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I was asked a few weeks ago by a reader if I could write a post about hair, hairdressers and hairstyles. She needed to see her hairdresser and wanted to know how to explain what she wanted doing to her hair. So I thought to myself what better time to write about hair than when I’m at the hairdresser’s!
As I write this post, I am at my hairdresser’s having my hair done. When I say having my hair done, I mean that I am having my roots coloured (to hide the grey hair!) and putting in some reddish flashlights to give my otherwise dark-brown hair some vivid colour. I am also having my hair cut. I have a 45-minute wait whilst the colour takes before I can have my hair shampooed and rinsed thoroughly. So I have my laptop on my lap and I am tapping away at the keyboard
Me having my flashlights and roots done!
I get my hair coloured and cut every five weeks and have the flashlights every ten weeks. My hair grows very fast (showing the grey hair far quicker than I like!), and as it is also very thick, it needs to be tamed regularly – hence an appointment every 5 weeks!
So as my hairdresser put the gown over my clothes as protection, I told her that I was going to ask her a number of questions about hair and hairstyles. I also wanted to understand all the different treatments you can have on your hair. Armed with pen and paper I started the interview.
Colouring
First of all, I asked her about all the different colouring treatments you can have. As I mentioned before, every ten weeks I have flashlights put into my hair. I asked her what the difference was between those and highlights and lowlights. She said that with flashlights you only have small pieces (random pieces) coloured. This is different from highlights/lowlights where you have larger areas coloured. As the names suggest, ‘highlights’ tend to be the blonde and lighter colours whilst the ‘lowlights’ would use colours such as the coppers, browns, reds and caramels.
For those of us who want to cover our grey hair, we have the option of either a semi-permanent or permanent colour. The colour used will match our own hair colour. The difference between a semi-permanent is that the colour covers up to 40% of the white/grey hair and doesn’t last as long. A permanent covers 100%. I have my roots done every five weeks or when my husband starts telling me that I’ve got that badger look!
Washing
After all that colouring, it’s always a relief to have my hair thoroughly washed or shampooed. I especially like it when the conditioner is massaged into my hair. Some women have a masque treatment applied to their hair to have intense conditioning. This is particularly helpful for women who have very dry hair.
Cutting
The short, graduated bob
When it comes to cutting, you have a choice depending on the length of your hair. If you have long hair, you can choose to have it cut one length or have layers. Layers can add volume to your hair. If you’re like me and have short hair,you can have your hair graduated into the neck. This means that the hair is cut into your neck. If you have a bob, the choice is wider as it depends on what sort of bob you have – a basic bob with one length, a graduated bob, a long bob or a layered bob!
I know…this is getting very technical, isn’t it?Please bear with me.
I asked my hairdresser what shapes we have and she told me that hair shapes come in three basic forms – one length (long). bob and short hair. The different hairstyles are basically down to the cut – layered, graduated, one length. And let’s not forget the fringe which can be full, side or choppy.
If you have thick hair like me, you might want to get some of the weight off so texturizing will help change the texture of your hair from thick to thin. I get that done every time because my hair gets extremely heavy especially on the top of my head.
Styling
We then moved on to styling. Now I have short, thick and coarse hair. I always go for a wet cut. This basically means that I have my hair cut and the hair is left to dry naturally. In reality though, my hairdresser often blow dries my hair with a hairdryer. Most women have a cut and blow dry.
There are also women who visit their hairdresser’s once a week. They don’t have their hair cut, but they will go in for a wash and blow dry. Some women prefer their hairdresser to blow dry their hair as they are better at giving them the style they want. Apparently, the fashion now is to have wavy, bouncy and voluminous hair. Hair straightening and using hair straighteners are out. Not having long hair, I’ve not had to worry about that and wasn’t aware of this change in fashion.
Before blow drying your hair, your hairdresser might apply a mousse, serum, smoothing cream or a balm to your hair. Which one will all depend on whether your hair is frizzy, coarse or thin.
After blow drying, you can have hairspray, wax or a paste applied. I normally have wax although at home I use argan oil. I find that helps reduce the coarseness of my hair.
And there you have it. That’s all the information I managed to get from my hairdresser today. If I have missed out any vocabulary please let me know and I will add it to the post.
For more information take a look at these sites for:
An activity on hair vocabulary
The names of different hairstyles in English
My gentlemen readers, if you’re feeling left out and would like me to write about a visit to the barber’s and what that involves please let me know and I will send my husband out on a fact-finding mission at his barber’s. I will then report back with my findings.
Finally, a big thank you to my hairdresser, Donna, who patiently allowed me to grill (question) her about hair and for giving me a splendid haircut today.
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Ciao for now
Shanthi
