The simple guide to happy hair

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bacteria, brittleness, brushes, Busy lives, central heating, chop, coconut oil, cold winter months, combs, conditioner, conditioning mask, damage, damp cloth, dandruff, dark brown sugar, deep-cleansing shampoo, drink lots of water, dry naturally, drying, extreme cold, feeling lighter, germs, hair glossy, hairdresser, hairdryers, healthy, heated styling tools, heavy, homes, hydrated, ingredients, locks, longer styles, looking better, lotions and potions, massage, product build up, product residue, regular products, scalp, silicon heavy product, six to eight weeks, skin, snow, split ends, springtime ready, straighteners, super-stylish bottle, tongs, trim, warm water, week, work

Springtime is typically when we spruce up our homes and gardens, but it’s a great time to tackle our locks, too.

The wind and snow of the cold winter months, can cause drying, split ends and dandruff as well as product build up and a lack of bounce and shine.

We have put together a simple, but effective, plan to get your hair glossy, healthy and springtime ready.

Go for a chop
Before you do anything else, book in with your hairdresser and have a decent cut. Busy lives, and longer styles, can mean we leave having a cut for months, but this won’t do you any favours. A trim every six to eight weeks will not only leave your hair looking better and feeling lighter, but it strengthens it so you are less likely to have to deal with split ends and breaking due to brittleness.

Ditch the build up
Product build-up can leave hair looking lank and dull – the opposite of what we want if we are spending hard-earned cash on lotions and potions. Many people don’t know this, but silicon heavy products can, over time, cause build up on the hair shaft which can make it look and feel heavy. To bring your hair back to life, go for a deep-cleansing shampoo and conditioner, something different to your regular products, and wash two or three times a week and let it dry naturally whenever you can.

Put a mask on it
Once a week we suggest that you put a conditioning mask on your hair and let the ingredients get to work. There are some great options on the market, or you can keep things simple and massage coconut oil straight from the pot into your hair and you will feel a difference in no time at all.

Go for the scalp
Winter isn’t just hard on our hair, your scalp is constantly exposed to extreme cold outside then the warmth of central heating inside which can make skin dry and cause flaking. To combat the impact of the winter, mix two tablespoons of dark brown sugar, two tablespoons of fine oats and a tablespoon of olive oil together and massage into your scalp before washing away with warm water and shampoo.

Turn the heat off
We know you love them, but heated styling tools cause all manner of damage to your hair, so why not just turn them off for a week or two and let your hair dry naturally. Put hairdryers, straighteners and tongs away but before you do, give them a clean with a damp cloth to take away product residue as well as bacteria and germs, and this goes for your brushes and combs too.

Go H2O
We say this a lot but drink lots of water. As well as being great for your skin, it helps your hair, too. Buy yourself a super-stylish bottle and take it with you wherever you go to ensure you and your hair are totally hydrated all the time.

We hope these tips get your hair look great all summer long.

Team Pure-Beauty

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Hair Loss – What’s Causing it and How to Prevent It

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bald, baldness, conditioner, decleor, dermalogica, Elemis, Elemis Quiet Mind Temple Balm, female, female pattern baldness, follicles, hair, hair loss, heat, iron, Male Pattern Baldness, multivitamin, patches, polycystic ovarian syndrome, roots, shaft, stress, styling, supplement, thinning, vitamin A, Vitamin B12, weight, weight loss

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Hair loss is something that women rarely discuss and the taboo surrounding female hair loss can stop us from seeking proper help when it does happen. We’ve all heard of Male Pattern Baldness, but did you know there’s also Female Pattern Baldness? There are many things which can contribute to female baldness and hair thinning and we’ve put together a list of the main culprits:

Hormones

A woman’s hormones are a delicate balance which keep everything running smoothly, but when things get messed up it can have a lot of knock on effects, and hair loss is one of them. Pregnancy, menopause and even conditions like polycystic ovarian syndrome can cause hair loss. If you think a hormone imbalance might be contributing to your hair loss, ask your GP to perform a simple blood test to take a look at your levels.

Vitamin Deficiencies

There are a number of vitamins which can affect hair growth and if you’re lacking iron, vitamin B12 or vitamin A, you might have problems with hair loss. Try to eat a balanced diet with plenty of fresh fruit and veg and proteins, and take a multivitamin supplement to bolster your system.

