Salons
The new concept
Anya Hindmarch, famed for her “I’m not a plastic bag” handbags, has launched the Village, a new retail concept that includes a café, shop and, to celebrate the publication of her book If In Doubt Wash Your Hair, a pop-up salon with Neville Hair. The Shampoo & Therapy salon offers amazing blow-dries, champagne and the chance to buy a personalised shampoo created with eco beauty brand Faith In Nature (anyahindmarch.com).
The hi-tech
The world’s largest retailer is getting into on the hair game. Amazon, also in conjunction with revered Knightsbridge salon Neville, has opened an experimental salon in Spitalfields. Its styling services use forward-thinking technology and products. And, quelle surprise, it’s speedy (amazon.co.uk/amazonsalon).
The treatment
For anyone with flyaway hair, the Nanokeratin Blow Dry is heaven sent. The keratin treatment is packed with essential oils and amino acids. At Daniel Galvin’s salon in Marylebone they are true masters. After two hours you will emerge with the hair you know you’ve always deserved – gloriously sleek and smooth – and best of all it stays that way for at least three months (danielgalvin.com).
The eco-conscious
1 Blacc and Blond in Birmingham uses eco-friendly shower heads to reduce water waste by 65% (blaccandblond.com).
2 Tabitha James Kraan in Chipping Norton works with only organic hair products and 100% of energy is from renewable sources (tjksalon.co.uk).
3 London’s Glasshouse relies on organic colours manufactured in the New Forest and offers zero-waste shampoo. They also sell a host of “clean” beauty and skincare brands, such as RMS and Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty (glasshousesalon.co.uk).
The colour maestros
One of the many things we learned during lockdown is that hair colourists are geniuses. Here are three of the best:
1 For the kind of colour work that epitomises stealth wealth, Josh Wood aka the King of Hair Colour, is the person for you (joshwoodcolour.com).
2 Nicola Clarke is the brilliant woman beloved by editors, along with Kate Moss, Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet (nicolaclarkeatjohnfrieda.com).
3 At home, products by Christophe Robin, Kérastase, Shu Uemura Art of Hair and Josh Wood are a great way to keep up the good work until your next appointment.
The wig and weaves specialist
Run by Mimi Koné, the chic Burkina Faso-born Frenchwoman who previously worked for Louis Vuitton and Selfridges, Mimi et Mina in west London has an extensive menu for black hair. Braids, wigs, weaves, hot press – and Afro beats in the background (mimietmina.com).
The best for young people with waves, curls and coils
If you have wavy, curly, coily or mixed-heritage hair textures, pay north London’s Curl Bar a visit. If you have children with this hair type, even more reason: it is wonderfully welcoming for kids who ordinarily would find a visit to the salon intimidating (thecurlbarlondon.com).
Insiders go to…
Both Larry King (his work can be seen in publications including Vogue) and George Northwood (Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex’s stylist of choice) have salons frequented by influential beauty and fashion editors. (For anyone with curly or coily hair, Lalah at George Northwood is excellent.) You can also enjoy some of their expertise from the comfort of your home: both King and Northwood have beautifully formulated, sustainable focused hair products and appliances (larryking.co.uk, georgenorthwood.com).
People
The veteran
When the New York Times called Sam McKnight “one of the most important image makers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries”, it wasn’t hyperbole. You can get a piece of the McKnight magic via hisline of products – the Cool Girl Barely There Texture Mist is particularly great for volume – or via his personal Instagram feed @sammcknight1, where you will be met with elevated hair inspo and shots of flowers – he is also a keen gardener (sammcknight.com).
The queen of Afro hair
She has been awarded Afro Hairstylist of the Year three times. In 2018 she was the first Black woman to be inaugurated into the British Hairstyling Hall of Fame. Global brands court her expertise and her clients include authors Zadie Smith and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and actor Michaela Coel. She also has her own line of products. But a visit to Charlotte Mensah’s London salon is like therapy – with a slice of homemade cake, which Mensah serves to everyone who comes through the door (charlottemensah.com).
The hi-tech hair coach
Winnie Awa is the entrepreneur behind Antidote Street, an online retailer for black hair products. She has now created Carra, a customised beauty tech platform. It’s a system that conducts an in-depth consultation and then suggests a haircare routine and products specifically for you (carra.co).
Instagram inspiration
Looking for stylists to watch for culture-shifting hair moments, or just to see hairstylists hanging with their A-list clientele? Here’s who to follow:
1 Jawara is a Jamaican-born New Yorker who has worked with the likes of Kaia Gerber, with Beyoncé, Naomi Campbell and Mary J Blige (@jawaraw).
2 Chris Appleton is the superstar stylist known for his work with Jennifer Lopez, the Kardashians and Dua Lipa. He also helped to create Drunk Elephant’s hair line (@chrisappleton1).
3 Vernon François is an ambassador for Kérastase, but the Yorkshire-born, LA-based stylist is most famous as Lupita Nyong’o’s hairdresser of choice (@vernonfrancois).
4 Stylist to Kendall Jenner and Chrissy Teigen, Jen Atkin is the founder of cool-girl hair brand OUAI (@jenatkinhair).
5 All those intricate hairstyles in Beyoncé’s Black is King film? Thank you Neal Farinah (@nealfarinah).
6 Lacy Redway’s account shows how she juggles styling Amanda Gorman and Naomi Osaka for US Vogue, with Burberry and Glossier campaigns, catwalk shows and motherhood (@lacyredway).
7 Guido Palau does 30 shows a season, including Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Prada. His creations are beautiful feats of engineering (@guidopalau).
