How To Maintain Hair Colour (And Healthy Hair) At Home

Days after we all retreated inside and vowed to #stayhome to fight COVID-19 there were immediately questions about how to manage hair and all its complexities which you rely on your salon pro team for. What about roots? How to handle colour fade? Can bangs be easily trimmed? Can I cut my own hair? Here are my recommendations on how to handle your hair at home (and keep your bridal beauty plan on track).

COLOUR If you can hang in there and do nothing to your hair until your next salon appointment that is ideal. This lowers the risk of any damage to your hair and less for your colourist to deal with when you are finally back in the chair. Aim to extend the life of your existing colour by using only a colour safe shampoo and conditioner (I recommend Living Proof Color Care Shampoo and Conditioner). These products are designed to boost the health of hair and colour vibrancy. Colour enhancing conditioners are also a great tool to pump pigments up. If you are blonde and notice brassiness it can tone and neutralize (we at Alcorn Hair love the Christophe Robin brand for these types of products. For roots, I suggest picking up a powder or spray colour touchup. These are a great way to temporarily camouflage any grey or light roots sprouting at your hairline and they completely wash away with your next shampoo. If you want something more serious and long-lasting contact colour specialist and try to arrange an at-home colour kit which we successfully did for many of our clients. We included handwritten instructions (and sent them by email as well) on how to apply your professional salon colour at home to get the tried and trusted results you know. If you need to resort to box colour use it only around your hairline and root area to minimize any hair damage and also lower the risk of compromising your existing salon-perfected colour.

HAIRCUTTING It is not easy but also not impossible to cut your own hair. Look to YouTube or Instagram videos for education. The trick is to zero in on what you are most comfortable with and go slow when your start snipping so you don’t become overwhelmed and make a mistake! If you choose to home haircut, think maintenance and not big changes! Also, it most likely will not be perfect but that is okay, you may find yourself feeling very accomplished after mastering a home trim. When it comes to bangs, they are a very easy thing to trim but there are a few secrets to success. Never cut a straight line and use small snips on the ends until you reach your desired length (watch my bang trim tutorial on Instagram @alcorn.hair). Also, I want to add this is the perfect time to experiment with things you don’t typically do with your hair, you may find a new style vibe you love. Try a big bouncy blowout, flat ironed smoothness, ponytail glamour and use hair accessories to keep you feeling fabulous while fielding all those office Zoom meetings and Google Hangouts.

Tony Masciangelo is a hairstylist and co-owner of Alcorn Hair. He’s also a regular on-set contributor with Weddingbells.