THE PERFECT STYLE
FOR...
One of my favorite hairstyles for any
occasion is a remake of the classic 40s and 50s hairstyle – the starlet look
- soft, full, open curls. This style is perfect
for hair that is shoulder till just below the shoulder blades length.
Trying to create this style with hair shorter
than shoulder length, will simply create a look that is
somewhere between Shirley Temple (boy am I dating myself) and a sad 70s afro;
as the hair will not have the weight to hold the curls at cheek level. Hair that is longer than just below your shoulder
blades may be too heavy and drag down the curls, making them loosen too quickly
and ruin the style.
The starlet look is perfect for girls and women with average to full facial structures. This look
may overpower smaller, more delicate faces.
As to long, narrow faces - it is really a tossup. The look could
be perfect or it can accentuate an already too narrow face. You need to try out the look to decide if it is for you.
When deciding if this starlet look is
right for you - you must take into consideration your entire
look: facial structure, height, hair length, jewelry and clothing.
BEFORE STYLING…
Every good hairstyle
begins with a good hair cut. For this style, the best results will be
achieved with a good length-appropriate basic hair cut
without too many layers.
If you are working with thick hair -
two to three layers will take out the heaviness or bulk from the hair, while
"freeing" the hair to curl more naturally. Cutting too many layers, like too much
of any good thing, defeats the purpose of this style; as the layers will
ultimately produce thinner curls and a less luxurious look.
Which brings me to talk about the dreaded
Split Ends: Split ends occur
naturally and unnaturally as we brush, comb, style, curl, heat, shampoo, tease, color,
blow dry and generally abuse and torture our hair. As we go about our daily hair routines, the
ends of the hair strands, which are the oldest part of the hair, tend to break,
tear and split and so are born the dreaded split ends.
No matter what the style (or no
style!), split ends are NEVER a pretty sight. Many gals - especially brides - want long
hair; but instead of growing the healthy length of their hair, they let their split
ends lengthen. This may give the impression
of long hair, but when creating a style these split ends give an unkempt, messy
look to any style. There is a simple
solution to this problem: have your ends trimmed or have, what I like to call, a
"micro-trim" once every six to eight weeks (depending how quickly
your hair grows). Do it and don't cry! Twelve
centimeters (or five inches) of split ends does not make your hair LOOK longer!
Trust me.
LET'S GET STARTED
Now we have our optimal hair length
and hair condition, let's finally begin.
In order to create this style, you will need:
- A medium to wide tooth comb or a medium to wide tooth brush
- Blow dryer (if you are starting with
freshly washed, wet hair)
- Electric curlers (a curling iron is
also acceptable, but for this style you will get optimal results with
the electric curlers)
- Large hair clips for sectioning hair
- A heaping hand-full of hair
pins/bobby pins for holding the curl. The
number of pins depends on how thick your hair is and how many curls you create.
- Hair products: a heat-protecting
product; a silicon-based (or argan oil-based) shine-producing product and good
quality hairspray. (Find a list of my favorite brand at the end of this article.)
EASY AS 1-2-3-4-5
(you get the point!)
1.
Plug in your electric curlers
(optimal heating may take a few minutes, so you should plug the curlers in as
soon as you can).
2.
Start with clean hair *.
3.
If you just shampooed your hair, make
sure the hair is almost completely dry (towel or blown dry) and combed straight. If you are
starting with dry hair, you can shpritz it with a few drops of water (I like to
mix this with a drop or two of conditioner), so your hair is not bone dry when
you begin to work.
4.
You can apply a very small amount of
a heat-protecting product to the hair (working from the hair roots to the hair tips) and
comb through the hair with a medium to wide toothed comb or brush.
Tip: How do you apply
the product to your hair and avoid applying too much? Place a few drops into the palm of your hand,
then gently rub the palms of your hands together to distribute the cream/oil on
to both palms and then lightly apply the product to your hair, beginning
at the hair root and working down to the tips of your hair.
5.
Comb and divide your hair into
sections. The easiest way is to first divide
your hair into two large sections – parting your hair down the middle, from the
crown of your head straight down through to the nape of your neck (even if you
do not want a style with a middle part).
