COLOURFUL LIFE

One of the US’s celebrity hair colour specialists was so thankful for the support she received from women in the Gulf that she travelled to the kingdom to help brighten up the Think Pink Bahrain campaign.

Abby Haliti, the colour director at Julien Farel Restore Salon & Spa, flew in from New York to set up shop at a popular salon in Juffair to colour, correct and educate women about how to take better care of their hair.

The 38-year-old Albanian who lives in New Jersey, said: “I have a huge international client base, especially women from the Middle East. I have clients from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Dubai. I came to Bahrain to give back to my Arab clients the way they supported and helped me with my successful career in the US.

“I am pleased to be a part of this campaign and support such a worthy cause. I find that women feel strongly about their hair and it’s like their safety net. If they have a bad hair day, everything feels dark for them. 

“Their hair is what makes them feel whole. All I want to do is make women feel more beautiful by having beautiful hair.”

As well as helping to raise breast cancer awareness through Think Pink Bahrain, Abby has also helped charities back home working on domestic violence issues.

Abby always identified with beauty ever since she was a little girl living in Albania. At 13, she attempted to lighten her hair by applying peroxide and ended up looking like a carrot!

At 17, she moved to the US to help her divorced sister care for her two children and picked up occasional modelling assignments. During a photo shoot with Fadil Berisha, an Albanian American fashion photographer to Miss Universe and Miss USA, her life changed when he discussed the different aspects of the beauty industry.

Inspired, Abby became certified at an institute in New Jersey and joined a top salon. After receiving extensive training with the world-renowned colourist Nancy Braun at L’Oreal Academy, it didn’t take long before she became a sought-after colourist among top New York City salons in her own right. Abby was recognised for her signature sexy, bohemian looks in which she transforms blonde and brunette locks into lighter, multi-dimensional strands without the brassiness having mastered the balayage technique.

Balayage is a French highlighting technique of sweeping colour onto hair using a paddle. It allows for a sun-kissed natural-looking hair colour, similar to what nature gives children, with softer, less noticeable regrowth lines. The principal idea being less is more when creating soft, natural looks.

Abby also specialises in colour correction, gloss, ombre, highlights and lowlights, men’s camouflage, red colouring and more. However, it’s her balayage skills that have attracted leading names in the world of high society and showbiz.

Her skills have made her a favourite among stars such as style icon, socialite and blogger Olivia Palermo, NBC sitcom actress Jane Krakowski and her Albanian pop singing friend, Rita Ora. Abby even worked on Avatar actress Sigourney Weaver in 2006.

Over two days in Bahrain, the stylish mother-of-two met 16 clients at Gloss Salon & Spa wanting to revitalise their hair. Every appointment helped with a donation allocated to the cause, as well as the sessions helping to raise awareness about breast cancer.

Abby said: “It was great catching up with some of my clients and meeting new women too. I have one client from Saudi Arabia who always comes to see me in New York and when she heard I was in Bahrain she came right away to visit me.

“I like offering that personal touch to my clients, especially when I see that they are serious about their hair. I’m all about healthy hair and in general being healthy, mentally and physically.

“I find that I attract brunettes more as it’s harder to get the right colouring and highlights for their hair. With blonde you can blend in but with black and highlights you really need to figure it out. I find that I am asked to correct colour a lot.

“You need to know what product is being used and colour. Don’t just let anyone touch your hair without knowing about your hair yourself.”

One client visiting the Bahrain salon was delighted with  Abby’s technique.

Brunette Saudi Arabian fashion and lifestyle blogger Sausan AlKadi, 28, was contacted by the salon to put Abby’s colouring skills to the test and is now in love with her new look tresses.

“Abby is the queen of colour,” Sausan told GulfWeekly. “She has amazing colour techniques that I have not seen elsewhere. She is great because she listens to her clients to see what look they want and then she creates something that’s even better and fits the client’s hair type, cut and skin complexion.

“She is also really nice and humble. We talked the whole time about common interests! She changed my base colour to a warm brown and added some natural highlights. Hopefully, I will see her again when I’m in New York or when she is back in Bahrain.”

Abby, who first touched down in the kingdom last March to meet her hair colour followers, was thrilled to be back again this year and is already looking forward to her next visit. She is also considering launching her own salon in Bahrain.