Celebrity Hair Icon : Nicole Richie

Nicole Richie has been a Hair Icon since she chopped off her hair extensions and brought the bob back. Nobody has rocked it better than this fabulous gal. Not only is her style always amazing, from the bob, back to long bohemian waves with a grown out parted fringe and now with a textured fringe and shoulder length locks, her colour is always flawless. So many clients ask for the "Nicole Richie Blonde" Creamy highlights in a caramel base. And then theres the braided styles and high pony tails. Always stunning and inspiring. There's no doubt she will always be a Hair Icon
Whoever is doing your hair Nicole, never let him/her get away

 

What Hair Extensions are the best?

Have you ever had hair extensions? The are such a fun way to cheat! You can have Long, Thick Hair overnight. They're fantastic, but...... Extremely high maintenance and if you want the best quality they can be extremely expensive and you can pay as much as $3000 for a maximum period of 6 months.

There are some things you should now when choosing which extensions are best for you.

Firstly remember, when you are regularly getting any type of extensions please remember to give your hair and scalp a break every now and then. Having an extra set of strands on top of yours can get heavy and weaken the follicle roots over extended periods and the result can lead to hair loss or thinning.

Secondly, types of extensions:

Great Lengths bonded strands. These are amazing great quality extensions that work best on courser darker hair. The look natural and are easy to manage and can last up to 6 months. The don't put complete strain on a concentrated area of your scalp and follicles. However in some cases where the hair is finer, or frizzier naturally, they can matt up over time and be quite painful to remove. So if you go down this path remember to take good care to wash and comb your hair well. Only getting them styled at a hairdresser is also a great option but becomes a very high maintenance solution.

Tape in extensions are fantastic. They are cheaper and you can get amazing quality hair. They don't really last as long as they fall out easier but that just means they aren't putting very much strain on the follicles at all. They also don't matt up and are a low maintenance option.

Weaves.  These are my favourites. They always look natural. Depending on the quality of the hair you buy and who sews them in they can last a very long time. They can strain your follicles in a concentrated area as you are  getting the weft re-sewn to a tightly braided area under your crown every 6 weeks. Prices vary depending on the quality of the hair and the experience of the hairdresser who applies them.

Lastly is the cheapest, easiest, longest lasting and low maintenance option. Clip in wefts. You can buy a pack of one or two great quality wefts with clips attached for under $350. They aren't permanently sewn or bonded to your hair and you can clip them in and take them out whenever you please. They are easy to style as you can clip them to a hanger and straighten or curl them out of your hair before you attach them. You can wear them for special occasions only so no damage or strain ever comes to your scalp or follicles. No commitment necessary. And depending on how well you look after them and how often you wear them, they can last years.

Top 10 most damaging ways to treat your hair and ways to recover from them

These are the top 10 most damaging ways to treat you hair. They are in no particular order and most are regular ways of treating your hair so I don't expect anyone to avoid them all completely.

1. Styling with thermals. Hair dryers, hair straighteners, hot rollers, etc. We all love looking good and we all should if that what we want. But trying to minimise how often we style and the amount of heat we apply to our hair (especially when its not boy short and we aren't getting regular haircuts) is going to pay off when trying to keep your hair at its healthiest. Also using protective products before you apply thermals is going to assist in damage control. Try a leave in conditioner or a protective shine spray like Keratin Complex Thermo Shine.

2. Shampoo. While shampoo cleans your hair (and regularly cleaning your hair is obviously necessary) it also strips your hair of its natural oils. On going this can become extremely damaging. So the less you was your hair, the better. For more info on this topic read this.

3. Lightening your hair colour. Colouring your hair is not always damaging. Semi permanents can even add shine and smooth your hair temporarily. When you lighten your hair however, you always need to use an ammonia or other harsh chemical to penetrate the follicle and lift the hair colour.  This is always going to damage the hair but to what degree is up to you. The less often you lighten your hair and make sure the chemicals you use aren't too strong, the less damaging. Not leaving the colour chemicals in your hair too long is also going to prevent over processing. For more info read this.