6.
Next divide each of these halves into
lengthwise sections, cutting across your head from the nape up to the
crown on either side of the middle part.
As each of these sections is divided, clip it. These lengthwise sections
should be just thick enough to curl around a curler. If the sections are too thick they will not curl well
or acquire the heat needed to hold the curl. If the sections are too thin, you will
"waste" a curler on only a few strands of hair.
7.
Once your hair is divided and
clipped, you can begin to curl. Beginning
at the nape, comb out a section and divide this section into two or three
smaller sections of hair, about the length of the curler. Comb and then curl each smaller section onto
a curler.
Tip: The best way to curl
hair around a curler is to place the curler on the tip of the hair (facing up) and
roll up the length of the hair until almost the root. Clip in place with curler clips.
Tip: If the hair is very long, you can roll the
hair sections in the curlers until the curler is level with the ears and not
to the root; as curlers rolled high on the head can cause too much lift or
height to the hair section. The only problem with not curling until the root is
that you may create an ugly crease or line in the hair section where the curler
was placed. Sometimes it is better to
curl completely to the root and then later brush the curl down.
Tip: Electric hair
curlers usually have several sizes of curlers – larger for longer hair (wider,
more open curls) and smaller ones for shorter hair (smaller, tighter
curls). The larger curlers should be
used on the longest sections of hair – usually at the back of your head.
Tip: Many women have
shorter, thinner and finer hair along the hair line framing their faces. We call these hairs 'baby hair' in
Hebrew. You can simply curl these hairs
with your fingers and then pin them in place and/or use a curling iron to curl them
later in the styling process.
8.
Once all your hair is curled, you can
give a light misting of hair spray all over your head. The hot curlers must be in the hair for at least
30 to 40 minutes and left in until the curlers are completely cool.
This waiting time is
the perfect time to apply makeup.
9.
Once the curlers are completely
cooled, you can open the curls CAREFULLY.
Remove the curl clip and, this is very important, slowly uncurl the
hair - in the direction of the curl.
Do NOT brush out the curl. Now re-curl
each of these curls in its curl direction and pin in place. Lightly spray with hair spray. Do not uncurl until you are ready to
finish the style.
10.
Now you can finish your makeup, get
dressed (especially if you are wearing
a pull-over type top), put on
jewelry and so on.
Tip: If
you plan to wear earrings, especially ones that tend to get caught in a
brush or comb, you can put these on at the very end of the process, once your hairstyle is COMPLETELY finished.
11.
Ready? Remove the bobby pins and let each curl loose.
12.
Now is the time to create the part in
your hair – middle, off-center or no part. You can also create more lift or style the front of your hair with a bit of gel and a gentle tease up in the front or
crown.
13.
Next gently brush out each curl with
your fingers or with a large tooth comb or brush.
14.
Now is the time to curl the
"baby hairs' with a curling iron. You can also use the curling iron to retouch
and reshape any other curls.
15.
Finish off this look with a few drops
of a shine-producing hair product.
This time apply the product from the tips to the roots. Use the bare minimum amount of product or it
will weigh down your hair, lose the curl and make your hair look oily.
16.
If you wish, you can finish off the
entire look with a light misting of hairspray to help keep the curls through
the entire evening.
MY FAVORITE HAIR PRODUCTS FOR THIS
STYLE:
·
Elini Argan Oil for post styling
shine
·
Natural Formula Moisturizing and Styling
Hair Cream to add a bit of "oil" to freshly shampooed hair and also to help with sculpting http://www.naturalformula.co.il/
*I used to ask my brides and other customers
to NOT shampoo their hair on the day of the styling. The reasoning behind this is that shampooing
strips the natural oils from the hair and these oils help create and keep the
style. This request used to upset some
gals, so now I let each customer shampoo and care for their hair as they
wish. If I need to make the hair a
little more "oily", before styling I apply an oil-based hair product
to the hair, especially around the roots.
There is a lovely old minhag (tradition) that connects Tu B'shvat to weddings. But before I discuss this connection, I guess
I should first explain a bit about Tu B'shvat. 
