Budding Trends For Spring

When it comes to hair trends, at The Chapel our ethos has always to keep a keen eye on what's going on out there then cherry pick elements for inspiration, rather than be blindly blown by the fickle winds of fashion. As we all know by now, trends come and go so quickly that even the most disinterested stand a good chance of accidentally ending up in fashion by default. To prove this point with maximum dramatic effect comes this spring's biggest new trend, wait for it - grey hair.

Whether or not this has been inspired by the recent film of the E L James book, we'd better make it clear we're not talking about fifty hair shades to accessorise with a leather face mask, and neither are we suggesting it's time to grow out your colour and make a late entrance in the glamorous granny competition. Instead, think of the 'new grey' as an evolvement of the recent trend for metallic shades, the silver in their spectrum, as sported by ice-cool indie hipsters chilling at this year's Coachella and edgy A-list supermodels like Kate Moss and Cara Delvingne, who've been busily re-appropriating the term 'silver fox'.

Right now shades range from 'soft pewter' mid-greys to dove white, all of which suit cooler skin tones, not to mention delivering a seriously striking hair statement. However, even those that dare need to beware, as this is one of the most extreme colour transitions, which takes you're unadulterated natural hair colour and bleaches it to white before adding ash tones. And don't forget that grey hair needs graceful handling whatever your age, so always complement with a defined style or sharp cut. Take your cues from elegant silver-haired screen icons such as Helen Mirren, to avoid looking like someone who spends a lot of time indoors with their cats...

When it comes to long-term trends that look set to stay, it's safe to say there's no point undoing your plaits just yet, so fans of braiding will be able to weave away another summer channelling their inner Rapunzel. Just remember that although this is a continuing trend its also an evolving one, and we've now safely moved away from the scalp-clenching bridesmaid's plait to much looser forms that work as accessories to a style rather than encompassing it. This spring's plaits are all about creating results that looks effortless, and this is best achieved by casually working loose plaits through a ponytail while leaving lots of strands free. It's cool, insouciant and takes the whole plait theme up another notch while minimizing effort - and what's not to like about that?

For similar reasons we're also happy to give the humble ponytail another reprieve from the style executioner. Whether you're using the faithful hair bobble to tie your hair up for exercise or a relaxing bath, you just can't deny it's convenience and practicality. Right now our favourite way to keep the ponytail trotting fashion-forward is to firstly slick back hair as smoothly as possible (products such as Forme fatale by Kerastase are perfect for providing this kind of control), then use a second band further down the tail and pin back to the scalp to create a fun, fresh twist on this classic. Get yours professionally coloured in a shimmering silvery grey and you'll be set to become one of 2015's Darling Buds Of May!