How Macadamia will keep your hair healthy this summer!

In the lead up to summer, there’s an understandable focus on how to protect the skin and combat the negative effects of over exposure to the sun. But what about your hair? Intense heat, UV rays, sea water, chlorine and sand can all expose hair to unwelcome elements that render it dry, brittle, dull and lifeless. It can also impact adversely on colour. Increasing awareness of the effects of summer on your hair and scalp means you can prepare for combat, ensuring your hair remains in perfect condition all summer long!

Hair loves the sun...but how can you protect it against the elements?

We all love spending time in the sun and our hair does too! It accentuates its natural shine and vitality by reflecting light, but we also need to take extra care to offset some of its more negative impacts.
Intense heat and humidity have a drying effect that causes frizziness, flyaway hair that’s difficult to control, whilst sand and sea water can result in tangled unruly hair that needs intense conditioning to restore its beauty and sheen. This is where Macadamia performs its magic!

With a signature blend of Macadamia seed oil and Argan oil infused throughout the entire collection, Macadamia Natural Oil equips your hair for summer like no other. Proven to be highly beneficial in providing intense hydration, deep nourishment and UV protection, the combined action of natural botanicals with the oils promise results unlikely to have been experienced before. Both inside and out, hair is left luxuriously soft, silky smooth, frizz-free and ultra manageable.

It actively re-establishes equilibrium between the hair and scalp to reveal the hair’s natural, inner beauty as its replenishing, restorative properties yield anti-ageing benefits that render hair vibrant, more youthful and in optimum condition.

Moreover, the protective UV properties found in the range’s special formulation ensure that hair is shielded from sun exposure, while the oil blend seamlessly replenishes the lost natural oils produced by the scalp. With the miraculous Healing Oil treatment leading the way, Macadamia allows you to distribute these essential oils throughout the rest of the hair with a spritz of Healing Oil Spray as it simultaneously scents hair with a distinctive, moreish fragrance, whilst imparting natural shine and a silky smooth finish.

Whatever the effect of summer on your hair, follow Macadamia’s recommended routine and be hair happy every day this summer!

Washing and Deep Conditioning

Protect hair from the build up of chlorine and sea salt by regularly washing with Macadamia’s sulphate-free Rejuvenating Shampoo. This rich and luxurious shampoo will not irritate an already dry scalp as its rejuvenating lather infuses our exclusive oil cocktail to add moisture and protect, replenishing dry and damaged hair to leave it soft, ultra-shiny, light-weight and manageable!

As an innovative alternative, why not try Flawless? This revolutionary subs-free one-step system delivers 6-in-1 benefits to cleanse, condition and refine the hair without the use of surfactants, such as harsh sulphates.

To restore and nourish the mid-lengths use Deep Repair Masque. This 7 minute treatment reconstructs, penetrates and rebuilds damaged hair to give it improved shine, elasticity and eliminate the possibility of dryness, brittleness and split ends. As well as being formulated with the all-important infusion of Macadamia and Argan Oils it’s also rich in Tea Tree and Chamomile to feed the hair all the nourishment and moisture that is often striped away by heat.

Maintenance and frizz control

Infused with Macadamia’s signature oil blend, Healing Oil Treatment softens, smoothes and renders hair rejuvenated and iridescent making split-ends a thing of the past. For extra nourishment, spritz hair throughout the day with Healing Oil Spray – a fine mist which protects from UV rays.

Summer humidity can leave hair frizzy and suffering from fly-aways. The oils and proteins in Reviving Curl Cream work in synergy to revive hair and deliver intense nourishment whilst also strengthening from the inside out. Moisture is locked in and humidity disappears; whilst the effect on texture is something to behold! Curls, waves and textures are noticeably defined and accentuated whilst, frizz and flyaway hair is controlled.
Chlorine and sea salt often cause hair to become tangled and almost impossible to brush through. Applying No-Tangle Pre-styler is crucial to de-tangle hair without pulling or breaking. Simply spray onto the tangles of towel dried hair and comb to leave hair sensationally soft, nourished and with improved elasticity. Don’t forget, for the ultimate travel companion
when jetting off on holiday, take Macadamia’s travel kit... The ultimate hair care regime in a nifty, stylish and conveniently compact travel bag. This also features the ingenious Healing Oil-Infused comb so you can stroke through Macadamia’s oil concoction through your hair as you groom.

