Insider's Guide to Seattle Hair

Slide Show: Seattle Stylists Blow Back

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 12:00:00 -0800

We asked Seattle stylists and salon owners what they think about Seattle haircuts, styles, colors, treatments, and of course, their customers. Here’s what they told us.

Who Does Seattle’s Hair?

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Young Lee

Lily Jang 
News Anchor, Q13 Fox

“Rosaline Hampton at the Rosaline Hampton Salon in Bellevue knows that I only have 20 minutes to do my hair in the morning for broadcast, so my style simply cannot be fussy. The only product I have time for is hair spray. I use Aerogel from Gene Juarez; it keeps every piece of hair in place for the entire four hours I’m on TV.”   rosalinehampton.com

Image: Lucas Anderson

Michael Bertrand 
Bartender, MistralKitchen and the Coterie Room

“Molly Shea Carman at Skyn in Pioneer Square. This is definitely a throwback to late 1800s bartenders, but when I get really busy at work it turns into a mad scientist thing. I like having a controlled look that can be a little wild on occasion.” skynspa.com

Image: Young Lee

Danielle Fayette 
Co-owner, Curtsy Bella Boutique

“Maria Birashk, the owner of Belle Marie Salon in Roosevelt, is always game to play with different color techniques. Lately I’ve been hooked on platinum, silver, and gray. She just did an ombre effect that I’m loving.” bellemariesalon.com

Image: Young Lee

Jessica Tjalsma  
Engineering and Physics Student, UW

“I get my hair done by Fran Connolly at Coupe Rokei on First Avenue. I had been going with a feminine bowl cut for a while and wanted a change; a friend suggested I look at men’s haircuts for inspiration.” couperokei.com

Image: Young Lee

Katie Kate
Rapper

“D’Arcy Harrison from Emerson Salon on Capitol Hill is the only one I trusted to do the big half-shave, and it came out perfectly. It’s kind of like a sideways mullet. D’Arcy likes to do color, braids, and homemade accessories for my shows so that I always have a new look.” emersonsalon.com

Image: Young Lee

Linda Derschang 
Restaurant and Dive-Bar Proprietor, Linda’s and Oddfellows, et al.

“Ric Peterson at Robert Leonard downtown has been cutting my hair for about 15 years. Laura Anderson, the co-owner of Halo on Third Avenue, has been keeping it varying shades of blonde for at least 10 years.” robertleonard.net, halosalons.com

Image: Young Lee

Mark Pickerel  
Actor and Musician, Original Drummer for the Screaming Trees

“It’s been called a punkadour. Jeremy Todd at Napolitano Day Spa and Salon is who I’m currently dependent on. I use Crew’s Fiber—which you can get just about anywhere—very liberally. I only wash my hair twice a week, I never use a comb, and I only spend about 30 seconds on it in the morning.” napolitanospa.com

Image: Young Lee

Chiyo Ishikawa 
Director and Curator, Seattle Art Museum

“My husband Mark Calderon cuts my hair. I was going from salon to salon and got frustrated so I asked him to cut it. He’s a sculptor with a very refined sense of edge; I told him to just think of it as topiary.”

Image: Young Lee

Leigh Canlis 
President, Canlis Glass

“The cut is by Riley Morgan at Seven Salon at Pacific Place; for color and event styling I see Kelly Rundle, who just moved to the Loft on Third Ave. She rocks big-time. Last year she did my Afro mohawk for Seattle Dances, a benefit for Plymouth Housing Group.” 7salon.com, theloftsg.com

Photo: Courtesy Geoffrey Smith

Angela Stowell 
Co-owner, Ethan Stowell Restaurants

“I have been seeing Robin Dupuy at Halo Salon downtown for seven years, which is longer than I’ve known my husband. I think a lot of women think they can’t pull off short hair or that guys don’t like it, but neither is true.” halosalons.com

Image: Young Lee

Nonie Creme 
Creative Director, Butter London

“Laura Fagan at Beehive Salon in Wallingford. I’ve wanted a mohawk since I was a teen, but never had the confidence until I turned 39. And to embrace the gray when women are encouraged to hide their age? Death to the establishment!” beehivesalon.com

Image: Young Lee

Christian Robinson
Fragrance Specialist, Barneys New York

“Hair as curly as mine tends to scare hairstylists. Strangers come up to me on the street and ask if they can touch it. I either cut it myself or have a curly-headed friend maintain its shape. I use Oribe’s Shampoo for Moisture and Control and Rahua conditioner, both from Barneys.”

