13 minute read
Hair Health
WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS
Global hairstylist Nicky Lazou reveals her secrets to achieving optimum hair health
Can you talk us through your career in hairstyling and hairdressing? I started getting into hair when I was around 14-years-old working in salons as an apprentice and just grew from there. Originally, I wanted to be a journalist, but I was just naturally talented with creating styles. I think it’s because I have so much hair – I used to do my own hair really well and I learnt from that. I fell into hairdressing just because I gradually built such a huge clientele, but I also think what really drew me into this career is the fact that someone can feel so good because of you. The feeling that you can make someone’s day better when they leave your salon is priceless. It was also bringing me a great income from such a young age, it meant I could help the people around me including my mum and dad and it inspired me to just keep working hard. I have come through some challenges with people knocking me down, but I kept pushing through. I’m very creative and see my hairdressing as a form of art. This is how I came to create ‘The Melt’, my balayage signature, by experimenting on myself and my family.
I then expanded my business to the Middle East a er meeting someone in Selfridges, Zeina, who is from Kuwait. She told me she follows me on Instagram and asked me to consider flying to Kuwait to do hair. From there I went to Dubai, to Qatar, to Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is next. What is your approach to creating healthy hair? I feel like hair is such an important thing in a woman’s life. I see hair as our crowns and just like you invest in quality skincare and body care, we need to invest in quality hair care. People don’t seem to understand that healthy hair does come from within. If you eat healthy, you will see the benefits in your hair. My approach to hair is: we need to love our hair, nurture our hair and treat it like it’s our best friend. In terms of wellness of the hair, what do you recommend your clients do? For the wellness of the hair, it all starts with hair care. I used to travel all the way from Yorkshire to Leeds to Harvey Nichols to source the best hair care that was out there. Eating the right foods has major benefits all around. It helps to have a healthy scalp, which then helps your hair to grow. You need to have the right nutrition to ensure your hair will be at its optimum health. Then you need to have the right hair care, such as masks, to maintain its health. What is the best way to achieve thick and full hair? Whatever you put on the inside of you, will show on the outside. You need to keep your scalp and hair follicles clean to aid in hair growth. Your natural oils are also fantastic for stimulating hair growth, that’s why I recommend not to wash your hair too o en as you strip your hair of these natural oils. I’m a huge believer in hair masks. Once a week you should be doing a hair mask to keep the strength of your hair intact. You’ll have heard of the term “wear and tear” of the hair once it grows, because if something is not cared for properly as it grows it becomes weak and limp, resulting in breakage. Overall, you need to ensure you do regular hair masks, go for regular trims and don’t over-colour it. This is why my balayage is great, because it lasts so long without having to put chemicals on the ends. How does your scalp a ect your overall hair health? A lot of scalp issues come from intaking too much sugar and a bad diet. The weather also has a major e ect on the scalp and can cause your scalp to become very dry. Not rinsing your hair properly when washing it can also attribute to poor scalp health. Discussing your issues with your hairdresser can help and also seeking advice from a dermatologist on your scalp’s health can be very
IMAGES: SUPPLIED
beneficial, especially in identifying if you are using the right products for you. It’s also good to use a clarifying shampoo every once in a while because you can get build-up on both the scalp and hair from the products you use. How can you combat damaged from colouring? If you hair is damaged from colour, it can be really hard to rectify. A lot of people come to me wanting to correct their hair immediately in one appointment. However, it’s going to be a hair journey. What I advise people to do is get a regular trim and regular treatments which don’t rectify the issue, but will help stop your hair’s condition from worsening. But most of all, I encourage my clients to forget about the past and focus on getting back to where they want to be and the end goal of their hair. You have a global client base. How did you take your business global? I started working in Birmingham, UK, then I took my business to London. I then expanded to Kuwait, Dubai, Qatar, Bahrain, Los Angeles and now Saudi Arabia. It’s basically word of mouth. I don’t believe in any shortcuts to success. I worked hard, did my best for people, created beautiful work and the word spread. I also believe if you deliver great service, that is what leaves a lasting impression. I want people to get the highest standard that they paid for which, in turn, leads to referrals through word of mouth. In terms of your customer ratio, what is your Middle Eastern clientele? My clientele in the Middle East feels like one big family. I have so much appreciation for these women. They’re so smart, kind and beautiful. The appreciation I get from these women is just another level. Their kindness, the way they speak to me is just amazing. It’s a massive clientele for me and I’ve really missed them during the pandemic. It’s such a joy for me to get on a plane to see them, which is why I’ve been doing this for so long. I’ve been working in the Middle East for about eight years now. How would you say the market in this region for hair di ers from other areas of the globe? I just love the fact that people in the Middle East love to look a er their hair. They are happy to listen and go on this journey of achieving beautiful hair. Sometimes in other regions, people just want a quick fix or a style that’s just the fashion trend of the moment. What I love about the Middle East is the women here want to look e ortless, classic and timeless, which is what I’m passionate about when it comes to hair. What have been the hurdles you have experienced in your career? It’s been quite an easy road for me, because when you do what you love you know you’re on the right path. I know I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing in life. The only hurdles I’ve had is not being able to create something for someone that I want to because of their canvas and their hair state. So, someone coming from so far away expecting to have an image in mind from my Instagram, but me not being able to create it is hard. Even though I’m great at what I do, I need the right canvas to work from to be able to create what they want. Another hurdle is people trying to knock you down and speak badly about you from one bad experience, which results in me fearing that I could lose my business. And what are the milestones? There are definitely more milestones than hurdles – there’s a lot of them! One of them would be being sure about what I want to do and having a vision in mind for my clients to help them achieve the look they want. Another one would be self-awareness – being confident in knowing who I am, what I can do and what I can deliver. And also being confident and self-assured to be able to deal with any criticism that comes my way, but realising that that’s their opinion and not mine. What are your future plans for your business? The future plans I have include launching my own products, which I cannot wait for. As I’ve said on Instagram and here, I’m obsessed with hair masks and my own mask has been in process for about three years now, which can bring quality haircare right into your home. I’m hoping this will then lead to launching my own heat tools for home use and producing more tutorials to help people gain more knowledge about hair. This is 'The Wellness Issue' – what is your philosophy when it comes to wellness? We’re only here for a short time and I think wellness is such an important thing to bring to your life. Obviously, it encompasses your overall health and wellbeing. Wellness to me is to train your mind and yourself to grow from situations and to see good in others. The choices we make about what we put in, on and around bodies are deeply connected to our own wellbeing.
