Out with the old, In with the New!
As 2016 is finally upon us, it is time to do some spring-cleaning in our lives to throw away the old and welcome the new!
Other than cleaning up your room, we would highly recommend you to take a look at your hair…
Is your hairstyle out of date / out of sync with 2016?
Here are 3 hairstyles we think you should NOT be sporting this year and the alternatives you can think about!
1. Ditch the Long Hair (and go Shorter)
“Long again?”
Yes, we know.
It just seems so comfortable to let your hair remain long and straight.
All you have to do is go for a trim perhaps 2 times a year and your hairstyle will look neat the whole year round.
But did you realize all the disadvantages that go with it as well?
- Low Hair Volume: As the long hair pulls the whole hair down, you’ll find the crown of your head having a lot less volume! This usually translates to your face looking bigger!
- Tangles: As it is difficult for nutrients to travel from the roots to the ends, the ends get damaged really easily, resulting in tangles and even more damaged hair!
- Back Acne: Especially if you are wearing tube tops or open-back dresses, you’ll find the hair serum you apply at the end of your hair covering and laying across your back, resulting in back acne! Well, if you’ve always wondered why your back isn’t as pretty as some of your friends’, this could be one reason why!
- Higher cost: You need to use more shampoo, more conditioner, more hair serum because of your long hair… even hair services such as hair colouring cost more at some salons
- Longer time of maintenance: Shampooing, Conditioning, Drying will now take longer than your shorter-hair equivalents!
These are just FIVE of the many disadvantages of having long hair.
And we haven’t even started talking about the pros of going short yet!
No wonder celebrities such as Emma Watson, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift are opting for shorter haircuts end of 2015!
However, we understand that it is not easy to get used to seeing yourself in short hair.
So here are 2 alternative haircuts to think about for those thinking of snipping off your locks!
Alternative 1: Lob Haircut
Lob Haircut by CLEO Hair & Make
A Lob Haircut is essentially a long bob cut that usually end beyond the shoulder. In some ways, it retains the femininity of the long hair but injects more energy in your overall look due to its shorter length!
As seen in the lob haircut by CLEO Hair & Make above, the lob haircut actually took years off her face with a more voluminous long lob!
When requesting for a lob haircut, note that a lob haircut can be one length, where the hair is literally the same length at the front and back of the hair like the lob haircut above.
It can also be sloping upwards ie. longer at the back and shorter at the front like the lob haircut by Chez Vous Hair Salon below.
Lob Haircut by Chez Vous Hair Salon
It can also be A-line, which is longer at the front and shorter at the back.
A-line haircut by Kenaris Salon
Whether it should be A-line, upward sloping or one-length depends on what you are trying to achieve. In general, A-line helps to make the face appear smaller while upward sloping cuts tend to soften the lines on the face. One-length helps to achieve the more Korean look where the ends tend to be more voluminous, forming a triangular shape for the face.
Regardless of what you choose, bring along a photo and ask your stylist what he is intending to do for you to avoid getting a cut you don’t like!
Bob Cut by Plan B by Vast Hair
As a quick check to see if the haircut is done well, look in the mirror to check the sides and back of the hair to see if it is neatly cut like what you see above.
You should also take note of the shape and weight distribution of the hair to see if the haircut is balanced.
Check out our article here on Spotting a bad haircut if you want to find out more!
Alternative 2. Tapered Bob
For those who prefer something a little shorter, you can opt for a tapered bob!
Classic Bob Cut vs Tapered Bob by Branche Hair Salon
With a graduated / layered bob, the head shape looks more rounded with the bulk of the hair volume near the top of the hair!
The tapered bob is therefore great at increasing hair volume at the crown if cut right.
Short Layered Bob by Preston from The Cottage by Devonshire Selected Hair Salon
Overall, you’ll also find that your hair is lighter… with a stylish slope to the back!
Although short, the tapered bob still gives a little forgiving room to hide the features you want to hide and bring out the features you want to highlight, depending on how skilful the stylist is!
We therefore find the tapered bob more wearable for 2016 as it is not as masculine as the Pixie and is short enough to let people around you notice the sophisticated transformation!
Tapered Bob by Chez Vous Hair Salon
Of course, you can always opt for a little more daring with an asymmetrical tapered bob!
2. Ditch the Super Straight (and add some curls!)
“Straight again?”
Straight hair may be easy to manage but it can get a little predictable at times to rebond your hair year after year.
Fortunately, 2015 brought some exciting developments to spice up your straight hair… developments that are very likely to continue straight into 2016!
