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Beauty

How to Care for Your Hair Until Your Next Salon Appointment

Before you try to trim your bangs or touch up your roots, read these tips from Dallas's top hair stylists.
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If your hair is looking less than lovely due to salon closures, you’re not alone. We, too, are rocking gray roots, brassy blond tresses, and split ends. In these unprecedented times, an at-home dye job or a little bang trim might not seem like a bad idea.

But remember, readers: if you color or cut your own hair and it goes horribly wrong, your stylist can’t help you fix it until salons re-open. You could be stuck with your new look for months.

That said, it’s possible to give your hair some TLC during the quarantine, as long as you do it correctly. Some hairdressers are offering video consultations, while others are hand-mixing color formulas for their clients.

Here’s what Dallas’s most respected stylists had to say about at-home haircare.

Full Color Touch-Ups


If you’re a regular at Dear Clark, you’re in luck. The company is now offering emergency hair coloring kits to existing clients. Their expert colorist will personally mix a color formula for you after consulting with your usual stylist at Dear Clark. A tutorial on IGTV gives you step-by-step instructions on how to apply your kit. Free delivery is being offered for orders over $40 and within a 10-mile radius. Order yours here.




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Root Touch-Ups


“Your stylist is missing doing your hair and can’t wait to see you, just as much as you can’t wait to get your roots done. For now, you can give your hair have a break and get creative with accessories; fun hats and headbands are great right now. Another solution is to utilize root touch up sprays. If you wear your hair down you can focus on your part and the front hairline, or you can pull your hair back in a cute pony or bun and spray the hairline. Check with your stylist as to which one they recommend. Many of us have our favorites, and we’d love to make a little commission off the sale.



You might be thinking, what if I just can’t wait? What if I have to do my roots–can’t I just use a box dye from the store? There is a reason hairdressers beg people to not use box dyes. They are made for a wide range of people, so they pack them with an unnecessary amount of chemicals. They often give unpredictable results and ruin the hair cuticle. You’d then need a professional fix, which is considered a color correction. Color corrections often start at $300 and go up from there.


If you feel you just have to get your roots covered, please reach out to your stylist first and discuss what options they are comfortable with. They know your hair best. They will appreciate you asking their advice rather than winging it with something. I work with dpHUE; they offer lots of products, including touch up kits, and the hairdresser earns 50 percent of the profits from the dpHUE sale.” Carissa Mendoza, Hairstylist and Manager at Hairstory Studio Dallas





Color by Carissa Mendoza

Trimming Bangs


“I don’t usually recommend for clients to trim their own hair, but if a client has bangs that are out of control, we have a few options. You can pin them back, braid them into a style, or wear a headband. For clients that can’t resist trimming, I recommend starting with dry and styled bangs.  I also advise using smaller, barber-like scissors to allow a little more precision. Take smaller sections to start, instead of the whole bang area, and cut into the bangs at a slight angle instead of going straight across. The fringe will end up softer and more blended. Start with just a little trim–you can always trim off more if the first snip isn’t quite enough!” Jessica Maez at Abstrakt Studio



Full Trims


“I would say leave full trims to the professionals. We went to school and spent a long time learning how to cut hair. This is a time to learn some fun styling tricks. Experiment with some different products, ponytails, and buns. It is also a time to gather inspiration for that next cut when you can finally see your stylist. They will have a lot to work with.” Carissa Mendoza, Hairstylist and Manager at Hairstory Studio Dallas




Hair by Jessica Maez

Preventing Brassiness in Blondes


“For my naturally blonde clients, I suggest the glosses from dpHUE–they add tons of shine and tone to help refresh and perk up their hair. If they have darker regrowth, I advise using a darker gloss. It blends the existing blonde into the root color, and while it’s a bit of a change, it’s semi-permanent and will fade away with shampooing. We can brighten clients’ hair when they get back into the salon.


I also recommend Unite’s Blonda Toning Shampoo and Masque. It’s a deeply pigmented violet-blue, which helps counteract brassiness.

dpHUE’s Blonding Brush is great for minor blonde blending around the face or on the hairline. It’s similar to a makeup brush and is self-loading with a super-gentle lightener and violet tint. The results are achieved by sitting in the sun or using your hairdryer.


