model hair secrets: style
Hair trends come and go, but we will still hanker for classic ad-hair locks. Here, the experts behind hair beauty shoots to get their insider tips and tricks (wind machine not included).
It’s blown out
“The ideal hair for a shampoo ad is basically straight, as this reflects shine best,” says Joh Bailey, TRESemmé hair expert on Project Runway. “So the basis of good hair is a good blow-dry.” While models are briefed to turn up with “clean hair and face”, some stylists do another quick wash in the studio’s bathroom sink. “Working from wet to dry gives the best result,” notes Bailey.
Not surprisingly, damage becomes an occupational hazard for models. “I cannot over-stress the importance of using a protective lotion or spray to prep your hair before applying heat,” says Mark Thompson, hair director for L’Oréal Professionnel. Beyond the thermal protector, stylists differ in their approach to product. Thompson uses a blow-dry cream or serum, stylist Michael Brennan likes to apply a volumiser and Bailey prefers to keep hair as product-light as possible.
The result, however, is much the same. “It’s not about the pin-head any more,” laughs Anthony Nader, über stylist. “When using a round brush, ensure you’re pulling hair up off the roots to encourage lift.”
Brennan uses two radial brushes, leaving one curled up at the roots while he works the other on another section. “Hair sets while it cools, which gives height at the crown,” he explains.
Renya Xydis prefers to put models’ hair into large velcro rollers at the end of each blow-dry. “I leave them in while the make-up is done. It gives the best body I could ask for.”
But it isn’t always so straight
Of course, not all hair ads sell product for straight hair. Unfortunately for curly-haired girls, the ringlets in advertisements are rarely natural. “Even if the brief is for wavy hair and the model has curls, we’ll straighten it and start over again,” says Nader, who applies a silicon serum before blow-drying, to help relax hair. “If the client wanted movement in the hair, I’d use large tongs to create a smooth ripple, which can still reflect light.”
Nevertheless, stylists say there’s more personality coming through in beauty advertising these days. “I’ve been doing a lot of texture in hair lately,” says Jayne Wild, ambassador for ghd. “First I tease the hair, then seal it by running the ghd Styler through it, before brushing out. It looks great under the lights as you get an airy effect and great shape.”
Some brands lend themselves to more creative hair looks. “We want people to say, ‘That’s cool,’” notes Damien Carney, artistic director for Joico. “So we look for models with character. It’s not what it was 20 years ago with the supermodels, when everything was evenly balanced.”
At Toni & Guy, two such supermodels now front for the Model.Me hair range, but in an unpredictable way. “It was a very different shoot as the girls themselves were the main focus,” says group creative director Sacha Mascolo-Tarbuck, who styled Helena Christensen’s hair into beachy waves and used a matte paste to style Erin O’Connor’s short and edgy do.
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