Nikhil Sharma, Founder, Nikhil Sharma Hairdressing, presents actor-model Rohit Khandelwal’s #IceBrown look for the Wella Kromatic 2.0 Collection.
For someone who is a model, actor and winner of Mr India 2015 and Mr World 2016 titles, his hair is more than his crowning glory. It is a style statement. The dashing Rohit Khandelwal effortlessly pulls off #IceBrown look, which Nikhil Sharma, Wella Passionista, has created for him.
Rohit wanted something classy, edgy and timeless as that would be the best fit for his personality and line of work. Wella Passionista Nikhil Sharma used the different hues of Illumina to create transitions of icy cool tones that eventually culminated into blended browns. The products he used for creating this look are Illumina and Blondorplex.
Kanishka Ramchandani gets Sharma to give more details about his work as a Wella Passionista and the look he created for his celebrity muse.
Tell us about your experience as a Wella Passionista.
Being a Wella Passionista is all about being a part of a global community created by Wella Professionals. Wella, as a brand, keeps hairdressers at the forefront. They give us the tools, products and knowledge to transform our clients on a daily basis. Being a Wella Passionista gives us exposure to this global community of skilled professionals. It also empowers us, as we are able to share our skills and knowledge at an international level. Knowledge gets distributed constantly and new trends are created instantly.
How was the experience of being a part of the Kromatic 2.0?
The experience of working on the Kromatic 2.0 Collection has been brilliant. The all new Kromatic 2.0 Collection is a diverse color collection by Wella that helps consumers to discover and flaunt their best looks every day. It’s all about finding the perfect hair transformation for the consumer which suits their unique features and personality. Getting a chance to work on this collection at such a prestigious level is fantastic. Creating hair transformations for celebrities, exchanging knowledge with other Passionistas, passing that knowledge on to stylists across different cities and getting to meet different hairdressers, getting to inspire them, there are multiple advantages of being a part of this collection.
What was the inspiration behind the look that you created for Rohit Khandelwal?
We chose ice brown as a theme for Rohit because of his personality. The Kromatic 2.0 Collection is based on bringing out the unique vibe of an individual. Trying to understand their way of life, what they do as a living, we create trends that bring out their vibe through colour. With Rohit, I was also trying to change the whole perception that men have about hair colour. A very high percentage of men don’t indulge in colouring their hair, as they perceive it as something feminine. The #IceBrown look is designed for men who don’t shy away from challenges and push their boundaries, even when it comes to their personal style. My motivation behind this look is to inspire more men to embrace color and find their own unique style that suits their personality. I think we can only challenge the norm of men not coloring their hair by showcasing more mainstream men flaunting hair color. My inspiration with Rohit was to create an edgy yet very classy look, keeping in mind that he is a celebrity and a public figure. That’s how this whole inspiration of having the cascade of browns starting from an icy brown, and then going into a deeper brown throughout his hair. During his consultation he informed me that as a habit, he is always running his hands through his hair. So, that’s how the colour palette and the placement of colour came into being.
How did you correlate the #IceBrown trend with this skin tone and face structure?
Skin tones play a very important role in deciding the right shade of color for every client. Since Rohit is fair, we wanted to play around with lighter colours around his face, but at the same time, we did not want to place the light shade for the entirety of his hair. So that’s why, the light tone is focused only at the front of his hair. The impactful thing that you see in this colour is that there is this playfulness and an edgy vibe but it’s not overdone. There’s not too much going on the side, and it’s not all the way going to the back either, the colour is focused more on the front. At the back, the hair colour is subtler. So, we also created that transition. A lighter tone is high maintenance but Rohit was able to carry it because he has different variations of brown at an overall level in his hair.
#IceBrown ft. Rohit Khandelwal and Nikhil Sharma
What advice would you like to give to colourists when they are trying to recreate this look on their customers?
The entire Kromatic 2.0 Collection is about empowering the stylist, teaching them the techniques of how to talk to their customers and bring out their individual vibe. When we educate the stylist, we are not telling them to copy-paste the look onto their customer. In fact, we are teaching them the techniques and giving them the knowledge of interacting with the customer and finding what colour is the right fit for them. How do they like to carry the colour? Do they want a high maintenance colour? What kind of lifestyle do they have? Do they colour their hair once in a year or more often? These are the kind of questions we teach hairstylists to include in their consultation. You can recreate any of the four looks from the Kromatic 2.0 collection or use just one element if you want to and create something unique altogether. It’s all about bringing about the individuality of a person.
By – Kanishka Ramchandani
