All I Want For Christmas Is Silver!: How This Punk Rock Working Mom Got a Tinsel-Inspired Cut and Color!

If ever there was a match made in heaven it would be beijingkids and Cindy Marie Jenkins. Jenkins stumbled upon our magazine in preparation for her family’s move to Beijing, and there started a four-year love affair. Beijingkids became her Beijing bible, using it to find out everything from current expat-related news, to scoping out the school situation for her two young sons, aged four and six! It is no surprise that after moving to Beijing about a year ago, she would eventually become a member of the beijingkids family, as the Deputy Managing Editor.

Mommy’s Day Out

Between the pressures of working as a full-time writer and editor, and managing two young kids, Jenkins has not had much time for anything close to a beauty day. After being stuck in the United States when borders closed last March, then finally returning to the country this summer, a haircut was low on her priority list. A visit to Laurent Falcon Salon, Beijing’s premier hair salon, was long overdue for this working mom.

Too Miranda Priestley

Jenkins admitted to having silver streaks in her hair from when she was in her early twenties and has never found the need to rinse them out or dye her hair. This lends a very cool punk look to the otherwise sweet and somewhat shy Jenkins. And now, silver hair is all the rage, firmly put on the fashion scene by Meryl Streep’s character Miranda Priestly in the iconic The Devil Wears Prada movie. Since then, celebrities of all ages have lined up to embrace their grey, with some like Sharon Osbourne ditching her signature auburn color for a full head of glorious grey.

A Job Half Done

The initial plan had been to take Jenkins’ stylish grey streaks and transform them into a full ice grey fantasy, but the lifting process would have proven too damaging and require far more maintenance than is convenient for this full-time working mom. So, a compromise was reached, with the stylist deciding to even out the streaks across Jenkins’ hair, plus an updated cut to pull the look together. He started by sectioning off her hair, applying bleaching cream and foils to selected sections, before letting it sit and process for about 45 minutes, then rinsing. This was followed up with a toner to counteract the harsh brassiness of a bleaching service. As with every treatment, it is important to repair any damage caused by the bleach’s stripping properties, so an Olaplex treatment was applied to reconstruct the hair.

After this, Jenkins was now ready for the cut! The stylist started by trimming the top third of Cindy’s hair, adding layers, and transforming her growing out phase into an asymmetrical bob. This was followed by a faded undercut, enhancing the punk-rock girl-chic feel. And finally, the hair was blown out with a large round bristle brush to create volume and effortless-looking waves to complete the ensemble. This is certainly an outside the box Christmas look that is one for the books. To put the icing on the cake, Jenkins rocked a bold frosted cat-eye to ring in the festive season. Her high-impact, low maintenance hair is just what this amazing Beijing mom needed from Santa for Christmas!

Winter Haircare Tips

• Wear a silk or satin-lined hat to prevent the dry weather from robbing your hair of its moisture. Cotton and wool fabrics also suck up your hair’s moisture.

• Avoid heat styling on a regular basis and opt for air-drying your hair instead.

• Do not leave the house with wet hair to avoid freezing and breaking it. Use a microfiber towel to ensure a quick and safe drying time.

• Deep condition at least once a week. This is the time to invest in good moisture-intense deep conditioners to maintain your hair’s protein-moisture balance through the winter.

• Use an oil-based leave-in treatment like Argan oil to revitalize dry damaged tresses, and provide a protective and lubricating barrier for your hair.