un•der•cut:

^{Shorten layers underneath the hair; lets hair lay more smoothly and creates a better shape by removing bulk.}

Wednesday and Thursday they were led through a variety of demonstrations and exercises by instructors from the Charles Worthington Academy. “We loved the Charles Worthington team – they’re all about making sure everyone has the proper training, and they have such a great team morale there.” Some of the highlights of their classes:

Short Hair: “For shorter clients it’ll be about introducing some undercutting that will make your cut so much more interesting and flexible,” said Adrianne, going on to talk about the endless styles that can be created through the technique. 

“They also did a demonstration using clippers to create a really blunt edge, something I’d never seen before—it really had a nice, dramatic effect to it," a technique that works for short or long cuts [photo].

Long Hair: “We did a lot of soft internal layering to keep hair looking less bulky,” said Adrianne. Knowing big changes can be a little daunting for clients attached to their long locks, Adrianne talked about some smaller changes:

“It could be playing with an interesting fringe or encouraging my clients to try a fishtail braid [photo],” going on to talk about the sky-high ballerina bun [photo] to change things up from your tried-and-true bun.

The perfect complement to sometimes daunting (but potentially phenomenal) styles above? “Whether it’s a simple change or something more extreme, it’s crucial that I understand my client’s lifestyle and their abilities with their hair."

"They really focused on that in the class—but it’s something we really pride ourselves on at Maxine.” Even a cut that’s structurally perfect in every way can be a failure, purely through miscommunication with the client.

When they weren’t in class (or watching gravity-defying runway hair), they were taking in the rest of what London had to offer. Walking down the street, Adrianne noticed how daring British women were when it came to their hair, “They’re very bold and confident; it wouldn’t be unusual for almost every girl on the street to have a short, kind of androgynous cut.”

The common theme for the competition, the runway show, and their classes? “Finding different ways to reapproach classic looks.”

^{"The Shuffle"}