Seattle’s Top Salon Owners by the Numbers

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Lisa Power
Owner, Lisa Power Salon
536 Fifth Ave W, Lower Queen Anne, 206-216-2900; lisapowersalon.com

STARTING PRICES $122 for cuts; $98 for color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 4 weeks
TRAINED WITH Gary Manuel, but her real training might have been as a small-town cowgirl. Power learned to love all things sleek and well-groomed during her horse show days.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 26
SPECIALTY Color, especially red

Christophe Soltane
Creative Director, Gene Juarez Salons and Spas
Visit genejuarez.com for locations

STARTING PRICES $150 for cuts
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN About 1 week
TRAINED WITH Bigwigs Jean Louis David and Jacques Dessange in his native France; he later joined Bruno Dessange, the noteworthy New York salon.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY Since he was 14; way longer than you’ve been trying to grow out your bangs.
PRICE TOO RICH FOR YOUR BLOOD? Soltane suggests Leigh Dawson or Charlie Perritt for haircuts and Dylan Lynch for color; all work alongside him in the downtown salon.

Gary Howse
Co-owner, Gary Manuel Salon
2127 First Ave, Belltown, 206-728-1234; garymanuel.com

STARTING PRICESs $175 for cuts; $200 for color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN Clients book a year ahead, and if you’re not already on his books for 2013, you’re out of luck. Howse isn’t taking new clients.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 36
SPECIALTY Complicated color. “Redheads are kind of a favorite. I love the color and the personality.”
WANT TO GET IN, IN THIS LIFETIME? Howse’ll steer you toward colleagues Jeff Carlson for cuts and Tsofia Richter for color.

David Cheung
Co-owner, Margi David Salon
2723 Eastlake Ave E, Eastlake, 206-328-2052; margidavid.com

STARTING PRICESs $88 for cuts and color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN About 1 week
TRAINED WITH Toni and Guy, those supercool Brits with franchise salons the world over.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 30
SPECIALTY Razor cuts.
NEXT IN LINE Jason Ledingham’s excellent blowout skills make him Cheung’s second in command.

Gary Bocz
Founder and Former Owner, Bocz Salon
1523 Sixth Ave, Downtown, 206-624-9134; boczsalon.com

STARTING PRICES $75 for cuts
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN About 2 weeks
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 48. He and Gene Juarez came to Seattle from Yakima in 1964 and became roommates. They were so broke that one day Juarez burnt his toast and Bocz, who then considered himself an artist, used the charred remains to sketch. His art teacher turned him on to beauty school; by 1973 he had his own salon.
SPECIALTY Fine hair. “People with this hair type don’t have to struggle. The difference is in the cut.”

Victoria Ptak
Owner, Vain Salon 
Visit vain.com for locations

STARTING PRICES You’d have to make her a really good deal; Ptak stopped cutting hair about six years ago.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 16. She came here in 1996 because the gritty underground of New York that she loved so much was going mainstream. Seattle was, at the time, pretty long on hair, grit, and weirdos. The former punk rocker cut hair out of her apartment and then opened Vain, originally a beauty product store.
SPECIALTY All three salons—there’s a new one in West Seattle—are “art supply stores for personal style.”
ON ACTIVE DUTY Ptak entrusts downtown stylists like Samantha Brown to carry on her vision.

Marco Farmer
Owner, Marco Two Union Square
601 Union St, Ste 220, Downtown, 206-628-8881; marcotwounionsquare.com

STARTING PRICES $200 for cuts
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN About 1 week
TRAINED WITH Comes from a family of stylists and barbers in Naples, Italy. He studied philosophy but couldn’t escape the family business.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY Started as Gene Juarez’s personal assistant and eventually became his artistic director. Fourteen years ago he opened his own salon.
LOOKING TO SPEND A LITTLE LESS? Farmer declined to play favorites, but we know several well-presented Seattleites who trust Dyane Ng and Katherine Logan.

