How to keep grey hair at bay between salon visits

I've had grey hair for a while now. It began around the temples when I was young enough to stay in denial about it and took off in earnest after I turned 30. Now, because I was born with the shade of hair that, if it were a dye in a box, might be named "Weak Espresso" or "Middling Goth", I need the salon every six weeks.

I can stretch that to eight if I have to, but by then I've crossed over into "nude pottery model" territory, a mere strand or two away from donning a cheese-cloth kaftan, grabbing a handful of crystals and calling it a day.

But it's not just the poor grey ponies who must spend and suffer; anyone who enjoys blonde highlights knows this story. People like us are the reason hairdressers are now called "studios" and "salons" and even "bars."

The procedure to get the particular shade or coverage you want takes around three hours – minimum. It's fun but it's a chore, kind of like dating before the internet.

And this is precisely why hair salons now resemble clubs. You've got booze, you've got loud, ambient music, you've got mild flirting, ("OMG, this cut looks gorgeous on you, babes!") and at the end of it all, you've got women and men staggering out into the street, lighter of pocket, and dizzy from the experience.

Every six weeks, the same dance. Well, until very recently. In this, the dawn of the age of flying cars and personal gyms, comes a slew of alternatives.

Starting with micro-foiling. Instead of using the old brush, this method involves real human hands and a much more subtle approach. It's quick, it's low-maintenance and available right now in Sydney's very hip Esstudio Galleria.

But! Best of all this method means that your colour can be stretched up to 12 weeks. If you don't have time for the salon, there's always Evo's Fabuloso colour enhancing conditioner, available in six different shades to enhance and revive your colour.

If you're super time-poor you could try the old Root Concealer trick. I do this all the time and nobody is the wiser. You just spray it on like you would dry shampoo and it coats your hair for the day. But, just like good skin doesn't begin with creams, but with what you put in your body, good, lasting hair colour is dependent on your shampoo.

I know this because – real talk – I used to use anti-dandruff shampoo and conditioner back when I was a naive foal of a person and then I'd wonder why my hair, though soft as a puppy's ear, was losing its colour the very next week after having it done. It's about sulphates, guys. I don't want to sound like an activated almond conspiracy theorist but sulphates are bad for your hair.

Again, I'm going to recommend Evo to you because their Ritual Salvation shampoo and conditioner is free of all that nasty petro-chemical stuff and it smells divine and their packaging is heavily reliant on witty words as opposed to oily promises involving air-brushed models with CGI hair. Where's the fun in that?

How to style your hair like Harley Quinn for Halloween

Looking for inspiration for Halloween, but don’t want to invest a lot of money or time? It’s all in the hair. We asked Seattle stylist Joshua Browne of Fix Salon in Ravenna to show us three quick and easy hairdos for Halloween that anyone can re-create with a minimum of special skills or tools.

1. Among the most popular characters for Halloween this year is Harley Quinn, the Batman supervillain from “Suicide Squad.”

To fashion the multicolored ponytails that Browne did on our features producer Shirley Qiu, 23, you’ll need two strips of attachable hair — called wefts — that are available in any beauty supply store. They can be any color that contrasts with your own hair and, for this look, should be heat resistant or “safe to curl,” Browne said.

For Shirley, who has black hair, Browne chose a pink weft and a purple one. You will also need strong hair elastics, some French pins, which are more flexible than bobby pins, and six scrunchies.

Browne started by parting Qiu’s hair carefully down the center front and back as if to make two side ponytails. He then took a small section from the center of each side and put an elastic around it tightly.

“You want this to be a strong rubber band because you’ll use it to anchor the French pins,” he said.

He then carefully wrapped one of the colored wefts around that section of hair, weaving the French pins through the weft and anchoring them under the elastic.

After that he gathered the rest of the hair on each side around the inner pony tail, put another strong rubber band around it and then put on three scrunchies on each side.

