The Modern Way Is Simply Straight

It started where so many trends do, on the runways in Paris and Milan. Models sported Cher hair--the long, straight signature hairdo of Cher when she was with Sonny, before “Moonstruck” and all those tattoos.

You could catch glimpses of it on the streets of L.A. Madonna vamped in it on the cover of February’s Harper’s Bazaar. And then a few weeks ago, Cher hair became official--Gwyneth Paltrow wore it to the Golden Globe Awards.

“People want simplicity in their hair. What’s simpler than straight, shiny hair?” said James Morrison, international artistic director for Toni & Guy Salons.

Eugene Souleiman at the Dallas-based salon group styled the long hair on models at the Louis Vuitton show in Paris last fall.

Long, straight hair is popular again in large part because of advances in hair-care products that can flatten any hair texture, Souleiman said.

“Advancement in products is so good, you can pretty much take any texture of hair and make it straight,” he said.

“A must-have accessory is flattening irons,” said Morrison, who manages the four Toni & Guy California salons, working out of the Newport Beach shop.

The flattening irons allow you to start with dry hair and to press it straight from the roots to the tips. This is easier and gives more control than the old way of having to continually brush and pull wet hair straight while blow drying it.

Don’t think you can just pull out your beer-can rollers and clothes iron to re-create that Marcia Brady do of the ‘70s.

Most really well-styled straight hair has some layers. This, along with color, or various colors, adds texture and movement.

The goal is simplicity with style, Morrison said.

“It’s very, very modern,” he said. “It’s for a modern woman and a modern lifestyle.”