Laura Anderson
Co-owner, Halo Salon
1919 Third Ave, Downtown, 206-256-0715; halosalon.com

STARTING PRICES $80 for cuts; $95 for color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 2 weeks
TRAINED WITH Gary Manuel, then moved to San Francisco and worked at that city’s hair institution, diPietro Todd.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 25. Opened Halo with Sinclair Malcolm in 1996.
SPECIALTY Updos and color—all colors, from young, fun trends to covering gray.
NEED A QUICK FIX? Anderson points to Erica Hampton’s chair; she’s especially great with men’s hair.

Stacie Bowie
Owner, Bowie Salon and Spa
1507 Belmont Ave, Capitol Hill, 206-568-3300; bowiesalonandspa.com

STARTING PRICES $105 for cuts; $120 for color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 3 weeks
TRAINED WITH After an apprenticeship in Miami, she studied at L’Oréal’s school in Paris, did time at Vidal Sassoon in London, and trained other stylists for Redken.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 26
SPECIALTY Did someone do you wrong? Bowie’s an ace at color correcting.
CAN’T STAND THE WAIT? Bowie says comrade Sarah Corpus is tops.

Joseph Abolafia
Owner, Salon Joseph 
600 W McGraw St, Queen Anne, 206-285-1113; salonjoseph.com

STARTING PRICESS $85 for cuts and color
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 2 weeks
TRAINED AT Renon’s Beauty School in Lake City (RIP), and later worked under Wendy Amdal and Yuki Ohno, father of Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno and founder of Yuki’s Diffusion in Belltown.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 35
CELEBRITY CLIENTS Kathi Goertzen and Jean Enersen
YOU MIGHT ALSO TRY Ashley Alhadeff and Jonathan Flint—Abolafia’s former apprentices have mad skills.

Wendy Amdal
Owner, Wendy Amdal Salon
4120 E Madison St, Madison Park, 206-324-2800; wendyamdalsalon.com

STARTING PRICES $75 for cuts
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 2 or 3 weeks
TRAINED WITH After beauty school—which she attended while in her teens—she worked at Gene Juarez. At the age of 20, she opened her salon. Two years later, she was the youngest person to ever be inducted into Intercoiffure, the prestigious professional organization for hairstylists.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 40

Jerome Charles
Creative Director, Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa  
700 110th Ave NE, Bellevue, 425-455-3700;  reddoorspas.com

STARTING PRICES for cuts $85
HOW LONG YOU’LL WAIT TO GET IN 1 or 2 weeks
TRAINED WITH Esteemed Paris-based coiffeur Christian Lavergne; Charles returns to his native France to work with Lavergne once a year.
YEARS IN THE INDUSTRY 22.He worked all across the states before settling in at Pro Sports Club in Bellevue in December of 2010. Six months later, he walked through the Red Door at the Bravern.

Color Trends from Coupe Rokei

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Young Lee

WINNING STREAKS Coupe Rokei stylists Eric Wennberg, Sian Cullen, and Mickel Bitle drew from McGowan’s love of organically tinted indigo wool (bottom right), rose gold (bottom le

TO RORY MCGOWAN, the future looks bright. “Pink,” she says, her small, doll-like face about to break into a smile, “is the color of optimism.” It could also be the color of your hair. Or your hair’s tips. Call it dip-dyed or call it elegantly extreme, but if you’re gunning for a runway look you can rock in Ravenna, consider calling the co-owner of Coupe Rokei and her forward-thinking, technique-savvy team.

McGowan’s 25 years of experience guided them to the national gold medal and international bronze medal in Wella’s 2011 TrendVision, a sort of worldwide Super Bowl for hairstylists, and it colored these examples of the hottest trend in hair hues.
—
1923 First Ave, Belltown, 206-443-4646; couperokei.com

Two Stylists Go Small

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Young Lee

THERE’S NO NATURAL light at 27h Studio so the supermodern two-seat subterranean cave in Fremont is the perfect place to hear darkly romantic ’80s bands—and get a haircut. The owner, motorcycle-riding, Mexico-born Alejandro Ulloa (Gene Juarez, Class of 1994), spins moody Morrissey records on his low-slung midcentury hi-fi while he shapes sophisticated surfer cuts and tames curly shags.

