Holiday hair

Part 44 in a series by Karen A. Stevenson, President, Studio K Salon

Holidays are quickly approaching.  Women stare in the mirror with a critical eye in an attempt to decipher what improvements could be made.   Everyone wants to look his or her best during the upcoming season.  Make-up counters are flooded, nail and hair salons are overwhelmed, and weight loss clinics are at an all time high. 

When it comes to hair, there are many options to consider.  Is the cut flattering?  Is it fashion appropriate?  Does it lift your face, accentuate your cheekbones, and compliment your facial shape?  Is there texture of sorts, whether it is a large rod texture perm, or a razor cut?  Are the ends of your hair healthy? 

Does your hair have shine, bounce, and feel strong?  If you analyze your hair, is the color faded?  Does the shade of your hair look lifeless; is the bottom half of your hair a different color than the top portion nearer your scalp?  When you style your hair, do you have to argue with it?  Does your hair take way too long to finish? 

Is the color or level of light vs. darkness of your hair complimentary to your skin tone?  Do you feel like your hair is looking too gold, too coppery, or too green?   Do you have a break-up of color so that you have at least one shade or two of natural or placed highlights in your all over solid color? 

Are you parting your hair down the middle?  Should you try a side part, or would some light, airy bangs help cover a large forehead?  What about heavy swooped bangs?  Do you need lift near the crown of your head or around the temples?  Does your hair lay too flat on the top of your scalp and needs some interior lift?

What about the overall look you desire to project?  Do you want the type of hair that is versatile and looks professional or conservative during the day, but can funk it up and be sexy in the evening?  Is it important that you are able to pull your hair back into a ponytail?  What if you went short?  Have you looked through hair books, or on the Internet to download hairstyles that you are drawn to?

Are you frustrated with the width or volume of your hair?  Do you feel like you have ‘pyramid’ hair that gives the illusion that you have a pin sized head then it grows wider toward your body?

Should you consider a light hair tamer that reduces the humidity bulk that can accumulate during the damp season by reducing some of the frizz?  What about a thermal straightener to soften the tight natural curls?  You could create a rather straight hair look, or leave a fair amount of wave.  Wish you had curly hair because your hair is so straight it won’t even bend with a round brush and a blow dryer?    Frustrated because your hair will never hold a curl and you spend an hour with a curling iron each morning?  Perms with large rods are very soft, feminine, and create beautiful wave and volume.

How about taking a hand mirror and looking at your profile?  Do you see that your current hairstyle offers a very flat back of the head?  Do you have too much weight at the nape of your neck?  Do you wish you had a different shape haircut? 

Hopefully you don’t have the thought that you have to ‘grow out’ previous color.  Certainly you can go to the salon and have your hair tinted back to your natural color.  You don’t have to ever ‘grow out’ highlights.  You don’t have to have salt and pepper hair that is white and some of your natural brown, you can just tint the white to a soft pale blonde and leave the remaining natural color untouched.

While you are at it, you may wish to consider getting your eyebrows waxed, or shaped.  Maybe you’ve looked closely at the mirror and have been frustrated with the peach fuzz looking mustache that you seem to be acquiring.  These things can be taken care of as well.  Eyebrow and lip waxes are extremely common, so are chin waxes for women that have undesirable hair that grows on their chin.