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."

A Nordic Mythology Inspired Shoot with Missy Dress Design Gowns

It's always an immense pleasure to feature this lady's designs – I'm talking about  the inimitable Missy Dress by the way, one of the New Zealand's most talented independent British designers and a highly recommended member of our wedding directory, Little Book For Brides.

Jo's designs carry the most beautiful bohemian signature and the two gowns used in this particular shoot are full of the kind of hand-crafted detail I adore Joanne for. But who better to talk you through these images than the designer herself.

I love working with the Norwegian creative team Missy Dress – they have such a particular aesthetic, both dreamy and intricately detailed, that resonates so perfectly with my style.

I adore this atmospheric coastal styled shoot they organised early last summer using my gowns. Missy Dress (the Day Dreamers) are a creative partnership between photographer Mona and stylist Barbro, and they also have the talents of an extended network of other collaborators to call on, as in this shoot where Mari provided the gorgeous flowers. The location was an area near the tiny charming town of Stavern, where Missy Dress are based.

One beautiful summer afternoon, Missy Dress took these lovely fey creatures (fraternal twins) to the beach where they grew up, for a shoot with a couple of my very own Missy Dress gowns. The pale caramel coloured embellished tulle ‘Lotis' dress and the custom tinted wisteria French lace ‘Langtry' style.

The results are just gorgeous, with a hint of wild Nordic mythology about them; long hair and languorous poses evoking the havsrå of the deep fjords and coastal shallows.The havsrå (sea wife) can take many different forms, but often appears atop rocky outcrops as an incredibly beautiful woman with long flowing hair. They can foretell the future, thus there is often a mysterious air of melancholy about them.

Coty Selects R/GA to Lead Creative Duties on Its New Hair-Care Brands Clairol and Wella

Beauty giant Coty has picked R/GA to handle creative marketing for its recently acquired hair care brands Clairol and Wella after a creative review.

Effective immediately, the agency will lead efforts to promote Clairol in the U.S. and Wella worldwide. Its consulting practice will also handle other unspecified brand strategy duties.

"Appointing R/GA will bring a new level of creativity and excitement to the Wella and Clairol brands," read a statement from Coty svp of retail hair color and styling Rosa Ajjam, who called the news "a key part of our strategy to reinvigorate the retail hair category." She added, "R/GA shares our bold ambitions and we're confident that they are the right fit for the brands."

R/GA global chief strategy officer Barry Wacksman said, "The beauty category overall and the retail hair category in particular are ripe for disruptive innovation. R/GA is incredibly excited to work with Coty on its ambitious transformation of the venerable Wella and Clairol brands."

The agency once included brands like L'Oreal among its client roster, but has not produced any major campaigns in the beauty space for the past couple of years.

This review began after New York-based Coty finalized its merger with P&G's specialty beauty business in October 2016, thereby acquiring the aforementioned brands in addition to cosmetics staples like Cover Girl and Max Factor, fragrances including Hugo Boss and Gucci and other assorted hair care products.

WPP's Grey had been lead creative agency on both Clairol and Wella before P&G and Coty finalized the merger late last year. In February, Grey officially resigned from its duties on all brands involved in the deal including Cover Girl a few days before that brand went to Droga5. At the time, several parties claimed that budgetary concerns may have played a role in the decision. A Grey representative declined to comment.

According to the latest numbers from Kantar Media, P&G spent approximately $40 million on paid media promoting Clairol in the U.S. in 2015, $25 million in 2016 and $7 million in the first quarter of this year. Most campaigns for Wella are based in Europe, and global spending totals for the two brands were not available at the time this story went live.