Links to the Macadamia products:

Rejuvenating Shampoo 300ml: £15.17 100ml: £6.45

Flawless 250ml: £25.75

Healing Oil Spray 125ml: £23.50 60ml: £14.90

Healing Oil Treatment 125ml: £28.09, 10ml: £5.36

Deep Repair Masque 250ml: £23.44

Reviving Curl Cream 250ml: £22.75 

No Tangle Pre-Styler 250ml: £21.00 

Travel Kit: £45.00

Healing Oil infused comb: £7.50

Summer hair colour trends (yes, it's still summer)!!

Hair Colour

The Ombre

What's taking off right now is of course the hair ombre! Increasing in popularity daily, what is a movement of colour across the hair in which the colour is graduated from light to dark.

It is low maintenance and certainly makes life easier for us ladies who want to grow out their hair colour whilst maintaining an air of distinction. Don't let that fool you though, this hair color style is versatile, adaptability is what sets this trend apart! In fact, you can choose how many colours you want to add, where you want to add them and the gradient of change in between them. To change hair colour completely isn't out of the question either and there are some really good variations out there. I particularly like those using bold bright colours, those using platinum and pastel tones and similarly those that are using contrasting natural hair colours, don't be afraid to show your roots! Click here to have a little look at some of the best Ombrés we've found!

The Balayage

If you prefer a more natural style of colour a subtle balayage could be for you. What is the sister trend to the hair ombre the balayage can offer you something more in terms of subtlety with nothing sacrificed in terms of eye catching style. Balayage comes from the french verb to sweep, so therefore balayage refers to a gentle sweeping of hair colour change. A change in hair colour from dark hair to light hair in an effect created by your stylist to represent the natural lightening effects that the suns rays have on your hair. The natural sun kissed hair color style is achieved by painting the colour onto the hair vertically and thus avoiding the harsh contrasting lines achieved by the ombre hair style. Click here to see some beautiful examples of balayage hair colour change.

Photo: Keke Palmer

Whether you go for a subtle balayage or a large tonal shift in colour with an ombre or you opt for some seriously cool pastel tones I would advise you to get it done professionally. Hair dye accidents can be costly, they can also be very damaging to the natural condition of your hair and they will always be expensive to correct. So ladies, please seek help and get it done right.

Summer colour 

We have it on good authority that the colour of the summer is going to be... well, if it looks good and you can rock it then; it's going to be pretty much any colour that you fancy! So go out and get exploring those colour charts! 

The wonderful thing about hair dye today is that there is a vast amount of semi permanent colours available on the market place, so if you fancy trying a trend, before you commit then just talk to your stylist. They will be very willing to help you. Semi permanent dyes colour the cuticle rather than penetrating it as they use low levels of developer, peroxide or ammonia and are therefore safer for damaged or fragile hair. Ask your stylist for the Milkshake direct colour range that now includes 6 stunning new shades: Pink, Lilac, Blue, Petrol green Yellow and Grey. (As you may already know, we're big fans!)

For longer lasting colour use Montibello Chroma Colour protecting spray is a protecting texturiser that contains active ingredients that uphold the internal moisture of the hair, so maintaining its flexibility, elasticity and shine. Chroma colour protecting spray also contains a UVA-UVB sun filter that protects against unwanted fading and weathering of the hair.

