A large number of men expect their hair to thin out and to become bald at some point in their life. This problem for men is widely discussed, but this process also effects women too, though it rarely results in total baldness some women experience extensive hair loss.

50% of women will have experienced thinning of their hair in some form by the time they reach their mid 60s. This process usually begins in their mid 30s to early 40s, the hair shaft starts to get thinner along with less abundance of the hairs. Commonly it’s an increase in the hormone called Dihydrotestosterone (DHT). This hormone shortens the hair growth cycle, the hair follicle becomes smaller resulting in finer hairs which are weak and stop growing out through the scalp.

Women also experience hair loss for other reasons: * Hormone changes during pregnancy seem to cause the hair growth cycle to slow down or stop. This cycle then starts again once a women’s hormones go back to what is normal for them and this can result in the hairs that should have come to the end of their growth cycle and fallen out over the nine months of pregnancy, all coming out over a period of around a month or two. It can be alarming but they do grow back in. * Iron deficiency can cause hair loss, Anemia sends the body into survival mode and channels oxygen to vital organs and other functions rather than hair growth. At times women need more iron than men, women lose 1mg of iron per day during their period. Also what we eat plays a role in hair health, faddy diets promising quick weight loss can have a detrimental effect as they force you to cut out lots of foods which also cuts out essential nutrients, minerals and good fats. * Illnesses like Diabetes, Lupus and Thyroid problems can cause hair loss. * Treatments for cancer can cause hair loss. * Alopecia Areate – Spot Baldness is thought to be an auto immune response to stress and if your health is ‘run down’. The body attacks its own hair follicles and suppresses or stops the hairs growth. T cell lymphocytes cluster around some hair follicles causing inflammation which in turn causes the hair loss.

 Recently we were reading about the temperatures reached by various heated hair straighteners and it has been written that the perfect temperature for producing straight shiny hair with irons is 185 degrees celsius (365 fahrenheit).

Hair straighteners, curling tongs and other heated waving stylers can reach temperatures of between 95C and 200C.

If you heat your hair above 130C some very damaging effects happen.

The pigment inside your hair (it’s colour) decomposes, bleached hair can turn yellow, if it doesn’t break ! brunettes lose their richness and depth. The keratin protein which gives hair its strength and stretch breaks down and melts. The outer surface of your hair (the cuticle) cracks and splits. Moisture contained inside your hair which makes it feel soft and gives it elasticity, evaporates and if you use these styling tools on wet hair, the steam produced destroys your hairs structure as it escapes.

So the conclusion of this information is, please turn down the temperature on your straighteners and never use them on wet or damp hair to save time !

Organic colour systems Power Build range of hair care products contain protein and are intended for fine limp hair or hair that has been exposed to repeated colour treatments like bleaching or been excessively styled with heated styling tools.

The protein they contain comes from Quinoa, the grain/seed from South America. Quinoa protein has enhanced hair penetration abilities because of the molecular weight of its amino acids. These amino acids protect and repair the hair by restoring protein levels in the hair and forming a protective barrier helping the hair retain moisture.

As a result the hair looks shinier and feels silkier, over coloured hair is less weak and fine hair has more body and strength. The renewed suppleness makes styling easier too.

Organic colour systems hair care products also contain natural sunflower seed extract which provides UV protection and creates a thermal barrier which helps when heated styling products are used on the hair.

A lot of clients tell us they have no patience to blow dry at home, even though they would love to have their hair look as it does when their hairdresser has done it.

So here are some tips to help make it a shorter process.

Is your hairdryer a bit weedy, is the air produced powerful enough to dry hair quickly ? Your local salon may retail decent hairdryers or try Salon Services.

If you think your hair is a bit too soft and fluffy when first washed you may need to apply some product to give the hair some structure and weight. We would recommend Organic Control Systems – Glaze.

Always rough dry before you start styling, you can not remove the water and style at the same time, this is what makes blow drying time consuming, rough dry till 80% dry.

Divide your hair into sections to style, maybe 3 or 4. For extra root lift you could spray some extra product on your brush and brush it through each section as you’re styling them, we would recommend OCS – Root Lift. Using a nozzle on your dryer direct the hair dryer under section for body and on top of section roots to ends to smooth, without a nozzle the air will blow your hair without any control, leaving it looking frizzy. Lower heat to cold to set shape into hair and the cold setting can calm those short fly-way hairs on top when you have finished.

A large-ish round bristle brush or ceramic brush will give you body, root lift and waves. A paddle brush or Denman will achieve a smoother straight finish.

In winter those of you with curly hair, who prefer to leave their hair to dry with out a dryer, may benefit from buying a diffuser and used with the air speed of your dryer on slow, can mimic leaving your hair to dry without getting a cold head and neck.

We hope these tips are helpful and with practice your hair should look fabulous.

1* The range of shades a salon can offer you is vast.

2* The advice your hairdresser can offer you is the result of expert training and years of experience.

3* Your hairdressers colour application will be perfect after mixing a bespoke formula just for you.

4* We will ruin our towels, preserving your towels at home.

5* Sitting at our wash basins is more comfortable than leaning over your bath.

*1* A chemist’s choice of shades is limited and their colouring advice is inadequate.

*2* It’s difficult to apply hair tint to the back of your own head, resulting in patchy colour.

*3* You may not have good quality after care conditioners at home.

*4* You may ruin your towels !

*5* The grouting around your bathroom tiles will never be the same colour again !

Trust your local hair care professional.

Winter has finally arrived after we were treated to a beautifully mild autumn.
But it is now cold and damp, which causes problems for those of you with curly
hair prone to being frizzy, along with those who have with grey hair which is a little
coarse and fuzzy.

Mink recommends two products for these seasonal problems,

one of these is OCS Argan Oil Gloss. Rub a pea sized amount of the product into your hands, then smooth through midlengths and ends of your hair after towel drying shampooed hair or after spritzing dry hair with water on a day when you don’t wish to shampoo your hair. Here at Mink we find this product suits hair of a coarse texture. It is also a good product to apply before blow drying curly hair straight.

The second of these products is OCS Aqua Boost Leave in Conditioner. Some of you prefer a light conditioner which can be left in the hair, this too will help combat frizz on a damp winters day. Again smooth a small amount through midlengths and ends of your hair after towel drying shampooed hair or after spritzing hair with water to perk up the curls after you have slept. Here at Mink we would recommend this product for those with softer textured curly hair. A tiny amount rubbed into hands is excellent to smooth down ‘fly away’ hairs after blow drying or after fulling on a jumper !

Mink have just watched this fabulous little YouTube film by Bumble and Bumble founder Michael Gordon. We found it on Vogue Uk’s website.

In just over 2 minutes it’s a celebration of a great hair cut and it’s history.

The Bob can be sharp and dramatic or shaggy and tousled, the wearer always looks individual, everyone how ever they style their ‘bob’, makes it their own. An above the shoulder Bob always turns heads.

Last week Graff Jewellers recreated their 1970 “hair jewel” photo shoot, back in 1970 the model’s hair was decorated with $1million worth of diamonds, this time around the model was adorned with $500million worth of diamonds !

Liz Taylor eat your heart out !

Here at Mink we are loving Vivienne Westwood’s new crop, while looking

at photos of the Vivienne Westwood Red Label ss14 London fashion week

show, we spotted the dame’s new do. Fabulous !