Adrienne Small | Healthy Hair + Color Specialist

I want to introduce you to Adrienne 🥰 I knew VERY early that I never wanted to only known for my work behind the chair… I always wanted to travel and teach SOMETHING in this industry, but teaching HAIR COLOR was never on my bingo card 🫠. Being obedient to God and saying yes to something i absolutely despised doing at the beginning of my career is continuously allowing me opportunities I truly dreamed of. As a hair color educator, being able to relate to the over thinkers (cause I am one 🫣) as well as the stylists who absolutely HATE hair color because they simply don’t truly understand it, has become my superpower. 🤔 I want to know: When it comes to doing the thing that’s going to change your life, what’s keeping you from pushing through?! I’ll tell you mine in the comments 😉!

It’s always somebody in the comments telling me that blonde is the culprit to somebody’s damage. And THAT in itself is not always the case. The application and lack of care is almost always number 1 or 2 on the list of reasons why your hair isn’t flourishing with color. We did her initial color in March and today was her base retouch (gray coverage) and gloss (re-toning). She’s in my chair once a month and does what she’s supposed to do at home when she shampoos in between her time with me. Maintenance IS IMPORTANT! You can’t bleach and go about your business with no intentional attention to what your hair now needs more of. Don’t always be quick to blame the color. It may not be the only thing making your hair go to hell 🤷🏽‍♀️.

Last summer @theadriennesmallfoundation welcomed 40 teen girls into our annual Girpreneur Beauty Camp®️ and it was A TIME! 😜! This summer is our 8th Annual camp and we plan on going bigger and better but we need YOU to make that happen! If you know a teen girl ages 13-19 who are interested in ANY aspect of the beauty industry, 🗣️ THEY NEED TO BE IN THE BUILDING! Hair (natural part sew ins,silk press, locs, wig making, braiding, barbering, micro links, tape ins), nails, makeup, waxing (legs, arms, brows), lash extensions, product development, marketing, social media development, and SO MUCH MORE, are all HANDS ON classes that we offer during our 5 day camp! Camp is July 13th-17th right here in MEMPHIS, TN! Hit the link in our bio to grab your spot! Want to support with sponsorship, product donations, or volunteering as a licensed pro that would love to teach one of these classes?! Shoot me a DM and let’s make sure these girls have THE BEST camp experience yet! ❤️

My kid just finished her sophomore year of college and is home for the summer so it’s time for her quarterly reset, but I have a quick question…. To all the hair stylists who are mothers to girls in college…. Do they ever care about their hair the way they cared when they were home? 😬😩😭 Granted, the water where she is HORRID, and she’s extremely busy…. But LAWD 😩 I can’t take it knowing how her hair use to flourish and now it’s little by little getting dryer and dryer and more and more brittle 🤦🏽‍♀️. BUT, even with all the clients that I help in my chair, trust and believe she doesn’t get a pass and she’s now on her new hair journey….. AGAIN 😬 I gotta say tho, this cut is SO her and baby she can seriously rock A N Y T H I N G!! 🤭 No more color for a min tho 🤷🏽‍♀️. Disregard the quality! I didn’t have my camera and my phone would NOT adjust to the new lighting over my station 😭

@theadriennesmallfoundation 8th Annual Girlpreneur Beauty Camp is NOW OPEN for enrollment! ✨ 5 days • up to 30 HANDS ON beauty classes • open to TEEN girls ages 13-19 • right here in MEMPHIS, TN! This camp has grown to be THE signature beauty camp that offers everything from hair, lashes , waxing, makeup, extensions, locs, barbering, product development, and SO much more! And let’s not forget competition day where in the last 8 years, we have had the honor of partnering with community beauty schools and have awarded MORE than $300,000 in beauty school scholarships to the winners of our annual pitch competition! You will NOT find another beauty camp like @theadriennesmallfoundation Girlpreneur Beauty Camp®️! Beauty professionals that want to join us as a mentor,NOW is the time to apply! Visit our website, by clicking the 🔗 in our bio to apply for the class you’d like to volunteer to teach! The impact we have made and are continuing to make is incredible and we can’t wait to welcome returning and new Girlpreneurs July 13th-17th!

If I can process the roots and highlight at the same time…. Ima do it 😉 and over highlighting is out 🙅🏽‍♀️, 15 foils and it was the perfect amount of coverage! It’s important to note that although she has previous color, this is my first time doing her color service, so matching the new color with her previous color that was done by her past stylist was the goal. I think I matched it perfectly 🧐😉 She’s been getting a black permanent color to cover her gray for years so it helped that her goal color was on the warmer side in the event we couldn’t safely break through. 🎨 Formula: @blondesolutions on the highlight lift w/ 15 vol developer. Their indigo blue developer + violet pigmented powder played the BIGGEST role in ensuring we didn’t lift brassy 💪🏽. There’s a difference between warmth and brass. We don’t mind warmth, it’s the brass that can go to hell 🥴. Grey Coverage Root Touch Up: @moroccanoilpro @moroccanoil Color Rhapsody 2 parts 4NN + 1 part 2B w/ 20 vol Toner: Color Rhapsody 2 parts 7Ch + 1 part 8CR w/ 5 vol developer #MoMixes #MoProGifting

