Hair experts weigh in on how to handle these Fall hair crises
After three months of dealing with a multiple retrogrades, crazy hot weather, and incredibly hectic schedules, our hair has been left damaged.
Somehow Fall always brings dried out hair, split ends, and pretty much every hair crisis imaginable. Why? We’re not sure. But, we sat down to talk with some hair experts to talk about how we can fix these issues.
Read below to find out how to save your strands!
Hair crisis #1: split ends.
Crinkled, feathered, and/or tapered – split ends are the result of us not taking care of our hair. Some of the common causes range from overheating (from our hair dryer or hot weather), extensive bleaching, frequent application of relaxers, and combing wet hair. Sadly, that includes over-washing our hair.
Sean James Deceurs, a hairstylist at Pierre Michel Salon, isn’t afraid to dish his two cents on split ends.
“In order to prevent split ends, always begin your blowout routine with oils such as jojoba oil and argan oil. My favorite is the Aspen Soil Serum. It’s developed with a lightweight formula and does not weigh down hair or create build up residue,” says Sean.
Alexandra Preston-Morley, the founder of Coco & Eve, admits that her sustainably harvested coconut oil-based Like a Virgin hair mask is equally beneficial to save damaged hair.
“Nothing truly heals split ends, but coconut oil is the most effective ingredient in fusing the split end together and allowing the follicles to lay smooth and flat. The array of coconut benefits really help to keep split ends from returning by hydrating those parched lifeless ends,” says Alexandra.
If using a hair mask is something you’ve never done before, she recommends that we leave it on for 10 minutes in the shower. But, if your hair is ‘extra thirsty.’ She recommends to put it on overnight and rinse it out the next day as “this allows the product to really penetrate into the hair and deliver a boost of intense hydration.”
No matter how packed your schedule is, I guess it doesn’t hurt to go all natural for time-saving (and money-friendly) treatments.
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Hair crisis #2: awkwardly grown out.
Flattened roots, frazzled ends, and shapeless layers are officially cancelled. After months of growing out your haircut, it’s time to let it go!
Treating yourself to a big glow up for fall has its own temptations of cutting your hair at home. No matter how much you wanna follow the Jordyn, Kate, and Kylie route of grabbing kitchen scissors, the probability is that it’ll end up being a big fucking disaster if you don’t know how to cut your hair at home.
If you trim your hair at home, Sean James Deceurs doesn’t want you to grab the scissors from the kitchen.
“I would not recommend a certain type of scissors for a client. Always seek the professional. A client should never cut their own hair. I always recommend a client to come in every 4 to 5 weeks for bang trims and face framing, which only take 5 minutes,” says Sean.
For anyone who wants to do a big chop this fall, he recommends that we either go for a “curly/messy bob to accumulate the layers for more flattering movement and texture on your hair” or a “short, baby bang'” as it’s easy to hand dry to create texture and frame the face effortlessly.
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Hair crisis #3: a fried dye job.
Ugh, we hate fried hair.
After sitting down for eight hours, our hair has been through the torture of stripped cuticles, extreme dryness and gummy ends. As much as we lurveeee the visual effects of bleached blonde hair, it sucks to deal with the harsh realities of bearing damaged hair.
No matter how much money we spent on going blonde (whether it’s a $300 dye job at a high-end salon or $16 box dye at Walgreens), we still have to continually cough up our food money just to touch up our roots once a month. And, not only do we have to spend a shit ton of cash for touch-ups, we also have to book countless hair treatments just to save our poor, limp locks.
Bianca Hillier, a hair colorist at Andy Lecompte Salon and Olaplex ambassador, tells us how we can maintain a great dye job like our girl crush, Rocky Barnes (P.S. Barnes just happens to be Bianca’s client). While it’s tempting to slap on more bleach on top of our hair, Bianca suggests another pain-free alternative.
“A toner is a super quick and easy appointment if the client can squeeze in an hour at the salon. If not, I recommend using a colored shampoo for an ‘in shower toner.’ I love the perfect brunette toning shampoo by Pravana for my brunette clients that hate seeing red! For my blondes who want to stay icey and cool, I love the Kevin Murphy purple shampoo to cancel yellow tones,” says Bianca.
Staying consistent with your color may give you extra points for #hairgoals, but what if you’re bored of your current color? Well, Bianca shares her two cents on what we must do if we plan to change it up from blue to purple.
“A thorough consultation is a must! I explain to the client how corrective services never appear perfect after the first session and that it will take several phases. Use Olaplex in the salon and at home to insure the integrity of the hair color throughout the entire process. I always recommend my clients to use Olaplex no.3 after bleaching their hair,” explains Bianca.
On top of using regular ol’ Olaplex, she suggests the brand’s shampoo and conditioner to “repair any damage” for shiny and healthy hair.
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Hair crisis #4: oily roots.
Equally as bad as an extremely shiny face, having an oily scalp (no matter how many times you wash your hair!) is a huge no-no.
I cannot tell you the amount of times my scalp gets oily in humid weather. Now that the temps are cooling, perhaps it’s time to put in more care into fixing your oily scalp.
From dry to clarifying shampoos, you obviously get easy quick fixes that can temporarily soak up all the oils. But if you have a ragin’ oily scalp, let NYC-based hairstylist Yoshie Sakuma save your strands with her signature scalp facial (trust us, you’ll love it as it features a blend of citrus, rose and vanilla scents to calm your hair down).
“I use Milbon Hydrating Treatment for the regular ‘Scalp Facial’ service. This treatment normalizes the scalp and helps replenish essential moisture and oil for both scalp and hair. The products helps bind in moisture and protects the scalp, as well as adding natural shine to the hair and ensuring fullness,” says Yoshie.
“For damaged hair, I always recommend adding Milbon’s In-Salon Deep Conditioning Treatment, this repairs and reconstruct hair and is specifically designed to strengthen and rebuild severely damaged and over-processed hair,” she explains.
If you are wondering what the heck is up with your scalp, Yoshie admits that “unwanted fatty acids clog the hair follicles.” As much as I hate to spit out health teacher cliches, watching your intake of fatty acids is very important to keep your hair in good shape.
Shall you go out of your way to maintain your newly cleaned scalp, Yoshie suggests that you visit Pierre Michel Salon every two weeks or “at least once a month to keep healthy scalp.”
But, if you don’t live in NYC, Sakuma swears by Milbon’s Milbon Scalp Collection to use in between treatments as well as its Purifying Gel Shampoo and Hydrating Treatment for everyday maintenance.
