Hair styling products: types and functions

But, as practice shows, not everyone knows which styling product is better for creating volume or for long-lasting curl. Our expert Alexey Baluev , art director of Long&Short beauty salon and co-founder of Long&Short hair academy, as well as winner in the “Colorist” category at the International Stella Prize, spoke in a few words about the features of using each type of styling.

Regardless of what brand of products the master works with and what level of his salon, you always have to deal with styling. We'll talk about styling products.

Today, the market is overflowing with the “main tools” for creating hairstyles, and hairdressers have a range of unlimited possibilities for working with a variety of styling products. This is encouraging, because just a few decades ago the first mousses and varnishes were a luxury.

“Styling” is an English word that previously meant the process of creating a hairstyle. Now the term is firmly attached to the naming of styling products.

Regular styling products + interesting tricks

Let's look at the main products that are often used in styling.

1. Hairspray. There are different degrees of fixation, which determines the purpose of the product. Low-hold varnish is used to model hairstyles; Strong fixation varnish is appropriate at the final stage, which helps to control the fixation of elements and prolong the durability of the installation.

I often use a strong hold hairspray when styling, applying it to the root of my hair, which is always damp. This method helps to fix well and give luxurious volume to the hairstyle. There is one more representative in the “family” of varnishes - liquid varnish , which, as a rule, is applied to dry hair before curling and creates light curls even on the “heaviest” hair.

Important! The varnish must be sprayed at a distance of at least 30 cm from the strand

2. Hair mousse. Used to create root volume. It is important to use along the length in order to fill the “voids” of curly hair, as well as to add volume and fullness to straight thin strands. Mousse is also used to control curly hair: it thickens but does not weigh it down. There is an opinion that mousses dry out the length of the hair due to the fact that they contain alcohols. This is true, but most modern cosmetic companies have developed mousses with added oils that do not dry out the hair.

3. Styling cream. Gives smoothness and guarantees control when styling straight hair. It is used for styling haircuts such as bobs.

4. Hair gel. Due to its diversity, the product is suitable for different styling. Some create a glossy or “wet” effect, others matte. The gel is mainly used for texturing and fixing short hair.

5. Texturizer (in other words, toffee or cobweb ). Helps emphasize the texture of a haircut, and is also used when modeling short and medium-length hair.

6. Lipstick/wax . For neatly highlighting strands in a hairstyle or haircut, emphasizing the texture. The most popular are ideas with elements such as spikes and dreadlocks.

7. Spray shine . Facilitates combing and is used to add shine to hair as a finishing touch.

Professional trick

If you overdo it with hairspray and your hair has become matte or a crust has formed on it, apply a shine spray to this area - and in a minute you can easily comb your strands.

8. Modeling powder. A universal product, as it is used in the root zone on both short and long hair. Adds fluffiness and increases volume.

Conclusion

The abundance of existing hair styling products primarily dictates choice, not oversaturation. Use one product for the roots and no more than one or two for the length. After all, by applying several products at the same time, you can easily overload your hair and not achieve the expected lightness effect. Select products according to the structure of your hair - this will help create the effect you planned on your hair, because styling is designed to help the stylist in his work.

The material was previously published in the Fashion Mirror magazine.