever experienced. Helping another human grow up is a fascinating experience.

Q: So you’re back to work, how’s that transition been?
A: It is actually wonderful! You know, leaving your sweet little baby at home sounds heart breaking but I am passionate about my career as a hairstylist. I love returning to the creativity and the inspiration that I experience on a daily basis.

Q: Now that you’re back into the swing of things, what trends are catching your eye?
A: Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of natural enhancements, which I am totally digging. I love the concept of taking what God gave you and making it amazing – Keeping color rooty but sun kissed in all the right places. I’ve been drawn to utilizing my razor to create natural movement and texture, I love creating lived-in wearable signature looks for my clients.

Q: We’ve noticed you have new boutique hours. When can people come see you?
A: I do! I am so fortunate to have a new schedule that lets me share my two passions, hairdressing and baby Nollie. I am in the salon Monday through Wednesday and look forward to seeing long time clients along with new folks in the future!

Stay connected with what’s trending! Follow Nikki professionally on Instagram @craft_and_mane