They say that you can always tell a woman’s age by her neck, but there’s another feature that’s just as telling: your hair.
Don’t get me wrong: Isabel Marant looks fresher than most women 10 years her junior with her gray hair piled up in a youthful topknot, and Lina Rodin, the genius of a woman behind Rodin Olio Lusso, knocks it out of the park with a silver side braid and a black trench.
I don’t think hair looks “old” because it loses its pigment, but it does when it starts to appear dull, tired and generally bedraggled.
Now that there are parties almost every weekend (and every other weeknight), you’ll be trooping to the salon for a blowout or curling hair with an iron more often than it is used to, and as the Spice Girls warned, “too much of something is bad enough.”
All that overstyling will cause it to lose its healthy luster, strength and volume. But hair is practically dead when it grows out of your scalp, you say. How can it be unhealthy if it’s not even alive?
Just ask half-French model Nikita McElroy, whose once-bouncy curly hair practically booked modeling gigs for her. But after two years straight of constant blowdrying, curling and straightening, her Solange-esque ‘fro is a shell of its former self: frizzy, limp and full of split ends.
“My handlers tell me [without my big, curly hair], I’m not Nikita anymore,” she bemoans. If she could, she’d raise her pre-damaged hair from the dead.
Other treatments like bleaching, coloring, perms and getting highlights aren’t without their consequences either, especially when done frequently. The painful solution? Since hair is healthiest when it’s newly grown from the follicle (supplements that contain biotin, fish oil, iron and Vitamin C will help), the best thing to do is just chop it off.
New treatment
If that isn’t an option, you can head back to salon—for a treatment. A few weeks ago, Keratin Complex, the No. 1 keratin brand in the world, introduced its new Advanced Glycolic Smoothing Therapy, an “intelligent blow-dry” that takes just under three hours.
According to Mindy Dillan, the director of international sales for Keratin Complex, “It is a different technology. I’m sure you’re familiar with glycolic acid, which is typically in skincare. It rejuvenates, resurfaces the skin, gives it a more youthful, supple feeling. So we’ve taken that same technology, worked on the formula for over three years, and infused that into our keratin to make a service that transforms the hair.”
While the salon does use a blow-dry and a flat iron for this treatment, it’s to seal in the benefits of the product into your strands using heat. The result is softer, shinier and more supple hair that lasts up to five months with proper maintenance.
At home, you can use products like Keratin Complex Infusion Treatment, which infuses keratin back into the hair, or gloEssentials Reparative Keratin, which also contains turmeric, to promote follicle health and quinoa to prevent breakage and promote strength, fullness and shine.
It’s important to use products that provide UV protection and don’t contain sulfates or parabens to prolong the effects of the treatment. Using products that “restore the hair’s natural oil and keratin without compromising the hair’s peptides with harsh preservatives and chemicals that may do more damage in the long run” is key, says Dr. Cecilia Faustiano, the medical director and head dermatologist of MD Aesthetique Derm-Spa.
Natural ingredients
If you prefer more natural ingredients, try Macadamia Healing Oil Treatment, which contains a blend of macadamia and argan oil.
“Macadamia oil contains the highest amount of Omega 7 than any other nut oil. Omega 7 most closely resembles hair’s natural oils, and can replace lost moisture. Argan oil, on the other hand, has Omega 9, antioxidants and Vitamin E, which restore hair’s strength and shine,” says Scott Smith, the vice president for business development for Macadamia Professional.
The Healing Oil Treatment provides natural UV protection and cuts down drying time by 40 percent by infusing hydrating oil into the hair shaft while pushing out excess water. For more intense therapy, pair with the Deep Repair Masque, which combines macadamia and argan oil with tea tree and chamomile oil, plus aloe and algae extracts, to rejuvenate and rebuild hair while providing deep nourishment and improved elasticity.
While it is an additional step or two to your morning and nightly routine, putting in just a little more effort—along with reduced use of heat styling tools—will make those lifeless tresses look alive again.
Keratin Complex Infusion is available at Piandré Salon, Studio Fix by Alex Carbonell, Jing Monis Salon, David’s Salon, Essentials Toni & Guy and Vivere Salon.
GloEssenials Reparative Keratin is available at glostoremd.com.ph. For more information, visit GloStore MD Philippines at MD Aesthetique Derm-Spa, Nipa Hut Compound, Captain Henry Javier Street, Pasig City.