Trends for Tresses

Site Staff Fashion Week El Paseo

Stay on top of the latest hairstyles

Holly O’Dell

Whether you want a slight modification to your lifelong hairstyle or like to reinvent your look every time you step into a salon, this season provides a cut and color for every taste and hair type. Brittany Graham-Armstrong, manager of Charisma Salon on El Paseo in Palm Desert, highlights the big trends pervading the desert.

Take a short cut. “Long hair is here to stay, but some people are changing their minds and coming around to shorter styles,” Graham-Armstrong says. “The bob is back big time with straighter, fringed bangs. I think it’s a comeback of the ’90s sort of fashion with really strong shapes.” That’s not the only short-hair blast from the past. Graham-Armstrong, who sports a short do, sees the famed 1960s pixie cut showing up more frequently on models and expects customers to follow suit.  

Embrace the curl. While flat ironing has not gone away entirely, fewer people are relying on it to straighten their hair. In fact, they’re letting nature take its course. “The pin-straight hair is high maintenance,” Graham-Armstrong says. “Most people have curls and are letting their hair go natural. It’s much easier to make peace with your waves.” A proper set of curls needs two elements to make it stronger: the right cut and styling aids. Graham-Armstrong suggests that people who want to enhance their curl ask their stylist when the last time was that he or she attended a class on curl-cutting techniques. If your stylist hasn’t continued education in the last year, find someone else. Using appropriate styling products — ones that add moisture and help shape the curl — is also important to maintaining curly hair.

Toning things down. For trends in hair color, Graham-Armstrong points to stars such as Jessica Simpson and Cameron Diaz, who have recently moved from blonde to brunette. Even über-blondes such as Madonna are toning down the bleachy brightness. “Blondes are not as blonde,” Graham-Armstrong says. “They’re doing honey-type shades.” However, highlights have not gone completely to the wayside: “They’re just smaller, more natural, and nothing too streaky,” she adds.

Before leaping into the latest trends, communicate with your stylist about what’s realistic for you. “First and foremost, a hairstyle should work for your face, your body shape, your lifestyle,” Graham-Armstrong cautions. “If you’re an athlete and you have to shampoo your hair every day, you don’t want something that takes an hour to blow dry.”