Canadians are head over heels for heavenly hair

Bad hair day? Let’s talk about bad hair years! We have the pandemic to thank for this.

With at-home cutting, curling, colouring, straightening and panic-googling remedies stressing your tresses, others embraced their natural texture, and let it all grow out, even the grey.

As we continue to brush off the pandemic, we’re handling our hair with more care. Hair health is trending – bouncy, glossy locks never go out of style.

“What we really see now is that natural movement is still popular, but because so many leaned in during the pandemic, I am finding women are really leaning back into styling,” says Matthew Collins, a celebrity stylist based in L.A.

“We love our natural hair but women want to have versatility – some days with some glossy styled locks, another day a beautiful, silky blow out. But the more you leave and work with your natural hair the better your hair will react when styling it as well,” says Collins, a global styling ambassador who specializes in celebrity hairstyling for red carpet events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and runway shows.

Hold the frizz and breakage. Highlight nourishing roots and boosting shine and hair health. Hair oiling is a TikTok trend, while searches for “scalp treatment for dry scalp” are up 70% on Pinterest. Rosemary is touted to spark hair growth – hashtag #rosemaryoil has racked up more than 200 million views on TikTok.

Nearly 60% of Canadians are concerned with scalp issues, according to a new Dyson Global Hair survey – and there’s no magic fix, says Collins. And 65% of Canadians say their hair is damaged.

People are head over heels for damage-repair products and bond builders, and potent deep conditioning – known as botox for your hair – has people heading to salons for professional smoothing and softening effects. Hairstyling tools and technology have become must-haves, with TikTok tutorials, including Collins, making hair dreams a breeze.

Collins says making hair waves right now is the bouncy blowout, the soft 60’s updo, a sleek ponytail with face framing pieces, and also the textured, messy flat-iron waved locks. Head to the office or an afterwork outing with sleek and polished straight hair, tucked behind ears with a centre part.

Beverly Hills-based master colourist J. Ladner touts volume blowouts and soft waves. “Volume is so chic and we’re back to higher levels. It’s becoming more easy to achieve volume with roller sets and smart hair dryers.”

We’re looking for innovation. Social media has put the world of trends at the forefront of all of our lives, “our guests are smarter than ever and are seeking better hair tools and better products,” says Ladner, chief brand ambassador at Oligo Professionnel and director of education at FastFoils.

“We are seeing a major focus on ingredients in hair products,” says Ladner, adding that guests are reaching out for their expertise and treatments for healthier, hydrated and shinier locks.

Over-washing is rampant – research shows 80% wash their hair every day or once every two days. “Even pushing it to every other day will drastically help the overall health of your hair,” adds Collins.

Less is more. Curly, natural textures are in, and now widely embraced in the workplace, says Collins. So wave hello to volume, length, curls and waves and cool transformations – for work and play. Your hair speaks for you.

“It’s intensely personal, but it’s also totally public,” says Rose Weitz, professor at Arizona State University, in an interview with Today.com. “And (hair is) malleable; we can change it so easily in ways that we can’t change any other part of our body. It becomes a reflection of who that person is, and a sign of our identity.”

What’s in style?