April and May have been a bit of whirlwind for the H&Y team with shows in London, Germany and Slovenia. Add to that, shoots for glossy national magazines, advertising campaigns for international brands and shooting the first of our British Hairdressing Awards collections!
We are also the newly-appointed Global Ambassadors for Schwarzkopf Professional, a role that will see us head up international shoots, global education and many more amazing opportunities, all in all, very exciting times ahead.
Braids have dominated the spring 2015 runways, arriving as sleek plaits in New York, taking on an ethereal vibe in London and most recently, gaining new ground in Milan with a much more unconventional look!
Fishtail, French or Dutch, there are so many ways to do a braid, and a plait never fails to make a hairstyle look more interesting. Just when you thought you’d seen every possible braid, we now have masses of new ways to wear them.
From an updated milkmaid to a daring cornrow, the braid is definitely one of this summer’s hot looks.
Our gorgeous model had a lot of long, thick hair which made this really quite easy. The best approach is to create lots of random plaits positioned around the head and secure with small bands before draping them over the surface of the head to gain maximum coverage.
It’s always a good option to cover the top areas first and if you have super long tresses then move to the perimeter. You’ll need some small bobby pins in the appropriate colour to secure the plaits to the base of the pony tails. It’s good to make it look quite random so it looks less placed, making it a bit cooler.
You could also plait some false hair pieces and pin in with your own hair to create a fuller more substantial look.
Another tip is not to create super-neat plaits; they looks much better when they have a slightly softer, fluffier feel to it to create an ‘undone’ look.
Big up the braid!
Michael Young and Gary Hooker run award-winning Hooker & Young, with five salons regionwide | hookerandyoung.co.uk