At Gerald Wu Hair Design, the self-taught, Paris-certified owner is the one and only stylist and resident bartender (Brasa, Class of 2005); Wu mixes old fashioneds while black-and-white films flicker on the wall of his mirrored loft in Pioneer Square’s historic U.S. Rubber Building.

Image: Young Lee

Wu doesn’t even bother with a shampoo bowl. At both spots, haircuts are a byproduct of hanging out. Which doesn’t mean the bangs and bobs are anything less than highly directional and expertly executed. These designers are among the most effortlessly stylish scissor wielders in town, and both stress the need for clients to own their hairstyles—to live them, not just wear them. It’s a lofty pursuit, but it fits the low-key intimacy of their shops, and it suits a city in the process of elegantly shaking off its no-style notoriety.

They say three of anything makes a trend. Two’s probably just a cool coincidence, but we won’t be surprised to see more big thinkers getting small.

27h Studio, 3516 Fremont Pl N, Fremont, 206-371-2461; 27hstudio.com.

Gerald Wu Hair Design, 321 Third Ave S, Pioneer Square,  206-499-8755; geraldwuhairdesign.com.

Straight Talk on Straightening Techniques

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Kelsey Dake

The Iron-On: Brazilian Blowouts

OUR SOURCES SAY
Salon owner Agnes Miggins takes Brazilian-style blowouts very seriously. At her Salon Rules (3230 NE 45th St, Laurelhurst, 206-527-8537; mysalonrules.net), one- to two-hour straightening treatments start at $225; for that, hair cuticles benefit from an expertly applied gloss-inducing, frizz-defying nutrient complex. Is there any formaldehyde? Miggins says no way, but beware: This is the most hotly debated flattening procedure out there. International investigations continue to find dangerous levels of the toxin in many products, so do your research.

HOW IT WORKS
Hair is thoroughly washed up to three times and towel dried until just barely damp. A formula that includes vegetable and plant extracts, acai berry, and methylene glycol is painted on with a color brush. Hair is blown completely dry and then flatironed in small sections at very high heats. After it cools, hair is rinsed and then conditioned to counter-act the dehydrating effects of the methylene glycol. One last blowout seals the deal.

PLAN AHEAD
Brazilian blowouts allow three to five months of smooth living.

The Reverse Perm: Japanese Straightening

Image: Kelsey Dake

OUR SOURCES SAY
Todd Lucas at Zero Zero Salon (421 E Pine St, Capitol Hill, 206-568-3996; zerozerohair.com) gave us the scoop on this permanent decurling technique. He charges $100 an hour for a four- or five-hour hair adventure that utilizes ideas pioneered in Japan in the ’90s.

HOW IT WORKS
Locks are blown dry, flatironed, and then coated with a cream-based thioglycolate relaxer that effectively squashes each strand’s natural proclivity to wave or curl. After hair is rinsed, blown dry, and flatironed again, a neutralizing agent restores proteins and balances pH levels. Most Japanese treatments are formaldehyde-free. Make sure to ask if the product you’re considering is.

PLAN AHEAD
For about three days following the treatment, hair shouldn’t be washed, braided, or pinned up in any way—and exercise is out of the question. Curls can’t be popped back in anytime soon, either. Once those relaxers break the bonds that create waves and curls, they’re broken. And they’ll stay broken until new hair grows in.

NEED NOT APPLY
This isn’t the best option for heavily processed, colored, or highlighted hair, nor for dense, tight curls.

Relaxer Factor: Hydroxide Treatments

Image: Kelsey Dake

OUR SOURCES SAY
Jessica Henley, co-owner of Vasuda Salon (12317 15th Ave NE, Pinehurst, 206-525-0870; vasudasalon.com), calls in relaxing treatments when clients want to loosen thick curls and manage kinky waves. The chemical compound in these creamy products—Vasuda uses Italian brand Davines—breaks down curl-creating bonds in the hair. The process takes between two and three hours, and costs between $70 and $152.

HOW IT WORKS
Vasuda stylists start by applying a protective base to the scalp and hair. Decurling cream gets painted on and combed through; the longer the mixture’s left on, the less curl remains. After 15 to 40 minutes, it’s washed away. Neutralizing shampoo and a deep conditioning treatment follow.

