Schwarzkopf defines the cutting edge

It’s not every day I meet women much taller than I am, but when I first met Stella del Rosario, it was evident that she towered over me as soon as she stood up to shake my hand. Startled by the unexpected vertical dominance, I immediately glanced at her feet to see that, even at 5’10”, she wore high-heeled spectators that added at least three more inches to her stature. No doubt this girl is an audacious one, I told myself. 

Stella would have to be, I soon discovered. Her boldness is evidently translated to her coif as well.  Her short, choppy bob with dark purple tones on black hair contrasted with the subtle golden hues of the layers that peeked out. Offhand, the colors may not seem to make sense. But the attention given to the nuances of her hairstyling made for a very chic look. In fact, I was almost envious of her unapologetically edgy look, especially since I have long contemplated cutting my long strands drastically short and adding shocks of color.    

It’s easy to assume that her daring ‘do stems from her job as brand manager at Top Style, the company responsible for distributing the number one German hair care brand, Schwarzkopf, here in the Philippines since 1996. But it was only in August 2010 that she joined the family business, having worked in marketing for HSBC for several years previously. 

The Metropolitan: Imagine the city wind blowing in this woman’s hair with contrasting colors on a blunt cut.

It becomes more apparent that Stella’s spunky style is derived instead from her interesting personality, as we talk music and her enthusiasm for dub step, synth pop, and even heavy metal.     With today’s motley amalgamation of music, fashion and art virtually bursting on the Internet every second, the modern street trotters have become even more discerning in their choices. After all, they have become extensions of our personalities. 

It’s like assuming someone who listens to Arcade Fire on vinyl in her Williamsburg apartment, wearing vintage lace-up granny boots scored at the flea market in New York paired with a revived Levi’s 501 denim cut-off shorts from Urban Outfitters probably wouldn’t run in the same circles as someone who, say, has Fergie on her iPod in one hand, a Christian Louboutin bag in another, clad in a faux fur Rachel Zoe vest on the streets of LA. I’m not saying it’s not possible for certain cohorts with cultural disparities to intermingle, but even Nick Hornby agrees: “It’s no good pretending that any relationship has a future if your record collections disagree violently or if your favorite films wouldn’t even speak to each other if they met at a party.”

Another element has come onto the scene: our hair. In the same way fashion gives us an immediate way to merge our psyche with that of others, our hairstyle has the power to do the same. Hairstyles are no longer afterthoughts in our quotidian routine of getting dressed and ready, but deserving of the same attention as shopping for a wardrobe.  It’s a poor metaphor perhaps, but hair is like the icing on the cake, or the star on your Christmas tree.                                     

The Edge: Tough mops worn with black leather

These diverse fashion tribes in the hairstyling world were recently showcased at Schwarzkopf’s Essential Looks biannual world tour. This season, the team dreamed up four cutting-edge looks for the modern woman: Edge, Pure, Metropolitan and Urban. 

On the catwalk at The Venetian exhibition hall in Macau, the “Edgy” gal was portrayed wearing a black leather biker jacket with studs and grungy boots, her blond hair buzzed short with a heliotrope-colored skunk stripe that serves as a faux-hawk. 

The “Pure” lady wore a diaphanous white silky shift with soft wispy layers and mysterious bangs on her burgundy hair exuding what the French call je ne sais quoi. 

The “Metropolitan” model strode with conviction in an all-black pantsuit with a backless cutout detail, matched with her asymmetrical cut and clean lines on her red and black hair. 

The “Urban” youngster stomped out to the beat of electro music in her graphic print mini dress and thigh-high boots, topped with her jagged and spiked layers, plus a bold color stripe or two.

Celebrating good times and good hair days: (from left) Evangeline Bumagat (group brand marketing manager for Schwarzkopf Professional), Juana Yupangco, Raya Mananquil, Agoo Bengzon, Stella del Rosario, Tats Ramos (Schwarzkopf Professional ASK adviser), R2 Tolentino (Schwarzkopf Professional ambassador), Nikki Bacay (Schwarzkopf Professional ambassador) and Maricelle Mitra (Schwarzkopf Professional ASK adviser)

“The hair trends are very much like those on the catwalk,” said Jack Roost, who moved from the Netherlands to Hamburg, Germany to work for Schwarzkopf International Professional Partner Services in 2000.  “We translate these trends and take them to the salon the same way the looks in fashion week are taken to the streets.” Like fashion, every season there are hair trends in cut, color and styling. 

That also means that products are developed in line with each season’s new looks. If the ‘80s and ‘90s were all about hairspray and gel, right now oil-based and sustainable products are trending. Louise Valentine, Global Professional Partner Services product development manager, asserted, “The direction we are taking is towards product technology and innovation with high performance, while becoming more environmentally conscious.” 

“We can’t say that we are 100-percent organic yet, but every year we are working to make more effective yet natural ingredients in our products,” said Simon Ellis who is the global director of Professional Partnership. “We are constantly developing more colors without severe reactions on the scalp.” And although we live in the decade of going green, Ellis reveals that rich coppery tones are the hair hues for 2011.

After experiencing a full day of vibrancy and innovation with the Schwarzkopf team in Macau, Stella turned to me and said, “I wonder if seeing all the latest looks has inspired you to do something daring to your hair?” I sighed and smiled, as I twisted my long and un-dyed jet-black hair around my finger. “Maybe I will, maybe I won’t. ”

I then caught my reflection in the mirror, and fantasized about the possibilities.