The Essential French Beauty Guide | ELLE Canada Magazine

Of all the hallmarks of French beauty, none is perhaps more coveted than the Gallic mane: sexy, slightly messy and seemingly contingent on having a Parisian postal code. “I think everyone is obsessed with that perfectly imperfect aesthetic,” says hairstylist Delphine Courteille, whose regulars include Jeanne Damas, Inès de La Fressange and Sophie Fontanel. “It’s hair that’s sort of falsely neglected.” The emphasis here is on “falsely,” as it turns out much care can go into achieving the look.

For instance, half of Courteille’s salon, wedged between the Tuileries Garden and the Place Vendôme, is dedicated to a “hair spa,” where clients routinely come in for services such as a “rehab scalp detox and shiatsu massage” or an “ultrasound regenerating treatment.”

“For Frenchwomen, the idea is to really take care of themselves so they have the most beautiful hair in the long term and don’t need to do too much in terms of styling,” explains Shokooh Ossareh, general manager of Paris-based hair brand Christophe Robin. “I’m always impressed when I go to the U.S.—the hair is so done with the perfect waves. You feel like everyone’s just come [from] the hairdresser.”

While Frenchwomen rarely reach for a curling iron or straightener, they devote a lot of time to their hair-care routine. For example, Ossareh notes that conditioner isn’t really a thing in France as it’s largely viewed as a quick fix. Instead, women prefer to apply a mask, taking the extra five to 10 minutes in the shower to allow the product to work its magic. Once a week, many will use a pre-shampoo treatment or scalp scrub. The result is hair that is softer and shinier and doesn’t require high heat or heavy-duty products to be coaxed into submission. “When you follow your regimen meticulously, then the hair looks fabulous on its own,” says Ossareh.

A great cut is also key to having hair that looks fab on its own. When snipping a client’s locks, Courteille will carefully consider their natural texture, facial features and personal style, making the finished product entirely bespoke. She starts by cutting the hair while it’s dry to get a better sense of how it behaves and favours a technique called piquetage, a.k.a. “point cutting,” where the scissors are held vertically to enhance the hair’s movement, soften edges and help layers blend together. “You want to remove bulk but not too much,” she says. “Americans have a tendency to over-layer hair.”

Debating getting bangs? The trick to not regretting them later is choosing the right ones for your face, says the pro. “For example, Jeanne [Damas] has a small forehead and eyes that are quite round, so I cut her fringe shorter in the middle and longer on the sides, whereas Caroline de Maigret has much longer bangs because she has a larger forehead, almond-shaped eyes and a strong nose.” If you’re not sure which style would suit you best, ask your hairstylist (the French are big believers in deferring to the experts) or search for examples of women with a similar bone structure to yours.

Now for how to style your hair. While a successful cut should largely fall into place on its own, not all Frenchwomen are the wash-and-go type, Courteille assures me. That’s why she teaches her clients to blow-dry their hair in a manner that won’t make it look overly coiffed. It can be as simple as twirling some pieces around their finger and setting them with a shot of cold air or putting their hair in a loose bun or braid afterwards for a few minutes to impart some slight bends. “You want to create a nice base and then sort of break it up and introduce imperfections,” she says. A blast of texturizing spray is another surefire way to do this.

Last but not least is colour. The French technique par excellence is, of course, balayage—which means “to sweep”—where highlights are hand-painted onto the hair, keeping much of the base intact. “The effect is much softer compared to foils, which can make highlights look stripey,” says Rémy Faure. “Plus, it requires less maintenance because you don’t get that strong demarcation at the roots,” adds his colleague Louis Trautwein. The Kérastase ambassadors form a duo of in-demand colourists, tending to the strands of many a French cool girl, including a trifecta of Camilles: model Rowe, influencer Charrière and actor Razat, who stars in Emily in Paris. “When we tell American clients they’ll only be due for a touch-up in three months, they can’t believe it; they’re used to going to the salon every five to six weeks,” says Trautwein.

They use a similar technique to cover greys: Rather than applying colour all over, they go in with a brush and only target the parts that need it. “That way, instead of having to return every four weeks, you’ll only need three sessions a year and you’ll get to keep your natural colour,” says Faure. It’s a philosophy that definitely appeals to their local clientele. “As soon as you tell a Frenchwoman that something will require a lot of upkeep, she’s not into it,” says Trautwein with a chuckle.