4. Chemical straighteners and perms. These are two kinds of chemical treatments I don't provide for my clients. Simply because I believe that the result they produce for the damage they cause is just not worth it. If I wouldn't do it in my hair, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The reason they are so damaging is that they change the natural form and shape of your hair permanently (although it does grows out). Please feel free to leave any comments or questions on this one as I'm not going into it much further in this post.

5. Extensions. There are so many different types of extensions. Some are far less damaging than others and to whom's hair they are damaging to all depends on who is doing it and the person getting it done's hair and also how well the extensions are taken care of. So if you are planning on getting extensions, shop around and go off recommendations. Pay a little extra for better quality hair. If you still aren't sure but want to try them, my favourite option is a clip in hair piece. You can ask your local hairdresser or wig maker to find you one that is the right length colour and thickness for your hair and show you how to clip it in and out so you can wear it whenever you like and it won't damage your hair at all.

6. Tying your hair tightly when you sleep. This puts a lot of strain on your follicles and eventually you will get some breakage. I recently had a new client who did this and was wondering why her hair always broke and started looking like a mullet. If you can't sleep with your hair out, then plat it loosely and loosely tie the end.

7. Dry shampoo. I love dry shampoo. You can get away with the oiliest mess of hair when you're in a rush. But using it regularly really dries out your hair and scalp and it can take a while to recover from. So use in emergencies only.

8. Brushing. If your hair is long, brushing regularly is a must and you should, once or twice a day. But always start from the ends and work your way up to the roots. it you start at the roots your going to end up with some serious breakage. Especially if you have product in your hair like hair-spray or dry shampoo. Combing your conditioner through in the shower or combing it after your hair is towel dried with a wide toothed comb is going to help you avoid knots generally also. For more info, read this.

9. Weather. The weather really only has a small impact on your hair. High, strong sun exposure can damage your burn and bleach and strip your hair somewhat, but its a slight gradual process. Wearing a hat and using a leave in treatment/moisturiser will create a barrier between your hair and the sun and protect it. You can even find some with UV protection, like sunscreen for your hair.

10. Stress & Diet. Kind of two things but they go hand in hand. The better you take care of yourself the more lovely you look. Stress can cause your hair to fall out and become quite brittle. As can getting sick and taking certain medication. Theres some extra info here on the subject. The more protein in and vitamins, minerals, oils and good fats you consume, the shinier, thicker and stronger your hair will be. Also taking supplements like Silica will help improve the strength and appearance of your hair. So don't stress, eat well and just take care of yourself.

DIY Bouncy Blowdry

Like a Big, luxurious bouncy blow-dry but don't want to spend loads at the hairdresser?

Here is a fool proof way to DIY

Tools you will need:

-Shampoo and conditioner

-A volumising product

-A large brissle/paddle brush

-A hairdryer

-A tail comb

-A butterfly clip

-A set of hot rollers

1. First you need good products. Washing your hair with a volumising shampoo and conditioner. 

2. Switch on your hot roller set

 3. Then towel dry and spreay some Sea Salt Spray into the roots and massage it in evenly with your fingers. 

4. Now tip your head upside down and blow-dry with a powerful hair dryer (the best one on the market is a Parlux brand dryer). Blow-dry until dry then flip your head back upright and brush out the knots. Feel through the hair to make sure the hair is bone dry everywhere. 

5. If you have quite curly frizzy hair and it has now been turned into a wildly frizzy afro, go over it gently with a hair straightener, mainly in the fizziest areas like the roots near the hairline. (Don't flatten it out, just get it a little smoother)

6. Then using the larger rollers in your hot roller set, take one and start at the top of your head at the hairline taking a section about 2" deep and 3" wide and roll in your first roller. If you've never used hot rollers before practice with velcro rollers first. Elevate the section of hair all the way into the air and brush it smooth. then wrap the hair around the roller in the direction away from your face. Clip it in place with a butterfly clip or clips provided in the set once you've rolled all the way to the scalp.

