Pro Interview Series: Thicker, healthier hair with William Hunt

Will & I decided to co-ordinate outfits

Ahh, salon blow dry. You elusive, volumising treat you. There's nothing quite like that feeling when you walk out of the salon, your hair bouncing behind you...thicker, fuller, healthier looking hair. But how can we fake it on a normal day? And is it even worth the bother?

The Pros Know
To launch my Pro Interview Series I decided to interview the gorgeous and super talented William Hunt. Will is a professional stylist at Gielly Green in Marylebone as well as a regular session stylist on the fashion circuit. He is tall, utterly gorgeous and sometimes models (although he'd never admit it).

A personal hair story
I met Will early last year when I began noticing my hair had started to fall out. (In fact, by November of last year I'd lost about 50% of my hair :( I know now what caused it...not eating enough, anxiety and the break down of a long term relationship, but at the time it really shook me. You think your hair, like your teeth, are infallible. Never take them for granted. Our bodies our so precious).

Will was great and gave me a number of suggestions to help minimise further hair loss including not towel drying hair when it's wet (wet hair breaks more easily), taking kelp supplements and opting for a thickening shampoo.

Will and I have since worked together as a hair and makeup team for clients including Rigby and Peller and Kurt Geiger, as a number of private bridal clients. He is always a dream to work with and is a genius when it comes to blow drying (seriously, don't take my word for it. GO.)

I wanted to ask Will what products he recommends for thin hair like mine and to get his opinion on a few common hair care questions. Here's what he had to say....

Will's been raving to me about this dry shampoo

1. Is it better for the health of my hair to use dry shampoo every second or third day or to wash it every two days?

Will recommends washing hair three times a week if you're able to stretch to a third day sans wash (I personally struggle on the third day and inevitably resort to washing my hair every 48 hours but I can see why eeking it out to 3 days would be a good thing).

He says it's absolutely fine to use dry shampoo every couple of days. Phew. Has anyone tried Ruth Crilly's new range Colab? I'm dying to try but there were no testers in Boots the other day so I couldn't smell the different options (surely a key factor when purchasing dry shampoo?).

Whilst we're on the subject of dry shampoos I adore the dust* product Will recommended to me a month or two ago:  L'Oréal's Super Dust (£11.45 from feelunique.com). When my hair starts to feel a bit flat I simply puff some of this straight from the hole in the top of the product (directly into the roots) and rub it in. It gives fantastic volume to thin hair and the closet to 'bed hair' I can get.

* 'dust' products such as the L'Oréal one above and the cult Schwarzkopf OSIS Dust It (£12.95) are more like intense mattifiers. They don't necessarily feel that great when you rub them in but they add bulk at the root giving the appearance of thicker hair. Will says to be careful not to brush your hair when wearing a dust product as it can cause breakage.

Nectar for dry/thick hair, Keratine for curly hair and Ciment for thin hair

2. Is it better to use a heat protecting cream or spray?

Will is a fan of the Thermique range by luxe hair brand Kérastase (see above) and says creams will protect hair better than a spray (you can comb a cream through whereas a spray will be a bit more hit'n'miss in its application). Apply your protector cream before your other styling products. A little goes a long way. Be careful not to overload the hair.

3. Do hair supplements really work?
Will reckons they do (he specifically mentioned kelp tablets) but said it's pointless taking supplements unless you're going to compliment them with a healthy diet. I speak from personal experience when I say that eating properly can really help thinning hair. The moment I started putting weight back on my hair stopped falling out.

The volumising spray Will applied to my mids to ends.

Mousses really do help! Apply mids to ends and comb through.

The matte smoothing cream Will applied to finish the look

Will used a total of four products in my hair when he blow dried it:
- Kérastase Ciment Thermique (heat protecting cream for thin hair)
- Unite Boosta Spray (£16.60, to aid root lift)
- Unite Expanda Volume (£16.60, mousse. Will said John Frieda's Luxurious Volume £5.89 is a great alternative, see photo below).
- Unite Second Day Finishing Cream (£15.50)

After smoothing on the heat protecting cream and combing it through he then applied the root lift spray directly to the roots by lifting my hair section by section. After a 2-3 minute blast with the hair dryer (randomly all over), blowing the hair upwards to encourage root lift he then proceed with the traditional barrel brush blow dry.

Is it worth the effort?
Earlier this year I opted for a short bob which I love and keep going back to. Blunt bobs suit thinner hair as they give the appearance of thickness. I can leave my hair to dry naturally but love the volume a quick blow dry with a barrel brush gives. I taught myself how to do it (I'm right handed but prefer to hold the hair dryer in my left hand and the brush in my right so I can twist it around).

Here's how I do it (takes me 10 mins max):
I begin by roughly blow dry my hair until it's 50% dry. I then separate my hair into two halves (top and bottom) twisting the top half and securing it with a grip. I barrel blow dry the lower half, section by section and then once this is dry and curling out and under I move onto the top section. I finish by blasting my hair with cold air (this adds shine).

Moroccan Oil large ceramic barrel brush, 55m (£17 approx)

Follow Will:
@WilliamHuntHair (Twitter)
@williamhunthair (Instagram)

Book an appointment with Will:
Gielly Green

020 7034 3060

Unite Products:
I hadn't heard of Unite before I met Will and am increasingly intrigued by his love of their products. In writing this post I've found it tricky to find UK stockists who currently stock the range so I'll be contacting the Unite team in the next few days to confirm where to purchase their products here in London.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Do you have a specific hair routine and what are your go to styling products?