hair

Of all the protective looks on offer braided hairstyles have to be up there as my favourites. When I first transitioned back to my natural hair 8 years ago, I used braids to hit the duelling textures of my coils and the straight, chemically relaxed hair rather than chopping it all off. They were so easy to wear, lasted for ages and went with every outfit. But that’s not to say that there aren’t any drawbacks to braided styles. “While there are some quicker styles to do, a traditional box braid look can take 6-or-so hours,” warns celebrity hairdresser Lorraine Dublin. The time a braid install takes is very dependent on the style and length of the hair, however, the fact they can last up to two months makes all the time in the chair more than worth it, not having to worry about fully wa...

Maintenance and hair colouring are normally synonymous terms. No matter how subtle your colour is, if you have altered your hair’s hue you are going to need to upkeep it in some way. Trust me, I speak as a beauty editor that’s been told this many, many times but didn’t actually get it until I first coloured my hair drastically. It was a honey bronde balayage and wow did it require upkeep. I had to have a slick rotation of colour-protecting shampoos, deep conditioners and heat protections in my beauty lineup. I didn’t leave the salon until I had another toning appointment scheduled. It felt like a full-on side hustle. I learnt a hard but worthwhile lesson: If you are drastically changing the colour of your hair, there is no such thing as easy hair colour but there ...

“Curtain bangs are soft, flowy, and longer than more traditional styles of fringe or bangs that sit at or above the brow,” explains celebrity hairstylist David Lopez. “It gently splits open in the centre, and sit just along the cheekbones. Unless you have super-coily or textured hair, they’re wearable for almost any length or hair type.” Not only are curtain bangs chic and beautiful in their own right, but they also have the added benefit of immediately elevating the look of ponytails or messy buns. Lopez notes they can even give the face a subtle slimming effect (if you’re into that) since they simultaneously open up the eye area and hug in your cheekbones. Of course, like any specific haircut, getting used to and styling this f...

In my role as a beauty editor, I like to keep my eyes peeled on the haircuts that celebrities are choosing. Right now, I’m seeing a lot of celebrities turn to the pixie cut, while ’70s-inspired haircuts like the shag and curtain bangs are continuing to make a huge comeback. However, when it comes to timeless hairstyles that really stand the test of time, there is one haircut that I see time and again on celebrities over 50. The haircut in question? Layered bobs. Like blunt bobs, layered bobs not only are timeless but also suit fine hair particularly well. As we grow older, our hair can become thinner, but a layered bob helps to keep the length while adding dimension and making hair look thicker. “Bobs of any length or haircuts with a solid outline are ...

It’s no secret that historically, beauty’s most influential trends—no matter how polarizing—have a knack for pulling a well-timed reappearing act. Crimped waves, ’90s supermodel eye makeup, Y2K anything and everything, even—hold your gasp—thin eyebrows. However, more than any other category, *hair* seems to be the most cyclical. Case in point: mullets, shags, and the very on-trend product of both, the wolf cut. Essentially, if the two former had a love child, it would be the latter, and you’ve likely seen it all around the celeb set via Billie Eilish, Miley Cyrus, Barbie Ferreira, Keke Palmer, and the list goes on.  While the bold, part-mullet-part-shag cut is not for the faint of heart (let’s be honest, it does take some balls to pull off!), the wol...

If there is one thing about me that you should know, it’s that I love testing out new hairstyling tools. If there’s a gadget that can make doing my long and frizzy hair easier to style in the mornings, I want to know about it. I’ve tried many hair tools, from the holy-grail Dyson AirWrap to this affordable £35 curling wand that I will loyally use for the foreseeable.  Having sat in the chair of many hair salons and chatted to several top celebrity hairstylists, there is one hair tool brand that I spot in the hands of the industry’s best hairstylists time and time again. The brand in question? BaByliss. It is one of the most respected hair tool brands around, and is used professionally in salons but also offers a great range of at-home hair styling too...

We’ve come a long way since Carrie Bradshaw destroyed the scrunchie’s reputation by telling boyfriend Jack Berger that no New Yorker would ever wear one. Over a decade later, scrunchies are now one of the biggest hair accessories, worn by everyone from fashion people to beauty editors. Scrunchies have proved one of the most popular and versatile add-ons to your hairstyle of choice, whether that be an undone bun or long plait. While the claw clip and the hair cuff might be having a moment thanks to their super-chic but understated vibes, the scrunchie possesses something they do not: hair-loving properties. You see, while accessories of all sorts have a tendency to pull hair, causing friction, which almost always results in breakage, scrunchies k...

There is no doubt that hair bond builders’ have been gaining momentum in recent years, which became popular through in-salon treatments such as Olaplex. Now, there are many at-home options available that promise to transform hair breakage and colour-damaged lengths. “As hair grows further from the scalp, it suffers accumulating lifestyle damage and the internal structure breaks down, the cuticle lifts and the hair shaft thins down towards the ends,” explains hairdresser Michael Van Clarke. “Bond builders seek to repair some of the molecular connections like the disulphide bonds, and fill voids that have opened up.” But not all bond builders are created equal. “Since the market niche was created, it has ballooned with hundreds of competing produ...

There is no doubt that hair bond builders’ have been gaining momentum in recent years, which became popular through in-salon treatments such as Olaplex. Now, there are many at-home options available that promise to transform hair breakage and colour-damaged lengths. “As hair grows further from the scalp, it suffers accumulating lifestyle damage and the internal structure breaks down, the cuticle lifts and the hair shaft thins down towards the ends,” explains hairdresser Michael Van Clarke. “Bond builders seek to repair some of the molecular connections like the disulphide bonds, and fill voids that have opened up.” But not all bond builders are created equal. “Since the market niche was created, it has ballooned with hundreds of competing produ...

If you’re anything like me, you might find doing your hair a bit of a chore. Which is a shame, as I love a hairstyle that ties a whole look together and makes you feel polished. The problem is that doing your hair (especially if you have long hair) can be time consuming, and we don’t always have time to do a full-blown ’90s blowout, or try that viral TikTok trend that looks easy, but in reality leaves you huffing in frustration while trying to get out of the door in the morning.  Well, dear reader, there is one look which is a stylish—yet easy—hairstyle that won’t make you late in the mornings. Enter the half up, half down hairstyle. It’s fuss-free, simple and quick to do and suits every hair texture. It’s also the perf...

I don’t know about you, but I love the start of a new season, particularly the start of autumn/winter. As the leaves turn to fiery orange, and we swap our summer footwear for winter boots, I can’t help but get swept up in that back-to-school feeling, pulling out my trusted knitwear and adding some new A/W trends to my wardrobe. Same for you? If so, it’s only natural that we’re also keen to update our hair as the seasons shift. While in summer, we might opt for lighter, golden hair colour such as balayage, in autumn and winter, it can be fun to embrace those warmer auburn and brunette shades. Nothing gives that back-to-school feeling like a brand-new haircut, and a big chop is a fail-safe for riddi...

There’s one hair colour that is dominating this season and we’re seeing it everywhere. The red hair colour trend has been gaining momentum for a while (remember when Gigi Hadid’s and Zendaya’s copper transformations started it all?), but it has now become the number one autumn hair colour trend. We’ve seen it on the fashion set, the runways and a number of celebrities have dipped their toe into the red hair trend. It started off as subtle tones, but as the look snowballs the pigments are also getting stronger. We’ve not seen red hair have quite as big a comeback for quite some time, but right now, it feels refreshing again. Every time I speak with hair stylists, they say that for so long their clients have asked for cooler, ashier ton...