What is Gwyneth Paltrow’s secret to effortlessly glamorous locks? An expensive shampoo? A Brazilian blow dry? No, according to hairstylist David Babaii, it’s that little-known styling tool, the loofah brush.
For the cover shot of this month’s U.S. InStyle magazine, he rolled pieces of Gwynnie’s damp hair around the loofah before blasting with heat to add texture, and tamed flyaway hairs using a bathroom-cabinet tongue brush.
We quizzed a number of celebrity beauty experts about their quirky secrets and uncovered some surprising tips . . .
TOMATO SAUCE
If you’ve been swimming in a heavily chlorinated pool and your blonde hair has turned a nasty shade of green, then try using ketchup before your shampoo.
Apply it to your hair and leave in for a couple of minutes before rinsing with warm water. The red tone will help to neutralise the green, returning your hair to its former golden glory.
ANUSOLE
This is the weirdest, but it makes sense. When you’ve got pile or hemeroids,
apply Anusole. Apparently, it really helps. But hairdresser to the stars, Jane Dubré, swears by this.
Rub Anusole into your face, forehead, skin…where ever you think. It is botox in a tube of cream. It tightens your skin. You have to apply it every day but it does work.
TIN FOIL
To create wavy hair without curling tongs, use sheets of tin foil. Twist 15 sheets of tin foil into three-inch long wands, the thinner they are, the tighter the curl.
Wind sections of hair around the wands and twist the ends of the foil together to secure. Blast hot air from your hairdryer for three to five minutes all over your head to activate curls, the tin foil will insulate heat and stay hot for about five minutes.
Once cool, unravel your hair for bouncy, voluminous locks.
CONDENSED MILK
Felicity Kendal’s hair colourist Lea Harrison often applies condensed milk to her scalp when doing her bleach highlights. ‘This prevents irritation and soothes the scalp, which can get sore if it comes into contact with peroxide,’ says Harrison.
FABRIC SOFTENER SHEETS
Those fabric softener sheets from Bounce are brilliant for removing static from hair after a blow-dry. Gently glide them over the hair from root to tip, the result is beautiful, static-free tresses.
CLING FILM
If you struggle to do your back when you’re applying fake tan, get a long piece of cling film, lay it on the floor and apply some of your fake tan mousse or cream to the middle of it.
Stand in front of the cling film, take an end of each strip in each hand and apply it to your back using the same motion you use to dry your back with a towel.
BABY SPOON
Make-up artist Kabuki always has a rubber-coated infant feeding spoon in his false eyelash kit. ‘It’s the perfect tool to tone down mascara,’ he says.
Hold the spoon under the lashes and use a clean brush to apply a non-oily make-up remover over the top of the lashes.
The remover and unwanted mascara runs into the spoon and away from the face, so the false lashes stay in place. The other eye make-up remains, too.
INGROWN HAIR REMOVER PADS
If you’ve made a mistake with your self-tan and have been left with patches, there are loads of remedies: from whitening toothpaste to cigarette ash.
According to tanning guru James Harknett, one of the most effective are Bliss Ingrown Hair Eliminating Peeling Pads. ‘They’re not cheap, but the salicylic acid and glycolic acid in them does the job,’ he says.
HAIR GEL AND SELLOTAPE
When make-up artist Kabuki did Lady Gaga’s face for the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, he used lots of black glitter around her eyes. The glitter was fixed with alcohol-free hair gel and Sellotape was used to clean up any stray flecks of glitter from her face.
FEMININE WASH
Make-up artist Issidora cleanses her face and takes off her make-up using FemFresh.
‘It might sound odd, but this gynaecologically approved product does not contains soap,’ she says. ‘It lathers beautifully and, if you use it with a loofah, it not only removes every trace of make-up but also exfoliates, too.’
PENCIL
One of make-up artist Ariane Poole’s best tips when it comes to the tricky matter of dealing with false eyelashes is to wrap them round a pencil before applying them.
They’ve often been sitting straight in their packaging for so long they’ve lost their curve, so they don’t fit the eyelid properly and can ping off.
Wrapping them round a pencil breaks their spine a bit, so they fit more closely to the lid.
by Debbie Dot
