beauty

Bye bye, balayage - The Chop

After three years of long, balayage-coloured hair, psychology student and full-time nanny Margeaux Scarf decided she needed a hair change. A major one.

Lucky for us, Margeaux invited The Glow to watch stylist Renya Xydis chop it all off – then they both talked us through the process.

Margeaux

What made you decide to make a big change?

The balayage style has made my ends so dry and it is now impossible to manage my hair. I’ve had my hair cut and then coloured again three times over the past three years. The hairstylists insisted on “treatments” so I would do as they said, but my hair would improve for two days and then became dry and brittle again. It just needs to go.

Have you had any major life changes lately?

Well I’ve travelled, and am finishing up my last year of uni and going into full-time work soon. So a little lifestyle shift into a more sophisticated fashion may be deemed an appropriate change for a new hairstyle?

How did you describe what you wanted to the hair dresser?

Short enough to get rid of all the balayage but just long enough to tie it up for the gym. Relatively easy to manage, fresh and modern. I took in a photo of Katie Holmes circa 2008 and asked for it to be a tad longer.

Click through this gallery to see Margeaux’s full hair transformation:

Renya

How long did this transformation take?

Just on an hour.

What sort of inspiration did you have in mind while you were doing this client’s hair?

Miranda Otto. I did a slightly longer version of this cut on her about three years ago for the TV show Rake. I then looked at the texture of Margeaux’ hair and adapted the cut to suit her. She has a natural curl so I didn’t want to do it too short, so that she doesn’t have to worry about styling too much.

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What did the transformation involve?

First I cut off her ponytail – there’s no point in the client being at the basin for an extra 20 minutes while we try to detangle and wash the hair that we are going to cut off anyway. I started to cut a slant concave (where did this ‘Lob‘ word come from? The name for this a concave cut) from the bone at the back of her neck, feathering towards the front.

How many inches did you cut off?

About six inches.

Renya Xydis needs no introduction, but on the off chance you haven’t heard of her, she is one of Australia’s leading stylists. With over 25 years of industryexperience, Renya is the Creative Director and owner of three of Australia’s premier hairdressing salons, (Valonz, Salon X and Renya Xydis city) and beauty salon Frou Frou.

Keep up with the latest hair trends by following Valonz on Instagram here.

This is what Margeaux’s hair looks like now.

Have you recently had a major hair change? Tell us about it!

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Have you checked out Mia Freedman's big haircut?