It is therefore time to push the boundaries a little and consider the alternatives to avoid getting stuck in the hairstyle of 2010!
Alternative 1. Volume Rebonding
If you’ve been following Beauty Undercover, you would definitely have heard of Volume Rebonding.
Most often associated with Korean dramas, Volume rebonding is essentially a combination of rebonding and perms to inject more volume into rebonding.
Depending on how much curls / how much straight hair you want, an experienced stylist can design the right style for you.
C Curl Volume Rebonding by Style NA Korean Salon @ Parkway Parade
The C Curl Volume Rebonding still looks very much like the usual rebonding, except that there is a C curl perm at the ends. With a C Curl at the end, you’ll look sophisticated just with the C Curl.
Volume Rebonding by Chez Vous Hair Salon
Note however that the C curl adds only a little volume at the end so it may not be your first choice if you are going for more volume. A C Curl ending at the shoulder may also be a little hard to manage as you have to know how to blow your hair to achieve the C Curl.
C Curve Rebonding by Picasso Hair Studio
This is how it looks like from the back with a U shaped cut for long hair!
Texture Control with C Curls by Salon Vim @ 313 Somerset
Note that different salons may use different chemicals and different processes to achieve the C curl volume rebonding… and not all may call it volume rebonding!
Salon Vim, for example, calls this procedure Texture Control and uses a slightly different process to achieve a similar result.
S Curve Rebonding by Picasso Hair Studio
The S Curve rebonding looks more like a perm and you would probably have to maintain the ends as such, applying hair serum to maintain the S curves.
S Curl Rebonding by Chez Vous Hair Salon
Of course, you can also request for a S curl rebonding with less curls if you are worried about maintenance!
J Curve Rebonding by Picasso Hair Studio
Other than the more common S and C curves, we have also spotted more and more salons introducing J Curve Rebonding.
J Curve Rebonding by Focus Hairdressing
In this before and after photo, you can see how the top part of the hair is tamed with rebonding and how the bottom part is sculpted into a J curve for extra texture and volume.
Volume Rebonding at Koinonia Salon
If all the above are still not voluminous enough for you, you can request for a layered S or J curve that start higher up for extra volume.
As you can see, the Volume Rebonding done by Shua from Koinonia added significant amount of volume to the hair!
This however blurs the line between rebonding and perms as the volume rebonding start to resemble perms.
If you are interested to find out what is the difference between the different types of volume rebonding, read our more in-depth article on Volume Rebonding here!
Alternative 2. Perms
For those with thick healthy hair, diving straight with Perms may leave you with a Perm addiction you realize you can’t get out of.
Combination S + C Curl by Zinc Korean Hair Salon
This is what happened for Agent G who can’t stop perming her hair after Nicky from Zinc Korean Hair Salon introduced her to the world of perms.
Volume S Curl Perm by Act Point Salon
Agent G was glad to find that she’s not the only one as Agent D faces the same addiction after she tried perming at Act Point Salon.
As usual, there are many types of perms: Digital Perms, Ceramic Perms, Cold Perms – so read more about the different types of perms here!
The type of perm can affect how long the perm lasts and how curly the perms can be.
However the MOST IMPORTANT factor that determines how well the perm turns out is your HAIR TEXTURE.
If your hair is damaged (ie. bleached or very dry) or wispy thin, the curls will not be able to last for very long and the perm will not be able to create very defined curls.
So make sure you know what you are in for before going for a perm! Consult a reliable stylist who can tell you honestly if your hair can go for a perm so that you don’t waste $500 only to realize that your hair cannot take a perm well!
For those who are suitable for curls, here are some perm trends to consider!
Shorter Perms are IN.
Upmove perm by Rubik Hair Salon
Shorter perms like the one Agent G had or the upmove perm above are lighter and helps the wearer look a little younger.
Once again, you can choose to make it a little more curly.
Or just have a C Curl at the end.
Get some bangs!
Long or short, bangs can look very good on voluminous permed hair if it is cut right!
Sideswept Bangs by Act Point Salon
We love bangs that curl in near the cheekbones as it helps to make your face appear slimmer!
Perm by Style NA Korean Salon @ Parkway Parade
For those of you whose hair is a little straight, your stylist may even suggest a slight bangs perm for a bit more volume!
C Curve Rebonding by Focus Hairdressing
Alternative 3. Embrace your natural curls
Natural curls can be very hard to manage especially when you wake up with a frizzy bedhead every morning.
Rebonding it straight is not a perfect solution because
1) it makes your hair look really flat
2) the root growth will be curly anyway, making the interim look a little strange.
