Hair Style Tips – Headliners

Today’s high fashion headlines are all about shape. There is a heavy emphasis on direction cutting-this is designed to create a stylized silhouette. The greater the angle and the more accentuated the curve, the better the shape.

Even a superb cut needs a little help if the desired impression is one of volume and movement. Here is where a new breed of hair products come into their own. Mousse is probably the all-time success story of recent years. An egg-sized dollop of this frothy concoction is able to set hair to new heights, and provide strength and real styling flexibility.

The mousse is applied to towel-dried hair after shampooing, and worked through the hair so that it coats every strand. The hair is then set or blow dried in the usual way. One of the benefits of a mousse is that it leaves the hair with a real sheen, unlike the old-fashioned setting lotions that dulled the surface color.

Some mousses now contain colorant so that you can try out special effects

for parties or if you just get the urge for a change. They will wash out within a couple of shampoos. Unless your hair is extremely dry and porous through the long-term use of bleaches.

Style Tips – Hair styling gels

Hair styling gels are something quite different, and can create very individual styles. For a spikey look with a feathery fringe, a slicked back wet-look or a high gloss finish, a gel is a must.

Most hair styling gels are best used on towel-dried hair, and you will have to do a little fancy finger work when you dry your hair to tease it into the desired shape. For instant spikey fringes, apply just a dab of gel on to dry hair and pull the locks into place, feathering them out with your fingers.

Real volume can easily be achieved with the help of a styling mousse. Avoid colored mousses and styling gels if your hair is very porous or heavily  bleached or tinted (right). For a glistening wet-look, slick towel-dried  hair back, comb the styling gel through and leave the hair to dry naturally. Only use a little gel at a time-you can always add more if you want a more defined or glossier effect (far right). Some styling gels have a tendency to flake on the scalp when dry, so shampoo hair frequently and remove all traces of gel before reapplying.