Hair care tips after Balayage

BALAYAGE, a hair coloring technique, has been a craze these days among women who want to experiment on a new look. And I am, actually, one of those.

For someone who has piano black hair, I wanted to find out how I would look if I finally opt for a lighter shade for my mane. So, I visited High Definition Salon along Quimpo Boulevard (just in front on Pan de Pugon). With the magic hands and expertise of Ariel Isod, I was able to have the hair color I have been dreaming of.

After four hours of treatment, my extra black mane is gone. It was already replaced with graduated, natural-looking blonde; the way I have always wanted it to be.

However, such process of highlighting the hair may pose a threat to the so-called crowning glory of the descendants of Eve. In fact, beauty hubs do not suggest hair rebonding after someone had a Balayage treatment.

Below are some hair care tips I have gathered to maintain the healthy glow of our blonde or brunette looks following a Balayage:

Limit washing the hair. Of the many sites I visited for tips, this is the most common recommendation. Accordingly, frequent washing (or use of shampoo) may damage the dyed hair, no matter what color we have. And if we had our hair bleached, the more we need to follow this advice.

Turn to dry shampoo, instead. Since it is not good to keep on washing our hair, dry shampoo is the answer for us to continuously look fresh. When applying dry shampoo, we have to ensure, though, that we are able to remove all the residue, or else, anyone might think that we are rich in dandruff. Haha! By the way, Etude House and Watsons are selling dry shampoo.

Make deep conditioning treatment a weekly habit. Bleaching can make the hair "ugly" if we do not know how to take care of our hair. Considering that it can make our hair dry and brittle, it is important that we use deep conditioner once or twice a week. In the local market, Pantene, Loreal and Neutrogena have one. We can also scour for other brands.

Avoid applying heat. Honestly, I am a fan of electric hair curler and iron. Since we just had Balayage, using these "beautification weapons" may greatly damage our crowning glory.

Heat protectant spray can be an armor. If we think that we cannot really avoid heat, then, we should use heat protectant spray before letting those electric appliances touch our hair.

Leave-on conditioner is another trick to follow. Once we had our hair bleached and dyed, there is a huge chance it will get super dry and brittle. To fight this, we need to apply leave-on conditioner when we come out of a shower and before running a comb through it.

Did I say heat? Well, that includes the sun. If it is unavoidable to go out, we can spray something that protects our hair from the UV rays. We can also use a hat to cover our entire head to help keep the natural moisture of our hair.

These are only few of the many ways we can protect our bleached and dyed hair. If you have some more there, please share them with me.

An Afro styling authority shares her best hair care tips

This 15 September marks World Afro Day, a celebration of the unique position of Afro hair, and who better to celebrate with then award-winning stylist and industry authority Charlotte Mensah.

Between running her own salon, Hair Lounge on London's Portobello Road, and an eponymous product line – plus styling stars such as Janelle Monae and Eve - Mensah is also a fierce advocate for education.

The native Ghanaian founded the Charlotte Mensah Academy which offers less fortunate, young Ghanaians an opportunity to learn a vocational skill, while her charity, L.O.V.E (Ladies of Visionary Empowerment) is aimed at furthering the education and empowerment of young women in Africa.

She spared some rare free time to talk curly hair care, with top tips for transitioning to natural and the conditioning treatments that actually work.

"The biggest mistakes I see women making with their hair include not having regular enough treatments, not getting their hair frequently trimmed, having too many chemical treatments and not adding enough moisture.

"When transitioning from chemically treated to natural hair, moisturise, moisturise, moisturise. Don't forget – because most natural, transitional hair soaks up moisture like a sponge. Have regular trims every four-to-six weeks to maintain your style and keep the ends healthy. And don't forget to take five minutes to pamper your hair before bedtime. That means moisturising if necessary, securing the ends and covering overnight with a silk scarf.

"I recommend investing in certain products and brands: moisturising shampoos that contain humectants which attract moisture, or conditioning shampoos to treat dry, brittle hair. Also a hair oil that will seal in moisture. Try the Aveda Dry Remedy range, Mizani True Textures range and my Charlotte Mensah Manketti Oil range. For a hair treatment, try the Manketti Oil Conditioner – a multi-tasking product that can be used as a deep penetrating conditioning mask. This is applied to the hair, combed through with a wide tooth-comb and left on for 15-20 minutes.

"I'm always asked the same question 'Why isn't my hair growing? I always explain that there are a number of factors that equate to this issue. Your diet and lifestyle as well as genetics, all play an important role in hair growth.

"My top tip is quite simple; if you don't make your personal health top priority your hair will show it."

