Tuesdays Tip #11 Big Sexy Hair

Big Sexy Hair!?!

You want to know what in the world I am going to talk about today, right?

I am going to talk about the poodles, poodle want-to-be's, bichons, cock-a-poo's, any dog we get in that only have about 12 hairs on their heads, and their owner wants you to make it into a nice poofy head.

 Like this old guy.

He sadly passed away a few months ago.

I groomed him for around 17 years.

His owners had been told that he was part Poodle.

They wanted him cut like one with a clean face, poodle feet, and a poodle topknot.

How do you make a topknot out of flat, straight hair?

With Big Sexy Hair Spray Mousse!

Hence, Tuesday's Tip.

With just a little mousse, I can give that flat hair in the above picture a pick-me-up.

At least till he walks out the door with his owners.

After putting the mousse on his head and a blow dry, I got some poof.

At least enough to scissor a round top on his head.

Not too bad.

The mousse lifted the hair enough to pull off the poodle look.

Side Tip:  When trying to get a round top to a head that has flat hair, scissor a little tighter then you normally would.

Be careful not to go too short.

Take a little off at a time till you get the look you want.

The less weight the hair has on it, will help it to stand up.

Any Mousse will work, and I have used many different ones over the years.

Yes, it is a people Mousse.

I have not ever had a dog have a problem with it.

(I just knocked on wood.

Sorry, superstitious.)

I like the mousse I have pictured here.

It does not have a strong smell.

It is a spray mouse, so I don't have to worry about the top breaking off like some other cans of mousse.

This particular brand is expensive, $17 a bottle, but it take about 3-4 months to use the whole can.

So it breaks down to around $5.70/4.25 a month.

This is how I use the Mousse.

This is 'Abby'.

Her topknot still has a little humph to it, but the hair is thinning out.

After the bath, and before I start drying, I spray a little mousse into my hand.

The amount of hair the dog has and how straight the hair is determines how much mousse I use.

Because her hair is thin I use a little more.

Sometimes I rub it on both hands or just use one hand.

I rub it on the top of the dogs head, being very careful not to get it in the eyes.

I rub the mousse into the hair only.

I don't rub the mousse into the dogs skin.

Work it through the hair all the way to the ends of the hair.

I let the mousse set in the hair while I dry one side of the dog.

If the dog allows me to use the HV Dryer, I dry the hair from the back and side towards the middle of the head, to help the hair stand up.

Do not point the dryer straight down on the top of the head.

You don't want to create a part in the middle of the head.

Wala.

A nice round topknot.

How long will it hold up?

I am not sure.

Long enough for the owner to see it is okay with me.

WARNING: Do not kill the owner when they rub the dogs head and smash down the topknot right in front of your eyes.

I have always been afraid that one of these days I will snap.

 "Live at 5."

"A dog groomer killed one of her customers today. As the groomer was being lead away by police, she was heard to be mumbling; 'they smashed it, they smashed it, I worked so long on that topknot, they smashed it...' When asked, no one knew what the customer had smashed. This is Tim Tooten reporting."

I am not sure when I first started using mousse for topknots.

I do know it has been for at least 20 years.

I don't remember how I found out about it either.

I do remember the first dog I started using it on.

She was a very pretty black miniature poodle named 'Babette'.

Her Mom was very particular about her grooming.

She did not want anyone grooming 'Babette' but me.

'Babette's' Mom also liked a very full topknot.

As 'Babette' got older, the hair on her head started losing it's curl and thinning out.

I started using the mousse on her head.

It worked great, until...

One Christmas Eve 'Babette' was in for her Christmas appointment.

I had run out of mousse and had forgotten to buy more.

It was way too busy to leave the shop and go get some.

So I groomed 'Babette' without the mousse.

I did the best that I could with the topknot.

The first day back after Christmas, 'Babette's' Mom called.

"Who groomed 'Babette'?" she asked my husband angrily.

"Lisa did as always." he answered.

"NO, she didn't," the owner insisted.

"Yes, Lisa is the only one who ever touches 'Babette'." my husband told her.

"This is NOT Lisa's work," the owner insisted.

"Why do you think that?" my husband asked.

Exasperated, the owner said; "The top of her head is FLAT!"

"Hold on, let me ask Lisa."

After talking to me, my husband went back to the owner and explained to her about the mousse that I used to help 'Babette's' topknot look nice.

He explained that we had run out and been unable to get more at the time.

He also told her that I DID groom her dog, and that I would make sure to always use the mousse on her dog from now on.

When 'Babette's' owner came in the next time, I went up and personally apologized.

"That is okay, you were busy, but don't ever let anyone else groom 'Babette' again," she said firmly.

From that day, till pretty 'Babette' passed away, as the owner dropped her dog off, she would say; "Make sure Lisa does her this time not the other person!" 

Ooooookay.

I use the mouse on Poodles, Bichons, Cock-a-poos, and any other dog that I want a poof on the top of the head.

EXTRA TIP:

Use the mousse on Pom Poms to help the hair stand up and out so that you can scissor a nice round ball.

I hope this helps someone.  :)

Happy Grooming, MFF