From The Straits Times    |

Avril Lavigne anyone How to get super straight hair CKANE CHLOE b1.png

Poker-faced lasses with poker straight locks, as seen on the Christopher Kane and Chloe Spring 2014 runways © Showbit

Nineties kid at heart? High-five, girl friend. This hair how-to guide was a happy marriage of nostalgia and sheer serendipity.

Here’s what went down. We were just flipping through our sticker-strewn diaries (yes, writing was once done by hand) and harking back at our halcyon years of youth when we chanced upon a yellowed clipping of a scowling Avril Lavigne staring right back at us.

Now those are locks we’d dearly love to rock. If only we could pull off poker-straight hair without looking like we had tumbled through a time portal …

As it turns out, the Spring 2014 shows were rife with rad hairdos that appeared lifted from Avril Lavigne’s lookbook – with a clever contemporary twist, of course.

Avril was flat (her hair, not her voice), but the straight strands sported on this year’s runways boast a barely perceptible volume at the roots: The key, it seems, keeping it fresh and fabulous.

In the spirit of Ms Lavigne’s classic anthem, here’s how to cop the coiffure without getting too complicated:

STEP 1. Greasy hair isn’t a good look for anyone, aspiring rocker chicks included. Prep and prime the night before by treating your tresses to a nourishing soak in the shower.

Percy and Reed3.jpg

We’re huge fans of Percy & Reed’s Super Soft Shampoo and Conditioner, both of which are crammed to the cap with comforting camellia and grapeseed oils, both of which are said to score you hair that’s “soft, shiny and marvellously manageable”. Who knew? The London-based beauty brand’s copywriters are clearly alliterative appreciators after our own heart.

STEP 2. Divvy up your blow dried hair into manageable sections; two inches’ width is about right. Start clipping near the nape: The frizzy “baby hair” at the back of your neck needs the most finessing.

Percy and Reed2.jpg

STEP 3. Spritz on a heat-protective veil by way of Percy & Reed’s It’s So Cool Heat Protect Styling Mist.

With a pre-heated wide plate flat iron, straighten out any kinks by starting from the mid-shaft – incredibly important, because this maintains volume and prevents scalp burns – moving in a swift sideways motion all the way to the tip.

Here’s a great tip. Instead of dragging your iron downwards, gently lift the sectioned hair up and away from the scalp, then down to the sides. This gives a fuller, less flat finish that’s very fetching indeed.

STEP 4. Finish with a fortifying blast of shine-boosting spray – again, avoiding the roots to prevent heaviness at the scalp – and you’re good to go.

Viola! A gloriously glossy, beautifully bouncy mane of hair that, after the pixies and post-pixies, bobs and wobs we’ve witnessed this year, is a refreshing throwback to the straight and narrow. Avril would approve!

Percy & Reed Super Soft Shampoo, $40 for 200 ml, Super Soft Conditioner, $44 for 200 ml, and It’s So Cool Heat Protect Styling Mist, $38 for 200 ml, are available at all Sephora stores. For more information, visit www.percyandreed.com and follow Percy & Reed on Facebook.

Coach ID Lanyard
Now $75
Original price: $168
Shop Now
Jabra Elite 4 Wireless Earbuds
Now $88
Original price: $162
Shop Now
BaByliss Air Pro 2300
Now $63
Original price: $144
Shop Now
Abib Collagen Eye Patch
Now $19
Original price: $35
Shop Now