The Hair Company

(as featured in: "north of the city" magazine)

Make-overs: Individual Style Examples

When it comes to the perfect hair style, there is no such thing as one size fits all, says Theresa Kelly, stylist and owner of The Hair Company. Forget copying the latest look of some A-list celebrity; instead, find the cut and colour that works for you — your hair, face shape, colouring and lifestyle. To illustrate her point, Ms Kelly and her staff brought four women who entered North of the City’s make-over contest into their Newmarket salon and gave each one her own individual look.

For Karen Harding, who admits to being frustrated by previous attempts to find a great cut, the make-over was right on the money. The final result, she says, is both “edgy and easy to care for”.
“She’s a very attractive lady, who had a very dated hair cut,” says Ms Kelly. The “old Friends cut”, with its two blunt layers, had to go.

Ms Kelly and fellow stylist Phil Collins made the most of Ms Harding’s wavy hair with a textured cut in many varying layers and added blond highlights. “Detailing is key on medium-textured hair, so that it has movement and falls nicely,” Ms Kelly explains. The cut also offers flexibility; Ms Harding can either blow dry her hair straight or add some product and “fluff” to enhance her curls.

Patricia Pollock, says Ms Kelly, needed a cut that would match her fun nature and modern sense of style. “She dresses so well,” says Ms Kelly, “but her hair didn’t reflect that same image.” Ms Pollock’s long, heavy locks were weighing her down. Stylist Lana Demkovic gave her a short, tousled cut for an instant lift and chocolate brown tones to warm up and break up her formerly “too blond” colour. The result is a look that is polished, yet playful — perfectly suited to her personality.

Laurie Evans’ new look is all about the eyes. “She has such striking ice blue eyes, I knew we had to make them pop,” says Ms Kelly.
Ms Demkovic accomplished that with a strong fringe cut. The next step was to punch up her naturally dark colour with “an absolute red” that complements her skin tone and again works to bring attention to her eyes.

Kathleen Landry’s long, thin, straight hair needed a “new lease on life”, says Ms Kelly. The first step, for stylists Mikaila Reid and Katie Watt, was to remove some length, bringing the longest layers up to her shoulders. The second step was to add a voluminizing wave — that gives body and texture whether Ms Landry chooses to blow dry her hair or just wash and go. Highlights in both cool and warm tones cover grey, enhance the waves and create depth, boosting the volume.