The French Legacy

As every French hairdresser, Olivier Crespel is conscious of the French heritage regarding the hairdressing. Indeed, the history of French hairdressers is old and dates back to the 18^th century. Legros de Rumigny or Léonard were the hairdressers of the French Royal Court and “styled” royal’s heads such as Marie-Antoinette, Madame de Pompadour and Madame de Matignon.

Marie-Antoinette 

painted by 
Joseph Ducreux

Madame de Pompadour 

painted by 

Francois Boucher

But the florescence of the French hairdressing really started in the 20th century with Antoine, also called Monsieur Antoine. This Poland born hairdresser moved to Paris in the early 20^th century, where he opened his first salon. Antoine was the forerunner of the shingle cut in the 20’s and created the iconic “garçonne” haircut and in particular, he styled Coco Chanel and Edith Piaf. Later, he opened a salon in New York which became the most fashionnable hair salon in the U.S.

"Monsieur Antoine"

A few decades later, Alexandre de Paris (born Louis Alexandre Raimon) became a famous hairstylist in Paris during the 60’s. Indeed, he took care of Elizabeth Taylor’s haircut in the movie Cleopatra. He also styled  famous actresses such as Romy Schneider, Audrey Hepburn and even Jackie Kennedy when the presidential couple came to Paris in 1961.

Alexandre de Paris  

           Elizabeth Taylor

in Cleopatra

Of course, this is just a brief overview of the massive and renowned French hairdressing legacy that every French hairdresser has in mind and does his best to represent it and to honor it.

Movie stars influence hairstyles in January 2014

2014 starts with a bang in the little world of show business with several film festivals in January (Golden Globes 2014, Sundance 2014 or the Producers Guild Awards 2014).

There were several film events during this first month of 2014 and what says film Festival, automatically implies Red Carpet and stars parade. The most famous actors parade on the Red Carpet for hours and for the pleasure of tabloids. All the film community is present and trying to impress with dresses, tuxedos and outstanding hairstyles. It is almost like a contest of who will be the most remarked person. Indeed, the more they are remarked, the more the people will speak about their movie.

All the tabloids from the country and abroad are delighted by these events and write tons and tons of papers about the stars’ look. One of their favorite activities is to launch contests among their audience such as, ‘who was wearing the finest dress?’ or ‘who had the most beautiful hairstyle?’. And regarding the audience we can say that people love to give their opinion about it.

If it’s an opportunity for the tabloids to receive a great deal of attention, for the “mere mortals” that we are it is the opportunity to discover the new hairstyle trends and get inspired. It is like a supermarket of haircuts. So many styles are represented on the Red Carpet that you can choose your inspiration between a lot of short haircut, faux-bob or an ombré like Jennier Lawrence, Cate Blanchet or Olivia Wilde.

Photos: BellaSugar

For the gentlemen, like we said in previous articles, the trend was to wear a beard. Whether it was a real beard, a 3-day beard or a goatee, most part of the actors and directors chose to wear one.


Photo:  Angela Weiss / Jason Merritt / Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Men's hairstyles over the decades.

The 60’s

This period has seen the last year of the very conventional hairstyle trend, short hair plated on the head with the ancestor of the hair gel. But this decade also faced the birth of the rebellious capillary age, mainly inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan or Jimi Hendrix.

The 70's

Ensues a period marked by the hippie wave. During the 70’s, the trend was precisely to avoid any trend. The goal was to get rid of the stranglehold of the model man, well-dressed, well combed with a perfect straight life.

The 80’s. 

This is a difficult period to assume regarding both fashion and hair. Indeed, the mullet cut and big hair were omnipresent and widespread, especially in the U.S.

The 90's.

During the 90’s we could notice that blond colored spikes were the main trend. It has been a radical change compared to the two previous decades. Short hair with a lot of gel, not natural at all, were contradiction with the libertarian spirit of previous years.

The 2000's.

For the new century, men were divided in two types:

- Short haircuts wore spiky with a comb form.

- Long-medium hair with a long fringe on a side

The present decade.

Finally, the present decade’s trend is inspired by the past, revisited and updated. Even if this decade isn't over yet, we can already notice a slight trend, which are short and thin hair on the sides and longer on top of the head. we can say inspired by the past because we can see the rebirth of the mythic quiff but revisited and more airy. 

But the main novelty of the past few years is the increasing grooming aspect for men. Indeed, men take more and more care of themselves, they use more cosmetics and pay more attention to their look. The purpose of today’s men is to look natural without being natural, we could call that trend the “relaxed handsomeness”. 

The perfect illustration of it is the beard. A few years ago, wearing a beard was a sign of negligence but now, it’s more a proof of care and can be considered trendy. As with everything, "the hardest part is to make believe that it comes naturally and is easy to realize".

Olivier Crespel Hair Design
5353 West Alabama suite 101
Houston, Texas, 77056
United States

Map

Phone: (713) 960-0210

www.olivierhairdesign.com

How the modern man style his hair

Men who go to the hairdresser once a year are endangered; today taking care of their hair is part of a man’s daily ritual, such as shaving (or beard grooming). Men are realizing that their options are no longer limited to short or long, to shaved or shampooed. Now that they discovered the power of scissors in the hand of a competent hairdresser, their possibilities are unlimited and depending on the hair type, the length, the look and their desire, the hair stylist is able to create an unique and adapted hairstyle for each man.

From the neat and precise haircut of Ryan Reynolds to the wild Johnny Depp’s look, alternatives are now endless. To be sure a haircut will suit you, you might ask your hair stylist what would be better.

Ryan Reynolds

                                            Johnny Depp

Essential tools to maintain your hairstyle.

First of all, every man should possess at least a comb or a hairbrush and a hairdryer.

For short haircuts, hair gel can be pretty useful but be careful not put on too much, otherwise you will have plated hair, which is definitely not trendy anymore. Do not use hair gel for long hair. I repeat DO NOT USE HAIR GEL FOR LONG HAIR; it will make it straight and impossible to style.

Hair styling mousse and hair wax will help you give volume and suppleness to your hair. After this step you will be able to style it as you wish and even recreate the haircut you had when you left the hair salon. Once again, a dab is more than enough and if you overuse it, your hair will look too oily and neglected.

Finally, if you are looking for a slick effect, a conditioner can be an appropriate solution. But like we said before, use it sparingly.

How to live with baldness?

Baldness can be terrifying for men but it’s definitely not hopeless. Short, really short hair or even shaved is a very good solution but before grabbing your clipper, ask to your hairstylist what would be best for you. But you certainly don’t want to keep it long.

Nicolas Cage

                                                                                                                                   Jean Dujardin

Olivier Crespel Hair Design
5353 West Alabama suite 101
Houston, Texas, 77056
United States

Map

Phone: (713) 960-0210

www.olivierhairdesign.com