By all appearances, fall 2010 will go down in fashion
history as "the season of texture." Dozens of notable
fashion designers eschewed straight strands,
embracing instead all manner of curls, coils, crimps,
waves and teased clouds of hair on their catwalks. On the
West Coast, style setters are also advancing the texture
trend. Nearly every red carpet is adorned with sexy, romantic
textures, made popular by stars like Taylor Swift,
Miley Cyrus, Kate Hudson, Charlize Theron and Beyonce.
Taylor Swift. (Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images) Miley Cyrus. (George Pimentel/WireImage) Kate Hudson. (James Devaney/WireImage) |
"Clients today, are requesting anything but flat hair."
says Lina Shamoun, a 2010 North American Hairstyling
Awards Texture Finalist from Kitchener, Ontario.
And regardless of whether clients are starting out with
natural curl, wave or pin-straight strands, everyone has
texture options this season!
Natural Curl:
Embrace and
Refine
"Curly hair is coming
into its own," says Titi
Branch, co-owner of Miss
Jessie's Products and Salon
in New York. "Twenty
years ago, we wouldn't
even be talking about
curly hair because people
straightened their curls.
Now, women want to embrace their natural, healthy curl.
Michelle Obama even wore curls to a state dinner recently-
for her to do so really validates the beauty of the look."
But curly can also be high maintenance, admits
Branch, which is why the current trend is a smoother,
looser curl pattern.
"This allows a woman to keep her curl," she explains,
"but refine it." At Miss Jessie's this elongated curl is
achieved with the salon's proprietary "Silkener" service.
The technique involves a sodium hydroxide relaxer and
a method of manipulation that stretches, yet doesn't
straighten the hair.
"The result," says Branch, "is hair that behaves like
natural hair when it's wet-before it dries and shrinks. It's
wash and go-it cuts styling time in half." To support natural
curls, Branch recommends Miss Jessie's Curly Pudding
treatment-a perennial favorite that combines macadamia
and almond oil, aloe and shea butter for shine, plumping
and moisture.
Michelle Obama. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images News) Charlize Theron. (Eric Ryan/Getty Images) Beyonce. (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images) |
Curl definition is also imperative for Shawna Parvin's
curly clients and the most modern approach, says the
Aquage educator, NAHA 2009 Texture Winner and 2010
Hairstylist of the Year nominee, is to mix it up-random
curl sizes, directions and even amounts of definition.
"I'm telling my clients to start with a gel on damp hair,"
she says, and comb it through scalp to ends. "Then wind
sections of varying sizes, in every direction, so they look
like little snakes. Don't touch the hair until it's completely dry, then move it around
and even pull a few random
pieces apart so
there's some fuzz mixed
in with the curl. That's
what keeps curl from
looking like the '80s."
This look from Curls was created after washing hair with Curlicious Curls Cleansing Cream and moisturizing with Quenched Curls Moisturizer. To finish the look, apply your styling product of choice:Curls Milkshake, Curl Souffle, Whipped Cream or Gel-les's section by section, starting in the back and working toward the front. |
Options are important
for women with any texture,
and naturally curly
clients will always want
blowouts for occasions
when their hair must look
polished, says Anthony
Dickey, owner of New York's Hair Rules Salon and hair
products company. What makes blowouts look fresh this
season, he says, is a voluminous, soft, Mad Men-inspired
look, with lots of flattering movement around the face.
"Bone straight doesn't work for most women," he comments.
"Waves and curls look softer on anyone-it's âinstant
youth.'"
Making Waves-Keep it Raw
When it comes to creating curls and waves, the perfectly
formed curls are evolving into a rougher, more raw-edged
texture says Chad Seale of Salt Lake City, another 2010
NAHA Texture finalist. "Waves will be more vertical,
looser, less constructed than we've seen in past seasons,"
agrees Darby Shields, Associate Artistic Director of ISO
International.
When it comes to these vertical waves, there's also a
new silhouette worth noting, adds Seale, namely, a flatter
crown with more volume through the midlengths
and ends. Seale loves this texture and shape on
shorter-length bobs-actress Charlize Theron
has been seen sporting the look.
To permanently create this casual texture
on tightly curly hair, Shields steers clients to
the ISO Maintamer.
This model's hair was frizzy before getting the Extenzz treatment from Curly Hair Solutions. This non-chemical styling relaxer prevents curls from shrinking. |
"This formula gives stylists plenty of control,"
she explains. "Leave it on for five minutes,
and it eliminates frizz but maintains the
curl pattern. Leave it on for 30 minutes and it
straightens more completely."
To produce loose, rope-y, "Gisele"
texture with a thermal iron, Shields first
mists strands with a combination of ISO
Color Preserve Thermal Shield Spray and
Daily Shape Working Spray, then wraps
sections of hair vertically around the
outside of a curling iron, simultaneously
twisting each section onto itself like a rope. Once the hair
cools completely, she gently releases the twists, revealing
"a spiral, vertical wave with lots of internal torque."
For this look, the ISO Options treatment was used and the look was finished with ISO's Bouncy Crème. |
The flatiron is another excellent tool for creating this
type of natural-looking body and texture. Many of today's
irons feature beveled plates, which give them the versatility
to straighten and shape hair. One of Lina Shamoun's favorite
strategies is to divide hair into thin, one-inch sections,
place the flatiron at the root, wind the section once around
the iron and draw the tool through to the ends.
"When you release it, the hair will fall into a soft, flowing
wave," she explains.
The beachy trend-textured, separated, sea-tossed
strands-has generated a number
of beach spray products that are great for
supporting these looks or for use as standalone
body boosters.
Color for Curl
With celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker
and Jennifer Aniston leading the way,
the hottest hair color trend of the moment is
the graduated, "I spent last month on the
beach and now it's growing out" effect.
Characterized by deeper
roots and lighter midshafts and ends, it's a deliberate technique to approximate
"vacation regrowth."
The look is perfect for the twists and turns of textured
hair, as long as the technique is done correctly.
Seale believes baliage is the best strategy-this freehand
hair-painting method allows the colorist to
place the tint exactly where the sun would kiss each
strand, namely, on the rounds and fullest parts of
each curl and in an unstructured fashion.
"So if your client wears her hair curly," Seale
advises, "don't blow her hair straight and do a color
weave. You'll get six different colors on one curl and
that doesn't work."
Additionally, says Seale, opt for high-lift permanent
colors when baliaging curls, rather than bleach.
"Bleach tends to swell the hair and cause it to become
dryer," he believes. This hair type is already
susceptible to dryness, he adds, so it's better to use
hair color, which tends to impart less damage.
Shields agrees that baliage is the best way to
achieve the dark-to-light look, and advises stylists
to work with fairly large sections. "Apply your color
to each section randomly," she suggests. "And
for your application pattern, let the trajectory of
the waves guide you-dropping off of the crown.
Try some âpeek-a-boo' foils under the surface, too.
All of this will create a purposeful, grown-out look,
which clients today love since it's chic and it allows
them to stretch their retouching dollars!"
To create this sexy style, Joico K-PAK Waves was used as a treatment, and Joico Design Collection Texture Spray finished look. |
More texture! online at modernsalon.com/texture and NaturallyCurly.com.
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