Make your colour last longer by taking extra care of your hair whilst washing and conditioning with Keratin Complex Colour Care Shampoo 400ml and Keratin Complex Colour Care Condtioner 400ml . Keratin Colour Care shampoo has been made specially to care for coloured hair by using a special mixture of ingredients developed to strip your hair of drit and grime without stripping your hair of its colour, whilst the Colour Care conditioner is gentle on the colour of your hair whilst it smooths out unwanted frizz and detangles your hair with amazing professional results. 

The Secret to Great Looking Summer Hairstyles!

Summer Hair Style

How to wear your summer hair:

It's a glorious summer here in England, we're not quite sure why but were faced with a whole lot of new hairstyle options. It's time for summer hair styling and like many of you I like to keep it simple. Owing very much to it's practicality the up-do is a timeless classic that will always increase in popularity over the summer months and that certainly isn't about to change this year. Come on ladies... Who's got time for styling when you just want to be outside in the sunshine anyway!?

Photo: Maegan Tintari

Whether you're heading to and from the beach, reading by the pool, having fun at a festival and out socialising of a balmy evening my advice to you is to keep it simple with an easy updo! I'm talking, buns, pony's, plaits and braid's. 

A loose pony is great for keeping hair up out of your face and from your neck and whats more it will accentuate your cheekbones. I prefer a pony with plenty of volume at the crown. Pulling a pony too tight puts the hair under stress by stretching the hair and in some cases snapping it, so go easy. Use No inhibition 12 wonders to ensure your hair's elasticity is at its' greatest. A fantastic hair beauty product that does what it says on the tin, it'll even help protect your colour. 12 benefits, 1 product, what's not to love!?

The fishtail is a fantastic updo that can be worn tightly woven or with some sections gently teased out for a more laid back approach. They always look very sophisticated and elegantly elaborate yet with a little practice the fishtail is relatively simple to pull off...
Have a look to see how... click here!

Photo: Maegan Tintari

Dress it up and wear it out OR wear it low and loose, pull out a few pieces around your face to soften the overall look and feel of your hair. At this point a good volumising spray always comes in handy. I personally would recommend one with UV protection, on this occasion try: Montibello volumising root spray. Or you could always try the brand new No inhibition Matt volumising powder if you want the same medium to long-lasting hold with versatile flexibility in powder form.

Wear your updo with a silk scarf covering the tops of the ears, it is a perfect look for the summer with a nod to the 60's bohemian lifestyle and the French Riviera. Click here to be amazed by these beautiful reworked antique silk saris by a talented young Indian designer that will definitely catch your eye! Or... if you're embracing the return of the nineties then you could always go for a scrunchy!? 

Dress up or dress down a simple updo this Summer whether it is a Fishtail, a Messy bun or a classic Pony... you will be bang on trend.

Extending the (hair)style: 

Once you're ready to take the ponytail or braid out, start by pulling your hair apart and gently mess the braids up with your fingers whilst enhancing the loose strands of hair with an iron. Wear them down in loose beachy waves and finish with a light to medium hold hairspray: Milkshake lifestyling Open Air Hairspray 500ml  Open Air Hairspray offers a light and manageable hold, it is good for your hair and is conscious of the environment. When pulling apart the braids, take care to avoid creating knots, easier said than done, I know. Try using Macadamia Healing oil Argan infused comb that's great for detangling and fighting frizz, which works wonders when used alongside Macadamia Healing Oil Spray to replenish the vitality and moisture lost whilst you were having fun in the sun and the sea.

Summer Hair Care Tips - Summer Shampoo

Ah, there we go...it is Summer, at last! Yes, we have been waiting a whole year for Summer and right on cue here it is. The birds are chirping, the waves are lapping and I'm sitting in the office with my hair sticking to my face and a fan blowing warm air in my direction, don't you just love it.

Well, actually I do. Summer is a great time of year, the best infact. When your not slaving away behind a computer, or whatever else you do, Summer is a fantastic time of year. There are holidays to enjoy, pools and the sea to swim in, tans to get and general relaxing to be done. But with all of this good life, must come a negative. That negative is what the Summer can do to your hair.

