Celebrity bob transformations have been everywhere this week, from Pamela Anderson’s box cut to Lily Collins’ Italian job ahead of Emily In Paris’s switch to Rome. Now it’s the turn of Zoe Ball to show off a makeover she’s playfully dubbed ‘summer madness’ on her Instagram, but it’s actually the smartest move she could have made.
The TV and radio presenter treated herself to what she calls a ‘fresh blonde’ moment, with not one but three new season tweaks – including one you’d never even know was there. She teased the look directly from the Hadley Yates salon chair on her Stories before unveiling the finished effect last night at the BBC’s VE Day 80th anniversary finale, giving us ample time to get the full lowdown in between (cheers, Zo!).
So, let’s break it all down for you. First, there’s her new colour, which saw any vestiges of winter dreariness cleansed away for a brighter, sunshine-blonde tone. ‘We started with a full head of highlights, to clean all her blonde out,’ explains salon co-founder Hadley Yates.
He adds: ‘Then we chopped her hair above the shoulder (it’s usually below), as we wanted a fresh look for summer. It was cut one length, no layers, to give it a really full look and feel.’
That cut wasn’t the only reason Zoe was looking so zshushy on the VE commemorations stage, however. There’s a third element to her hair makeover that’s discreetly hidden and just happens to be one of Hadley’s secret weapons.
‘We added in “hair fillers”, aka tape extensions at the front, which are great for bobs,’ explains Hadley. ‘A lot of people have thinning or breakage around the front of the hair, from colour or heat damage. The front is the place that bears the brunt of those things, and it’s also where you over-style the most, so obviously the hair there is more delicate.’
‘Extensions are great to pop in around the front, because they fill that hair back in again,’ he adds. ‘With Zoe, we put in four tapes, two on each side, and they literally put that corner back into her bob. We used our salon’s own-brand CURATED extensions, which launch next month.’
This clever trick is part of the salon’s Hair Boosters service (from £250), which combines colour, cut and hair filler extensions for what Hadley calls ‘an instantly fresh, full, healthy new look’.
‘People think that you’re going to see tapes, especially on a shorter style such as a bob,’ Hadley says. ‘But if tapes are put in the right position, then you won’t see them at all, and you can even still tie your hair back. For Zoe, we placed the tapes quite high to invisibly mask any shorter bits and keep her bob looking really chunky.’
‘It’s only when someone puts tapes right on top of the head that you see them. That’s why you need to see an extensions expert, so they can place them correctly and also recommend which method is best for your hair, whether it’s bonds or tapes.’
Hadley is also keen to dispel the myth that extensions are inherently bad for your hair. ‘As long as extensions are applied correctly, applied on the right amount of hair and aren’t too heavy, then they don’t cause damage,’ he says. Again, seeing a skilled pro is key.
If you like the idea of extensions but don’t want to commit to tapes that need redoing every six weeks or so, keep an eye out for Hadley’s CURATED range of clip-ins, which is launching here on 23 June. (‘They use the same premium-grade real hair we have in our own-brand salon tapes,’ he tells us.)
We certainly approve of Zoe’s new ‘fillers’ and it’s great to see her letting her hair down on TV – it’s too good a makeover to hide away in a Radio 2 studio.
