Book Review :: YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL By Celebrity Hair Stylist Ken Paves

 {My copy of “You Are Beautiful.”}

Ken’s book, freshly cut gardenias from my yard, and my comfy papasan, is how I’ve enjoyed reading this book for the past week.  As much as I love celebrity hair and makeup, I have known Ken’s name for years and years.  He’s worked his hair magic on big names like Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Lopez, and my favorite, Victoria Beckham!  Oh, and a lady named Oprah!  And that’s seriously only scratching the surface.

But this book, isn’t filled with those celebrity faces and hair, this book is about and for REAL WOMEN (non celeb types like me and you)!  Most of the women profiled and photographed in the book are women that have inspired Ken throughout his life and career such as his mom, friends, and other female family members.

1. It’s super inspirational.  And not just in how to put up a perfect chignon kinda way. The book makes you feel good about yourself throughout because he’s always reminding you to embrace what God gave you and just work with it.

2. He was asked to create a signature hairstyle for Disney fairy, Periwinkle, Tinker Bell’s sister.  I had NO idea Disney put this much effort and thought into creating the perfect character that they would hire a real life hair stylist to do something like this.  I figured they just had a cartoonist making this sort of thing up!  Ken describes in this book how this is one of his greatest projects to date.  I found this fascinating bc I have a daughter who is obsessed with the whole Disney fairies thing, so now I love this even more!

{Real life fairy inspiration.  Check out finished product thru this image via.}

3.  He gives advice on everything from picking the right shampoo, how to suds, how to blow dry, best hot iron practices, and many other hair tricks you’ve never thought of!  Even though I like to consider myself pretty proficient in beauty techniques, hair completely confuses and intimidates me. After reading this book, I’m feeling more confident about playing with the hair on my head!

4.  He bunks hair myths, and my favorite is “The older  you are, the shorter your hair should be.”  Whenever I go visit my hair stylist, I always remind her, I don’t want to go shorter, I always want to look like I have Victoria’s Secret hair!  As it stands right now, I never want to have short hair again, it’s not a good look for me, my husband doesn’t like it, and I always need the quick option of putting it in a ponytail since I have 3 kids and zero time on my hands! I’m glad Ken agrees that even older women can rock long locks if they so wish and don’t have to get a man-cut just because they’re over 50!

5.  Overall Message : “Realize how unique you are,” “Stop comparing yourself to everyone else’s standards,” and that “All women possess the ability to project an image to the world that says, I am beautiful.”  Amen.

When reading this entire book, Ken mentions his mother numerous times, and you can tell how much he loves and appreciates her. I hope my boys and my girl are this proud of me and the job I’ve done as a mother when they get to be his age!  It’s really sweet to hear how much he expresses that his mother was such an important part of being a super supportive figure throughout his life and career.  Just how  a mom SHOULD be to her child!  It also teaches me to remind my kids often, everyday, how beautiful they are to me.

{My beautiful girl and me downtown Athens this weekend.}

Speaking of hair, Vivian is currently enjoying having her hair in two braided ponytails, everyday, and I’m in the process of growing out my beloved bangs.  But probably just for the summer because it’s so hot here in Georgia and they’ve been sticking to my forehead like crazy, so I’ve got to give them a break right now – hence the side swoop!

Here is a link to KenPaves.com to learn more about him, his brand, his products, and how he gives back.  If you know someone who likes beauty books and is clueless about hair care, this is a wonderful book.

Thanks to the people over at Ken Paves for hooking me up with this book. What I’ve learned from it, is that even if you’re having a bad hair day, there’s hope…and a head scarf or dry shampoo!!