While good hair days may not save the world they can usually help you feel better about yourself. Our top tips for root regrowth, unruly fringes and split ends will help you maintain your locks at home.

Words: Carly Hobbs

Be careful about cutting

Most hairdressers don’t recommend getting snip-happy with your hair unless it’s just a tiny trim of your fringe. ‘Start with hair that is dry, clean and with its natural texture,’ advises pro hairdresser and cutting king Lee Stafford.

‘Cutting while your hair is in its natural state is very important. For example, if curls have been straightened then cut, the length will jump up when the curls are back, so be careful!

Lee’s advice for a fringe trim

  • Comb it into a triangular section with the bottom corners of the fringe forming the base of the triangle.
  • Hold the middle of the section horizontally between your index and middle fingers and rest them on the bridge of your nose. Remember to keep your fingers horizontal throughout and have your feet firmly flat on the floor.
  • Hold the scissors at 90 degrees to the hair and gently cut into it bit by bit, using the point of the scissors rather than the whole blade.
  • Take it slow, cutting off only a couple of millimetres at a time. This way you can always trim more if you need. You can’t recover cut hair!
  • Always start in the middle then follow the line of your fingers on each side. Never cut straight across from one side to the other in one big chop, as this will result in a blunt and uneven look that is hard to correct.

‘If you have a more complex cut, say a short pixie crop, cutting isn’t really an option as you’ll spoil those carefully crafted lines,’ says Lee. ‘Instead, try sweeping the hair across at the front to one side, either securing it with Kirby grips or even a moulding it into place with a clay or gel.

Care for your colour

If you’ve missed more than one colour touch up, it’s tempting to reach for the box dye, however, most professionals advice not to. Doing so could see months or years of hard work by your hair stylist – and hours in the chair for you – undone in a flash.

What you can do at home to enhance your overall colour is to use some deeply nourishing treatments while you wait it out.

Living Proof Whipped Glaze in Dark or Light (£24 each) were created to help maintain colour between appointments. The light option brightens blondes and highlights, knocking back brassiness.

The dark one one adds warmth and glossiness. After washing, apply either from the mid-lengths to ends, combing through then drying as normal. They are both good for a little root disguising too.

If you have balayage, you won’t be worried about regrowth, but you still need to keep tresses in check with every wash. Why? The virgin hair at the roots can become greasy while the coloured ends get dry. Enter The Hair Boss Balayage Shampoo (£5.32). Packed with salicylic acid, it cleanses the scalp but doesn’t strip the strands lower down.

If your hair is one colour, Maria Nila Colour Refresh (from £19) can see you through. And blondes can replicate the bleach ‘plex’ add-on treatment offered in salons by treating tresses to Pureplex Revolutionary Hair Repair System (£5.32). It works to repair keratin bonds inside each strand, meaning stronger hair by the time you get back in the hot seat.

Colouring your hair at home

While Karine would never normally advocate colouring your hair at home, she’s had a number of enquiries from clients asking what they should use while they can’t get into salon. In these exceptional times, she’s partnered with her colour supplier, Organic Colour Systems, to offer a home colour delivery service from Tints of Nature.

It’s intended to provide a ‘stop gap’ to cover root re-growth and greys until clients can get back in the salon. It won’t be suitable for everyone, but may be an option for you.

‘The colour will not be exactly the same as when someone has a treatment in salon as we mix a few colours, however, we took the decision to help our clients as much as possible in the interim period,’ says Karine. So, how does it work?

    1. Log onto karinejackson.co.uk clicking on the ‘shop’ icon and placing an order for the Tints of Nature colour. Customers will not need to choose the shade, as the order will go straight to Karine, who will check her client colour database for the closest match. For those who aren’t already clients, they can send an image to Karine, who will match from that.
    2. Organic Colour Systems will then dispatch the colour.
    3. Watch Karine’s DIY step by step colour tutorial and follow along.

Managing re-growth without dying hair

One of the biggest between-salon issues, but one of the easiest to cover-up, root regrowth can be taken care of in seconds. ‘Instead of parting the hair traditionally, do it in a zig zag pattern,’ suggests colourist Karine Jackson. ‘This instantly softens the regrowth but also allows you to use clever cover up powders more effectively.’

You can opt for specialist products such as Color Wow Root Cover Up (£28.50), which comes with its own brush and in all shades, or use a powder eyeshadow you already own. Press rather than rub into your hairline.

‘Another great tip for dark hair is to slick your hair back with product as this can blur the look of roots,’ says Lee. ‘By creating a wet appearance, hair will look darker, which makes your regrowth less noticeable.’ Try Lee Stafford Coco Loco Balm (£6.99) and Lee Stafford Hair Up Styling Brush (£5.99) to smooth baby hairs back, creating a slick polished finish.

Embrace the grey


If your roots are more than 50 per cent grey, perhaps consider this as a perfect time to grow it out and go au natural. If you do, there’s a natural remedy to help ward off brasiness and keep locks gleaming.

‘Every few weeks, spritz apple cider vinegar into your hair,’ says Karine. ‘This makes blondes and greys shiny and bright; put it on before you’ve shampooed otherwise the smell stays in your strands.’

Because vinegar is acidic, it will remove any film, product build up or pollution from the hair. And when next in the salon, consider going for the chop to remove the died ends.

Prevent split ends

Split ends can make your hair look frizzy and messy but the best solution is hiding in your kitchen cupboard: coconut oil! After shampooing, when cuticles are open, work it from the mid-lengths all the way down to the ends.

‘Then, wrap your hair in clingfilm or a warm towel,’ says Lee. ‘This maximises body heat from your head, which helps to further open up the cuticles and allow the nourishing oil to really penetrate.’

Leave on for 20 mins then rinse out and condition as usual. Your hair will be noticeably less frayed, however, if there are a few stray stragglers you can use a tiny bit of the oil to smooth them down – only a hint though!

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