Alice's Top Hair Tips

We meet the lovely stylist Alice Francis at Morgan and Morgan in Takapuna and find out her insider secrets on how to keep your hair in top condition and - unusually for a hairdresser- what you can do to avoid frequent expensive haircuts....

My no.1 concern is CONDITION. It is simply the most important thing. Look at those hair posters and magazine ads- what they are selling, irrespective of the product advertised, is condition.

Depending on the client's financial concerns about how often they want to come to the salon, with long hair it's not imperative to have a haircut every two weeks. You can put the money instead into good products. Save on colours by having a lower-maintence colour by choosing one that's more natural for you. Gone are the days when a colour meant a half-head of foils on the crown of the head.

It's always important to comb through product or you can end up with one bit of good hair - next to a bit of not so good hair! I use Schwarzkopf Loopy and OSIS Magic Gloss to preserve the curl as it repels humidity and nourishes hair.

Frizzy hair is pure and simply dehydrated hair. You need to add moisture; I recommend Pureology Shinemax to rehydrate hair and thus eliminate frizz.

I like to cut square layers first in hair, and then point cut them, so there's no harsh lines.

Below: Alice point-cutting my hair after a colour.