How To Get Your Best Hair Ever, While Staying At Home

 

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A post shared by Sabby (@superstylesabby)

I feel as if people tend to fall into two categories: those who think of their hair as their pride and joy, and those who think of it as more of a hindrance than anything else. But regardless of which category you fall into, and no matter your hair colour, texture, and style, there’s one thing that we can all secretly agree on: We want our hair to be in beautiful condition, looking as if a hairdresser has had their wonderful way with it each and every week.

Unless you are in fact a hairdresser or you’re lucky enough to live with one (I think about how handy this would be more times than I’d like to admit), that’s just not happening. Particularly now, when we can’t make plans to meet our loved ones, let alone plan into the future of our next salon visit.

As those of us who aren’t frontline workers are spending the majority of our time indoors, our hair isn’t getting that daily dose of styling and scorching, it’s the perfect time to get your locks into their best ever condition. Plus, now that we’re hiding half our faces with necessary facemasks outside, it’ll be nice to have your hair as your crowning glory, right? Right. So, are you ready to find out how to get your hair in the best nick of its life? Well, let’s get ourselves in gear and start off on the road to healthy, happy hair.

First thing’s first, what is happy hair? Are there golden rules that you need to follow to get the luscious locks that we all dream of? If your hair isn’t, well for lack of a better phrase, blatantly in bits – how do you know if your locks are actually in good order?

According to hairstylist and extraordinaire Sabrina Hill (@superstylesabby) “healthy hair is something that visually looks shiny, it’s using salon professional products that suits your hair.” Sabrina isn’t just telling you to shell out on the expensive products to suit herself – it’s because, like good skincare, they’re the only hair products that contain the standards of ingredients that will actually repair hair and keep it healthy.

“I always feel looking after the cuticle is the be all end all when it comes to keeping hair healthy. I use this analogy to describe it best, ‘close the windows and the doors of your house so the contents stay safe’. Hair is much similar and I think there’s a shift towards using products that create elasticity and contain amino acids.”

Elasticity in hair is something that I never gave a second thought, as it turns out, it’s one pretty important factor. In a nutshell, elasticity is what allows you to take a strand of your hair, stretch it slightly, then watch it return to its natural length once you let go. You can check this easily when it’s wet – simply tug it gently and let go. If it stretches then bounces back, then it’s all good. If it doesn’t, well, that’s not so good.

 

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As Sabrina says, shiny hair is usually a sign of healthy hair. So if you feel like your locks are lacking in the stunningly shiny department and could do with a bit of additional TLC, it’s worth taking a good, long look at your hair. What’s the issue you want to fix? Is it flat and a bit lifeless? Go for shampoo, conditioner or even a treatment that delivers on volume. Is it dry, brittle, and a little sad? Opt for all of the hydration. Have you been abusing the at-home dye kits? Reach for salon-worthy products to restore and rejuvenate. Once you can identify the problem, that’s pretty much half the work. Not sure where to start? You’re not alone, particularly if your hair isn’t in such bad condition (although if it is, you’re certainly not alone there either) that it’s not glaringly obvious. We’ll come back to that later, promise.

Personally, now that I’m not going into the office each day, and pretty much up to absolutely nothing at the weekends, I’m not putting my hair through as much daily turmoil as it’s used to. Which I naively thought that forgoing my beloved, yet almost scalding hair tools is being one step closer to achieving healthy hair, that too much heat is the worst factor. I could almost bet my life-savings (not that there’s a staggering amount) that I wasn’t the only one thinking exactly that. And in a surprising turn of events – we’re oh so very wrong.

“[The biggest culprit for damaging our hair is] definitely our water. Irish water is heavy in minerals and metals and can really cause havoc when it comes to keeping hair healthy. Especially now that so many of us have our hair processed with colour, I definitely see it as the most challenging this to women’s hair health.”

If you feel like the water that’s available in your area could be the very thing that’s knocking the life out of your hair, there may not be anything you can do about it instantly, but one easy thing that you can do is cut down on how many times you wash your hair – news that should make us all very happy.

Washing your hair too often can strip your hair of its natural oils and proteins that it needs to stay healthy. It can certainly cause more harm than good, particularly if your hair is dyed, bleached, has been chemically treated or is dry in any way. Try adding one extra day in between washes at first, remember: less is more.

However, don’t neglect your hair between washes. You need to keep brushing it so it doesn’t get matted, instead of just throwing it up in a hun bun 24/7. Lash some masks on in between washes – sure nobody is going to see you!

 

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A post shared by Sabby (@superstylesabby)

If you’re confused over what state your hair is in, and what it may need, talk to the experts. “Having a really good relationship with your stylist, sitting down and planning a routine. It’s all in the routine. Most of the time, if we use products and hair care that suits, is we don’t need to spend a huge fortune on expensive treatments.” Sabrina tells STELLAR.

Even though our hair care is mainly DIY, many hairdressers and stylists are still on hand to help. Check out the social media of your go-to salon to see if they’re taking over the phone or virtual consultations. Just because you can’t pop in, doesn’t mean to can’t learn from their expertise.

If you don’t have any help from your hairdresser whatsoever, don’t fret. Sabrina explains that one thing you can do to really care for your hair from the comfort of your own bathroom is to “detox the hair regularly, I don’t think this is done enough. Hair is porous and can absorb a lot of nasty minerals and build up. Caring for your scalp can also be a stepping stone to your end goal, again I see water as being a culprit to most scalp problems causing dermatitis reactions. Using a really good gentle clarifying shampoo can help eliminate a huge amount of scalp conditions.”

Now that you can up the ante when it comes to caring for your locks. Maybe even pop some fabulous, caring products on your wishlist. When life does return to as we know it before, you’ll hopefully have the dreamiest of manes. Enjoy flicking your beautifully conditioned hair back and forth.

• haircare