hair

It’s official: Hair salons are back open for business across the UK and hairdressers are busier than ever. Yes, after many months of neglect (with the occasional at-home haircut or colour thrown in for good measure), many of us are desperate to get back into the hair salon to let the professionals take care of our strands. But with my own hair appointment booked in for next week, I have to admit that I”m suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed. There’s a lot of pressure in a return-to-salon haircut: should I go for a full-on transformation and get my hair chopped into shorter bob or embrace my current mid-length hairstyle by adding some fresh layers? There are so many hair possibilities to choose from and I know that friends and family are feeling equally confused. So who b...

One of the most common misconceptions about short hair is how time-consuming the styling and upkeep can be. Turns out it’s a myth as old as time, and we’re here to put an end to it. Just like some long hairstyles can look lifeless when not styled, so too can shorter hair. But opting for a shorter style doesn’t mean you’ll be glued to your stylist’s chair every week. In fact, the right short haircut for you will depend a lot on your texture, the condition of your hair and your lifestyle. For instance, if you have very curly hair, then opting for a sleek bob will require a lot of heat and therefore way more in-salon treatments to repair and restore your strands. “Every head of hair is different, so it’s important to have a thorough consultation with y...

If anyone were to ask me what my least favourite day of the week was, I would say, without hesitation, wash day. To wash, treat, detangle, dry and style my hair is not a quick job. And while I do try to lean into seeing the time as productive and meditative with specific hair-washing playlists to sing along to in the shower and podcasts to ponder on when I’m detangling, I do spend a lot of the time wishing it was over.  Anything that can speed up the process is greatly received, which is why I’m a huge fan of quick hair masks. While most masks need at least 10 minutes for the formula to work on the hair (something which I don’t always have time for), traditional conditioners just don’t always cut it when it comes to providing the deeply nourishing in...

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 that the bob might just be the hairs...

The truth is, while it might seem as though our hair has been put through the wringer, for most of us, the situation isn’t as bad as we think. In fact, several hairstylists I have spoken to this year have been surprised to find out that a lot of their clients’ hair is healthier than ever before. Why? Because we’ve been giving our strands a serious break. Less heat styling, colour treatments and bleach application, as well as many of us turning to nourishing at-home masks and serums mean that our hair is in a much stronger state than it was this time last year. And while we sadly didn’t get to live out our hair colour dreams this year, things are looking up for 2021. With salons re-opening in England today offering us all some much-needed hope that we can get back in salon chairs ...

Working with a brilliant team of fashion editors who have their fingers on the pulse means that, luckily for me, I’ve had the low-down on the spring/summer fashion trends for 2021 for quite a while now. The world of beauty, however, can be a little trickier to predict. We’ve already delved into the brilliant beauty products that shaped 2020, but the growing popularity of platforms like TikTok means that trending beauty often changes overnight. Combine that with the uncertainty around the opening and closing of beauty salons, and it’s becoming increasingly tricky to forecast which beauty treatments and trends look set to take off in 2021. However, after enjoying just one haircut during the whole of 2020,...

Generally speaking, when it comes to hair there seems to be one main thing that people want from their strands: thickness. In fact, when friends and family reach out to me with hair-related queries it’s most frequently to ask what the best products for thin hair are. I’ll be honest though, although I adore a good volumising product, hair thickness has never really concerned me. While my individual strands are quite fine, they’re coarse in texture and there’s a lot of them: I’m more likely to be testing products that promise hair hydration or strand-sleeking results than anything that makes hair look thicker. Until last year, that is. After having my first child I experienced the much-talked about postpartum hair los...

“When it comes to colour, you don’t want something that requires too much precision,” reveals hairstylist to the stars George Northwood. “Something that has become a bit of a signature of ours is a softer, natural balayage. With the disturbance of COVID and salons shutting for months on end, people are stepping away from that fresh, highlighted look that is quite high-maintenance and is tricky to maintain well at home without your colourist.” “Over the first lockdown, a lot of my clients saw their natural colour growing through and have actually gotten used to it,” Northwood continues. “So we are now seeing a lot more clients who are now experimenting with keeping their hair closer to their natural colour, which is far more easily m...

When it comes to hair trends, glossy, blunt cuts have most definitely reigned supreme as of late. For the last few years, we have found ourselves swooning over glossy, glass-like lengths and adding all of the blunt bob inspiration to our saved folders on Instagram. There’s no doubt that blunt cuts have had their fair share of love. But now, there’s a new hair trend on the horizon. With the space between our hair appointments becoming longer, high-maintenance blunt chops are on the out, and no-fuss, layered hair is back. Not only do layers give hair an undone, effortless vibe, they also help to disguise breakage and split ends (things that have become inevitable as of late). And while we don’t have long to wait until salon doors reopen, we think it’s still important to cons...

Leave it to the internet to wage war on our most beloved beauty trends. The latest beauty casualty? Side fringes. Yes, first TikTok declared that side-partings were under fire and with them came our beloved side fringes. How can this be? Side fringes are widely accepted as the most flattering style for every face shape and forehead length, not to mention their uncanny ability to conceal overgrown roots and scraggly lengths. To put it plainly, side fringes aren’t just pretty. They’re useful, too. In return for their decades of loyal service, it’s only right that we step in to defend them now and take a firm stance on this polarising subject. We’re pro side fringes in this house! And we’re not just being stubborn...

Undone, effortless hair has been a thing for as long as we can remember. Whether it be straight, silky lengths, effortlessly tousled waves or curls and coils with natural-looking bounce and definition, over the past few years, hair trends have been heavily focused on finding ways to make it look like we haven’t spent three hours styling it. The reality, however, is that it takes a whole bunch of heated tools, styling creams and setting sprays to achieve “I woke up like this” hair. But finally, after all of the years we have spent struggling to make our hair look effortless, uncomplicated and heatless hair is finally a thing. Seriously, we’re seeing it everywhere. From fashion girls to celebs, it seems that the events of the past year ha...