BY DESIGN : OFF THE CUFF : More to Hair Than Meets the Eye
T ony Ray and Homer Prefontaine, owners of Stainless, a full-service salon in Encinitas, know hair -- from the fluffy to the droopy, the glorious to the goofy .
Ray has been a critic of bad hair for years. He ‘s written a book (“Silver Gray Beauty”), a syndicated column (“Let’s Face It”) and articles for magazines. Ray may not have invented the buzz cut, but he did come up with the “La Costa look,” a fuss-free, natural approach to hair and makeup made famous by the Carlsbad spa.
His salon partner, Prefontaine, has styled hair for nine years and often travels to Europe to catch the new waves.
This is another in a series of first-person columns that allow people in the fashion industry to talk about their encounters.
Ray: CNN did a special on me because I go up to people in shopping centers and offer to clean them up. The sin people commit is that sometimes they have a great look and they ruin it by overdoing it. Or there are those who look like disasters and they think they look good. I’ve learned the best way to deal with anyone is to be very blunt. They may not like what they hear, but everyone wants to look better.
Prefontaine: I used to be more opinionated about what people do to their hair, but now I just think that they haven’t taken the time to know what’s appropriate. Stylists have to remember that they have power to help someone achieve a look. No stylist should make a client feel degraded. Some stylists are patronizing, and that’s why clients are afraid to try new things.
Ray: People place such an emphasis on hair that they think they can’t live without it. It’s just the crowning glory; it won’t break anyone’s career. If a man’s losing his hair and he’s overweight, he should get in shape and not think about his hair anymore.
Men who are losing their hair should face the fact: You lose it, and that’s it. You then have choices: get a hairpiece, get implants or cut it really short and forget that your hair was ever important. If you don’t have much hair and you comb a few strands over the top of your head, you don’t cover it up. You make everyone say, “Look at this silly bugger.”
Prefontaine: My advice to people is to ignore the flaws, the bags and wrinkles, and to look at the positive. If you have blue eyes, bring them out. But when you do, don’t overdue it with too much makeup or jewelry. Less is more elegant.
Fried hair, blue eyeliner and eraser marks for cheekbones don’t look natural. Eye shadow is just that-- shadow . It’s not eye coloring . Use it to create shadows that enhance or minimize.
Ray: I’m still seeing racing stripes, those big streaks of blush on the sides of the face. It just isn’t done anymore. And raccoon eyes, where they just circle their eyes in black. For people who don’t know what to do, I say go to a licensed makeup artist, someone who is trained and who is not just selling makeup. If you pay for the makeup lesson, by law the person has to be licensed.
Prefontaine: A client from hell is someone who goes to a stylist with a reputation to have a change, then hates it. This is because the client and the stylist didn’t communicate. She may bring in a picture without considering what kind of hair she has and without realizing that half of these pictures are airbrushed or done with computers and the hair is flawless. That’s not how it’s going to look in real life.
Ray: If a woman brings in a picture of Claudia Schiffer and wants her hair to look like that, she will be disappointed if it’s not the right look for her; so will the woman who says, “My husband likes my hair long.” If her husband likes her hair long and blond, he’s probably having an affair with someone with short brown hair because it’s a change.
Prefontaine: The designer should know the client. What does she like? What’s her lifestyle? He then can create a look that fits her. I don’t think any one look is in fashion. It’s what fits that person. In the ‘90s, more people are finding what works for them and not following trends.
Ray: Fashion can be aging because it sets a limit on what you do at the time, be it spike heels or platforms. But the classic look is timeless. Lauren Bacall’s hair has always been the same, yet she’s made it look feminine, chic and tailored. Coco Chanel and Audrey Hepburn, too, never looked overdone. The more you do, the harder it is to maintain.
Prefontaine: The greatest feeling is to see someone being more confident about themselves. It’s inner beauty that translates out. Any designer knows this is what makes everything worthwhile. When clients hold up their head, that’s gratifying to me.
Ray: The funny thing is, if you sit them in a chair, it’s almost like a flower starting to unfold. As you finish, they sit up straight and feel better about themselves. You didn’t change them, you just made what they have look so much better.
