If the party season and fashion weeks have taken a serious toll on your locks, give them some TLC with these custom de-frizzing, smoothing and problem-solving treatments…
Root Reboot
The Guinea-Pig: Alexandra Venison, Junior Fashion Editor
The Treatment: Maria Dowling Hair & Scalp Clay Masque
The Location: Maria Dowling Salon, Bur Dubai, mariadowling.com
The Rundown: Created with all natural ingredients, this detoxing treatment intensely cleanses and revitalises the hair and scalp. Helping the hair to recover from external toxins, this zen-like mask rebalances your locks by soothing and healing them.
The Results: After an initial consultation from Maria, my hair was washed, the masque massaged into my scalp and then left to do its thing for 15 minutes. The fragrant oils gave an aromatherapy feel; lemongrass, bergamot and peppermint oil left a nice tingle. After washing off the mask my hair was considerably softer and felt moisturised and manageable.
Price: Dhs120 dependending on hair length
Strength to Strength
The Guinea-Pig: Jade Sprowson, Style Director
The Treatment: Rahua Omega 9 treatment
The Location: Posh by Feryal, Burj al Arab, poshbyferyal.com
The Rundown: It’s not surprising that Green Goddess Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan of Rahua, a 100% natural and vegan hair brand. With ingredients such as quinoa, good for strengthening and repairing the follicle, and Ungurahua oil rich in omega-9, the treatment promises to restore and revive colour-treated hair.
The Results: My hair was washed twice, followed by a head massage and then the Rahua mask. It felt like the stylist rubbed every single strand of hair, massaging the treatment into the hair shaft. After 15 minutes, warm towels were placed over my head to encourage the product to work its magic further. The result? A soft and glossy mane – worlds apart from the dehydrated, bleached locks that I had begun with.
Price: Dhs250 for treatment only
Turn Up The Volume
The Guinea-Pig: Carmel Gill, Fashion and Beauty Assistant
The Treatment: Hair Facial
The Location: Marquee, Arabian Ranches Golf Club, marquee.ae
The Rundown: An indulgent treatment using paraben and sulphate-free products that breathes life into limp, heavy locks. Three custom shampoos are mixed to strip the hair of any unwanted build up leaving you with bulid-up-free, voluminous tresses.
The Results: Using Kevin Murphy products, my hair was washed with texture-specific shampoos blended together specifically for my hair type. I then sat under the Micromist machine for 20 minutes to allow the microscopic steam particles to open up the cuticle and let the mask penetrate deep into each hair shaft. The result? Soft, bouncy and light as a feather locks.
Price: Dhs75-150 depending on hair length
Smooth Sailing
The Tester: Olivia Phillips, Fashion Features Editor
The Treatment: Oribe Beautiful Colour Shampoo, Conditioner and Masque available at Harvey Nichols-Dubai
The Location: My shower at home
The Rundown: A reparative, gloss-giving trio of a shampoo, conditioner and masque that promise to fortify your colour, kill your frizz and give UV protection, all at the same time.
The Results: They say don’t judge a book by its cover but sometimes you really should. Oribe’s gloriously-packaged Beautiful Color triptych served the dual purpose of looking a bit swish in my bathroom, whilst simultaneously giving me swishy locks. Smooth, soft and sleek – but not stuck to my head. Winning.
Price: Shampoo Dhs245, Conditioner Dhs225, Masque Dhs235
Colour Correct
The Guinea-Pig: Samantha Hamilton-Rushforth, Beauty Editor
The Treatment: KeraStraight Intense Boost Mask
The Location: Pastels Salon, Mercato, pastels-salon.com
The Rundown: Healing the hair from the inside-out in less than half an hour, these fast-acting masks use KeraStraight technology to renew, repair and rehydrate bleach-fried locks in a flash. With results lasting up to 30 days, they make even the most worn-out strands instantly more manageable.
The Results: Using the moisture mask on my roots and the protein mask on the ends, my stylist Shakira first shampooed my hair to open the cuticles before painting on the mask and leaving it to set under a hairdryer. 30 miraculous minutes later the masks were then washed out and I was left with hydrated, tangle-free tresses.
Price: Dhs250
Image: Label M for Hema Kaul
