A lot of hard work goes into generally living with my hair. To style it, I have to dedicate hours of my life to special shampoos, conditioners, masks, oils, serums, blow-dry creams, hairdryers and straighteners; accompanied with a great series on Netflix and enough water for my personal hydration as I strain and struggle to tame the (hair) beast.
I am always on the hunt for something – anything really – that will fix my wayward hair. It’s thick and curly; traits many people say – and often say to me- they would die for. But it’s also big and unmanageable, dry, disobedient and frizz-prone.
And so I optimistically turn up for every new haircare range that promises me a fix; try every new cream, spray and oil that tells me it will ease my barnet woes and open up my follicly-challenged schedule.
It’s how I ended up meeting The Hair Boss, aka industry specialist Lisa Shepherd. With a name like that, I figured, I must be on to a winner. But I’d been burnt before – and I don’t just mean the two years in the late nineties when I literally ironed my hair.
And my consultation started well enough…
“Right, so you’ve got virgin hair,” she said, without even touching it- just a cursory glance at my innocent, never hair-dye-cherry-popped tresses, “I always know.”
I was impressed, but Lisa just shrugged. She is The Hair Boss after all. The award-winning colourist is one of the most acclaimed hairdressers in the UK, and has made an impressive career as ambassador for Balmain UK Hair and a consultant for Redken UK. After years passing on her wisdom to other brands, she’s finally launched her own.
The Hair Boss, launched exclusively with Superdrug this month, prides itself on being affordable, 100% British, vegan and cruelty-free HLC (that’s Hair Loving Care) – bringing the same attention to your scalp and follicles as you would your skin. The key component of the brand, is finding your own 4-step regime – individual to each of us- that combines the four best products for your hair type and condition.
Lisa’s expertise as a colourist gives her a specialised insight into the bonds of our hair, and how easily they can be frazzled and broken by dyeing or even excessive styling and heat. Her formula is designed to, as she tells me “rebuild the ladder of your hair, and in particular focus on the outer layer of that ladder.” Namely, her products combat the internal damage to the structure of your hair, but, crucially, you’ll be able to see the results externally- as it makes sure to restore shine.
Lisa asks me a few questions about my hair = how long I spend styling it, what I usually use – but, as evidenced by her immediate outing of my hair’s naivety; she’s already pretty clued up about what it needs. This is her remit – a resident hair ‘doctor’ if you will; keen to fix all your mane dilemmas. She even runs her own ‘Rescue Clinics’ and can submit your queries via her website.
