For lack of a better explanation, my hair got roasted last year. Though I’m fortunate to be friends with some of the best hairdressers in the world, a root touch-up at an unfamiliar yet expensive hairdresser before my best friend’s wedding basically boiled my hairline to pieces.
It wasn’t the end of the world (TGF Elasticizer) but I certainly didn’t want to damage or bleach the broken hairs further so headed to Vinokurov Studio London for a little bit of tress taming.
Dmitry Vinokurov, you see, is one of the industry’s most creative talents (a renowned hair stylist, Wella trendsetter, multiple award winner, et al) and his his first UK salon – newly opened in Chelsea – boasts a team of care-focused stylists that have all been individually trained by him.
My favourite of which, Mauricio Dorneles, created the healthy root-smudged beauty on show, above.
The studio is luxe yet cosy and flooded with natural light, meaning you feel at home almost instantly. Over coffee, Mauricio and I discussed my woes (breakage), goals (keeping as much blonde as possible), and options before finally deciding to smudge my roots with nutritious semi-permanent colour (healing, rather than contributing to, the breakage) and toning the existing bleach to keep my locks as bright as possible.
As far as hair rehab is concerned, I could not have been more ecstatic with the results (seen above and below) so decided to return to Vinokurov a week later and kick breakage’s ass with a keratin treatment.
This, despite all Mauricio’s talents, I was a little dubious about. Keratin treatments are often PR-ed under miracle status; they promise smooth, sleek, shiny, “wash and go” hair of dreams and my natural hair (quasi-curly and erratic waves) has never been any of those things.
Two hours of treatment followed by 24 hours of unwashed “downtime” later, however, I’m sold. I was on planes for most of the time you’re supposed to keep your hair stick-straight and unwashed (this lets the keratin work its magic) and when I finally got to a shower, finally transported to Florida’s heavy humidity, my hair dried naturally like never before.
With the trade-offs for glossy keratin hair flicks amassing to 1) a trip to the hairdressers and 2) strict use of sulphate-free shampoo, I can’t believe I didn’t do it earlier.
Long live root smudges, keratiin, Mauricio Dorneles, and Vinokurov Studio London.
