About Me:

I am a professional Pet Groomer. I have been grooming for 28 years. This Blog is a kind of diary of my work. I wish I had started years ago, writing some of the experiences I have had while grooming. Most days are fun, some can be sad, some can be just down right crazy. If you are a pet owner and come across this blog, I hope it helps you understand how your pet is groomed. If you are a Pet Groomer, I hope you can relate to some of the stories. Maybe even learn a grooming tip or can leave a friendly grooming tip for me. There is always something to learn, no matter how long you have been grooming.

Monday, October 18, 2010

Mohawk

I have had a few owners over the years ask me to give their dogs a mo-hawk.
Sometimes it looks good, sometimes the hair is just not right for a good mo-hawk.

This is 'Kipley'.
I have been giving him a mo-hawk for years.


Then last year his owner saw me at a Pet Expo here in Maryland, with my Standard Poodle, 'Hanna'.
I had cut a flower design into 'Hanna's' hip and colored it to draw attention to my booth.







I used childrens Blow Pens to put the color on 'Hanna'.

(These pictures were 3 days after I had colored her.)







When 'Kipley's' owner saw 'Hanna', she got all excited and wanted to know if I would color her dog.






 I don't really offer this service in my shop because of all of the controversy surrounding coloring
dogs.
Coloring my own dog is one thing, coloring a customers dog is a whole nother bag of worms that I was not sure I wanted to get involved with.

'Kipley's' owner wanted his mo-hawk colored the next time he came in.
'Kipley's owners have been wonderful customers for years.
I decided to go ahead and color the mo-hawk for them.



He has been green for St. Patrick's Day.

He has been blue for the New York Yankees.








I used Blow Pens for both the blue and green.
The Blow Pens work really well on his hair color and hair texture.



The last time they came in, they wanted purple for the Baltimore Ravens.
I did not have any purple Blow Pens, I don't think they make purple Blow Pens.

I decided to try sidewalk chalk.
Sidewalk chalk works great on white dogs.
It looks really nice on ears and tails.

I was not sure how it was going to work on 'Kipleys' color and texture of hair.
When using chalk to color hair, I usually let the stick of chalk soak in a cup of warm water for 5 or 10 minutes, then rub it into the dogs hair.

This did not work on 'Kipley'.
His hair texture just would not grab the chalk.
So I tried a different way.





I soaked the chalk as usual.





Then I took an old pair of scissors and scraped off a fair amount of wet chalk.






I added a little water, trying to make a thick paste.






I then took a pinch of the paste and worked it into the hair.






This was much more time consuming then using the Blow Pens, or just using the chalk stick.






I let the wet chalk sit for awhile to help set the color.
I was worried that when I started to blow dry the chalk, it would all blow right off of his texture of hair and leave no color behind.

I dried his mo-hawk on the lowest setting and very carefully.
The color came out very light.
Cocker hair does not hold chalk color very well.
I sprayed the mo-hawk with a little hair spray in hopes that it would help the color to stay awhile.

The owners were tickled 'purple'. :)
I let them know that this color may not stay as long as the Blow Pens.
I will ask them how long the color lasted when they come in for 'Kipley's' next appointment.

Happy Grooming, MFF

32 comments:

  1. The dog could care less what color his hair is or if it has a flower on its butt.

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  2. I have dyed my standard poodle many times in the past. She was usually purple as I used a semi-permnant color. I have also sculpted flowers and various other things and dyed them as well... I have also dyed her a tye dye pattern. But I have never used sidewalk chalk before... thanks for the info! I also have a few clients that love the mohawk, though one in particular doesnt really have the coat for it... so I have to hairspray it up every time.

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  3. ...Does this work on humans? I have blonde hair and was wondering if it feels goopy in hair or if it would even show up. Thanks :)

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    Replies
    1. Kayla, don't wet the chalk if you have light hair, as it will stay much longer than intended. Just use the chalk to draw onto your strands.

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    2. Yes, they dont recommend chalking blonde hair with wet chalk. It will stain your hair and take longer to wash out unless you're ok with that. Use dry chalk and use soft pastels from the craft store. I've heard using standard sidewalk chalk is not good for chalking hair.

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    3. you want to get WATER BASED PASTELS NOT OIL BASED!!! Or you'll be sorrryy!