Products
The new kids on the block
1 Japanese rituals meet forward-thinking technology in NatureLab Tokyo’s nutrient-rich plant-based products, designed to improve hair strength, promote growth and maintain scalp health (cultbeauty.co.uk).
2 Susteau is the world’s first waterless hair brand; all the products are powder-to-lather formulas created without water, to be more sustainable (susteau.com).
3 Bread (as in, an essential product) was created not only to make coily hair textures less niche but fundamentally, to uncomplicate textured-hair routines (breadbeautysupply.com).
The best for curly hair
1 Only Curls Cleansing Co Wash 250ml, £16 (onlycurls.com).
2 Kérastase Curl Manifesto Masque, £36.40 (kerastase.co.uk).
3 Living Proof Curl Enhancer 100ml, £17.50 (cultbeauty.co.uk).
4 Imbue Curl Empowering Crème Gel, £7.99 (superdrug.com).
5 Trepadora Bamboo Ginseng Curling Glaze 100ml, £16 (trepadora.com).
Sensitive scalps
Infused with maple sugar, bilberry, citrus, sugarcane and watermelon, this luxurious line from Oribe’s Serene Scalp line is excellent for anyone who finds products too harsh for their tender scalps. The exfoliating scrub includes salicylic acid for gentle exfoliation to relieve flakiness and itching, pea-sprout extract to counter breakage and caffeine to stimulate hair growth. Oribe Serene Scalp Exfoliating Scrub, £46.50 (spacenk.com).
The scent of summer
1 Sun Bum 3-in-1 Leave In Conditioner, £16 (beautybay.com).
2 Sol de Janeiro Hair Repair Treatment, £35 (spacenk.com).
3 Diptyque Ilio Hair Mist, £44 (diptyqueparis.com).
The genius styler
Innovative engineering is what makes Dyson hair products so coveted and – also, yes, – expensive. The Airwrap styler comes with numerous attachments so mean you can style and dry your hair with one tool. It has a continuous flow of air and measures air temperature 40 times a second, which means it creates curls and waves without ntense hair damaging heat. The results? A salon-worthy finish – and a cult following. Dyson Airwrap Styler, £449 (dyson.co.uk).
Blonde hair heroes
1 Kérastase Blond Absolu Cicaextreme, £23.50 (kerastase.co.uk).
2 Shu Uemura Art of Hair Anti Brass Purple Shampoo, £29.95 (lookfantastic.com).
3 Aveda Blonde Revival Purple Toning Conditioner, £26.50 (aveda.com).
The hot brush
For a voluminous and straightforward blow dry, try the new ceramic barrel brush from Babyliss with moisture-balancing technology to hydrate hair and prevent frizz. Babyliss Hydro-Fusion Air Styler, £60 (babyliss.co.uk).
The best shampoo bars
Bars clean hair without stripping, smell divine and have less packaging:
1 Afro Hair Company Nurture Gentle Cleansing Shampoo Bar, £11.95 (theafrohairand skincompany.co.uk).
2 Centred Altered State Solid Shampoo Bar, £20 (wearecentred.com).
3 Klorane Mango Solid Shampoo Bar, £11 (lookfantastic.com).
4 Davines MOMO Shampoo Bar, £14 (libertylondon.com).
The protector
A silk hair wrap protects against hair breakage as you sleep and doubles up as a fashion accessory by day. Luxury Hair Wrap, £50 (silkelondon.com).
The healing comb
This handcrafted self-massaging comb has been crafted using kansa, an antimicrobial bronze alloy prescribed in Ayurveda to help balance pH levels, rejuvenate hair follicles and detox the scalp. It’s also a brilliant detangler. Mauli Grow Strong Kansa Comb, £82 (maulirituals.com).
Treatments, trends and campaigns
Hair thinning
Shedding is part of the hair growth cycle, but if the rate at which you are losing hair is unusual, an appointment with a trichologist (Philip Kingsley’s team is still one of the best) is a worthy investment. For home care, Klorane, Inkey List, Aveda, Champo and, yes, Philip Kingsley all have great products targeting thinning hair (philipkingsley.co.uk).
Steaming
Hair steaming is like a facial for your hair. Moist heat opens up and detoxes your hair follicles, intensifies your conditioning treatment and deeply hydrates parched or over-processed hair. Used in Afro hair salons for many years, it is amazing on all hair types. Not every salon offers the service so try buying a steamer for home use.
Scalp skincare
A slew of products and brands have begun addressing the skin on our scalp with ingredients normally found in our skincare regimes. Both Frank Body (Exfoliating Scalp Serum, £16.95, frankbody.com) and Ameliorates (Transforming Scalp Serum, £20, cultbeauty.co.uk) have scalp serum offerings that include ingredients such as green coffee and lactic acid to gently exfoliate the scalp and get rid of dead skin cells. Grow Gorgeous’s Sensitive Ceramide Rich Scalp Mask (£25, growgorgeous.com) rebalances and improves skin-barrier function, while Hello Klean’s Clarifying Scalp Soak (£25, cultbeauty.co.uk) balances the scalp’s acid mantle. Go veggie with the Moist range from Swedish brand Nine Yards (nineyardssweden.com). It’s chock full of vitamins and fatty acids, along with broccoli seed oil, shea butter and green tea to hydrate parched hair without weighing it down.
Fighting discrimination
The Halo Collective (the brainchild of youth-led social justice movement, the Advocacy Academy) has been set up to explicitly protect employees who come to work with natural hair and to protect hairstyles associated with racial, ethnic, and cultural identities. Brands such as Pantene and Dove have also launched campaigns to end hair discrimination (halocollective.co.uk).
Follow Funmi on Twitter @FunmiFetto