PLAN AHEAD
Relaxed tresses stay smooth until new hair grows in; many clients get their roots touched up every six or eight weeks. During this time, only shampoos with naturally occurring oils should be used, and hair shouldn’t be washed too frequently.

Seattle Hair: Do You Have It?

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Spiral into Control
Actually, our damp weather works well for the curly tressed, says wave specialist Danny Velasquez. He’s at Bocz Salon now, but back in the day he taught Curls 101 at the Gene Juarez Advanced Training Salon. As it turns out, downpours and drizzle add much-needed moisture. And on dry days, Velasquez says even oil-rich hand lotion will help so long as it’s worked evenly from roots to ends—and provided it follows a gel-like setting lotion that contains alcohol. “People hate to use product, but product is key,” he says. More for tighter curls, less for loopier ones.

1523 Sixth Ave, Downtown,  206-624-9134;  boczsalon.com

Easy Does It
The coiffed can complain all they want but Seattle loves wash-and-wear hair. Rochelle Walker, a Seattle-born hair and makeup artist who did a stint in LA working in theater and TV (most notably, on season three of MTV’s The Hills) says easy can still be pretty. From her perch at the Spa at Pro Sports Club, an ultra tony Bellevue megaplex where pampered Hills star Heidi Montag would feel totally at home, Walker suggests applying some product and then twisting long hair into a bun early on in your morning routine. When you get where you’re going, unfurl the updo for wavy, Old Hollywood hair. Another option: a loose braid before bedtime that yields effortless texture and movement by morning. “It’s magic,” she promises.

4455 148th Ave NE, Bellevue, 425-895-6565; proclub.com

Meet You in the Middle
“Hair shouldn’t be difficult, but it should be crafted. It should be taken seriously,” says Robert Middleton, owner of Stylus Salon and Spa. The veteran of Gary Manuel and Halo runs a sort of styling boot camp for gals who agree. “After a shampoo, I’ll do half, and then they’ll do the other half. When it’s their turn, I can correct little things and give pointers.” It works well for trending techniques like tonging, wherein a clipless curling iron is employed to set loose relaxed, Molly Sims–style S-curls around the shoulders.

2321 Second Ave, Belltown,  206-789-5871;  stylusseattle.com

Hot Hair Trends and Where to Get Them

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Young Lee

The Look: Precision Fringe
We don’t call them bangs anymore, regardless of whether they fall just above your eyelashes or just below your hairline.

Image: Young Lee

WHO CUTS AND COLORS IT
Todd McKay slices, Abby Gorski stains; both are at Sassoon Salon, where the brand’s strong shapes call for equally dynamic shades.

1405 Fifth Ave, Downtown,  206-623-3685; sassoon.com

Image: Young Lee

WHO WEARS IT
Web designer Laura Robertson’s copper color is brighter on the ends, and her modern blunt fringe is on the verge of being too long. Impractical? Yeah, that too, but the style is super fashion forward and so cool. Totally worth the every-two-week trims. Artist Karina Johnson’s fringe is short; McKay riffed on Sassoon’s classic five-point bob to create an opened-up look that’s perfect for spring. Gorski’s quieter color treatment creates soft-hard harmony.

Image: Young Lee

IF MCKAY IS BOOKED
Try James Dean at the downtown Gene Juarez or Kellianne Benson at Vain’s First Avenue flagship. Both have experience fashioning thick, coarse, straight tresses—a hair type that demands exactitude.

Visit genejuarez.com and vain.com for locations

The Look: Mad Men Gone Modern

Short on the sides, longer on top. Run some pomade through it, hit it with a blow-dryer, and it’s ready to go.

Image: Young Lee

WHO CUTS IT
Jeff Carlson at Gary Manuel. “Everyone says they want to wake up and go, and the looks that are big for spring actually allow that. Men’s hair shouldn’t look too overdone anyway.”

2127 First Ave, Belltown, 206-728-1234; garymanuel.com

Image: Young Lee

WHO WEARS IT
Noah Trescott, who manages Caffé Vita in Pioneer Square. When a more buttoned-up look is required, he combs it over and back for something a little more Don Draper.

