Alexa, play Whip My Hair (Photo: @NEGIN_MIRSALEHI)

How often should I wash my hair? Should I chop off split ends myself? Do hair vitamins really work? How do I keep my hair from falling flat? Is hair lamination worth it? And what on earth is a Zoom-appropriate hairstyle?

These are all questions you’ve likely wondered more times than you can count (us, too). And let’s be real: pandemic or not, there’s nothing like a good hair day. The bounce! The shine! The confidence! As we’re adjusting to a new socially distanced norm with life (slowly) getting back to normal, we’re left wanting to put a little bit more effort into our day-to-day look rather than opting for a messy bun.

The good news is maintaining great hair can be effortless (who knew?). Colourist Veronica from Josh Wood Colour – the salon behind the refreshingly natural hair colours at Prada SS21 and the glossy red locks for Alexander Mcqueen’s AW20 campaign – and Sasha, a hairstylist at Dubai’s trailblazing IT salon Chalk, chatted with Grazia to share their pro tips for creating and sustaining healthy hair.

How often should I wash my hair?
To answer the age-old beauty question, Chalk’s Sasha recommends to wash your hair “depending on the texture of your hair, but maximum 2-3 times a week to avoid drying out the scalp and forcing it to produce more oils.” If you wash your hair every day, don’t worry: you can train your hair to last longer between washes by washing your hair evey other day. Once your hair is used to being washed less, you can try to extend the days to every 3 or 4 days.

Grazia Tip: Recycle your unwanted T-shirts by using them to dry your hair. A cotton shirt is more gentle on your strands than regular hair towels, helping to absorb water without damage. If you’re sticking with regular towels for hair drying, make sure you avoid microfibers (AKA tiny pieces of plastic that shed from textiles and end up right in our oceans). Save the turtles!

Should I be worried about my scalp?
For a truly healthy haircare routine, throw in scalp cleansing, “Scalp treatments and scalp health are also very important,” says Sasha. Cleansing removes product build-up, purifies and detoxifies – scrubbing away impurities from the scalp and hair follicles to provide optimal scalp health as well as encourage hair growth. Not only does it buff away dead skin cells, but scalp exfoliants also relieve dry, irritated scalps and dandruff. “There are plenty of treatments for the scalp and shampoos that will help, but you need a consultation with your stylist to get the right product or treatment,” Sasha continues.

 

What makes for the right shampoo?
“The most important thing for your hair is to choose the right shampoo,” Josh Wood Colour’s Veronica shares. “If your hair gets oily quite quickly try not to use overly heavy moisturising shampoos. A good one in this case could be Redken High Rise Volume Lifting Shampoo (Dhs107 at Pastels Salon). On the other hand, if your hair is quite dry and frizzy, try something that will lock the moisture inside your hair like Oribe Shampoo for Moisture and Control (Dhs186 at Net-a-Porter). This is also the ultimate way to fight the frizz while living in a humid country.”

Grazia Grab: Kevin Murphy Stimulate Me Wash, Dhs142 at Chalk. Powered by bergamot fruit oil, camphor crystals and keratin amino acids, the shampoo manifests stronger, thicker and fuller-looking hair with every wash while also fighting free radicals, cleansing the scalp and restoring the hair’s natural shine – without sulphates. Feeling extra? Enhance your hair post-wash with a sweet, woody fragrance like Byredo’s Slow Dance Hair Perfume Spray (Dhs270 at Ounass).

“Sulphate-free is more gentle on the hair, especially for curly and textured hair as it is naturally more dry. But if you want that squeaky-clean feeling you can go with a shampoo that has sulphates as long as you use a conditioner after”

What are the ingredients we should look out for?
According to Veronica, “Sulphates have been a big topic for years and most of us have been struggling whether to use shampoos that contain them or not. The answer is simple: it’s better to avoid any nasty ingredients especially when our scalp is sensitive. We should always try to look for products that are gentle and as natural as possible.” Sasha agrees, “Sulphate-free is more gentle on the hair, especially for curly and textured hair as it is naturally more dry. But if you want that squeaky-clean feeling you can go with a shampoo that has sulphates as long as you use a conditioner after.” Another ingredient to keep an eye out for is silicone. “It can give a fake picture of the condition of our hair. It coats the cuticle surface and it seems like your hair is in great, silky condition but in fact, underneath this silicone coat the situation might be different,” Veronica adds.

