Over processing your hair can lead to dryness and I should
know. After years of having too many highlights resulting in hair that looked
like a stack of hay on my head, now several haircuts later, my hair is in great
condition.
“It is now one length except for the sides. You can now grow it and let the sides
come down,” said hair guru Michael Charalambous, when I visited his salon
Nyumba to get my hair trimmed.
It had been almost three months since Michael last cut it
and my ends were not really that dry. It just shows what a good cut I had. Not
having layers in my fine hair has helped keep the weight down so I don’t get as
many frizz attacks as I used to get when my hair was shorter and layered. If
anybody ever mutters the words layers or highlights to me again, I will run a
mile.
A great trick I picked up from Michael to help deal with
“summer” hair is to wash your hair and let it dry naturally over night and
blow-dry it in the morning. “It saves you having to keep going over the hair
several times with a hairdryer, which means that the hair is exposed to less
heat,” he says.
If your hair is fine and fluffy you may want to dry it as
soon as you have washed it as the quicker you dry your hair and lay down the
cuticle, the less chance of getting frizzies.
Michael recommends using the Kérastase Nutritive Glucoactive
Bain Satin 2 (£15.90). This shampoo is one of my favourites. The
Masquintense (there is one for thick hair and another for fine, £25.90)
in the same range is a must to keep hair revitalised and nourished. Use once or
twice a week.
I often apply a tiny amount of Dove Damage Therapy Intensive
Repair Overnight Crème (£4.99) which is not greasy and helps replenish protein, leaving your hair soft and smooth as
well as smelling lovely.
In the morning, if I don’t need to rewash my hair, I apply
some conditioner or a product such as Bumble and bumble grooming crème (£21.50)
to the ends, twist my hair into a knot, secure with a couple of sectioning
clips, put on a plastic cap and let the steam from the shower set it. When you
let your hair down, it is wavy and there is no fluff.
Michael also suggests using a protective UV hair spray. If I
am spending a lot of time in the sun, I will wear a hat otherwise I’ll use a
protective UV spray such as Clarins Sun Care Radiant Oil Spray "For Body
and Hair" UVB/UVA 6 (£18). It is light-weight, delicately fragranced and
stops hair from drying out.
When my hair had been styled to perfection, Michael applied
a tiny drop of Kérastase Touche Finale (£19.50). This shine polishing serum
does what it says on the tin.
After having had my hair done by Michael, I felt ready to
take on the world.
By Daralyn Danns
For appointments with Michael Charalambous visit
www.nyumbasalon.com
