4 tips for ensuring your 2018 hair is your best yet

Tips To Ensure You Nail Your New Year Hair Makeover - Alexa Chung

What you need to know to nail your hair makeover

Beauty Crew Contributing Editor / February 01 2018

The new year marks an exciting time for new beginnings. In the beauty realm, one of the best ways to make a fresh start is with a hair makeover. It’s liberating what a new cut and colour can do for your self-confidence. That said, choosing the wrong hairstyle or colour can put a serious dampener on your new year vibes. To make sure the latter doesn’t happen, we asked the hair experts for their top tips when it comes to choosing the best new year hair for you.

#1 / How to choose the right hair salon

If you want a job done right, you need to hire a pro. Finding the right hairdresser can make or break a good hairstyle, so it pays to do your research. “Ideally your relationship with your hairdresser is going to be a long term one, so putting in a bit of time and research before you commit is always wise,” shares L’Oréal Professional Colour Trophy National Finalist Salon hairdressers Scott Sloan and Isobel Allan from Sloans of Lane Cove.

“Some of the best ways to find a new salon is by taking recommendations from family and friends, or someone whose hair you love,” adds hairstylist Joe Cotroneo whose salon, Zink the Element of Hair, is also a Colour Trophy National Finalist. Look at a salon’s Facebook or Instagram accounts for snaps of their happy clients to get a feel for their hairdressing style and consider doing a quick drop-in (hint: stepping into their salon will give you a sense of their vibe and how they interact with their clients). Also, see if they’ve won any awards, like the coveted L’Oréal Professional Colour Trophy Awards, which is the longest-running live hairdressing competition that recognises the nation’s best colourists.

For a full list of the top hairdressers in Australia, these are the best hair salons as awarded by the 2017 L’Oréal Professional Colour Trophy Awards. 

#2 / Why an initial consultation is worth your time

It’s no secret that getting your hair professionally done doesn’t necessarily come cheap. So the last thing you want is to invest in a cut and colour that you’re not happy with. Especially when trialling a new hairdresser, consider booking in for a pre-appointment consultation to meet your new hairdresser and give them a chance to get to know you. Not so you can become the best of friends but so they can get a sense of what you want, how you like to style your hair, how much time you dedicate to your ‘do every day, what your skin colouring is and so on. “The consultation is one of the most important parts of the service. This is your chance to ensure you are on the same page with the type of cut and colour you are wanting,” says Cotroneo.

#3 / The power of the perfect colour

Celebs are our number one inspiration for a new hair look, but unfortunately what works for them isn’t always going to deliver the same stunning results for you. This is where trusting your hairdresser becomes so important. “I first look at the way the client dresses, their style of makeup, face shape and skin tone. This helps to find a colour and cut that will suit [them],” explains Cotroneo.

Beyond finding the right hair colour, where the hair dye is applied can actually impact the final outcome, too. “Adding soft highlights towards the front can be a quick way to lighten and brighten the face without committing to a full colour change,” says Sloan and Allan. Strategically placed highlights and lowlights can also miraculously help frame your face and define your features – for example, Danni Solier, Colour Trophy National Finalist and hairdresser for Xiang Hair, explains that to elongate a round face, “placing the colour higher gives the illusion of lengthening the face shape.” There are plenty more tricks like this that your hairdresser will know so make sure you ask them for their recommendation on how you can achieve your hair goals.

TOP TIP: To keep your colour looking fresh long after your last salon visit, ask your hairdresser to treat your hair with Smartbond. Exclusive to L’Oréal Professionnel salons, the in-salon service helps protect hair while colouring and leaves your tresses softer, stronger and shinier, too.

#4 / Match your cut to your lifestyle 

Once you leave the hair salon, it’s up to you to style your hair every day, so you need a cut and colour that fits in with your day-to-day life. When asking your hairdresser to replicate a celebrity look, Sloan and Allan warn that “celebrities often have round-the-clock hairdressing appointments to maintain their cut and colour, plus easy access to hair extensions and wigs. Often their 'low maintenance' look is the exact opposite!” To avoid disappointment, be open to compromise: “Your hairdresser should be able to guide you on how to best tailor the look to you and your lifestyle,” they add. As for what Sloan and Allan look for when deciding on the right hairstyle for their clients, they take into consideration factors like “amount of time they spend on their hair each day, how often they are willing to commit to maintenance, their current hair quality and their personality.” Getting all these factors perfectly aligned with your personal lifestyle will ensure you love your new look for longer.

Solier’s final tip: “ask your stylist to give you a short lesson on how to style your hair at home so you can replicate the look. 

Looking for your nearest L’Oréal Professionnel salon? Head to the salon locator here

Are you considering a hair makeover? What new look are you going to try?

Main image credit: Getty

Chelsea is BEAUTYcrew’s Contributing Editor. She has a sweet spot for anything that claims to make skin glow and won’t leave the house without a slick of mascara. Chelsea has 10 years of experience as a beauty editor and her words can be found on BEAUTYcrew, Women’s Health, Daily Addict, The Joye and Primped.