THE latest hair color can update your style and give you an edge. The year 2009 is all about the natural, believable hair color. Don't believe us? Ask hair colorist and salon management consultant, Malonie Deasy, who works at the well-known Yibreen Spa in Riyadh and spoke to Saudi Gazette by phone. “Hyper-highlights are about to be a thing of the past; (we are) looking at the movement toward all-over color on the latest runways and celebs,” said Deasy, whose innovative and creative style ideas in the salon industry for the past 20 years makes her a stylist extraordinaire. “However,” she adds, “Going in with a slightly darker color at the roots and under-layers will add the perfect depth to your hair.” Filtering down from the runways and rising up from the salons, beauty and fashion have formed a silent partnership to create new spring/summer designs. “As always, designer collections are all over the board - soft architectural shapes, sharply-crafted waistlines - which are futuristic yet elegant - and inspiration from the 1920's, to name a few of the fashion choices. Hair is following suit with a rainbow of richly colored options,” she said. Groom and ‘economic' doom Deasy believes that color trends, just like the runways, will also be influenced by the economy. “This year, runways have softer hairstyles, long and short, and the hair color is more uniform with subtle variations instead of contrasting highlights. I think this will suit anyone going through a hard time in this economy as it is definitely less maintenance to do few or no highlights than more,” she said. The salon industry is an exciting industry for women. Deasy said it would be her dream to be able to enable a Saudi woman to be able to support herself with skills from working in a salon. “I would like to set up a training facility for teaching Saudi women the skills of working with their hands. It may not be for every Saudi woman, but there is a lot of cash in this industry,” she said, adding that “this would also keep some of the money in the Kingdom, as most of the staff in salons here are non-Saudi.” “For example,” she continued, “If the client is paying SR100 for a brushing, which may take 30 to 45 minutes, a Saudi woman could be making up to SR50 per hour, which means SR300 per day for six hours, SR15,000 per week, and SR6,000 per month. It's not working in an office, but it sure is nice to have the cash!” Deasy has been working in Riyadh for around seven years. She believes that her clients' hair color should reflect their individuality and personal style. Her philosophy, she said, is to create pretty hair, not extreme looks. “The key to beautiful hair color is healthy hair,” Deasy concluded.
