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Hair styling

Find a style to suit, add vibrant or subtle colour, and your hair can transform the way you look.

Styles to knock the years off
Stylists consider hair type, condition, face-shape and lifestyle, to come up with the right style for you. They can also advise on suitable products and show you how to manage your hair at home. Expect to pay from £50 for a cut at a London salon, £15-plus at a local one.

Short, layered cuts
Many women choose these as they get older, and they can be very flattering if cut to frame the face. Light feathering of the fringe and around the face is more flattering than hair that's pulled back severely from the forehead and lies flat. A soft halo of hair frames the face, and draws attention away from bony features or signs of ageing. If layered, the hair can be blow-dried to give volume and body and disguise thinning. It's essential to keep a short style in good shape, so you'll need to have it cut every 6-8 weeks.

Mid-length bob
This is a good style for most faces, but not for you if you have very curly hair which can't hold the crisp outline. Choose the length according to your face shape. A longer bob helps draw the eye down, away from wobbly chins or incipient jowls. Shaped or feathered sides make the style prettier, and create a flattering fullness.

Long hair
It's a myth that older women can't wear their hair long, but it must be in top condition and well cut. Ask your hairdresser to style your hair so that it has some definition around the face and avoid the droopy hanging-curtain look which doesn't do an older face any favours.

Hair colour
For the most natural effect, stick to a colour that would naturally go with your skin tone. For example, black hair won't work well with a natural blonde's pale complexion.
Home colourants are excellent, especially if you simply want to add richness to your natural shade. Start with semi-permanents, or one-wash tints. If you want to change your colour by more than a couple of shades, or to cover more than 50% grey, it's best to have your hair professionally coloured. A hairdresser can choose shades specially to suit you, and can judge which type of colourant is best for your hair type. Expect to pay £100 plus at a London salon, from £30 at a local one.

Permanent colour
You can use permanent colour to go lighter or darker, but it doesn't wash out. It also improves the overall condition of your hair and adds shine and brightness. All-over permanent colour needs a root re-touch every six weeks.

Semi-permanent colour
Vegetable-based products fade over 12 washes. Semi-permanent colour can't lighten hair, but it is good for going to a darker, or warmer shade. It is a good idea to experiment with these before taking the plunge with permanent colour.

Highlights
Strands of hair are dyed lighter with permanent colour. Fine strands create a subtle look, chunky strands are bolder. Because the colour is diffused through the hair, you can get away with less frequent re-colours.

Lowlights
Strands of colour add warmth and texture, sometimes in several different shades. They blend in naturally with the hair, and grow out less noticeably than highlights or all-over colour.

Colouring grey hair
At what age, and how quickly, your hair starts to grey depends on your genetic make-up. Some people start to turn grey in their late teens, while others don't see the first tell-tale strands until their forties.
A hairdresser will be able to advise on the options for covering or camouflaging grey hair. If you want to cover your grey hairs completely, choose a permanent colour and stick to a shade that's no more than two shades darker than your natural colour. If your skin tone has turned paler with age, consider a lighter or warmer colour: think honey or beige for blonde hair, chestnut or auburn for dark hair. Highlights can also brighten grey hair without covering it completely, helping the grey strands to blend in less noticeably with the rest of your hair.

Hair styling help and info
Channel 4 Television takes no responsibility for the content of any third-party sites.

Links
The Good Salon Guide – Hair Doctor
www.goodsalonguide.co.uk/hairdoctor/issue4.asp
The 'Hair Doctor' offers sound advice on your hair and the website offers a guide to the best salons across the UK.

Handbag.com
www.handbag.com/beauty/hair/
Articles and tips on caring for your hair, what colouring to use and what styles are in vogue.

Salonweb – Ask George
www.salonweb.com/george.htm
Site of an American beauty expert and consultant to the entertainment and beauty Industry. You can e-mail him questions about caring for your hair.

Books
Hair: 100 styling secrets by Carol Morley and Liz Wilde (MQ Publications, 2000)
Top tips on the best hairstyles without resorting to expensive treatments at the hairdressers.
Get this book from Amazon

The Hair Bible by Philip Kingsley (Aurum Press, 2003)
Provides readers of all ages, both sexes and all races with a complete guide to preserving, caring for and enhancing one of their most vital personal assets.
Get this book from Amazon

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