Hair to suit your personal style

Press, 15 January 1986, Page 13

Hair to suit your personal style

In vogue

Paula Ryan

Around the fashion capitals, hairdressers are agreeing that hair has less to do with fashion than with personal style. The way a cut works in proportion to your height ana the width of your shoulders is as important as length. A cut requires careful consideration of your build before the snip-snip of the scissors. And hair length should be determined by the texture and the condition of your hair. When you contemplate changing the look of your hair — whether you want a different cut, colour, length or style — you obviously want something new. A mistake, oft-repeated, is too drastic a style change. If you really like the style you have, remember that small changes will make a big difference — a redirected fringe, a little more layering, some subtle highlighting. Women who always look good are those who value the big difference of little changes.

Summer Hair With the lovely, long, la-

zier days of summer in full swing I asked the director of The Cut Above Salons, Gael Thompson, in Auckland, for some top outdoor summer styles, and styling advice. She sees a summer trend towards a more feminine look, whether the hair is long or short. Women are opting for curls, wisps, and feathery textures, which is a far cry from last winter’s

rather mannish crops. Conversely, men are opting for the ultra-masculine with ‘lvy League’ college cuts on strong, sculptural lines, or short, Fonz, flattops.

Boys want to be boys and girls want to be girls again! Women seem no longer content with one style for all occasions. This is evident in the softer, less definite shapes of this summer’s cuts, and in the big interest in accessorising longer hair.

The salons have devised some new scaling for longer hair, especially for evenings and holidays. This summer they have larger scale looks — even oversize, which are meant to be worn with wit and confidence.

An enormous taffeta bow, tied off-centre on super-full, super-curly, shoulder length hair which has been permed on spiral rollers for maxibounce, is festive and it’s fun.

The salon’s stylists advise that this effect can be achieved with their spiralset (the same technique without the perm solution) to bounce off to summer parties.

The only drawback to this is the time involved — 30 minutes for the stylist to wind the hair, and at least an hour under the dryer. They report, however, that the end result is worth it!

Asymmetric hair styles have always had a certain charm. Old movie fans will well remember Veronica Lake and the seductive fall over one eye. No less seductive is this summer’s short cutie, which The Cut Above names “The Flirt.” This combines the dash and ease of short hair with the feminine appeal of longer tresses. What gives the Flirt its versatility is that the lengths can vary. The hair is cropped short at the back and one side, gradually becoming longer on top. Sufficient length is left to arrange flirtatious, face-fram-ing tendrils on one side, which may fall gently over one eye — just the right look for today’s cute siren. Gael Thompson recommends the “Flirt” as a “between style” for those who want a smart, up-to-date hairstyle while the hair is growing longer.

The back and one side are kept short until the hair grows to a softer length on the longer side. The shorter side is then allowed to grow, keeping the style balanced by regular trims until the desired length is achieved. Gael also recommends soft, partial perming where needed to blend the hair during the growing period, to add lift and volume.

If you’re growing out last winter’s mannish crop and want to look really feminine again, she also recommends the “Flick.” This is a style that flatters all ages, from trendy teens to glamorous grandmothers.

The “Flick” is a short, summery style combining ease of upkeep with feminine appeal. What’s new is the absence of hard, geometric lines and a softer, less definite shape and outline. It is razor cut to feather forward for lively movement.

A feeling of lightness and

texture is achieved by a gentle, “style-support” bodywave. Gael Thompson recommends a weave-perm method to create the right tousled effect. New texture is accented with random points of light, using a “sunreflect” colour technique. “The Flick” is a young-for-all-ages style, with clever cutting and skilful perming. It can be enhanced with subtle highlights and be styled at home by gently shampooing and toweldrying the hair. Just softly blow-dry, coaxing the hair forward from the crown with the fingers. A conditioning mousse can be used for volume and shine. Extra mousse can be applied to the tips to accentuate the tousled effect.

Finally, the crown can be teased slightly, with some artful fingering of wisps forward to caress the face for real feminine appeal. Gael Thompson predicts a swing to longer, fuller hair

for winter ’B6, so maybe it’s time to start growing it. Long hair can only be your crowning glory if it shines and bounces — “Split-Enz” may have sounded good on stage but do absolutely nothing for good-looking hair. So have your hair tf-immed regularly — even if it is long, it will pay off. Don’t use rubber bands, and use heated rollers only when necessary. Use a conditioning mousse as a sun-screen for hair, and remember that a professional salon henna treatment reconditions as well as beautifies — they even have colourless henna these days! Semi-permanent colour rinses also recondition damaged hair, while adding beautiful new colour and lots of sheen. Like our skin, hair also responds to rest, exercise, and a balanced diet.

Next week: Men’s news c from The Cut Above.