Make it last

After colour or foils

• Leave it 48 hours before the first wash. Colour is still settling into the hair and an early wash takes some of it straight back out.
• Use a sulphate-free, colour-safe shampoo and conditioner. Supermarket shampoo strips colour faster than anything else you will do to it.
• Rinse with cool water rather than hot, and keep heat tools off soaking-wet hair.
• Chlorine and salt water lift and dull colour. Wet the hair with clean water and put a conditioner through it before you swim.
• Blondes and lightened ends hold their tone for around six to eight weeks. A toner between colours is cheaper than a correction.

After a smoothing treatment

• Keep hair down, dry and loose for 72 hours. No ponytails, clips, hats or tucking it behind your ears. A kink set now stays set.
• No washing, rain, pools, steam rooms or heavy sweat during those three days.
• After that, wash with a sulphate-free shampoo. Sulphates shorten the result by months.
• Looked after, the result holds for several months. It softens gradually rather than stopping all at once.

After a perm

• Do not wash it for 48 hours, and do not tie it up while the curl is setting.
• Scrunch a curl cream or leave-in through damp hair. Brushing dry curls turns them to frizz, so use your fingers or a wide-tooth comb in the shower.
• Air dry, or use a diffuser on low heat.
• A deep conditioning treatment once a week keeps the curl soft rather than dry.

After a cut or blow-dry

• Heat protectant before irons or a dryer, every time. It is the difference between ends that last and ends that need cutting off.
• A silk or satin pillowcase keeps a blow-dry in for an extra day or two.
• Dry shampoo at the roots stretches a style out between washes.
• Most cuts hold their shape for six to eight weeks. A fade is sharp for two to three.

After a beard trim or skin fade

• A skin fade can leave the scalp a little sensitive. Leave it alone for the rest of the day and skip the gym cap.
• Beard oil daily keeps the beard soft and the skin underneath from flaking.
• Come back every two to three weeks to keep a fade and a line-up looking the way they did on day one.

After threading

• Some redness for a few hours is normal. Leave the area alone and let it settle.
• No makeup, fake tan, saunas, swimming or hot showers on the area for 24 hours.
• Avoid direct sun, and skip acids and retinol on the area for two days.
• Do not pick or scrub. If the skin feels tight, a plain unscented moisturiser is enough.

Before you come in

• Come with dry hair rather than freshly washed, and go easy on product.
• Bring a photo if you have a look in mind. It saves a lot of guessing.
• New to colour with us? Come in 48 hours before for a quick patch test. It takes a couple of minutes.
• Tell us about allergies, sensitivities, recent colour or chemical work and anything you take that affects your skin or scalp when you book, not on the day.
• Allow half a day for a smoothing treatment, and a good two hours for a full head of foils.

This is general aftercare guidance, not medical advice. If your scalp or the skin around your hairline becomes painful, itchy or does not settle, stop using products on the area and speak to your doctor or pharmacist.