82. One To Watch- Tao Okamoto

Tao Okamoto's first agency was Elite to which she signed on in 2006. She made her first runway debut on the Emanuel Ungaro and Martin Grant shows in Paris that same year. The next year, she walked her first New York Fashion Week shows for Marc Jacobs and Cynthia Steffe. Marking her first work for a fashion magazine was her Glamour editorial in 2007.[

Teen Vogue called her a "rising star" in September 2009, and featured her as "Girl of the Moment" in its December/January 2010 issue. Vogue Japan dedicated its November 2009 magazine cover and all of the magazines editorials to her, noting her as a supermodel-in-rising. She has appeared in advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Benetton, HM, Gap and Zac Posen. Clearly one to watch.

81. Heads Will ... Be Illustrated.

As a hairdresser I spend most of my time staring at the backs of pretty girl's heads. No seriously, think about the time you spend in the salon getting your hair done telling your hairdresser all your secrets, the hairdresser stands behind you right? Anyway, I found these beautiful illustrations from Maria Gil Ulldemolins. The details are sublime.

Check out her blog here.

80. MEET LISA MUSCAT

I discovered your work titled Seraphic, which is very beautiful by the way. What was the thinking behind the shoot? And how did you prepare the shoot? Is there a story behind the shoot?

Thank you! Seraphic was influenced by International Catwalk trends and global advertising Campaigns; in particular session stylist Guido Palau. I wanted to create something where the hair “dressing” was “undone” and I wanted to create something pure and almost angelic. I collected a series of advertising campaigns such as Prada, Tom Ford and Burberry and transformed elements that inspired me into my work and my creation.

I see a lot of photo shoots by young hairdressers, your shoot feels like it comes from a certain maturity, who shot them for you and who else contributed to the shoot ?

I worked with a fantastic team on this shoot and we all worked together to clearly execute my concept and ideas, and I think having a great team behind you also helps to achieve the balance you look for in a creative shoot through the hair, styling and photographic work.

The team included:

Makeup: Victoria Baron

Styling: Peta- Marie Rixon

Photographer: Paul Scala

Mentor: Emiliano Vitale

Apprentice of the year is such a wonderful thing. Is this something you have been working towards? When did you decide to chase this particular accolade?

What is actually quite interesting is I always wanted to enter Apprentice of the Year for Hair Expo however it wasn’t long before the deadline for the Australian Hair Fashion Awards closed when I decided to put this shoot together. That’s why it helps to have such a fantastic team working with you, inspiring you, mentoring you but most importantly, encouraging you.

You have trained with some inspirational hairdressers like Richard Mannah, Robert Bava, Denis Langford to name a few, how did that come about? What have you learnt from them?

Yes I had the opportunity to be trained by the 3 of them whilst I was on the Australian F.A.M.E. Team which I was selected for through a competition I entered in 2009. The 3 hairdressers are each incredibly talented and inspiring stylists. Denis Langford spoke to us a good deal about stage presence and communication to your audience, Richard Mannah spoke to us about photo shoots and his experience as a hairdresser and Robert Bava did a cutting work shop with us.

I have found that doing hair for a shoot, and doing hair for fashion show and in the salon means I have to have a completely different approach to hair in these mediums. How do you balance them?

Yes they are extremely different but its nice to have the opportunity to be able to do all three and balance them out. Working on hair for a photo shoot and for a fashion show are both absolute privileges and I am very fortunate to be able to do both. To be creative is about opening your heart and your mind to allow the world to see what it is capable of, so I never say no to anything and always try knew things and get involved in as many opportunities as I can. However salon experience is still extremely important to maintain the balance and help control stress levels! Also our clients are really what inspire fashion and allow us to be creative and try new looks or styles or colours.

What advice would you give to a young hair apprentice who is looking to enter competitions?

Don’t ever give up. Always believe dreams come true. And most importantly believe in yourself even if nobody else does. Work for yourself and do things that make you happy and eventually people will see you shine.

I hear you have just returned from London Fashion Week, can you tell me what you got up to?

Yes it was fantastic! I worked on 5 shows including Pussy Willow, Satoshi Date, Felicity Brown, Louise Grey and Heikki Salonen. Each show was different and and challenging and looks involved braids, knots, accessories, mohawks, buns and a ‘chanel tucked under bob’.

What are your top five hairdressing tools?

Cloud Nine irons, Vs Sassoon Tongs, Sassoon Denman, L’Oreal Professionnel tecni.art Volume Mousse and Mycurl are the 5 key tools l like to have in my kit bag.

When did you have a “hair-epiphany”, or when did you want to become a hairdresser?

I started in a local salon close to home, working Thursday nights, Saturdays and Sundays and I loved it straight away. I didn’t know just how big this amazing world of fashion and style was, however I knew there had to be someone behind it all and knew I wanted to somehow be a part of it.