Grazia Tip: Narrow down your options further by looking for strengthening ingredients. For example, green tea extracts are rich in antioxidants such as polyphenols, EGCG and vitamins C and E, and works to boost circulation to the hair follicle for a healthy scalp as well as stimulate hair growth with its anti-inflammatory properties and caffeine content. For softening your locks, look for coconut – it’s packed with essential fatty acids that smooth down the hair’s cuticles – or avocado oil, which replenishes strands with vitamins B and E. Aloe vera calms itchy scalps and strips off excess sebum while its minerals copper and zinc promote hair growth. Spirulina is also great for a healthy hair regimen due to its amino acids, vitamin A and beta-carotene which combat thinning hair. Want to minimise frizz? The antioxidants and vitamins found in argan oil banish frizz and restore the hair’s natural elasticity and shine.

How often should you cut your hair?
If you’re looking to grow your hair, getting regular trims might seem counter-productive, but it is in fact, nonnegotiable. Healthy-looking hair starts with healthy ends. It will keep your hair from split ends, which actually break further up on the strand and result in thinner-looking hair as well as becoming unable to grow past a certain point. According to Sasha, the best way to go is “every 4-6 weeks for short hairstyles and 6-8 weeks for longer styles to keep the ends healthy and the haircut in shape!” Plus, who doesn’t love that post-haircut feeling?

“Eating healthy is important to have healthy hair growth, but I always recommend natural supplements if you experience any hair loss or lots of baby hair”

What nutrients should you take for hair growth?
Aside from getting regular trims, if you’re looking to grow your hair, nutrition is the first step. “Eating healthy is important to have healthy hair growth, but I always recommend natural supplements if you experience any hair loss or lots of baby hair,” advises Sasha. Veronica recommends Viviscal Advanced Health Supplements (Dhs250), “As always, the most important is a well-balanced diet, but we can also help our hair with products, such as Viviscal. It will also improve our scalp and hair growth process.”

Grazia Tip: Deficiencies in iron and/or zinc often cause hair loss. Iron helps red blood cells to carry oxygen around your body while zinc sustains the oil glands around the follicles, thus helping hair tissue growth and repair. Foods that contain both? Lentils and spinach. Biotin is also one to stock up on: part of the Vitamin B family, it helps the body convert food into energy and restore healthy hair.​

Should you colour your own hair if you’re not comfortable going to the hair salon yet? 
If we feel that we won’t be able to wait with our gray regrowth anymore, there are plenty of options for root concealers (Josh Wood Colour Darker Brown Root Marker Dhs50 at Lookfantastic) or gentle box dyes (Christophe Robin Temporary Color Gel Golden Blonde Dhs104 at Net-a-Porter) that will help us get through this difficult time, but also won’t create something that our hairdresser might have a problem with after we’re back in salons.

Grazia Grab: Go next level with a colour-enhancing gloss. Kevin Murphy Crystal.Angel (Dhs142 at Chalk) adds a clear, protective top coat that hydrates, restores shine and refreshes both coloured and uncoloured hair. Specially designed pigments enhance existing tones while neutralising unwanted ones for a longer lasting colour with zero colour build-up. You can use it as often as you like, and the heavenly treatment will leave your tresses full of life.

What would you advise for at-home hair care?
“Cutting, styling and all the other hair maintenance during staying at home can be a tricky situation for many of us,” Veronica acknowledges. “It’s a good idea to make an extra effort with treatments and masks that we normally don’t have time for with products that are dedicated to intensive care, boosting shine and also revitalising dead ends.”

Grazia Grab: Virtue Restorative Treatment Mask (Dhs130 at Sephora) will rehabilitate your hair with Alpha Keratin 60ku® complex. The weightless mask feels luxurious and will leave your hair silky soft and reinvigorated.

“If you struggle with your hair being flat from the root and you dream about a bouncy blow-dry from a hair salon, try spraying a volumising spray and drying your hair upside down”

How can you create volume and avoid flat hair at home?
If you struggle with your hair being flat from the root and you dream about a bouncy blow-dry from a hair salon, try spraying a volumising spray and drying your hair upside down,” Veronica recommends. “After it’s rough dried, use a curling iron or straightener at the ends.” Similarly, Sasha’s trick is using “a volumising product on the roots – I always recommend a spray as it is easy to distribute, and dry your hair upside down with your blow dryer. If you don’t have a Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer (Dhs1574), you should get one and then style your ends how you wish.”

