I have used permanent colour for years - light ash brown - and have had occasional salon highlights. I have started to grow my hair out now; it’s a dark blonde with some grey. The previously coloured hair looks a bit brassy now as the colour fades. Could I use a home semi- permanent colour to tone and even it out as it grows? I have a lightly layered shoulder length bob. I try to take good care of my hair, but at 60 it has been through the mill! I chose you as my ’expert’ because I always wanted to tell you how good and reasonably priced your products are. They do what they say on the bottle and smell divine! Thank you for making such luxury affordable.

Thanks Chris, I really enjoyed your email - I love getting feedback about my hair care range, really pleased to hear you like it! It sounds to me like you want to go back to your natural colour, which is why I would try and stay away from even adding a semi-permanent colour to your roots. As you have high lights and quite ashy blonde hair I would recommend using my Poker Straight Dry Shampoo. This product is a light-coloured powder spray that can help to knock out the appearance of re-growth temporarily. This season’s trend of head/alice bands are another great way of covering the dreaded root area. Head bands are a fantastic way to get full on sophistication and glamour with very little effort. It’s a super feminine look that requires full locks and a lot of lift at the root. A variation of the 1860’s Bardot look, head bands can be used to create big hair and big sex appeal! The band acts to create the illusion of fullness at the roots pushing hair back away from the face, making the hair kick out from underneath. Headbands will automatically transform your look from plain Jane to va va voom volume!

Chris, I’ve come up with a great tip for creating a frizz free voluminous, high glamour look, which will draw attention away from any root regrowth. First off, put your locks in big velcro rollers when it is dry. Blast your hair all over with a hot hair dryer and leave in for twenty mins. Give your hair a fine mist of hairspray all over; try Hold Tight. When that has dried remove the curlers and brush it out using a product like Messed Up Spray Wax which stops your hair from frizzing and gives it a slightly messy look. You can also use Poker Straight Dehumidifier to stop fuzzy waves. To control flyaway hair, spray a comb with hairspray and run it through your hair or simply spray some Shine Head Shine Spray over your hair for the ultimate glass like effect. Then simply push the headband from the front of your hair to the back ensuring that it is set quite far back to open up your face and so it is less severe. Pull some strands out at the front to soften the look and to get that sex kitten flirtatious feel.

I have naturally wavy hair. It’s not frizzy. I’ve never had a problem with frizz, which is what many people recommend satin or silk pillowcases for. Satin pillowcases seem to make my waves disappear. What is the best kind of pillowcase to keep the waves in my hair while I sleep?

I hate having to shampoo it every day to revive the waves.

Always use curl and body enhancing products.

I have naturally curly hair but generally straighten it, I would love to style it more textured and wavy but I can’t seem to get it right, if I don’t straighten it first it is too curly and frizzy to tame down but once straightened is too flat any suggestions on the best way to style it.

I think this is a case of using the right product to help tame the curl and frizz. The best product for this would be Sebastian potion 9 which is a leave in conditioner. Wash your hair as normal with a shampoo specifically for curly hair, towel dry until the hair is damp and then apply a 10p sized amount of the potion 9 through the middle lengths and ends of the hair.

As far as styling your hair is concerned try drying using a diffuser on the end of your dryer and put the speed on slow and the temperature on medium to cool and gently

I have very thick and curly hair. It looks gorgeous curly but the only problem is that it’s incredibly thick that it looks like a mop, so I have to straighten my hair every few days and keep it that way. There really is no other way to style by hair, unless I want to scrunch it with gel or mouse however after a half hour my hair literally frizzes into the same problem I had before so there is no point. Summer is on its way and I don’t know what I’m going to do when it comes to hair because I’m going to shower everyday and straightening it will damage it and the humidity will affect everything. Any suggestions?

You could try something that has been nicknamed the 3 month blow dry, this is something called Keratin Complex Treatment.

Basically this is a treatment that adds Keratin back into the hair and is ideal for people with frizzy hair as it will cut down drying time dramatically, help calm the frizz whilst still allowing you to wear your hair curly or straight.

