I've now been out of the full-time modelling game for almost as long as I was in it, and only now am I starting to get used to the fact that I have full control over my own hair.
As a model, my hair was – for the right money – completely up for grabs. It was so very rarely the hair that I wanted it to be that I almost forgot what it was that I wanted. Just longish, tousled, Kate-Moss-cool hair, I suppose. Something with a bit of texture that didn’t hang like curtains but that, equally, wasn’t frazzled and frayed at the ends, making me look like I’d been electrocuted.
It’s ironic that I probably spend more time on my hair now than I ever did as a full-time model. Yet sometimes it's easy to forget that hair should be good fun. There’s nothing as instantly transformational as a great hair style, which was why I jumped at the chance to shoot three of my favourite looks.
It was something of a trip down memory lane, with a style from each major era of my life – the hairstyles that have shaped me, if you will.
'80s MARILYN MONROE
The first look was a full-on Marilyn style with loads of added volume and height. This was probably the most requested style when I was booked as a model, which meant that I spent the majority of my mornings in rollers, waiting for curls to set, or being tonged and backcombed to within an inch of my life.
It’s amazing what the human scalp can take – I think that I eventually lost sensation in mine, after the thousandth time it was scorched with a curling iron – but thankfully our hair stylist treated me with kid gloves. There were no tears.
At any rate, the look is worth every minute of inconvenience – it was always my favourite and never fails to make me feel glamorous. My hair was prepped with the OGX Thick & Full + Biotin & Collagen. range – it gives fine hair a thicker, fuller appearance which is key to getting that huge, show-stopping volume.
GET THE LOOK
"To keep the look contemporary, soft curls and volume on the top emphasise the natural texture of your hair," explains hair stylist Takuya Uchiyama who transformed Ruth's hair on the shoot. "Apply a thickening product to wet hair and blow dry using a paddle brush. Then use small curling tongs to wrap the hair before brushing out for a softer effect."
'90s COOL GIRL PONY
When I was a teenager, a ponytail was the look du jour. Although then we used to scrape it back as violently as possible and leave two greased strands out at the front to “frame the face”. The horror. This OGX look was a softer, updated up-do that’s entirely more flattering.
Textured and teased-out, it’s forgiving and elegant even if it doesn’t give you the instant face-lift that a pulled-back ponytail does. If I had to pick my most popular post-babies, no-fuss hairstyle, it would probably be this one. The deconstructed chignon is a modern classic; a delicate, feathery sort of style that looks effortless but at the same time smart.
I used to love a chignon full of hair pins but now I avoid them because the fear of small children finding pins and inserting them enthusiastically into various parts of their faces is ever-present! Instead, I fix everything into place with vast amounts of hairspray. But if you get the texture right, you’re over halfway there – we used OGX Renewing + Argan Oil of Morocco Shampoo to boost my roots and then some OGX Moroccan Sea Salt Spray to give a gorgeous, tousled look to the lengths.
GET THE LOOK
"A casual pony with a twisted bun has a '90s vibe but with a modern edge thanks to the texture around the hairline," Takuya explains. "Apply any texturising product, such as a salt water spray, and tie it up without brushing it first. Apply pins to hold and keep the ends loose."
Organix Moroccan Sea Salt Spray 175 ml
Ruth's Hair History
'00s WET LOOK
he slicked-back look is possibly the most deceiving of all hair styles. Surely, you would think to yourself, it’s just a matter of wetting your hair and combing it off your face? Well in a sense yes. You can just do that and – for five minutes at least – you have the slicked-down hair-do of a James Bond siren emerging from the sea. You’re a YSL model in a Le Smoking tuxedo. You’re a razor-cheekboned powerhouse. In reality, if you don’t want your slicked back hair to dry and return to normal faster than you can eat a Solero, you need to use oils and gels, and comb it back in (small, excruciating) layers.
Still, it’s sexy and – if you’ve gelled it – incredibly long-lasting. Sleep with this style at your own peril – once I awoke to find a number of dead insects stuck to my head along with quite a lot of white lint from the hotel bed linen. It’s like being a walking clothes roller. Seeing as though we were slicking everything back, we used the opportunity to apply a potent repair treatment. My hair felt amazing once I washed everything out with the OGX Every Straightening + Brazilian Keratin Smooth collection!
GET THE LOOK
"This look is simple and clean," explains Takuka. "Apply a thickening product for extra hold to the front section. Then when your hair is half dry, add a hair wax to the roots. For a natural wet-look finish with a slick of hair cream from roots to ends."
