Thaindian News

By Madhusree Chatterjee
New Delhi, March 23 (IANS) Hair holds a face like frames in a painting. Chosen correctly, the frame can complement the painting. In the same way, an appropriate hair style can bring out the hidden personality of your face, says a new book.

“The Essence of Hair”, a Di Wills series publication, was launched by the ITC at the Wills India Fashion Week Saturday. The book was unveiled by actress Deepika Padukone.

“I think these days anything goes. The attitude is carefree and so is the hair,” writes stylist Sapna Bhavnani in the book. She runs a salon, Mad O Wot.

Bob is back in new funky styles like in asymmetrical lines and angled bangs, she feels.

The current rage, however, is Hollywood actresss Scarlett Johansson’s “soft sexy curls and the out-of-the bed tousled look”, Bhavnani says.

A hair care dossier, the book traces the history of hair types, styles, changes, trends and problems related to hair; and suggests way to ensure that the tresses remain healthy and lustrous as life hurtles along the jet-set lane.

“The shape of the face is most important while selecting a hair style. The other two considerations are hair type and textures,” Sapna Bhavnani writes in the book.

Hair styles have interesting historical anecdotes. European women in the 15th century, says the book, tweezed off the entire hairline at the crown and forehead to achieve the haute hair look. High foreheads were in fashion then, along with blonde hair.

Dark-haired beauties used saffron and onion skins to get a bleached look.

During Queen Elizabeth’s rule, auburn hair was a rage and girls sported red wigs. It was replaced by more elaborate powdered ringlet wigs during the reign of King Charles 1.

Some adventurous Englishmen opted for tall styles by starching their hair so that they stood straight on their ends. The Victorian age was marked by severe and neat hairstyles, whereas the early 20th century brought the “free spirit” bob cuts and the riotous curls, the book said.

The mid-20th century and the subsequent decades also saw the page-boy cut. The book classifies hair into four types - oily, dry, normal and grey. While oily hair calls for cut down on oily or fatty foods and a mild shampoo, dry hair needs hot oil conditioning and an intensive moisturizing shampoo.

Normal hair, says the book, requires pH balanced shampoos and grey hair has to be camouflaged with a semi-permanent tint and natural treatments.

Ambika Pillai, a Delhi-based stylist, recommends castor oil massages to stem hair loss. “Castor oil is known for cleansing out your system. People are known to apply it on eye lashes and hair. A hot castor oil massage helps conditioning the scalp and de-toxing,” she writes in the book.

Award-winning stylist Adhuna says a regular haircut or trim every four to six weeks helps keep the hair in maintaining good shape and prevents the ends from splitting.

According to the book, the causes for hair loss are numerous. They vary from hormonal imbalances, allergic reactions, to high fever and poor diet. Very often, stress is seen to be the main cause for hair loss. Therefore, the best person to advise on issues relating to hair loss is the doctor, the dossier prescribes.

“However, Indian women should always have straight long hair because it is much easier to style long tresses than shorter strands which stand out. Long black hair is back in fashion,” designer Rohit Gandhi told IANS, soon after the book was launched at the overflowing ITC’s Fiama Di Willis salon at the WIFW.

The crowd jostled for a peek at Deepika Padukone, who said she liked to keep her hair simple, black and long.

Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) president Sunil Sethi, however, voted in favour of headgears.

“Headgears are the latest - the kind of woolly look that stylist Shilpa created for the Manish Arora show,” Sethi told IANS at the venue.

(Madhusree Chatterjee can be contacted at madhu.c@ians.in)