Oily at the roots. Dry at the ends. Does this sound like your hair?

A common problem among clients, friends and even myself is that our hair gets oily really fast but the more we wash it, the dryer the ends gets. There are many reasons this could be happening. The wrong shampoo type, not washing your hair properly or you have naturally oily skin. Well I have some tips for all cases.

Firstly. Using  good salon, or even certain chemist shampoos and conditioners, is very important for keeping your scalp and hair healthy.

Supermarket brands can have a lot of horrible silicon, sulfate and sodium chloride in it. There are many types of silicon but the type that gets put into most mass production shampoos and conditioners is not the best for your hair in the long term. While making your hair ultra soft and shiny instantly, they also leave a build up of this silicon on the hair, which over time, builds up on the follicle, weaken it and dry it out. Sulfate and sodium chloride are in all harsh soaps and are generally drying of hair and skin. But they are found in almost all shampoos because they lather. The trick is finding a product with lower amounts. 

Recommendations

A great brand that is sulphate and sodium chloride free is the Trichovedic Hair Wisdom range.

Karpati Haircare shampoo and conditioner has absolutely no silicon in it and is 93% natural. It’s for all hair types and it’s found in most chemists but check stock lists.

Wen cleansing conditioner. It’s just one product and it doesn’t lather at all. Can only be purchased online.

Are you sick of Brassy Blondes? Some tips how to prevent this, and reasons why it occurs.

If your hair is blonde but is constantly getting yellow, orange or brassy you aren’t alone. This is a common problem amongst blondes. The reason for this (as you probably know and advise your hairdresser every time you sit down with them) is that you hair throws warmth when it is coloured. Well, the majority of people’s hair does. More so if your hair is naturally any shade of brown. This also happens when you wash your hair too often, style regularly with thermals (hairdryers, straighteners, tongs, hot rollers etc.), are out in the sun a lot or you swim regularly as all these things contribute too strip colour and health from your hair. It is always going to throw warmth when coloured any shade lighter than its natural colour.

Now if you want to avoid this in the salon when going blonde you need to avoid tints where possible where this problem occurs. Tinting is chosen over bleaching and highlights usually to cover grey, and colour throwing warmth in grey hair is less of an issue. But, when using a tint as a decision when highlighting (in foils), the finer the highlights the less brassy it will become. Eliminating tint completely and using bleach only in highlights is the best option but some brands of colour never get the yellow out completely. But if you do want low-lights (foils that are darker rather than lighter) ask your hairdresser if she will use a semi permanent instead of a tint in the foil. It will fade a little but tints fade also, the onle difference is the semi wont throw warmth or go brassy as it fades. 


Wella and L’Oreal salon brands are generally the best at achieving blondes so do ask your hairdresser before you get your colour.

Toners are great at counteracting yellow, but can sometimes dull your beautiful bright blonde down too much. So make sure your getting subtle ones.

To prevent this at home, every now and then use a silver shampoo (sometimes called blonde shampoo or violet) this will fight against rusty yellow blondes on a regular basis and maintain your toner between services. Wella SP range has an amazing silver shampoo, as does the Trichovedic Hair Wisdom range which is also sulphate and sodium chloride free.
Limit how often you wash and style your hair.
And when out in the sun or swimming use a leave in treatment/moisturiser/conditioner as a barrier. Try Moroccan Oil

Hair Colour Damage

Most of the time when I have a new client book an appointment with me it’s for colour correction. They have either put in a home colour, changed their colour so many times with different hairdressers that their colour has become messy, or a disaster has happened in a salon through a miss communication or chemical over processing. Most of the time I can fix this problem without further damage to the hair in one service alone. There are other times however, when the hair is so damaged that it becomes a progressive series of services over many months which will finally result in the colour and condition desired.

The best tips I can give are for avoiding this problem:
1. Steer clear of DIY home colour jobs 

2. Know what colours you love on yourself and what suits you best

3. Find a hairdresser who understands you, your hair, your personality and style. I always need to feel a connection with my client and know that we’re on the same page
4. Take photos of colours you like on other people or yourself, or from magazines. Its so much easier to understand what you want when theres visual description. In salon colour swatches make it hard to imagine the final result sometimes

5. If your hairdresser is getting it right, stick with them

6. Avoid changing your hair colour impulsively unless you certain you will like it

7. When changing your hair colour dramatically, know the process of changing it back again. If you don't like it, it may be more damaging to return to the original.
8. Commit to a dramatic change, changing back and forth, back and forth just as impulsively can be extremely damaging, not to mention you'll find it difficult to get the result you want. Its another disaster and mess waiting to happen.