From freezing temperatures in winter to sun, sea and swimming pool water in summer, our hair goes through a lot. Not to mention all the blow drying, straightening (or curling) and styling products we use on the daily. It’s no wonder, then, that our locks sometimes look less than pristine, with common side effects including frizz, split ends, or general limpness. We asked experts their top tips to get beautiful shiny hair.
They said that by following a few key pointers you can minimise damage and keep your strands in tip-top condition all year round.
How to get beautiful shiny hair
Here, hairstylist and GHD ambassador Zoe Irwin, and celebrity hairstylist Miguel Perez reveal their healthy hair commandments…
1. Prepare with care
Perez says: “Preparation when washing your hair is key, as the condition of the hair will determine just how easy – or difficult – it is to style.
“It’s important to choose the right hair care products for your individual hair type.
“I like to prep the hair using a purifying mask, which de-pollutes hair and cleanses the scalp of substances that will suffocate it or cause itching or irritation – think of it as a cleanser for your hair.
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“If the hair is fine and needs a bit of volume, I will use a volumising shampoo, whereas if the hair is coarse and frizzy, I will use a smoothing shampoo, which really helps to tame any frizz or flyaway hairs.”
2. Freeze dry your blow-dry
If you always turn your hairdryer to the maximum heat setting, you could be damaging your strands.
A fast way to get beautiful shiny hair is to “Turn down the heat on your hairdryer and improve the condition of your hair,” Irwin says.
“With a good hairdryer, like the GHD Helios (Amazon), the powerful airflow means that you don’t need to rely on heat for drying your hair, the power itself is enough.
To finish, hold the ‘cool shot’ button down for a blast of reviving cold air, she adds: “Always flash cool each section of your hair and dry with a round bristle brush to add moisture and shine.”
Perez adds: “You should change the temperature of your styling tool depending on which section of the hair you are styling.
“When applying heat or styling around the hairline, where the hair is generally finer, you should always use a lower temperature to smooth hair without burning it. In other areas such as around the crown, you should use a little more heat to create volume.
“When blow-drying the mid-lengths to the ends of the hair, you should use a medium temperature. Pay particular attention to the ends of the hair, to ensure they are smoothed properly. This is what will make your hair look like it’s been professionally blow-dried.”
3. Massage your scalp
Helping to enhance your hair from the inside out, scalp massage is a must for anyone who’s growing their hair out or wants to boost the thickness.
“Massaging your scalp daily for 10 minutes has an incredible effect on the hair,” Irwin says.
“It will relieve tension and increase the blood flow for thicker, healthier, longer hair.”
4. Repeat your treatments
A once a week hair mask isn’t enough if you want to deeply nourish your hair. Instead, try a technique called ‘treatment layering’, which, Irwin says is like a facial but for hair.
“The secret is to start with a protein mask which helps to bind broken fibres together and strengthen fragile, damaged hair,” she explains.
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“Then follow with a conditioning mask and finish with a colour mask to retain and enhance colour and shine.”
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“Simply apply each mask and leave it for 15 minutes, rinse off and towel dry, then repeat twice until you have used three masks in total.”
5. Tailor your tools
“Swap small brushes for big paddle brushes,” Irwin advises.
“As you sweep the paddle brush along the scalp it will lightly massage and increase blood circulation to the scalp, helping to stimulate healthy hair growth.” This will help your hair look beautiful and shiny with hardly any effort.
“Plus, the wide surface means that more hair is being brushed at once, so less brushing is needed overall and thus less stress is put on the hair.”
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However, if you’re going for a specific look, Perez says: “It’s important to make sure you use the right-sized brush when styling hair. The brush size depends on the texture you want to create and the amount of volume you want at the root.”
“The bigger the brush, the more volume at the root and the softer the wave. The smaller the brush, the less volume and the tighter the wave.
“When tonging or blow-drying, it’s all about the direction in which you style. I usually wrap the middle section of the hair around the tong and hold for a couple of seconds to create a small amount of movement.
“I then take the ends of the hair and tong them in the opposite direction but hold the hair for slightly longer, giving an effortless and modern look.”
6. Cold rinse
Similar to cool blow-drying, cold water can make all the difference when you wash your hair.
“By rinsing or washing your hair with cold water, you close and seal the hair cuticles. This helps add extra shine and combat frizz,” Irwin explains.
“My favourite tip is to use filtered water. On shoots, I finish a wash with a bottle of Evian which makes the hair super sleek, soft and shiny.
“It is definitely not a tip for everyday hair styling though,” she admits – unless you’re lucky enough to have Evian on tap at home…
7. Gently does it
“When hair is wet it is fragile and vulnerable to breakage so brush wet hair very gently,” Irwin advises.
“Use a wide-tooth comb like the GHD Detangling Comb (Amazon). The wide tooth design allows for delicate detangling on damp hair which is fragile and more prone to damage.”
8. Take a 360 approach
“People tend to only focus on the front of their hair and neglect the back,” says Perez. “When I style actresses or models, I’m aware that they will be photographed from every angle.
“Don’t forget to use a hand mirror to check the back of your hair so you can see how it looks from every single angle.”
9. Don’t forget the finishing touches
“In order to create an ‘expensive-looking’ blow-dry, the ends have to be completely polished and smooth,” says Perez.
“Damaged hair is extremely noticeable against dark clothing, which is why it’s so important to smooth the ends with a hair oil.
“I always finish off a look by using a couple of pumps of the Hair Rituel by Sisley Precious Hair Care Oil (Amazon). It adds shine to every type of hair, without weighing it down.”
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