Back to School and Cool:
Celeb Cut and Color Trends for Fall
By: Angie Manson
Nothing matters more to the cool girls than wowing classmates with a new look on the first day of school. That means that kids are already settling into your chair for their back-to-class color and styles, armed with magazine clippings of their favorite celebs. What’s hot and what’s not? Here are three celebrity trends worth watching…and doing!
The Long Layered Look
Think: Blake Lively, Vanessa Hudgens, Miley Cyrus, Giselle
With new seasons of The Hills and Gossip Girl hitting the airwaves, the tousled, long, layered, “California girl” look is a hit with teenage girls and young adults.
Here’s how:
Start the layers at the collarbone, keeping the hair fuller at the top and wispy at the ends,” advises Ruth Roche owner of Rare Salon in NYC. “Hair should be simple,” Roche adds. “It should have an undone, almost grown-out look; not over-styled.” 
If the client has naturally curly or wavy hair (a la Vanessa Hudgens), you can keep it from becoming too “poufy” by clipping up top sections and texturizing the areas underneath by cutting vertical sections. “This is like Spanx for the hair!” Roche says. “It keeps everything tucked in.” Then release the top sections and create simple, lightweight layers. Alice Salizar, Director Stylist at Art + Science Salon in Evanston, IL agrees. “I create concave layering, cutting on a steep incline. Then, depending on the client, I snip or slide cut texture into the hair.”
If your client requests the look of The Hills’ Lauren Conrad, Mezei Jefferson, national educator for Ulta Salons, recommends cutting short layers in the interior and creating a longer, side-swept fringe.
For a “just got home from the beach” wave on straight-haired gals, keep the styling simple. At Rare, stylists wrap nearly-dry hair around an iron and then tug on each strand gently as it’s 
cooling. Scrunching and tousling create the right degree of “imperfect finish.” Roche suggests, “Constantly working your hands through the hair while it’s still slightly damp will also create the look.” And, says Salizar, for a special occasion (the Homecoming dance, perhaps?), add a Hills-inspired braid to long, layered waves.
The Heavy Fringe
Think: Kate Moss, Rachel Bilson, Reese Witherspoon, Camilla Belle
This look is popular with the college-age crop of clients. At Rare, Roche caters to lots of young-ish twenty-somethings, and she says they all want that flattering, Kate Moss fringe. Paula Malloy, Salon Marketing & Product Development Director for JCPenney Salons, says a strong fringe updates a long, one-length look. “Be sure to polish it off using a ceramic flat iron,” she advises. The very blunt bang paired with long, straight hair gives off a cool ‘60s vibe.
Here’s how:
While a heavy fringe is ideal for straight, thick hair, it works well on most hair textures except curly. “The fringe should be relatively long, just below the eyebrows,” advises Salizar. “For a strong, blunt bang, use your scissors for a clean cut,” she says. You can vary the look depending on how severe your client wants to go. For clients that don’t want a strong look, give them something a little more feathered, like Reese Witherspoon’s heavenly fringe. “You can create a choppier, feathered bang with a razor, rounding to the sides of the cheekbones,” Salizar suggests.
Shorter Styles
Think: Paris Hilton, Rihanna, Katie Holmes, Elisha Cuthbert
Short styles are more popular than ever for younger 
clients. Girls love Rihanna, not just for her vocal stylings, but for her edgy, no-fear attitude when it comes to her personal style. Salizar says that Chicago girls often bring in photographs of the R&B diva. “Even if they don’t go quite as severe, shorter-haired clients will ask for choppier, angled pieces inspired by Rihanna,” she says. But be careful. Save the pixies for petite girls who are edgy and want to stand out.
Bobs are timeless and remain popular, and there are many ways to wear them. Roche likes to cut her clients’ bobs so they skim the shoulders. Malloy recommends updating a medium length bob with a piecey exterior and a cool color choice. Another option--cut the fall bob on a slight angle with textured edges. This look is ideal for the girl who likes to shampoo and air dry on her way to algebra class.
Color How-Tos
Jefferson says that young Ulta clients are clamoring for Miley Cyrus’ rich color. To create it, he says, “Begin with a triangle-shaped section on the top of the head. Using diagonal partings within the triangle, start highlighting with a slice section and then a regular weave section, leaving a half inch between the foils. The next two partings will be ‘skip, slice, skip’ and then a sliced section once again. Continue leaving a half inch between each foil.” Repeat this pattern throughout the triangle section and process to the desired level of lift. Rinse with a protein-enriched shampoo, followed by a protein treatment. Then glaze all strands with demi-permanent color. “For Miley’s color,” says Jefferson, “I like Redken Shades EQ: ¼-oz 09GB + ¾-oz Crystal Clear.”
For LC’s hue, Jefferson begins with hair that is Level 5 or higher, then highlights with two formulas: Redken Up to 7 with 10-volume developer and Redken Double Blondes AG with double 40-volume developer.“Alternate each mixture in foils and vary the sizes of the sections to create a very soft, natural blonde,” Jefferson advises.
Charles Baker Strahan of Rare Salon works on the tresses of the Gossip Girl crowd, literally. The actresses of the hit show hit up Rare when they’re in 
town and they often choose “Chad” to work on their manes. He creates a dimensional look by first coloring the hair; then at the bowl, he combs all the hair straight back and combs in a 10-volume lightener, working the color away from the face. After processing, he finishes with a gloss to brighten up the look.
Roche says that the “grown-out” color look is also hugely popular with New York girls. So she mixes highlights and lowlights, even on brunettes. She alternates strands, applying high-lift lightener from roots to end to some, and from midlengths to ends on others. “Alternating like this,” she says, “creates a really natural look.” She also likes to use butterscotch-colored lowlights for “summered-out” blondes to warm up their bleached out color, again alternating placement—roots to ends and midlengths to ends—for the most natural effect.
Check out behind-the-scenes how-tos from Blake Lively's Seventeen Magazine cover shoot!
Brush up on your back-to-school cut and color skills with these helpful titles in the BTC Bookstore!
Toni&Guy Classic Cuts: Classics with an edge, this DVD and book provides 15 how-tos that perfectly suit today's clientele.
World Fashion Tour Fall/Winter '08 : Your clients will enjoy watching the lastest runway fashions while you're giving them a stylish new 'do.
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