No-Curl Power: New ghd platinum + styler could unlock your hair’s potential
Since time immemorial, the more curly-haired girlies have experimented with every variety of trichological trickery in a bid to hamper humidity-induced frizz or to try and untangle seemingly untameable tresses – a quest that ultimately gave rise to the high-tech hair straightener that is now a staple of so many bathroom cabinets.
Despite their ubiquity, this particular manifestation of tonsorial technology often takes a barbarous toll – dried-out hair strands, follicle damage or permanent colour loss.Now, though, the coiffure connoisseurs at ghd, the UK-based specialists in robust ringlets, have introduced the ghd platinum + styler, a device they claim delivers “healthier styling in one stroke”.
More specifically, thanks to integrated predictive technology, this handy hairstyler adapts its settings to best suit your hair texture, tracking the lustre of your locks and the speed of your strokes, then adjusting its heat and power accordingly. It is also said to deliver 70 percent stronger hair, twice the colour protection and 20 percent more shine than its competitors.
While there may be more comb-over than substance to some such claims, there is no denying that the ghd platinum+ styler is both efficient and versatile, with the add-on rounder barrel allowing you to add curls and waves to your straight-hair repertoire too.
Bye-bye Bad Hair Days: Our favourite luxury hair styling tools
Hong Kong may be one of the greatest cities in the world, but it’s no secret that our water is far from the top of the freshest drinking pools. The affects of chlorine filled H2O can lead to dry and frizzy hair, breakage, faded locks and colour or the absolute worst – hair loss. Here at Gafencu we are committed to helping you save your pretty curls or sleek straight dos, and so, we have gathered such top hair styling tools on the market as Dyson and T3.
Don’t be fooled into thinking the healthier hair process ends when you leave the shower, in fact, its just beginning. Water-filters that purify and reduce chlorine, are of course a good start. Next comes finding a hair towel that minimises the effort and damage of drying your hair, to high-end brushes and combs that promise to strengthen and heal both cuticles and your scalp. The real fun starts with hair dryers, rollers and stylers that ensure quality and protection.
Aveda launches thickening “Eclipting” colour for fuller-looking hair
Aveda’s newest service thickens and colours with only plant-based products
Ummm… how?
If you thought contouring strictly belonged to the territory of make-up artists, you were wrong. Aveda’s global artistic director for hair color, Ian Michael Black, came up with a way to translate the makeup technique into hair art using strategic colour placement. “Eclipting” is the new buzz word in the beauty world, after years of “balayage” domination.
We know – there are so many concepts to grasp when it comes to this new trend. Let’s start by slowing down and taking it apart piece by piece.
Step 1: Thickening with Invati Advanced
Aveda’s thickening + colour/highlights service is a new body-boosting hair treatment designed to contour and alter the shape of your hair. The first part lifts and volumizes thinning, lanky tresses for maximum fullness using the award-winning Invati Advanced™ line, which powers the process via three products that promise to reduce hair loss by 53%.
Price: The Invati Treatment for Thinning Hair starts at HK$500
Step 2:Eclipting – Colouring your way to fuller-looking hair
The second part achieves optical illusions by way of ‘eclipting.’ The technique makes thinning hair appear fuller through ‘hair contouring’: incorporating balayage techniques to effect gradients (although eclipting uses starker contrasts for a more distinct change).
Black’s method keeps the root area a little darker to “make hair look more solid at the scalp,” he says. “It works well with the darker-root trend right now.”
Strategic highlights are then placed: finer through the top and chunkier underneath. “This gives hair a bulkier look overall,” according to Black. Finally, the ends shouldn’t be lighter than the rest of the hair as bleached ends look especially thin.
“But nothing makes hair look better than being shiny and conditioned,” warns Black, so keep those locks healthy! Remember: chemicals at the minimum, hence Aveda’s success as a company that sticks to naturally-derived ingredients.
Among Aveda’s several Hong Kong locations, we decided to check out their Lifestyle Salon & Spa at The Loop in Central. You can enter via a separate door from the building lobby; skip the spa and salon on the first two floors to get to the colouring station on the third.
Since you’re going to be in here for a good three hours, best make yourself comfy with complimentary tea and settle in with some reading material. If your eyes need a break, there’s a streetview to Wellington Street below, or the mirror to check on your colorist’s progress.
Aveda Lifestyle Salon & Spa at The Loop in Central
A colour assesment begins the session, followed by a soothing head and scalp massage which releases any tension or pre-colour worries you may have. If you need lightening, the bleaching for highlights goes first to add depth, followed by a thorough shampooing and conditioning. The toning stage brings in the colour application, and finally a treatment to offset anydrying or damage.