Before taking a curling iron to the ponytails, he sprayed each section of hair thoroughly with a Redken heat-protection product.

“We’re really emphasizing that now,” he said. “Just as you’d never put your bare hands in a hot oven, you should never take a hot tool to your hair without protection.”

Browne separated each of Qiu’s ponytails into three sections, carefully rolled them around a curling iron and let them fall into ringlets, which he sprayed with a strong- hold hair spray.

“Women are also embracing superheroes. They’re totally trending this year,” Browne said.

2. For his next style, which could complement a superhero-inspired look or a period costume such as one from the set of “Game of Thrones” or “Downton Abbey,” all you need is a handful of tiny elastics. They can be any color you want.
If your hair is on the thin side, you can do what salon owner Mandy McCullough did to help prep 24-year-old Paige Zielinski, another stylist at the salon. She used a tiny crimping iron throughout Zielinski’s hair.

“It adds so much volume,” said McCullough at the styling session on Tuesday evening.

What you will be doing, basically, is making a series of ponytails down the center of your head from front to back.

Once you get the first ponytail finished, you will gather up the next section of hair below it. Divide the ponytail that’s in front into two pieces, bring the lower section of hair up through the divided portion, then bring the two pieces of the first ponytail back together below, gather it into a ponytail with a small section of new hair, add a tight elastic and repeat, working your way down the back of the head.

Keep going until the hairdo, which he calls a Faux French Braid, is as long as desired.

3. For a quick and easy look for men, Browne demonstrated the “emoji guy” look on himself.
Wet the hair, make an extreme side part, comb it down flat and wear a blue shirt.

“The great thing about the emoji guy or girl is that it can be any race and every hair color,” he said. “And it’s so, so easy.”

How To Protect Holiday Hair In The Heat

It’s not just your skin you need to protect from the sun; UV rays have the power to do plenty of damage to your locks – from dryness to fading your summer blonde. You may not be able to feel it, but your hair burns in the sun just like skin, while UV rays also weaken your hair’s protein structure by making the shaft drier, brittle and more liable to breakage.

The amount of damage depends how much you expose your hair to the sun, the current condition of your locks and how much swimming you do – as chlorine and salt water can intensify the sun’s harmful effects.

Those with hair that is already damaged or processed will need to be more mindful, as this type of hair will be more vulnerable to sun damage. Also those with longer tresses should be more aware, as the longer the hair, the older and therefore weaker it is. Here, we run through our top tips on how to handle your holiday hair.

Pre-holiday fix

Before you head off for sunnier climes, schedule a trim before you go away and another for when you return to remove any damaged ends. Split ends interlock easily, increasing the likelihood of hair tangling and breaking. Any damage that might have been done during your break will be quickly dealt with, with a trim on your return. However, if you manage to protect your hair properly while away, the second appointment won’t be necessary.

Protect while on holiday

Apply a water-resistant UV filter like like Sachajuan Hair In The Sun & Hair After The Sun in order to help prevent damage. Just massage the sun cream into hair before hitting the beach to give UV protection that even withstands water. At the end of the day, you can either leave in or rinse out the aftersun treatment to restore moisture and shine. Some change – albeit minimal – is inevitable so if you want to keep locks safe, consider staying in the shade or wearing a wide-brimmed hat.

Repair post-holiday

Use a hydrating hair mask like Paul Mitchell After-Sun Replenishing Masque during and also after your summer holiday, as the combination of UV exposure and swimming can weaken the hair’s protein structure, making strands less elastic and manageable and easily broken. A nourishing mask will tackle any dryness and prevent colour fading. Relax in the evening with the masque on your hair, to combat the effects of sun, seawater and chlorine. The Paul Mitchell mask also has a UV filter which will help to protect hair the next day, too.

Once you return home, keep up the treatments twice a week, using a pre-shampoo conditioning treatment for 20 minutes in order to restore hair health to lock in moisture.