Hair protection from the horse’s mouth. We chat to Pantene’s expert hair stylist, Barney Martin and expert hair senior scientist, Lais Koelle who share with us their hair secrets and how we can protect our luscious locks.
Rescu: How often should we have our hair trimmed and how often should we use a treatment product?
Barney Martin: For short hair you really need to have it trimmed back into shape every 4-6 weeks and for long hair I recommend every 6-8 weeks. To keep your hair healthy in between cuts make sure you apply a treatment once a week and always use a heat protecting product before heat styling. In winter you should really increase at-home treatments to twice a week as our hair tends to dry out more due to the wind and also air-conditioning.
Rescu: Should we be reducing the number of times we wash our hair over winter?
Barney Martin: No. You shouldn’t have to change how often you wash your hair in winter, as we are swimming you’ll probably find that you tend to wash it less! I always recommend having a can of dry hairspray in the cupboard so you can get an extra day out of your blowdry and reduce the amount of heat styling.
Rescu: Can fine hair use leave in treatments and oils?
Barney Martin: Yes, people with fine hair can still use treatments and oils, they just need to be careful not to apply to much. Remember never to apply at the roots, treatments only need to be applied from mid way down the hair shaft through to the ends. Pantene’s new Intensive Damage Repair oil is a lightweight treatment and perfect for fine hair.
Rescu: What are the key culprits for hair damage?
Lais Koelle, Pantene Senior Scientist:
Damaged hair can be caused by many factors, including scalp problems, like dandruff, styling, and external aggressors such as UV rays, heat and pollution. For example, when hair is coloured, relaxed or permed, its natural conditioning and protective layer, known as the F-layer, is removed, affecting the hair structure. The F-layer acts as a sort of raincoat for the hair strand, so when this layer is removed, hair no longer has its protective raincoat, which explains why chemically treated hair structures soak up water like a sponge. The F-layer is also responsible for keeping the cuticle smooth, which is what makes hair reflect light and shine. Also, remember that frequent heat styling ultimately damages hair; if you want healthy hair that shines everyday, it’s best not to resort to blow dryers or straightening irons too often.
Rescu: How can we repair damage once it’s done?
Lais Koelle, Pantene Senior Scientist:
Damage tends to accumulate over time, so it is essential to adopt a good haircare ritual that comprises of shampoo, conditioner, rinse-off and/or leave- treatments as well as regular hair masks that provide repair to nourish and restore your hair’s health. For split ends, that is a very common type of hair damage, for example, the Pantene Daily Moisture Renewal collection is highly recommended as it targets the most damaged parts of the hair, such as the hair tips, which tends to be prone to developing into split ends overtime. An important third step following your shampoo and conditioner, the Split End Fuser was designed for severely damaged hair with split ends, it integrates Pantene’s Pro-V science with innovative technology to repair and fuse split ends.
