In this series of blogs, we look at the common mistakes hairdressers make, and how to get the best out of your hair.
Like many people, Karishma struggled with her hair.
She wanted floating feathered waves. But her A-Line haircut made it hang heavy and droop forward. She liked to wear it with some movement. But the lack of proper layering made it difficult to curl and the style didn’t last. Karishma has a wonderful quality of hair but the haircut made styling a struggle, and the hair suffered from over-drying becoming frizzy, broken and split.
In fact, much of the frizziness people battle with is caused by bad haircuts; poor choices of outline and poor layering. Much of the rest is cause by the majority of de-frizz serums and oils on the market which actually dry the hair out long term so you end up buying more of their de-frizzing products just to get you through today.
Read…Why Silicone is Bad for your Hair?
Cut and treated properly the hair comes alive with movement shine and vibrancy.
Karishma’s hair before, was cut square at the back and longer at the front. It’s called the A-Line Bob in hairdressing terminology and the first haircut a student is taught because it’s so basic.
Unfortunately, most hairdressers don’t evolve their cutting skills beyond this. Five inches above the baseline was a second A-Line Bob with the ends shredded a little to disguise the step.
This lazy A-Line haircut is widely prevalent on long hair, and 99% of new clients coming to me have suffered this lame cutting effort. Correcting Karishma’s hair didn’t mean taking any length from the back. It just needed a better choice of outline and properly balanced and connected layers. Now Karishma can easily add two or three inches to the length which we both agree would look great.
If you have any texture in your hair and want a shape that works, you have to have precisely connected layers. Particularly with long hair, so it can move fluidly and give off the vibrancy, bounce and sexual energy that makes it so alluring.
With the haircut now corrected, Karishma can wear it in so many styles: centre or side parting, forward, back, sleek and straight, wavy and voluminous. The haircut quietly does its work and lets the beauty of the hair shine through. Home styling is easy now.
Our Colour Director Jodie Searle is one of London’s handful of elite Colour Masters. She created a halo of balayage, giving a natural blend of colour from roots to ends. This played to the strengths of Karishma’s rich natural hair colour.
By lightening a few carefully selected pieces, to create sun kissed effects, these shades of caramel tones complement her skin and eye colour, yet keep the majority of her natural colour to create depth, movement and contrast.
“I loved, loved, loved The Diamond Dry Cut. It was so unique and different. It has made my hair feel so thick and shiny. My hair cut and colour was tailor made for my face and features. Truly wonderful!” – Karishma
For Karishma’s hair we used LifeSaver Prewash Treatment to rehydrate, then Cashmere Protein UV protective Shampoo and Conditioner. A little Thicker Quicker blowdry spray and Volumising Mousse helped give body and control. We used the Large Round Brush to style. Then finally a little Ten Second Transformation to feed and smooth the hair giving a little shine and texture too.
Michael Van Clarke
How many Bobs have you got?
These quick clunky haircuts are becoming prolific as hairdressers become less and less able to layer hair properly. Emily had the very common 3-step Bob. The baseline, a step four inches off the bottom, and a sort of torn irregular piece suggestive of a long
