You know how we always ask how often we should really wash our hair, which hair dye to use, what extension is safest for the hair and whether we should dry our hair first or brush it? The awesome Kimi, co-founder of Toi Beauty Salon, answers all of our most asked hair care questions, including a list of his favorite products, his tips on how to straighten hair with the least damage and all the hair treatments explained.

Q: What are the basic differences between keratin, collagen and the other treatments and who is each for?

A: There are four types of treatments; protein, Botox, keratin and collagen. Collagen treats and doesn’t straighten. Botox straightens more but is a more concentrated treatment. Keratin is more for straightening than treatment. Botox makes hair completely strait but also treats it.

Collagen or Botox are best for treatment if you’re looking for treatment mainly. If your hair isn’t frizzy at all and just want treatment then go for collagen; it seals the cuticles and treats so it’s easier to manage, makes the hair softer and shinier.

Q: How long does the effect of these treatments last?

A: They last two to three months maximum, depending on how many times you wash your hair. If you wash it twice a week it can stay up to four weeks.

Q: Many treatments go wrong, what does it depend on?

A: The hairdresser needs to analyze the hair and what it needs. If I have a client coming in telling me they want keratin and I think collagen will work better I have to tell her. Some hair can’t handle any sort of treatment at all because it would be too damaged or weak. Even treatments don’t work with excessively damaged hair; it might fall. In that case she’s better off applying hair masks.

Q: How often do you recommend washing hair?

A: Maximum twice a week. If you’re going out Thursday, Friday and Saturday, then wash it Sunday because it would have gotten dirty with the smoke and so on. Then wash it again Thursday before going out and that’s enough. You can’t wash it every day; even simply water can damage your hair. The oil your hair produces nourishes it so the hair needs it; if you wash it too often you don’t allow it to get the benefits from its natural oils.

Q: What extensions you recommend for least damage?

A: Hair Talk stickers. They stick to your hair, you sleep with it and it doesn’t cause any hair fall; they’re permanent and you live with it but need touch-ups every two months at the hairdresser, as your hair grows longer. This doesn’t cause damage or hair fall. Clip-on extensions can cause hair fall, especially if you use them often.

Q: What hair dye do you recommend for both professional and at home dyes?

A: We use four kinds: L’Oreal Professional, L’Oreal Majirel (which has ammonia) and Diacolor and INOA are both ammonia free. We work with Inoa a lot and it’s 100 percent ammonia free.

Some colors don’t stick without ammonia, however. Ammonia was an issue in the past but now it’s changed; L’Oreal is an internationally renowned brand and ammonia isn’t always harmful and it’s not the evil thing that always damages hair. The notion that just because it has ammonia it’s bad for you is not right. Ammonia opens up the hair follicle so the dye can penetrate. So if it’s a bad dye and has a lot of ammonia it would damage your hair, but something like L’Oreal, a decent dye, has small percentages of ammonia.

We also use Schwarzkopf, which is renowned, and we have the normal one, the Igora, as well as Vibrance, which is ammonia free.

Q: Which hair colors need ammonia to stick? 

A: If you want to lighten the hair a lot, not bleach it, but from black to dark or ash brown, for instance, you have to use ammonia. But to darken the hair shade you can use ammonia-free dyes. And you can still use ammonia-free if you’re only going one or two shades lighter.

Q: So when do you tell a client no about a hair color?

A: If the client’s hair can’t handle it, I will not do it. If a client has black hair and wants to go blonde I can’t let her do that because it will really damage her hair. If her hair is damaged and she wants highlights I can’t do it as well. Or if she wants a hair shade that will not stick to her natural hair pigment or yield the color she wants I will not do it as well.

Q: Do you recommend brushing when the hair is wet or dry?

A: If your hair is totally wet and you brush it, it will need more heat and prolonged periods so it will cause more damage to the hair than if it is dry. If it’s dry you can stroke it a couple of times, but if it’s wet you will apply direct heat to it much more.

Q: Do you recommend straightening when wet or without brushing first?

A: You have to dry it, brush it and then straighten it. Only very few people have really healthy hair that requires no brushing, but most people have at least some split ends. When you brush your hair it closes the follicles a bit so you can straighten it without damaging it much but if you don’t brush and straighten right away it will worsen any split ends.

Q: What’s worse for the hair; hair dryer or flat irons?

A: There’s a common misconception that straighteners are less harmful to the hair than brushing with the dryer, which is completely wrong. When you use the dryer you’re only applying hot air so it will not burn your hair. But flat irons are scolding hot ceramics that you apply on your hair directly so it will burn the hair far more. Flat irons are a 100 times worse for your hair than dryers because dryers don’t apply direct heat to the hair.

Q: How often do you recommend getting your hair done? 

A: Twice a week.

Q: What flat iron do you use?

A: We use CHI and it’s the best.

Q: What products do you recommend for volume?

A: TIGI is very good and L’Oreal is very good as well for root lift-ups. Kerastase for roots is also really good.

Q: What products do you recommend for styling?

A: L’Oreal Elnett.

Q: What products do you recommend for styling really short hair? 

A: L’Oreal wax, which is a fiber wax so allows your hair to breathe.

Q: What products do you recommend for frizz?

Foxy Curl leave-in from TIGI is good for curly hair. Any L’Oreal serum or leave-in conditioner is also good to tame frizz.

Q: What anti-heat products do you recommend?

A: Kerastase anti-heat products are really good. Ciment Thermique is good for before brushing and Fibre Architecte is good for split-ends and before flat ironing.

Q: How often should you trim your hair?

A: Every two months.

Q: Can you trim your own hair?

A: No, it’s wrong. You should trim it at a hairdresser because your hair breathes from its ends so it needs to be cut properly so it can grow and prevent split ends.

Q: What is the difference between Balayage, dip-dye and Ombre?

A: There are two kinds of dip-dyes: Ombre and dip-dye; Ombre has some strands with the same color as the ends while dip-dye is the ends of the hair having a totally different color. Balayage is a coloring to a whole, wide strand plus the ends of the hair.

Q: Which is more fashionable; Balayage, dip-dye or Ombre? 

A: Balayage; dip-dye is now old-fashioned.

Q: And what are the hair trends for 2015? 

A: Shoulder-length hair.

Q: Can bangs help prevent hair fall in the front of the scalp?

A: Yes, it can.

Q: Which treatment do you recommend for hair fall?

A: Kerastase has a revolutionary treatment; Densifique. It is the only product that actually grows new hairs as well as prevents hair fall. It is very effective but you should know that you should wait for six months to see results of any treatment. It takes months and years for your hair to fall, you shouldn’t expect less from a treatment. The first three months your hair stops falling but for the hair to grow and you see a difference it takes six months at least.

Q: Summer is coming and it’s a hair’s enemy; what treatments do you recommend to prevent damage from the sun?

A: You should take preventive measures and nourish your hair before it’s damaged and needs to be fixed. You can’t live without food and water and your hair can’t live without treatment.

You need to treat your hair at least once a week and not wait until your hair is damaged.

You should use sunscreen before going out in the sun and apply it daily; I recommend Kerastase sun block.