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  4. Hi Kayla,
    I am really not sure. It is safe and non-toxic, and washes right out of the hair. If your hair is color treated I would do a test on a very small area first to see if the chalk would take and how it reacts to treated hair. It is goopy going on, but once it drys it does not feel bad.
    Lisa, MFF

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  5. I'm currently using pink chalk streaks in my hair for breast cancer awareness & it shows up very well. My hair has blonde highlights & brown lowlights & it definitely shows up better on lighter hair. The first time you wash it out you can still see a faint color, but by the second washing it is all gone.

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  6. Marsha,
    Thanks for the information. :)
    Lisa, MFF

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  7. Actually Anonymous, the dog could NOT care less. Linguistics is crucial when attempting to make a rude comment.

    Your dog looks great, Marsha.

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    Replies
    1. I bet the puppy had a good time too. Lots of attention!!

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  8. this is wonderful, I love creative people! I put a feather in my dogs tail, I am going to try the chaulk in mine.

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  9. This is awesome! I'm going to use it for my daughter for 'crazy hair' day tomorrow at school :) Then I'll try fun stuff on my boxers for Halloween this upcoming year. Thanks for the info!

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  10. it does come out i did it to my daughter

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  11. I love dogs with mohawks and love the color idea! I have an apricot pomeranian-poodle mix, do you think this would work on his coat (it's like a loose curl on his head and plush/loose curl on his body)??

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  12. Hi Patrica,
    The chalk should work fine. You can also use childrens blow pens. They are non-toxic and most of the colors wash out within a couple of bathes.
    Lisa, MFF

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  13. Hi my name is Rae and i have a shih tzu and have recently been thinking about giving her a mohawk. Do you think it would work for her type of hair?

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  14. Hi Rae,
    A good freeze hair spray will help any type of hair standup for a mohawk. Just be very careful around your dogs eyes. I like to spray my fingers and put the spray on that way.
    Lisa, MFF

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  15. If you brush it in human hair will it come out?

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  16. Do the Blow Pens work on people hair??

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  17. Chalk should wash out of human hair (that has not been treated) with one washing.

    Blow pens, depending on the color that you used, may take several washing to remove the color. The lighter the color of your hair, the nicer the color shows. (I would no use blow pens on treated hair)
    Lisa, MFF

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  18. I've been looking into this with hair dressers (for humans). They all recommend using pastel chalks, like what artists use. For light hair, do not wet the chalk, as it will stay longer than intended. But for darker hair, you should wet it. If you do pinterest, search for color hair chalk and you will find a few tutorials. I am actually going out to get some chalk from the a&c store today to do mine, and then I am going to attempt to do my Shorkie. She has a greyish color hair (used to be brindled but by a year old, she was totally grey). Wish me luck!

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  19. I have a toy poodle cut that always gets cut at petsmart . Should I let them do this or should I use someone who is a pro at this .

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    Replies
    1. Hi Skylar,
      You have to ask to see if there is a groomer that knows how to do a mohawk. Petsmart may have a groomer that can do that for you, if not, call around. :)
      Lisa, MFF

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    2. Petsmart will cut a mohawk for you, but we aren't allowed to color. Which I would LOVE to do, but alas...

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    3. Hi,
      I am sure that they are too worried about backlash if they color dogs. It seems that 50% of people think it is cute and the other 50% hate it and think that it is cruelty. Maybe they need to watch animal cops and see what real cruelty is. :/

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    4. You can now petsmart now offers chalking and other sorts of dye at the groomers!! Right NOW their even having a special!!

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  20. This is great! My son has a week of differentcolors they are exploring in class for each day & Monday will be purple & he does not want to wear a purple shirt so, THIS will be a great alternative because he's also been asking to spray his hair different colors. Chalk is MUUUCH cheaper:) thanks.

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  21. Hi Lisa, I was wanting to color my white cocker that has rusty brown spots purple. Do you think chalk or kool aid or jello would work best? Thanks :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Mackenzie,
      I personally have never used kool aid or jello to color a dog. I like the chalk myself. Try....see how it turns out. You most likely will be able to wash it back out with a good whitening shampoo if you don't like the results.
      Lisa, MFF

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  22. I use soft pastels because the colors are so vibrant and easily come off with soap and water. My dog lover it.

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