3) you like your curls
As a stylist with natural curls, Sham from Salon Vim @ Bugis suggests a good haircut and suitable hair treatments to reduce the frizziness and keep the hair looking shiny and moisturized.
Before and After
Agent D did just that at Koinonia Salon with another Natural Curl Specialist Cynthia who revived her natural curls with the Kinessences Hair Treatment.
The hair treatments can however only last for a maximum of 2-3 weeks.
So it is important to get some tips from your stylist!
You may also want to consider going shorter as longer hair tends to be more easily damaged and frizzy.
Aqua Rebonding and Cut by Art Noise Japanese Hair Salon
For those of you with natural curls (that are not very obvious), soft rebonding such as the aqua rebonding above can help retain volume at the top while achieving a straight glossy finish.
The resulting hairstyle will also not be very flat!
In 2016, we hear that more salons are introducing new and exclusive treatments to help repair damaged hair and allow you to go for more daring hair services.
Stay tuned while we help you navigate through them later on this year!
3. Ditch the Black (and spice it up with colour!)
“Black again?”
From Sombre to Colour Blocking and Peek-a-boo Hair Colours, 2015 brought with it so many developments to hair colours that there really isn’t much excuse for you to sport a boring black!
Hair colours, when applied at the right places, can also help to accentuate your features and/or your newly permed hair, so don’t forget to add a dash of colour at your next salon visit.
For those looking to get a more funky colour, read more below for some trends to take note of.
Alternative 1: Peek-a-boo Vibrant Hair Colours
Unless you have been living under a rock, chances are you know that vibrant hair colours have been one of the biggest trends in 2015. With the likes of celebrities like Kylie Jenner and Demi Lovato, almost everyone and anyone were sporting a vibrant hair colour.
However, many of us will find it difficult to wear a vibrant shade of purple and blue to work.
So Peek-a-boo vibrant hair colours like the one below will work really well!
Peek-a-boo Hair Colour by Picasso Hair Studio
Cover the vibrant hair with an outer layer of black hair at work and tie it up after work to reveal the inner you!
Peek-a-boo Vibrant Colour by Vast Hair Salon
We also like it that the area required for bleaching is only a small section near the ends, making this technique less damaging for the hair!
Of course, you can also utilize this technique to add additional contrast to your hair as well.
Peek-a-boo Vibrant Hair Colour by Clover Hair Boutique
If you are wondering what other peek-a-boo vibrant colour designs there are, check out our peek-a-boo colour inspirations here!
Alternative 2: Colour Blocking
Colour blocking typically refers to the fashion trend of wearing multiple solid colours in an outfit, creating a simple yet chic look using bold and bright shades!
This trend has now made its way into hair colouring, where two or more shades of colour is used to colour hair in large sections!
Colour Blocking by Chez Vous Hair Salon
The results of color blocking can range from very bold (see the orange and purple pairing above) to very subtle (see below!) depending on the colours and designs chosen.
Colour Blocking by Salon Vim @ 313 Somerset
As you can see, the subtle colour blocks are definitely wearable for work and gives great dimension without the colourist needing to use foils!
Like highlights, it also makes roots look less obvious when it grows out.
Blue and Purple Colour Blocking by 99 Percent Hair Studio
We note that this technique can also be combined with others such as Mermaid Hair Colours or Peek-a-boo Hair Colours for a unique colouring style!
Colour Blocking by Picasso Hair Studio
Regardless of which style you go for, note that the placement of the colour blocks are of utmost importance as it has the potential to accentuate your facial features (or make it look worse!)
Block Colour by Artica Hair Studio
Alternative 3: Sombre Hair Colour
Goodbye Ombre, Hello Sombre!
A more subtle, blended and textured version of Ombre, Sombre gives a much more wearable natural look by bringing the light hair colour higher up and enhancing natural texture in the cut with a dash of colour at the bottom.
Sombre Hair Colour by Chez Vous Hair Salon
Sombre emphasizes on the natural and the subtle so it is yet another colour you can wear to work and not worry about tongues wagging on an inappropriate hair colour!
Sombre Hair Colour by Branche Hair Salon
We however do find that it works really well with curls so take some time to curl or tong your hair if you want your sombre to stand out in a special occasion!
Sombre Free Painting by Clover Hair Boutique
As Clover believes that Sombre will be taking off in a very big way in 2016, the salon is having a promotion for Sombre Free Painting (inclusive of Cut + Ombre + Balayage) for those interested to try it out!
Do you agree with our suggestions on the hairstyles to ditch and hairstyles to have in 2016?
Let us know in the comments below!