Your hair is the axis of your beauty, and the skillful hairdresser studies the shape of your head and the features of your face before deciding which arrangement suits your hair.
Some women let themselves be swept along with the current of the latest fashion in hairdressing, heedless of how it looks and whether it harmonizes with their own features; and this is the very error that artistic taste will not sanction, for true beauty is the harmony of face and hair.
Here are three faces of different shapes:
(1) Salma, for instance, has a long face, squarish around the jaws. Her hair is short, parted at the side, well brushed upward and then outward along a line parallel to the temples — and this suits the width of her jaws. The deep, soft wave above her forehead lends charm and luster to her small features, and her hair, cut short, forms a graceful frame for the face.
(2) Jamal's face is triangular,
heart-shaped, with a prominent nose. The wave of hair at the middle extends down to near the eyebrow, and this softens the plainness of her nose; and the half-curl covering her ears helps to show off the beauty of the chin and cheeks.
(3) As for Siham's face, it is classic, its features well proportioned, and it can carry a bolder style in the dressing of her hair. It is parted in the middle and drawn up on both sides to the crown of the head, where it is knotted and then combed to form a round knot at the back. Her hair is no longer than her shoulders, but the combing brings out its beauty and splendor.
Such is hairdressing in the salons of the upper class; but what is one of us to do if her circumstances do not allow her to go daily to these salons?
Few women know the means they can use to dress their own hair, and the reason for this is lack of practice and experience. It is necessary to go to the hairdresser from time to time to have your hair thinned and evened; and if you observe that operation attentively, you can learn it after a little practice. The secret is to know the time within which your hair must be trimmed — not after it has grown thick and become difficult to handle — and it is likewise your duty to keep your hair clean and sound.
You must set yourself a rule and follow it in dressing your hair, lest you fall into confusion and arrive at a muddled result. Take care to follow the proper method: divide your hair into rows, then cut these rows up into squares, one square
to each curl, going along one side before you take up the whole head. Lift each lock separately, gather its ends, then wind it around your finger in the direction you wish; fasten it with two pins, so that the one crosses over the other.
Make this curling low on your head if you want the waves to be broad; and when the hair dries, brush it out. Arrange the back of your hair without looking in the mirror — by touch alone. Make it a habit; in this way it becomes easy, and after a little practice you will reach a result that satisfies you!