Hair, now: trends straight from the experts

A freshly minted new season is a great excuse to overhaul your hair, and for many of us the perfect time to chop off those locks damaged over the summer months. Your hair stylist is the perfect person to talk to about what’s best for your crowning glory, and usually one step ahead of the pack when it comes to translating trends coming straight off the runway that you think may work for you.
Stephen Marr’s Leigh Keepa (above) has spent the majority of his career working in Europe, on the floor at some of London’s best salons and backstage at the likes of London and Paris Fashion Weeks. Let’s just say that he’s a man that knows his stuff when it comes to staying a few steps ahead of the style Eight Ball, and is affable enough to share it with his clients on a rather regular basis. He says that when it comes to winter locks, “first and foremost we want shiny, healthy hair and styles that showcase this. For starters I would recommend using Nourishing Hair Hydratant Ultra+ from the very intelligent and sustainably conscious SANS collection of hair and bodycare products.” A rich and luxurious crème conditioner-slash-mask, it delivers slip, shine and intense hydration to even the most damaged hair and is a bit of wonder product in my humble opinion. With four times as many beneficial ingredients as most nourishing conditioners, Hydratant Ultra+ is also crammed full of lipids, baobab polysaccharides and hibiscus extract for extra gloss and super shine. When it comes to colour, Leigh says that hair is “getting richer and warmer, think chocolate or autumnal maple leaf tones”, with lots of natural-looking highlights to keep things interesting. Cut-wise, “with longer hair there’s a nod to the Seventies happening, think lots of flowing movement and cute soft flicks. We’re also seeing more graphic shapes in shorter hair that’s reminiscent of Carnaby Street “cool” from the mid-Sixties”, all of which showcases hair that is in great condition.
Danny Pato from d&m hair design in Redmond Street is another man working at the forefront of what’s happening with hair right now, and his key trend pick for colour this winter is a movement away from the popular use of the Balayage technique, or what many call “dip-dyed” hair. “It was the Flavour of the Month for a while,” he says, “but now we see more and more people just wanting glossy, shiny colour that’s one uniform shade of say, super rich chocolate brown or warm copper.” It’s a look that more grown up and ladylike than the Bondi beach babe-esque Balayage, and Pato admits that it’s also a little more high maintenance. “We still keep a shimmer of lightness in there,” he explains, “but it’s not the hard contrast look that Balayage gives and requires a little more upkeep.” He says that he’s been amazed by the amount of women opting to change their hair colour to fiery, strong reds, which many say is the most high maintenance shade of all due to its propensity for fading.
In terms of cuts he says that he’s been loving doing short, pixie-like crops that owe more than a little to the infamous Twiggy in terms of shape and mood, “and my younger clients especially are loving the change to something really different.” He says that the falling temperatures mean that you can switch your haircare products to something a little lighter than the deep conditioning goodies needed over the summer months, “but to keep your colour true make sure that you rinse your hair in slighter cooler water at the end of your shower to close the cuticles down. Hot water opens the hair shaft so colour will fade or split ends happen quicker once your shower starts heating up.”