Guest post by Lindsay Larsen
Lindsay is the owner of Salon Bowie in Calgary, as well as a senior stylist with her training originating from Vidal Sassoon. She is a firm believer in self-love, and feels that when you feel your best then good things happen. As a new mom to her son Brooks, she and her partner Brett are enjoying the extra family time these days. They are also putting together hair care packs for clients to help them keep looking their best while all salons are temporarily closed.
For more info on Salon Bowie visit www.salonbowie.com or on Instagram @salonbowie
Hair is our main accessory we simply cant “take off”. This is why we spend endless hours at the hair salon, only to come home to our partners not noticing a difference. Or why sometimes the slightest trim can make or break our entire day. Hair complements our face, gives us a fulfilment of change when we need it most, and is overall the best expense we can spend our hard earned pay cheques on. So, in my opinion, hair is indeed more than “just hair”.
If you have been self isolating, you may also be self obsessing, because lets face it, we’re BORED! Let’s use this rare, extra time to smother our hair in masks, lay off the hot tools, and embrace the air dry! I’m thrilled to share a few simple tricks and product favourites to get you through this feeling confident.
First off, if you’re used to monthly visits getting your roots touched up, I can understand how annoyed you must feel seeing those different colours come in without a comfortable solution. If you have been colouring your hair, without bleach or highlights you may be in luck. Reach out to your usual hair salon to see if they are mixing custom colour kits. A lot of salons in our community are putting together DIY kits including your colour formula recorded from your last appointment. This will ensure your colour remains professional and consistent and you can avoid any unknowns!
Weekly hair masks used to sound like such a chore, when time wasn’t always of the essence. My clients would always say they couldn’t find the time to mask their hair once a week, luckily now we have no excuses. I highly recommend the Olaplex no.3 Perfecting Mask. Apply a quarter size amount to damp hair and resume with your day as usual. Fit in your work out, watch a movie, perfect your latest attempt at sourdough, whatever it may be, then shampoo out the Olaplex no.3 followed by conditioner. Each mask application will strengthen the bond in your hair that prevents it from breaking. We put enough attention and damage on our hair, we owe ourselves this time to heal. Follow the link to view my video on how to disguise you’re wearing a hair mask:
Avoiding the use of hot tools can sound completely foreign, but once you accept it’s okay to step a little outside of the box, you may surprise yourself!
Curly, unruly hair can benefit immensely by sleeping with a silk hair turban or pillowcase. The soft fibres from silk don’t rough up your hair cuticle, allowing you to wake up with softer, more polished hair. Out of the shower, when you take your hair out of your towel, try not to brush it. You don’t want to stretch out your curls and confuse the pattern. Instead, try a wide tooth comb, or better yet just apply your favourite curl cream (I recommend Liquid Rollers by Evo) or oil (Olaplex Bonding Oil) in your hands, massage in and let that dry with minimal touching.
Bring out beachy texture in straight, stiff hair by sleeping in rope or french braids to set the perfect, lived in curls from damp to dry! These style attempts may be completely out of your comfort zone, but now is the time to get a little creative without creating more damage. You will feel more confident settling back into work, or your daily routine with healthier hair. Follow the link to learn how to give yourself rope braids to create curl while you sleep:
I am a firm believer that self love is of utmost importance – when we feel good, great things happen – even if for now, those great things are limited to the walls of our homes. We know that sometimes feeling good can be difficult when we don’t have access to our regular beauty appointments and social routines. I get it. Which is why I am here to help. I hope I have inspired you to nourish your hair, get a little creative, and have fun with new techniques. Stay well!
-Lindsay Larsen