Using Highlights to Help Your Hair Look its Best
Apr 4th
Highlighted hair stands out and lets your style show through. When you add beautiful, light toned highlights to your hair colour, it can make your hairstyle look more youthful and vibrant. Highlights can certainly enhance your look, but it is definitely not a job for you to do yourself. Unlike traditional hair colouring, hair highlighting can be very technical, which is why it is best left to the professionals.
For colour ideas, you can check pictures online or even take a picture of a friend whose highlights you like. Take these pictures with you to the salon so that your hairstylist will know exactly what you want. She may have other ideas about the shades of colour that will work best with your natural hair colour, as well.
If hair highlights are properly done, they can make your style quite eye-catching and appealing. You and your hairstylist will also want to discuss how much hair highlighting you would like done – from just a few subtle highlights to a near change of hair colour. Remember though, the extent to which your hair can be highlighted is affected by the health and texture of your hair.
The most appealing hair colour highlights may be done in one of three ways. In the first method, bleaching agents are applied to strands of hair and then they are wrapped in foil. Also called “foiling”, this method gives good results and colours almost down to the roots.
Another technique is known as hair painting. This method can be done either at home or in a hair salon. In this method, hair colour or a bleaching agent is applied to strands of hair with a brush, which creates a pleasing overall effect.
The third method is the most tedious. A plastic head cap is used, and strands are pulled through the cap. These strands are bleached, and then in the most traditional method, you may sit under a salon hair dryer for the maximum effect.
A professional hairstylist can tell you what colour highlights will go best with your base colour. You can select from many various colours that will have you looking younger and more vibrant.
Learned Advice for Damaged Women’s Hair
Apr 4th
As soon as your hair grows out of your scalp, it is already dying. If you damage your hair through excessive treatments or colourings, the hair can’t repair itself because it doesn’t have life within it anymore. You can use conditioners, moisturizers and hairstyle treatments that may help, but the hair will never be as healthy as it once was.
There are many ways your short or medium hair can become damaged, and some of these are difficult to avoid. There is the always unavoidable sun and natural wearing of your hair that may damage it, although not as much as the things you do to it yourself. However, you can take steps to protect your hair from many of the elements that usually cause damage.
When your hair looks healthy, it has a tightly closed, smooth cuticle layer that aids in protecting the inner hair from becoming dried out. This layer will allow your hair to keep in some of its moisture and will also give medium or long hair some shine, strength and elasticity.
You may incur damaged hair from the cuticle scales becoming uplifted, which results in less shiny hair, dullness or brittleness. Hair that is damaged in this way will be weak, porous, dry and difficult to manage. There are several tell-tale signs of damaged hair, including lack-luster, dull hair; brittle and dry hair; perpetually tangled hair; hair with split ends and flyaway hairs; hair that is difficult to manage and hard to style.
Some of the things that cause hair damage include excess brushing, which can tear the hair. Excessive combing can do the same thing, especially if you comb or brush your hair a lot when it is wet. Your hair is more vulnerable to tears and breakage when it is wet. Comb or brush your hair gently, using a natural fiber brush or a wide-tooth comb, to avoid this problem.
Hair clips and pins hold the hair very tightly, in order to keep it in place, but this tightness may cause the hair to break. Rubber bands in pony tails can also cause breakage. Overheating also damages hair, so the best thing to do is to let it your hair dry naturally. This isn’t always feasible, but if you can do it now and then it will help prevent some heat damage. If you have to use a blow dryer, put it on the coolest setting.
The sun and salt water or chlorinated water can also hurt your hair. Be sure to wash your hair with a healthy hairstyle product after you swim, otherwise the chemicals and salt can make your hair dry and brittle.
These are just a few ways you can help prevent damaged hair from being an ongoing problem.
Hairstyling Advice for Your Facial Shape
Apr 4th
The shape of your face greatly determines the type of hairstyle you will look the best in. As summer approaches, you’ll want to adapt your hairstyle so that you don’t have bad hair days when the weather gets warmer.
You may decide to go with a classic hairstyle if you and your hairstylist decide that one of these looks will enhance and nicely frame your face. These styles only need to be changed if there are newer techniques or hairstyle products that will improve them in an aesthetic way.
If you have a low or high forehead, or a prominent chin or nose, you can use a style that softly frames your face. This is done so that the blunt features don’t stand out as much as they would with a stark hairstyle.
