Winter Wonders

by Ricky Allen

photographs Jeremy Choh Guy Bailey

Vogue Australia

July 2018 Issue

A new season calls for a fresh take on your hairstyle – think soft curls, colour that amps up your natural tones and conditioning treatments to keep hair silky and shiny.

“Hairstylists are about to take a step back to deliver better results for their clients,” says Vincent Nobile, co-director and hair colour and condition expert at Headcase Hair salon in Sydney’s Paddington.

Nobile says this is due to the easing of the balayage craze: a labour-intensive process in which hair is painted with large concentrations of colour. Many women loved the effect, but excessive colouring can be detrimental to the condition of your hair. “The worse condition hair is in, the more colour it needs and the harder it is for it to retain that colour,” he says.

Now, Nobile focuses on improving the state of clients’ hair, which in turn leads to more effective colouring. First, he uses Redken pH-Bonder to adjust pH levels. “When the hair is more alkaline and the pH is balanced, the cuticles swell and can take in more colour and retain it for longer,” he says. As well,
he recommends Redken’s Heatcure Professional Restoration in-salon service to improve hair health.

He has also turned to colouring products such as Redken’s demi-permanent range, which is gentle on the hair yet delivers excellent results.

Colour for winter is more precise, says Nobile, but is focused on clients’ natural hair shades. “Winter 2017 is not the season for extreme colour,” he explains. “It’s more about changing the tone than the colour.”

For redheads, Nobile suggests subtle coppers and cool sunset tones this season. Brunettes have two options: a warm mocha with the red dialled back, and a darker series of cooler browns from ash through to gold tones. “This natural take on brunette is a hit with models because it is so versatile.” Blondes, he adds, can choose either cool, softly pastel tones, or warmer shades of vanilla through to honey. For brunettes, blondes and redheads alike, this winter’s colours are darker at the roots then fade out towards hair ends, requiring great precision on the colourist’s part.

Headcase Hair co-director and style expert Jon Pulitano recently returned from working with fashion designers for the New York and European shows. “The biggest hair trend to come out of the shows for the coming season is curls, curls and more curls,” he says. This trend takes its cue from the often unruly, unstructured looks of last season. “All styles should have lots of natural movement. Fringes shouldn’t be blunt but be much softer looking.”

Bob cuts are now more “shattered” and softer. “There should be no structure in that bob,” Pulitano insists. Longer hair suits winter, but shorter styles can be updated with soft layers and elegant curls or waves. “Think Linda Evangelista in the 90s,” he says.

But whatever the length, all styles should look sophisticated. Curls should appear tonged rather than the messy look popular in past seasons. “Longer hair should seem as if the curls are springing out of the scalp,” says Pulitano. “Hair has never been more of a fashion accessory than for winter 2017.”

Bookings can be made here for Headcase Hair Paddington and Headcase Hair Potts Point.