Ask - Hair

Hair Apparent

June 5, 2009

Photo courtesy of Karen Walker

With the strong shoulder trend that is happening now - how should I do my hair so I look modern and not from the 80s?

Richard Kavanagh says:
One of the big traps people fall into with hair and makeup when fashion is doing a retrospective is to take it all too literally. Now we are seeing a really strong influence from the eighties in fashion and particularly in street fashion, so how do you style your hair in a current way without looking like Eddie van Halen in drag? I think the key to modern interpretation of the current eighties hair trend is to take one element and bring it into the current era by adding to your current style.

What do I mean by this? Take curl and texture for example. The general texture of eighties hair was much dryer and more flyaway. This was generally as a direct result of the way we treated hair then (which was regularly perming it to within an inch of its life) and need not be a part of how we wear our hair today. So if you don’t want to look like a throwback but would rather give a nod to the era, take your current hairstyle, add in a bit of flyaway texture by using a product like Redken Woolshake before blowdrying or ironing and give it a wee brush with a Mason and Pearson brush. Voila, eighties texture, current trend.

Alternatively, go the curls! Curls were huge in the eighties (literally) and we are really seeing a resurgence of curl on the catwalk in the last few seasons. Bring your eighties curl up to date by keeping it a little softer and shinier. Your hair should still look a little like you just got out of bed, but dry frizzy perms are a no no.