Right now, we all got 99 problems, and unfortunately, with salons closed, our hair most definitely is one.
As the months without a salon visit roll by, our hair starts to look more grim than gorgeous. The colour isn’t keeping how it used to, frizz problems are freaking up your week, and volume? It's on mute.
So, what exactly is going on?
Our hair is pretty darn resilient for what it goes through. But it does have a memory, and every style, colour, tweak, or summer on the beach can leave our hair feeling a little exhausted.
But there ARE solutions. Specifically, two core ways to handle troublesome hair.
Conditioners
While amazing, paraben and sulfate-free shampoos like Kevin Murphy Angel Wash or Davines Minu can help restore much of the body and life to your hair on a more frequent basis, sometimes hair needs an extra boost.
A high-end conditioner used once weekly can add significant value to your regime. And we mean “who did your hair” questions by the watercooler kind of value.
So ditch the drugstore brand (seriously, you’ll thank us) and take a look at our tips to find the right conditioning treatment for you.
Here's a fun hack to help: Grab a little strand of hair and gently pull.
If it snaps immediately,
You’ll need a moisturizing conditioner like Kevin Murphy’s Hydrate.me
The Davines conditioner is particularly potent because it comes loaded with super active ingredients like grapes Phytoceuticals which means your hair will be deeply moisturized for longer.
If it stretches really long before breaking off and snapping,
You actually have excess moisture in your hair, and you’ll need protein to help balance it out and help it retain nutrients.
A great conditioner is Kevin Murphy's Repair.me Rinse.
If it doesn’t snap unless plenty of force is applied,
Your hair is likely in decent condition and any conditioner will add value.
We recommend the golden-standard all-rounders Wellbeing conditioner by Davines or Kevin Murphy's Hydrate.me rinse.
Deep Treatments
Sometimes, our hair is in a state that even shampoo and conditioners can only partially repair. This means we need an IV drip of hair care vitamins, proteins, and nutrients, STAT!
Treatments differ from conditioners because they work to penetrate deeper rather than coating the surface, thereby giving more dramatic and long-lasting results.
Typically, hair treatments can be broken into three main types
Reconstructors.
Moisture Balancers
Rebonders
Reconstructors
These little guys make the hair stronger and are usually protein-based. They are great for chemically treated or lightened hair, and they help repair the strength our locks lose from such treatments.
A good at-home reconstructor will mix moisture with protein, which is super important because incorrectly used protein treatments can leave our hair brittle.
After applying a reconstructor, your hair might not feel soft—as it works internally to strengthen the hair—so follow up with a conditioner to ensure that smooth and silky texture.
Recommended Reconstructors:
Moisture Balancers
The most common type of treatment, moisturizers infuse frizzy, dry hair—or curly hair which lacks bounce—with balanced nutrients.
Hair with what we call high porosity drinks in too much water due to tears and gaps in the strands. This might sound like no big deal, but it makes the hair significantly more susceptible to damage.
The treatment works by nourishing the hair with vital nutrients that help seal those gaps and create a stronger canvas for styling.
Recommended Moisture Balancers:
Davines Oi Butter is great for locking moisture due to Roucou oil.
Kevin Murphy's Young.Again Masque is a heavy-duty treatment that leaves your hair schoooft and schuppple
Rebonders
Hair rebonding treatments are designed to reduce breakage on chemically-treated or heat-styled hair.
Our hair has bonds that support strength, shape, and elasticity. We call these disulphide bonds, and unfortunately for those little guys, they can break during the use of chemicals on our hair. This includes many colour processes.
Rebonders effectively repair those broken bonds with a unique formula that erases the sins of past hair offences.
Recommended Rebonder:
Olaplex No.3 The gold standard in rebonding technology is Olaplex. No.3 works on any hair texture and can be used alternately with a protein treatment.
Application Tips
As with most products, treatments should be applied using the instructions on the pack, or by your hair expert at Zoom.
The amount you need varies greatly depending on the product and your individual hair needs, so don’t be shy to reach out to us and ask for individual advice.
Some rules of thumb:
Don’t leave it in for longer than instructed, especially protein-based treatments. Doing so can have the opposite effect on hair.
If your hair is in really bad shape, a twice-a-week treatment may be needed, but generally, once a week is recommended.
For general maintenance go to once a fortnight or once-a-month.
Remember your hair can only take in so much extra nourishment, overdoing it on the treatment side means you are wasting the product.
Protein treatments prior to hair colouring is often a recommendation of any (good) stylist but should be done in consultation with them to ensure there is not too much build-up in the hair.
Et Voila! Now you have two ways to attack common hair problems.
When we open our doors again, we’d love to talk you through what treatments might work for your locks. But in the meantime, take care of your hair with what you’ve learned here, so it will be primed and raring to go for that next colour, style, or blowout. Stay safe out there, friends.