I thought I’d use this blog post to answer all your questions about my hair care. Over the years, I’ve been getting a lot of questions ranging from “How do you keep your hair in such a great condition?” . “Which hair products should I use?”, “How much hair product should i use?” and “Which hair care brand is best?”.
The short answer is 3 words: trial and error.
But I know that won’t help anyone, so I thought I’d spill the tea and share some of the lessons I learned in that trial and error process, so you don’t have to.
And so I’ve come up with list of my hair care essentials.
1. Scalp care
Your hair grows out of your scalp, so healthy hair starts with a healthy scalp.
Because your scalp is your skin, knowing your skin type is a very good place to start.
Is it dry, oily, or a combination?
I happen to have a very oily skin, so tailoring my hair care routine to this is super important.
Another tip I have is to exfoliate regularly. If you’re already taking good care of your skin you might be exfoliating once a week.
So why not do the same thing with your scalp?
It removes dead skin cells, dirt and buildup. It also stimulates the circulation, which helps the follicles grow out new, healthy strands of hair.
I start by applying a little dollop of my hairdresser Michael Van Clarke’s Exfoliating Scalp Shampoo over my scalp.
The shampoo has some amazing ingredients in it that help remove buildup and regulate the scalp’s oil levels. It’s also great for dandruff. First of all there’s cashmere protein. This is a patented ingredient found in all Michael Van Clarke’s shampoos, and the main reason I’m such a big fan.
Hair is mainly made up of keratin, which is a protein. And cashmere protein is the most identical to the hair’s natural keratin. So it really helps to build up your hair.
Secondly there’s basil, which is known to stimulate your hair follicles, increase scalp circulation and promote your hair growth. Furthermore the magnesium in basil helps to protect your hair from breakage, is anti-inflammatory. It also has lavender oil, which is also known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and antiseptic properties.
I use a Tangle Teezer exfoliation brush to scrub it in circular motions.
Then I give it a good rinse, and already my hair feels so much cleaner.
2. Washing
After that I start washing it with my ‘normal’ shampoo.
Finding a shampoo for oily scalp and curly hair is a minefield. Honestly. This is because most shampoos for curly hair focus on moisturising and moisturising alone. They’re usually enriched with lots of oils. Now don’t get me wrong, this is amazing if you are having a dry and flaky scalp. But for an oily one it’s just going to make your hair look like you slept in a deep fryer. I use the Michael Van Clarke Volumising shampoo.
It’s actually designed for fine hair, but it also works wonders on oily hair of all sorts. This is because apart from the cashmere proteins, it also has coconut and vegetable extracts, which gently cleanse, clear pollutants and build-up from the hair. As well as citrus fruit extracts which are natural anti-oxidants, that help improve scalp condition as well.
It smells amazing too, which isn’t unimportant either!
Make sure you only apply it on the roots though and massage it in thoroughly.
After I washed my scalp with this, my hair feels squeaky clean.
3. Conditioning
Conditioner is possibly the most important step for a healthy hair care routine. When finding a good one, the main thing you want to avoid is silicones. My favourite silicone free conditioner is the Moisturizing Conditioner from Michael Van Clarke. I know I’m bringing this name up a lot and I swear they don’t pay me to write this. I’m just a big fan!
Just like their shampoos it’s enriched with cashmere protein and a few other moisturising ingredients. For example, crambe abyssinica seed oil, which is rich in Omega-9, protects against dehydration, smoothes hair and eases combing. There’s also rapeseed oil, which is full of unsaturated fatty acids that limits water loss in the hair and even has anti-dandruff properties. Finally there’s andiroba fruit oil which is rich in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and essential fatty acids.
I squeeze out all the water first. And then I apply a very generous amount.
But only on the ends of my hair! Starting from the bottom and slowly working my way to the top, but not going higher than my ear level.
When it’s in there, I comb through my hair to spread the conditioner evenly and to remove any tangles. You can use your fingers, but I like to use this lovely wide toothed curly comb from Only Curls. It slides through my hair like silk and it makes me feel like a mermaid.
When I’m satisfied I twirl it up into a bun with a waterproof elastic.
And then just leave this to sit in for about 5 minutes while I do some general shower stuff.
4. Hair masks
About once every other week I add a hair mask to the mix. Usually it’s just a dollop of coconut oil which I brush through and leave overnight. But there’s a lot more mask’s that can leave your hair extra moisturised.
