We’re sharing our Under the Dryer date with the fabulous ladies at Victoria Mutual Building Society and spilling the beans on their haircare secrets with us.

(Photos: Garfield Robinson)

Stress-Free Hair

Kessia Thompson – Customer Service Representative, Linstead

Kessia sports a chic bob, which she enjoys because it is easy to manage and suits her features. In fact, all she does is wrap her hair nightly, comb it down in the mornings and moisturise when necessary. Besides that, she uses the Optimum anti-dandruff line to care for her tresses and stays ‘stress free’ to avoid breakage. Her knowledgeable stylist Marcia Peterkin of Marcia’s helps her maintain the beauty and health of her tresses so she can have a sleek, professional, stylish look at all times… and she loves it!

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“Definitely my curling iron and my rake comb.”

A Braided Break

Kimberly Simms – Customer Service Receptionist, Ocho Rios

A blunt bob is usually her ‘never-fail’ style, but she recently decided to give her hair a break, for the ease of styling as well as for a new look. Her dependable hairstylists — Sidonie Simms and Camillia ‘Gaye’ Morgan — at His & Hers Beauty Salon in Port Maria take very good care of her hair, but she opted to try a new salon in the spirit of change. She made a visit to Jody’s Beauty Salon to get her hair braided for a few weeks, and she is “enjoying the ease of styling so far”. Her new haircare routine is quite simple: she spritzes African Pride Braid Spray over her tresses, works in a dollop of Affirm moisturiser and castor oil and ties it at nights.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“For now, I would say my braid spray, Affirm moisturiser and castor oil, but when I wear my hair as I usually do, my flat iron is a must. I also use the Dr Miracle anti-breakage formula and I try to take good care of my hair. No roller-setting or excessive heat styling.”

Scarlet Ringlets

Kadene McPherson – Group Marketing Department

Kadene’s hair is natural and she loves her “funky”, low-maintenance curls so much that she has been wearing the style since 2005, with the exception of a six-month period when she sported dreadlocks, she tells our team. She only changes the colour when she wants a new look. Her tresses are shampooed once weekly with TREsseme at Veronica’s One Stop Beauty Salon in Portmore, where her sister and hairstylist Monica McPherson gets the job done. Her haircare regime is rather stress-free, she says. She simply works in a generous amount of Isoplus Styling Gel after her shampooing, then applies Isoplus Hair Polisher to her hair in the mornings ahead of finger styling. She sometimes ties her hair with a silk wrap before bed.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“Styling gel and hair polisher — Isoplus products only — and my secret is keeping my hair moist at all times.”

Curly Radiance

Antoinette Henry – Software Solutions Developer

“I don’t have a hairstylist… I style my hair myself, in my backyard,” she declares, and our Under The Dryer team instantly wants to know more. Antoinette then tells us that she has been wearing her hair natural for the past two years, and proceeds to share even more with us. For starters, she shampoos on weekends, and is “not a sucker for any particular brand”, but she does avoid all products containing sodium, ammonium or laurel sulphate because they dry her hair out. After conditioning her hair, she separates it into sections and does a few twists while it is wet. “The number, size and style of the twists depend on the style that I’m going for, and that usually lasts for 3-4 days. After which I wear my hair in a ponytail until the week ends,” she tells us. That’s not all… she often visits curlynikki.com for natural hair styling and maintenance tips, and she has a few must-have products as well.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“My eco styler gel to hold the curls, shea butter for moisture, and I also use a little water to dampen my hair before styling to make it easier to manage.” Her advice? “Do what works best for you,” she states knowingly.

Number 1 Mane

Allison Morgan – Operations Officer

For many women with long, healthy hair the biggest flattery (albeit a pet peeve) is the “what number/brand of hair is that?” question, but with hair like Allison’s it is easy to see why she gets asked that a lot. She keeps her hair long and sleek with a hint of colour and curls at the ends for added pizzazz, but according to her, she owes it all to her stylist Tracy-ann Flemmings of Nairobi’s in Clocktower Plaza. She discovered the “haircare expert” over ten years ago and has never looked back since. Allison now visits the salon for a biweekly shampoo with TREssemme, and a relax and treat job every 7-8 weeks — Olive Oil Replenishing Deep-conditioning Treatment is used “for a nice, silky feel”. She loves her “functional” ‘do and ensures that she takes the best care of her tresses to maintain it. She also swears by Kantu or Pantene Relaxed and Natural leave-in conditioners and shea butter, which she works through her tresses once per week. She also wraps her hair nightly with a silk scarf.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“Definitely my silk scarf to retain moisture. I am a very holistic person, so I usually take Vitamin E supplements, multivitamins and fish oil. I drink alcohol on special occasions only, I rarely drink juice and I also avoid red meat.

Cascading Curls

Simone Johnson – Programme Management

Simone likes her hair healthy and beautiful, but she doesn’t like to fuss about it. In fact, when our team inquired about her hair care regime, she simply said “my stylist does everything, anything after that is left up to the grace of God.” Luckily for her, she discovered her capable stylist Judith Gordon-Geddes of Contours Beauty Salon over 10 years ago, and she has since been doing a wonderful job. Simone has her hair relaxed every 6-8 weeks, shampoos every two weeks and gets a deep-conditioning treatment a week before relaxing. She generally wears her hair in a ponytail, but for special occasions she gets her hair styled in cascading curls, which she adores.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“My blow-dryer, curling iron and Affirm 5-in-1 leave-in conditioner… as for the secrets, Judith has all of those.”

