I admit it. I am the ultimate hair “problem child”. I typically am afraid of seeing new stylists. While my hair grows fast, I done torturous things to my hair– by my own hand and at the hand of others.
My hair has been every shade but blue and black – but it’s been a horrid orange that a celebrity colorist created for me (not realizing that my hair would oxidize and change because it’s got a red base). My current colorist is really great and saves me money by just doing highlights/lowlights into my hair and it’s a warm caramel-ish color and it looks pretty good.
I have had haircuts that turned my curly head into a poodle like hair do (OMG! NO lie!)…. so when I finally found a couple of stylists who I know could cut my hair (and they are on my blog too) I tend to be loyal. One too many bad hair cuts, I get fearful sitting in the chair of a stylist if I am not sure they *know* how to treat curly hair because the texture is quite different than other hair types. (When you cut curly hair, it’s actually shorter than it looks! The curl coils up and thus gets much shorter! Little Orphan Annie here we come! )
(Tired of this diary? It’s over now)
A PR person I have known for ever and she’s a friend, emailed to tell me that she had new clients– Christopher and Sonya Dove. My email went back faster than the speeding bullet, ” THE DOVES? The Wella Doves? ” .
The Doves Salon Entry
The phone rings, it’s Susie Dobson, PR Extraordinaire to cut through the emails and yes it is THE Doves– Sonya and Christopher Dove , Wella’s Creative Directors for over 16 years. She’s surprised that I have been following their career and creative direction for over 10 years. These people are totally genius– gorgeous colors, amazingly unique cuts. What’s interesting is that while they do trend cuts, they also do cuts for everyday people like you and me.
Did I get your attention yet? If so, keep reading. If not, keep on reading– it does get better!
Sonya and Christopher Dove are world-reknown hair stylists and colorists. They are truly the gold standard in the hair and beauty industry. They are known for the exquisite shows at the hair and beauty shows– because their portion of the programs always integrates and involves movement, music, color, makeup and even dance. The most current ISSE show in Long Beach, CA showed an amazing concept of key styles that have emerged over the years involving the juxtaposition of time, music and fashion and they reflected the unique hair style of each period in their color and cuts on dancers (not models) and you were able to see how the hair moved!
The Doves Salon Color Bar ( it looks a bit like a coffee shop doesn’t it?)
Not only for hair stylists at beauty shows, Sonya and Christopher work on editorial shoots to create unique one of a kind looks. This ability to cross over from training into editorial editorial is a fabulous talent and they get to travel all over the world but they also wanted to put down roots and have their own salon to train both their staff and also other outside stylists so that they have the benefit of a really great color and/or styling education.
Here is a video of the salon and the Doves so you will have that to check out.
These top-flight celebrity stylists (yes….. they have celebrity clientele like Jennifer Hudson and lots of others. Eye-popping clients!) will be on hand in Santa Monica within 2 blocks of the Independent Spirit Awards Saturday night so that celebrities can get a quick touch-up or redo!
With a long-standing Wella professional relationship as creative directors that take them on the road + training stylists and colorist + celebrity clients + editorial photo shoots, when would they have time for regular consumer clients? That’s the point of THE DOVES Salon . Think of this as the practical lab where they actually get to see regular people and adopt and adapt techniques to regular life. While they have all the accolades and international reputation, they are regular people too– nice, friendly and interested in what goes on on top of your head and how to integrate a color and cut that works with your personal style.
Christopher and Sonya Dove
Let’s jump back to the beginning. When I arrived at The Doves Salon, I had a bit ot trepidation. They are masters at what they do- in color and cutting — so I wasn’t quite as fearful as I have been with other stylists who have played with my hair or its color. They were oohing and ahhing while they assessed the texture of my hair (curly, soft, fine) and we chatted about the kinds of products I use and how I like my hair. The consultation took about 20 minutes as we talked about what I wanted to do which was shorten the cut up.
Here’s a shot that shows you the basic cut from early 2007. It was about 2 inches longer over all than this photo when The Doves saw me.
So imagine it a bit blonder, a bit more caramel with more depth and also longer and the curls really spiraling out there.
Christopher sketched out an idea that would work with my hair but it did involve a real change in my personal presentation. An A-line cut with longer sides and a much much shorter back that would be very cropped and flippy while the top and sides would be seriously longer and allow the curls to be even curlier.
With Sonya there and Christopher showing me the sketch, I tossed my concerns to the wind and realized that hair grows but with a cut from The Doves, it could be nothing but fabulous.
However — it was a change , a serious change because I had very very long hair and had gotten shorter in the last couple years.
This was the shortest cut I had gotten that didn’t turn me into Little Orphan Annie. They used soft styling products to keep the curls soft and closer to the head. Christopher kept playing with the curls because every time he did something , it changed the look- and with my hair, it really does change the look if you play with it. He played with the curls on top and worked product into the close-cropped back and neckline to kick the hair up into textured bits.
Do understand that the hair color is blond and caramel in front and top but underneath, it’s a much darker color– deep brown. Sonya and Christopher loved that I hadn’t wiped out the dimension by going completely blonde. This style was specifically created to emphasize the dimension and diversity in my look.
Knowing that the next day I would use my usual products and the curls would really emerge as corkscrew, spirals and ringlets, I could see this was a cut that would really work for me– it just felt so different.
So about 10 days later, I went out to dinner with a couple of newly married friends to meet up at a killer local restaurant. Despite the rain, my hair held up great . My friend (the wife) loved the cut. Everyone who has seen this cut has commented positively. Even people at the Oscar Suites and events whether they knew me (and didn’t recognize me at first) or those who didn’t (like Collier Strong, L’Oreal Cosmetics’ Make-Up Artist Consultant) loved the style. There were people who hadn’t seen me in at least 2-3 years who commented very positively about it.
It was like the perfect cut for creating a buzz about who I am.
My friends have said it looks very European/French. Others have just been inspired that I would lop off so much hair (at least 4 inches in the back) and about 3-5 inches off the top and sides). I just refer them to The Doves, because this isn’t a cut that just “anyone” could do, but only a true master with a razor (yes! a razor, not a pair of scissors!!!) could do this.
Here’s the after shot:
Quite a difference in style isn’t it? I love it! It’s so different and is a huge step in my style evolution that I have been working on for the last year.
If you have a chance to visit the Doves, do take in the ambiance and look carefully at the salon design. It’s been featured in Japan Vogue and it’s extremely unique in its presentation. The colors flow, the space is open and it’s not at all what one would think of as a salon. Considering it’s Christopher and Sonya Dove’s salon, it’s not meant to be conventional. It’s meant to be quite different and fashion and artistically forward thinking– just like them.
FYI, in case you book an appointment, tell them I sent you. They are the nicest, friendliest people! (REALLY!!)
The Doves– Don’t let time fly by, make sure you hit their salon for a real treat!
Stevie Wilson
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