A blue hue not for everyone
Mary Ward says that just because Lady Gaga went blue, it doesn’t mean that you should.
It’s an easy road to stumble down in January, when possibilities seem endless and the days – nowhere near full, like temporal glasses of skim milk – leave plenty of time for rumination. Should you do something crazy with your aesthetic this year? Maybe you should donate all of your clothes that aren’t black or white? Or become the sort of person who wears red lipstick?
Oh, look. Lady Gaga was at the Golden Globes with blue hair.
Wait. Should you have blue hair? Michael Kelly, colour expert at Edwards & Co hair salon in Sydney, Australia, says this is the time of year that people often walk through his doors looking for a change.
‘‘I just cut off five inches off my own hair and that was that same mentality of ‘new year, new hair, new vibe’,’’ he says.
And there is certainly plenty of inspiration around for those wanting rainbow locks. Fashion ‘‘It’’ girl Margaret Zhang’s hair is an almost Marge Simpson-esque blue, while pink hair is so popular on your Instagram feed it may as well be avocado on toast: Katy Perry, Lucy Hale and even Helen Mirren have all sported it in recent years.
‘‘This is the thing about celebrities with celebrity hairdressers,’’ Kelly says, noting that often a celebrity’s red carpet look is a temporary dye job, or even just a wig.
‘‘When a client comes through wanting this kind of colour, they really need to think about the upkeep. It’s huge: you’re bleaching 100 per cent of your hair, and then dyeing it blue, and these kind of pastel shades don’t last very long.’’
Then there’s keeping it healthy: bleached hair is
‘‘When a client comes through wanting this kind of colour, they really need to think about the upkeep. It’s huge: you’re bleaching 100 per cent of your hair, and then dyeing it blue, and these kind of pastel shades don’t last very long.’’
fragile and activities like blowdrying the hair or pulling the hair into a ponytail – particularly if you have been in the sun or at the beach – can lead to breakage. Using styling tools – like the ones that presumably constructed Gaga’s updo – can also present a problem.
‘‘If you add heat to bleached hair like that, the chances of it snapping are at an ultimate high.’’
As a result, Kelly says he ‘‘probably wouldn’t recommend’’ a pastel blue colour job for most people. If your heart is set on a brief flirtation with a pop of colour, instead opt for a shampoo or a conditioner with a stain, like Evo’s Fabuloso, or a wash-out hair chalk. Michael Kelly Hair colour expert
If all this talk of fairy floss tresses leaves a sour taste in your mouth, don’t worry. Kelly says he doubts pastel hair, and high-maintenance hair in general, will really be a trend for 2019.
Instead, the industry is moving towards more natural colours – adding highlights and balayage to a person’s natural hair colour – for a ‘‘lived-in’’ look that doesn’t lock you in to salon appointments every eight weeks.
‘‘We don’t want people to be slaves to their regrowth.’’
And, if you do want a change, consider a cut. The long bob – as sported by Globe winner and The Marvelous Mrs Maisel star Rachel Brosnashan – is set to be the style setter of the season.
That way, if you realise you’ve made a mistake come autumn, no worries: it will be half grown back by then.