Track & Trace
Identifying which foods allow your body to operate at an optimal level is key to overall wellness
IMAGE: GETTY
WORDS: OLIVIA MORRIS
How did you get into the field of nutrition? When I moved into high school, I came across nutrition in science, since then, the topic le me completely fascinated. I studied nutrition and dietetics at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, Lebanon, but it’s not an easy process. It takes a few years of demanding classes and a 12-month internship in a hospital and passing a board exam to become a certified clinical dietitian. While it’s been a challenge and a lot of hard work, I’m grateful I chose a domain to work in that I’m truly passionate about. What drives the passion for your career? In the last 11 years of practising dietetics, the best gi that I can is hearing from my patients, “I no longer need my blood pressure medications”, “I can now fit into my jeans”, “you helped me to have a happy and healthy life” – this makes it a rewarding career path. I also love being a dietitian because I am learning every day. I learn things from my clients, other dietitians and other healthcare professionals. The job never gets old because the medical field is constantly changing. We are always learning new things about medicine, the human body and its relationship with food. I truly feel that twenty years from now I will still not be bored doing what I do. I’m always growing as a practitioner and perfecting the art of counselling people on nutrition. What is the di erence between a food intolerance and a food allergy? A food allergy is an autoimmune system response when the body mistakes a particular food as a harmful substance. For example, antibodies are released mounting a defence against the food in the body with a release of chemicals like histamine, causing the allergic reaction. A food intolerance is o en called a non-allergic food hypersensitivity, which doesn’t involve the immune system and is more common than a food allergy. Let’s refer to food intolerance as the body’s inability to break down and digest the food. Food intolerances are o en delayed in their response and trickier to be diagnosed. How can both a ect the body? Symptoms of an allergic reaction can manifest in a minor way as rashes, itching, hives, or swelling. In more severe cases people can have breathing di culties and can lose consciousness, meaning a food allergy can be fatal. While the impact on your body from a food intolerance can be described as nausea, stomach pain, gas, cramps or bloating, heartburn, diarrhoea and headaches. How common are food allergies and intolerances? Food allergies are present in three per cent of adults. The most common food allergies are nuts, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts and milk. A food intolerance is much more common, with around 30 per cent of the population su ering from food intolerances. The most common one is a lactose intolerance – around 65 per cent of the Mediterranean population have lactose intolerance. Other types of food intolerances include: fructose found in fruits; histamines substances created in the fermentation process in aged cheeses, processed meat, beer, wine, soy sauce; salicylate which is a type of salt; tartrazine, an artificial food colouring; and some additives such as benzoates, butythyroxynisol (BHA), sulphites and MSG monosodium glutamate. How can you go about diagnosing allergies? To make a diagnosis for a food allergy, your allergist will ask you a detailed history of your symptoms. Get ready to be questioned about the quantity of the food and the onset of the symptom. Accordingly, they will order a blood test or skin prick food allergy test to indicate where your IGEs antibodies are present in your body. IGEs are weapons that your body creates to fight the allergenic food. How can you test for food intolerances? For food intolerances, most of them are found through trials. Before heading to the hospital for a test, you are advised to keep a food diary to record what you’ve been eating and to identify the symptoms associated with a special ingredient. In the case of lactose, the diagnosis is made based on the breath test. Once a lactose intolerance or any food intolerance is diagnosed it is important to start avoiding this food for a specific time of period – It can vary between six to eight weeks. Some find that intolerances are reversible and can be dose-related, meaning that symptoms may occur only when huge quantities are consumed. As for the IgG Blood testing, the science has shown weak evidence; the presence of IgG is likely a normal response and a memory antibody of the immune system to exposure to food. Thus some people have shown improvement in their digestion a er restricting the food brought from an IgG blood test By identifying what a person is allergic or intolerant to, how can this a ect the overall wellbeing of an individual? Once a person is diagnosed with food allergy/intolerance and appropriate food restrictions were taken, you will start to notice a positive outcome on your general health in a wealth of di erent areas. This includes: a healthy digestion without abdominal distension, cramps and regulation in bowel movement; a better mental clarity and fewer headaches; glowing skin; normalised vitamins status in the body; higher energy levels; improvement in sleeping pattern; optimisation in the weight and empowered sense. What is your advice to those who believe they have food allergies or intolerances? If you’re curious to know more about the food allergies and sensitivities, don’t rush for a Google search – it will get you more than a million hits. Instead, seek the opinion of your medical team; they are the right one to advise you. During your restrictive phase always keep your routine appointments with your dietitian, as a simple restriction in dairy products for instance can lead to cal-
cium, B2 and Vit D deficiencies. Therefore your registered dietitian will help you with the correct food alternatives and can prescribe the needed supplements.
And finally, don’t always blame your food for being bloated or waking up with headaches, think of your general lifestyle habits. Bloating can be triggered by the fact that you’ve been stressed and eating too quickly before rushing to your busy day with back to back meetings. Or if you’ve woken up with a headache it could be due to spending most of your days in front of your screen. Further information at Mediclinic.ae
