"2006 hair trends will still be the same as last year’s with hairstyles ranging from short to long, asymmetrical, layering and loose curls," forecasted beauty guru Ricky Reyes. He speaks with the authority of one who has been in the business for 40 years.

"Hairstyles change with the season but no matter what the trend is, one must consider the shape of his/her face because it dictates what style will best suit him/her," stressed the hair expert.

2006 hairstyles shall be exuberant, bold and strong, he says. High, big hairdos and "combustible looks" will be evident this year.

Hair color is moving towards warm tones of brown, caramel and golden shades in multi-dimensional color, but above all, 2006 will focus more on hair’s safety, noted Mother Ricky.

"Men and women today are experimenting with different hairstyles, but at the same time, they are also becoming more conscious about the condition of their hair," he said.

"People now are getting more educated and they understand that the key to having beautiful hair is by having healthy hair which is achieved when you have a healthy scalp," explained Mother.

Tagged as the country’s "hair trend setter" Mother Ricky popularized the "crazy colors" and the "crazy (zigzag) curls" of the 80s, Swiss curls in the early 90s, the sleek streaks in the late 90s, not to mention the pioneering hair straightening technology in 2000 — hair rebonding —which became a big hit among Filipinas with Afro, kinky and wavy hair.

This new year, Ricky plans to unveil yet another advanced treatment that promises to make hair healthier and more beautiful.

"After coming up with all sorts of hair styles in the past years, Ricky Reyes salons came up with various hair treatments in the year 2000. There was the Ricky Reyes hair rebond for women who want to have very straight hair, which was first modeled by Wilma Doesn’t and Ruffa Gutierrez. Then we introduced the ‘milk rebond’ for colored, tinted, treated and damaged hair," related Mother.

"By April 2006, we will be introducing the ‘oil rebond’ which is good for all types of hair especially for virgin hair or hair which has never been treated or rebonded before," divulged Mother.

With chemicals and ingredients imported from Korea, "oil rebond" is 10 steps more advanced than the previous rebonding methods, which can be done for as fast as two hours.

"With the latest in hair technology, we managed to shorten the procedure time for oil rebond unlike the traditional rebond which takes about 4 hours and the milk rebond about 3 hours…" enthused Mother.

Other hair treatments that Ricky Reyes salons offer are ‘hair reborn’ and ‘hair spa’ which both nourish the scalp with proteins and vitamins essential for a healthy hair.

"We no longer offer ‘hot oil’ because it doesn’t really do anything to the hair – it only treats the ‘outer’ hair but doesn’t penetrate the scalp, so it really has no effect on the hair…" explained Mother.

Sexy feminine highlights never go out of style. A great haircut combined with subtle highlights ensures one a classy and trendy look, hence, Ricky Reyes introduces the "dimensional coloring."

"This new hair coloring technique adds life and a little attitude to one’s hair because it’s available in bright colors of mustard, red, pink cyclamen and gold," said Mother.

"We color a few strands of the hair so it’s almost invisible. It only appears when you flip your hair."

Those who want a (semi-permanent) colored mane can try the "coloring spa" which allows one to have the hair color she/he wants without damaging or drying the hair.

"We are now going back to ‘basics’ because we know that all these chemicals can damage our hair, so we came up with the ‘coloring spa’ which gives highlights to the hair, good for one month, without worrying about the damage because we use fruits as its primary ingredients," emphasized Mother.

"We use strawberries for red, lemons for yellow, coconuts for brown and oranges for orange tint."

Men and women who love to color their hair can look forward to Ricky Reyes "milk coloring" that absolutely has NO PEROXIDE.

"Milk coloring, will definitely be big because people love to color their hair. With this, they can color their hair often and still maintain a healthy hair because it has natural ingredients — no peroxide!" he stressed.

Ricky Reyes who is by nature an "artist" gets many of his creative ideas by attending the Producers’ Market Conference twice a year.

With 20 top "beauty manufacturers" from all over the world and renowned (invited) hairstylists from Asia who gather at the conference, Mother Ricky gets updated with the latest hair trends and technology.

"I study the ideas I learn from the conference, especially the new science and products they show us, which I use at all (42) Ricky Reyes branches all over the Philippines. And since I buy by the bulk and the royalty of the products from these foreign manufacturers, Ricky Reyes is the only salon to have these kinds of excellent products," divulged Mother.