I am one of those that hate to get my hair cut regularly and avoid it as much as possible, I know and read that people say that if you cut your hair regularly avoid heat and products then it will be amazing but I am a guy that likes to grow my hair and have it quite long (For a guy) and want a full and thick look- currently I think my hairs not in the greatest shape although when I wash it daily I am currently using Tresemme 24hr body because it apparently helps build volume. I feel it is quite thin though specially the fringe I notice that when I do go to hairdressers my fringe ends up being less than it was regarding coverage - I cannot seem to get a fuller fringe anymore where as when I first started growing my hair this length I could pretty much cover the full forehead with it then after I decided to go to a proper hair stylist to style it (as it wasn’t really styled after it grew a lot more) I just seemed to start getting less of a fringe and now its no where near to fully covering my forehead.

As time goes on our body changes as does our hair. It maybe the case it becomes thinner, greasier, fuller, thicker or dry and frizzy. This needs to be accepted in how we grow and change. As for your fringe problem if it’s possible ask your stylist for a fuller heavier fringe this should become thicker and fuller. A good hair cut leaving you with a style (not a trim) should help

I have a round face, I am Asian, Italian and Lebanese so my hair is thick, wavy, oily at the roots, below my shoulders, layered and can get frizzy. I had short layers but they all grew out so I will be getting a new haircut soon. I was thinking of getting a short layered choppy haircut more at the top so there’s more volume there and then thinning out towards the bottom with dark red peak a boo highlights. Probably without a bang because when I did have bangs before they grew out, they would kind of wave outwards and then go in. I don’t know but I’m tired of it so I’m going to stick with just maybe trimming them. What I’m worried about is, would it look good or not for my face structure? Because I have a very round face. I’m not trying to cut it short maybe just trimmed 2 inches or so. But also I wash my hair everyday because of the oil but my hair is still healthy but by the end of the day my roots are oily again, but I think that is because I’m always playing with it.

To get the added volume you require on the crown just have your hair internally skimmed with a razor.

This will introduce internal layers that will add style support and make styling much easier.

If you have nice long hair DO NOT get it cut KEEP IT.

If your roots go greasy this could be down to the shampoo and conditioner you are using.

Some tips.

If you wash your hair every day then follow this routine:

1. Wash your hair once and only lightly massage your scalp in the process.

2. After finishing rinsing out the shampoo carry on with a cool or cold rinse if you can stand it this will aid in slowing down your sebum/oil production.

3. Use a light spray in or leave in conditioner and only apply mid lengths to ends keeping it away from your roots.

4. Style as normal but avoid any oily styling products as they will only add to the problem.

I am white British, but my hair resembles an afro, but blonde. I would like it to be curly, but it is straight/marginally wavy, with some curls at the back, and instead of lying flat, it sticks up in a spherical ’gravity-defying’ shape, even though it is nearly five inches long. It isn’t frizzy, but I can’t make it lie flat and it gets incredibly dry very easily. I would like it to be more curly, and less unruly, and want to stop it from sticking up in all directions but don’t quite know how to go about it (it can become very tangled and difficult to keep knot-free). How would I best go about making it curlier, and solving the problem of it standing on end?

Curly hair has a tendency to be dry and brittle, and as you know, very hard to control. Curly hair needs moisture so make sure you use products that lock in the moisture, but are light enough to keep curls bouncy. Try using a moisture shampoo and conditioner like my Lee Stafford Climate Control Shampoo and Conditioner, which are light but help to lock in the moisture and create and an ‘umbrella’ to shield hair from humidity and dry weather conditions.

Before blow drying hair smooth my Climate Control Serum from the root to the tip, massaging it into the hair ends. This super hero serum melts into the hair, nourishing from root to tip and will keep hair in check, beautiful, silky and smooth. Repeat when hair is dry in case you need more of a moisture boost.

Always use a cool or medium heat on your hairdryer as well as a diffuser pointed downwards to keep curls look defined. Otherwise if you use a thin nozzle and a high heat hair will look dry and frazzled! Also, never brush curly hair while you are drying it as this will break up the definition of the curl and cause major frizz and zero shine. A quick and easy tip – wind hair around fingers to keep it in a spiral, and you can repeat this throughout the day.

