Bell-bottoms or flood pants. Pierced or unpierced. Head or anti-head.
Yep, that’s right. You can now add “anti-head” to your list of style options.
Although I quickly grasped that the hairstyle doesn’t involve the removal of the head itself, I did struggle with the finer points of the concept until Rebecca Biggers, a stylist at Aubergine, attempted to enlighten me over the phone.
You know how most cuts follow the shape of the head? Well, she told me patiently, the anti-head doesn’t.
Mark Mennone, who owns Full Circle Salon on Wall Street, even drew me a picture. Despite his artistry, I still didn’t quite get it. Not till I stopped by to see Biggers on Broadway did it sink in.
“You’re the anti-head!” I crowed.
Her pink and black locks lay askew in the rumpled “bedhead” look, with one notable difference: In profile, the hair starting at the crown of her head doesn’t follow the rounded curve of her skull. Instead, it follows its own angle, with a peak and a sharp descent, like the side of a mountain. Definitely anti-head.
But enough about that. The anti-head shape is only one of many choices available to the hair-hip. And rest assured, pro-heads are still in.
“It’s very fashion-forward to have it both ways,” Biggers says. “The beauty is the options — to be outlandish or conservative or somewhere in between and still be very current and in style.”
Hair today
Designers agree that the textured look has emerged as one of the biggest hair trends of the moment.
“Loose and textured, baby,” intones Mennone.
“Organized chaos,” offers Larry Hopkins, who owns Ananda Hair Studio on Broadway.
They’re not just talking about textured, uneven ends, either (although that’s also part of the look); getting texture involves cutting big chunks throughout the hair. That creates a “looseness and freedom” because the pieces of hair stay separated, Mennone explains. (This technique works best with shorter styles and straighter hair.)
Hopkins favors a look that combines a clean, nicely-shaped outline with a “broken-up” look in the middle. Styles that are “not so anal” — similar to Jenna Elfman’s “Dharma” TV character — are also in, he adds.
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