Do you ever wish you could steal five minutes with a hair pro and glean some of their brilliance? Who hasn’t?
We all have our ‘If I were stuck in an elevator with so and so” questions ready: “What is your secret? How do you keep your client’s hair looking so luscious and enviable?” And it just so happens that BeautyStat recently got the chance to ask some of these million dollar questions.
We picked the brains of some of the hair industry’s darlings to find out how you, yes YOU, can achieve hair bliss, and got these pros to spill a few juicy secrets. Read on, loves, these are some secrets you’re going to want to spill.
1) The best remedies are sometimes the cheapest.
You know that deep disappointment you feel when you take a visit to the salon, find the perfect hair product for your locks, and then look at the price tag? Yeah, we’ve all been there. It’s a fact of life that quality hair care can be quite expensive. But according to nationally acclaimed hairstylists Ted Gibson and Jeffrey Lyle, it doesn’t have to be.
“Some of the best hair care remedies can be found right in your own kitchen,” Lyle says.
Some common cures? As odd as it may sound, Lyle says many people swear by avocados (mash them up and apply all over for a moisturizing masque) and mayonnaise (apply to hair and rinse for a boost of shine) to keep their hair looking fresh.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for a cheap, natural detoxifier, Gibson recommends mixing a tablespoon of vinegar in the palm of your hands with shampoo.
2) In the battle against frizz, you’re your number one weapon.
It seems like we’re always looking for the perfect antidote to our frizzy misery, but according to Lyle and Boston hair legend Mario Russo, the solution isn’t that complicated and could very well involve changing our own habits or getting a little bit innovative with the products we’re already using.
“Frizz can be a tricky issue, but the best way to eliminate it is to re-train yourself on your approach taking care of your hair. Instead of rubbing wet hair with a towel to dry it, gently pat it down with a cotton t-shirt to remove excess water so you avoid causing friction,” Lyle says. “Then apply an anti-frizz serum to help smooth down the cuticle of the hair.”
But if you do end up with a case of the frizzies, Russo has a quite simple cure: “In a pinch, while moisturizing your hands, you can lightly run your hands/fingers through your hair to eliminate static.”
3) Seek and you shall find….great hair advice.
If you had a really great secret, would you share it with just anybody? Probably not. So you might be surprised to hear that the industry’s top hairstylists are eager to share their secret tips for hair perfection with you. But according to Lyle, hairstylists are more than willing to share their insight and if you just ask, you might find some real gems of advice!
“There are a million secrets–that’s why you come to us! One tip I’m always shocked people aren’t aware of is to shampoo just your roots and condition only the ends of your hair,” Lyle says. “The first three inches of hair have natural Keratin. Adding conditioner to the roots will just make them look oily. For those who have a dry scalp, conditioner won’t help—you may need to get a scalp treatment, buy a humidifier, or consult a dermatologist.”
4) Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it
All hairstylists have their own little trick up their sleeves, but there are also some industry-wide secret weapons that everyone who’s everyone knows about. While they may seem a bit unconventional, don’t knock ‘em ‘til you’ve tried ‘em, skeptics.
Take baby powder, for instance. Gibson says this simple (and cheap) product serves a dual purpose and is used to add volume and soak up oil from the scalp.
5) Electricity is a good thing, just not in your hair.
Being that we’re in the midst of winter here, a lot of you are probably falling victim to the ever-dreaded static hair syndrome! Ugh, right? Well, Russo and Gibson have a few little tricks that will keep the electricity out of your locks and in the electrical outlets where they belong.
“To avoid winter static, (caused by dry air and unnatural heat), apply a crème style product prior to blow-drying,” Russo says. “This is such an important part of winter hair treatment, that I created the Mario Russo Miracle Styling Crème for all my clients to use on a regular basis.”
Gibson swears by Bounce fabric softener, which he says “works really well to calm down flyaways as well as help with static electricity.”
– Chrissy Callahan
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