Joseph Bespoke Hairdressing Ilkley

Morning, for this Easter we’re collecting Easter Eggs for underprivileged children in our area. If you’d like to donate any, you can bring them for your next appointment or drop them off.

Thanks 🐣

When it comes to colouring hair, the desire to go blonde is nothing new. People have been using chemical treatments to lift and lighten hair for thousands of years with varying degrees of success, and safety.

Blonde has always been associated with youth, goodness and beauty – and while today’s clients look to social media to find their colour inspiration, in days gone by it was goddesses and figures from classic myths and legends that served as celebrity inspiration.

Throughout Ancient Egypt, Rome and Greece, there is no shortage of evidence of people colouring their hair blonde to emulate these celestial beings – more than 100 recipes for hair dye were found in Roman ruins! While some wannabe blondes sprinkled real gold dust or pollen on their hair to get the desired look, it was more common to bake the hair under the hot sun with a coating of lifting ingredients; ranging from the relatively natural white wine, elderberries and honey to a highly unpleasant blend of bird p**p, sulphur and quicklime – all of which had horrific side effects ranging from burning the scalp to fatal poisoning.

This questionable approach to hair colouring continued into the Middle Ages, with women using calf kidneys, eggs and flowers to create blonde hair colourants – or, as people had done for centuries, donning blonde wigs to get the desired result.

People continued to use potent mixtures of fruit, plant and animal extracts for hundreds of years, but it wasn’t until the late 1800s when modern hair colour formulas as we know them today started to be developed. L’Oréal was founded in 1910 by Eugene Schuler, who created the first synthetic hair colour and from there, brands started developing their own safer, more effective blonding products. In 1917, double-processing was born; stripping natural colour, then applying a second colour in the second process.

While people were still nervous about the side effects of hair colour, the popularity of bleach blonde Hollywood icons like Jean Harlow continued to drive demand. A natural brunette, her blonde was achieved with a combination of ammonia, peroxide, laundry detergent and household bleach – which when mixed, created a noxious gas. Her hair ended up so damaged, she wore wigs from her early twenties.

With the 1950s came the emergence of home colour that could lighten without lifting – and finally, colouring hair became less taboo and something that women didn’t have to hide. Clairol was one of these homecare brands, and they were credited with introducing the phrase, ‘blondes have more fun’ with their 1956 campaign.

In the 1970s, natural-looking blondes became the trend, with the introduction of highlighting. While the dreaded highlighting cap was first used in the 1900s, it was during the 1970s that this technique really came to the fore, before being largely replaced with foils in the 1980s, thanks to the freedom of placement and application that they provided.

Balayage – or free-hand painting of colour – developed in Paris in the 1970s, when the acclaimed Carita salon started promoting the technique. Originally called Balayage a Coton, thanks to the cotton wool pieces used to separate sections, it became popular with celebrity hairdressers in the US following a New York Times feature.

Today, there’s more choice than ever when it comes to blondes – from natural-looking balayage effects to creative pastels and dramatic blondes, without the damage, thanks to in-built bond strengtheners and innovative plexes.

While techniques and formulations might have changed – very much for the better! – the desire to transform hair colour is as strong today as it was in the earliest days of humankind.

This Easter we’re collecting for the eggceptional local food bank Foodbank here in Ilkley – this charity do such incredible work to feed the communities of our city.

So we’re again asking our clients to join in & donate to our salon’s an Easter egg or 2 – So when you’re next in the supermarket buying eggs for your family or children, please grab an extra to spread some community love 💗 🐣

Your eggs will go to families and children who can have a treat - We couldn’t even imagine what it must be like not to even receive a lovely egg at Easter.

Thank you all. Xx

As of tomorrow Phillip will be away on holiday from the salon until Saturday 11th March, due to our holiday - so if you message us, there might be a delay in your reply as we’ll be relaxing and enjoying the time off to spend together.

The girl’s will of course be working as per normal.

Thank you xx

On this occasion of Pancake Day, we wish that you enjoy the yummiest pancakes loaded with goodness to make this day an extra special one!!

Why The Chunky Bob Is Spring’s Hottest Haircut

The sun is en route, and with it a hairstyle that is every bit as light and breezy as the spring season. The chunky bob is a flattering, super cool cut that has a carefree feel to it, making it an ideal style to try as the warmer months roll in.

