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Long hair isn’t a static visual. The whole beauty and attraction of long hair is in its energetic sparkle. A vibrant glistening cascade of life and sensuality, that dances to the tune of your movements.
But for hair to shimmer and fall beautifully it has to be cut and balanced perfectly. This is illustrated in Aly’s very clever Instagram reel, made a few days later, which had over 10,000 views in 48 hours. See later.
I love long hair. But there’s a point where it disconnects from the aura around the face and just becomes a heavy appendage.
Lockdown 3 ended just in time for Aly so we could reshape her beautiful long hair and put life back into it. Apart from becoming really flat, the hair was tangling and splitting at the ends.
Layering hair that’s nearly three feet long in places takes some concentration. Using our signature Diamond Dry Cut™ method, I took a graduated outline and sculpted face-framing layers through to long layers at the back.
These longer layers balanced and connected the haircut as a whole so that it would move in unison, and gave lift and dimension to the back, stopping it from just hanging like a plank.
Aly had made a common mistake during lockdown. She bought a box colour labelled semi-permanent thinking this meant the colour would be temporary and it could tide her over until salons reopened. But these colours are usually weak tints, and although the colour fades, the effect on the hair texture is permanent until it grows out.
That made Aly’s hair more vulnerable to colour change in the sun than her virgin hair, and having to deal with unwanted orange tones. On hair as long as Aly’s, this problem can last 3-4 years.
Our Colour Director Jodie used a vegetable colour on Aly’s hair to tone and enrich the colour. These last up to 12 washes and leave no lasting change to the hair’s texture. As a general rule, if you are mixing two products together to make the colour, then it is a tint which will change the structure of the hair. Depending what result you want, a tint may be the only way, but often there are better strategies that maximise the effect but minimise the cost in upkeep time, money, and hair condition.
A key product for Aly’s hair was LifeSaver Prewash Treatment. This a not an oil-based treatment and you cannot overuse LifeSaver®. It feeds, hydrates and strengthens hair without weighing it down and gives vibrancy to all hair types.
Used with Cashmere Protein UV Protective Shampoo and Conditioner, the hair is nourished and protected. In fact, nothing we’ve come across keeps colour better than this trio of hero products.
Using a little Thicker Quicker and Volumising Mousse, Saori blowdried the hair smoother with body and a slight wave. Aly’s finished hairstyle moves and blends seamlessly and is simple for her to style at home in many different looks.
“My hair literally feels 10 years younger! It feels lighter, but fuller! I can brush it again stress free as it doesn’t get tangled easily anymore. It simply looks much healthier and it’s so shiny!!” - Aly
For Aly's hair we used LifeSaver Prewash Treatment to rehydrate, then Cashmere Protein UV Protective Shampoo and Conditioner.
A little Thicker Quicker blowdry spray and Volumising Mousse helped give body and control. Then finally a little Ten Second Transformation to feed and smooth the ends of the hair giving a little shine and texture too.
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Email: reception@vanclarke.com
The word ‘healthspan’ has been absorbed into our daily lexicon. It pops up as often as lifespan now as the movement to maximise health progresses. Healthspan is the length of time a person is healthy, not just alive, and was coined by gerontologists in a 1987 Science article. A period of life in which you are healthy and free from chronic disease or disability.
