Five golden rules for great hair
It sits on the top of your head, but do you really make the most of how great your hair can make you look?
The kindest cut
There’s no doubt about it – a good haircut can change your life. You walk into the salon stressed, exhausted, heartbroken, or just plain bored, and an hour later you’re handing over your credit card with a song in your heart and striding confidently through the door to face the world. OK, that’s partly down to the magical effects of a bit of me-time pampering and a slick professional blow-dry, but a lot of it is about sharpening up your look, nailing a trend you like, or simply rediscovering your best features with a clever new shape.
Don’t be afraid to shake things up: take a good honest look at your face’s strengths and weaknesses and get advice from a trusted stylist to discover what works for you now.
The right colour
It’s a sad fact of life that everyone’s hair changes colour as we age. If you’re lucky enough to avoid grey hair you can thank your genes for that – the average age for hair to start greying is about 34, though some spot their first rogue greys in their early ’20s. But even if the salt-and-pepper fairy has passed you by so far, you’ll notice that your locks just don’t have that vibrant, zingy colour you remember from your teens. Perking up your look with a few foils around your face is an easy way to give your do a bit more oomph, and if you ask for several different tone-on-tone colours you can keep things looking natural.
Avoid bright colours and harsh contrasts though, unless they match a big, bold personality.
Feed your hair
Like the rest of you, your hair is what you eat. The part we see is the product of a growth stage that took place in the scalp up to three years ago, so eating right for your hair is a long-term project. Luckily, the nutrients hair needs are the ones you’re probably consuming anyway if you’re aiming for a balanced diet. It’s made of a protein called keratin, which your body has manufactured from the meat, nuts, beans and dairy you eat, and you’ll be giving it the B-complex vitamins it needs if you add some green leafy veg into the mix. Make sure you’re getting enough iron, too – it helps keep your hair shiny and stops it getting brittle.
Treatments to try
The biggest favour you can do for your hair is to let it dry naturally as often as possible – nothing encourages snapping, frizzing and split ends more than a daily dose of harsh heat. Still, we don’t all want to face every day with a mop of limp, saggy tresses, so give your stressed hair a helping hand by whacking on plenty of conditioner and treating it every few washes with some intensive moisturisers.
These all work in basically the same way, by covering each hair with a thin layer of glossy coating, but the secret is getting the balance right so there’s enough moisturiser left on your hair after rinsing to do the job, but not so much that it leaves you looking greasy. We like Pantene’s Time Renewal Power Shots and Herbal Essences’ Hello Hydration mask.
Turning back time
It’s all very well sporting a head of multi-coloured spikes – or a plain, one-length, middle-parting waif look for that matter – when time is on your side, but grown-ups need to be more clued-up about their hair even if they don’t want to be too boring.
The best rule of thumb is to stay safe with your colour even if you experiment with your cut. A harsh bleach-job or gothy raven-black hairdo will just highlight your skin’s imperfections, so keep the tones soft and natural to flatter your face. And remember that disguising grey hair with blonde highlights is the ‘oldest’ trick in the book, and can add years – a darker colour always looks younger, but bear in mind that you’ll have to get those roots done far more frequently. Once your colour’s fixed, you can feel free to style your hair as wildly as you dare!