On May 18 and 19, 2014, Christopher and Sonya Dove held an Oribe Hair Care workshop dedicated to red carpet-inspired looks. Approximately 40 stylists from salons across the country came to Oribe Hair Care’s New York Studio for the two intimate classes with the legendary educators and walked away with special occasion style inspiration, new techniques and professional images for their portfolios.
“The Oribe workshops give stylists a chance to get in there and do hair,” Sonya noted. “It’s so different, and so much more effective, than just watching platform artists on stage. I really felt like I had the opportunity to share styling tips I’ve found to be successful in the salon.”
The Doves found inspiration for the four styles they presented from red carpets and awards season. “They were all very current and will be on-trend for the coming year,” Sonya said. “The stylists in attendance kept saying how the looks we presented could be used for upcoming wedding and prom hair.” Although the styles presented were all different, they had one thing in common — using various textures within the same look. “Stylists are often working with time restraints in the salon, so this allows them to just focus on one area with texture instead of having to deal with creating it throughout the head,” Christopher said.
After The Doves finished their morning presentation, the stylists were able to get their hands in some hair. “We gave them two contrasting looks; one was very sculpted and the other was big and free,” Sonya said. “We wanted to give options because only they know what would be more popular in their salons.”
The waves for the “big and free” style were created using a flat iron and another interesting tool: pipe cleaners. “I’ve seen a similar technique done with pins, but the pins start to hurt your fingers after a while… and they can be heavy on the head,” Sonya explained. “The pipe cleaners are easier to work with and lighter, but the metal inside them still conducts heat to set the hair quickly and strongly.”
While the other look was more structured, Christopher still encouraged the stylists to eschew the idea of perfection and let the hair be a little messy. “I like to say, ‘Let the hair dance,’ which is always hard for stylists,” he said. “I hope they left the class knowing that it’s ok to loosen up and just have fun with the hair. When you get stuck in one way of doing things, it’s hard to see all the other options out there. I think we really opened that door for people.”
The stylists in attendance definitely got the message. “The Doves allowed us more freedom by allowing the finished looks to be less “perfect,” said Salon Coccole owner Donna Gentile.
“I really liked that the workshop gave us guidance, but let us explore our own way to do the style,” said attendee and Bei Capelli salon owner Nancy Cartonio. “I’ve been doing hair for 20 years and have found all education to be pretty much the same… until Oribe Hair Care. Inspiring classes like this have really kicked my styling and way of teaching the stylists back at my salon to a whole new level.”
Click through to see some of the hairstyles created in the workshop! [pagebreak]
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[Images courtesy of Oribe Hair Care]