It is also worth doing a deep conditioning treatment 2/3 times a week to get your hair feeling supple and soft again. Try my Lee Stafford Hot Shots which are self warming treatment shots with pro repair formula to strengthen, replenish and restore hairs moisture balance and will keep your hair tangle free.

When you have time, using tongs is the fool proof way of getting fabulous curls. Try using my Poker Straight and Kinda Curly Styling Iron. It has curved plate edges so will create smooth, silky curls in a flash.

I have thick, African American hair that’s about midway down my chest in length. It’s mostly curly and has a little bit of heat damage from using a straightening iron about every other day. I was looking into getting my hair thinned so it would be easier to straighten and wear curly. Would you recommend this for my hair type?

Be very careful.

You do not want "thinning shears" used on your hair as this will make it look frizzy.

Have it lightly skimmed with a razor for a very soft effect.

You could also try the Carbonite Pro carbon rod for soft curls that will make your hair like silk.

Look them up on you tube and you will see what happens.

I have shoulder length hair which I’ve dyed black but the colour is washing out. My hair is extremely thick, curly/frizzy (softer afro Caribbean) and takes two hours to straighten. I get good results blow-drying it (volume and shine) but that takes an hour. My face is round/heart shaped with a very short neck. Skin tone is olive with brown eyes. I’m looking for a sleek mid length style but worried about maintaining the polished look as my hair frizzes easily. I’d also love a more interesting brown colour with maybe a few lowlights, what would be your suggestions?

The obvious thing to state here is the shorter you go and the more weight you remove from your hair the harder it will be to straighten. Having said that there is a new product/service on the market that some salons are offering now called the ’Brasiliana Blow Dry’. This is NOT a straightening process but a blow dry that can last up to 3 months. What this will do is dramatically soften your hair and reduce the blow dry time by a third.

Colour wise this is more tricky as you have a black shade on your hair already and this will be difficult to lift out without bleaching, which of course will dry your hair out.

I have very hard, dry and zigzag (meander) hair. Really I hate my hair because I can’t make any style so for that every time I just make my hair very small. Can you suggest something for my hair it’s curly. very dry, very hard with no shine.

I think all the things you dislike about your hair stem from it being dry. And ’dry’ literally means that - a lack of moisture inside the cortex, or inner fibers of the hair (the cortex makes up about 80-90% of the hair). A hair in good condition will have a moisture content of about 10% but for one reason or another (environmental, chemical etc.) the moisture levels commonly drop much lower than this. When that happens the cortical fibers start to break up, the cuticle scales on the surface of the hair ’open’ and become vulnerable to damage which then causes further surface disruption and damage and so on.

In your case the hair has become dry it loses it’s shine because the rough surface of the hair no longer reflects light off it as (presumably) black hair will when in good condition. There is probably quite a bit of breakage due to the loss of elasticity in the hair and it’s looking frizzy because as the hair breaks the broken ends stick out in all directions which interferes with the sleekness of the hair.

Because the structure internal fibers of hair, because of the reduced moisture level, is disrupted the hairs commonly take on a slightly ’disfigured’ shape meaning that the spaces between aligned dry hairs are usually greater than when well conditioned hairs are aligned, so the overall appearance of the hair is less smooth and sleek. With your hair, even though, it is curly, if it was in good condition the curls would be smooth because all the hairs would be aligned and close to each other forming a smooth curl.

So how can you improve your hair?

• Wash your hair at least twice a week, more if possible.
  Washing the hair is the perfect opportunity to put back moisture. It’s a myth that washing hair is bad for it.
• Use good quality products on it and condition it every time with the best conditioner you can afford.
• Use a treatment conditioner once a week until the condition improves then use it once a month to maintain it.
• Use a good quality wide-toothed comb (saw cut if possible, it will say on the comb) to comb his hair and minimize the use of a brush. This is because a comb will cause less breakage while hair is in a fragile state.
• Make sure that his diet is well balanced and nutritious - our hair is a product of what we eat, eat rubbish and you may well get rubbish!