For root growth, we are offering a great root touch-up kit from dpHUE. It’s just enough to hide pesky grays until clients can get back into the salon. For those who get an all-over global color and are feeling blah with their hair, I recommend doing an Olaplex No. 3 treatment along with a protein-rich masque like Pureology’s Strength Cure Superfood. This will add shine and manageability, in addition to addressing any existing damage.” Jessica Maez at Abstrakt Studio



Brazilian Blowout Maintenance


“For my clients that love their Brazilian Blowouts, I recommend using the Unite Lazer Straight Shampoo and Conditioner to smooth the cuticle and reduce the frizziness they feel.  For styling, try the Olaplex No. 6 Bond Smoother and No. 7 Bonding Oil. They can protect hair from heat and add shine.  A great braid or top knot is also a good solution if styling their hair is too much until they can get back into the salon.” Jessica Maez at Abstrakt Studio



Braid Maintenance


“For both box braids and knotless braids, it’s important to oil your scalp three times a week with castor or jojoba oil. Box braids should be touched up every 4 weeks; they should be removed after 10 weeks. Knotless braids or twists don’t require touch-ups, but they should be removed after 6 weeks. If you’ve gone longer than this, or your hair has grown out more than 2 inches, it’s time to take your braids out, wash your hair, and allow your scalp to rest.” Fatou Mbacke at The Braiding Factory



Hair Extensions


“For I-Tip extensions, adjustments should be done no later than 8 weeks from the previous appointment. After this time you’ll start seeing a lot of buildup, making it hard to adjust without causing damage. For sew-ins and tape-ins, I wouldn’t go past 8 weeks either.


I am advising my clients to take their extensions out themselves (preferably with the help of someone else) at home as soon as possible. I’m tagging them in removal videos by other stylists and offering my assistance virtually. It’s a tough call, but the longer they have them, the harder the removal will be. This is a time when you won’t be in public often, so the healthiest thing for hair is to take out extensions. Let your hair relax a bit!” Isaac Muñoz at Dallas Microbead Extensions




Silk blowout by Pressed Roots

Highly-Textured Hair


Pressed Roots’ signature treatment is a silk blowout. The results typically last between 1 and 2 weeks. Our core customer group wears their hair “natural” (or sans relaxing treatments). They are looking at Pressed Roots as a healthy and flexible solution for straightening their hair, as compared to relaxers. Some customers have standing weekly appointments for a silk press, while others only straighten on special occasions.


We have gotten calls, emails, texts, and direct messages every single day since we had to shut our doors. Clients are absolutely looking for help in caring for their tresses outside of the salon, because many of them still have virtual meetings where they have to be presentable. Naturally curly hair takes effort to maintain. It needs to be deeply moisturized, consistently detangled, and thoroughly protected from heat.


It’s easy to give your textured hair some TLC from home. We love using the Briogio, Don’t Despair, Repair Conditioning Mask and the Moroccan Oil Intense Hydrating Mask. Most people don’t have steamers or hooded dryers at home (if you do, this is an excellent time to use it). All you really need is a shower cap or processing cap to get a spa-like treatment at home.


First, wash your hair thoroughly with a clarifying shampoo. Next, apply the conditioning mask to your hair per the instructions on the bottle. After the mask is applied throughout your hair, place a processing cap over your hair and let the conditioner do its job. Leave the conditioner and the cap on for at least 15 minutes. Finally, rinse out the mask in the shower. You will immediately feel the difference in your hair. For girls who wear their hair curly, deep conditioning at least once a week is essential–curly hair tends to be dryer. For those who wear their hair straight, deep conditioning 1-2x per month is recommended.


When touching up a silk press at home, make sure you have freshly washed strands! Putting heat on dirty hair is the fastest way to damage your hair. Think about it–when you put a flat iron on dirty hair, you are essentially cooking the oils, dirt, etc. into your strands. It’s only a matter of time before your hair will begin breaking off. While it may seem like a good idea to just press out a few strands that have started reverting, that decision could lead to untreatable damage.” Piersten Gaines at Pressed Roots




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How To Support Your Stylist


“My clients have been amazing – they have purchased retail products and gift cards.  The owner of our salon has been making product deliveries for those who are within 10 miles of the salon.  If you’re looking for a way to support your stylist, I recommend reaching out and seeing if you can get some products, a color kit, pay for your next appointment in advance, or even pay for the ones you’ve missed if you’re able.  They will be so very grateful for your generosity for thinking of them at this time.” Jessica Maez at Abstrakt Studio


“Reach out to your stylist for their advice and to see what products they are offering right now. Buy directly from them to ensure they receive a commission. Any income for us right now is needed and appreciated. Some free ideas are to just show your stylist some love: post a selfie of you loving your hair, leave a good review, tag them in a post on social media so they can repost. Finally, if you feel inclined, reach out to them just to touch base and let them know you are thinking of them. They would love to hear from you and ask them how you can support them.” Carissa Mendoza, Hairstylist and Manager at Hairstory Studio Dallas

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