I first met Josh Wood back in the 80’s where we worked together in Vidal Sassoon’s in London. Josh was a newbie but even then I knew he was destined for greatness. He always seemed to know the right people, get the best opportunities and of course do the best work, all with that cocky, pompous attitude of his, and I mean that in a good way and with the fondest memories Josh. At that young age getting to hang out with David Bowie and his wife Iman, it meant that Josh was ‘in’!!
It comes as no surprise to me to hear now in 2011 he’s had the most impressive career. After 14 years in Sassoon's, Josh worked as Wella Professional's Global Creative Director since Jan 2008 and from his stint there I want to show you some of his work with them. Taken from Marie Claire (May 2011) Josh and Eugene Souleiman (celeb stylist) was inspired by vintage photos and Hitchcock heroines but added a punk twist to them.
Silver Lining-
This is inspired by Daphne Guinness , asymmetrical and represents opulent, youthful glamour, says Souleiman, who bought the headband for a couple of dollars from Chinatown in Paris. The difference between this and grey is that the highlights are metallic says Wood.
New Bouffant-
The shade of the ‘wine colored’ highlights is called ‘rosewood’. It’s a take on the purple streaks grunge girls used to do. With a softness that’s purposeful not weak.. says Wood.
And for your information Josh has just opened his Atelier (studio for artists and designers) in London's Holland Park area, where all his socialite and celebrity clients can congregate and get fabulous color from Josh Wood.
Its been a while since I posted a makeover from Dekko, so with this one, its been on the backburner for so long now that Michele has actually had her haircut 3 times since this first picture was taken. I decided to show it all at once because the changes look great on Michele and she’s changed her looks so much since the first time.
Michele had not had a haircut in quite a number of years, she decided she grow her hair out and in the meantime, she could donate her hair to one of the hair donation companies such as Locks of Love.
Here is Michele when she first came in and with my first chop!
And here’s a couple more without her gown on : )
Anyway, now because it took me so long to post these pictures, we ended up cutting this shape twice before Michele came in again and after a very long consultation, decided to take the hair even shorter. We went with a style that could be tucked behind the ears to give a sleeker look or when left down, gave an elf-ish, pixie look. Again we razored the whole thing through, even more than the first time, took lots of weight out of it so it had a lot of texture and using some styling cream we dried it with our fingers, manipulating it on the ends so it would stick out and twist in certain areas, the messier the hair went, the better the shape looked, but it was good to know that for meetings Michele was still able to make it look neat and tidy.
Here’s Michele’s latest look:
Thanks to Michele for letting my take pictures of her hair, as well as being so patient waiting for me to do my posts : )
It had to be done, it was only a matter of time before I wrote my own review on the Moroccan Oil. Every Tom Dick and Harry has tried it and talked about it, so I was one of the late comers!
To be honest with you, I have never really been into oils for the hair, I have always found them to be heavy, and slick looking! Anyway, we finally decided to carry it in Dekko Salon because everyone in Hollywood has ranted and raved about it and who are we to go against what Hollywood says eh?
But first abit of Moroccan Oil’s history that I found out. The company Moroccan Oil was discovered by Carmen Tal, a hairdresser who first came across it in Israel after having a bad color job, her relative took her to a salon that used Moroccan Oil on her. She absolutely loved and it and set out to bring it across the pond to the US, wanting to share the benefits of this treatment made with Argan Oil. The woman of Morocco have been using Argan Oil for centuries for their hair, skin and nails. Anyway, after bringing Moroccan Oil to the US, Carmen and her hubbie then bought the company and has since developed it into the hugely successful company that it is today. I guess there was definitely a reason why she had to have a bad color job right? Out of every bad comes a good!
As I said earlier, I was never a believer of oils on the hair, BUT… the very first time I used this product I tried out the LIGHT formula thinking I shouldn't go with the original as it might get too greasy and heavy, well, I was soo surprised at the outcome, I have become an instant fan!
