After a cold, harsh winter, spring is finally in the air. Icicles have melted in place of fresh new crocus buds and heavy velvets and brocades have been tossed to the side only to be replaced with crisp linen and swaths of light cotton. And just as with the cyclical fashion industry, the hair industry sees just as many trends and fads.
Sunsilk hair care expert Kerry Nixon advises that Spring/Summer 2007 is all about loose, romantic waves and lots of curls, so pack up those flat irons girls – it’s time for a more natural, relaxed look. As for summer hair colours, Nixon says that blondes should stick to anything with a bit of gold. She suggests that even brunettes can “throw a few golden highlights around the face where the sun naturally kisses you,” or add some warm auburn tones.
Schwarzkopf Professional has embraced three key looks for this season including The Dancer, The Siren, and Futurism. Their first trend, The Dancer, is “delicate and really sensuous,” says Tyler Johnston, Schwarzkopf’s Editorial Ambassador. “It’s almost ethereal with lots of natural tones and free flowing shapes that give the impression of constant movement.” Johnston adds that The Dancer theme is perfect for experimenting with textures and dressing. “The cuts are really layered out, which gives these incredible elongated shapes,” says Johnston. “It’s very feminine.” The Dancer trend was recreated on the catwalk by the romantic styling, filmy fabrics, and billowing shapes of Viktor and Rolfe’s Paris runway show as well as in Andrew Majtenyi’s show during L’Oreal Fashion Week in Toronto. The look is effortlessly wearable, with loose structures that can be molded to suit the moment. Colours come in natural sheer tones of apricot, caramel, biscuit and soft, muted tobacco brown. Hair is dressed with disheveled textures in classic ponytails, plaits, and weaves.
Schwarzkopf Professional’s second Spring/Summer trend is The Siren, a trend that “takes showgirl glamour and makes it every day wearable,” says Johnston. “There is a lot of length and a lot of texture to play with, which makes it super sexy, while the dazzling bubblegum colours give it that burlesque twist.” Johnston explains that this trend really gives license to go all-out glamour without looking too retro. This particular look uses rounded layers with heavy fringes and veils of length that both conceal and reveal the girl beneath. Sections of hair are soaked in darkest blackberry, brightest cherry, or the palest strawberry ice, with curls piled high and tumbling waves that are always on the move.
“Fashion has embraced the future, and for Spring/Summer 2007, the future is now,” says Johnston. For one of their key looks this season, Schwarzkopf has created a time capsule collection with space age influences that show strong graphic head shapes with shimmering metallic colours. Strong silhouettes blended with inky blacks, silvery blondes, and resonant reds shot through with bright shades, which all create a hard edged modernist glamour. The Canadian Hairdresser International Magazine’s 13th Annual Mirror Awards mirrored Schwarzkopf’s Futurism trend as many Canadian hairdressers also played with the Back to the Future theme in terms of style, texture, and colour.
Damien Carney, Joico’s international Artistic Director, and Sue Pemberton, Vero K-PAK’s Color Artistic Director, did not seek inspiration from the worlds of fashion and celebrity or the future, but looked to nature. Carney explains that it is about “looking beyond the manufactured trends our modern high-tech world produces and looking for pure, raw inspiration in the only place that it still exists: Nature.” Pemberton adds that “in nature we discovered an endless number of natural elements from every imaginable shape and texture to the most unexpected color combinations that had never been translated to hair.”
At Joico, the cuts are reminiscent of the geometric styles popular during the 1920s or 1980s, but taken to a whole new level of complexity and originality. As for color, Pemberton was inspired by the contrasting yet complimentary qualities of light and natural entities like volcanic ash, pebbles on the beach, desert sand, and earth as well as delicious desserts like rhubarb custard and crème brûlée garnished with raspberries.
Hair Care Expert Kerry Nixon from Sunsilk offers some tips to achieve fabulous curls and luscious waves.
For Curls:
1) Start with moisture. If your hair is thirsty from those dried out looks of the past (flat ironing), then try Sunsilk’s Hydra TLC Hairapy 3-some for thirsty hair.
2) If your hair has a natural wave, start with Hydra TLC shampoo and conditioner to give your hair the moisture it needs.
3) Towel blot the hair well and apply a quarter size dollop of the Hydra TLC 24/7 crème to your palm and emulsify. Then scrunch into hair starting at ends working toward the root.
4) Let hair dry naturally or use a diffuser with low heat and stop drying before hair is completely dry – leave it slightly moist.
5) Apply a little more Hydra TLC 24/7 crème to remove any fussiness left in the waves.
6) If you find your curls are a little poofy, try Sunsilk’s Anti-Poof 24/7 crème and apply throughout the day as needed.
For Waves:
1) As your hair air dries, take sections of your slightly damp hair between your thumb and index finger
2) Twist as you would with the phone cord while talking to your best girlfriend on the phone.
3) Take the twisted sections while lightly twisting and let them fall down on themselves, basically around your index finger.
4) Spray on a little of the Sunsilk ThermaShine Detangling Shine Spray before rolling these curls to your head.
5) Take the end of the hair and continue to lightly twist and spin it around the index finger and using a bobbie pin, pin the large curls to your head.
6) Do this before going to bed in order to wake up to fabulous curls, or do it in the morning and finish off with the diffuser attachment on your blow-dryer in a matter of minutes.
1. & 2. Backstage at Andrew Majtenyi, 3. Katie Holmes with wavy locks, 4. Hillary Duff with side swept waves, 5. Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen in waves and curls, 6. Schwarzkopf's Dancer trend