Everyone has different hair, which we did not get to choose. Hard as I may have wished for it, I never had Elvis-style hair, and never will. That’s why I like to talk about maximizing what we have — achieving our “best hair possible.” We all have our own 1-10 scale (10 being the best it can possibly be), and I felt my hair went from a 7 to a 9 after I started dry brushing. For me, anything that can elevate my hair by even a few points is a major success.
YOU’VE BEEN IN THE HAIR INDUSTRY FOR 20 YEARS. WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO TAKE AN OUT-OF-THE-BOX APPROACH TO HAIR WELLNESS?
As a person who loves fitness and exercise, I have always understood that it takes time to see results. This is a universal truth, though lately the health and wellness industry has been trying to convince us otherwise. If your hair is fried or you have what I call “Sad Hair”, no product will change it overnight.
That bears repeating: There is no hair product on Earth that will make unhealthy hair healthy overnight. Your hair can change, and with the right intentions and actions it will change. However, just like seeing results at the gym, it takes a while. Our hair is connected to all of our other systems — mind, body and spirit. Stress is the most devious disrupter of systems and directly correlated with hair health. While I’d love to tell clients to simply feel less stress, that’s not super effective. But try to keep it in mind, along with maintaining a healthy diet, exposure to the sun, and your general level of happiness.
Yes, we all know someone who has a high-stress job, a personal life in shambles, a terrible diet, never gets vitamin D…and still has amazing hair. Good for them! However that wasn’t me (and it probably isn’t you). I had good hair when I was younger — not the best in class, but good — but when I began to approach my early to mid twenties, I started to see it wasn’t styling the same as before and realized this was the earliest sign of hair loss. Thank goodness I was a hairdresser, because I knew what options were available for me.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO TREAT YOUR OWN HAIR LOSS?
There’s the over-the-counter stuff (Rogaine), hair supplements (biotin), the doctor prescribed option (Propecia), and, finally, for the very committed: hair restoration. I tried Rogaine and biotin for a year or two. My hair was dry and unhappy. Propecia wasn’t an option for me personally, however it is effective. I have had many clients over the years with great success on Propecia, which stops hair loss without starting new growth — freezing your hair in time, essentially.
Restoration was the choice for me and once I saved up the money to get it, I had zero hesitations. I would have given a toe to have better hair. Restoration takes advantage of the fact that at the back of our heads we have 3-5 follicles coming out of one hole. These follicles almost never fall out, which is why male pattern baldness tends to manifest as the horseshoe ring around the head. At the base of all our follicles we have a bulb which doctors surgically extract and replace in desired areas of growth, which, in theory, sticks because of the bulb’s durability. Best thing I ever did.
Hair restoration put me on a path that changed my life and my life’s work. In addition to offering beautiful haircuts, I became a self-taught hair health expert. I’ve spoken with the doctors, I’ve read the articles, I’ve seen thousands of clients over my 20-plus-year career. I have launched Blackmore, with its three product offerings, based on what I’ve learned.
HOW DOES YOUR THREE-STEP METHOD WORK?
A brush, a cleanser, and an oil: these three things have changed my hair completely and I have better hair now than I did 10 years ago. Traditional shampoos were too harsh and I did not enjoy the way my hair looked or felt after. As a result, I went years without washing and had many clients also kick shampoo completely, with success.
I made my way to dry brushing (as opposed to combing through wet hair) just a few years ago. A friend of mine had been attacking his own head with a brush for well over a decade and the effort was paying off: he was well into his 40s with a full head of hair. I had been trying to achieve my best hair possible for a long time, and decided to give it a go. Watching hair come away in the bristles at first was challenging, but I stuck with it. After a few months, my follicles were stronger and smoother. A few more months and my hair looked thicker. Kicking shampoo and adding a solid brushing routine works very well for most people because brushing cleans the hair and re-distributes the oil.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR YOUR PRODUCTS?
My first exposure to Egyptian Magic (a bentonite mineral product) was as a bath soak and a face mask (which is the most common application). Like a mud mask, it pulls toxins and dirt from the skin naturally. I remember noticing that my hair felt really good after pouring it in my bath. It felt clean-ish and plump (in a good way).
Years later I was on set in Los Angeles, working with a female photographer who had thick, beautiful horse hair. After I complimented her hair (as one should do, good hair should be praised), I asked her about her routine and she replied that she never used shampoo—she used bentonite. I was shocked. I went to the store immediately and began to play around with bentonite. The application was messy and laborious, so I engaged a proper chemist and explained what I wanted: a clay-based cleanser that would clean without lathering and smell great. That’s how The Only Hair Cleanser was born.
HOW HAS THIS METHOD CHANGED YOUR OWN ROUTINE?
I love it. It’s a game changer for me personally. The Only Hair Cleanser softly cleans and smells incredible, and, most importantly, I love the way my hair feels after using it. Bonus points: you don’t need to use conditioner afterwards. It’s been battle-tested on all hair types. For hair like mine (thin to medium body) it’s perfect and the application is fairly straightforward: enough product in to ensure that the entire scalp is tackled (adding a little water helps it spread). I like to let it sit for a minute or two before rinsing. For those of you winners with a lot of thick hair, you will need to use a little more product to ensure complete coverage. Start at the back of the scalp which is, as I mentioned, where the hair is most dense. Add a little water, and work around some more. Maybe use a little more product to focus on the mid shaft also. This can be a little more labor intensive than a traditional cleanser if you have a lot of hair.
Finally: Oil begets Oil. I love this line and truly have come to understand it. Since I have fine hair, I didn’t really know what to do with oil at first. However, now I can and do use The Only Hair Oil daily and it is great in concert with dry brushing. I’ve always believed the nourishing properties of a good oil were worth the investment, so I like to do a heavy dosage prior to cleansing, knowing that after cleansing my hair will be back to its presentable form. If you’re not ready for daily oiling yet, think of it as a pre-wash treatment. Oil can add shine and provide our hair with luster and youthfulness. It has been used on hair for centuries and throughout indigenous cultures. I consider oil the truest way of conditioning hair.
So, there you have it. Every morning and night I flip my head upside down and dry brush from back to front and side to side for approximately 60 seconds. The follicles generally don’t get to travel this way and it makes them happy and stimulated, and while your head is flipped, blood flow is moving to your scalp which contributes to the boost. I find this practice mediative, in addition to my morning and nightly skin care and teeth routine. After brushing, I put on a headband and wash my face. I do not get my hair wet in the shower often. Typically, I will wet my hair when I cleanse, which is every 7-10 days. (However, I only advise this regimen if you’ve incorporated brushing into your routine, because the brush cleans the hair.) I like to apply oil after I brush — just one pump daily — and focus on the back and sides where the hair is more dense. This adds some “piecy-ness” and shine, plus loads the hair up with good nutrients and minerals.
I made these products because I wanted them for myself and I share this now with you because it elevated my hair—and I want to help elevate yours.
WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN MIND FOR THE FUTURE OF BLACKMORE?
BLACKMORE will expand its offering of products in the future, exploring serums and a deeper cleanser for those mega thick heads of hair, and more.