To put it lightly, Summer hair care can be a night-mare of epic proportions, infact it can be so bad that you spend your days wishing for the cold nights of Winter, and that is never a good thing!

Well, fear not, because in this series of handy, helpful hair care tips we will be blogging about what the Summer does to your hair and how you can counteract the negatives to keep your locks looking as bright and breezy as the weather itself, so without further ado, I introduce the 2010 Summer hair care tips!

Summer Shampoo

So, in this week's Summer hair care tip blog I am going to be looking at the foundation of any hair care routine; that is summer shampoo of course!

So, before we pick some Summer shampoo for you to use, we need to clarify exactly what the Summer season does to your hair so that we can determine the best ways to make sure that your hair doesn't get damaged.

To put it simply, as lovely as the sun is, it can be a bit cruel to your hair. The harsh Summer rays can be damaging on the hair's cuticle. This can result in your hair losing its necessary oils and moisture that keep it healthy and can result in dry and damaged hair. Another side-effect of too much sun on your hair is the most hated of hair hells...frizz! Yes, you heard me right, the sun can turn your hair into a humid frizzy mess.

The other major issue when it comes to Summer is swimming. Swimming is great, but it is important to remember what chlorine can do to your hair. If you have coloured hair then chlorine is probably your worst enemy. Chlorine can discolour hair as well as leaving it prone to breakage.

So now we know what the Summer sun can do to your hair it is time we looked into what Summer shampoo you should be using to keep your hair healthy and beautiful!

Summer Shampoo 1 - Macadamia Moisturising Repair Shampoo

Macadamia Natural Oil hair products are still a relatively new range of hair products. They are made using a natural oil, called Macadamia, as you may have guessed. Macadamia Oil is amazing stuff, and it is no wonder that they have gone all the way to the South Pacific to source it! The natural oil in this moisture repair shampoo ticks all of the right boxes to make it the perfect Summer shampoo. The number 1 plus of this Summer shampoo is that it uses natural oil that works in harmony with your hair's natural oils. It is essential in the Summer that your hair retains its natural oils, and this can mean over-washing is a big no-no but with Macadamia Natural Oil your hair will be cared for in a natural way and will stay looking and feeling healthy.

Buy Macadamia Summer Shampoo - £15.17

Summer Shampoo 2 - Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo

As we mentioned above, Summer can be a bit troublesome if you have coloured hair. Not only will the sun damage your hair colour but the chlorine in swimming pools can cause real problems with hair colour. So, with that in mind we needed a shampoo that is specially designed to care for coloured hair. Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo is without a doubt one of the best shampoos for the job. It is made using natural ingredients and it is gentle to hair that has been coloured. Milkshake Colour Maintainer Shampoo will protect the colour of your hair and gently cleanse your hair to keep it clean, healthy and moisturised. For those of you with coloured hair, this is a must have Summer shampoo.

Buy Milksahke Colour Maintainer Shampoo - £9.89

Summer Shampoo 3 - Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo

The third pillar of the Summer shampoo world is a beautiful Summer shampoo that is designed for use on that is dry and damaged. Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo is part of an amazing range of hair products that are made by Urban Tribe and Flexibility Shampoo is the one that can repair dry and damaged hair. As we have already said, the Summer can be hell for hair and for many that means dry and damaged hair, so that makes this Summer shampoo choice a no brainer! Urban Tribe Flexibilty Shampoo will restore moisture and nourish your hair so that any cuticle damage caused by the sun will be repaired and your hair's natural beauty restored.

