Hot pink was a major theme in spring's ready-to-wear, but somehow the trend seems to have infiltrated the beauty sphere as well.
Indeed, it's tough to leave the apartment without spotting a rose-colored hair 'do or two. Unsure how we felt about these punky streaks of pink, we touched base with early pink-adapter, designer Chris Benz, along with Cutler stylist Dallace Walsh and Australian color-master Greg Rugerri (of Chelsea's new "Rugerri" salon) to get expert advice on how to work the look without looking like a "Mallrats" extra. To our surprise, the entire expert panel was resoundingly pro-pink.
CHRIS BENZ AND THE PINK APPEAL: "I am loving pink right now -- all shades and uses! It’s sort of like when you get a new car and then you start to see similar cars everywhere ... selective perception. I actually had multicolored highlights through the winter, and I tired of it after such a LONG winter in New York, so I decided to go for one strong color to brighten up the rainy days. "
STYLING SECRET: "I think the trick is to balance out your look. I always wear jeans and a navy blazer, and somehow pink hair just works perfectly!"
CUTLER'S DALLACE WALSH ON ACHIEVING THE PERFECT PINK: "There are quite a few ways to get this look, the easiest will always be hair extensions. They have everything from clip-ins to ones that are glued in to ones that are held on by a little metal ring. They are all fairly inexpensive and price mainly differs on whether you have to have a professional put them in. This trend is also going much further than just pink hair. My personal favorite is a feather extension held in place by a clamped metal ring. It is unbelievably sexy!"
DO IT YOURSELF: "The other way to get the streak is, of course, to color your own natural hair. This usually involves bleaching the strand, which makes the hair very porous, and then applying a pink color back over the blonde strand of hair. It will look great, but because of the porosity will usually fade back to blonde in a week or two. Not a problem if you buy something like Manic Panic in a cotton candy color and reapply it yourself at home as often as needed."
GREG RUGERRI DIGS BRIGHT PINK PIXIE CUTS: "Pink streaks, pieces or highlights have not been high on the list [at the salon], although on the street I have been seeing a lot of variation on very short cropped hair."
CONFIDENCE IS KEY: "I remember sending a very dear Japanese girlfriend 'Flamingo Pink.' I think anyone can carry off a hair color, they just have to have the confidence to make it look good."
