Your Ultimate Guide To Healthy Hair
Our hair may not get wrinkles, but unfortunately they do show the passage of time. Here's how to achieve healthy hair at every stage of your life
Our locks may not get wrinkles, but unfortunately they do show the passage of time. Thankfully, you don't need to rewind the clock. Bouncy, shiny hair is well within your grasp with these pro tips.
As women, we often mark life's pivotal moments with hair changes. Let's skip over the questionable haircuts of our 20s, and fast-forward to the lush locks that come with pregnancy. My goodness, my hair was glorious. There was just so much of it. And then, in the aftermath, pillows covered in hair and a drain problem.
Most women will also remember spotting that first silvery strand. Whether you were in your 30s or 50s, it's another shift.
Other changes include dullness, thinning and worsening frizz. “As you get older hair can become brittle and take on a coarser texture," says Giles Robinson, Color Wow's global director of training and education. "You may also notice hair doesn't look as shiny or healthy." The answer, he says, is to adapt. And that's something we certainly know how to do.
“Your hair craves moisture,” says Giles, especially if it’s colour-treated. "This process removes the lipid layer off your hair, leaving it coarse and less shiny over time.” Giles adds softness and shine back to clients' hair with Color Wow's Dream Cocktail Coconut-Infused ($33.50) which replaces that lipid layer colouring has removed. As a general rule, focus treatments on mid-lengths and ends for best results.
The hair math is simple: blow-dryers, straighteners and curling irons all compound dryness, dullness and frizz. But we need them for a good hair day in the first place! What to do? Adapt your routine with new technology and formulas.
The most obvious switch is one of the most exciting things to happen in tools: the Dyson Corrale ($699). Developed by engineers, it styles and straightens hair using 50 per cent less heat than most competitors.
Another way to protect hair is to add a new-generation formula that makes it faster to style. Kevin Murphy's Blow Dry Ever Smooth ($78) has polymer technology that helps hair remember the smooth style you've just created, even after shampooing.
Small changes to your routine can help prevent the breakage that makes hair look less healthy. The first: cut back on washing.
The reason is that when hair is wet, it's weaker, so reducing your exposure to water and towel-drying helps. And then when you do wash, switch from a brush to a wide-tooth comb afterwards.
Consider a professional treatment. "They're designed to return your locks to their healthy best," says John Pulitano, creative director of Headcase Hair in Sydney. “And the condition will last several washes."
For blondes, adding a purple shampoo or toning mask neutralises brassiness and brightens. "Between salon visits, it keeps colour fresh.. says hairstylist Dee Parker Attwood, National Ambassador Schwarskopf Professional. Violet pigments give iridescence to blonde and silver hair and help reduce warmth In highlights on darker hair too.
Try: Aveda Blonde Revival Purple Toning Shampoo ($47)
In the same way a highlighter will bounce the light off your face in a flattering way, hair oil brings shimmer back to dull locks.
We love: Schwarzkopf Oil Ultime Rose Finishing Oil ($29.96), a styling treatment for fine to medium hair that adds shine and softness, without weighing down hair .
Like the move from heavy foundations to lighter ones, most experts agree it's best to blend emerging greys into your natural colour than hide it completely. It's less maintenance and allows you avoid the regrowth line.
Dee says clever highlighting is the modern way to blend in. "A few blonde highlights will make your greying hair seem creamy rather than yellow," she says. "In salon, your hairdresser will choose a complimentary toner to achieve this, as they are designed to cover greys without damaging the hair."
If you're colouring hair at home, "apply colour with a comb to blend the greys," suggests colourist Pete Lennon of Crown Hair in Sydney.
Almost 49 per cent of women will be affected by hair loss throughout their lives, and the incidence steadily increases with age in all ethnicities.
"Shampoo can be a culprit," says Giles. "It's the only product we massage into our scalps and many formulas are laden with ingredients engineered to stay when you rinse, such as thickening agents, silicones, waxes, conditioners."
While this is well and good when you're younger, the build-up around hair follicles may cause vulnerable roots to shut down. "If you're worried, stay away from shampoos that thicken or smooth," says Giles. Instead, opt for a low-PH formula that gently cleans hair, such as My Soda Cleanse shampoo and conditioner (AU$10).
If your style needs an update, one of the easiest tweaks is to go a little shorter.
"You don't want to keep your hair too long; this can really drag you down, especially if you have no layers at the front," says Giles. "More often than not, losing some length and adding some layers around the face is the answer."
Thanks to their planet-friendly credentials and hydrating formulations, the humble soap bar is making a comeback.
We love Clover Fields Shampoo With a Purpose for Volume (AU$15) with seaweed extract, ginseng and shea butter. It gives limp hair plenty of oomph and saves six shampoo and conditioner bottles from polluting the environment. Simply lather, massage into your hair and rinse out.