Linsey Crisler and her husband Kenneth Jackman both work at the US Embassy in Beijing. They moved here in January 2013, with their three children; sons Caleb (age 9) and Isaac (7) who attend Yew Chung International School of Beijing (YCIS), and daughter Claire (3). The family plans to stay in Beijing for the holidays and celebrate with friends. “My favorite thing about the holidays is the music,” says Crisler. “I love going to concerts and performances and hearing it piped into stores and restaurants. I feel like every year I start smiling from the moment I hear the first bars of “Jingle Bells!”
Before our makeover, Crisler’s hair is in a completely natural, virgin state: she has only had it colored once before, 15 years ago. Her hair is naturally curly, and she finds it very difficult to find a good stylist, even back home. “I had one good hair stylist in DC, and he moved,” she laughs. “Now I just have it cut once a year. When it gets long enough to pull back in a pony tail, I know it’s time to get it cut.”
Fellow American Clayton Olsen is creative stylist at Z Hairdressing, is also American, and his friendliness and thorough consultation really put Crisler at ease. “Linsey is a super active mom, I want to help her replicate the salon look easily at home.” Olsen says. So before beginning the restyle, he applies a Keratin smoothing treatment. “Beijing has dry and polluted air, and keratin treatment adds a strong layer of proteins to protect the hair shaft and reduce curl and frizz,” he says. The treatment will last three to four months and make Crisler’s hair much more managable.
Olsen chooses a palette of cool-toned browns to cover Crisler’s gray and compliment her skin tone. He uses Inoa color which is oil-based and ammonia-free, perfect for someone new to color and unsure of skin sensitivities. As Crisler’s hair is already quite short, he plans to keep the length and add some soft layers.
Crisler is delighted with her new look. “It was nice to be surprised, and pleasantly so. I feel like a better version of the real me. My hair feels amazing and I love the color. It is an attainable transformation, I can duplicate the look on my own, and that’s really important,” she says. “I’m busy, like all moms, and my beauty routine is low on my priority list. I didn’t want the result to be anything drastic, I was just hoping to see a enhanced version of my regular self and I am very pleased with the results.”
She also really enjoyed the process. “[Olsen] in particular was terrific. He had great ideas and his execution was perfect. I would certainly go back and am planning to.”
Get the Look:
1 Olsen evens the ends, and adds some texture. “This cut would have had an entirely different effect on her previously tightly curled hair,” he says.
2 Hair is sectioned and painted with levels cool-mid and lighter browns for dimension, adding more depth and shine while also providing full gray coverage.
3 Ka Wah, makeup artist, cleans, moisturizes, and primes the face, and applies foundation. He applies eyeliner, brushes mascara deeply into the eyelashes, and shapes Crisler’s eyebrows. “Fuller, stronger eyebrows can accentuate the eyes or balance your jaw line,” he says. He finishes with a bright lipstick, which he
recommends as an easy way to improve the appearance of winter skin tones.
Z Hairdressing
Daily 10am-9pm. B1-003, Building 5, 8 Xindong Lu Complex, Chaoyang District (8424 4533)
朝阳区新东路8号院5号 楼B1-003
Photos: courtesy of Uni You
This article originally appeared on page 18-19 of the beijingkids December 2015 issue. Click here to read the issue for free on Issuu.com. To find out how you can get your own copy, email distribution@truerun.com