My client Mindy, has fine blonde hair that tangles so easy, the type that knots up as you are trying to dry it or as soon as you’ve put a comb through it, its tangled again. Anyway, I used 2 pumps on my hand and smoothed it into the hair avoiding the roots at first. I blow dried with the dryer but I was so shocked when I didn’t even need to use a brush on her hair! I continued using my fingers to dry it and it didn’t take long to get the hair looking so smooth and shiny. It had me hooked, I felt like it was some miracle treatment.
Anyway, since then I have continued using it on all different types of hair textures and found that…
1. On curly hair, its great to put some through the curls, leave it to dry and it gives curly hair shine (which as we know doesn't normally happen because of the way the light hits the waves)
2. On frizzier hair textures, you still need to use the brush and smooth it out with the dryer.
3. 9 times out of 10 it works well on the hair leaving it shiny and manageable but there’s still afew heads of hair that it doesn’t seem to work on.
4. Both the original and light formulas do not weigh the hair down.
But all in all, this product is great and I would recommend anyone with frizzies should at least try it, most of you will LOVE it!
I noticed recently that there seems to be another color trend going around! It looks like its stemmed from the ‘Ombre’ coloring technique but this one being more fun more wild and more punky! I love it!
Bright colors are applied onto the ends of the hair, anything from pink, purple, green multi colored etc. etc. Celebs such as Lady Gaga and Lauren Conrad and of course as always with all trends, Drew Barrymore have been seen with their dip-dyed hair. For a good read and to see how its done, check out Bangstyle where I found this picture below.
Below we have Lady Gaga (photo source) and Lauren Conrad (Photo Source)with their looks..
For those of us who are alittle bit intimidated by the bleach and the ruining of the hair and having to look at it for so long, Aussie Hairdresser Kevin Murphy has brought out a temporary color dye to achieve this same look. Called ‘Color.Bug’, it comes in 3 colors – Pink, Orange and Purple.
This product can be applied quickly by using a product such as hairspray beforehand, or something for the product to grip onto, then the color is applied onto the ends. Washes out completely. The only thing I don’t know is whether this products works well on dark hair or only on medium to blonde hair. But fabulous for a different look for the evening! (Thanks to Lindsay Aston for the intro)
I wanted to share these 3 haircuts I came across, I love the color work and the technique of blending all the colors together. Colors and style by Goldwell – Taiwan. (Thanks for sharing Julie Loo)
My final 10 haircut choices done by Dove Palmer...
As a client it can be very confusing to go into a salon and know what to ask for, especially if you don't have the technical background and words to back you up.
With this post I’m hoping to help make it abit more clear about the different types of Bobs available and what to expect and how they will look. Of course a post about Bobs is not complete without the mention of Vidal Sassoon, (the king of bobs). I had the privilege of training and working in Sassoon's in the 80’s and I definitely feel like I got the best training that a stylist can ask for. The 80’s was the time of strict structured shapes before razoring and texturising became so popular, so most of the haircuts were extremely technical, so I felt this helped me with my bob situations. So anyway, I’m using some original Sassoon Classic pictures as well as other examples to help with my explanations and opinions.
The 4 types of bobs I will talk about are shown below with Classic Sassoon pictures:
Classic One Length Bob(2 versions shown) Bob with Layers(medium length and layers)
Bob with Graduation (Classic Nancy Kwan bob for Vogue) and the Graduated Bob.
