As the season turns and you start searching for a new hair look, think underdone. Which is not to say you didn’t make an effort – but it shouldn’t look like you did.
“It’s all about boho,” says Nicole Simon, stylist at Magnolia Salon in Costa Mesa. “This look is very natural, wispy and textured with subtle highlights/ombre… Look at a child’s hair color after they have been playing outside in the sun for a few weeks; this is the type of subtle color I mean.”
However, Simon warns, this does not mean that a natural brunette should go platinum and not keep up her roots. “Think subtle, gradual color changes that flow,” she says. “Organic is a great word to represent the color and style trends at the moment.”
Styling is following color with a very “boho outdoor music festival” feel. Long layers, braids, low buns, and unkempt ponytails all work.
“I think a lot of Orange County is already starting to hop on the wagon and understands what we are saying when we talk about a ‘breezy’ highlight or an organic, long-layered style,” she says. “It lets people do more of what their hair wants to do instead of pushing and shoving it into a box it only wants to jump out of.”
Laura Linsenmayer, hair stylist and owner at ROOTS The Beauty Underground in Laguna Beach, agrees that natural and personalized is the way to go.
“We embrace beautiful, natural, easily attainable styles,” she says. “Some spring looks that we will see this season in Orange County include incorporating natural or mixed textures to wind-swept, undone updos to voluminous, romantic braids.”
Get The Look
Planet Beauty Newport Beach stylist Jamie Farris guided us step-by-step through two easy-going styles we’ll be seeing this spring: the loose braid and the wind-swept ponytail.
To begin either style, use dry shampoo around the hairline and crown to give it lift. Use AVA Treatment Oil to smooth out frizz before starting on the ponytail.
LOOSE BRAID
1. French braid hair from the back to the side.
2. Use a hair elastic to tie a side ponytail. Using a comb or brush, tease the ponytail as much as possible.
3. Braid the teased hair into a regular braid. Pull the braid so that it’s uneven and loose. Cut the hair elastic off.
WIND-SWEPT PONYTAIL
1. Separate your hair into two sections: one thick section to form the pony and one much smaller section to use to hide your hair band. Tie the thicker section into a classic ponytail, low to one side, leaving the thin section of hair free.
2. Tie your pony with a hair band and wrap the remaining section of hair around it to cover it up. Secure the end of the thinner section of hair under your hair band.
3. Tease ponytail with a comb or brush to give it volume for a fun and untamed look. Or, curl it with a curling iron for a more elegant look.
Photos: Ed Olen | Models: Sara Cunningham and Jenn Greenblat | Products and tools used: AVA Treatment Oil; ColorProof DrySpell Color Protect Dry Shampoo; Spornette Little Wonder Boar-Nylon Bristle Teasing Hair Brush
