Chris Appleton has left the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor, and while that’s a tragedy for fans of his ripped cha-cha abs, it’s excellent news for the roster of celebrities who rely on his hairdressing expertise. From Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner to Jennifer Lopez and Martha Stewart, Chris has the magic touch when it comes to coaxing volume and shine into mature hair.
I had the pleasure of a one-to-one masterclass with Chris recently, so naturally my first question was, ‘Why is my hair so much harder to style after 50?’ Followed immediately by ‘How can I make it look better, and stay half-decent all day?’ It all feels like hard work: dyeing my grey regrowth every three weeks and a daily battle with frizzy, flyaway texture and flopping styles.
It’s a struggle I’m not alone with, either, since Chris tells me it’s something he sees and hears regularly in his day job. ‘I feel like women notice new changes every decade from their 30s onwards, whether it’s the colour going greyer, the texture changing or a loss of hair density’ he says. ‘They’re all things that just happen with ageing.’
While many of Chris’s celebrities (of all ages) love using fake hair to change their volume and texture, he concedes that’s not realistic for most of us every day, but adds it’s not remotely necessary, either.
‘For me, the aim is always to get the best out of the hair that you’ve got. Not everyone wants to have a million extensions, or wear wigs and hairpieces,’ he says.
So what are his pro secrets to whipping grey, mature hair into shape? And what are the mistakes to avoid? Here’s what I gleaned in our masterclass over at Shark Beauty HQ, where he’s the brand’s celebrity hair ambassador.
Rule 1: Get real about greys
Chris tells me it’s important for women like me to acknowledge the fact we’re grey, not hide from it. This doesn’t mean giving up on dye, but just adapting your styling to reflect what the colour is hiding.
‘We colour it and disguise it, but ultimately it’s still grey hair underneath,’ Chris says. ‘So generally, the hair texture is not as good as before; it’s slightly frizzier or slightly wavier than it was originally. You need to remember that with your styling. Using the right tools plays a big part in that.’
Rule 2: Smooth out root frizz
One of the biggest barriers to ageless, polished grey hair is its tendency to accumulate a scruffy-looking frizz halo. Hence, one of Chris’s top tips for grey hair is to use a styler with an attachment that deals with frizz and flyaways, minus heat damage.
‘What I love about the Shark FlexStyle IonCurl is that it’s multifaceted,’ he says, giving me a run-through of the new go-to in his kit. ‘It has a volumising brush if you just want to get a bouncy blowout, which is great for everything from bobs or longer hair. There’s the self-wrapping coanda airflow attachment if you want to create bouncy curls without heat damage. And what’s really nice is the finishing tool, which takes away frizz when you run over the hair to give a smooth finish.’
‘That’s great on older hair, because it smooths away that rough texture you see as you age. It makes it silky without having to use straighteners on frizz.’
Shark FlexStyle IonCurl Air Styler & Hair Dryer, 5-in-1
The best thing, for Chris, is how this approach protects his clients’ condition. ‘When you’re using a curling wand or irons, you can fry the hair,’ he says. For delicate grey hair, he likens it to ‘having a silk shirt and using an iron on the cotton setting’.
Keeping hair in great shape is something his clients are understandably very invested in. ‘I’m not allowed to name names but I can say the IonCurl is a staple in my kit,’ he says. ‘I’m using it because it’s not causing damage, whatever hair I’m doing. Hair is only ever going to look as good as the condition of it. You want to make it look better instantly by styling, but you don't want to be ruining it long-term while you're doing that.’
Rule 3: Don’t skip the one vital step for styling grey hair
I’m all for preserving my hair condition, but I do find zero-damage coanda curlers often lack the surefire, seared-in shape I get from regular hot tools. Especially now my hair is more than 50% grey underneath. The secret, says Chris, is down to protection, prep and the one final step he sees women miss out most with coanda curling. HUGE mistake.
He advises prepping hair with a product that protects and holds shape in one. ‘A lot of people struggle to get their curls to last,’ he says. ‘I always use ColorWow Style On Steroids texturising spray on each curl section. It has heat protection, which is really important when you’re doing any heat styling. But second, it just gives the hair a little bit of hold, which makes the curls last longer. When I’ve done that, I’ll just let the IonCurl do all the work.’
It gives a lovely plump, bouncy curl on my undercover greys (‘very Kate Middleton’, as Chris puts it), but is it going to drop by lunchtime? Honestly, no, Chris assures me. Firstly, there’s a stronger coanda flow to fix curls, but secondly, he’s following the one key rule: don’t stop too soon.
Yes, you do need your hair to be very slightly damp (from a styling product and/or water) when using a coanda airflow styler so hair reshapes and sets as it dries. However, many women forget that vital word: dry. ‘You really do need hair to be fully dry for a curl to hold,’ says Chris. ‘People stop before their hair is properly dry, and wonder why it drops.’
Using smaller sections, keeping each section wrapped for 10-15 seconds each time, and using the cool shot to lock in shape will make all the difference, says Chris. For extra longevity, he likes to pin each freshly-curled section in place with a small clip while moving on to the next section.
Of course, it helps that he’s a pro, but I can definitely say that my shape held up all day. Perhaps a little more patience is the one cha-cha-change my grey hair needs...
