Maintain Your Holiday Glow
As we approach the holiday season, it is natural to want to look beautiful and feel good with gorgeous hair, nails and makeup.
Update your look. In terms of hair, texture is big along with transitioning from lighter to darker hair. “We are seeing a lot of chocolate, auburn and copper tones and guys are growing their hair out and not shaving as often,” said David Connor, stylist/colorist at Hair Loft. They are keeping the five o’clock shadow as women aim for darker tones. “Women are letting their roots grow in so there is a darker base at the root and it fades out to lighter on the ends like Sarah Jessica Parker, Jessica Biel and Jennifer Lopez,” said Connor. This creates softness and enhances your body shape.
Choose your hair care products wisely. “Sulfate and paraben-free shampoos are the trend now because they allow you to have longer color life and keep the natural oils instead of stripping your hair of what is good nutrition,” said Connor. You want to avoid silicones and sodium in the shampoo and consider the chemical makeup. “The proper way to shampoo is to do your roots to ends and with conditioner, do your ends to roots,” said Connor. Pay attention to dyes. “It is important not to use box dyes because of the high ammonia content which stresses and damages the hair,” said Connor. If you want to do a minor dye job, you may add a few highlights around the face, soften the jaw line or accentuate different features.
Tap into the season’s hot colors and styles. “People are going towards reds and adding more coppery tones,” said Paige Klumpp, designer at Paris Parker Salon. Variations of the fringe with bangs are also popular. “Braids are in styling-wise and people are doing all sorts of braiding techniques like fishtail braids, on the side, on the top and maybe just a small one leaving the hair down,” said Klumpp.
Don’t be afraid of change. When it is time to style your hair, be bold. “People are pushing the line of what normal society is and though we are going natural this winter, people are always evolving and want to see change,” said Connor. “We are doing natural, earthy, soft tones for winter but spring and summer will bring out avant-garde, trendy looks, more aggression, a heavier weight line and texture integrated,” predicted Connor. You do not have to do anything elaborate to look beautiful. “We are reverting back to curls in our natural texture which is a beach wave and highlights that are sun-kissed,” said Connor.
Treat your hair nicely. “People with good, healthy hair are not flat ironing or using heating tools without heat protection and paying attention to their hair and the stress levels it can take,” said Connor. Men should not be using gel. “Men should use wax, paste or putties that give a more dry style versus an aggressive, hard, flakey look,” advised Connor. The downside of gels is that they have high amounts of alcohol that allows hair to turn hard and increases breakage.
Put a little shine on your face. For makeup, shiny is in style. “Makeup is not necessarily sparkly but has a glow and people are doing fun colors like great purple, green and gold,” said Klumpp. You can use the colors as eyeliner or for shadowing the eyes. “People are doing bright colors for nails or a wild lipstick with something softer around the eyes,” suggests Klumpp. You want to be flashy without being glittery. “People like the shimmer like dark purple or pretty brown colors for fall and red as the holidays come around,” said Klumpp. A lot of people do not go heavy with the eyes. “Keep it softer with a little bit of eyeliner and mascara and a brighter lip color like a bright pink or red for daytime and a smokier eye for nighttime that is a more dramatic tone,” recommends Klumpp. Dark greens and browns are in style as well as charcoal grey.
Remember, beauty doesn’t stop at your neck. During the holidays, workouts usually move to the bottom of our lists, leaving us feeling scattered with so many things to do. A great way to get your center back and keep your muscles toned is taking a class at Romney Pilates Center. “In Pilates you can shut off the world and focus on yourself. Every move needs to have complete focus to combine the breath, the form and the actual movement together…it’s not a mindless workout,” said founder Erin Romney. The studio also offers Yin Release classes. “This class is unlike any I’ve seen. We’ve combined concepts from Pilates, Yin Yoga, myofacial release and functional stretching. This class is good for any type of body that needs alignment retraining and flexibility/range of movement improvement,” explains Romney. The class also benefits anyone involved in repetitive motion, from standing and driving to running and cycling. ”Set to chill music and dim lights, you’ll leave this class feeling relaxed and renewed.”
Whether you opt to try one, a few or all of our suggestions to get your glamorous holiday glow, we’re confident that you’ll be glad you indulged yourself in the best in beauty that this season, and the experts at our local salons and spas have to offer.
The Hair Loft, 5300 Tchoupitoulas Street, (504) 895-2911, www.hairloftnola.com
Paris Parker Aveda Salon, 5434 Magazine Street, (504) 891-1012 www.parisparker.com
Romney Pilates Center, 5619 Magazine Street, (504) 895-1167 www.romneypilates.com