Wave: Hair chameleon – from Lauren Conrad to Emma Stone, with Trevor Sorbie Brighton
Zara Baker looks at products to make every day a good hair day & lightens up her look for summer with help from the Trevor Sorbie Brighton team
Trevor Sorbie’s Jade, Rosie and Alison
If winter is synonymous with cosy then summer is synonymous with light: lighter eating, lighter days and lighter hair. We enjoy long days spent outdoors, look forward to ditching our jumpers and, if you’re like me, ditching the darker hair too. It may have been Elle Macpherson gracing the August cover of a glossy monthly that did it, or it may be Jennifer Aniston and her seemingly age-defying hair. Celebrity style icons aside, it’s also the urge to try something new. We change our make-up with the seasons, so why not our hair colour too? With huge advances in hair care it is easier to change up our look when the urge strikes. Gone are the days of perms you are stuck with, bleached hair that you have to let grow out, and heated stylers that do more damage to the hair than good. Today we have no excuse for a bad hair day with products like these:
Argan oil – to mimic our hair’s natural oils, giving much needed nourishment to hair that has seen too much environmental and styling damage.
Ionic straighteners Remember Babylis’ early straightener/crimper with clunky metal plates that was literally like roughly ironing the hair as you would a pair of jeans. Today’s heated stylers are all about ionic technology to smooth the hair while protecting it, keeping it strong.
Hair colour – At home or at the salon, hair colours use more naturally derived ingredients than ever before, still providing great results without all the harsh chemicals (look for no ammonia or a semi permanent colour for the best results!)
Shampoos and conditioners: 2013 has all been about sulphate free shampoo and conditioners. When organic shampoos became more dominant in the press, I just wasn’t convinced. Hair didn’t feel as cleansed (read squeaky clean) or smell as good. Sulphate makes the shampoo lather up well and leaves hair feeling clean – however, it is also responsible for stripping natural oils from the hair, leaving it dry and more frizzy. Unless you want to fade hair colour fast, reach for the sulphate rich shampoos (sorry Head & Shoulders, but I cannot use you). It’s a change of story today though with many big brands offering sulphate-free shampoos and conditioners, using natural ingredients to achieve the same – if not better – results of chemical-rich alternatives.
Back to blonde
Last year was all about ombre and bayalage hair colouring techniques – creating the dip dye/grown out look (if you’d told me in the ’90s that I would pay money to create ‘roots’ I would have laughed, but I guess the same can be said about distressed jeans. There are many fashions we may look back on and cringe, but I’m hoping ombre (two tone hair) won’t be one of them.
My ombre hair colour was gong well: I didn’t have to worry about the roots, and silver shampoo kept the blonde highlights fresh. But I just got bored. Summer is about brightening up, so I took the plunge. After all, nothing is forever.
Grown out ombre hair colour
When I return to Trevor Sorbie to see salon director and technical director Kate Wilson for a consultation, I have with me a handful of magazines plus photos on my phone. Most of these, however, are an example of what I don’t want: blondes that were too platinum or too yellow (believe me, your hairdresser needs more information than: “I want to be blonde”). Book a colour consultation before your actual appointment; it is well worth your time so you and your colourist can work out exactly what you do – or don’t – want.
Kate Wilson is all too aware that colour goes beyond copying the latest celebrity trend. It’s important to work with your skin tone and eye colour, as the right shade can make your skin glow and your eyes sparkle (really). Years of colouring my hair dark brown did my blue-green eyes ‘pop’ but looking back at photos now, my complexion looks ghostly. I tell Kate my whole hair colouring history; it takes a while. For summer, at least, I am keen to go blonde. “What about a fringe like this?” Kate asks, pointing to an image of Lauren Conrad with new bangs (who saw that one coming? Everyone thought it was a clip on). I hesitate for all of three seconds before saying yes.Hair grows, after all. It might not seem a wise choice for summer with hot, sticky weather, but before long I can clip it back, add a quiff or make a side braid. I didn’t want a drastic change to the length so adding a fringe is an easy way to create a whole new look.
Booked in for my colour change, I return to Trevor Sorbie for my hair revival…
Trevor Sorbie Salon Director & Technical Director Kate Wilson adds highlights
Kate achieved the look I wanted (not too bright, not too yellow) by colouring the hair with beige blonde highlights. A strawberry blonde colour is applied to the rest of the hair to give a warm, honey base. L’oreal Luo Color is used – a new colouring system that gives luminous permanent colour in just 20 minutes.The nourishing colour contains grapeseed oil and nutri-shine technology to give a translucent gloss to the hair. There is no other way to describe it than ‘glossy’. It was the one thing I missed about dark hair – coloured blonde hues just didn’t give the same result, with the colour actually being drying. Luo Color adds an amazing shimmer to the hair – perfect for sunny summer days. Wash after wash, it has been, the colour is strong and the shine visible. My hair has depth and looks healthy, thanks to maintenance from L’oreal. My cut is left in the hands of Trevor Sorbie Senior Top Stylist James.
Trevor Sorbie Senior Top Stylist James cuts in the style-changing fringe
In a bid to grow my hair past shoulder length, I am determined not to opt for a shoulder grazing bob every time it seems to do nothing but ‘hang’. Coaxing it past shoulder length, James cuts in a fringe. This immediately gives the impression of longer hair with the contrast to the fringe. Long layers are cut into the side and back for movement and shaped around the face. The Trevor Sorbie staple styling – a sleek blow-dry with a bit of movement – I have not yet managed to master on my own (so I still rely on the GHDs) but I’m almost there. Washing my hair every day is also a no go (however tempted you are, try to resist). Between washes, opt for dry shampoo. Even with a ‘time-consuming fringe’ I leave one of two days between washing by styling the fringe with dry shampoo and wearing hair in a classic pony tail of bun. (Team it with this season’s cute hairbands for a more dressed up look).
The verdict: It took a while to adjust to this new look (ok, all of two days). Catching sight of yourself in a mirror with new bangs and lighter hair is surprising, but I love it, and it made a positive impact on friends and family. A new blusher from Mac completed the look and i am ready for summer! With any colour change comes the regrowth and upkeep but for now it is perfect. Trevor Sorbie Silver Shampoo used once or twice a fortnight will keep the colour fresh (it works like the toner applied in the salon to prevent blonde hair looking dull or brassy).
Oh, and one last thing…
Swimming this summer?
If you’re put off going blonde because of days spent swimming in the pool this summer, don’t let it deter you. Kate explains the best tip for maintaining summery blonde hair so it doesn’t go green: wet hair with clean water in the shower before your swim and then tie it up. Hair is porous like a sponge (enabling colour to take – but also chlorine, which can damage hair). Rinsing your hair before you swim means it absorbs less of the chlorinated water.
For more hair advice, colour consultations and colour treatments, visit Trevor Sorbie in Nile Street (The Lanes), Brighton. Kate is honest and fun, giving you the advice you need, keeping things realistic, and not just saying what you may want to hear. My next move? An Emma Stone copper for autumn – and I can’t wait.
Trevor Sorbie: 1 Nile Street, Brighton, BN1 1HW
01273 220007, www.trevorsorbie.com
