Breathing New Life Into This Beijing Mom’s Luscious Locks
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Candy Perez is your typical Beijing expat mom. This year, however, has been anything but typical for her and her family. Like many who were taken aback by China’s decision to shut the borders following the global COVID-19 outbreak, Perez and her three kids — Bella (17), Jonah (11), and Dean (9) — found themselves stranded in the States for the better part of 2020. Only having recently returned, Perez and her family have been working to catch up with all that they had missed in their absence from Beijing.
Before the makeover
Admittedly, having three kids will run any mom off her feet. Between working to help the entire family readjust to their return to Beijing, and the normal running of a household, Perez has had little time to do much in the way of self-care, making her a perfect candidate for this month’s Indulge spot. This day was, however, a bit nerve-wracking for Perez. You wouldn’t know to look at her luscious locks, but in the past, Perez suffered from Alopecia totalis – a condition where someone’s immune system attacks their hair follicles, resulting in the total loss of hair.
Thankfully, this condition is not permanent, and once assessed by a physician, several effective therapies can be recommended to reverse the process of hair loss. This doesn’t diminish how traumatic losing one’s hair can be. The experience of eventually growing back her hair, patiently coaxing it to its former glory, had Perez rather reticent on doing much with it, instead adopting a “live and let grow” attitude. But she finally decided to bite the bullet and give her now full head of hair a much needed and well-deserved revamp.
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Having entrusted her hair to the genius that is Laurent Falçon, owner of the Laurent Falçon Salon in Sanlitun, Perez was ready to have some fun. To start, Perez and Falçon decided to go shorter, adding shape and body to the lanky tresses with playful layers. The next step was lifting the color to achieve a balayage effect, taking Perez from honeycomb to bombshell blonde.
Bleaching can be incredibly damaging to the hair, leaving it dry, brittle, and listless. After achieving just the right level of blonde, Perez was rinsed off, and the bleaching process was followed up with an Olaplex treatment. We have written about Olaplex several times in the Indulge section since it works wonders when it comes to reconstructing bonds in each strand of damaged hair. It is an important step in ensuring your bleached hair remains healthy, strong, and shiny at the end of your service. Following up on the Olaplex treatment, Perez’s hair was toned to reduce the brassiness which may occur from a bleaching service. Then it was on to styling!
A master at the round brush blowout, Falçon proceeded to add some bounce to Perez’s newly layered hair, then added tight flat iron curls, before fluffing them out to create a voluminous side-sweep to flatter Perez’s face.
Next, her makeup! With the brightness of the hair, it was important to bring some warmth to Perez’s skin, while keeping the overall makeup look autumnal and soft. And to tie it all together, Perez chose a beautiful autumnal ensemble, a classic combination of a cardigan, jeans, and knee-length riding boots, perfect for a chilly autumn day but one that can also go from day to night effortlessly. In the end, Perez got a well-deserved day of pampering and a look that says ‘forever summer’ to match her sunny personality!
Keep your bleached hair healthy
For brassy results after a bleaching treatment, always keep a bottle of purple shampoo handy. Purple shampoo counteracts the orange hue, leaving perfectly blonde tresses.
Add a Keratin shampoo and conditioner to your hair care regimen to maintain the strength and health of your hair.
Following a professional Olaplex 1 and 2 treatment at a salon, you can get Olaplex 3, which is designed as an at-home treatment, to maintain the results of the initial Olaplex treatments.
In winter, it is important to add a sheen oil or gloss to your regimen. The oil not only lubricates the hair, but it also reduces static and provides a protective shield against the harsh elements.
Laurent Falçon, French Style Salon
F/2, Sanlitun North Street South
三里屯北街南43号楼
www.laurent-falcon.com
(6409 4243)
This article originally appeared in the beijingkids 2020 November issue.
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Photos: Uni You
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