7. Continue this in the same sized sections always rolling away from the face and when you get to the back of the head then you can start rolling the downwards, never upwards.

8. Leave the rollers in your hair around 20 minutes or until cool and the take them out.

9. Tip your head upside down again and gently shake your hair from the roots with your fingers. Then flip back upright and find your part and spray some hair-spary to hold it in place.

Now your have a fabulous bouncy blow-dry that will last through the night and hopefully a few days too

Why wont my hair get longer?

Have you been constantly growing your hair and finding it at the same length? Even though you have regrowth at your roots? This problem is driving a lot of people crazy.

There are some reasons for this.

One reason could be your aren't taking very good care of your hair. If your ends are damaged and you style your hair daily and want to grow it, there's a good chance it's breaking off gradually over time. 

Give it a break from colouring and styling and nurture it with some treatments. Get regular haircuts and you will find that it will not only grow longer but will have thickness to it also.

Another reason could be that your hair is at its longest already. It's not something I like to tell people but it's the truth. Hair only grows to a certain length. To what degree of length that is varies with each person. And no amount of TLC will help.

Still don't understand? 

All hair grows in cycles. Eyelashes, and eyebrows grow for 1 to 2 months. Arm and leg hair, 1 to 4 months. Generally the hair on your head has a cycle between 2 to 7 years.

This isn't to say it all falls out at once and starts again at once. If that were the case we would all be bald and start from scratch many times in our life. Each follicle on our head is in a different stage of this process you see. When it gets to the end of its cycle it stops growing and sits in the scalp for up to 3 months until you comb it or disturb it enough times for it to come out. This is why hairdressers say that generally we all lose 100 hair follicles a day. Each person is different though. If you have more hair than the average person you may lose a lot more. 

So if you are having the latter of these problems then embrace your hairs length! Or get extensions 

Connecting with your hairdresser

One of the most important things when getting your hair done can be whether or not you connect with your hairdresser. If you don’t feel confident that you’re on the same page and you can’t put trust in the person who is cutting your hair it’s never going to work.

My best work is always done when my client puts complete trust in my skills and opinion. While I never do whatever I want with whomever's hair I want, I do express my opinion strongly and honestly when working with a client. When they express theirs back with confidence I know we're going to get it right. This always works out for the best because there is a strong communication.

If you’re having trouble getting your hair right at the salon then try a little harder to get your message across to your hairdresser and get as much information out of them as you can. Do whatever it takes for them to realise what you want. Bringing photos to your appointment is extremely helpful for your hairdresser. It also helps you become more decisive because half the time the problem is that we aren't really sure we know what we want. If you have lots of photos from magazines or wherever, your hairdresser can at least get an idea of what you sense of style is and recommend something that works best for you. Then if you feel good about it, put your trust in them. It’s always going to get the best results.

If your confidence in that hairdresser still isn't there after all this, its time to move on and find a new one. 
Neither you, nor any hairdresser wants you to leave the salon unhappy.

The Truth about Treatments

Have you ever been sold a treatment on the promise it will repair, reconstruct or restore your damaged hair permanently? I'm sure this doesn't happen often because the promise is empty. While a treatment of any sort may well improve the feel and manageability of your hair temporarily, it will have no permanent effect of any sort. Ever.

Damaged hair is damaged hair unfortunately.

But don't feel cheated. Treatments are still amazing products for, as I stated earlier, make your hair feel stronger, softer and your hair will become much more manageable for a short time after they have been used on your hair. A long time if we're talking Keratin Treatments which are a semi-perminent type.
When you use any sort of treatment, from protein kinds to moisturising kinds, it not only improves the feel and manageability of your hair but it also protects your hair from the day to day damage of sun, wind and styling. When you regularly treat your hair well, it will grow out healthier.

