21
May

Five hair styling Don’ts that for your sake I hope you never do.

Like most of you, I have hair on my head and tap shoes on my feet.

It is healthy but naughty hair: fine, curly, cow-licky. It demands much styling and effort to look good. I constantly implement new tricks or maintain strict old habits to keep this to an absolute minimum, because while good hair is certainly something I like to have, the amount of time I am willing to dedicate to it is minimal. In fact, I am a fan of the “set” – washing hair, then spending half an hour using several different products and styling tools to ensure everything looks terrific, then enjoying the pay-off for 3-4 days. I think it’s smarter than every day spending 13 minutes doing your hair*, but what would I know, besides your bra size and my 5x tables.

Speaking of bananas, here are some of my top hair don’ts:

1. DON’T SCRUB WET HAIR WITH YOUR TOWEL.

This is a classic Mum Used to Do It When I Was Little So I Still Do It, error. This does terrible things for your eventual hair style, especially if you have curly or frizzy hair. Instead, pat it dry with the towel so you don’t mess up the cuticle and get all the split ends partying.

ManicareSupaDry
The (hand towel size) Manicare Supa Dry towel is a KING. Dries hair 4x faster than normal towel. Glorious.

2. DON’T WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY.

The hair likes and needs its oils. And overwashing can make the whole thing worse, just like overwashing the skin can enthuse more pimples/oil. A lot of the time very fine haired dames can get another day from their hair by not using conditioner at all, or using a lihgtweight spray one only on the very ends, using dry shampoo all over the scalp and blow-drying through, or taking the time to properly and thoroughly dry and style the hair when they wash it. Hair gets lank faster when it’s permitted to air dry because you aren’t extracting all moisture from it. Also, use a thermal/ceramic barrel brush which will make drying 50% faster.
Seah

A spray conditioner on the ends (like Schwarzkopf Seah Mineral Spritz Conditioning Spray Fine) is much better then using traditional wash in-out conditoner for fine haired dames.

 

3.  DON’T GIVE UP IF HAIR IS BEING FLAT AND NAUGHTY.

Do a Refresh Texture Blast! This is easily achieved by spraying sea salt spray all ove rthe hair, roots to tips, then BLASTING your hair dryer on high heat all over with your head flipped upside down for 30-60 seconds. You will have excellent grip and volume now, and can easily create a textured updo or pony. Trust me.

Original-mineral-surf-bomb-texture-spray__95394_zoom
O&M Surf Bomb is the perfect tool for the tip above.

4. DON’T SKIP PRODUCTS AT THE WET HAIR STAGE

Because g-dammit guys, this is the stage that counts. This is where you create body and volume (mousse or root lift or all over thickening spray) or smoothness (blow dry cream) or curls (curling balm) or flexible nourishment (hair oils). What you put on your hair at the DRY hair stage is a very different bunch of coconuts, and is more about finishing touches like texture and polish. But the wet hair stage? That’s where you create the scaffolding of your hair style, and give it the power to last and have hold and do what you want it to do.

Bumble-and-bumble-thickening-spray-profile
Bumble’s thickening spray – used on wet hair and blow-dried through – is renown for giving marvellous texture and lift all over.

 

5. DON’T LET YOUR HAIRDRESSER CHOOSE YOUR HAIRSTYLE.

Do they know the hair? Do they wake up with it every day? Do they know how it behaves in humidity? With hard water? After a mask? Do they know the dolphin? Does it call them at home? (Just for the Ace Ventura fans.) NO. And while they can certainly consult you, and advise what would look great on you, or suit your face shape, ultimately YOU need to be the one who makes the call about what’s happening in that chair. Because the right cut can make life easy, and the wrong one can make it hell.

Cute/arrogant example: I have fine and curly hair, so layers are not great. They make my hair look thin and give a Christmas tree look. So I get my hair cut all one length with a few gentle layers around the face to prevent boredom and give more versatility/softness to the face, which I ask to be dry cut, so that the cutter can see my texture and length when the hair is dry, not when its wet and ridiculous.

Yes, I am a lot of fun to have in the chair, why do you ask?

*The average amount of time we spend doing it according to a new study by Pantene which also found that 91% of us believe a person’s hair is a key element to their sex appeal. Study did not reveal effect of Croc wearing and sex appeal but I assume it was in the negative.

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