2016 Hair Trends

By Steve Rowbottom

WET LOOK

The undisputable standout trend for SS16 is wet-look hair. Inspired by fashion's love affair with sports-luxe, at DSquared2 the look was ‘surfer girl' slick, while at Julien MacDonald's models sported ‘sweat-look' locks, reminiscent of post-workout hair. To achieve the look, blow-dry hair smooth and use L'Oréal Professionnel Mythic Oil to add shine. Slick hair straight back, without parting it, or work it in to a sleek ponytail at the nape of the neck. Add Crystal Gloss by L'Oréal Professionnel, applying it with a dressing brush. Then add even more gloss, this time using fingers, to add maximum shine and to give a super-wet finish. Fix with a spritz of L'Oréal Professionnel Air Fix.

BRAID WINNER

It's every little girl's favourite style, and now the braid has returned, looking more grown-up and stylish than ever. At Celine hair was swept back in to a medium-low braid: an easy-to-achieve chic alternative to a ponytail. At Louis Vuitton it was all about miniature, barely visible plaits, Gucci's models sported super long braids, which were worn to the side and at Giles, hair was divided in to two reverse French plaits. To recreate the braided look, in a way that's on-trend for the new season, take inspiration from Kristian Aadnevik's S/S16 show and create a knotted scalp braid, that is injected with plenty of volume. Prep hair with L'Oréal Professionnel Full Volume Extra Mousse before rough-drying, then to really encourage maximum volume, re-apply the mousse once hair is dry. Create a scalp braid on one side, picking hair out, to give the braid a 3D-effect. Curl the rest of the hair, using two different sized tongs, to create a multitude of textures, and finish with Sexy Hair Volumizing Dry Shampoo, to give the curls a less structured finish.

DISHEVELLED

At Bottega Venetta, the aim backstage was to create ‘real girl hair' and at Chloe, models wore their hair tousled, textured and full of natural kinks. To recreate the disheveled look, without stepping in to ‘messy' territory, take inspiration from Topshop Unique's S/S16 show and prep hair with L'Oréal Professionnel Full Volume Extra Mousse, just the once, so the hair doesn't become matted. Go for a natural bed-head look by tonging hair with large rollers and then place in pin curls to cool. Once the hair is set, brush it gently, to encourage movement, and then sweep in to a steep side parting, encouraging hair to fall over the face.