At ease for the season

Do you visit the salon every six weeks for hours to achieve the look you want or spend too much time in front of the mirror with your straightener?

No one likes time-consuming hair and this season hair trends are all about going fuss free.

Mind+Body has spoken to Perth’s hair experts, who say textured hair, broken colour and freehand styling are the hottest looks for hair this season. Whether you’re chopping your hair into a shaggy crop, experimenting with different colours or taking advantage of the many texture-focused products now on the market, these trends leave room for creativity and individuality.

“The fact that hair’s becoming freer means it’s going to be more feminine and flattering for everybody, ” Caroline Outten, salon director at Hair Outaquin, says.

Bernice Barrett, art director at Artistic Visions For Hair, names the long bob and soft crop as her top styles for the season.

“As far as a haircut that’s really durable, easy to style and always looks great, the one that’s coming through massively is the long bob, ” she says.

“There are also some beautiful soft, shaggy crops with soft edges and lots of texture — there are not many straight lines.”

Judith McEwen, owner of Toni&Guy Perth Central, says low-swept fringes and razored layers are major hair trends for the season.

“If we look at celebrities and the catwalk, we’re losing length and working with fresh short and mid-length shapes, ” she says.

Texturised styles are complemented by fun, broken colour this season, with pastels and other playful colours having a huge influence.

Ms Barrett doesn’t see pastels going away anytime soon, naming them as favourites for younger clients in particular.

“Colour is still very broken and, like the haircuts, it’s more freehand, ” she says.

“It’s much more relaxed than foiling — softer and more natural.”

Ms Outten agrees, saying she loves seeing women having fun with their hair and using more interesting colours.

“I love the idea of soft pastels through the hair — salmon pinks, soft corals and burnt oranges, ” she says.

Ms McEwen said ombre and balayage were still in fashion but were much more subtle and sophisticated with not as much contrast.

Ms Barrett says the beauty of balayage and ombre style is that they are very low maintenance.

“People can go six months without having them done and just having glosses over the top to freshen them up, ” she says.

“You can put pastel tones through them to give a different look but the majority of the work is done for three to six months.”

The at-ease theme continues with parts and fringes, Ms Barrett says.

“With long hair, it’s mostly going a centre part or just off centre — whatever waves have been created, they’ve curving towards the face subtly, ” she says.

“With shorter hair, it’s more about the undone, dishevelled, shaggy effect — there’s no part, or if the hair needs to fall in a part it’s zigzagged, so there’s no definite line. And with fringes, there’s not a lot of structure — lots of texture and a bit more broken.”