Come May 1 and Shadab Hussain, 32-year-old professional, plans to get a crew cut. 25-year-old Nandini Bhalla plans a haircut by the end of this month, before the summer sun arrives fully.
In short, the heat is likely to drive a lot of people round the bend when it comes to cutting, styling or maintaining their locks this season.
Like some of her friends, Nandini too faces a predictable dilemma - she wants long hair and yet doesn’t want to feel the heat that comes with maintaining them, “I have already clipped my fringe and plan to get a hair cut” but I don’t want to lose the length.” How she will manage it is another story!
Meanwhile, Delhi summer is notorious for being dry and making hair dull but surely there are options available to remain stylish like Lara Dutta or Halle Berry? “One can try layers (like Lara Dutta)” suggests Jawed Habib “as they go well with both long and short hair.
Also, layers maintain the bounce and avoid the hair from looking flat due to sweat.” He understands the fear of Indian woman when it comes to reducing the length of their hair, but “I don’t recommend reducing the length. Instead one can carry a stylish haircut with layers coming out at the back and fringes in the front to make a statement while beating summer.”
So one needn’t be sad about cutting short the hair to be able to manage the look. But Shadab wants to go a step further. He doesn’t want to keep even his average length hair. “Though I have to remain in an AC office, I can’t handle Delhi’s heat and so I am planning to chop my hair and just keep them as small as the army guys do.”
For men, shorter the better is true as in the case of Shahid Kapoor or John Abraham, who have given up their long kept locks. But Shadab’s decision of sporting a crew cut could be risky if Shival Ghai from Xpressions is to be believed: “A traditional crew cut undoubtedly looks very smart but will suit only those who have high cheek bones.”
Instead the stylist suggests “a slicing and point cutting with trimmed sides and front spikes falling on sides rather than standing straight.” The result should be very close to Shah Rukh’s style straight from Ra One!
What about style? With summer here, braids have come to stay. What may follow next is Victoria Beckham’s ‘bob cut’ which definitely shows huge prospect of being sported in India this summer. Be it long or short, spikes should be avoided.
Hair stylist Pankaj Chopra says, “If you have short hair then they should be short enough so that one can brush and leave them back whereas if they are between medium to long then there shouldn’t be any short spikes as they are difficult to tie with the rest of the hair.”
Maintenance too is crucial. While Jawed suggests use of “shampoo and use serum instead of conditioner,” Pankaj stresses on making sure that “the hair are completely dry before you tie them”, to maintain the natural texture.