Hair Care Tips

Hair Care Tips

Designer clothing, perfectly applied makeup, and fine jewelry are all wasted if your hair looks greasy, dull, or messy. Fortunately, no one needs a hair salon or expensive hair products to have hair that looks professionally cared for and styled. With the right techniques for shampooing, drying, and styling your hair, it can be among your most attractive features.

We'll provide some useful hair-care tips in this article, starting with the basics.

Basic Hair Care

• To minimize breakage, make sure that your hair is thoroughly wet before applying shampoo. Use no more than a quarter-size dollop, and rub the shampoo between your palms first. Lather for no more than 30 seconds.
• After shampooing, rinse your hair with cool water to seal moisture in the hair shafts.
• To distribute the natural oils in your hair, bend over and brush your scalp and hair from back to front until the scalp tingles; then massage the scalp with your fingertips.
• Towel-dry your hair thoroughly before using a blow dryer. You'll save time and avoid damaging your hair with too much heat.
• To cut down on static electricity, dampen your hairbrush before brushing.
• Avoid using a brush on wet hair because it is subject to breakage. Comb out snarls.
• If you suffer from a flaky scalp, try the following treatment every 2 weeks: Section your hair and rub the scalp with a cotton pad saturated with plain rubbing alcohol. Let the alcohol dry, then brush your hair and rinse thoroughly with warm water but don't shampoo.
• To perk up permed hair between shampoos, lightly mist your hair with fresh water and push the curls into place with your fingers.
• Dull, lifeless hair can be a sign of a poor diet. Try cutting down on cholesterol and fats.
• Wait at least 48 hours after coloring hair to shampoo it. Every time you wet hair you open the cuticle -- so give hair time to seal in the color.
• Beer can remove residue from your hair. Add 6 tablespoons beer to 1 cup warm water and pour it over your hair as a final rinse.
• If your hair is prone to buildup from conditioners, styling gel, or hair spray, mix 1 tablespoon baking soda with your regular shampoo once a week. Rinse and dry as usual.

• Use pomade sparingly to remove static, control flyaway ends, and add a glossy sheen to either straight or curly hair. Apply a very small amount to one hand, and liquefy it between your palms. Then run your hands through the hair. If braiding, apply before braiding and use it for small touch-ups.
• Use gel after a braid is finished to smooth down loose or uncontrolled hairs. Apply it to your fingertip or to the end of a hairpin, directing it on top of the stray hairs to encourage them back into the braided pattern.
• Use hair spray to hold the finished design in place. If you want a soft finish but need to control the hair, spray into the palm of your hand and then smooth over the surface of the hair to control flyaway strands.
• Use a coated rubber band or a soft hair tie to secure ponytails and the ends of a braid to reduce the stress on the hair.
• Use gel to control hair when you want a "wet" affect. Apply gel sparingly to your hair once styled. To use for braiding, apply it to all of the hair before you braid, or when you want a clean, off-the-face effect, you can apply it to the perimeter hairline where lengths tend to be shorter.

The Best Hair Care Tips For Women

If you have dry hair, then you should be very watchful about the hair care. You immediately need to seek the treatment for dry hair; else they will get damaged and break easily. You may also suffer from severe hair loss. Here are some effective solutions to treat your dry hair. Don’t more frequently wash your hairs. Most people tend to wash hair too frequently and apply shampoos and conditioners.

1. Get a good hairdresser. You need to have your hair cut and dyed only by good professionals. They know what is good for you, for your hair type, what suits you and sometimes they can even guess what you want and don't know how to say it. Moreover, they are the best to ask for advice.

2. Make sure that you visit your hairdresser. It's not enough to know it's there, you have to pay him a visit from time to time. Some say that you have to trim your hair every two months, or at least three months. Otherwise, you won't be able to style it and it will look out of place no matter how much you try.

3. Don't wait for the hairdresser to do wonders, take actions! You have to do some things on your own. You need to wash your hair each time it is dirty, even if sometimes it means each day. Don't worry that it will get too dry. If you are using the right products, you won't have any trouble at all.

4. Protect it! Don't be fooled by the advertising spots from TV that tell you if you use a certain product you won't have to worry about the sun, wind, rain, snow and other damaging meteorological conditions for your hair. There is no such thing as universal protection. If you are going to the beach, then use sun protection. If it is freezing and snowing outside, use protection from snow and low temperatures. And from time to time you have to wear a hat or a cap or something to cover your head.

5. Don't experiment without professional advice. Hair care products, like those for styling, can do more harm than good if they are not used appropriately. This means that you need to find what works for you and stick to that. It is true that things can change, but always use the products your hairstylist recommends.

6. Don't cheap out! Even though some of the best hair care products are a little bit more expensive than the other ones, they are still the best. If you cheap out, your hair will get damaged and you'll end up in using the expensive ones to treat the mess you have done. So in the end you'll still get in the same situation, but only after submitting your hair to the worst situations possible.