2019 hair trends
Getty Images

How to Get French Woman Hair in 6 Easy Steps

Your hair, but Frencher

Sexy yet uncontrived hair appears to be dependent on having a Paris postal code. Could the notoriously hard water have something to do with it? To untangle the mystery of how to achieve the Rive Gauche tousle of my dreams, I paid a visit to the city’s top salons. Here’s what I learned.

FOCUS ON HEALTH

French women are serious about hair care. At the famed Leonor Greyl institute in the 8th arrondissement, clients regularly come in for hour-long treatments combining masks and oils with scalp massages, steam and suction to enhance blood flow. “It’s about maintenance and consistency, just like skincare,” says Cathy, one of the salon’s soigneuses. That title loosely translates to caretaker, because that’s what Cathy does: She takes care of hair. She doesn’t cut, colour or style it; her expertise lies entirely in its health. “I think French women tend to focus more on the quality of their hair rather than the style,” she explains. Hovig Etoyan agrees. In his Left Bank salon, more than 80 per cent of product sales fall in the hair care category. “Do you moisturize your body and get massages sometimes? Why not do the same for your head? It feels good and it makes hair more beautiful,” he says.

PICK PRODUCTS WISELY

“French women love natural ingredients and formulas that fortify and hydrate,” says Cathy. “They tend to stay away from silicone because it’s essentially makeup for your hair–it covers it, but doesn’t treat it.” Delphine Courteille, who tends to the highly coveted strands of Jeanne Damas and Inès de la Fressange, also has a bone to pick with silicone. “I know they love it in the U.S., but it’s a derivative of plastic, so it’s like putting plastic on your hair,” she says, sitting in her Art Deco salon, a few steps from the Tuileries. She believes in a less-is-more philosophy when it comes to styling aids. “North American products tend to be a bit more heavy duty, and people tend to apply a lot—it doesn’t always look natural.” She recommends simply raking a little cream or lotion through damp hair to smooth and protect it. Not sure what’s best for your hair? Just ask, says Etoyan. “Parisian women love to get advice from professionals on what to use,” he says. “They’re very meticulous in their choices.”

INVEST IN YOUR CUT

“Paris is a city where people really look at each other, so everyone takes very good care of themselves,” says Etoyan. “Even if they say, ‘Oh, I don’t make a lot of effort,’ they look after their skin, they look after their hair.” So the effortless thing is a lie? “It’s a very cute lie,” he replies, laughing. “The stylist is the one who makes the effort, but the client doesn’t want people to be able to tell she’s just spent two or three hours at the hairdresser’s.” That in-salon effort mainly centres on the careful shaping of the hair. “Everything starts with the cut,” says Courteille, who sometimes snips Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Bosworth’s split ends when they’re in town. “I like to cut the hair vertically so that it moves nicely and the edges are soft. I never thin it out too much.” She and Etoyan both believe in designing bespoke cuts for every client, carefully considering face shape, hair type and overall style. “I look at what a client is wearing, what kind of bag she’s carrying. I want to respect who she is and simply make her even more beautiful, not change or hide her,” says Etoyan.

GET BANGS YOU WON’T REGRET

From Brigitte Bardot’s swaying curtains to Jane Birkin’s lash-skimming style, nothing epitomizes French hair like über-cool bangs. Selecting the right ones for your face, however, can cause quite the headache. “I love Jeanne Damas’s little bangs,” says Courteille, who trims the It girl’s fringe once a month. “They’re very French—a bit uneven; shorter in the middle, then longer on the sides.” She recommends this look for women with longer faces or more prominent foreheads. On round faces, she likes long bangs with a bob or lob, or baby bangs teamed up with longer lengths. As for a wispy ’70s-type fringe, that’s best for oval faces, she says. But even if you don’t go for full-on bangs, consider framing your face with a few strategic snips, says Etoyan. “It’s all in the little details. Maybe one strand is a bit shorter, to dress up the face or highlight the eyes, or just so it doesn’t seem like you’ve neglected your cut.”

COLOUR THE SUBTLE WAY

And now for the all-important balayage, the French colour technique par excellence. The word itself means “to sweep,” as highlights are painted on for a natural, sun-kissed look. “We want to mimic the hair we had when we were little, because our colour tends to become ashier as we get older, whereas it’s more golden when we’re younger,” explains Courteille. She suggests combining thinner and thicker ribbons of light for the most convincing results. “In North America, you often see super-thin, uniform highlights, which don’t look as natural. Parisian women don’t like their hair to look coloured.” Diffusing the colour at the root is also key, says Etoyan. He tends to focus on the lengths and keep a bit of contrast to help highlights blend with the base and make the look super low-maintenance. “Women are busy, they want practicality. A colour that grows out well is essential.”

STYLE MINIMALLY

According to our pros, styling your hair shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes. “If you feel like you need to change your natural texture more than that, it’s either because your cut is wrong or you’re not taking proper care of your hair,” says Etoyan. “You think, ‘If I smooth it out, it’ll look silkier.’ But if your hair is in good shape, you don’t have to do that. You might do it for a special occasion because you feel like it, but it shouldn’t be a necessity.” For a quicker, easier approach, Courteille twists or braids damp hair into sections to create loose bends—this is what she does on Jeanne Damas. When she does reach for her blow-dryer, she twirls a few pieces around her finger and blasts them with cold air to set. And if she decides to go all out with a curling iron, she’ll use two barrel sizes and will alternate directions for more relaxed waves. The finishing touch is a spritz of dry texture spray. “Blowouts can look too perfect. This helps me muss it up.” Etoyan sums up that “undone”look to a T: “It’s chic yet natural. It’s Parisian.”

 

 

    More Paris