Hair styled at Aveda

The Aveda Institute Salon and Spa is one of my favourite salons in London. It is large, yet warm and welcoming. You are made to feel special from the moment you arrive rather than feeling as if you are another person to be put on a conveyor belt. There are some occasions when you want your hair to look particularly good. No matter how hard you try yourself, you can never manage to get your tresses as smooth as a hairdresser can.

Aveda now has a dressing hair specialist, Joon Barratt, so I decided to put my locks in her hands. After a long consultation, in which Joon examined my hair’s texture and talked about how she was going to style it, she whisked me over to the basin, where there was practically every Aveda product on offer. She chose the Color Conserve Shampoo (£15.50) and matching conditioner (£17.50).

Before starting the blow-dry, she applied Damage Remedy Daily Hair Repair (£19.50) to the ends to help the condition and, Joon told me, as it contains protein, it will help stop my hair from frizzing up.  She mixed it with some Smooth Infusion style-prep smoother (£19.50).

“Your hair has a bend in it,” said Joon. “If that is what it wants to do, let it.” Joon’s advice was to keep things simple. She smoothed my hair out and flicked it out, blasting it with a shot of cold air to set it. She also spritzed my hair with the new Be Curly curl enhancing hair spray (£17.50) to help it last.

“What you want is for people to say you look well, then notice what is different about you, whether it is having your hair styled, cut or coloured,” she added.

I was actually meeting somebody for dinner whom I hadn’t see for a while. “You look really well,” he said.

By Daralyn Danns

Blow-dry from £30, Aveda Institute Salon and Spa (www.avedainstitute.co.uk)

Coping with fine, fluffy hair

Rain and damp weather can play havoc with your hair, especially If you have fine, fluffy hair like mine which tends to frizz at the slightest sign of humidity.

As I was going away for a few days and the weather forecast predicted more rain, I decided to pop into the Aveda Institute Salon and Spa, Covent Garden to get my hair done.

Jay Doan, my stylist, took one look at my hair and said: “Heat is the answer. You need to smooth your hair before you style it and then put a little movement back into your hair.”

Before Jay dried my hair she prepped it with Aveda Smooth Infusion Style-Prep Smoother (£18.50). “It contains organic tapioca that helps defend against humidity making the blow-dry last longer,” she told me.

For the best results, Jay explained, you also need to use the right brush to smooth out your hair. Round bristle brushes are good for creating volume and smoothing, if you have frizzy hair. Create tension by holding the brush taut. Paddle brushes are good for straightening long hair. You can use a round brush afterwards if you need extra volume.  

Ceramic brushes let the warm air from the dryer circulate and work on the surface of the hair and underneath, so your hair is dried quicker. “Don’t apply too much heat, otherwise you can damage your hair,” warns Jay. “You can use ceramic brushes like heated rollers to create curl or a soft wave. Leave it in the hair for a few seconds and then, when cool, remove.”

If you want to create waves with a curling iron, Jay says: “Take a section of hair and start in the middle and feed the hair through. If you want to use heated rollers, comb a section of the hair, wrap it round the roller making sure that it is clean at the roots and sitting on the scalp. Don’t leave it dangling.”

When I leave the salon and it is raining, I tie my hair back into a ponytail with a metal-free hair band and let it down when I get to my destination.

Jay’s blow-dry, I’m pleased to tell you, survived the worst downpours. In fact it was so good, it didn’t need touching for three days.

By Daralyn Danns

For appointments visit www.aveda.co.uk