News feed
Intensive conditioners. Masques. Leave-in treatments. Balms. Creams. Serums. Even cooking oils. The quest for healthy hair can sometimes seem near impossible. But, according to celebrity hairstylist Renya Xydis, it isn’t.
It all starts at first (oily) base – perfecting your wash. It may be haircare’s simplest step, but a set of do’s and don’ts apply with the humble wash. As too, the dry. Drying is often where the most damage occurs, so this must be honed and fine-tuned, so you’re not frying ends. Next up, styling – which can often be tricky, and herein the danger to damage lies. An at-home blow-wave can actually save your strands, depending on the tools in your hair armour. Brushing up on your brush technique is also important, and finally, how to combat the sun and the inevitable harm from heat.
Here, Renya’s hair commandments to live by – to keep your hair shiny, happy and most importantly, healthy.
Now…Wash. Dry. Style. Repeat.
THE WASHING BIBLE
“Don’t over wash hair – your natural oils give moisture to your hair, over washing your hair creates a dryness – if you have oily roots but dry ends try shampooing the hair at the roots only and then condition the ends only.
However, in saying this you also need to clean your scalp, as the build up of oil, sebum and dirt on your scalp needs to be removed to allow your scalp to breathe – just like the rest of your skin!”
Nice Dry
“My top tips for drying:
- Try not to blow-dry your hair immediately after shampooing
- You should allow your hair to first dry for 15 minutes under a towel turban
- As a general rule of thumb, don’t overheat your hair with excessive blow drying
- Don’t use heat-styling tools daily. Flat irons, curling irons and even blow drying can damage the hair shaft
Avoiding exposure of hair to extreme heat is essential to protecting healthy hair. Consisting of dead cells, hair is unable to repair itself – so if it is damaged by heat, it will remain damaged until grown out from the root. Some conventional hair dryers can reach extreme temperatures, especially when held close to your head which causes extreme heat damage to your hair. When hair is exposed to extreme temperatures, hair keratin becomes more elastic, like plastic or similar to jelly. It can become weaker and never goes back to the resilient state it was in before. The weaker your hair, the more likely you are to suffer from broken strands and split ends, which reduce the ability to align your hair, making it less shiny.”
She’s Got Style
“The perfect at-home blow-out isn’t as hard as it sounds…
Step 1: Start by flipping your head upside down and shake your hair around while you blow-dry – the more you move, the more volume you’ll get.
Step 2: Once it’s about 80 percent dry, flip back up and blow-dry hair in sections to smooth, focusing on polished ends.
Step 3: The last three inches are key, move your brush and dryer right down to the very end of the strands and take your time. It will make all the difference as these are two important layers within a hair strand. I find the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer’s styling concentrator attachment produces a high-velocity blade of air that’s perfect for achieving a smooth and straight finish. And because it’s focused, you can style one section at a time – without worrying about disturbing the rest.”
brush up
“For perfectly shiny, healthy and untangled hair, you need to brush your hair twice a day, once in the morning and once before going to bed. Do not brush your hair while it is wet instead use a wide-tooth comb, working from the ends of your hair on up as it is weaker and more susceptible to breakage. I am a strong believer in using different tools for blow drying and styling. At home, I have a round brush for blow-drying, a Janeke round brush for styling and a tail comb to move hair around a little.”
Here comes the sun
“We spend thousands of dollars on skincare and sunscreens for our face and body – yet we neglect the damage that sun does to our hair and in particular the virgin hair at our scalps and the poor damaged ends!
Avoiding exposure of hair to sun damage and extreme heat is essential to protecting healthy hair. Damaged hair doesn’t just become weak; it loses shine with pores forming within the strands. Light hits these pores and scatters in all directions. This can reduce reflected light, decreasing shine.
Intelligent products such as the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer can help protect natural shine. With Dyson’s patented Air Multiplier™ technology, the volume of the air drawn into the motor is amplified by three due to this technology, producing a high pressure, high velocity jet of air. No need for excessive heat to improve dry times.”
Photos Credit: Erika Yin