5. Towel drying
If you can, avoid using a terry cloth towel on your hair. Use a microfibre towel, or even an old T-shirt and scrunch rather than rub.
I personally love these microfibre turbans.
They have a button in the back so you can easily secure it.
You can buy them at Savers for about a pound. I’m not even joking. I have about 5 in case one is in the wash.
They keep your hair protected and out of the way while you get dressed and go about your day.
After washing my hair I usually leave it on for about an hour so I can do some chores or just relax at home.
For example with a cup of tea, fresh pastries and the weekend papers.
Perfect and guaranteed to stay put.
No matter what you do.
6. Protection
Your hair gets exposed to all kinds of things. Heat, cold, humidity, pollution, UV radiation, you name it. So protection is essential.
Before styling my hair I love applying the Lifesaver UV from Michael Van Clarke. It’s often advertised as an SPF for your hair, but it’s so much more than that!
It’s also a heat protectant, a leave in conditioner and a keratin treatment all in one.
And i’s oil free, so you can apply as much as you like without getting your hair greasy. I apply a good dollop of this stuff to my towel dry hair, and then brush it through before styling.
7. Minimise heat
Heat can really damage your hair if you use it too often. So use your heat styling tools sparingly. Let your hair air dry when you can, but if you do want to go for a blow dry, do it once a week only.
In between blow dries, sleep with your hair up in a blowout preserving bun to make it last longer.
That way you have to repeat the process less often and that means less heat exposure!
You bend forward and gather all your hair on the top.
Then twirl it up until it starts to coil.
Then twist it around itself and secure it with a silk or satin scrunchy.
And there you are!
This will protect it from friction caused by the pillow, the twirling keeps the curl and the fact that it’s up will keep its volume!
All while you get your beauty sleep.
For more tips on how to make a blowout last all week, read here.
Another thing you can use is one of these heatless curlers.
You clip the satin sausage on the top of your head like so.
Then start to wrap your hair around it.
Strand by strand.
Until you run out of hair. Then secure it with the scrunchie.
And then just move on to the other side.
You should now have a construction that looks a bit like this.
Which is silly, I know. But the next morning, all you have to do is remove the scrunchies and clip. And you can pull that sausage right out.
And shake out your curls.
And you’ll have bouncy hair without heat.
8. Brushing
When brushing your hair, be gentle. A trick I learned recently is to brush your hair in sections.
Start from the ends, and when they’re tangle free: working your way up.
Not only does it minimise all the tugging on your hair, it also saves you lots of tears when detangling. I wish I knew this when I was little.
9. Regular haircuts
If you want to keep your hair in good condition, you have to have it trimmed regularly. Once every 3 months is the best time for me, but find out what works for you. Everyone’s hair grows at at different rate and some people get split ends faster than others.
Also make sure that your hair is cut by a good stylist and you have a haircut that fits your face shape. Your stylist can advise you on this, or you can look up pictures of celebrities with a similar face shape to yours and bring them in to your appointment.
As you would have guessed, I go to Michael Van Clarke in London.
Because it’s a really good salon who really know what to do with hair. All stylists are amazing. They use patented cutting techniques, such as the diamond dry cut (they cut your hair dry, which is amazing cause hair is so different once it dries up). They also cut layers in the most natural looking way I’ve ever seen.
Prices for a cut start around £65 too, so it’s incredibly reasonably priced.
Furthermore they usually hook you up with the same stylist all the time, meaning that you get to build rapport with your stylist and they properly get to know your hair and personal taste. This really makes it feel like your friendly neighbourhood hair salon
Before I started going here I had been to the same hairdresser all my life. She had a little salon in her garage and had known me since I was a toddler. So this kind of rapport is extremely important to me and extremely rare to find in London.
10 healthy lifestyle
Lifestyle really affects your hair. You know how some labs can test hair strands to see whether someone has been using certain drugs? (I watch a lot of crime shows, that’s how I know).
This is because your hair has memory.
The slightest change in diet or lifestyle change gets stored in your follicles.
So try to eat healthy (mainly proteins, healthy fats and vitamin B).
keep hydrated, avoid smoking and get plenty of sleep and exercise and you’ll be fine.
It all starts from within.
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This is all I can think of for now.
If you have any tips to share with the readers, feel free to drop them below!
