Shapes and silhouettes

Hair for fashion and beauty

How to create sleek hairstyles appropriate for the catwalk.

Straight blow dry

When wanting to create a straight blow dry you should take into consideration the type and condition of your clients/models hair. Afro and curly hair will need to be dried with a hotter settings of the dryer. Hair that is naturally fairly straight or has a natural wave will not necessarily need as much heat to change the hair. 

Products and equipment:

• Heat protection spray
• Denman D14 styling brush
• Hair dryer with nozzle
• Large round ventilation brush
• Paddle brush
• Sectioning clips
• Hair serum

The hair must be freshly washed and then towel dried or sprayed down with water. Before drying the hair in smaller sections you should ensure that the hair is 90% dry. If needed you can give the hair a blast with the hair dryer without the nozzle to remove most of the moisture form the hair. If the hair has damaged ends you should avoid using heat on these areas.

Step by step:

1. Spray heat protection spray into the hair.
2. Section the hair into small sections working from the bottom.
3. Use your round ventilation brush to drape a small section of hair over the top of it and then work the dryer through the hair downwards with the brush. Angle the dryer down the hair shaft for a smoother finish. Ensure that the roots are dry before working down the hair. You should hold the brush straight to achieve straight ends.
4. Repeat working down this section of hair until the hair is dry.
5. Once this section of hair is dry you can take another section of hair down and repeat these steps until the hair is dry. You can use the Denman D14 brush once you reach the top sections of hair to pull the hair straight up from the root to ensure there are no kinks in the hair. You should then use the round brush as needed.
6. If you are fining it difficult to straighten the ends of the hair with the hair dryer you can use a paddle brush to straighten out the ends of the hair.
7. Apply hair serum to the hair to add shine and keep the hair smooth.

My straight blow dry creating in a practical session

Sleek ponytail

After I had blow dried the hair straight I decided to create a sleek pony tail, this is a high fashion hair style that is often walked down the catwalk.

To create this look I needed:

• A hairband
• a pintail comb

To create this look I brushed all the hair back/up onto the crown of the head and used a hair band to secure the hair in place.

Volume at top of hair with sleek back and sides

To create this look I needed:

• A pintail comb
• 4 hair grips
• Hairspray

In the practical session I then created this hair style. I backcombed the top section with a pintail comb and then brushed and griped the side sections underneath the top section of hair. I then smoothed the back combed section back smoothly over.