Hair Fashion for 2005

Part 35 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

New Year, new fashion, new hair!  What hairstyles are coming for 2005?  If you look at Elle or other popular fashion Magazines, you’ll find equal amounts of textured hair and long texture perms.  If you aren’t ‘in the know’ with hair vocabulary, textured hair is piecy, chunky, wispy/shattered, and best of all, EASY to style!  Hair has come a long way from precision cuts and even lines.  Hairstylists are more sculptors, free handing lines, taking out bulk, and piecing in definition like never before.  

Textured hair is cut with wispy or shattered ends.  Straight lines are quickly becoming a thing of the past.  Some hairstyles incorporate both shattered and precision. For instance, you could have a very straight precision bob on the bottom, yet tremendous amount of interest, texture, and pieces in the body of the hair with creative layering, razor cutting, and sculpting.  Possibly precision cut bangs with a straight line for heaviness and bulk with intent for the hairstyle, yet still have random shattered pieces breaking up the precision line.  

Texture perms are created using larger perm rods, specifically wrapped to give random curl patterns.  If you look at hair fashion, you may see perms where every other chunk of hair is curled mixed with straight pieces that were intentionally never permed to remain straight.  You may also see curled hairstyles in the fashion magazines that you believe are permed, but they are not.  This particular look can be quite deceiving.  If you see large, frozen curls that look shiny and unbroken, chances are it was achieved by an old-fashioned roller set using setting gel to gain the ‘frozen curl’ look.  We cannot forget when looking at a fashion magazine, the hairstyle was professionally done with high maintenance in order to achieve a look for the picture and to make a distinctive point.  Don’t assume a hairstyle is easy just because it appears to be.

Textured hairstyles are designed to be less rigid and easier to blow dry.  They certainly take you of the box and allow your hair to appear free and have movement.  Cut right, your textured hair should easily style itself when using a blow dryer and your fingers to lift, curve, or bend your hair.  Textured styles that are more dramatic, such as a bob with pieces bending out throughout the hair are usually enhanced with a small half inch or three quarter inch flat iron, pulling out random pieces and bending them slightly out and spraying with a firm hold non-aerosol hairspray. 

Let’s face it.  Hair rarely looks smooth and one length anymore. As busy as our lives are, it is difficult to spend hours on a finished style.  Blow drying, bending with fingers, and the use of product does all the work for a great 2005 appearance.

Color gives interest, using at least one if not more different colors in the hair.  High lights or low lights achieve increased texture by allowing even more dimension.  Color gives volume to your hair, adds shine, and enhances your cut.  Fact is, over eighty percent of women use some sort of color on their hair. 

What about men?  Don’t they deserve to be updated with their haircuts as well?  Of course they do!  Men are enjoying clipper cuts on the sides and textured razor cuts on the top with gels or pomades on their shorter hair.  Men are wearing the more ‘uncut’ look with shattered lines around the edging of their hair, and of course men with longer hair can enjoy an all over textured cut. 

If you are frustrated with your hair not able to move, bend, flip out, or show texture, be sure your stylist is not cutting straight lines with scissors.  Point cutting with scissors can achieve a textured look, as well as the razor, which is best.  Admittedly, there are a few hair textures that don’t seem to appear textured no matter what you do.  Usually when hair is having a difficult time showing texture it is because the hair is extremely thick and wavy. 

When you have a moment, do a search on hairstyle pictures on your computer.  You will find hair websites such as www.1001-hairstyles.com and see all the texture that is being shown.   You are welcome into a hair salon’s receptionist area to look through books and see what hairstyles appeal to you. 

Be careful when it comes to a website where you are supposed to upload your picture and add hairstyles to your face online.  Usually these do not give you a realistic assessment of what you will look like in that particular hairstyle, especially since it isn’t your own hair you are placing on your picture.  It is best to go into a salon and show them pictures of what you like and have a trained hairstylist tell you if your hair can do that particular style, or if it would look good on your face. 

Be sure your stylist is trained on what would look good or not look good on your face and with your facial shape.  There are some designers that merely know what hairstyles look good or not good, but don’t incorporate your face with the style, and you may not like the end result.  Be sure your stylist takes into account your personality, your career or lifestyle, so they can assess the hairstyle completely.