So don't hope for improved hair after one treatment. Unfortunately you will be disapointed

Satin Pillow Case

One of the most common services I provide in my work is a beautifully styled blow-dry. Clients get them as a finishing service on when getting a colour colour, when they are heading to a certain event or (in most cases) get regular weekly/bi-weekly blow-dries as part of their routine and I’m always handing out tips on how to make them longer lasting.

One very important tip is sleeping with a satin pillowcase instead of cotton.

A satin pillowcase is not nearly as abrasive as cotton so, when putting your head down to sleep your hair will slip and slide and less knotting will occur so when you wake up your hair isn’t a mess. 

Long Hair? Avoid tangles and knots while protecting your hair from damage!

If you have long hair that you’re styling daily and it’s always knotting and matting up you need to start using a leave in moisturizer and serum. Try to find one that’s right for your hair type. Many of these improve the condition of your hair, but this isn’t the main reason to use it. They also detangle the hair and protect it from styling thermals that you use day by day some even adding a finishing shine. Unfortunately using a supermarket brand may not always be the best choice but don’t run out and buy the most expensive product on the shelf. Be very careful to buy the right product, as everyone’s hair is different.

If your hair is fine and limp you may want to avoid it, but if its also very tangled the a light spray leave in treatment is best.

If it is damaged and course then try an Argon or Macadamia oil based product. These have moisturizers and proteins. Try Moroccan Oil products

If your hair is in perfect condition and just gets a bit frizzy just use a shine serum.

Because these products are for daily use the less cosmetic and more natural based brands are recommended. Try Silicone-Free Hair Repair from the karpati natural hair care range. That's also a good one if your hair is damaged buy fine as it doesn't weigh your hair down or make it oily.

Holiday Hair

How to wear your hair on holidays and what products to pack

The best way to pack is lightly when travelling. Guys are lucky, all they need is shampoo, one product and maybe a straightening iron at the most. But for girls theres also brushes treatments, products, clips, hairdryers and other bulky items.

When holidaying I want to be as low maintenance as possible. I don't want to be blowdrying my hair everyday. I wear my hair wavy or if I want to wear it straight I make sure I get a Keratin treatment before I head off so its easy to style while I'm away.

With both these options theres a way to limit taking up space in your luggage.
You can use a cleansing conditioner so you don't need to pack both shampoo and conditioner try Wen by Chaz Dean. Or if you don't like that most brands have tester size bottles you can try from salons. Get some of those, or if you already have some small bottles, transfer your products into the smaller sizes.

I would suggest taking a leave in hair moisturiser (try Redken leave in detangling spray or for something heavier try Redken Smoothing Cream)

And the only equipment I would take would be a wide toothed comb, a straightening iron and a butterfly clip.

If you still have room then you can add whatever other products are your favourites, but that should be all you need.

Essential Products! Gift Ideas for anyone

Looking for Christmas gift ideas?

Here are some great ideas, all prices that will suit almost anyone:

ghd for ceramic hair iron and products have some great gift packages that are amazing right now if you're looking to spend around $250-$310. When it comes to straightening irons the ghd brand is far superior to any other.

The best hairdryer on the market in my opinion is PARLUX 3800 which is now designed more eco friendly. It is an Italian brand but can be found with more information here (http://www.ry.com.au) for around $150

Another idea would be a salon voucher. These are great as you can purchase any treatment from a blowdry minimum to a haircut to a full colour to a keratin treatment to the works! Just find out where their favourite hairdresser is based.

There is a great styling product brand out there which is becoming very popular at the moment called EVO they have 3 summer favourites right now which are mostly for thickening and texture. But all EVO products are amazing with fun descriptions like "salty dog, cocktail beach spray - a sea-esque mist designed to give you salty, beach-based texture and a matt finish" Check out their site for more products all around the $30 price range. 

Other great options are product packages which most salons or department stores provide this time of the year. Also great brushes and hair accessories are amazing presents and can be either affordable or quite special depending on where you buy them.

For any further questions or ideas please feel free to leave me a comment.

Pregnancy and Hair

Have you just fallen pregnant and get your hair done regularly? Some things you should know.