Easy Styling

Keisha Mascoll – Group Marketing Manager

As the VMBS Group Marketing Manager, effective time management is crucial for Keisha Mascoll. When she told our team in no uncertain terms: “I like easy, low-maintenance hair. I should be able to keep the curls for a few days until I get it styled again or just shampoo, mousse and go… I certainly don’t have the time for constant styling,” we understood perfectly. She gets hair trimmed quite often to ensure that it stays “low and easy to style”, relaxes every two months and visits her stylist Venice Allen of La Femme Jolie once weekly to have it shampooed and styled, after which she sticks to a simple routine. She keeps her hair dry, ties it at night to keep the curls in place then works in a dollop of Optimum hair polisher and mists with a bit of oil sheen before heading to work in the mornings.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“I’m not a big hair buff, so I always keep the back and sides of my hair low. I shampoo very often and I also use a soft-bristled brush so as not to ruffle the curls too much. And my big haircare secret is Motions Wrap Lotion, I love it! It’s my bad hair day miracle.”

Style Aesthetique

Janice McKenley – Senior Vice President and Group Chief Financial Officer

For many women, leaving a trusty hairstylist to try someone new is a rather difficult decision. Janice was faced with this decision who moved from her “foundation hairstylist”, whom she had been visiting since her high school graduation, to try Charmaine Harley of Spa Aesthetique. Two years later, she remains a devoted client, though she credits her former stylist for teaching her “all the basics about styling and haircare”. She visits her new stylist every three or four weeks for a deep-conditioning treatment and has her hair relaxed every 2-3 months. Otherwise she shampoos weekly at home, but for special occasions she goes in for a trim and style. She roller-sets or tucks her tresses under with hairpins nightly, ensuring that she ties it with a silk scarf, so that in the mornings she can just moisturise, comb and go.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“I’m not stuck on any particular product and I do not do any heat styling, except for when I go to the salon, so I always ensure that I have a good cut. And my secret is sleep… gotta have sleep for at least eight hours; all beauty regimes start there.”

Apple-Cranberry Chic

Titania Meredith – Business Development Officer

Titania likes to experiment with her hairstyles. In fact, her fellow co-workers were only all too happy to highlight this fact for our Under The Dryer team. For the past three years, her two expert stylists Nuvia Chin and Judith Ashmeade of Leechin Beauty Salon, downtown, Kingston have kept “fly” she says, and proceeds to tell us more. A friend of hers once directed her to the North Street establishment for “the baddest hairstyles”, and she has been hooked ever since. She visits her salon once monthly to rinse (colour) with a mixture of Cranberry Crush and Apple Red — her signature colour — and change her ‘do, but does everything else herself. She is currently sporting a sleek look that is fairly easy to maintain. She wraps it nightly, ties with a silk scarf and “treats on occasion”.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“Both of my hair rinses, my blow-dryer, flat-iron and Motions CPR Critical Protection and Repair deep-conditioning treatment for protection against breakage, which colour-treated hair needs, she tells our team.

Trendy Tresses

Vivienne Bayley-Hay – Vice President, Group Marketing & Corporate Affairs

Vivienne grew bored with her lengthy tresses earlier this year, so she opted for something a bit trendier to frame her face. Her main stylist – Joan Dennis of Hair Dimensions — decided on a blunt bob which she loves, but she also has another stylist — Peta-Gaye Gray of Mona Community Centre — who helps her to maintain it. While she admits to our team that she misses her long hair because she finds it more suited to her “active lifestyle”, she is enjoying the new look, and plans to keep it for a while. She visits either of her stylists once weekly for a shampoo and deep-conditioning treatment, and relaxes every three months. She also tells our team that she might allow her hair to grow out some more, though probably not as long as she first had it for the ease of styling and convenience.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“My blow-dryer, curling iron and flat iron, and I always use Optimum Thermal Treatment before I style my hair daily. I also use Herbal Essences products and treat with Motions CPR Critical Protection and Repair deep-conditioning treatment for protection against breakage due to the highlights in my hair.”

Naturally Versatile

Rejeanne Campbell – Assistant Manager, Public Relations & Corporate Affairs

Rejeanne was quick to tell our Under The Dryer team that she loves her “all natural hair” because it is very versatile, and though conservative with her looks, she is still able to “get creative with it”. She also enjoys the flexibility it affords her, but she mentioned a disadvantage – its tendency to “look fake” when styled. She treats it well too, no straightening or colouring to weaken the strands. She opts not to leave her hair ends exposed so as to avoid breakage, she tells our team. Her capable natural hair stylist Kim of Contours Beauty Salon keeps her happy because she knows her hair, helps her keep it healthy and is an expert at styling. Rejeanne visits the salon every 4-6 weeks for a shampoo and style job, and visits her bi-weekly between that period for a “style retouching”. She couldn’t ask for anything more, she tells our team.

Her must-haves and haircare secrets:

“My number one must-have is Kim; I have been going to her since I was a child. She takes good care of me; she understands my personality and incorporates this knowledge into whatever she does. My haircare secret is doing what makes me comfortable and tying my hair with a silk wrap on some nights to retain moisture.”

Shoot location:

Victoria Mutual Building Society, 73-75 Half-Way-Tree Road, Kingston 10.

Tel: 754-8627.

Make-up by: Krystle Karee

Tel: 422-1013, E-mail: krystlekaree@gmail.com