September always feels like the start of something, even long after school is over. New notebooks, new routines, a general sense that it's time to get our lives (and our hair) in order. So this month, we're heading Back to Hair School with a teacher who genuinely knows his subject: Ian Carmichael, hairdresser to the late Queen for 25 years and now part of the Trevor Sorbie team.
Ian has been behind the chair for longer than most of us have been washing our own hair. He has seen every trend come and go, styled through decades of changing weather, changing products and changing hair health. When we sat down with him, we expected polished soundbites. What we got instead was refreshingly honest and genuinely useful advice, starting with the one complaint he hears more than any other.
The Number One Thing Clients Complain About
"Dehydrated hair," Ian told us, without missing a beat. It is the issue he sees walk through the salon door more than anything else, and it rarely has one single cause. Shifting climates, central heating, hot tools, chlorine, colour treatments, even the water where you live can all quietly pull moisture out of your strands. Add in a few years of heat styling on top, and it is no wonder so many of us are dealing with hair that feels rough, brittle or just tired.
The good news, according to Ian, is that fixing it does not have to mean overhauling your entire routine overnight. Most of the damage happens gradually, through small everyday habits, which means the fix can be gradual too.
Why Hydration Actually Matters
Hair without enough moisture loses its elasticity, which is exactly why it snaps, frizzes and tangles so easily. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, hair that is repeatedly stripped of moisture through heat and friction becomes structurally weaker over time, and that damage does not reverse itself overnight. Think of hydrated hair less like a finished result and more like a savings account. Every gentle habit is a small deposit, and every rough towel-dry or blast of unprotected heat is a withdrawal.
Watch and learn more!
Paradisefold xx
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