Top Tips for Beautiful Every Day Hair

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Last week I was fortunate to be invited along to an evening at Anthony John Salons, a chance to talk hair and have a good look around the beautiful and inviting salon.

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We kicked off with a tour of the salon and a chat with Tony who is enthusiastic and passionate about ensuring his clients get the best possible experiences when visiting his salon. A visit to Anthony John Salons is a pleasure. It just screams ‘me-time’, from the beautifully scented burning candles to the upper mezzanine area, The Balcony, where you can relax, grab a drink and wait for your colour to set.

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Now, I’d say I’m fairly normal where my own hair maintenance is concerned. I colour it regularly and have done since I was in my early twenties and ensure it’s trimmed or cut around every couple of months or so. Day to day, it’s very low key as I simply wash and condition it each morning, then rough dry it and brush it. Yep, that’s it, it’s pretty easy to do each day so I use no products on it or straighteners or the like. This visit was great as it really got me thinking about my hair, but in ways that were practical and personal to me.

I started by having a consultation around colour and hair shape with Tony was brilliant and I am now thinking I fancy a restyle – watch this space! Tony suggests these 4 easy ways to great-looking hair…

Use the right products! Use products that treat the concerns and difficulties you have with your hair and scalp. It sounds simple but so many people don’t do it. If you want more body and volume in your hair use products that help you achieve it. If you want your hair smoother, use a product that helps you. Hair stronger, more moisturised, scalp cleansed or exfoliated, more shine – there is plenty of products that will help you get there. Like with anything, you get what you pay for. The more expensive the product, the better it will be – as long it’s the right one for your hair type. If you are going to invest in one product make it your shampoo. Some people buy a cheap shampoo then a more expensive conditioner. Shampoo is the foundation. A cheaper one is more likely to coat your hair meaning your super expensive conditioner can’t work to it’s full potential.

Know what colour suits you, if you don’t know your hairdresser should! We have all worn a piece of clothing before where the colour simply doesn’t suit us. It makes us feel like all the colour is drained out of our skin. With your hair, times that by 10. The right colour can take years off any body but unfortunately can put years on. Getting the right Depth (how dark or light it is) and Tone (warm or cool) is so, so important. Hairdressers should be trained in how to analyse this, we make sure all of ours are. So use our knowledge and don’t be afraid to ask us what suits you and why.

Create a shape with your hair that is the opposite to your face shape. For example, if you have a round face shape you want to elongate it, making it appear longer. Therefore, put most volume through the top of the hair and the crown, this will make the face shape appear less round. The opposite is true for long face shapes, create volume at the sides of the hair to create a rounder silhouette thus complementing this face shape. Your hairdresser should be cutting your hair to create body and weight in your hair cut to make it totally bespoke to you. Alternatively, you can change thing up with the cut and shape by trying various types of premium wigs from Niawigs.

Take a picture of the type of styles and colours you like to your hairdresser for your appointment. We are visual people and it gives us a great starting point for your consultation.

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I then spent some time chatting about easy ways I could change the look of my hair on a day to day basis. This was so useful as it was tailored perfectly to my needs, bearing in mind my limited time each day and there was also plenty of opportunity to practice. It was an engaging experience, and I thank my oh-so-patient stylist for bearing with me as I failed to wield my straighteners with any finesse (I never use them!) and instead came up with some easy back-combing techniques for me. If you’re looking to try something a little different yourself, here are the teams’ 3 simple styles in 5 minutes or less…

Down. Waves. Lot’s of people curl with a soft wave, it looks perfect when first done but then drops quickly. It probably just needs more foundation to it. Therefore, over curl it first, get the curl really, really tight, almost so it looks permed. Then with a flat brush, gently brush the curl out. Don’t be scared, if you have curled it tight enough the curl will simply expand leaving you with beautiful soft, big waves. Do all the curls the same way and you’ll be left with a finger wave type affect.

On Trend. Flat roots. Do as above with the waves. create as much body in the ends as possible. Once done grab a comb and comb the root (first 2 inches of your hair) as flat as you can. Hold your hair spray as close to the section of hair as possible then spray away. Remove the comb and leave to dry. Repeat this on the sections of hair around the parting and hair line. This look was massive at all the fashion weeks around the globe this year. It leaves you with slicked flat roots with beautiful big waves through the ends.

Up. Messy bun. Again foundation is key. Make the hair pliable so curl, hair spray, backcomb. Get the hair doing what you tell it to! Then clip away the hair from the ears forward just to get it out of the way. Firstly work with the hair in the back section that’s left (everything behind the ears). Starting at the nape of the neck grab the inch square section of your hair that you prepped earlier. Twist then pin at the base of your hair, then gradually do the same with all the hair. The only thing you can get wrong is not getting it central, so just try to be symmetrical. Once all the back is done, start to introduce the side section and do the same. You should be left with a messy bun that’s good for work and play. Don’t worry about being too neat and don’t worry if bits fall as it’s all about it looking casual. Don’t forget to get that prep right first!

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Finally, I had a fascinating session taking a hugely magnified look at my hair follicles and ends. It turns out that I’m quite lucky with my hair as it looks healthy and there were no split ends to be found, even though it’s been over a couple of months since my last cut – hooray! The team there offer consults to take a look at the quality of your hair and offer you solutions and treatments to restore it to health or give it an extra boost. So here they share their 5 top hair care tips

Always shampoo AND condition your hair.

On your last rinse (your conditioner) use slightly cooler water. This will close the cuticle, the outer layer of your hair, to create more shine.

If you suffer from oily roots, which is a very common problem, use cooler water to wash your hair. Also use the palms of your hands rather than the tips of your fingers to shampoo it. This will stop you from over stimulating the already over active scalp.

Always use a heat protector. Most people are guilty of putting to much heat on their hair, using a good heat protection product will massively reduce the damage done to your locks and keep it in good condition.

When combing knots out of your hair always start at the very ends then gradually comb out going higher and higher up the hair shaft. If you start at the roots and just pull the knots further down the hair you’ll finish up with a mass of knots through the ends.

These are so simple to follow, and can really make a difference to the quality of your hair, so follow the tips, ladies!

Anthony John Salons offers a  welcoming environment, an expert team, with every thought given to the comfort of the client. It’s housed in a beautiful barn conversion in a small, quaint shopping village, Heart of the Country, easily accessible from the A38 with plenty of parking. If you’re in the area, do give it a whirl, and if you’re not, I’d recommend following the team over on Facebook for more hair care tips and style inspiration.

Thanks to Tony and the team for such an enjoyable and informative evening.

Top tips for beautiful every day hair

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