Great for people who would like a simple cut with no layers to it. (One length means that all the hair is brought down and cut to visually look like one length at the bottom.) Works great if you already have straight smooth hair but it you have any texture to it, it would need alot of blow drying to get the sharp look. For people who have very thick hair, the one length bob is not advisable as it would look very heavy and triangular at the bottom half, therefore adding too much width visually to their cheek area. Length can vary from hairline length to the top of the shoulders, and what can also vary is whether the bottom part is cut blunt with the scissors or razored through giving it soft edges like Gwyneth Paltrow’s. Here are afew other samples of One Length Bobs:
Bob with Layers:
This is something you could ask for if you like the look of a bob shape but your hair is too thick to have the classic one length, Layers can be added to your hair and can vary from short to longer fuller layers. Length too can vary from hairline to top of shoulders. Can be done on straight, wavy or curly hair. Afew more example of Bobs with layers on Nicole, model and Cathy done by Joni at Dekko:
Bob with Graduation:
This Bob shape is one of my favorites because not only is it a sharp defined shape, but it is fantastic and almost a must for making fine thin hair look fuller. (Graduation means to build up weight from short to long creating a fuller shape) It is also a flattering ‘all age’ shape that in my eyes, will never date. This one is where the bob appears to be one length but in fact there is graduation in it, much more at the back and then blending into the sides. The graduation that is put into it can be either very subtle or much more exaggerated (think Katie Holmes with her bob), if the hair is cut well then even without the blow day, the shape will hold and form a fuller look, this technique/style can be done on straight, wavy or curly hair. Here’s Katie’s as well as a couple of clients, Rachel and Simone from Dekko:
Graduated Bobs:
Last but not least this one is the shorter version of the Bob. The difference between this one the others is the back. Rather than having a straight clean line like the others, this one works the hair short into the nape from the occipital bone and follows your natural hairline into the nape. Asian hair in particular have a harder time with this one because the hair is usually coarser so it can stick out wildly, whereas with the finer hair and hairlines, this style can look very soft and feminine. It has a much stronger look because of the length, for me as soon as you mention Graduated Bobs, Louise Brooks (20’s silent movie star) and Mary Quant (60’s fashion icon)come to mind. Most clients who ask for the jaw/cheek level bobs needs to understand that if your natural hairline is longer than your desired length then you will have the graduated shorter part in the back, I know some of you will call it a ‘step’ and alot of people don't like it so short so please be aware that you will have the ‘step’ look if you go for the cheek level bob. Also be aware that your natural hairline shape will have an impact on how short the back goes with this style as you have to work with it. Here’s Louise Brooks, Rachel Lim from Dekko, and Mary Quant:
Here is my 2nd round of haircuts to show you from Dove Palmer, I have chosen another 10 fantastic looks for you to check out : )
cutting : )
Margot came in to see me at Dekko while she was visiting from Hawaii. Margot hadn't had a haircut for quite some time so her style was completely gone, and with her hair being on the fine side it needed something that had abit more ‘zap’ to it! It was good that Margot works in the creative field and is able to have her hair abit more on the fun side. Here’s Margot when she came in:
Here's the cut afterwards… Amplifier was used and the hair was just dried with the fingers to get more lift and a volumising spray was used afterwards to mess it up abit.
So if I had to choose one that I do like right now its the Davines Crystal Fixative Lacquer. I know I seem to pick alot of Davines products as my favorite but this Italian Company seems to have got quite alot of styling products just right, there's alot to choose from so you really have to sift through them but once you find the good ones, they really are good. This hairspray is soft to medium hold, doesn't leave the hair looking lacquered and brushes out easy without leaving white bits behind in the hair.
When using hairsprays and other texture sprays, lift the hair up for best effect, don't just spray on top of the hair, it will leave it looking abit stiff whereas if you spray underneath, this will give longer support and hold for the heavier layers.
Dove Palmer is Creative Director for Vidal Sassoon Advanced Academy in London, UK. He also ran the Masters Academy for them too and has made 3 DVD step by step videos as well helped in contributing at least 12 haircut pictures for the Academy Photo collection. I came across Dove's work on Facebook and instantly LOVED the exquisite work done by him. Funnily enough Dove turned out to have the same mentor as I did back in the day. Stacey Broughton (also from Sassoons) has been his mentor since he went to work for Sassoon's. I definitely spotted the Stacey traits in the haircuts.
I have so many different styles to show you that he has done over the years that I have decided to split them up into 3 slide shows so that we can make the most of showcasing his work. Dove's specialty seems to be on Asian hair, whether its because he tours to the Far East to do seminars so much (and for up to 4months at a time) or maybe its because his wife has so many friends that needs to utilise his craft, I don't know, but whatever it may be, I'm so happy to be able to show you his creative work on Asian hair. Here is part 1 of 3, I will show you the others at a later date so look out for more of his precision cutting : )
Thanks Dove for letting me share with my readers.
The latest color technique Ombre is such a huge trend right now both in the US and the UK.
