Skyscrapers

“THE HIGHER THE HAIR, the closer to God,” or so the saying, often associated with Dolly Parton, goes. And if that’s the case, then the models at Valentino haute couture (see previous page) were positively angelic. As much as we love this fantasy hair, the reality is that “volume” hasn’t been synonymous with “towering” for quite some time. The millennial notion of volume is closer to body‚ hairstylist and Pantene ambassador Danilo tells me during a recent visit to Toronto. “We call it ‘zero hair’ or ‘naked hair’ in the editorial business. Ten years ago, it would have been volumized visually, like this,” he says, lifting my hair an inch off my head to demonstrate. “Women don’t want prom or wedding hairdos now; they want a cool-girl look. You can wear a ball gown and do nothing with your hair and it passes as stylish.” Part of achieving this seemingly understyled look is having healthy hair, and if there is anyone who knows how to maintain that, it’s Danilo: He has been responsible for Gwen Stefani’s root-free blond for years, sometimes colouring it twice weekly. When I say that Stefani’s hair looks healthy in spite of that, he corrects me, saying it is healthy. He attributes this in large part to using leave-in conditioner as a styling product. “It’s how I counter the heat and get that beautiful finish to hair,” he explains. The main thing, though, is scalp health. Simply put: “If you don’t have a healthy scalp, you won’t have good hair,” says Danilo. Hair isn’t gaining anything if you avoid a good wash, he tells me. He recommends gentle—but effective— cleansing, particularly for clients who are overly attached to their bottles of dry shampoo. Coming from the man responsible for designing the iconic flowing braid and lifted roots seen on Elsa (yes, the animated character from Frozen), it’s advice we’re willing to heed.