Triona McCarthy: Serums for your scalp? It sounds like a fad, but great hair does start with treating your scalp like an extension of your face (2024)

While I was in NYC for Fashion Week, I was having a goo around Goop, Gwynnie’s beauty emporium, and was full of pride seeing Irish hair care brand Act+Acre, front and centre in the hair care aisle. I also spotted it in beauty mecca Sephora, so when a mutual friend, Colm Corrigan, invited me to meet the founder of the award-winning brand, I was in there like swimwear! Helen Reavey had just come from the Cos show where her team and Colm had done the hair.

Helen told me how she has always been passionate about clean haircare that works, and decided to create Act+Acre. The brand focuses on plant-based products that avoid the traditional heat-based production, which can lessen the potency of nutrients in seed oils. If thinning strands are taking their toll on your confidence, I’d recommend trying Act+Acre 3% Stem Cell Peptide Scalp Treatment (€122, zolobeauty.com). A pro-ageing, peptide-rich daily scalp treatment, it supports hair health from the root, for fuller and thicker-looking hair in just 12 weeks.

Another product that I find myself reaching for daily is Act+Acre’s Cold Processed Microbiome Cooling Scalp Serum (€70, zolobeauty.com), which supports the delicate scalp microbiome. I think I have menopause hair, so this lightweight daily leave-on serum offers instant cooling relief to dry-scalp itch and it strengthens the scalp’s natural ability to fend off irritation, itching and sensitive scalp conditions.

Another Irish female-owned brand making waves — I’m full of puns this week — is Sea+Solu created by Sinead Asple. Its Moisture Melt Hair Mask (€33.95, seaplussolu.com) is highly concentrated and provides long-lasting hydration while strengthening and repairing dry or damaged hair. There are also four boosters — Moisture, Anti-Frizz, Volume and Strength (€20) — that can accompany the mask to put back into your hair what it’s craving.

For dry and damaged hair, the Seoulista Beauty Glossy Locks Hair Mask (€12, seoulistabeauty.com) helps to protect and soothe both your scalp and hair from root to tip. Designed for dry and damaged hair, it has a concentrated fusion of antioxidants and hydrating hyaluronic acid to leave your hair feeling and looking softer and silkier.

It also has a drip-free formulation and leaves your hair healthier and more manageable with a glossy shine. It’s a great one for travelling, I find.

And did I mention that it’s also a female founder — Una McGurk — we have to thank for this hair-raiser.

Hair we go now!

Trick

A question I get asked a lot in my DMs is how to prevent lipstick “feathering” or “bleeding”, a challenge with mature skin due to tiny lines forming around the mouth area. To prevent lipstick from creeping, use a clear lip liner and slightly extend over your natural lip line. Try Maybelline’s fine-tipped New York Makeup Color Sensational Shaping Clear Lip Liner (€7.49, boots.ie).

Treat

I’m all about the amazing value to be had with Advent calendars and this year’s M&S offering is filled with beauty treats worth over €375! It contains 25 beauty gems, including 11 full-sized products and 14 travel-sized minis. As an added bonus, it comes in a velvet vanity case.

M&S Beauty Advent Calendar €60 when you spend €40 on clothing, home and beauty, marksandspencer.com/ie/

Treatment

The Seabody Elevate combo treatment at the gorgeous Easanna Wellness & Spa at Sheen Falls Lodge includes a back massage and facial that will have you floating out the door! The facial provides the skin with a booster concentration of marine bio-actives from Seabody. It is followed by a back, neck and shoulder massage that will ease tension and induce relaxation.

€160, sheenfallslodge.ie