TOAD paid a visit to the salon to learn how to nail Farrah Fawcett’s iconic look, with a modern twist.
It can be challenging to master some of the fashion crazes of the ages. Perhaps the most well-remembered and idolised look of the seventies was Farrah Fawcett’s long blonde locks with a feathered style. It’s a look many know how pull off, however we spoke to Mansour Baakliny at Artistic Hair Salon to find out how to execute this oh-so-chic style.
Mansour has been working in Abu Dhabi for more than ten years, so we trusted him with the task of glamourising us, ’70s style. Something with a little Farrah Fawcett feel was on the cards. Fawcett shot to stardom with her iconic look in the 1976 ‘red swimsuit’ poster and appearance in Charlie’s Angels, and we love the look, so we checked the photos briefly to make sure that is what we wanted before Mansour assured us of his inspiration. ‘We are going to do it like Farrah but with something a little more modern,’ he tells us.
The ’70s look see-sawed between a variety of super-straight flat hair and flouncy, big hair. Never ones to shy away from big hair – we felt the bigger the better for this occasion.
To start with, a wash and light blow-dry to prepare the hair. Our hair is a little dry so a product to protect it is applied. Mansour expertly uses the curling iron to create barrel curls all through our tresses. Each stand of hair is a thin piece and he transforms them into cascading curls roughly an inch in diameter.
‘This look is all about big hair, which is actually coming back in fashion in Europe,’ Mansour tells us.
Once our hair is completely curly, he asks us to lean forward, flicking our hair downwards. Mansour then breaks up the curls with his fingers, slightly teasing our hair as he does it. We flick our hair back over our shoulders and look at the result. This gives us big loose curls that almost look like Farrah Fawcett’s iconic photos (just the hair, sadly).
Next, Mansour parts our hair. Where else, of course, would you part your hair but straight down the middle? It instantly gives the look a little Farrah feel, our fringe cascades down the sides of our face.
If this wasn’t retro enough, to add a little body, Mansour works on sections of hair on the crown of our head, giving it a little body and a mini-bouffant feel. You don’t have to include this step, but who can resist that extra va-va-voom. We enquire about pinning the sides to further elevate the hair, but Mansour opts out of this last request. ‘It’s a bit much,’ he says, smiling.
The last step is to douse our locks in hairspray to lock in the look. It’s big, bold and (we think) beautiful. The end result is a big mane of soft curls with a bit of body on the crown to lengthen the hair. We are now ready to put our flares on and hit the roller-disco. This is one hair-do to try yourself.
Artistic Hair Salon, Dusit Thani hotel, Muroor Road (02 444 6876).
Other styles to try for that seventies look
The headband
Probably the easiest and most popular style to try, this is a maintenance hairstyle that can be accessorised with a flower or woven headband worn horizontally around the forehead. Try with sleek straight or slightly tousled hair.
The stack-perm
A fashionable take on helmet hair, this look became popular in the late seventies and gives hair a new level of anti-gravity. Curling the bottom and mid-section of the hair but keeping the upper flat, this is a little harsh on hair due to the chemicals. Think Donna Summer for inspiration on this one.
The afro
The afro-perm came in fashion and managed to stay en vogue until the ’80s, for good reason. Bigger is better and plenty of salons are happy to oblige in this permanent styling.
The shag
Introducing Jane Fonda, circa 1971. This unisex cut is a no frills, easy to carry-off style made famous by Fonda, Joan Jett, Mick Jagger and David Cassidy.