Determine the type of shape your face has, whether it is round, squarish, oval, triangular or inverted triangular. This is important to know before you have your hair styled. Your hairstylist will be able to show you various styles that work the best with each facial shape.
You might also wish to allow your straight or curly hairstyle time to evolve, rather than making wholesale changes to your look every time you have your hair done. Letting your hair adapt to a style for a good period of time will put less stress on your hair, as opposed to changing your hairstyle often.
You’ll want a hairstyle that frames your facial features and one that also attracts attention when people first see you. This involves supplementing your hair colour and hairstyle with complementary makeup and clothing.
Fringes are always a pleasing way to frame your face, and there are quite a few types of fringes to choose from. The types include heavy, short, long, side, thin, thick, solid and wispy fringes.
If you are gradually growing your hair out so that it will better suit the shape of your face, you can try some hairstyles that are very effective for those in-between lengths. This is the case when your hair is too long for a short haircut, but not as long as you would like it to be. These progressive styles will make it easier for you to take care of and style your hair while it grows to the length you want.
Women’s Hair Colouring Tips
Mar 30th
Your hair deserves nothing less than for you to take good advice on natural hair treatments that will work for you. Before you colour your hair, make sure you don’t use hair shampoo for a day or so to ensure that your scalp has a good amount of natural oils present. This helps your hair treatment colour to adhere better. If you haven’t washed your hair, this will also allow the hair colour to penetrate more deeply into each follicle, which makes the colouring job last longer. Unwashed natural hair will also protect your scalp so that the chemicals in the hair dye don’t irritate it.
After the colour is applied, wait another day or so afterward to wash your natural hair. This will give the colour more time to be absorbed, and the colour will be richer. It will be tempting to wash your hair sooner, but if you can stand the wait your hair colour will be more beautiful and consistent.
Most people wash their hair every day so that it will look and feel clean for work or school. But after you have your hair coloured, every time you wash it you remove some of the colouring and it fades faster. Shampoos, conditioners and other hair products don’t give you any protection against sun rays, which causes blond, brown or black hair colour to fade. So, it’s best for your hair if you shampoo and condition it every other day, or maybe even every third day, to help your hair colour last longer.
If you enjoy using hot oil treatments, be aware that these are usually acidic which can strip your hair’s colour. If you still wish to use hot oil treatments, make sure you select one that is specifically designed for colour-treated or damaged hair.
Using other products like permanents, relaxers and straighteners, will add chemicals to your natural hair that can cause the colour to be damaged. This may even cause your hair to become brittle or broken.
If you want your colour to last the longest it possibly can, ask your stylist about adding a gloss or glaze to your natural hair when it is coloured. This will seal the cuticles of your hair and extend the life of the hair colour. You can select a semi-permanent gloss that uses heat or no heat to help your hair colouring last longer and to make your hair shinier.
Cutting and Styling Tips for Women
Mar 30th
When you get your hair cut by a professional stylist, you’ll want to make sure that you get the best hair design every time. If you have a particular style in mind, look through photographs of haircuts online or flip through some magazines, so you can take pictures to the hairstylist with you. This will give your hairstylist a better idea of the style you want, and if you print off several hairstyles you like you’ll have those other options if the hairstylist informs you that one or more styles won’t work well with your type of hair. These photographs don’t have to be professional, either – if you have a friend with a hairstyle you’d like, snap a photo and take that with you.
If you have family and friends with hairstyles you like, ask who they use and check into having your hair styled at that salon. Stylists usually cut the other stylists’ hair too, so if you’re in a salon and particularly like one stylist’s look, ask who cuts her hair.
One aspect of hairstyles that many people overlook is the type of hair you have. If you have especially fine, course, wavy, straight, thick or curly hair, this will limit the hairstyles that will realistically work well with your hair type. If the style you love won’t look good with your hair type, an experienced stylist will be able to help you select another style that will look good on you. Doing the research is only the beginning. Make sure you work together with an experienced and professional hairstylist who can make pertinent style recommendations that are based on your colour, age, hair type and face shape. They may also recommend hair styling products like a styling gel, to help maintain your look.
Don’t let yourself be pressured by a hairstylist either, regardless of whether you’re in an expensive salon or a $10 one. You are the customer, the stylists should do what they can within the constraints of what can be done with your hair type to keep you happy. Don’t feel like you have to select a different hairstyle just because someone recommends it.