And how did you get started in the hairdressing business? Did you start at e Salon?

One year into my apprenticeship I moved to é SALON and found an incredible salon, with an amazing mentor in Emiliano Vitale who believes in his staff and wants to help them grow and succeed as stylists. It was at é SALON that I was introduced to photographic work and fashion shows, and my passion continues to grow every day.

How has e Salon helped you get to where you are now?

My time at e SALON has been truly inspiring. They really believe in each member of staff and are committed to helping each stylist whenever they need it. This salon team inspires me everyday and by allows me to wake up everyday come to work, play with hair and do what I love to do!

What are your plans in the future?

Big things I hope! I have some personal goals I would like to achieve yet work-wise I want to be involved in much more photographic work, more fashion shows and all of the above on an international level. My biggest goal is to hopefully have a salon of my own in a few years.

Lisa Muscat at é SALON

029487 80011

shop 7/2 Redleaf Ave Wahroonga, NSW 2076

emiliano@esalon.com.au

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This article was originally written by Jean-Paul Rosette for Style Street.

79. BRYAN FERRY- SUAVEST MAN ALIVE.

Bryan ferry came to me in a dream when I was about four years old. Well, perhaps it wasn’t a dream, perhaps I just fell asleep in front of the TV while MTV was on. He was singing that song “Let’s stick together”, my subconscious must’ve sharpened at that bit where Jerry Hall yelps and screams like a banshee. She looks like sex on legs. In the very next shot is Mr Bryan Ferry wearing a white suit, red tie, that amazing floppy hair and a pencil moustache.

I recall looking at Jerry Hall, I recall looking at Bryan Ferry, my impressionable little mind made the connection -If I looked like him I could get a girl like that.

The song itself resonates with me. I believe in the year 1976, the year the song was released my parents broke up. Here was Bryan Ferry, a father-like figure giving advice as to what a man should do. Or what a man should be. Well dressed, loyal and above all else, stand by his woman.

Enough of the sentimentalism. This blog is about hair and grooming. I’m bringing up Bryan Ferry because it’s all about Movember. You see, I’m one one those guys you see about town growing some questionable facial hair at the moment. And Bryan Ferry is the inspiration.

So unless you’ve been living under a rock Movember is an annual month-long event involving the growing of moustaches during the month of November. The event has been claimed to have been invented in 1999 by group of Australian men from Adelaide.

Since 2004, the Movember Foundation charity has run Movember events to raise awareness and funds for men's health issues, such as prostate cancer and depression in Australia and in New Zealand. In 2007, events were launched in Ireland, Canada, Spain, the U.K and the U.S.

78. BLUNT FRINGE- THE AGE MELBOURNE MAGAZINE.

I was quoted in "The Age Melbourne Magazine" last month which made my head swell for the good part of a week. That's not me pictured above by the way. So, if you missed it, here it is again.

Thanks to Felicity Lewis for the article and Indianna Foord for the photos.

Melbourne Women seem to have embraced the blunt fringe at the moment more than ever before. Why? One answer is, Abbley-Lee Kershaw. The Melbourne model has been wearing a thick fringe on catwalks this year, on stage in New York for a guest spot with her boyfriend's rock band, and in Vogue Nippon in leathers, after the fashion of Marrianne Faithfull in the 1968 film Girl on a Motorcycle.

Fringes- or bangs, as they are known in the states- have always created a bit of frisson. In first-century Iberia (once part of Spain), the musician Zirab apparently caused a stir by cutting a fringe down to his eyebrows when the key look of the daywas shoulder length with a centre part. Fast-forward to the 1960s and you have Vidal Sassoon shaking up the old order by giving Mary Quant a shiny wash and wear bob with fringe (which hairdresser as Sassoon protege Bob Leopold brought to Melbourne women).

Our interviewees were inspired by various icons: actor Louise Brooks and her "flapper bob; retro pin-up girls such as Betty Page; whose curled-under bangs caused a sensation in the 1950s. And tousled fringes are the big part of the rock'n'roll look - think Chrissie Hynde and Chrissy Amphlett for starters.

Hairdresser Jean-Paul Rosette, from Worksense, says the 2010 breed of fringe has a "new edge". "It's heavier, it's blunter, it's eye skimming, it's more deliberate than those side-sweepy numbers that have been happening for a while". He speculates that the look has been given a nudge more recently by the likes of the actor Zooey Deschanel, and the model Lou Doillion, whose mother, Jane Birkin and step sister Charlotte Gainsbourg have worn fringes well.

"Your eyes are exactly halfway between the top of your head and your chin," says Rosette, "so to have a long fringe is to cover half your head- it's a bit hide-and-seek, it's a bit fun, it's a bit mischievous. It's quite cool." He says there is a fringe for everyone- unless your hair is very curly- and the trick to keeping them looking smart is to have a five minute trim every three weeks.

