Expert haircare advice that doesn’t split hairs

Whether it’s dull, dry, frizzy, grey, damaged by the sun, or growing back after chemotherapy, your hair needs tender loving care, says Sabrina Hill

A low-pH volumising shampoo cleanses the scalp and hair without stripping away moisture. Picture: iStock

Sabrina Hill is the managing director of Kopper Salon in Cork. Here are her top tips for taking care of your hair, whether it’s dull, dry, frizzy, grey, or growing back after cancer treatment.

Sabrina Hill shares expert advice on healthy hair.

Problem: Hard water is making my hair dull and lifeless

Solution: Consider a filter for your shower head. In cities and larger towns, the water is often harder and contains more limescale. This can leave hair feeling drier, rougher and more difficult to manage.

In heavy farming areas, there might be a lot of other elements, like copper and iron sulphate, in your water. A shower filter, like EcoPlumb (an Irish business), drains off any of the heavy metals, and that can make a big difference. It’s important to change the filter insert every four months.

I would also immediately change to a scalp shampoo, rather than a detox shampoo. Alfaparf Purifying is excellent; we sell it in our salon. In pharmacies, you can find products like La Roche-Posay Kerium, which is also good at gently lifting away anything that has built up on the hair and scalp.

Problem: I’ve embraced my grey hair, but how do I take care of it?

Solution: Grey hair is like wearing a white pair of jeans — you can clearly see any staining.

I suggest using a clarifying shampoo, but not one that will disrupt the outside layer of your hair. When hair starts going grey, it is losing melanin [the pigment that gives it colour]. Age-related changes in the hair also lead to the loss of amino acids, such as cysteine, that help keep hair smooth, so your hair can start to look a little bit frizzier. To counteract that, I suggest using a low-PH volumising shampoo that can clean the scalp and the hair without making it dry.

With grey hair, you’ll often find that the front of the hair can be lighter than the rest of it. And if someone wears makeup or fake tan on their face, this can stain the lighter hair. A good trick you can do at home is to add a teaspoon of baking powder to your shampoo.

Dampen the hair in that area, and apply the mixture to the hair. Massage and comb through the mixture and leave it in for 15 minutes, before shampooing it off. When using your conditioner, apply purple or violet shampoo over the area and leave for five to 10 minutes. The conditioner protects the hair from turning violet. Then rinse that off, and you should get a neutralised effect.

Problem: How can I protect my hair from sun damage?

SPF on your scalp can protect your hair from sun damage

Solution: SPF on your scalp is very important. But many contain ingredients that, when they mix with chlorine, can change your hair colour. So be careful what you choose. Hawaiian Tropic has a mineral SPF that you can apply to your hair without causing that discolouration.

For protection in the sun, I’m a fan of adding a leave-in conditioner to the hair, which acts as a barrier. If you have blonde or grey hair, you could use a toning shampoo on a short-term basis. If you’re washing your hair daily, use it twice a week to help neutralise brassy tones.

Problem: I’ve just finished cancer treatment. How do I manage my hair regrowth?

Solution: Just as your hair is starting to grow back, book a consultation with a hairdresser. At this early stage, we don’t know what way your hair is going to grow back. It’s important to get into the mindset that you’re on a journey, and that you may not be getting where you want to be for a couple of months.

The first growth will be like new baby hair, and you must treat it carefully. I would be upping the moisture a little bit and using products that are not heavily laced with protein — something that’s going to support the hair in its growth.

You want a product with amino acids that’s going to protect the outer parts of the hair as they grow back.

You also need to make sure your tools are really good, so it’s very important to pick a hair dryer that has a lot of power rather than heat, and make sure your straighteners have their correct ceramic coating.

Top haircare tip

One of the worst things you can do to your hair is let it dry naturally, particularly if you have hard water. Air drying means those heavy metals sit on the hair.

So, even if you’re not able to do a full blow-dry, I would always say give your hair a little bit of a blast with the hairdryer just to get the heavy wetness off it. That will help your hair so much.