Ahhh. So here I finally am with this post, I had intended to write this on my recent holiday to Portugal - but we all know how holidays go…Hair, and how to look after it is something I am quite vociferous about. I am a fan of organic, natural shampoos and conditioners and minimal washing and “producting” - but on a hot summer holiday normal rules do not apply.
Whenever I ‘m somewhere hot, my hair just behaves differently; it gets bigger, fluffier and frizzier, even the natural wave doesn’t do its usual thing but I have learned to go with it.
So this is how I survive holiday hair:1. The biggest difference on holiday is I wash my hair everyday. I would NEVER do this in real life. I am very much a once a week washer (of hair!) maybe twice if there was a special occasion to go to. But I find with the heat, sunscreen, sweat and swimming I just want my hair to feel clean and fresh at the end of every day.
My favourite holiday shampoo and conditioner combo are John Masters Evening Primrose Shampoo and their Citrus and Neroli Detangler. These are gorgeous organic products that clean my hair without stripping it of any natural oils. 2. As I said I am not a fan of mousses and sprays. I am however a fan of moisturising, conditioning and oils. So when my hair is damp I mix together a little blob of leave-in conditioner and a hair oil of some kind.
My current favs are: Intelligent Nutrients Leave In conditioner and Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or Dry Oil Golden Shimmer. Actually, I use these whatever the temperature. They do enough, without making my hair feel like there is “stuff” in it. 3. As far as drying goes I like to let my hair dry naturally – but if I don’t want to go out looking like my hair is completely wet (as it takes a long time to dry naturally) I will blast it under the hairdryer for a few minutes - five tops.
Then just give it a brush to get rid of any knots. Hands down the best tip for hair I have learned, especially if you have layers like me, is twist your hair into a bun and clip it.
By the time I get ready and I let my hair down and the layers and waves do their own thing. Certainly not polished a look but I’m on holiday - different rules apply.4. Maybe unsurprisingly, I am not a fan of hairsprays either but I have recently discovered Oribe products - very expensive, but very luxurious. This holiday I tried the Oribe Après Beach Wave and Shine Spray. My lord, it does what it says on the container. Just before I go out I spray a little over my hair, it is really light so your hair doesn’t feel sticky or heavy, then I give my head a good shake and hopefully my hair looks tousled and shiny. My other big tip for hair after a holiday would be when I get home the first full day I am back I will spend a day with my hair doused in oil. Being Indian, I have been brought up with coconut oil. I know it is very en vogue at the moment, but I have been putting coconut oil in my hair since I was about 6 - but I’m pretty sure any oil would do though.
Regardless of holidays, I do the oil in hair thing once a month and I’m sure my hair appreciates it. If there were one thing I would love my daughter to do with her gorgeous head of hair, it would be this!
Anyway, apologies to my male mates for this girly post - but looking after hair is a very serious matter in my book! If you have any tips that work for you, I'd love to hear them.