Grazia Grab: Go big with vegan volume and use Briogeo Blossom & Bloom™ Ginseng + Biotin Volumizing Blow Dry Spray (Dhs80 at Sephora). Maltodextrin, a natural sugar starch, coats each strand for instantly fuller-looking hair while lemon and witch hazel extract soak up excess oil and help extend time between washes. BFFs ginger and ginseng stimulate the scalp and reinforce follicle health, while biotin supports the hair shaft from root to tip. Simply spray it on clean, damp hair, focusing on the roots before your blow-dry.

What are the best ways to style both fine and thicker hair?
“Beach waves usually work for both hair types. For finer hair, the waves create volume and for thicker hair, using the flat iron or curler removes volume and gives sleek waves,” advises Sasha. Veronica encourages everyone to try out different styles, “What we definitely can experiment with is styling during quarantine. Give it a go and try some new different techniques for high buns or plaits. YouTube and Instagram might be useful for searching any styling inspiration.”

Grazia Grab: Untangle with Machete No. 2 Comb in Prism Dhs135 at Glow Getters. The acetate lime green wide-toothed comb is not only chic, but refreshingly eco-friendly.

Any no-heat styling tips?
Sasha tells Grazia, “To create a beachy wavy look, use a texturizing product on very towel-dried hair and take sections and twist each section and let it air-dry and then shake it out to get that messy beach babe look.” For the perfect ponytail, Sasha shares, “Keep your head tilted upwards to get the tension in the back head area to get the super tight ponytail.”

Grazia Grab: Need a quick fix before your next Zoom call? Add Ouai Texturizing Hair Spray (Dhs60 at Sephora) to your bathroom shelf. Merging hairspray and dry shampoo, the ultra-lightweight spray bestows textured, fresh-looking and fuller hair. Notes of Italian bergamot, water lily, and white musk will make you feel ready to take on the day.

How do I get the perfect blow-dry at home?
Sasha advises to start off with “A volumising product for fine hair, or an anti-frizz product for thicker and textured hair.” Then, “Section the hair and start from the back working your way to the front. Finish with a small amount of argan oil on your ends to get that shine.”

Grazia Grab: The bottle which launched argan oil into a global phenomenon: Moroccanoil Treatment Original (Dhs164.25 at LookFantastic). Adjoined with strengthening proteins and shine-enhancing vitamins, the antioxidant-rich argan oil sets off soft, smooth, shiny and nourished strands. Applied on wet hair, it also speeds up drying time.

“A smooth surface will reflect more light, so it’s important to get your blow-dry really smooth, or use a flat iron”

How can you get sleek, shiny hair?
A smooth surface will reflect more light, so it’s important to get your blow-dry really smooth, or use a flat iron,” explains Sasha. “Use a heat-protection spray prior and as a last step, use a lightweight shine spray, or a small amount of serum, or oil on the ends!” Hair lamination could also be a great idea for achieving sleek, shiny hair. Sasha recommends finding the right stylist and hitting up reviews before your consultation, adding that “Hair lamination treatment during the summer might help frizz-prone people a lot during the super-humid season!”

Grazia Tip: Transform dull hair into soft and silky strands with Pastels Salon’s Smooth Botox treatment. Super easy and hassle-free, you won’t have to worry about touch-ups: glass-like shine is guaranteed for up to three months! To book your session, click here.

“Washing your hair with super-hot water, for instance, can strip the hair of the natural oils that keep it moisturised. The same applies for hair-styling tools – tone down the heat to avoid further damage and let your hair air dry whenever you have the time”

What causes frizz and how can you prevent it? 
When your hair is dry and lacks moisture, the outer layer of the hair grabs moisture from the air, which then causes your strands to swell and frizz. Living in Dubai’s humid weather, Sasha jokes, “Do not go outside!” before clarifying: “Good anti-humidity, or anti-frizz products go a long way. The Redken Frizz Dismiss range has everything from shampoo and conditioner to masks, blow-dry creams and serum!” Anti-frizz products help lock in moisture, repair, condition and protect your hair. But to keep your mane hydrated, you can go one step further to prevent frizz. Washing your hair with super-hot water, for instance, can strip the hair of the natural oils that keep it moisturised. The same applies for hair-styling tools – tone down the heat to avoid further damage and let your hair air dry whenever you have the time. When you do grab the blow dryer, blow-dry in the direction of hair growth (from the roots to the ends), this way you smooth and seal the cuticles. Harsh detergents can also strip away the hair’s natural oils, so avoid sulphates whenever you can. Incorporating these tiny changes in your hair routine will ensure a much smoother hair in the long-term.

Grazia Grab: Tame flyaways with Redken Frizz Dismiss Rebel Tame Leave In Cream Dhs119 at Ounass.

Photos: Instagram