Guilty of using the phrase 'I hate my hair' too often? Don't worry, we all are...
Honestly, how many times in your life have you uttered the phrase, ‘I hate my hair’ or ‘your hair is so pretty, I wish mine was like that’?
As women, we’re almost predisposed to hate our hair. We spend so much time on it (washing it, styling it, dyeing), but it just never quite gets to the level of game we expect.
So why is having perfect hair so much to ask? Well, there are several reasons…
Genetic limitations
We all want hair like Gisele Bündchen. Problem is, we can’t completely change what has been passed down to us. The hair we’re genetically bestowed with has the ultimate say in how our hair looks.
Even if we have the exact same volume and texture as Gisele, the likelihood of our skin tone and face shape suiting the same colour and style is a long shot.
Generally, the lighter your skin tone, the paler you can go with your hair. Warmer skin tones tend to suit hues of butterscotch and honey, while cooler tones work with blue-undertones, so platinum and champagne blonde.
Medium skin tones work well with high contrast highlights, but if you have a cool skin tone, you should opt for ashy tones like walnut brown and sandy blonde to counteract any hint of redness in your skin. On the other hand, undertones of copper and golden caramel will uplift warmer skin tones.
If you have a darker skin tone, strategically placed highlights will work best. To balance the undertones in cooler complexions try warm shades like cinnamon and chestnut brown. And for warmer skin tones, go for violet-based colours like brown, ebony and mocha.
The condition
If you spend every morning straightening our hair, every lunchtime tying it up into a topknot and every night brushing it, chances are it’s damaged. Which means that expecting hair so glossy it’d give Olivia Palermo a run for her money, is a bit much.
Introduce a weekly hair mask, like Kérastase Resistance Masque Thérapiste, to moisturise your hair and seal the cuticles. This is what makes hair glossy.
Going from one extreme colour to the next isn’t helpful either. So, if you have a look you’re dreaming of, you need to try and gradually get your hair as close to that as possible.
It won’t happen over night, but at least you’ll get an end result you’re happy with.
It's more than just hair
Most of the time, hating your hair comes down to a bigger issue. Stress, tiredness and anxiety can all lead us to take out frustrations on how we look.
Try to find some zen and then re-address your hair woes. If all else fails, pull your hair into a tight ponytail, tease the ends to create volume, then wrap around into a messy bun. Done.
