Looks to beat the heat

Shammal Qureshi, Brand Ambassador for TONI&GUY gives you trends for this summer!

Shammal Qureshi, Brand Ambassador for TONI&GUY in Pakistan, knows what women — and men — want when it comes to hair. From trendy party ‘dos to hair care, these tips will always be in vogue.

Bonjour, dear readers!

I am simply delighted to be part of The Tribune family, and here I will certainly do my best to entertain you with, um, hair-raising tales and tips.

First of all, there is nothing fashionable about load shedding, it’s a pain in our gregarious behinds, but alas, what can we do about it other than try to live up to Coco’s words of wisdom, as given below ... so, heated up as I am, here are some hot looks for the summer days and nights that are beckoning.

When heat and humidity hitting us in the face, it’s time to try new styles. For most of us summer means having a fun, flirty time while sporting a new ‘do. So I decided to take a couple of people and give them a new summer look.  For most of the haircuts, I was inspired by a feeling of looseness — a sort of DIY effect. The colour palettes I have used are all pastel versions of brighter colors. I wanted to use the warmth of the summer in the hair and throw in some chalky shades to cool it down. All colours are by L’Oreal Professional.

Style one (scroll photos above)

For the first look, we did a low undercut on the gentleman featured, with a shape exaggerating the width of the head. We then coloured the hair quite randomly, shading the ends of the hair to this chalky colour. I think for men, we will be looking at a more tailored shape to beat the heat. This haircut can be styled ‘pushed back’ or worn the way it is in the picture. I really wanted to contrast a tailored look for the sides with a textured effect for the top. The product used for styling was Label.M’s matt paste. It’s great for the summer because it is not oil based and won’t get sticky in the heat.

Style two (scroll photos above)

Since summer means humidity I wanted to stick mostly to curly looks. I see many guys in the salon asking me to straighten their hair, and while straight hair is also great, I personally feel that curls really bring out one’s character. So with the look on this next male model, I just kept it quite beachy and natural. The product used was Label.M’s curl cream which is great for both guys and girls to tame that frizz!

Style three (scroll photos above)

With this next half-up, half-down look I wanted to transform something very flat to something quite bouncy and textured, perfect for those longer lengths. We also highlighted the hair with a toffee brown. For styling, we just very loosely pinned it up to one side, something that every girl can do at that evening cocktail party.

Style four (scroll photos above)

Coming out from those shorter and more angular precision-cut shapes of the winter, I wanted to depict a more grown out and loose version of the traditional bob-length shape. With the colours, I just wanted to keep it quite autumn/spring with hues of mauve over waves of warm browns.  Please remember that if you are coloring your hair this summer, use a colour stay shampoo and conditioner and a heat protection spray. This will ensure that the extreme heat will not fade that beautiful color.

Style five (scroll photos above)

For the last look, we wanted to experiment with a very summery young, fun style. We did the color using candy floss pink, cohiba tobacco and strawberry blonde. The parting was set to the center to give that very feminine, grown-out feel. I think over the winter, we have seen the side flick being done way too much, so if your face permits it, please try something different.  I would recommend going for a loose longish textured fringe or something that you can part in the centre with height around the crown.

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So remember this year the spotlight is definitely on fun and creativity when it comes to hair. Staying hydrated is also very important for healthy hair during summer, so make sure that you are drinking enough water.

Well that’s it for me, but remember that if these looks seem a little bit exaggerated, you can always go for safer, toned down versions of the same.

After all, as Coco would have said, “To each their own”!

Till next time … au revoir!

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, June 12^th, 2011.