Beauty Black Book: Meet Chelsea celebrity hair stylist Hannah Gaboardi
We at Your Coffee Break HQ are all embracing the rising heat of the summer, and what better way to do that than literally letting our hair down? While summer is the time to shine, you can’t get much more stylish than with hair that has glossy, natural looking waves a là Gisele Bündchen. The look was seen all over the catwalk this summer, with Versace and Christopher Kane going for a tousled approach, whist Diane Von Furstenberg favoured long, loose curls. There’s no doubt that natural, casual hair with a polished edge is what we crave, but it’s a look that can be hard to achieve.
These kinds of sought after styles are seen on countless celebrities, such as supermodel Elle Macpherson, the glamorous Ecclestone sisters and English rose Donna Air. What do all of these famous faces have in common? The secret behind their amazing hair, Hannah Gaboardi. When it comes to hair, Hannah is a force to be reckoned with. A Chelsea hair stylist at Realhair, who pursued hairdressing the minute she left school at 16, Hannah has worked for Vogue beauty shoots, Wella, Schwarzkopf and even London Fashion Week. That’s a CV that we would kill for!
Hannah is an expert with the highly requested hair trend, balayage. Contrasting to other hair colouring techniques, balayage is applied by freehand rather than using foils, covering individual hair strands with a brush and creating a sun-kissed look with shine and depth, often taking the roots back to their natural colour. Hannah’s approach to colour is what keeps her clients coming back again and again. She favours the less is more approach, and takes on the challenge of colouring hair whilst keeping a natural and textured look. Balayage looks perfect combined with long loose curls or a tousled look, and Hannah combines the two like a dream.
The natural look with a glamorous edge is what we pine for here at YCB, and that is exactly Hannah’s penchant. Her keen eye for colour and fine-tuning her technique according to each individual are what makes Hannah a rising star in the hair scene, and certainly one to keep an eye on in the coming year. Despite making waves in her career and having up to 12 clients a day (this woman is as busy as a queen bee!), Hannah takes care to spend quality time with each customer whether they are regular or new, and ensures that they walk out of the salon feeling and looking fabulous.
A typical day is an 8:30 start with back-to-back appointments, and Hannah credits her amazing assistants for helping her day run smoothly. Hannah herself started out as an assistant – stating that she ‘started from the bottom and worked her way up’, but credits her 9 years of climbing the ladder since leaving school with learning everything there is to know about hair. Glossy hair, gorgeous colours, and ambition – we can’t get enough!
Hannah’s hair icon is supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and we can see why. Gisele’s honey toned, wavy locks are exactly what we’ve got our eye on this summer. Her tousled hair is a perfect example of the kind of colouring expertise that Hannah offers, with gradual light tones running through the hair, all the while keeping a strictly natural and glowing tone. If Gisele’s stunning look is inspiration for Hannah, we’re heading to Realhair Chelsea this minute!
Our plight for the perfect summer style with Hannah doesn’t just end with hair. She’s also a tanning expert, using organic tan spray, avoiding the orange look with red-based shades on fairer skinned clients and looking in the colour at the end with a spray, ensuring no smudging and no dreaded tanning scent. Clearly Hannah has a way with colour when it comes to hair and skin, and going straight to her to achieve the all over sun-kissed look that’s hot (no pun intended…) this summer.
For more information on Hannah Gaboardi and Realhair, or to book an appointment to achieve summer perfect hair, visit www.realhair.co.uk.
