New hairdos will need more styling

GERMANY - Glamour is back this spring as men and women embrace precision hairdos with elaborate styles and healthy, shiny hair.

“People like to treat themselves to optical luxury,” says German hairstylist Jens Dagne, explaining the newest developments. ”Refinement and noblesse are in demand again,” says Dagne, spokesman for the hairstylist association “Intercoiffure Germany.”

Thus, young women suddenly want classic services like “washing and setting,” explains Simone Frieb of the trade magazine “Clips,” published in Cologne.

Aesthetics plays a very important role. “That is why women are again putting some real effort into their hair.”

Long gone is this summer’s trend of “wash and go” hairstyles, agrees world champion hairstylist Martina Acht of Offenbach. “The customer wants more styling again. People are using curlers, curling irons and rounded brushes.” People want clean lines in their haircuts. Boxy or frizzy looks - especially with longer hair - are becoming less common, she says.

“You could say the trend is going toward architecture on the head,” says Yvonne Busch of L’Oreal in Dsseldorf. Clear structures and geometric forms dominate. Some very stylish options even let one mix angled cuts with partial permanent waves says Frieb.

Perm is in

By any standard, the perm - just as it reaches its 100th birthday - is a big theme this spring. “Curls are absolutely coming back,” says Dagne. Products are better since the last perm trend of the 80s. They are easier to manipulate and damage hair less. This time, the permanent will get a better image.

“I like to compare the old permanents with silicon breast enhancements,” jokes Acht. “What we are doing today is like a push-up bra for the hair. The curls give the hair more hold, volume and structure. This has nothing to do with yesterday’s low class hairdos.”

Colour too

There will also be a lot of news about colour this spring. Along with cool brown tones, “paintings” will be a big topic. “’Painting’ allows colouto be worked into the hair’s natural flow,” explains Frieb. That creates a naturally blurred colour effect that gives the haircut highs and lows. “It will be completely different from the zebra stripe look of today’s highlights.”

Paintings are also very customer friendly, since they grow out easily says Acht. Without a fixed pattern, the paintings grow along with the hair. “That makes them great for women who want a dye job, but don’t want to look like they have one,” enthuses Frieb.

Style is in for men too

Even men are putting more value on styling this season. Laidback surfer manes are definitely “out”. The stylish man will go for a stylish, dandy look, such as the one the Darmstadt-based Wella company is advertising with its new “Gothic Luxury” look. This hairstyle required accuracy and a clean, technical cut, says Frieb. Acht says hair can be a little longer. Stylish gentlemen will demand soft, gentleman-like contours.

Dagne says he prefers longer sideburns and a longer, fringed look down the back of the neck since “Men are getting braver.” He might go so far as to suggest adding prominent highlights or a subtle green shade for his bravest clients.

But these looks are not for everyone. Classical men’s hairstyles will always survive alongside the new styles, says Acht. “Not everyone can show up in the office looking like a dandy.”

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