A possible side benefit: fringes cover frown lines on your forehead, points out writer Alice Thompson in an article in The Times this yea, "Are fringes the New Botox?" And if you're not sure about taking the plunge, clip-on fringes from Celebrity Wigs are a snip at $30.

You can read my other article on Fringes titled "BIG BANG THEORY" by clicking here.

77. St Martin De Porres- Patron Saint of Hairdressers.

I'm not a religious guy but awhile back I wrote an article about St Martin De Porres, patron saint of hairdressers which got a tonne of traffic here at Heads Will Roll. Well, as it happens Novemeber 3rd 2010 will mark the 371st anniversary of his death. So I'm dedicating this blog post to him.

This is his story.

At the age of twelve, Martin had to choose a trade to help earn a living for himself and his mother. Martin trained to be a barber, which in those days meant not only cutting hair and beards, but also letting blood, treating wounds and fractures, and even prescribing medicine for the more ordinary cases of illness. A barber was in fact, at the same time a surgeon, doctor and pharmacist. Martin could have earned a great deal of money and lived in comfort with his mother, but the same charity which drove him as a small child, now moved him to devote himself to the poor. On a typical day, he set out at daybreak and along the way between his home and the shop, stopped for long periods of time in the church of St Lazarus, serving at many Masses. After having spent the whole day in the effort to perfect himself in his profession and use it to help the poor, he shut himself up in his room to feed his soul with spiritual reading and prayer. 


76. The Humble Bobby Pin

Oh the bobby pin. These little guys are the back-bone to the art and craft of "dressing of the hair". The above photos come from Christian Dior Fall 2009 Ready-To-Wear. But first let's have a quick history lesson.

The "bobby pin" came into wide use as the hairstyle known as the Bob Cut or took hold. This trend gained popularity in the 1920s, and the bobby pins kept the bobbed hair in place. A trademark on the term "bobby pin" was held for some decades by Bob Lépine Corporation of Buffalo, New York. A trademark infringement claim made by Bob Lépine against Procter & Gamble regarding their naming their home permanent product Bobbi was settled in the 1950s by a payment to Bob Lépine by P&G. The term is now in common usage and therefore is no longer a valid trademark. Similarly, the British "kirby grip" is derived from the trademark Kirbigrip, used by a Birmingham manufacturer of such pins, Kirby, Beard & Co. Ltd.

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But have you ever woken up in a strange house, handcuffed to a bed post? Me neither, but if you have, perhaps you should think about this alternative use for the humble bobby pin.

1. The first step in picking handcuffs is to prep a bobby pin. This is done by bending the bobby pin into a 90˚ angle.

2. Remove the plastic tip at the end of the straight section.

3. Next, bend the bobby pin to the left, creating a 90˚ bend about 1cm from the end of the bobby pin. Then bend bobby pin at 90˚ to the right from about .5cm from the end of the bobby pin. This will create a modified “S” shape (see photo).

4. Insert the pick (bobby pin) into the upper cutout of the lock pointed towards the cuff’s direction of travel.

Once the pick has been inserted and is resting under the handcuff housing, add tension and press the pick towards the cuff’s direction of travel.

This motion will recreate the key’s raised area pressing against the locking mechanism and release the cuff. Now quickly exit building and change your phone number and Facebook profile.

75. OOH LA LA. BEST HAIR AT PARIS SPRING FASHION WEEK 2011.

For regular readers of Heads Will Roll will know that I love a little bit of hair braiding, so you will not be surprised to hear that my pick of Best hair at Paris Spring fashion week 2011 goes to Guido Palau for Alexander McQueen.

And here’s what Guido said “: “There’s a nod to paganism…and the idea of getting back to nature,” said Guido Palau of his basket-woven hairpieces, which looked like the sewn-together husks of one’s childhood cornhusk dolls. “There are a lot of artisanal straw elements in the dresses and collars,” he added, explaining the look”.

And also...

Also special mention goes to Orlando Pit for his inspiring homage to Bettie Page. It’s such a simple idea but so well executed. Makes me want to invest in some clip on bangs.

And lastly...

And lastly, to the model with the most drastic hair change Carmen Kass pictured above. Her big chop came just before the Balmain show by one of my favourite hairstylist Sam McKnight. But wait there’s more, then she had Guido colour her red just before the Louis Vuitton show.

To read more of my hair reviews of other fashions weeks click here.

74. GOT YOUR MAMA IN A WHIRL...

Melbourne's own Abbey Lee Kershaw keeps popping up on my radar which isn't that hard considering she everywhere at the moment. And I must say that I'm really digging her new haircut and colour.

For more hair inspiration from Abbey Lee click here.