Yes, you can do a thing with it!

Frizzy fringe? Thinning locks? Whatever your worries, Rosie Green has the cheats and treatments to give you healthy hair for good

Fried, fluffy, crispy – all great adjectives for a potato. Not so much for your hair. Yet this is what many of us face in the mirror each day – along with the equally joyless challenges of lank, limp, dull and dry. Need I go on? As the years pass, thanks to hormones, colouring and ageing, our silken locks turn to wire wool and we try valiantly, sometimes fruitlessly, to tame them into submission with serums, oils, masks and conditioners.

The good news is there are some astounding new products and treatments that make a real difference. Haircare skinification (ie, brands using the same active ingredients and level of focus to create hair products as they do for face formulas) means there are some extremely effective compounds to address our hair woes. Look for niacinamide to boost keratin production and fortify hair; squalane to increase shine and reduce breakage and hyaluronic acid to hydrate and help tame frizz.

Scalp care is increasingly popular too – Space NK reports a 196 per cent increase in that category. I was always sceptical of brands marketing hair-thickening products that claim to increase scalp function, as the effects were so marginal, but I’ve come to learn that incremental gains are valid.

But if thinning hair is causing distress, I’d recommend seeking the help of a trichologist or dermatologist who can give you a prescription-strength product.

I asked cosmetic doctor

Sophie Shotter for her three favourite treatments for happier hair. After all, it’s the only thing you wear every day.

‘For scalp exfoliation and hair-growth support,’ says Dr Shotter, ‘there’s HydraFacial Keravive. This treatment uses a three-step system to exfoliate the scalp and infuse it with growth actives. I see really nice results from it [from €526 by Dr Shotter at illuminateskinclinic.co.uk or go to hydrafacial.co.uk for your nearest practitioner].

‘Next, for encouraging thicker hair, there’s EXO/E, a new type of regenerative therapy. It combines microneedling of the scalp with an infusion of plant-derived exosomes, and the improvements are good. There’s credible data regarding its effect on hair growth and lots of beforeand-after examples [from €350 for the day complex system, illuminateskinclinic.co.uk].

‘Third, for growth-promoting scalp care at home, I rate Monpure products, which boost hair growth and thickness. I’ve really noticed a difference in the rate of hair shedding, and the formulations smell lovely [from €43 at monpure.com].’

‘Buy a lipstick instead. Go and kiss loads of other people, but don’t touch your hair, as you’ll still feel sad – and you’ll have weird hair’ Alexa Chung on break-up haircuts

Check into a headspa

Online searches for scalp treatments were up

300 per cent over the year and my social feed is full of mesmerising head massages. Why? Because lush-hair wannabes know that exfoliating and massaging helps create the best environment for hair growth (by declogging hair follicles and boosting blood supply). Those in the know are booking in to Dublin’s Maru for a Japanese hair treatment, from €63, maru.ie. It also has the first head spa in Ireland, focusing solely on your scalp. It uses Milbon’s premium products to deeply cleanse the scalp, and remove impurities and excess oils.

Get a scalp analysis

The founder of Pelo Hairdressing, Denise Phillips, is a certified hair loss practitioner and is so passionate about helping those suffering from hair loss. A professional scalp analysis service is performed using an imaging tool, analysing degrees of scalp and hair concerns, such as sensitive, oily or dry scalp, dandruff, hair loss, thinning and damage. Bespoke advice is duly dispensed. See pelohairdressing.ie for more..

Soften your water

Hard water, which dominates in much of Ireland, leaves a film of metal, chlorine and impurities on hair that can weigh it down, dull colour and cause dryness and frizziness. I road tested Hello Klean Purifying Shower Head (€53, helloklean.com). Screw onto your shower hose for softer, less frizzy hair.

@lifesrosie