If you think coloured clay is strictly the domain of children and the artistic, think again. French hairdressing salon Jacques Dessange has been anointing the heads of its well-heeled customers with five coloured clays for months and has just introduced the new Blue Lagoon variety to its range.
Enriched with all kinds of marine elements and essential oils, including lavender, lemon and horse chestnut, the Blue Lagoon clay is touted as a great summer treatment for the scalp, which can become itchy in hot weather when you sweat more. It can also be used on the face and body to purify and refresh the skin.
If you decide to go for the head treatment, as I did, the salon recommends you don't shampoo your hair for two days prior to the treatment so it can analyse your scalp in its natural state. Artistic team stylist Olivier had the dubious job of peering through my rather lank mop and pronounced that, although my scalp was slightly oily, it wasn't in bad shape.
The clay, which is pale blue and the consistency of liquid mud, works on the premise that to really improve hair quality you should address the roots rather than concentrate on the hair itself, which is already dead. It provides the roots with all the nutrients required for healthy growth and balances the scalp's protective acidity, which might have been altered by shampoos and conditioners. It also removes any impurities on the scalp caused by pollution.
Starting at the front of my head, Olivier parted my hair in the centre and brushed some of the blue gloop, which smelled wonderful, on to my scalp. (The clay is applied to dry hair, because washing it before and after the treatment would dry out the scalp, defeating the whole object of the exercise.) He then worked down towards my ears, sectioning my hair and painting on the clay much as you might get your roots touched up with dye. He repeated the process from the crown of my head downwards before giving me a fantastic head massage to rub in the clay and stimulate blood flow to the scalp. At this point, I was completely relaxed and my head felt cool and slightly tingly.
The Blue Lagoon clay isn't a hair treatment, and Olivier felt I would benefit from some palm-oil cream on the dry ends to smooth and condition them. He brushed on the oily substance in sections until my hair was covered in it and then left me to sit there for about 15 minutes - looking like Cruella De Vil on a bad-hair day surrounded by coiffed belles.