Renowned stylist, haircare expert and founder of one of Australia’s biggest beauty brands, Kevin Murphy, shares his top tips for summer hair!
What’s the biggest mistake people make with their hair during the summer?
People think their hair is going to be dryer in summer, but it’s actually dryer in winter. Winter is harsher on the hair. You need to change up your shampoo from summer to winter, the same way you might change your makeup. Hair changes seasonally. Adding too much product is a problem in summer as well. You can be groomed, but soften your look in summer. You want to look a little undone, but not like you’ve been pulled through a bush backwards! Use hydrating lotions, but ones that don’t contain oil. Sometimes people reach for oil, but when it’s hot out, that’ll heat the oil and damage your hair. The cuticles open and close all day, so it tends to leave your hair a little bit more frizzy but use a hydrating cream to smoothen.
You mentioned altering the routine for summer, what would be the specifics people should use?
For shampoo and conditioner, if you use a hydrating shampoo, change that for a volumising shampoo as it’ll have less oils. For holiday products, the best thing to do is get a styling cream or something like our Body Lotion, and rub it into your ends. When you’re coming back from the beach, twist your hair on itself into a bun, clip it up and leave it to dry by itself. By the evening when you’re going out for dinner, you’ll have the most beautiful, beachy curls and they’ll be lovely and hydrated.
What are your tips to prevent dry, brittle ends?
Wear a hat! You want to have as little hair exposed to the sun as possible. If you’ve dry hair, put some conditioner in your hair in the morning and then braid it. That stops the elements getting to it as quickly.
Sun in general can impact the colour of our hair – how can we help that?
Again, you need to hide it from the sun. A bit of conditioner or a mask will do the trick, it’ll stop the sun from hitting your hair directly. When you rinse it out that night, you’ll have lovely soft and nourished hair. You also need to detox the hair and we’ve a product called Maxi Wash which is great. As it’s exfoliating, you don’t rub like mad but you work it into the entire length of your hair and that’ll get rid of pool and chlorine residue. Salt isn’t so bad for your hair, but chlorine and the chemicals can make your hair really brittle and turns blonde hair green so you need to be really careful.
What can we do to tame frizzy hair when the humidity hits?
Humidity is the death of hair! Water is not your friend! The best thing you can do is have dry shampoo on hand. The trick with this is to apply it all over the lengths, and rub it with a towel to get rid of the residue, but it soaks up all the excess moisture and grease. Don’t forget the towel part though – you need to rub it off your hair again so you’re not going around powdery and grey!
What’s the best way to maintain our hairstyle?
We’ve an overnight serum, Night Shift, and it’s really good for curly hair. Curly hair gets frizzy but you don’t want to wet or wash it all the time. If you’ve had a great day at the beach, your hair looks good and you know if you wash it, it won’t look the same. So this overnight oil, you put it in before bedtime. Think of it like your face serum that you’ll put on at night and wake up with gorgeous skin the next day. This completely absorbs and rehydrates the hair. It’s designed to soak in.
When we’re travelling, what’s a quick and easy look we can create when we’re not in the mood for drying and styling?
I’m always a big fan of a low bun. If you’re travelling, if you’re coming home from the beach, if you’re going out in the evening and don’t want to style with heat, this is a great one. Take your hair into two parts, the top and bottom after splitting it by your ear roughly. Pull the bottom part into a low pony, and then split the top section into a middle part. You can work those sections over the pony now, instead of wrestling an entire head of hair. Style and pull the top part down as desired, you can control what’s going on much easier, put a bobbin in when you’re happy, twist it into a bun and hold it with a pin. It’s so simple!
What are your hero products?
Bedroom Hair is an absolute favourite, it gives an instant transformation. If I was trapped on a desert island, I’d want that, and Smooth Again which is great for defining the ends without it being oily. Doo Over is a mix of dry shampoo and hairspray and another one has to be Night Shift that we mentioned before. It hydrates your hair between washes. Your hair gets dryer and dryer between washes, but washing your hair every day is harsh so this is a good alternative. It does all the work while you sleep.
Finally Kevin, are you enjoying being over in Ireland at the moment?
My family’s from Ireland so this place has a special place in my heart. The Irish sense of comfiness is next level – we’ve been welcomed here with open arms. Everyone’s so friendly, it’s been so nice and warm and welcoming. I’m leaving tomorrow though, it’s only been a quick trip because there’s someone at the other end of the world pulling me back.
We caught up with Kevin Murphy at NationalBeauty Live, an immersive event designed to elevate the hair and beauty industry in Ireland. Visit NBLive.ie for details on the next one!