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A woman's crowning glory is an important part of her overall appearance. All of us strive to have beautiful, shiny hair with a healthy dose of volume. Hair that looks healthy enhances a woman's beauty. However, few people understand that different hair textures have different needs to achieve a healthy, shiny and voluminous look. These are various hair techniques and products available.

To Create Volume:-

When blow-drying hair, apply some hair volumizer, flip your head upside down and then blow-dry while leaning forward so that your hair falls forward (this should only be done when hair is damp, not wet). Then, take a vented brush and lift your hair up and in the opposite direction to how your hair normally sits to create lift.

To achieve maximum volume, try separating hair into sections when blow-drying. Lift sections of the hair upwards while blow-drying so that the roots are lifted to create a uniform, voluminous look. Clever colouring is also a volume creating tool as adding artful highlights and carefully placed lowlights can give the illusion of volume to your locks.

To Achieve A Head Of Shiny Mane:-

There are various ways to achieve shiny hair. For one, you can opt to use a heat-activated shampoo, deep condition your hair at least once weekly, refrain from using too many different types of styling products as they can dull the hair. Another way to increase the shine factor in your hair is by giving your crowning glory a cool blast of air to seal the cuticles after its completely dried - because if the cuticles are ragged, the hair would not shine.

For people with fine and limp hair, our advice is to steer clear of mousse and wax as the density of the product weighs the hair down. In addition, dust would stick to the surface of the hair easily. We would, however, recommend the use of hair serum to add shine. Some products which work well include:

- L'Oreal - Lumi Oil

- La Biosthetique - Shine On Crazy

- Redken - Glass Smoothing Serum

These serums help the hair stay shiny and also smoothens out the frizz. For people with coarse and thick hair, apply 2-3 drops into the palm and smooth the product through dry or wet hair. For those with fine, thin hair, just apply one drop and follow the same steps. Mousse and wax are more suitable for people with thick and coarse hair. These products help to add shine and reduce frizziness. However, make sure the product has a water-soluble base to avoid product-residual build up.

Use of Natural Ingredients to Add Shine:-

Before the evolution of hair-care products, people used ingredients found at home to care for their hair. Such ingredients include olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil, lemon, bananas, vinegar, avocado and egg yolk.

Application of oils after a hair wash can not only add shine, but also smoothens the overall look. Basically, just smooth a bit of oil through dry hair to tame frizz and flyaways - this works especially well in humid climates and winter days. For those with fair or blonde hair, using a few tablespoons of lemon juice to the hair before rinsing it off would help to add shine. For people with brown and red hair, adding a few tablespoons of apple cider vinegar before rinsing off with water would help to give added shine.

Other natural ingredients such as avocados, banana and egg yolk work well as home-made hair masks. These are some examples of how they can be used:

Avocado Hair Mask (suitable for normal to dry hair):-

Mash a whole avocado until it becomes creamy in texture. Apply to damp hair and let sit for about 20 minutes. Rinse hair well with shampoo and condition if necessary. Results are softer, shinier and bouncier hair.

Avocado Wrap:-

Take one ripe (peeled) avocado, add three to four teaspoons of honey and eight to ten drops of almond oil. Blend well and then apply to wet hair, especially the hair ends. Wrap hair in a towel and leave on for 20 to 30 mins. Rinse thoroughly with warm water. This is ideal as a rich, moisturizing hair treat to nourish dry hair ends

Banana Hair Mask (suitable for very dry and damaged hair):-

Put a banana in a blender until it is completely smooth. Add some mayonnaise, oil and blend until it becomes a smooth and creamy emulsion. Apply to hair, comb through and let the mask sit for 15-30 minutes. Rinse with warm water and shampoo as usual.

This banana hair mask will make hair moist and smooth.

Egg (Hair) Mask (for all hair types):

Using only the yolk, beat it up slightly before applying to hair, leave for 10-20 minutes before rinsing it off completely with cold water.

The Lemon "Aid" (for dry and damaged hair):-

Use one large lemon with the usual amount of conditioner, mix well, apply it to freshly shampooed hair, let it sit for three to five minutes and then rinse hair thoroughly as usual. This adds shine to hair and removes residual buildup from hair chemicals.

Products are available for sale at Shunji Matsuo Hair Studio, 20 Bideford Road, #01-02, Wellington Building, Singapore 229921.

Celebrity hair stylist Shunji Matsuo brings to Singapore over 40 years of international hairstyling experience gained from working in the major fashion capitals of Japan, Europe and the United States. Shunji's expertise and reputation as a celebrity stylist has been built on the international fashion circuit, where his creative hairstyles have been featured on the top fashion runways of leading fashion designers Jean Paul Gaultier, Oscar de la Renta, Comme des Garcons, Yohji Yamamoto, Donna Karan and Calvin Klein.

Shunji's hair creations have also graced the covers and fashion spreads of top US fashion magazines like American Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, New York Magazine and The New York Times. In Singapore, Shunji Matsuo has made his mark on the hairstyling scene with the opening of salons under the brands of Shunji Matsuo Hair Studio and I*CON by Shunji Matsuo.

Shunji Matsuo Hair Studio
20 Bideford Road Wellington Building #01-02, Singapore 229921

I*CON by Shunji Matsuo
Isetan Orchard Level B1, 435 Orchard Road Wisma Atria Singapore 238877
2 Tampines Central 5 #03-01 Century Square Singapore 529509
No 3 Temasek Boulevard #03-037 Suntec City Galleria Tower 4 Singapore 038983