Cut & colour inspo

hair

Whether you wear your hair long or short, light or dark, straight or curly, it does not matter if the style suits your face and personality. It sometimes may take courage and conviction to follow your own taste, but expressing your individuality is like upping your game in hair fashion.

Karachi-based hair and makeup guru Zayn Uppal backs the idea that whatever hair style you do, it should suit your face. Zayn Uppal of Zayn Uppal’s Spa & Make-up Lounge entered the beauty industry as a specialised makeup artist back in 2016. However, judging onto more demand of hair business in Pakistan and seeing new trends on social media, she gradually developed interest in hair designory and sculpturing. “I enjoy doing hair colours more than makeup because every day you have to think something creative that makes it more challenging,” shares Zayn.

The multifaceted artist likes to call herself a thinker, traveller and an aspiring blogger (as her Instagram bio suggests). Currently, Zayn is operating in Karachi with two branches in Defence and Sharfabad. The salon also offers spa services apart from hair and makeup. This week You! talks to Zayn about her fascination with hair and the ongoing hair trends...

You! Have you done any professional courses in hair and makeup?

ZU: Yes, I took diploma courses for makeup and hair. I learnt makeup from Anam Falak and Brazilian makeup artist Macedonio Bezerra, Makeup Designory and Pivot Point Academy. For hair, I have done courses from Fadi Mchanna, CHI Lebanon and Paul & Mego Avyazian, Lebanon. Since last year, I have been taking advance hair courses from Lebanon and specialising more into hair.

You! How did you start Zayn Uppal’s Spa & Make-up Lounge?

ZU: I started it three years ago with a small room. It was just a place where I did makeup and hair.

In a span of just two months, I started offering other services as per my clients’ demands. As you say, the rest is history.

You! What hairstyles and haircuts would you suggest for summers?

ZU: Hair trends mostly depend upon the fact that what region you are living in. Bob is quite in around the globe. But in Pakistan, we have altered it with a longer bob style given the traditional mindsets of people who don’t want to compromise on their hair length. Layers with graduation will always be in trend. Basically, it’s in a hairdressers hand to do it in a unique way according to a client’s face.

You! What are the latest hair colour trends?

ZU: Well, hair colour trends are changing rapidly worldwide. These days, pastels, platinums and silver are quite in fashion. The new Lebanese techniques which I have started last year are the colour melts and shadowing that includes application of two or three shades from roots to tips.

You! What colours do you see coming back in trend this year?

ZU: Copper and red.

You! Black hair will always be in fashion. Do you agree or disagree?

ZU: Again, depends on your region. But to be honest, nothing is fixed these days. If you know how to pull off a certain hair colour, it can become a fashion. But yes, I always recommend my clients to get a darker shade (often shades of black) since the complexion becomes dull if you go for a very light shade.

You! Would you ever recommend dying your hair with natural ingredients like henna, coffee, cocoa powder and so on?

ZU: No, I won’t recommend it as the natural dyes are very harsh and they build a coat over the cortex of your hair and with every application, the coating gets difficult to remove. Also, these products harden the cuticle of the hair which is harmful.

You! Can you dye your hair after you’ve applied henna previously?

ZU: Depends on the case, since I have already mentioned that it coats the hair in such a way that it becomes very difficult to remove. Sometimes we need more than one session to dye hair in order to achieve the desired colour.

You! What advice would you want to give to girls who want to dye their hair themselves?

ZU: I would advise them to do their research first. After that, they should go to the right person who is trained in hair dying. Since people don’t know much about the box colours, they just try to buy and start colouring their hair without knowing the end results. For dying, we need to get the formulas right for a perfect colour. We need to see the level of the natural tone, and then to what level we need to achieve the desired colour. Sometimes we add pigments to the colour to remove or add specific tones. One can’t do all this at home.

You! What are the common mistakes that girls make when dying hair themselves?

ZU: They don’t see the undertones and apply the colour which ends up in a disaster. Knowing the underlying pigments is very important, only a trained hairdresser will be able to understand them. Moreover, women don’t know what colour suits them, and they end up looking unflattering.

You! What is the difference between regular Keratin and Brazilian Blowout?

ZU: There are two types of Keratin protein, one which is pure and without formaldehyde (the chemical that straights the hair and repairs it by making it frizz free) and another one with formaldehyde. On the other hand, Brazilian Blowout is with formaldehyde which repairs while straights the hair too; which is good since clients often want both.

You! People often confuse Keratin with Extenso or Relaxing. How would you differentiate the two?

ZU: We tell them the same difference as I mentioned above, Extenso is a hair straightening procedure which breaks the bond and rebond them to look straight, but eventually it damages the hair from the inside. Whereas Keratin is the pure form which repairs the hair by inducing the required amount of Keratin in the hair.

You! What should one with her hair chemically straightened do, when the curly roots start growing back in?

ZU: They could get the roots retouched; normally, the hair should be of five inches minimum for retouching.

You! Tell us about some good hair masks and serums to keep one’s hair healthy and damage free.

ZU: I would always recommend CHI Hair products. They are 85 per cent organic, sulphate and paraben free. CHI is readily available in Pakistan, their argan oil serum and silk infusion is very good for hair. They smoothen the hair down while making it healthier. The CHI Infra Treatment is also very good for daily use.

You! What are your future plans?

ZU: My future plan is to emphasise more on hair in my salon. I want to train my staff to work better in this department. Also, right now, I am getting several offers from brands to work with them as an educator and technical instructor in hair. Although I am rooting for these offers, I am just waiting for the right time to opt for them.