Firstly, during the first trimester of pregnancy, mothers should avoid hair colours that come into contact with the scalp. 

This is not just to keep chemicals off the skin and therefore entering the body. When using colour products directly on your scalp in this stage they can react with the hormones in your skin, heat up in ways that are irregular and the colour you’ve been getting every time you retouch your hair will come out completely different at your roots.

This won’t happen with foils luckily. You can get your highlights retouched as regularly as normal. But with an all over colour in the first trimester (and I’d recommend during your whole pregnancy and if you decide to breast feed) stick with a semi permanent if you have grey hair you need to hide, they have less or no ammonia compared to tints, and avoid other chemical treatments.

Secondly, you need to know about hair loss. 

Once, a few months after one of my clients gave birth, she called me super stressed out because she was losing clumps of hair. Scared to brush it or wash it incase she was making it worse. I told her to treat her hair as normal as treating it delicately wouldn't change a thing.

Throughout the duration of your pregnancy you may notice your hair getting thicker. This is common during pregnancy but doesn't happen with everyone and the degree in which it happens varies between pregnancies and people. 

The way this seems to work is that, instead of losing the average 100 hairs a day (as a rule, refer back to Hair Loss blog) your body retains that hair and around 3 to 5 months after you've given birth, all that hair that you retained starts to fall out rapidly. If you're pregnant and your hair has gotten a lot thicker enjoy it while it lasts as unfortunately the hair loss is unavoidable. But don't worry, it will all come back. it all starts growing back and you'll notice short hairs sprouting all over the place and then you'll have your hair back before you know it. It may come back a little different depending on how your body copes with all the changes. The case will be different for everyone. Hormones are very powerful. 

In the case of my stressed out client, her hair has grown back completely. Nothing to worry about.

Platinum Blonde! MX article

Mx magazine asked me to do an article all about platinum blondes. So I thought I'd share it with you.

Here is the Q&A:


Is it for everyone? 
Definitely not. First of all its a very extreme look and so you need to have the right personality and sense of style. Platinum is very high maintenance, if your natural colour is quite dark it may be hard to achieve. Also if your hair is not very strong, it wont handle the damage bleach can create, very well. 


What kind of skin tone suits platinum hair? 
In my opinion anyone can have this look, its all about how you wear it and how you alter your other features to suit it, eg. you may have to lighten your eyebrows. But in saying that it definitely looks better on someone with fair skin.


Would you have to alter your make-up with this dramatic style? 
Yes, the clearer your skin is the better your hair will look when its platinum so a cover up or concealer will probably be necessary. Eye make-up is also a must, the minimum you should wear is mascara as your eyes will look washed out without anything.


How is it achieved? 
Primarily bleach directly on the scalp and most of the time a toner will be needed at the end of the process to create that icy cool feel. Brands of colour that get the most even result are Wella and L'Oreal. 


How often does it need to be refreshed? 
Every 4 weeks. Never leave your re-growth longer than that or you'll find it very hard to keep your colour even.


Does it damage the hair? 
Definitely, but different people will have different degrees of damage so some hair types will cope quite well with the colour. It can also be very harsh on your scalp depending on your sensitivity.


What about fading? 
Platinum doesn't really fade, it can get dull or brassy but most of the time if your using the right products (like a blonde shampoo which tones as you wash) and are getting it refreshed periodically you wont have any problems.


Is there a less extreme blonde look that is more manageable? 
Of course, you can get a light blonde tint which wont get as bright. Or my favourite alternative is a full head of high quantity bleach highlights. You can get almost as blonde without having to have your hair colour refreshed as often as the regrowth isn't as pronounced. (An example of this colour type is my client Ruby to the left)


Favourite platinum/super blonde celebs? 
Gwen Stefanie is the queen on platinum. Pink and Abbey Lee Kershaw also look great.

Summer Frizz

Summer has arrived! 
Loving that its hot enough to swim. The salt water is giving my hair a great beach wave but when I'm not at the beach the humidity is sending my hair into a ball of frizz!

