How to dye, cut and care for your own hair when in isolation
HOW TO TRIM YOUR OWN HAIR
By Carly Smith, Senior Stylist at FOUR London, Mayfair W1
The first point to remember is always start with dry hair, never cut your fringe whilst you hair is wet, as the length can be very deceiving and once the hair is dry it will 'jump up' and be much shorter than you intended!
Make sure you have a nice sharp pair of scissors that you can control - if they are too big it's difficult to see what you are doing.
Step 1: Separate the rest of your hair from your fringe by clipping back, you really don’t want to add more hair to the fringe and you want to be able to see the clear line of where the fringe ends.
Step 2: Pull your hair straight out away from your forehead in one section. You should cut your fringe with your scissors at a diagonal angle so that you are cutting into the fringe.
Do not cut straight across as this will create a very harsh line and be much harder to disguise if it’s not perfect! Work across the fringe from one side to the other, scissors still angled, this will give you a softer finish.
Less is more, so don't take out big chunks of hair, just small snippets at a time. You can always go back and take some more away if it's not short enough. Try and visualise when your hairdresser has snipped away at the fringe area and attempt to replicate. This technique applies if you have a full or side fringe.
Step 3: Once you are happy with the length, use a round brush to finish the look.
Anastasia Beverly Hills Scissors, £20 – buy here
HOW TO DYE YOUR OWN HAIR
Our go-to at-home hair colour brand is Josh Wood.
The brilliant London colourist offers an online consultation tool, live chat support and is about to introduce video consultations, where you can send over a picture and they will recommend the right home hair care products for you.
There are also 13 easy-to-use touch-up tools in varying shades, specifically designed to cover unwanted re-growth and greys.
Wood says: 'We know colouring your hair can be hard at the best of times, and appreciate some of you may be trying it out for the first time in the coming days, so we wanted to share our expertise on everything you need to know to get the best result.'
His fail-safe techniques and videos can be found here, with the best home-colouring advice, from box to locks straight from the salon.
Josh Wood Colour Range – buy here
HOW TO AVOID SPLIT ENDS
If you don't want to grapple with the scissors, here's how to make your existing cut last that little bit longer with hints and tips from Philip Kingsley brand president and consultant trichologist, Anabel Kingsley.
Trimming your hair regularly is one way to help avoid split ends – but it's not the only way. If you treat your hair gently, and use products that bolster and protect strands, it will be much less susceptible to fraying and splitting (and getting out of shape).
Try the Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Split End Remedy, £23.40. It contains next-generation bond technology that strengthens and repairs the hair bonds from within. It temporarily and effectively seals split ends together to prevent them from breaking further up the hair shaft and causing more damage. In fact, in trials, Split End Remedy sealed 98.6% of split ends after just one application, and 82% of split ends remained sealed even after three washing and drying cycles.
Philip Kingsley Bond Builder Split End Remedy £23.40 – buy here