IF CARLSON’S BOOKED
Stop in and see Paige Walker Flores at Rudy’s on Capitol Hill for artful spins on the classic “high and tight” cut.

614 E Pine St, Capitol Hill, 206-329-3008; rudysbarbershop.com

The Look: Beachy Balayage
More fashion forward than foiled highlights—and easier to grow out—the French hair-painting technique made famous by supermodel Gisele Bündchen isn’t just a look, it’s a story. Soft, unfussy streaks make wearers look like they’ve spent the last nine months spearfishing on a private island in the Caribbean.

Image: Young Lee

WHO COLORS IT
Richard Drews at the downtown Seven Salon plays the part of the sun when that star seems to forget us. And even when it doesn’t. With an artist’s eye and a portraitist’s hand, Drews creates light in just the right places.

600 Pine St, Downtown, 206-903-1777. 101 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, 425-289-1777; 7salon.com

WHO WEARS IT
Jill McCormick, who winters in Hawaii and could rock natural highlights…but why put all that pressure on Mother Nature?

Image: Young Lee

IF DREWS IS BOOKED
Kelly Rundle at The Loft Salon, Spa, and Gallery makes investment bankers look like surfer chicks.

1925 Third Ave, Downtown,  206-527-6343; theloftsg.com

The Look: Deconstructed Bardot
Affecting the French fashion model from the ’60s would be a little much, but taking inspiration from her long layers—and gently corralling one’s natural waves—yields a spirited allure.

Image: Young Lee

WHO CUTS AND COLORS IT
Shine in the Market’s Devan White, one of Seattle’s fashion industry favorites, who says the sparkling wine shade is “an Old Hollywood blonde, not a Seattle blonde.” The layers and fringe are long and messy; sexy but not overly so. “I don’t believe women have to cut their hair when they get older,” says the stylist.

86 Pine St, Pike Place Market, 206-441-3000; shineinthemarket.com

Image: Young Lee

WHO WEARS IT
Former model Arlene Baxter. She spent the ’80s on covers of Bazaar and Cosmo; White keeps her glam with rich undertones. Because of her stylist’s expert weaving technique, Baxter can go about eight weeks between appointments.

IF WHITE’S BOOKED
See Stacie Bowie at Bowie Salon or Tony Kim at the downtown Gene Juarez. Plenty of really lovely, not-necessarily-natural blondes do.

1507 Belmont Ave, Capitol Hill, 206-568-3300; bowiesalonandspa.com. Visit genejuarez.com  for locations

Insider’s Guide to Seattle Hair

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

IF EYES ARE the window to the soul, hair is a billboard for personal style. So does it follow that born-blond Ballardites, Capitol Hill top-bunned ones, asymmetrically engineered Belltown dwellers, and shaggy brunettes from Columbia City tell a story about the city’s aesthetic? Is this the same Seattle that stood proudly behind Ann and Nancy Wilson’s feathered center parts in the late ’70s? Does our dot-com culture mean we’ll never get past that unapologetically undone look? Are our pixie cuts as cute as they are sophisticated? We wanted to know, so we cut it up with world-famous colorists, salon bigwigs, updo artists, and regular everyday folk putting their best bobs forward.

How To: Braids

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 04:00:00 -0800

Image: Kelsey Dake

Fishtail

Explained by Alanda Seifert, Swink Style Bar
611 Stewart St, Downtown,
206-682-7070;
swinkstylebar.com

1 Give hair a light tease, spritzing with volumizing mousse, texturizing spray, or pomade.
2 Divide hair into two sections behind head, or on one side of the nape of the neck for a side braid.
3 Start with a small section from the outermost edge of the right section.
4 Bring that piece over the top of the right section and then underneath the left section, so that it’s on the outermost edge of the left section.
5 Take a piece from the outermost edge of the left side, carry it over the top of the left section, and underneath the right section of hair.
6 Repeat.
7 Halfway down, hold the bottom of the braid and slip your thumb and pointer finger in between sections of completed braid to loosen it and create a purposefully messy look.

Mandy Daily from Mane Blow Dry Bar demonstrates three braiding techniques.

717 Pine St, Downtown,
206-352-6263;
maneblowdrybar.com

Videos by Justin Lapriore, Let’s Make Media