Why is it when you change your hair dramatically, as in the case of Alicia whom I met the other day, friends always say: “Wow, you look amazing! You should have done it long ago?”
“Not one of them suggested I should go shorter or change the colour,” she bemoaned. “It was only because I changed my hairdresser that I got a new look.”
Friends get used to seeing you the way you are. Often they won’t
tell you because they think they may upset you.
If you can’t rely on your best friend to make sure you are looking up to date, how do you keep reinventing yourself?
In your 20s, experiment with colour and styles. You can carry off more looks.
As you go through your 30s, your skin tone changes and the first greys start to appear. Blondes can blend lowlights and highlights. Brunettes can use semi-permanent colours, but you will have to be careful of build-up as you can end up with hair darker than your natural colour which will leave you looking washed out.
In your 40s, the golden rule is to go lighter as dark hair can emphasis every line and wrinkle in your face. If you are blonde, you may need to go slightly darker. The right hue should bring out the colour of your eyes.
The texture of your hair changes over time, especially as you go grey. If you have long hair and it is not thick and glossy, it’s time to go shorter.
Find a good hairdresser. Mine is Michael Charalambus, at Nyumba. He is wonderful. He has taken me from having one-length long hair to a short layered bob and is always tweaking the style. It’s time to move on if yours keeps doing the same style or doesn’t keep reviewing your colour each time you go – and that doesn’t mean adding more highlights until you are a completely different colour.
Reading about somebody in the press doesn’t necessarily mean they are good. It may be that the hairdresser has a good PR and they are easy to get quotes from.
The best way of finding a hairdresser is to see somebody who has well cut or coloured hair and ask them where they go. – even stop somebody in the street. There are plenty of great salons on the high street such as Rush Hair who have good stylists.
It’s not where you go, it’s who you go to!
By Daralyn Danns