Weight Loss

Losing too much weight too quickly can have a dramatic effect on your hair and it’s not unknown for a sudden drop in your weight to cause temporary baldness. If you’re planning to lose weight, try to do so healthily over a decent period of time rather than crash dieting as this can send your body into shock.

Too Much Heat Styling

We all know that heat styling can break your hair, but too much of it over time can weaken and damage hair follicles, destroying their ability to grown new hairs and this can equate to bald patches. If you must style your hair with heat, use a good conditioner, try not to pull too hard on the shaft of the hair and try not to let the heat styling implement get too close to the roots of your hair.

Stress

One of the single most common causes of hair loss is stress and the only way to halt the effects is to reduce the amount of stress in your life. Take a look at what the main sources of stress are in your life and ask a friend or partner to help you change them. Taking some time for yourself to de-stress is a good idea, so treat yourself to some Elemis Quiet Mind Temple Balm for rubbing on your temples when you feel overwhelmed.

Five Things Which Could Be Making Your Hair Greasy

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beauty blenders, body brushes, brush, brushing, build-up, clarifying, comb, conditioner, Dermalogica Daily Conditioning Rinse, dry shampoo, ends, grease, greasy, hair, hormones, knots, knotty, lank, midsection, mild shampoo, moisturiser, oil, oil production, over-brushing, over-washing, products, residue, roots, scalp, sebum, shampoo, wash, washing

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When you’re a teen, you have this vision that adulthood will be a time of clear skin and perfect hair, so it can be a major disappointment to get way into your adult years and still be dealing with issues like adult acne or lank locks. Some people say that hormones contribute to greasy hair but there are also a few other things that you could be doing which is exacerbating the problem. Read on to see where you might be going wrong:

Too Much Washing

Just like if you have an oily face, the problem can be that you’re trying to keep it too clean and your body is pushing back by over producing the oils that you’re stripping away. If you’re a daily hair washer because you’re trying to combat grease, try cutting back to 2-3 times a week. The first week might be a “wearing a hat or staying indoors” kinda week while your stressed-out scalp adjusts, but it will eventually reset itself and work with your new, less intense, hair washing regime.

The Wrong Conditioner

Again, just like with your facial moisturiser, some people need something lighter and some need something more intense. If you have greasy hair, you really don’t need a super-heavy conditioner, and taking the product all the way up to your roots is another big no-no. Use Dermalogica Daily Conditioning Rinse just on the ends and midsection of your hair to keep it soft and manageable without adding to your grease problem.

Wash Your Brushes!

Okay, we know we’re really stretching this “your scalp is just like your face” analogy, but in the same way that you wouldn’t use dirty body brushes, make-up brushes and beauty blenders, you shouldn’t be using a dirty brush on your hair. Not only do they collect grease and bacteria, they could also be harbouring build-up of old products, so dragging that whole mess through your hair day after day is doing you no favours! Use a comb or your fingers to pull any old hair out of the bristles and then wash it thoroughly with a mild shampoo to get it back to best.

Brush it Less

While we’re on the subject of brushing, you probably need to do it less if your hair is greasy. Greasy hair happens as a result of your scalp producing too much sebum and brushing too much can actually stimulate this oil production. Try to brush your hair once a day ONLY, and if you really need to brush it more than that try to just brush the ends to keep it knot-free.

Use a Clarifying Shampoo

When you’re prone to greasy hair, it’s tempting to use a lot of different products, like dry shampoo, which improve the appearance of greasy hair even for the short term. However, these products tend to build up on your hair and the overall result makes lank hair look even more lank. Try to use a clarifying shampoo which will properly rid your hair and scalp of any residue from products to make sure that your hair and scalp have a proper chance to breathe and reset themselves.

Perfect Your Beard with Pure Beauty

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barber, beard, beard line, clean, clippers, coarse, comb, conditioner, Elemis, facial hair, frizz, grooming, hair, haircare, matt, men, moustache, oil, razor, scrub, shampoo, shaping, shave, smooth, tangle, texture, trim, trimming

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Whether your facial hair is just a few millimeters long or a full-grown bush, there’s no ignoring the fact that beards have well and truly made a comeback for men. Just a few years back, beards were the fodder of old, pipe-smoking dudes, but now just about anyone who CAN grow a beard has one. However, having a nice beard is so much more than just letting the hair grow, so we thought we’d take a look at some of the basic steps for maintaining a decent face-warmer.