Buy Urban Tribe Flexibility Shampoo - £8.99

So, now you have no excuse, no matter what type of hair you have, there is a Summer shampoo for you. Now, go and enjoy the sun! Next week I am going to reveal the secrets of Summer conditioning! Bye x

Picture by: Richard0 on Flickr, used under a Creative Commons Lisence

On Trend Hair Style - The Wet Look

So summer is here and all you want to do is enjoy the sunshine, so do we (becasue you don't know how long it is going to last!). So, with that in mind, we in the Specialist Hair office have decided it is worth finding out how some great summer hair ideas in order to make your hair look great without having to spend hours and hours doing it.

With a trawl around our favourite magazines, websites, and even having a chat amongst outselves, we came across this wonderful little article from Hello Magazine! So impressed, we were, by all of the wonderful advice from, Hello that we have decided to talk you through each step with a guide to the products that will work best for the wet look hairstyle.

The Wet Look Hair Style

So, summer is a time when you are in the sun, you are in and out of the sea/swimming pool and on the beach as much as possible. With all of this sun worshiping going on, your hair can be left looking a little lost for ideas. Well, that is why the wet look is so good for this time of year. Not only will your hair look great, but to maintain it is easier than you may think. This is also a versatile style that works equally as well on long hair and short hair styles.

Washing Your Hair

Normally the first thing we would do when going through a new hair care tip is tell you what to use to wash your hair. Well, as Hello Magazine rightly say, this is one of the only times where it is probably better not to wash your hair to achieve the desired effect.

Having said that, all hair has its limits, and so when you do wash, make sure you use something that is going to gently rinse away any build up but leave your hair in a good natural condition. A shampoo made using natural oils is easily the best option for the summer wet look hair style and so we would recommend you use Macadamia Hair Products; Rejuvenating Shampoo. The Rejuvenating Shampoo is made using natural Macadamia Oil, found in the South Pacific. The girls in our office (and some of the men!) have been converted to Macadamia shampoo ever since it arrived, and because it is natural it cleanses your hair gently, perfect for restoring your hair's natural beauty after a long day in the sun.

*Hair Care Tip* Just use a little of the Macadamia Natural Moisturising Shampoo every few days and you will be cleansing your hair, but leaving it ready for the wet look hair styling method.

Smoothing Time!

Hello Magazine say dampen your hair, so, if you haven't done so already, do that now! Now is the time to apply a smoothing gel to your hair. Now, don't worry, we aren't going to tell you to go and get one of those awful tubs of 'wet style gel' you find in the supermarkets, we wouldn't even dream of it!

Thankfully, there a much, much better products out there for achieving a beautiful smooth, wet hair style. When it comes to hair styling, there is one special range of hair products that we like to put in our 'best kept secrets' folder, as a wonderful range that only the salon experts know about.

That range of amazing hair styling products is called Urban Tribe Hair Products. Part of the Z:One concept range of hair products, and regular contributor to our hair care blogs, Urban Tribe have a wonderful array of hair styling products that not only smell beautiful, but work wonders!

For the wet look, we recommend you use Montibello HDs Wet effect Gel. Montibello Wet Effect is an amazing quality hair smoothing gel that will apply easily to your hair and won't make it feel sticky or dirty. Simply apply it from root to tip and then comb through your hair with a fine tooth comb, using your other hand to smooth and flatten the hair, you can use a few invisible clips to hold your hair down if you need to, and you can even apply a touch more gel to set your hair in place! The Wet effect Gel contains a UVA-UVB filter that offers protection from the damaging effect of the Sun's radiation whilst moisturising and strengthening the hair.

That's It!

Yes, I can't believe it either, possibly one of the most simple hair styling guides I have ever written. All you need to do is put some hair gel in! But wait, never underestimate the power of your hair products. The reason this hair style will look so great is because of the quality of the hair products that make it. The Montibello gel contains the ingredients to make your hair style shine, and the Macadamia shampoo will keep your hair healthy, even in the most harsh summer conditions! So, go on and have a go at this super easy hair style and please send us in some summer hair pictures, we would love to see how you get on! Why not subscribe to our newsletter, because it's great!

See you again next time hair lovers!