Stephen Grant Herschel was born in Zimbabwe, worked in London and was trained with Vidal Sassoon Salons.

He is a renowned hair designer and hair chemical specialist; he has devoted 23 years perfecting his craft in the art of hair design. He has devoted his career to knowing how to refine the best qualities of hair and to bring out its natural beauty. Based in Bahrain for the past 12 years, Stephen takes a realistic approach to hairstyling allowing him to create looks that highlight the individual’s best features. The GulfWeekly will be exclusively running a series of articles written by Stephen on hair care and advice. For any queries or further help please contact Stephen on 39218575 or email steveherschel@yahoo.com
BAD HAIR DAYS!
‘Hair will respond to trimming as a drooping flower would to water.’

Not a day goes by where one of my clients is not having a bad hair day. And trust me I have seen a few!
Interestingly, both men and women are negatively affected by this phenomenon, even more fascinating is our finding that individuals perceive their capabilities to be significantly lower than others when experiencing a bad hair day.
One will usually find that they wake up one morning and no matter what, the hair just wont take any shape or fall in the right position, and its true that yesterday your hair looked great but today it’s a mess, this is usually a sign for you to get a slight trim, it only takes a millimeter or so for your hair to grow and loose the shape or volume.
Hair will respond to trimming as a drooping flower would to water.
Hair grows on average 1.5 cm per month and in a warmer climate such as we live in it should be trimmed on average every four weeks to maintain the style, in colder climates there is a lot less blood flow around the body, blood vessels constrict and therefore hair tends to grow slower and is usually cut every six to eight weeks, if your stylist is co-operative they should only charge you a minimal amount for a what I call micro-trim, even if its only the fringe or bangs.
If you are having a bad hair day, its often a good idea not to make a rash decision to go to the salon and have a complete change, an impulsive need to look drastically different often results in disaster.
I always try to find the reason behind an impulsive decision. It’s usually one of the following
• To get revenge on an old lover, maybe they liked your long-flowing locks and you perhaps want to just cut them out of your life. Maybe you are going to see them at a social event and want to get their attention, this often happens … but shock and horror is usually the reaction.
• You really would like to look a little younger or perhaps a little older - going for a drastic change in your hairstyle is mostly done for age reversal. There is nothing wrong with this. If your hair is cut correctly to suit your facial shape and lifestyle it could take years off you, or even add a few on if that is your intention. But unless it is done by a professional the results could result in days of tears.
• A change of style could also make you appear to be a lot slimmer, reducing the volume and weight of the hair could emphasize a much slimmer facial shape.
• Some people indulge in a food binge, that is to say chocolates, when they are mad, sad or glad. Others reach for the scissors … and I have seen this happen so many times. I often recommend to a client that she give herself a short cooling off period to re think the situation and, trust me, your strands will thank you.
• The bottom line is, once you have made the decision to have your hair cut and you have thought it over in advance, try to look for a couple of pictures in magazines of the style you would like and take them to a trusted stylist. I always find that a picture or two gives me a guide of what you are looking for, maybe not the exact replica but perhaps a slight variation of it. Throughout my career I have met stylists who cringe when a client brings in a picture, but, in my opinion, with a little pre-consultation and a bit of reassurance, it is usually a good move.