Lifestyle

How to grow gorgeous healthy hair, according to renowned hairdresser Michael Van Clarke



Power bobs may have emerged as a major hair trend at fashion week in September, but for many of us, it’s long luscious locks that will forever remain the tress target.

But what’s the best way to ensure your hair grows – and stays – shiny and gorgeous so that you needn’t have a drastic haircut to chop off dry, split ends? And is it true that regular haircuts will make your hair grow?

To get to the root of it we spoke to celebrity hairdresser Michael Van Clarke, who’s spent the last 25 years researching the best solutions to rebuild hair from within and protect every strand from root to tip. 

His Marylebone salon specialises in rebuilding and restoring hair to its best condition, and he has even launched a range of haircare products called ‘Three More Inches’ centred on, yup you guessed it, encouraging hair growth.

“If you are generally fit, a non-smoker, have a good balanced diet, you are not going to get better hair than that coming out of your scalp. How quickly this hair dries out and disintegrates is very much dependent on your haircare routine and lifestyle,” says Van Clarke.

(Michael Van Clarke)

We all want our hair to look its gorgeous best, right now. But understanding how some things harm hair and what you can do to avoid them, or minimise the damage, will lead to much better hair quality.

Read on for Van Clarke’s top tips on how to grow luscious, shiny long locks…

Protection is better than cure

Once the hair shaft starts to break down, this honeycombed protein matrix will find it harder to hold onto water. This will accelerate the breakdown of the protein structure and the hair shaft will age and thin down quicker. Keeping the hair shaft as full and complete as possible is the best protection.

Beautiful healthy hair is a strong fibre that’s hard to destroy but easy to damage. We developed the 3’’’More Inches range to help our clients keep their best natural hair possible. It really is Healthcare for Hair and all the products have this goal in mind.

Keep hair hydrated

First it helps to understand how simple hair is. Once the hair follicle leaves the scalp it’s no longer connected to the metabolism so, unlike skin, cannot repair itself. The hair shaft is essentially made of 97% proteins and 3% water.

The protein gives it the strength and structure, the water, its flexibility and shine. Take away the water and the hair no longer flexes and bends without breaking some of the internal bonds – which thins down the protein hair shaft, leading to snapping and thinner looking hair. 

Keeping hair properly hydrated is so important. The more damaged the hair shaft the less water it can hold. The less water it can hold the quicker it decays and thins further.

Damage usually starts with dehydration which leads to a brittle fragile hair shaft which then leads to loss of protein structure and thinner hair strands. That loss is cumulative and permanent once it starts, until new hair replaces it. On long hair that can be 3-5 years. Beautiful hair survives perfectly well with its protein and water structure, just needing some support and protection from modern living.

Beware of UV Light

When UV rays penetrate the hair’s outer cuticle, they create highly reactive free radicals which damage the melanin pigment causing colour changes and attacking the protein structure of the hair, leading to thinning, breakage, and split ends. Whilst SPF has been adopted into many skincare regimes it is neglected still in haircare. Use an effective treatment with sunscreen for protection.

Invest in a good quality shampoo & conditioner

Cheap harsh cleansers strip the hair leaving it vulnerable. Hydrophobic silicones leave the hair shaft dehydrated and fragile. Choose quality shampoos and conditioners containing ingredients that genuinely help to rebuild and protect. Look for Cashmere protein amino acids, which are almost identical to human hair molecules so the hair absorbs them. Panthenol and Wheat Protein can also help retain moisture.

Some people don’t use conditioners because they’ve experienced heaviness particularly on fine hair. This would certainly have been the wrong kind of conditioner and most probably laced with silicones and heavy oils to give shine. None of our Cashmere Protein Conditioners use silicone, and our Cashmere Protein Volumising Conditioner (£19, shop it here) is the lightest. It gives protection and body without weighing the hair down. Shampooing lifts the cuticle and the conditioner is important to reseal and protect the hair shaft.

Avoid aggressive hairdryer techniques

These can go way beyond just dehydration to actually melting the hair. There is no recovery from that until damage has grown out or been cut out. Technique is more important than dryer type – that said, overly powerful dryers can be harder to handle. Here are a few tips for drying your hair with minimal damage:

1. Do not work on dripping wet hair. Prepare by taking out approx 80% of the water before starting brush work.

2. Do not use a nozzle as this over concentrates the heat and makes it much more likely to damage the hair.

3. Always keep a one inch distance between the dryer and the hair.

4. Stop when that section is dry. If it’s not right, damp it down. All the damage is caused with continual heat on hair that’s already dry. This goes beyond taking out excess water and starts to strip the hairs natural moisture balance. Hair structure becomes unstable, weaker, and breaks down a little more, leading to thinner hair over time, breakage, and split ends.

Trim ends regularly

Every 3-8 weeks depending on length and style. As the ends decay and disintegrate they look tired and unattractive; also any splitting can travel up the hair shaft if not caught in time, regular trims prevent the need for a more dramatic cut.

Michael Van Clarke’s salon is located at 1 Beaumont St, Marylebone, London W1G 6DF. vanclarke.com



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