hair

Fringe-lovers, listen up. There’s no doubt that 2020 has been a turbulent year for the trusty fringe. From at-home cuts to lash-skimming growth, our fringes have been through it over the past 12 months. However, that’s not to say it’s time to give up on them just yet. As with most areas of our lives right now, our fringe styles might just have to adapt slightly going forward. Whereas blunt, full fringes were all we could talk about at the start of the year, it might be time to adopt an easier, lower-maintenance approach for 2021. What if we told you there’s a new fringe on the block and it allows you to reap the face-framing benefits of a classic fringe, without the upkeep? Taking inspiration from the iconic Bardot fringe, the curtain fringe is set to be big...

“When it comes to colour, you don’t want something that requires too much precision,” reveals hairstylist to the stars George Northwood. “Something that has become a bit of a signature of ours is a softer, natural balayage. With the disturbance of COVID and salons shutting for months on end, people are stepping away from that fresh, highlighted look that is quite high-maintenance and is tricky to maintain well at home without your colourist.” “Over the first lockdown, a lot of my clients saw their natural colour growing through and have actually gotten used to it,” Northwood continues. “So we are now seeing a lot more clients who are now experimenting with keeping their hair closer to their natural colour, which is far more easily m...

Here we are; on the cusp of a new year, and boy do we plan on making the most of 2021. We’ve already (albeit tentatively) started mentally assembling fancy outfits for backdated weddings, and have even begun predicting the nail colours, new boot styles, and jean types that will be big news over the next few months. But with so much uncertainty still swirling around, there’s one question that lingers at the back of our minds: What will the defining hair trends of 2021 actually be? Admittedly, they don’t have much to live up to. Back in March, when hairdressers across the country were forced to close their doors, no one could foresee the impact it would have on our tresses. Those who couldn’t bear the thought of grown-out roots had little option but to reacquaint them...

It’s easy to forget, but trust us when we say that hair trends have come on leaps and bounds in the last 15 or so years. Nowadays, more often than not, we know exactly what we want when we sit down in the salon chair. Whether it be hand-painted balayage, rogue blonde, or a glass bob, we’re more clued up on the intricacies of hair techniques than ever before. But let us not forget where this all started. Cast your minds back to when every salon appointment started with you handing over a picture of a celeb torn out of a magazine. Soon enough, we picked up on new terms—things like “inverted bob” (VB, you owe us for the cold necks we suffered), “babylights,” and, perhaps the most frequently uttered words in salons throughout the ’90s and early noughties, “feather...

1. Temperature is important. “People assume, ‘If I do the highest heat setting, it will last,’ which is 100% not the case,” Polko says. “When you crank it up all the way, you’re actually zapping your hair too much, and it doesn’t know what to do. It’s like putting it in a microwave versus an oven. You’re letting the heat get into it, and it’s more of a gentle heat, so that actually will help the style last longer if you have it on a lower heat setting.” In general, the thicker the hair, the higher the heat setting, and the finer the hair, the lower the heat setting you should use. You should also keep things like colour and chemical treatments in mind when choosing your heat level. Polko recommends the T3 Singlepass&nbs...

It’s an odd thing to say, we know, given that there are so many cult beauty buys out there, but really, it takes quite a lot for a beauty launch to hit the big time. With hundreds, if not thousands, of new products hitting the virtual shelves every year, it’s tough for one single product to make a name for itself. Although it might seem as though beauty insiders are recommending every new product that comes their way, trust us when we say that cementing a place in the beauty product Hall of Fame is no mean feat. Having said that, there is one particular product that has managed to make quite the impression on beauty buffs in recent years. In fact, it’s made an impression on just about everyone—so much so that when we recently rounded up the best-selling products o...

So how do we proceed? Well, most experts we have spoken to advise that 2021 could be time to embrace a hair change. However, unlike big hair trends of yesteryear (blunt bob, we’re looking at you), the It style for 2021 is set to be a whole lot easier to deal with. At a time when we’re all looking for a hairstyle that’s fuss-free, easy to manage, and versatile, it’s no surprise that the iconic ’70s shag is making a comeback. Revlon Professional global artistic ambassador Mark Leeson says, “The shag is the ultimate undone statement haircut. It’s choppy and full of texture and makes for a refreshing change to long, one-length hair. On a daily basis, you don’t need to do much to a well-cut shag style, as the texture and shape are already cut into it.” “The feathered texture works fo...

Probably one of the most overlooked hairstyles out there is mid-length hair. Between short pixies and chin-grazing cuts and long, lustrous tresses, we often forget just how chic mid-length hairstyles can be. But right now, that seems to be changing. Chances are, if you’re anything like us, you’re looking for a way to freshen up your look, and we all know the easiest way to do so is with a new hairstyle. And it seems the look fashion girls are backing is the long bob, otherwise known as the “lob.” The long bob’s sudden rise through the hair ranks is likely a combination of two things: It’s being sported by those who had shorter hairstyles before lockdown which have subsequently grown out due to the lack of salon appointments, and those with longer ha...

The new Dyson Corrale (which launched globally in March) is a hybrid cordless hair straightener that promises quicker styling with half the damage of a standard-plated straightener. And sure, when I heard about it, I was intrigued. However, initially, something didn’t quite sit right with me. My go-to straighteners cost a mighty £175 and have never let me down. I don’t feel like they damage my hair too much, and I don’t really have any gripes (although a cordless option would be amazing). So when I discovered that the Corrale is the first Dyson hair tool to ditch the air technology that I know and love in order to produce a heat-reliant hair straightener that costs an eye-watering £400, I questioned my need for such a thing. But then I tried it, and I really started to understand what all ...

Hair accessories have undoubtedly commanded the fashion spotlight over the last few years. Just in 2017, I remember struggling to get my hands on a plain Alice band. Now, you can have said Alice band any which way: velvet, knotted, or embellished (more on that later). With party season increasingly looking to be replaced with festive-themed Zoom calls, we predict hair accessories are going to be more popular than ever. They’ll be in full view of your screen, after all. Even when you do venture out to meet a carefully selected group of friends or family members, you’re going to want to mark that moment by making a considerable effort with your attire. And when it comes to fanciness, nothing can compete with a hair accessory. From ’90s-inspired claw clips to a col...

If there ever comes a time when you find yourself underneath my bed, you’ll find two hair tool boxes. One filled to the brim with tongs that couldn’t hold a curl, rogue hair brush drying tools and hairdryers purchased on a whim that never lived up to my expectations. In summary, the box of disappointments.  Then there’s the other box that now only contains the Dyson Airwrap Complete Hair Styler, and this is the only box I’ve been going into. When Dyson launched the Airwrap they changed the hair game with the multi-styler that uses air to style hair instead of the extreme heat, that our hair has fallen victim to in the past.  With Dyson, you can always expect some rather fancy tech and the styler has something called the Coanda effect that attracts hair to ...

Probably one of the most overlooked hairstyles out there is mid-length hair. Between short pixies and chin-grazing cuts, to long, lustrous tresses, often we forget just how chic mid-length hairstyles can be. But right now, that seems to be changing. Chances are if you’re anything like us, you’re looking for a way to freshen up your look, and we all know the easiest way to do so is with a new hairstyle—and it seems the look fashion girls are backing is the long bob, otherwise known as the “lob”. The long bob’s sudden rise through the hair ranks is likely a combination of two things: 1) It’s being sported by those who had shorter hairstyles before lockdown, which have subsequently grown-out due to the lack of salon appointments. And 2) Those with long...