7 THINGS WE LEARNT AT HAIR EXPO PART TWO

From Lorna Evans’ innovative padding hack to Candy Shaw’s key tips for perfecting your balayage, Hair Expo offered the hair world a miscellany of new and exciting intel. Check out the 7 things we learnt at Hair Expo, part two.

 

SAVE $$$ BY MAKING YOUR OWN PADDING MIX

At the ‘Today’s Bride with Lorna Evans’ look & learn, the queen of bridal herself shared a nifty trick for keeping your up-do’s shapely and structured. Rather than forking out countless dollars on expensive padding pieces, Lorna suggests creating your own padding using synthetic hair wefts. First, texturise the hair wefts for maximum volume, role into shape and wrap with a hairnet to keep padding in place. Genius.

BE PREPARED TO MAKE MISTAKES

In town for Hair Expo, Candy Shaw aka the ‘Balay Lama’ guided crowds through her time tested tricks and techniques for achieving balayage mastery. On the subject of freehand hair painting, Candy assured colourists that first time painters rarely achieve perfect results, reminding us that mistakes are a natural part of creative progression. “When you begin freehand painting, you set yourself up for many mistakes,” she said; “It’s important you keep at it.”

 

 

NEON IS NOT JUST FOR SIGNS

This year’s Matrix Playground show illuminated the Next Gen stage, though it wasn’t just the brand’s design team who glimmered under the lights. A series of signature creations found life across four distinct segments; each chapter more innovative than its predecessor. One such burst of coloured brilliance – namely the Neon showcase – saw a medley of glow in the dark hair looks, each created using the new SoColour Cult range set to drop August.

WIG OUT WITH MOUSSE

British hair icon and FAME Team UK Mentor Nick Irwin demonstrated a series of 90’s club inspired hair looks at his captivating Monday look & learn. On the subject of wigs in editorial styling, Nick had this nugget of wisdom; “Wigs can be really useful in creating a look, or they can go really wrong. The best product to use when styling wigs is mousse. Sheen on a wig is what gives it a false appearance; always be sure to mess it up for that natural finish.” Kardashians take note.

BUNGEE TAPE IS YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND

We couldn’t neglect this awesome tidbit from everyone’s favourite bridal stylist, Lorna Evans. Did you know that bungee tape can be used to secure a ponytail? A cross between double sided tape and translucent elastic, this wonder tool – a backstage favourite at Fashion Week – allows for limitless hair-tying opportunities; simply gather hair, wrap a piece of bungee tape around the base of the ponytail, et voila! Did we mention you need only pierce tape and slide out for easy removal?

ALMOST ANYTHING CAN BE USED TO DECORATE HAIR

At Monday’s ‘A Day in the life of Scandizzo and UVA Salon’ presentation Hermiz Daniel guided event-goers through a number of embellished hair looks, using readily purchasable items such crystal gems. “Hairstyles have been done in so many ways,” said Hermiz; “It’s important you find new ways of doing things differently. Adding accessories gives a new dimension and can take your look to the next level. Always test your products first to ensure their formula doesn’t remove items.”

CREST IS BEST

At ‘The Future of Barbering’ workshop presented by Kings Domain, Co-founder Aaron Chan revealed a number of secrets to achieving the perfect men’s haircut. One such pearl of wisdom; create a crest guide before commencing cutting work. A part line created from the temples through to the bottom of the crown, the crest guide provides a necessary point of reference as your haircut takes shape. Another key tip? Cut hair dry so as to maintain a clear idea of shape, texture and desired style.