Be sure to ask a lot of questions, too. Many people overlook this step. You should understand why a stylist recommends a particular style for your hair. If he or she suggests a style that you’re not fond of, explain what you really want because they may have an idea what style will work best with the shape of your face, and you should know any reasons he or she has for the hairstyle that is suggested to you. If no good reasons are given, stick to your guns and ask about styles you would prefer, so that you can get the look you really want.
Women’s Spring Hairstyles 2010
Feb 24th
Two years ago, I was flipping through the latest issue of NYLON and came across a spread with a model whose hair was so bleached it was silver and was cut into a choppy, spiky mullet. Yes my friends, this is the very picture I brought to my hairdresser and asked her to re-create on my head. “This model is wearing a wig, you know,” was her somewhat incredulous answer to my request. Wig or no wig, I was ready to make the drastic change. After a couple of seasons of having my hair as my “thing”, (and getting called Garth, yes, from Wayne’s World) I got extensions and took my mullet to a whole new level. Almost a year later and immense amounts of regret for putting my hair through irreparable damage, I have learned the art of the updo and will continue to pile my hair on top of my head until its long enough to look normal again. (This will take years, according to my hairdresser. She’s too nice to say, “I told you so,” even though she was apprehensive to bleach, tone, and bleach again to achieve that non-colour I so desperately sought after). Luckily for me, as a product junkie, I have a whole lot of new reasons to slather, massage, wrap, heat and slick on the slew of miracle creams and masks for damaged and splitting hair. Hopefully, after a few more weeks of using Redken’s Heavy Cream and Ojon’s deep conditioning masks (which are AH-MAZING!), my hair will be long enough to attempt to recreate the stylish and chic hairdos that dominated the spring runway.
PLAITS, PLEASE
A major reoccurring trend in the hair department that was seen on the runway from the likes of Rochas, Oscar de la Renta, Alexander Want, and my personal favourite, Giambattista Valli, the school-girl braid has been taken to a whole new level. Popular styles varied greatly in design and the braid can be really be worn any way this season and still hit the trend bullseye. Spotted on the runway: simple, loose, and on the side; a more complicated, twisted updo version, milkmaid style, and inspiration from Heidi to Pippi Longstocking was evident. At Giambattista Valli, the models’ hair was pulled into a big, voluminous ponytail before being teased some more and braided or fishtailed. A style so easy we were doing it in elementary school. Guess I’ll have to come up with another excuse for being late!
POLISHED & PRETTY
The slick look has also been a reoccurring trend for a few seasons running now, but this spring, the hair can either be parted (centre or side; it’s your call) or pulled back off the face. Let the rest frame your face or pull back into a ponytail; both were seen on the catwalks this season. Previous seasons looked hard and shellacked while this spring, the style looked like it was created with a few mists of water and shine serum as opposed to a tub of super-hold gel.
SHE’S COME UNDONE
Last week, part of my intern duties included transcribing an interview with one of the hairstylists from the set of the Sex And The City 2 film. After rewinding and listening to the interview about 700 times to catch every. single. word., the “ undone styled style” is the only thing I could think of for days. After catching a glimpse of this look at Gucci, Chloé, Giles and Tommy Hilfiger, I finally understood the stylist’s obsession. Loose, big waves with lots of movement and texture fall right in the very centre of the spectrum of prom queen curls and bedhead. Hair should look styled, but not like you looked like you spent hours styling it. Tips on how to achieve the look: use a texturizing product, (my personal favourite is Bumble & Bumble Brilliantine) and a few different wide barrel curling irons, switching directions and never clamping the hair but instead wrapping it around the outside of the iron. Shake it out (upside down for added body), mist with light hold hairspray and don’t get mad when people stare.
OMBRÉ
Long since a trend from everything from cardigans to cocktail dresses, it was Prada’s sequin ombré clutch I was after last season. This season? The trend has migrated north and is allowing me to stretch out the salon visits to 12 weeks instead of 6. (Both my wallet and my damaged hair are thanking me). Letting your true colours show has been a huge hit on and off the runway. Trendsetting fashionistas from Rachel Bilson to Cameron Diaz to Alexa Chung have been sporting major roots, but fear not, the look gives off a laid-back cool vibe and totally looks on purpose and not like you missed your salon appointment. The trick is to ensure your roots are a maximum of 2 shades darker or lighter than your ends, any more and it quickly goes from trendy to tacky. Any trend that is encouraging me to show my true colours while saving cash? I’ll take it!
Aimee Brothman
Style.ca Writer
