Soft Ombre and "The Lob"

Ombre is a trend that keeps on coming back. From the harsh dip-dyes we all had back in 2012, to the new "Sombre" - which basically just means a gentler, more subtle ombre.

It gives you the opportunity to have vibrant, multi-tonal blondes, without worrying about regrowth every 8 weeks.

It allows you to have that glossy dark, where blonde resists shine.

It's low maintenance, high fashion, and universally flattering - all you need to do is pick the right shades and proportions for your skin and hair.

Today I visited Sarah, who wanted her grown-out highlights refreshed with something low maintenance but pretty, with a combination of warm chocolates and bright, fun blondes. 

We decided to do a soft ombre (occasionally known in fashion mags as "Sombre"), and we blended in a gorgeous rich, mocha brown with caramel, rose gold and platinum tones, which created the most gorgeous fusion of colours.

To finish, Sarah wanted a good trim and a lovely chunky fringe cut back into her hair, framing her gorgeous eyes. When we began the appointment, a lot of the photos Sarah pointed out to me were of bobs, but she still wanted to be able to tie her hair up. So we decided on a "Lob" - or a Long Bob to most of us!

This cut allows you to keep gorgeous texture in the hair, particularly through the back where we sliced through some longer layers and took off sightly more length. This gave the cut structure and softness, so that it'll look as lovely blow-dried and curled as it will left to dry in the sun. We then left the front slightly longer to flatter Sarah's face shape, and make it easy to tie back when she's busy with her two little ones or when she's rushing off to work.

Check out Sarah's AMAZING Emma Bridgewater collection! Major crockery envy!

The overall look tied together beautifully, and it was such a pleasure to spend the morning with Sarah!

Thank you so much! xoxo

Pretty Braids and Structured Waves

A couple of weeks ago, Alice asked me to do her hair up for a wedding.
Simple! Lovely! What better way to spend my Saturday morning, I thought. A few curls and pinned up.
And it was lovely, and it would've been simple, and then Alice told me the wedding was going to be up at the beautiful Beacon Crag, a gorgeous clifftop location overlooking Porthleven harbour with spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean.

In fact, the Cornish birds amongst you may have been here for the Porthleven Masked Ball - and if you have, you'll know the whilst beautiful, it's a bit blowy up there!
And unfortunately, on this particular day, it happened to not only be blowing a hoolie, but it was a bit damp out there too.

We decided we would be best to proceed with a hair up - curls down would fall flat in an instant - and of course, a lot of hairspray!

Alice wanted something soft and feminine but with a good structure and a polished edge, so we came up with this little look.

We gave it a little bit of height for a glamorous edge, and then swept it all to one side with a Dutch Braid - I loved how her highlights looked in this! Gave it such a pretty texture.

We then clustered the curls up at one side and then loosely pinned the front section back, which was soft and feminine around Alice's face without falling in her eyes! This also meant that should any sneaky pieces fall out in the wind, they'll look delicately dishevelled rather than like it's been messed up in the wind!

It was such a pleasure to help you get ready Alice, thank you so much! xoxo

Metallic Blonde and Dutch Braids

So, I know this beautiful girl who has terrible hair-mares every few months.

It's fairly seasonal, and also tends to vary depending on her mood. In the winter I get messages saying "Hannah, I can't keep up with this blonde, I need something darker!" and come springtime I get messages saying "This dark is making me feel mumsy, I need something edgy!"

Of course, I naturally almost always oblige. Partly, because that's my job, partly, because Lolly's my nail tech, but also because she is one of my best friends and I love experimenting with her hair.

Over the last couple of months, we've been lightening it in foils to get it nice and light, so this week we started with a little bit of root and some grown out highlights...

We then decided that, as Lolly is heavily pregnant, we were gonna skip highlights and go the whole hog and take her mega blonde, so that when her roots grow through, we can pop a lightener and toner on in half the time it takes to do a load of foils.

Lolly is also one of those lovely clients who always sees yellow. Always. So we put on a beautiful, silvery, metallic toner, focusing particularly on the freshly lightened hair nearest her scalp, and then finished it with a couple of dutch braids to keep her cool in the hot Cornish sunshine...

How gorgeous is this colour? It's a funky silver at the moment, but it'll fade to a perfect platinum, meaning she won't get tempted to reach for any home toning kits (naughty) and it'll stay much healthier!

She also sent me this picture of her hair the next day, her braids had stayed in and she'd clipped them up for this boho, milkmaid-inspired look!
Beautiful, edgy, and low maintenance!

Thank you Lolly, it was a pleasure!!