The best solution for this problem is products. 
There are so many frizz repelling products out there from sea salt sprays which absorb the moisture in your hair, to shine serums which calm and smooth out the frizz. There are even anti-humidity hair sprays. But the most powerful product out there is the Keratin Treatment.
This product, in addition to eliminating frizz and adding long lasting strength and moisture to your hair for around 3 to 6 months, used to get your hair super straight also.

In the last year there has been a lot of controversy over Keratin treatment products. Mostly surrounding one brand in particular. As a result, all brands took their products off the shelf and reformulated to meet OHS standards. I was very disappointed (as were my clients) to find that after this reformulation, the once perfect and long lasting, smoothing straightening treatment, was not as good and in some cases not working at all. So I had to give some refunds and re-dos. I wasn’t going to give up though. 

Which Keratin Product works best?

I took it upon myself to sample several different brands and start stocking the best one.

I’m very excited to have found it! Global Keratin. Its not as great as the original product in the sense that it doesn't straighten the hair as well, but it and definitely reduces frizz, improves the condition of the hair and lasts around 4 months. 

But, I am continually testing out brands as they come out so if I find one that works better I promise to update this post.

Get the most out of your colour.

I forget sometimes that a lot of people have trouble making their colour last. This is a problem I constantly manage to avoid for my clients. I'm all about creating low maintenance colour while giving them what they want.
I recently had a blog request on the subject though so I thought I'd share it:

"In your blog, I wonder if you could include a tip or two about getting the most out of your colour? I noticed shampoo ads are always talking up how they make your colour more vibrant for longer or some such, Is this really possible? Are there any other tips or an idea of how long a colour should last / how often you should have to redo it?"

Such a great question. Firstly, all colours fade, grow out or become dull over time. Do not believe these ads when they say that they will make your colour more vibrant. You can, however, use shampoos that aren't as harsh and don't strip out your colour. Please refer back to the Oily & Dry blog for how these shampoo's and conditioners work.

Secondly, it all depends on what kind of colour you have. You cant slow down the rate your hair grows so re-growth is always going to happen. If you have an all over permanent colour you aren't going to notice the regrowth as much if its close to your natural colour. Highlights are going to grow out better than tints as they're scattered colour so the regrowth line is less defined. The more natural the highlights are made to look, the less obvious the regrowth will be. You can get up to 3 months out of your highlights in some cases. If your permanent tint isn't close to your natural colour then I'd suggest getting it done every 4 to 6 weeks.

Thirdly there are ways to touch up your colour to make it last longer at home. You can buy salon shampoos that have toners built in. Red For red hair, Brown for brown hair etc. There's a great range in Goldwell for these type of products.

For a great colour alternative you can always get a semi-perminant. You wont have any regrowth as it is supposed to fade out. Although you can only deposit colour pigment with semi's which means you cant get a lighter colour without it being permanent. But please do not get a semi-permanent home colour. Every time I work with hair that has had a home job "semi" permanent, there is always a regrowth proving that it isn't a semi and will never fade out completely.

Fringes!! (or "bangs")

I love a good fringe, whether it’s blunt over the brows, the side fringe or long and messy. Fringes or “Bangs” can be a fun addition to your look when you’re bored and want a change without doing anything too dramatic. They also give you some style when you decide to pin your hair back.

Unfortunately there are many cases of fringes gone wrong. This happens when you don’t have the right hairline for the fringe you’ve decided on. A low forehead or cowlick hairline can almost always struggle with a fringe that sits full and forward onto the face. In this case I would always go for a longer fringe or side fringe or short loose layers that shape the face more

When deciding what the best option is for you, you must go with your hair and DON’T FIGHT AGAINST IT! Gently style it forward and see where it parts and how it sits. If its separating and pushing itself back then go for a longer option.

If you still really want a fringe then look into the clip in human hair extension bangs. You can get these cut and coloured to 

suit your face and hair and you’ll never have to worry about fighting to style it again.