Monday 19 August 2013

Look after your hair



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