hair

There is so much that I love about working in the beauty industry, but if I had to get to the core of what makes it brilliant I would say it’s testing all the new product innovations before they hit the shelves. As a beauty journalist with a special love of hair, I have been on factory visits to see how hair straighteners are made, sat in top secret meetings (with an NDA signed) to learn about new-to-market hair technology, and met with the brains behind the development of some the most-loved hair tools in the world. Over my years in the hair world, I have tested hundreds of hair tools, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes. There are some that I’ve hated immediately, others that are great but haven’t worked for my hair ty...

Ah, the ’90s. An era defined by MTV, halter-neck tops, and more boy bands than we care to count. Some of our absolute favorite pop culture moments were born out of this decade, and when we think back on it, we can’t help but relish in the wonderfully wild ’90s hairstyles. From messy buns to a broad selection of fringes, and, of course, butterfly clips galore, there was something special about the hair trends from this time. The It girls of the era, such as Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, and Gwen Stefani, were serving up enough inspiration to carry us right into the following decade. If you’re as nostalgic as we are, then you’ll love this roundup of the 20 most quintessentially ’90s hairstyles we would low-key wear today. We might get some strange lo...

Fellow brunettes, if you’re anything like me, you probably let your locks hibernate all winter, only to find yourself jonesing for a colour refresh come spring. This year, the occasion to apply some fresh colour feels even more merited—especially for those people out there who went sans-salon through the entire pandemic—which is why autumn’s arrival has me craving a colour touch-up. If you’re not quite ready to return to your high-maintenance highlights or all-around blonde from before times, we have the perfect alternate: balayage brown hair, a low-lift, high-reward colour placement option that will ease the transition from summer to autumn. For those who aren’t familiar, balayage started as an unfussy cod...

Somehow, we blinked and autumn is very much on its way. And while summer is the season for lightening our locks and heat-proofing our hairstyles, the cooler months bring with them the option of a whole new wardrobe of hair accessories and less concern about humidity ruining our styles. We just won’t speak about the inevitability of all of that autumnal rainfall. When it comes to the best hairstyles for autumn, there are so many easy-to-do looks for every hair length and texture. We’re actually a little bit spoilt for choice, from swept-back buns to classic waves. Maintenance-wise, Headmasters artistic ambassador Sian Quinn has this advice: “To keep your hair in the best condition during the colder months, I would say it is so imp...

For the majority of my life, I haven’t had a particularly loving relationship with my hair. I always deemed it to be flat, fine and lifeless and I longed for the sort of waves and curls that bounce as you walk. For the entirety of my pre-teen and teenage years, I experimented with countless different hair trends ­­(from a VB-esque inverted bob and a fringe to a scruffy shag) in a bid to find a style most complimentary for my limp, straight strands. But as I entered adult life, I realised that it was time to admit defeat and embrace the cards (read: hair) I was dealt. So, from the age of 18, I have sported, for the most part, the same long hairstyle. And while I’ve spent a lot of time resenting my hair, in recent years I have realised t...

My hair has recently reached that awkward in-between length: it’s no longer the mid-length lob that I visited the hairdressers for last year but it can’t quite be considered a long hairstyle yet. Instead, it’s sitting rather uninspiringly on my shoulders causing me to seriously consider going for the chop. I’ve experimented with shorter hairstyles over the years but have never taken the plunge into a full-on bob. However, with my Instagram feed starting to fill up with dramatic, post-lockdown haircuts, I have to admit that I’m seriously tempted to forgo my lengths in favour of something shorter, choppier and infinitely cooler. And a quick look online confirmed Kourtney Kardashian to Lil...

“We created the polarising onyx black and pale blonde colours at Prada, and it feels evident to me that this season is going to be about strong global colours,” explained Josh Wood, celebrity colourist and founder of Josh Wood Colour. “I think, in some ways, it’s a slight reaction against balayage or heavily blended colours.” The key to embracing a strong, “one shade all over” look though is to focus on boosting shine. “Peppercorn black can be created with a full head tint to give the hair a super-glossy finish,” said Carly Price, partner stylist at Muse of London. Wood agrees. “Well-conditioned hair is everything this season, linking into hair health as a symbol of our overall well-being.” You Deserve to Make Money Even Whe...

How would you describe your relationship with beauty? It’s definitely an evolving relationship. The older you get, the more you realise that beauty is so much more than symmetry and perfection. That is, in fact, boring! And you begin to love what makes you different. If you had to leave the house in five minutes, what products would you use? [Laughing] When do I not have to leave the house in five minutes? I would reach for a dry shampoo—I love Sam McKnight’s Lazy Girl (£19)—and a good cleansing balm and muslin cloth. I really like The Cleansing Balm by Augustinus Bader (£55). Can you talk us through your skin routine, both morning and night, and the products that you use? You’re going to be underwhelmed [laughs]! I can’t pretend that I’m religious about routine, as there isn’t...

Unfortunately, I wasn’t blessed with thick, voluminous hair. Listen, it’s not quite a hardship, but what can I say? We all want what we can’t have. My hair is stick-straight, which, yes, isn’t anything to complain about. Anyways, it might be a blessing because I’m pretty lazy when it comes to styling. Since my hair is pretty low-maintenance and easy to manage, I can get away with air-drying it and just letting it do its thing most days. But again, we want what we don’t have, right? So when I’m looking at my flat strands, I dream of big, bouncy hair. And when I see people with the perfect beachy waves or just hair with a ton of body, I feel a tinge of envy. I especially feel it during those moments when I do put in the effort to curl my hair an...

I’ve made no secret of my obsession with French-girl hair. There’s just something effortlessly chic about the strands of our continental fashion friends that I can only ever hope to replicate with my own five-minute work hairstyles. However, I think there’s one style in particular that French girls lead the way in above all others: the fringe. A tricky thing to get right, fringes are notorious for being both high maintenance (in terms of regular trims and hair washing) and difficult to pull off. French women, however, seem to have discovered the perfect fringe formula, and trust me—it looks good every single time. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to mee...

Before we get into things, I think it’s important to get one thing straight—frizz is not a dirty word or anything that you have to fight if you don’t want to. Over the years, I have learned to accept that my hair’s natural texture often means that a dose of frizz is guaranteed when I’m in particular climates (i.e., hot ones), and that’s more than okay. On days I want a sleeker look, I might coax my strands into more of a defined coil, other times I’ll straighten it all out, and other times I leave my hair alone to do entirely its own thing—but it’s all on my terms. On days that I want to keep frizz at bay, however, one thing is clear: Dry or chemically treated hair (or both in my case) and humidity ...

While most of us are still desperately clinging to the final weeks of summer, industry experts have their sights firmly set on the season ahead as they make their predictions for the biggest autumn trends in the worlds of beauty and fashion. And with so many trending hairstyles emerging in 2021 already, I was particularly keen to find out what’s in store for our strands as we head into autumn.  “In summer, we all love to experiment with our hair, trying out different styles from braids to beachy waves and opting for shorter haircuts that are less maintenance,” says Callum Standen-May, creative stylist at Bond Shoreditch. “However, in autumn, some of us can find it difficult to find the right hairstyle or cut that wil...