How to Give Your Hair a Little Helping Hand

For us to get life back into our hair we need to go back to the basics of haircare 101, and it starts with how you wash your hair. Did you know that you’ve probably been washing your hair wrong this entire time? And washing your hair incorrectly can leave your hair feeling dry and flat, as well as impacting the quality of the hair from breakages to slow growth.

You may think that washing your hair regularly helps to keep it shiny and strong, but if you wash your hair every day, you are stripping away the natural oils that help keep your hair and scalp healthy.

Try training your hair to go longer between washes; start by increasing the time between washes by one day, even if your hair feels oily afterwards. Over time, your hair will stop looking greasy and start looking the healthiest it’s ever felt.

Each time before you shower, brush your hair including giving your scalp a scrub – this can be done with your hands or with a brush, but the aim of the game is to loosen up any build up that may be sitting on – and blocking – your hair follicles, as well as helping to stimulate growth; if you can loosen them up, you’ll be able to wash them away when you shampoo.

Next, consider the way you wash your hair. Shampoo is in fact just for your scalp, so if you spend a lot of time sudding up your hair in the shower, you’re using shampoo incorrectly. Choose a sulphate-free shampoo and really work into the scalp, this will loosen and remove the build-up you worked off the scalp pre-shower. Once you have finished shampooing your scalp, tilt your head back and wash off – don’t wash the ends of your hair with shampoo.



For conditioner, just add from the mid-lengths to the ends of your hair; adding conditioner to the scalp may be weighing your hair down, which will contribute to hair feeling flatter and greasier more quickly. Don’t forget to use lukewarm water when rinsing as hot water can damage your hair.

Take Time for Hair Treatments

Regularly using a treatment on your hair is another good way to get your hair in shape – be that a weekly hair mask or after-shower treatments. If you haven’t already, pick up a bottle of Olaplex no.3 to help keep the hair strands healthy by improving the structure. We stock a variety of Olaplex types to suit your hair, including the No. 6 Smoothing styler for taming frizzy hair, post shower.

Don’t forget to use heat protector spray if you’re going to blow-dry your hair or use heat tools, and always use a leave-in conditioner to help detangle the hair and keep it in good condition.

Another treatment that is trending right now is the use of rice water for improving the quality of the hair, adding shine, and helping in growth. Yes, you read that correctly: rice water. Deriving from Japan, this technique is centuries old and thanks to the ingredient inositol, the rice water can penetrate damaged hair and repair it from the inside out.

We’re not saying that you must do this, and as hairdressers we don’t want you jumping on and off every band wagon, but we thought we’d discuss this as it’s hot on TikTok right now, so you’ve probably already seen it.

How Do I Use the Rice Water Technique on My Hair?

Start by rinsing and straining your rice to remove the starch and dirt that may be present. Next, mix the cleaned rice with water (usually one cup rice to one cup water) and leave until the water becomes cloudy. Drain the rice and put the water in an air-tight container and in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Grab a small bottle – such as a travel spray bottle – fill, and take to the shower with you when you next wash your hair.

After you shampoo and condition, apply the rice water but really focus on your scalp and work your way out to the rest of your hair, leave for about 15 minutes and then rinse out.

That’s it! It’s a really easy DIY hair treatment that, as we said, is going viral across TikTok and with beauty influencers.

Pre-Bed Hair Care Routine

A lot of damage is done to your hair at night so as part of your new-year-new-hair resolution, it’s time to change things up. Before bed, gently brush your hair (always starting from the bottom and working your way to the top), add oil to your ends, twist your hair into a bun or put away into plaits. Make sure you’re not pulling tightly on the hair as you don’t want to cause breakage around your scalp. Sleep on silk pillowcases to avoid breakage too.

The next morning, let your hair down and gently brush through. Over time, you’ll see a big difference to the quality of your hair by protecting it for bed and the twisted bun also creates a nice heatless curl so you’re ready to go the next day without heat damage

Avoid Over-Styling

It’s important to take breaks from heat, over styling and tight hairstyles pulling on your scalp. This alone will help you see a huge difference in the quality of your hair.

Try clipping your hair back in a low bun with a claw-clip or a silk scrunchie and let it dry naturally where possible. The less you play with your hair, the less likely it is to get greasy more easily and so it can start to heal itself so by pinning it back out of the way means you won’t play with it as much.

Finally, get regular trims; this really will help the quality of your hair. See you the in the salon seat!

Taking Care of Yourself

This time round, we’re focusing on ourselves; we’re not giving our time up to zoom quizzes so run yourself a hot bath, pour in a bath bomb or some Epsom salts, switch on Netflix and let’s have a spa night instead!

After a well-deserved soak in the bath, drench the body in a sumptuous oil and let it soak in.

After you’ve moisturised your skin, move on to your face ready for an at-home care routine to keep you glowing.

What’s the Best Night-Time Routine for Skin?

There has been a surge of us prioritising skincare in the last few years thanks to extra time during the pandemic to an increase in education from skincare influencers. Hello, Caroline Hirons and Skincare by Hyram! So, this is a great time to get a good routine in place, especially with the winter weather battering our skin barriers.

At night, either before bed or in the evening, double cleanse to remove the day’s make-up, SPF, and general build-up of grime; use a toner, hydrate, and then use a good serum, eye-cream, and moisturiser. Hydration is particularly important during the winter months so make sure you’re using a rich moisturiser. If you get a good skincare routine in place, your next facial with us will feel even better for your skin.

Face Masks and Treatments

There’s nothing stopping you from doing a facemask at home. Layer your products on to the skin for a luxurious and hydrating treatment; if you’ve got a Jade or ice roller, use this to de-puff and massage the product into your skin. It’s the treat we all deserve right now.

How to Make Your Lashes and Brows Grow

If you’re looking to protect and care for your lashes between the salon visits, try using castor oil to help them grow. Before bed, take a spoolie, dip it in castor oil and brush through your brows and lashes. After a few weeks, you should start to see a difference in growth. At the very least, it’s moisturising for the hair, which can sometimes lose moisture during lamination or lifting treatments.

Nb. This is not to be used on false lashes, only natural lashes.

If you’d prefer to invest in more, there are lots of lash growing serums on the market with results that speak for themselves.

Don’t forget, for healthy hair and skin, and to feel your best, the answer may lie in eating a healthy, balanced diet, getting the right amount of sleep, and drinking enough water.