Asia embracing bold hair trends

Customers in the Asian market are slowly opening up to experimenting with their hair and moving from subtle to bold trends hence giving hair professionals a huge scope of creating new and quirky styles, say international hair care experts Andy Cheong and Ralf Boss.

Cheong is the Regional Education Director of TIGI Copyright Colour (Asia), and Ralf Boss, Regional Education Director of TIGI (Asia) and they both were in the country to attend the recently wrapped up TIGI Backstage Heroes, a competition to discover, educate, and reward upcoming hairstylists in the country.

They were here to mentor the 28 finalists, and showcase the brands new collection. Cheong says that this year witnessed a huge shift from subtle to bold in hair care trends with colours making a big fashion trend.

"This trend is becoming very popular in Asia, and especially India. Bright pinks, and electric blues are the flavour of the season. Pastel hair colours in grey, millennial pink, and blue are also popular trends that will be seen this coming season," he told.

Boss emphasises that the customers in the Asian market are slowly opening up to experimenting with their hair and this gives the hair professionals a huge scope of creating new, quirky styles.

"I believe ‘fantasy hair' will be huge in 2018. It doesn't matter if your hair is long, medium or short- you can add the fantasy magic to it with the right cut and styling. Long fringes with an undercut bob are an upcoming trendsetter.

"We are also looking at strong, bed head layers, which are very street and easy going. Soft and smooth styles will be favoured along with razor cuts and barbering. Matte, pigmented products which are light and get absorbed quickly will be in high demand," he told.

However it is important to get a proper consultation before going for new hair cut or style. "Elaborate or detailed styles are not recommended for someone on the run. Similarly, I wouldn't advise people with oily skin or acne to go for fringes. Layers are fun to experiment with and you can style them differently for occasions as well.

"Pixies and asymmetrical bobs give you a certain confidence and don't need too much maintenance. Experimentation is the key so have fun playing with your hair and don't take any bad hair day too seriously," he said.

And how one can choose the right colour? "When looking for the perfect hair colour for you, it is very important to keep your skin tone in mind. Indian skin has warm tones, hence choose a hair colour with cool tones. Colours like violet and ash are perfect for those with warmer skin tones," Cheong said.