The Richest Hair Around
LESSONS:
The Richest Hair Around
A guide to expensive-looking hair: what it is and how to get it.
- Written by:
- Olivia Sheehan
There was a joke circulating Twitter, around the same time as the The Cut’s Anna Delvey exposé went viral, that the dead giveaway that Anna Delvey was a “scamstress” (and not a German heiress as she claimed) was her hair. In retrospect, it did stand out–very dry, a bit frizzy, poorly colored, and always unkempt. Decidedly, not rich.
Pricey or not, expensive-looking hair is hair that looks like it costs $$$—and maybe even a staff—to maintain. Think Gemma Chan in Crazy Rich Asians. It’s hydrated, lush and healthy; coiffed but not overdone. It’s the hair of my dreams.
As a hair-obsessee who just made it through my first year of motherhood and postpartum, my commitment to my hair health has been hard-fought. I have come out on the other side with tips on achieving said “expensive-looking hair” with minimal time and a modest budget. And I can say for certain that it can be achieved without weekly trims and monthly glazes. All it takes is a commitment to an effective routine and a handful of #VIOLETCODEAPPROVED products. I promise, your return on investment will be well worth it.
WASH WITH CARE
Before showering, I run a gentle boar-bristle brush through my hair from root to ends for several minutes, distributing the natural oils from my scalp across the shaft of the hair to naturally nourish my strands. Once in the shower, I double shampoo: the first lather rinses away debris, while the second lather cleanses the scalp. Augustinus Bader’s The Shampoo is like The Rich Cream but for your hair–I like to use a tiny bit of this as my second shampoo and leave it on for a minute or two as an in-shower treatment.
KEEP THE ENDS FRESH
Make sure the health of your hair is great, because dry, split ends do not look expensive. You can achieve this with frequent dustings (a method for trimming hair that does not sacrifice length) and also prevent damage by keeping heat tools in check. I, however, am guilty of a twice-a-year haircut cadence and regular blowouts. So between cuts, to keep ends nourished and hydrated, I make sure to moisturize my hair daily the same way I do my skin.
EASY DOES IT
Wet hair is much more susceptible to damage and breakage than dry hair, and one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to wrap your hair in a towel the moment you step out of the shower. Post-wash, I use a microfiber towel to gently squeeze out the moisture so my hair is no longer dripping wet. If I don’t air-dry, I reach for the ultimate expensive-but-worth-it hair tool, the Dyson Airwrap; it allows me to achieve a bouncy blowout while avoiding excessive heat. Because I try to avoid washing my hair more than three or four times a week, I rely on a talc-free dry shampoo (that is also good for my scalp) to keep my roots fresh.
MIND YOUR SCALP
Hair health (and aesthetics) start from the scalp. Like most VIOLET GREY employees, I am religious about adding Agent Nateur’s holi (mane) collagen and pearl powder supplement to my coffee each morning. Committing to this helped to mitigate and minimize my postpartum hair shedding. The Act+Acre Scalp Gua Sha not only feels amazing, but promotes circulation and product absorption on the scalp. Use this comb-shaped Gua Sha to work in Augustinus Bader’s The Scalp Treatment to stimulate growth and maintain a healthy scalp environment without sacrificing styling–the lightweight serum is imperceptible once your hair is dry