How you can use household items like ketchup and lemon juice to keep your hair looking good in lockdown

Over the years, Neville Ramsay, from Sunderland, has styled the hair of top models including Jodie Kidd and musicians such as Sting, as well as editor-in-chief of American Vogue Anna Wintour.

As well as celebrity clients, he’s built up a strong client base in the North East and after salons were closed in line with Government restrictions to limit the spread of Covid-19, he says he’s been inundated with calls from people concerned about how to keep on top of their hair care during lockdown.

Neville, who works freelance, said: “I’ve had so many calls from clients who have dyed hair and styles that require monthly or six-weekly trips to the salon.

“My professional advice is to stay away from box colours in supermarkets. It sounds blunt, but salons have shade charts with 60, 70, 80 colours from different brands. There’s a real professional element to mixing a colour and tailoring it and you just won’t get that from a box permanent dye.

“So I’m telling people to embrace their roots for now, because a colour correction to fix a box dye will cost them more money and will require their hair to be stripped.”

While he encourages people to let their roots grow, Neville says there are things they can buy from supermarkets as part of their essentials shop which can temporarily improve the appearance of roots.

“Colour root sprays are available at supermarkets and they’re actually a good temporary fix and will help disguise the root. Semi-permanent dyes can also be used as a colour refresh,” he said.

For those who need to lighten roots, he advises using lemon juice on the area and then gently heating with a hairdryer.

“You’ve got to be careful not to burn the hair,” he explained. “But if you squeeze lemon juice on to the roots three/four times a week it will help to camouflage the root slightly.”

Neville explains how household item ketchup can also be used as a makeshift colour corrector.

People who usually have regular bleach treatments with a toner may start to notice their hair turning a greener shade in lockdown.

Neville said: “As the toner wears off, the hair becomes more porous and it will start to absorb chemicals and pollution in the air which can lead to it going green. Red cancels out the green and ketchup is a good way of correcting it when you can’t go to the hairdresser – just leave it on for five minutes and wash off.”

For men, he says clippers are fine to use in lockdown, but to start with the highest number guard and work down.

“Use the thickest blade then work down, don’t start with the shortest,” he says. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. Try to leave the top and just do the sides if you can.

“If you need to trim your hair then just follow the line the hairdresser does and just do small bits.”

Neville says the break from daily styling and heating is also a chance for people to look after their hair.

“If your hair gets greasy, leave it,” he says. “It’s a great natural conditioner. For an intense conditioning treatment use avocado and smash it up with olive oil. It’s what they do in the Mediterranean and it’s an incredible treatment for your hair.”

Neville is offering to answer people’s lockdown hair care queries for free. You can email him at [email protected]

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