Sophie Donovan and I share the same hairdresser, and once, when I was at the salon considering cutting shaggy ‘curtain’ bangs, her own luscious locks were mentioned as a reference.
I didn’t get the fringe, but I really do like her hair: a sunny natural blonde that’s effortlessly tousled, often adorned with a barrette or hair bow.
The longtime head of brand for designer Kate Sylvester, Sophie has worked in the New Zealand fashion industry for years, across media and PR, with consistently dreamy hair throughout the time we’ve known each other.
She describes it as “aspiring 70s wave”, and maintains that it’s very low key to take care of - air drying, and a cut and colour two or three times a year.
She’s been at the top of the list to feature in our I Like Your Hair column, and so I finally asked her some questions to discover her styling tricks - and how her hair helped, in a small way, with reclaiming her postpartum identity.
How would you describe your hair?
Aspiring 70s wave.
Your hair is perfectly effortlessly dishevelled, which is a true art and often not as effortless as people think. Is it high maintenance?
It’s a well-practiced process and fortunately pretty low maintenance.
It’s also quite long but looks healthy which is, again, harder than it seems. How long has it taken to get to this length, and what did you do to help get it in this condition?
I’ve had it long for years now so it ticks along at this length. I don’t get it cut or coloured very often which helps and it’s pretty thick which is forgiving from a distance.
What’s your morning hair care routine?
My routine happens at night. I wash it every second evening and after washing, I blow dry my fringe and leave the rest towel dried.
I go to bed with my hair still wet and splay it out across my pillow and then it’s good to go in the morning with a little bit of hair oil to tame the fluff.
If it’s my night off washing, I french braid it before I go to bed. Sometimes I’ll brush it out in the morning if I’m wanting a “Pre-Raphaelite” look but I tend to avoid the hairbrush all together.
Do you blow or air dry?
Always air dry. I like the unevenness of it drying naturally and I like a bit of fluffiness and frizz.
What do you do to take care of it? What products do you use?
I use Davines Momo shampoo ($43) and conditioner ($44) - I like how you can get every little smidge out of their packaging.
I also put a bit of Davines Oi All in One Milk ($45) into damp hair and the Davines Oi Oil ($62) to tame too much frizz. I use Klorane Dry Shampoo with Oat Milk ($17) on my lazy days.
You also love a good hair accessory, from clips to berets. Do you have any that you especially love or want right now?
I love the Sophie Buhai Rivoli hair combs.
Who ‘does’ it? And how often would you go to the hairdresser?
Sean Mahoney at Colleen [salon on Karangahape Road in Auckland]. He’ll do a cut and colour 2-3 times a year and I’ll pop in for a few fringe trims along the way.
What’s the ‘brief’ when you go to the hairdresser?
Warm blonde, generally some take on a 70s fringe.
It is a dreamy shade of blonde. Why did you go for that shade?
My hair is light brown naturally and more yellowy in tone so these days I like to keep my colour warm. I’ve done a lot of ‘cool ash blonde’ and purple shampooing over the years and Sean convinced me to embrace my brighter brassy shade.
How would you describe your relationship with your hair - today, and in the past?
I used to experiment with colour and cut more, razored up the back of my neck for a super short bob, red hues, even a few perms.
These days I find the longer it is the easier and less maintenance it is, and I’ve mastered how to make it work for me.
You recently became a mother. Has that had an impact on how you approach or do your hair each day?
More braids. It would have been practical to cut my hair shorter because my son is constantly grabbing and ripping at it. But postpartum there were so many changes and it felt like a bit of an identity earthquake, so my long hair was not something I was willing to part with.
You've worked ‘in fashion’ for a long time, with Kate Sylvester, in PR and at magazines. What hair lessons have you picked up over that time?
At Kate Sylvester, our hair brief is always ‘effortless’ and I think that’s always in mind when I’m doing my own. When my hair feels too polished it upsets the balance. I need a bit of fluff and for it to be a little lopsided to feel right.
Who else do you think has great hair?
Hailey Benton Gates is all my long-haired dreams. I also love the fluffy blonde curls of Frederikke Sofie and Mica Arganaraz has the perfect shaggy curl.