Hailey Bieber is a recent convert, and other stars who have sported it over the years include Kaia Ge**er, Selena Gomez, Romy Schneider, Kelly McGillis (see the original Top Gun).

“This bob is defined by its chunky edge,” explains Phillip, who says the style is super popular in his salon right now. “It doesn’t look razored (although it might be), and it has a blocky weight to the ends. Often it also kicks out a bit at the ends, which gives it a kind of softness.”

“It tends to be one length, but the way we’ve been doing it at Joseph Bespoke is taking the cut very slightly shorter around the face, just to help frame the features,” explains Phillip. “They’re worn a little straighter than other bobs – avoid tonging or too much of a wave. This is a straighter, chunkier, heavier bob. It’s simple and more graphic than some other styles.”

Super low-maintenance and easy to wear, if it’s cut right, it requires very little styling. However, there are easy ways to switch it up if you desire, so it’s versatile too. As well as playing with your parting placement – chunky bobs look as excellent worn in a side parting as they do with a centre part – try injecting some movement into mid lengths and ends with texturising spray or Anti-Gravity Spray. We love Kevin Murphy’s Ever Smooth for a sleek finish, smooth flyaways with Kevin Murph’s Young Again Oil.

The perfect haircut for a subtle spring revamp, the chunky bob belongs on your hair moodboard.

Gorgeous transformation 😍🪄

I’ve said it once, and i’ll say it again… as a salon we hate Olaplex and what it makes the hair feel like & what damage we’ve noticed it’s caused some of our clients.

We always strive to colour your hair well whilst keeping the integrity healthy and strong.

There are many alternatives that we can offer in salon that keep your hair much stronger, glossy, moisturised and healthy without any compromise

Olaplex products cause hair loss, lawsuit claims Twenty-eight women are suing the haircare company, saying its products ruined their hair.

Hi I’m Hannah, I’m the one who keeps the salon running smoothly and assist everyone, I’m always busy either at work, college and I work in a bar. 3 things about me:-
🔸I need a good strong coffee in the morning.
🔸I’m a gym bunny (it helps me stay sane)
🔸you’ll always see me with perfect nails

Morning, 👋 we now have an Instagram page as josephbespoke_ilkley. Join us there so you can see what we’re up to!! 💜

instagram.com

Yes, we’re back with another twist on the classic bob, and this time it’s all about the Bullet Bob, which we expect may be a rising trend for 2023.

You may have recently seen Florence Pugh on the cover of Vogue’s Winter Issue, and it’s giving us all the Bullet Bob vibes we could ask for.
Which is why, we spoke to the hair pros to get some insight on 2023’s next bob trend.

After witnessing the mullet, wolf cut and s**g cut rise to TikTok fame over the past couple of years, it was only a matter of time before we saw the mullet take a spin on a classic look. “The Bullet Bob is a gender-neutral haircut for 2023 that falls short in the sides and longer in the back – think classic bob meets the mullet,” says Phillip. “It is a haircut that is low maintenance for clients, although it will require six-weekly visits to the salon to keep the shape looking strong!”

This surprisingly chic look is suitable for most face shapes as the length can be from jaw line to just above the shoulder, And with the style being low maintenance, it will suit most client’s lifestyles.

Hot on the heels of the wolf cut comes another haircut that is all about that effortless, cool look, focusing on layers and shaping around the face. We spoke to Cutting Specialist, Jack Mead to get the lowdown on the ‘cool girl haircut’.

What is the cool girl haircut?
Designed to sit softly and work with clients’ natural hair growth, Jack tells us: “The cool girl haircut is an approach taking inspiration from the 90s, where you keep most of the length and focus on shaping around the face, with long layers that get shorter around the front (but not as short as a s**g cut, for example).”

And according to Jack, it’s hot on the agenda for 2023. “This haircut will be popular this year because it’s going back to that effortlessly cool vibe, although it’s very technical and takes great understanding of balance and shape,” he says. “It’s also low maintenance like balayage, so in an economic crisis it means people can go longer in between haircuts and requires very little maintenance with styling so it’s easy for your clients to care for their hair by not using heat.”