Beauty

Mon Jan 11

Key tips to tell if you need a haircut

Written by By Cara Leupuscek, Educational Columnist and Journalist Feature Hair Boutique

That first glance In the mirror and thinking to yourself “something is not right about the way my hair feels or looks” you know within the months of not having your haircut you may feel like you can hold on to those extra lengths for a little more longer. Well you actually can! You should be able to clearly identify after reading this how to: not only tell when you need a haircut, but how much you actually need off rather than how much you choose to have off. The truth is: if you only ask for 1cm of length off, and really need 5cm off, you are actually allowing your hair to develop more damage than good, whilst leaving the split ends in your hair; you are providing more development for breakage.

But what if you don’t want a haircut? What if you are trying to grow your hair? Well you can actually treat your hair to engage self-sufficient natural oils and keratins to re produce back strength which can naturally heal your hair, thus not needing a haircut at all! You just need to follow the natural ways to treat your hair in your everyday lifestyle to gain back your natural heath (yes, that in fact does mean less Hair straightener use, and reduce the use of low quality products!) remember: low quality products and artificial use, equals: low quality hair!

The straw/hay feel: if you glance at your ends, and pick it up how does it feel? If you rub your ends together and it feels gritty rather than your ends sliding up against each other that instantly means you haven’t been looking after your hair the way you should. For thick course hair, using essential oils such as macadamia and argan oil (ends only) will not only provide the strengthening source of keratin that your ends needs, but will harmonise the texture between your roots and ends. If you do this twice a week, your hair will feel healthier and can prolong your haircut!
It looks like a tree branch! If you take a look at your ends and it looks like lots of different strands are separating from the one, these are called split ends. This is a serious case of lack of nourishment and in westernised society, we are over drying our hair with The GHD irons, curling tongs, bleach, poor quality products, over hair drying (or lack of knowledge on how to use your hair dryer) and not to mention lack of humidity proof application products. Before you go into the sun or for a swim make sure you apply good quality protector cream or oil. This will become a strengthening barrier over your hair thus preventing breakage!
Your ends are changing colour, or looking lighter: it’s not a different kind of Belayage! Your natural pigmentation has lifted out due to the high levels of dehydration to your lifestyle. Are you in the office with air conditioning the majority of the week? Are you over ironing your hair? If your ends looks like this you definitely need a trim. Make sure you have it cut just enough that the dried out areas are completely gone (always talk to a professional for advice!)
Your ends are breaking and you don’t know why: You need to refer back to the causes of this. Are you using the GHD too much? Are you applying too much artificial chemicals in your hair you teasing your hair the wrong way? Your split ends are causing to snap of under these circumstances and definitely need to cut your hair otherwise your hair will break higher and higher remaining overall hair breaking (also known as a chemical haircut)

Cara’s Advice: Acknowledge the way you treat your hair, I recommend you to use more natural base remedy products to seal your cuticle and to revitalise your hair. Natural shampoo, conditioners and organic hair care can only be bought and sold at professional hair salons (don’t settle for the cheap products as they will do more harm than good). It’s always important to source all natural ingredients for your hair to not only stimulates additional hair growth but to maintain the ideal hair that you initially desire. Try to put down the hair iron and pick up the hair treatment. If you need to straighten your hair refer to the hairdryer and round brush as this is a lot healthier than any iron.