Thicker, glossier hair... now
IF YOU THINK YOUR HAIR’S A LOST CAUSE, TAKE HEART. A FEW EASY, EXPERT-LED ANTI-AGEING TWEAKS TO YOUR ROUTINE CAN MAKE A HUGE DIFFERENCE, FINDS ANNABEL MEGGESON
A few haircare tweaks are all you need for fuller, healthier locks
There’s a theory about ageing, expounded by Red’s health director and compounded by common lore that we don’t do it gradually, but in fits and starts. (It starts and you have a fit, perhaps?) I was so busy scrutinising the fallout from the latest fit of ageing on my face, I failed to notice the ravages of time had commenced on my hair, too. What I thought was a temporary glitch in my hair’s condition, caused by, oh, I don’t know, tiredness or something, was confirmed as a significant, ineluctable change when I visited a favourite colourist. As I pulled the tie off my thin, frizzy, grey-streaked ponytail, my apologetic shrug in the mirror was met by his... gasp. The tail of his comb flew in and frantically started parting the strands hither and thither as if looking for some hair we simply might have missed. But, no. With a flourish of his hand, the trichologist was summoned and caffeine delivered at high speed.
Well, there must be a lot of emergency coffee on standby in hairdressers these days: a new survey by hair experts Charles Worthington suggests I’m far from alone, with only one in 10 women happy with
their hair. The rest are variously ‘confused’, ‘frustrated’, ‘daunted’ or simply aren’t talking about it, according to Charles Worthington brand ambassador Ken O’rourke (who styled the beautiful hair for these pages). “When women start talking about their hair, they get to know more about it and start caring for it better.”
Back in the mirror, things were already improving. Colour had been applied (we all know this makes a huge and immediate difference to hair – keep it up), and the conversation opened. I was talking to O’rourke, talking to the trichologist, talking to whomever I could to help get my hair back.
Now three months in, my pursuit of thicker, shinier, swingier, less desperate-looking hair is paying dividends. We don’t have to suffer in silence, it turns out. There really are things that can be done to make a difference. Start now and spare yourself a fit.
Improve YOUR HAIRCARE
It sounds simple, but just paying attention to the way you look after your hair every day makes a difference. Your shampoo is probably fairly mild. Make it milder – Charles Worthington’s new Everyday Gentle Micellar Shampoo (above) is the first of its kind, leaving hair exceptionally light (never lank) and manageable. Team it with the Weightless Conditioner, especially if you have fine hair. And if you normally stop there, which I did till now, add a third step to your routine and brush some oil through the end of hair while it’s still damp. It works like moisturiser does for your face, leaving it plumper and glossier – and in my case, much less wispy. O’rourke has this useful tip: “Spread a pump of hair oil on the back of your hand and press your brush into it. You’ll get a more even distribution of product than if you apply directly to hair using your hands. The same goes for serum.” (I have a separate brush for this, as I can’t afford oil near my already grease-prone roots.)
I’m also loving Percy & Reed’s new Wonder Overnight Mask for Hair, which is no fuss to apply and gives hair more ‘weight’ once it’s washed out. Or, if I can’t be bothered to apply a mask but I’m washing my hair the next morning, I’ll now run a few pumps of oil through the ends. The extra TLC at night has made my hair much glossier.
Learn A STYLING TRICK
Styling is to hair what make-up is to your face – temporary, yes, but capable of making a huge and joyous difference. For me, O’rourke suggests gently drying hair until it’s about “90% dry”, then ruffling through some Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Texturising Spray.
More time? “Use tongs to create movement in the midlengths,” says O’rourke. “Pull forward a few chunks of hair, wrap each one round your tongs, leaving the ends free, then unwrap almost straight away. It helps hair swing forward, which makes it look thicker. Finish with a blast of hairspray, but not over the top of hair – tip your head upside down and use it underneath to create more oomph.” (I’ve been using Charles Worthington’s Diamond Shine Hair Spray, which gives hold but is utterly lightweight.)
Feed YOUR FOLLICLES
The trichologist who came to my rescue (Ruben Silva at Hair Medica at Josh Wood Atelier; 2122 hairmedica.com), ran tests on my hair and found deficiencies in various vitamins and minerals. A two-pronged approach was suggested: the first to up the vitamin and mineral count in my body by taking supplements; the second to stimulate the follicles better to absorb said nutrients.
I stocked up on the prescribed supplements – silica, iron, biotin, vitamin B12 and zinc (Solgar was the recommended brand, as “it’s good quality and not insanely expensive”,
according to Silva), and I’ve been taking them regularly ever since. But how to get those goodies into my hair?
The second prong turned out to be, well, an actual prong. Hundreds of them, in fact. I was subjected to a course of scalp stimulation using dermarolling, which is when a little roller set with tiny needles is run over your skin – or, in this case, scalp – to shock follicles into absorbing more nutrients. On faces, it’s done with the mercy of numbing cream; on scalps, not so much. But, it wasn’t as painful as I thought. In certain areas (ie, anywhere but the hairline – ouch!), it felt like a not-unpleasant massage. The roller is used with vitamin-rich serums, which are encouraged to go deep, thanks to the piercing action of the roller. I’ve had five of these to date, over the course of a couple of months.
Has it worked? I saw a hairdresser recently who knew nothing about my hair odyssey. As she was combing my hair she commented on new growth – not just baby hair, that stuff that grows half-heartedly around the hairline – but a good few inches of new growth all over my head. If it continues I’ll have thicker hair within a year. Unfortunately, I can’t tell if it’s the supplements or the dermarolling or both, but at £230 a pop, regular dermarolling isn’t an option, even if it does include a massage and wash with special shampoo.
The plan, then, is to continue with the supplements, and to have my scalp needled a few more times over the course of six months, till my hair’s really had time to shine. After that, it’ll be the supplements, plus continuing to care for it in a more mindful way. As O’rourke says, “Once you start paying attention to your hair, experimenting with products, learning what can help, you’ll get to love it again.” And with any luck, I’ll never make a hairdresser gasp again.