With most of us stuck at home for the foreseeable future, hair maintenance without the help of your hairstylist can feel a little daunting to say the least. The stylists at Shears and Chatters Salons at Westshore Town Centre have come together to compile a list of tips to get us all through social distancing unscathed (at least as far as our hair is concerned).
Before we get started, note this important service announcement: While Chatters stores and salons remain closed, online shopping is available through Chatters.ca and they’re offering free shipping with purchases $25 and over. Can’t wait that long? Visit the Shears Facebook page for info or their product pick-up program!
Now, let’s get started!
Drop the Scissors
A little snip here or there couldn’t possibly hurt, right? Wrong!
It only takes a few clicks through YouTube to find some nasty at-home-haircut fails. One poorly angled snip, and it’s all over! Conditions are perfect to let your hair grow. If we’re doing this social distance thing right, nobody will see it anyway!
Take this opportunity to Learn a new fun style! If you are feeling like you have nothing but time on your hands and nothing to do, why not learn how to style your hair differently for once we are back in the real world? Check out Lauren from Chatters’ Insta for various tutorials- including some really sweet braids for summer!
Treat Yourself
If you find yourself with a little extra time on your hands, why not show your locks some love? Take a break from styling tools and invest in a good quality leave in conditioner that will help repair your hair. This can be used as a perfect opportunity to give your hair a break from the damage that comes along with heat styling tools.
Sarah from Chatters recommends this leave in spray from Pureology that has 21 incredible benefits.
Want to take at-home-haircare one step further? Chynna from Shears suggests the Olaplex #3 Hair Perfector Treatment ($32.99). Used as a mask for 10 minutes or 24 hours, Olaplex #3 helps rebuild broken sulphur bonds in hair strands, leaving your ends strong and shiny.
Shampoo Less
Shears stylist Chynna always says, “If I could spend two weeks away from civilization, I could finally get on a good shampoo schedule.” Now is the time!
Shampoo is great. We love clean hair! But did you know that shampooing more than once or twice a week is making your hair dirtier?! The scalp is stripped of natural oils with every wash, causing the skin to over-produce sebum. When we give the scalp a break, sebum production begins to regulate. You will notice over time that you can go longer and longer between shampoos!
If you’re just getting used to day 2 or 3 hair, soak up the excess oil with AG Simply Dry Shampoo Hair Refresher ($28.00). Dry shampoo leaves your hair looking clean, feeling manageable and smelling great!
Do No Harm
Blonde and brassy? Perhaps you’re seeing your natural hair colour for the first time since you turned 15. Don’t panic. Drop the bleach!
Lightening hair is an exact science. Overlapping and over processing can be unpredictable for the at-home-bleacher and can have catastrophic results. Picture the hair melting right off your head (it happens!). For now, keep the brass at bay with a good shampoo. If your hair is showing more yellow tones you will want a purple shampoo, if it is showing more orange tones you will want a blue shampoo. A weekly mask as suggested above is another great way to keep your hair from going all sorts of funky colours.
Sarah from Chatters says these two shampoos are great depending on what your colour needs are:
https://chatters.ca/products/redken-color-extend-blondage-shampoo
https://chatters.ca/products/matrix-total-results-brass-off-shampoo
Chynna from Shears says: we are into Milkshake Silver Shine Shampoo ($25.00) for neutralizing yellow tones in blonde and white hair.
Say “NO” to Box Colour
It’s tempting to grab a box of hair dye when you start to see those greys peeking through. Unfortunately, box colour is designed as a one-size-fits-all option, that is often much too strong, much too dark, and much too harsh for most hair types. These drug store quality dyes can be very damaging to your hair, and colour corrections can be very expensive services. A quick twelve-dollar decision can end up costing you a lot more as a colour correction in the salon!
Sarah from Chatters offers this option, a L’oreal Professionnel root touch up spray that is also volumizing and hypoallergenic.
Are you an existing Shears client? Shears is offering a Root Touch-up Kit ($40.00) that includes your custom colour formula cream, developer, and instructions for touching up regrowth at home!
Lash Love
Here’s a bonus tip for Chatters esthetics clients from Sarah: “Missing your luxurious lash extensions? Us too, but we are staying sane by using these amazing magnetic liner lashes by Ardell! So much easier compared to glue on lashes and they last all day.”
Thank you to our pro-stylist friends for sharing these fabulous tips to keep our locks safe during the pandemic. We can assure you that your stylists miss you as much as you miss them and are looking forward to seeing you all again soon!