Luscious locks
You can get to the root of healthy, glossy hair by treating the scalp the way you treat your skin. Jourdana Abrahams outlines a four-step regime
You can get to the root of healthy, glossy bombshell hair by treating your scalp the way you treat your skin. Just follow our four-step programme
Long, loose, air-dried tresses at Chanel; fingerbrushed waves at Alberta Ferretti; styles so easy to achieve there wasn’t a curling tong in sight backstage at Donna Karan. If you take away just one tenet from the spring/summer shows, it’s this: the blow-dry is officially over. While laissez-faire styling creates all manner of permutations, the haircare behind it is not low-maintenance. “The more insouciant the look, the more wholesome, gutsy and glossy hair has to be,” explains Gary Baker, creative director at Unite. “And without the polish of a big, bouncy blow-dry, hair troubles simply have nowhere to hide.”
With the stresses of modern-day life, such troubles, including thinning, shedding and flaking, are more abundant than ever. And it’s all down to the same pressure, poor diet and lack of sleep that ruin our skin. Our scalps, and in turn our tresses, readily show the signs of under-par health. “As a barometer for well-being, hair is an extremely sensitive indicator,” says Philip Kingsley, owner of the eponymous haircare line. “As it is not necessary for survival, the body will never prioritise it when essential systems are overworked.” This translates to hair often being the first to highlight internal imbalance or illness.
Thankfully, there’s been an about-turn in consumer haircare this year. In response to heavy demand, beauty industry behemoths have shifted their focus from styling to scalp health. They’ve channelled skin-science developments into high-impact hair products, creating shampoos as sophisticated as skin cleansers, serums that work like follicle-plumping fillers, and products boasting antiageing ingredients. And for women suffering hair loss and thinning, there’s an array of effective treatments to ensure hair reaches its full potential.
It’s time to start treating your scalp the same way you treat your skin…