This summer, it’s all about natural, CARE-FREE WAVES. Here’s how to get gorgeous, flowing locks of curls this summer, according to Beauty Editor SARAH HALLIWELL …
There’s a time and place for sleek, super-styled hair, but the mood this summer is a whole lot more casual. It’s time to step away from the straightening irons: relaxed, wavy styles with long fringes and a laissez-faire looseness are what’s looking modern now. It fits with a longing for the raw, relaxed and low-maintenance – the antithesis of contrived preening. The distinctive un-dos of models like Freya Beja Eriksson and Mica Arganaraz are making us all want to loosen up. “There’s some great inspiration around at the moment for curls: think lived-in and let-down, as seen in the summer campaigns for Sonia Rykiel, Chloé and Missoni,” says stylist and curl enthusiast Zara Cox of Zara Cox@29. We want the no-fuss, no-product waviness of Vetements, Fendi’s soft waves and even the crimping at Gucci (as if hair’s been plaited when wet and let out the next morning). There’s a dash of the 1980s about it all – a hint of Lori Singer in Footloose and Flashdance’s Jennifer Beals. For autumn, this relaxed mood is set to continue: influential stylist Sam McKnight sums up AW16 as “a season of simplicity and individuality”. So rollers at the ready for curly crops and cherub-inspired ringlets as seen at Chanel and Westwood.
THE MAINTENANCE
“With curly hair, it’s a different way of working – I tend to work on it dry,” says Cox. “My tip is to go into the salon with your hair clean, dry and product-free, and not tied up, so the stylist can see the curls as you wear them. And make sure your stylist actually likes working with curly hair: it takes a real understanding, for curly haired people more than anyone else. Find someone who loves your hair – some people are frightened of it.” Curls should never be a limitation, Cox continues: “Don’t think you have to wear curly hair only one way – I always teach ways to change curls a bit, and give a client more than one option.”
Even if your hair is stubbornly flat, wrest movement into it with the twist technique used by Aveda’s Antoinette Beenders at Stella McCartney’s pre-fall 2016 show: “Use Be Curly Style-Prep on damp hair to add moisture and definition. Twist small sections of curls around fingers all over the head, then flip the head forward and blow-dry using a diffuser. Once dry, use a wide comb for fluffy, bouncy curls. Curl Enhancing Hair Spray ensures frizz control.” Otherwise, do it the old-fashioned way with a lot of pins, preferably overnight on damp hair.
THE POWER TOOL
The key to frizz-free curls is avoiding heat damage: once done, it’s irreversible. Cox advises: “If you use too much heat you’ll flatten curls. A diffuser adds volume but can overheat the hair; instead get a mesh hair sock for the end of your dryer – it doesn’t heat up the same way so you can get right into the roots of the hair.” The team at DYSON have made temperature a focus for their new Supersonic dryer, launching next month. Dyson have invested over ¤60m in a dedicated hair lab and spent years testing real hair to examine damage and shine from root to tip. The ergonomic Supersonic will spoil you for other hairdryers for ever after: it’s quieter, lighter, with a focused jet of air and innovative heat control technology so it never damages with extreme temperatures, and attachments are magnetic. The Porsche of haircare. €399, at Arnotts and www.dyson.ie from June.
THE CARE
“Prep products are more tactile now so you can have curls that are defined but not hard,” says Cox. She rates SEBASTIAN Whipped Cream, and BUMBLE AND BUMBLE Seasalt Spray. Brenda Mullen of Vanilla Hairdressing, Rathmines, uses KÉRASTASE Curl Discipline: “Leave-in products give curls further definition without weighing them down.” Be Curly Curl Enhancer is AVEDA’s best-selling styling product in Ireland and the UK.
TAKE THREE: MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH A CURL EXPERT
Zara Cox is “a master of curly hair – she brings life and order to it,” enthuses lifelong client Christine Lucignano. Zara Cox@29, 2nd floor, 29 Wicklow St, Dublin 2; 01 548 3404.
Curly haired clients rave about Karen Heffernan, Peter Mark stylist and salon educator. Visit her at the new salon, 198 Lower Rathmines Road, Rathmines, Dublin 6; 01 497 2197; www.petermark.ie.
Shane Boyd and team at the natural cut have a dedicated following for their dry cuts to suit curly hair. First Floor, 33/34 Wicklow Street, Dublin 2; 01 679 7130; www.thenaturalcut.ie.
Image by Jason Lloyd Evans
Sarah Halliwell
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