Youpamperyour face to keep it looking its best, butwhatabout your tresses? Carly Hobbs gives thelowdownonthe latest hair trend...

alk about true romance. We ladies have a long-lived love affair with our locks. On good days it can help us get a promotion, put a bit of bounce in our step and generally make us feel pretty good about ourselves. However, when a bad day rocks around – be it a frizzy, flat or downright drab do – it can knock our confidence, make us grumpy and generally ruin our whole look. Yet we put our hair under so much stress in the form of pollution, styling, heat damage, sun exposure, colouring and harsh brushing it’s no wonder it sometimes looks less than its best.

But while you lavish attention on your face – exfoliating, cleansing and moisturising twice a day and going for facials – you can’t expect your hair to suddenly become super-shiny or smooth with a simple shampoo and few dollops of conditioner.

Fortunately, this is all about to change, thanks to a big beauty trend doing the rounds: hacials – aka hair facials. Whether it’s going into salons or spas to have the scalp cleansed, locks treated and shine added, or nabbing the best home products to do it yourself, hacials need to be on your beauty radar. And the professionals are pleased we have finally cottoned on.

“One of the most noticeable features a woman has is her hair and in (most) cultures it is synonymous with beauty,” says Amin Sheybani, CEO of Vivandi Hair Spa in Dubai (www.hairspa.ae). “It’s unsurprising that women are looking for ways to enhance their hair and make it as fabulous and attentiongrabbing as possible.” Celebrities have been having hacials for years. From Jennifer Aniston to Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow, the Hollywood A-list are smoothing, cleansing and exfoliating their hair pre-red carpet. And we suspect the likes of Deepika Padukone and Lara Dutta are big fans too, judging by their gorgeously glossy locks.

The statistics say it all. “The haircare industry is worth billions of dollars annually,” Amin says. “In fact, it is estimated that the US haircare market alone will be worth a staggering $10.5 billion (about Dh38.5 billion) by 2016, which shows how committed consumers are to ensuring their hair looks its absolute best. And yet although there is a huge array of products and treatments available at salons from well-known haircare brands, the more discerning consumer has turned to dedicated hair spas where they will receive treatments that have been specifically prescribed to their needs by a trichologist, which will ensure optimum results.” nd according to trichologists our UAE locks are likely to be in need of specialist hair help because living in the heat and desert puts our tresses under a lot of stress. “Research shows that two-thirds of women encounter some form of hair loss in their lifetime,” Amin says. “However, given the harsher, drier environment and desalinated water we have in the UAE, these figures are likely to be much higher. Genetic factors, stress and health conditions can also trigger this kind of thinning.”

Amin believes the sun is a common culprit when it comes to problems such as dryness and splitends. “These are very common in this region and can be helped with the inclusion of deepconditioning treatments. Women can also suffer from overprocessed hair due to regular salon visits for excessive colouring, perming and semipermanent straightening treatments.”

Add a few dips in the sea or chlorinated swimming pools and we have a whole lot of hair troubles. “Chlorine can affect hair by dissolving