The One Show's Alex Jones recently spoke to celebrity hairstylist Michael Douglas about his top tips for maintaining your hairstyle amid the coronavirus lockdown, but his answers caused debate among viewers. Not only has he worked on the BBC show for about 13 years, but he was also responsible for his partner Davina McCall's stunning hairstyles on the recent UK series of The Voice - so it comes as no surprise that many were eager to hear his advice.
Davina's intricate plaits and bouncy curls on The Voice were courtesy of Michael
Voicing the public's concerns over highlighted and coloured hair, Alex asked Michael whether people should be using at-home hair kits bought from supermarkets. While he said highlighted hair is tricky to maintain outside the hairdressers, he said they would work for coloured hair in general. "The stuff that you buy in the supermarket is exactly the same stuff that gets used in salons...it works exactly the same," he said.
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However, his response divided viewers, with some voicing concerns that DIY hair kits would further impact the hairdressing industry. "So us hairstylists train for years to know how to use these products correctly and at the worst time in all our careers you send all our customers for a box dye?" one Twitter user wrote, and others noted safety concerns in the absence of skin tests. "The safety aspect is scary especially with no patch test mentioned. Of course there is a difference with box kits and professional. The ammonia content is different in all colours including conditioning agents, not to mention the skill sets too," another said.
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After the backlash, Michael later took to Instagram to apologise and explain the situation. "I really didn’t mean to upset so many of you. My intention was just to help viewers and consumers," the caption read. Speaking of his "controversial statement" that hair dye kits are the same products used in salons, he said: "It wasn't an incorrect statement, but I probably should have clarified that what the hairdresser offers is the skill and expertise, application, colour choice, the ability to blend colours together." He continued: "I was making a point that it is safe to colour your own hair...perhaps in retrospect I would have phrased things differently." Meanwhile, many took to the comments section to defend him, including one who said: "You were very helpful I thought."
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