Hairstyle that gives you an instant FACELIFT
It may look like they’ve just tucked their hair behind their ears. But as Kate’s salon boss reveals, it takes 90 minutes of intense styling to create the... and not a scalpel in sight!
WHEN Kate Middleton wore her long hair tucked sleekly behind her ears at an awards do earlier this month, she created quite a stir. Yes, it was a simple-looking style – but worn to dramatic effect.
This was a fresh and modern look that made her appear glowing and youthful. Much as I love Kate’s signature bouncy blow-dry, this hairstyle took years off her.
My longer-haired clients would certainly appear to agree. Photographs from the event proved a light bulb moment for many, who’ve been sitting down in front of me and my team wanting us to emulate the Duchess’s look for them ever since.
And no wonder. This was grown-up chic to die for. Pulling her hair back like that opened up her face, showing off her gorgeous bone structure in a striking manner. Her jewellery popped, and so did her eyes. She’s already so
Don’t be fooled by how effortlessly chic this style looks
beautiful, but this style elevated her good looks to a glamorous whole other level.
Of course, Kate is far from alone in having discovered that tucking your hair back does wonders for your face – it’s like having an instant facelift without letting a surgeon put their scalpel anywhere near you.
Celebrities of all ages have been seen sporting the same hairdo at various redcarpet events. It’s incredible how, simply by taking their hair back instead of leaving it to fall loosely around their shoulders, every one of them has magically appeared ten years younger.
At this time of year, the weather turning warmer becomes the cue for many of my clients to insist they’re sick of their own long hair – and say they wish they were brave enough to let me chop it off.
Now, they can see how a smoothed-back hairstyle like this provides a far less scary option – it allows me to create something dramatically different without them having to sacrifice so much as a centimetre off their locks.
Just don’t be fooled by how effortlessly chic this hairstyle seems. You may be used to tucking your own tresses behind your ears when slaving away at your desk or cooking in your kitchen – but trust me, ladies, this isn’t that.
Every one of the A-listers you see in these photographs will have had their hair expertly slicked back for them by a professional who will have spent a good 90 minutes painstakingly getting it all just so.
That’s not to say you can’t pull off the style yourself. You just need to set aside the time and the patience to do it properly.
As far as these celebrities are concerned, each head of hair will have been blow dried, any last kink or hint of frizz smoothed out with products and hair straighteners. Then, one small section at a time, the hair will have been gelled or waxed into position.
Any unruly strands can be tamed by spraying hairspray onto a comb and passing that lightly over the head to get them under control. Hairspray on a brush works well too at the pre-slicking stage – you closely follow the direction of the brush with the nozzle of your hairdryer, the heat from which helps set everything in place.
Sometimes, with particularly long or thick hair, a bobble can be used as a belt-and-braces way of ensuring nothing slips out of position.
That tiny pony tail can be hidden in the nape of the neck, covered by the rest of your hair. Some hairdressers like to plait it into place.
I know there’ll be women with round faces reading this with a hint of scepticism, thinking that they don’t have cheekbones to show off in the first place; they may insist they feel safer with lots of hair falling around their chin.
But I think this is a very slimming hairstyle – it’s as flattering as a shorter bob because of the way it frames your face, round or thin.
The only face shape it may not suit would be a longer one, and if you have a longer neck it might go against you, too, as it could exaggerate those features.
Otherwise, give it a go. Just make sure your hairline is super smooth – salons can now safely and chemically straighten that problematic frizzy hairline if you find it a struggle – before you start to tuck so much as a strand into place.
It really is a short cut to shaving a decade off your looks.