Part 3! Y’all I can’t WAIT until we correct her color 😮‍💨, but in the meantime, a cut and treatment were in order! Something I want to make note of as to WHY I require new clients to schedule the new client service and not just a basic maintenance or treatment service…. Before I even started on her hair, we talked for 28 minutes about her hair’s history, what she’s doing now, and her future goals…. Throughout the appointment I talked to her step by step as I noticed things with her hair, good, bad, all of it…. This in turn requires me to SLOW DOWN and be present. My maintenance shampoos schedule for an hour… treatment shampoos that include a trim/cut, schedule for an hour and a half…. New client appointments, 3 HOURS! So when you wonder why a new client appointment is required, costs more, takes longer, and are limited, this is why. I’ve learned that I have to be more intentional when I don’t know your hair, but once we in the game baby, we good to go!

PART 2: Here I break down what I prefer she used vs oat and henna. I mention mostly DE products because that’s the brand she was accustomed to using. I have others I prefer to use but I also like DE for her, so I just kept my recommendations there. Then we discussed her cut, her goals for her appointment, and let her see exactly what that hair was doing color wise because we ALL know that our clients act like the back of their head is none of their business so I had to make her aware today 😅. Tomorrow I’ll drop her service process so you can see how I adjusted her cut and style to prep her for her future hair goals 😏.

This was a 28 minute consultation before we even got started on her hair, and because IG doesn’t recommend reels longer than 3 minutes, this will be broken down in parts because a LOT of great points were touched…. Starting with….. WHY CLARIFYING YOUR COLOR TREATED HAIR WEEKLY IS AN ABSOLUTE NO! And WHY ONLY USING A CLARIFIER WITHOUT A HYDRATION SHAMPOO IMMEDIATELY AFTER IS AN EVEN BIGGER NO! She was stripping not only her color but her hairs natural moisture WEEKLY without replenishing either, and her hair was absolutely paying for it in more ways than one! There are times our clients only see shampoo without truly reading their functions and in the end, wonder why their hair is still suffering. In her case, there were many factors, but using ONLY clarifying shampoo and zero hydration or moisture was killing it FAST! Stay tuned for part two when I break down the steps she should use to shampoo, and we’ll dive into her at home cut too!

You don’t always need bleach for vibrant red. Because her hair was virgin, I was able to lift and deposit at the same time using permanent color, keeping her hair healthy while still achieving this rich, dimensional red. The key? ✔️ Starting point (no previous color) ✔️ Strategic formulation ✔️ Proper saturation Same goal doesn’t always mean same process. @schwarzkopfpro #IgoraRoyal 6-88, 0-88, L-88 (30 + 40 vol)

Today was one of those days I was just existing 🫩 so I had no intention on filming, BUT, as I was doing video to show HER what I saw so we could discuss her cut options, I knew these had to make the timeline 😏. I use to do her hair well over 10 years ago and she’s been on my waitlist the last few months. I had a cancellation happen yesterday for today and not even a full MINUTE after I sent the text to my waitlist, she had it booked! This cut is her journey to starting fresh. When she sat down her hair looked great to me, maybe a little dusting to adjust her shape because She said she received a trim last week….. but after the shampoo and blow dry, her ends told a completely different story! The heat damage that was revealed at the bowl also told me a different story then what her perfectly styled hair told when she first sat down. This is also why I no longer do regular sit down 30 minute consultations anymore. I need to see that hair in its RAW form because this blown out hair you see here, was NOT the hair that I saw at the beginning of this appointment! This corrective cut is going to give her the opportunity to start fresh while carrying an actual style that she didn’t realize she was missing until it was done 😉.

@theadriennesmallfoundation Girlpreneur Beauty Camp®️ is BACK, and we need your help! Tag your favorite brands and let them know how this AMAZING experience for teen girls in the beauty industry needs THEM! In order to ensure our teens have THE BEST experience, sponsorships are VITAL to our programs! Past Sponsors include: @amprogel @alfaparfmilanopro_usa @wellahairusa @wellacompany @pivotpointintl @magicfingersstudio @perfecttouchcreations @missyrussellbeauty @harvey.foundation @kockecosmetics @fastfoils @krogerco @mscsk12 @pink_noire @oliviagarden_int @texturevsrace @thebeautynomad @innersensepro Our Partnering Beauty Schools Include: @dciacademy @premierenailacademy @iobtn_works @thememphisskin If you would like to give a financial donation, sponsor a teen, provide product for them to use during their hands on classes, or donate lunch and snacks, we’d love to hear from you! Shoot us a DM, visit or EMAIL us at [email protected] to learn how you can partner with us!