As a big part of the cosmetology industry; hair is, of course, one of the biggest ways to impact your appearance.
A beautiful hairstyle can turn heads and increase confidence, but how to choose the right one can be a bit foggy.
Sarah Marlow, owner of Marlow Salon in Mount Vernon, shared some of her expertise on the matter. While there are technical factors to think about such as face shape and hair type, her first consideration is what will make the person feel beautiful. She is a big fan of doing what you want.
Marlow encouraged people to develop a relationship with a stylist so that they can get to know the individual’s hair as well as her or his personality.
“I feel this way because if I don’t know you at all and you come in wanting a huge change, I can absolutely aesthetically create it, but it may not match with your personality or your lifestyle,” she told the Mount Vernon News. “Also, sometimes people make a change when they are going through stressful times in life, which sometimes isn’t the best time to make those choices. If you and your stylist have a relationship on some level, I think you will have a better outcome in those choices.”
Another consideration is a client’s level of expertise in styling their own hair.
“I always try to emphasize being realistic with your skill level and amount of time you are willing to devote to styling when you are making these decisions as well,” Marlow said.
This applies to hair color too. She noted that people should think about their budget and time when it comes to maintaining a color. When autumn rolls around, many people want to go darker, but that doesn’t have to mean brown.
“Auburn is one of my favorite fall-time colors because it catches light and has so many different dimensional colors to it,” Marlow said. “I also like to suggest to people to use demi-permanent hair color when going darker for fall, because summer comes back quickly and from my experience summer means blonde! When you use a demi-permanent hair color it is much easier and safer for the integrity of your hair.”
There are a wide range of opinions on how hair can age or make a person look younger, but Marlow holds that there are no colors or cuts for age. It’s all about letting your inner beauty shine through. She does, however, think the health of hair can make a big difference.
“If you want extremely long hair but your hair is thin and not in the best condition, then a shorter style would look better, because healthy hair is beautiful hair!” she said. “People tend to relate length of hair to youth. I relate healthy shine to youth, so if that is your goal then maintaining the health of your hair will always be the best way to look more youthful.”
Marlow said her personal favorite is a precise short cut on women, but people should choose whatever makes them happy.