Keep it Clean

Just like the hair on your hair, your beard will produce oils which need to be washed away on a regular basis, however unlike your head, your beard hair could also harbour traces of food! Keeping your beard clean is really important because otherwise it will start to smell and become unhygienic. You can use a facial scrub to try to care for the skin beneath but using a mild shampoo will also do the trick.

Keep it Trimmed

Unless you’re incredibly lucky, it’s really unlikely that your beard will all grow at exactly the same rate, which means that it could end up uneven and looking ratty. A tidy beard will need to be trimmed and shaped, using either a clipper with a guard or a pair of scissors, depending how dexterous you are. As soon as you start shaping your beard, you’ll notice how much better it looks and wonder how you ever survived without it!

Keep it Soft

Facial hair can have a tendency to he coarser and more bushy than head-hair, which means that it needs a product to soften and tame it. Elemis Smooth Result Shave and Beard Oil will not only help to smooth out wild beard hair, it will also make your beard smell more fragrant and can also be used as a shave oil if the beard gets too much and you decide you want to go bare-faced again.

Keep it Combed

This one may sound bonkers but as soon as your hair gets beyond a certain length you will need to start combing it, unless you want a dreadlock hanging from your face! Because of its texture, facial hair tangles really easily and if you don’t deal with these tangles on a daily basis, you could easily end up with a matted mess in a really short amount of time. Use a wide-toothed comb after you’ve treated with beard oil for a matt-free beard.

Keep it Neat

Keeping your beard trimmed and tidy is all well and good, but if you have stray hairs above your beard line, the whole effect will be ruined. Use a magnifying mirror and get up close and personal with your beard line. Try not to pluck any hairs which are too close to your natural beard line as you could end up ruining the shape, but anything which is growing more than a couple of millimeters above needs to be annihilated!

Stay Cool Even When The Humidity Rises

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base, BB Cream, blemish, correction, decleor, Decleor BB Cream, dermalogica, Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner, Dermalogica Oil Free Matte SPF30, Elemis, Elemis Daily Redness Solution, flawless, frizz, full-coverage, hair, humid, humidity, inflammation, make-up, oil production, redness, sebum, skin, soothing, spots, spritzing, sweat, Toner

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Is it just us, or does the current weather SUCK?! It’s not quite hot, not quite cold and if it’s not hacking down with rain, it’s super humid and sticky. Dealing with humidity can be so much more difficult to deal with that other extremes of weather, but there are things you can do to help keep you looking your best, even when it seems like Mother Nature is conspiring against you! Read on for our suggestions of how to cope in humid weather.

Keep Your Hair Low-Maintenance

Unless you’re REALLY lucky, you’re probably like us and closely resemble Monica Geller in Barbados when the humid air hits your hair. All the blow-drying and straightening in the world isn’t going to be enough to tame your hair in high humidity, so the best thing you can do is just not do it! Using a daily conditioning rinse will help to weigh your hair down, taming flyaway locks, but leaving it to do it’s own thing after using the rinse will give you the best chance of a smooth barnet.

Use Lighter Products

Using thick, oily or rich products will feel fairly horrible on your skin in times of high humidity, and could even end up causing spots because they don’t allow your skin to sweat and breathe enough. Opt for cooling, spritzing products like Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner to keep your skin feeling fresh and avoid breaking out into spots or areas of redness.

Make-Up is Overrated

We know it’s tempting to wear your usual full-coverage make-up all year round, but when the humidity hits, there’s a good chance that a thicker foundation won’t even stay on your face properly. Opting for a lighter version of your usual base, like Decleor BB Cream, which will give you a decent level of coverage whilst providing moisture and blemish correction, and won’t be as susceptible to the heat and humidity as thicker products.

Rid Yourself of Redness

On humid days, we basically feel hot and bothered any time we have to move around, and this can massively exacerbate any redness that you may already experience. Elemis Daily Redness Solution will ensure that your skin doesn’t flare up in the heat and humidity and will de-sensitise and comfort irritated, red and blotchy complexions. It makes a great base for make-up and when used with the Decleor BB Cream above will give you a flawless finish.

Limit Oil Production

Humidity and heat can be a nightmare if you have naturally oily skin, so preparing for humid days with an oil-reducing product is essential for keeping your skin looking great. Dermalogica Oil Free Matte SPF30 will do a two-fold job of protecting you, firstly by offering defenses against the sun’s harmful rays, but also by regulating oil production and soothing inflammation. The ultra-sheer formula absorbs surface oils to prevent shine without any powdery residue, delivering an all-day matte finish.