‘Ombre’ is an French word meaning ‘shaded’, it means colors graduating from light to dark, or from one color to another. It can refer to yarn dye or in printing.
In terms of hair color, the main idea is to go from darker roots to lighter ends, altho some go from lighter roots to darker ends, Colors can range from mainstream subtle to crazier colors. Personally I think this may have come about because people became too lazy or ‘skint’ to have their roots done as often as they usually do, so it became a trend when people like Drew Barrymore and Alexa Chung started sporting this look and ending up so hip with it, that everyone wanted to follow suit…
The original hip trendsetters..
Here’s some more examples of different Ombre coloring:
According to the Daily Mail Online in the UK, the demand for the ‘undercut’ is soaring!
It has been noted that an increasing number of women are ditching the longer feminine flowing locks in favor of a more cutting –edge look, salons in England are inundated with a high demand for the ‘undercut’ which involves cutting away a large section of hair while leaving the rest of it long, creating a funky edgier look. The look can vary from extremely short to longer and softer, the surrounding hair is usually ‘razored’ for a softer look.It seems quite afew celebrities are sporting the look and now lots of women are asking for the once considered punky style. Here we have model Alice Dellal, as well as Rhianna and pop star Cassie with their more extreme versions of the ‘undercut’.
Here’s our very own Jodi from Dekko Salon looking rather spiffing with her very own ‘undercut’ by Andria Falcon.
OK, so here’s my pick of the day…
The hair was done by Keith Carpenter for an issue of the Marie Claire Magazine. Thanks Keith for your creativity.
This look can be achieved either by combing/picking out naturally curly hair to achieve the height and width, or the hair can be set first either on very small rollers or pipe cleaners, and then picked out or combed out for the required look.
Sometimes for me, I fall in love with just the ‘look’ of a hairstyle, it doesn't necessarily have to be a precise haircut or anything too defined. One of my favorite things, especially on myself is ‘messy’ unstructured undo's. I know this picture is abit hazy but I hope it will show you an idea of what I mean…
If your lucky enough to have texture in your hair then this look will happen naturally and easily but if not, time is spent just to get this very natural undone hairdo!
I will continue to hunt down more messy up do's to show you.
QUESTION - by Helen:
How on earth can I get some lift in my roots without having to dry it upside down? I have tried doing that and it just foes abit too wild and messy. Help?
ANSWER - by JuJu
Yes, drying your hair upside down will definitely cause the hair to become messy and also tangled, and if this isn't the look your going for, the best way to get root lift is by lifting sections of your hair and using the hair dryer to blow underneath each section, drag and dry the roots going the opposite way to the way it normally lays, then do the same with the other side as well as with the back, where you would drag the hair up and forward. If you continue to do this method of lifting until the hair is almost dry, you wont need to use the brush to get root lift either, which can be abit messy too as the hair can tangle easy at the roots. Hope this helps.
Every now and again we at Dekko are lucky enough to get some outside teachers sent our way to give us inspiration and show us some new techniques.
Jin Bang, Artistic Educator from Prive Salon (LA & NY) came over to give us a demo on 2 models. The stylists had requested he show us a long layered haircut (always useful on our clients) on one model and the other model, a creative look.
Before and after pictures of Sharon, His long layered haircut (the Kim K. as Jin would call it)(as in Kim Kardashian)! Starting with the base line to get the desired length, then he went to the front area and carved out a ‘C’ curve into the side areas. Lastly, the layers were picked straight up from the head and angled from short to long then blowdried using a round brush to create the body.
And here is before and after pictures of Kayleigh again, Jin’s creative haircut as seen in the above pictures. Jin started working from the inside out, starting with the internal layers and taking lots of bulk out with his new techniques before cutting the length off (using a back-cutting technique). He then went into the front area and sliced the front off, then returning to the sides, he connected the back length to the sides, keeping the sides longer. he continued to remove bulk throughout the layers through the top area too. Once the blow dry was completed, Jin returned into the whole haircut and refined any unwanted long areas of hair.
Both models looked great and we were very inspired by Jin, Thank You so much for ‘popping’ over and showing us a thing or two!
