No one wants to mess with a lot of primp on vacation, especially when it comes to hair. Keeping your tresses looking perfect and styled is a lot of work. Chances are you’ll be jumping in the ocean, dealing with lots of humidity, or exposing strands to plenty of sunshine. If you’re lucky, you may get to experience all three. Hello Tropical Paradise!
A hassle free hair vacation is easy. Just follow these tips to keep your routine simple and fresh.
Go with your natural texture – No matter how hard you try, you will never be able to beat high humidity and frizz. But you can ease the pain by accepting your hair’s natural texture and working with it, instead of against it. Whatever your natural texture (straight, wavy, curly) rock it with confidence. Test out a new style or look you’ve been wanting to try. Get creative and let your hair be itself. You never know what awesome hairstyle you’ll discover.
Stop wasting precious vacation time and let your hair go natural. Embrace your tresses and be confident. Straight, curly, wavy, thick, thin... it's all beautiful!
Pack Smart – Going to a tropical place with lots of humidity? Heading to the desert where sun is harsh and the air is dry? Know the climate you’re traveling to and bring the right hair products. If you battle frizz, opt for a smoothing serum or cream to manage the flyaways on super humid days. If your hair is zapped of bounce and moisture, then rehydrate it with a leave-in conditioner. Worried that salt water or pool chemicals may damage tresses? Try shampooing with a gentle sulfate-free shampoo in order to cleanse locks without adding to the damage.
Make your vaca hassle free by packing the right products for your destination. Opt for a gentle shampoo, extra conditioner, and a leave-in cream or serum to fight frizz and hydrate. Also... don't forget UV protection for head and scalp.
Sunscreen isn’t just for skin – Most of us forget our scalp and hair when applying sunscreen. Forgetting to protect your head can be dangerous, especially for individuals with thin or fine hair. Unfortunately, our hair often conceals skin cancer or unusual moles that could potentially be cancerous later on. Even if you have thick hair, your tresses can still be damaged by the UV rays. Pack SPF for hair to protect your tresses from damage and keep your scalp safe.
SPF isn't just for the body. Pack a sunscreen for hair and scalp to protect from the sun's harmful (albeit delightful) rays.
Use Accessories – Sometimes hair just won’t behave, so opt for some fun accessories to get it under control. Headbands, hats, scarves, and clips are all great options for taming your tresses when nothing else will work. Sport a cute hat with a side ponytail or rock a top knot with a headband. Adding new accessories can spice up your normal hair regime and can be a nice way to accent your vaca wardrobe.
Try new hair accessories to accentuate your hair's natural texture or opt for hair accessories that keep your tresses under control. Headbands, my personal vacation favorite, are great for keeping unruly strands out of your face.
What tricks are you using on vacation to keep your hair gorgeous?? Lets us know at SalonPulseFacebook or Twitter.
Sections of long bangs that hang below the eyebrow give Jennifer Lawrence a sultry edge. Ask for pieces of long bangs that don't fully cover your forehead.
These shaggy fringe bangs are ideal for gals with more texture or waves in their hair, or for gals who don't want to mess with daily styling. Just let them air dry and go.
Rose Byrne wears vintage bangs. They are full, cover the entire forehead, and are layered downward at an angle meeting the sides of hair. Good for adding dimension and the appearance of volume to your tresses.
Side-swept bangs are a great option for having bangs without that classic "bangs look". Part your hair how you normally wear it, and have your stylist cut downward at an angle to give you the desired length and thickness of bangs. Don't forget to cut a few hairs on the other side to even it out.
Our favorite bangs-wearing gal, Zoey Deschanel, sports the classic bang look. Not too full, not too thin, not too vintage or too angled. Just bangs. Just right. Keep your bangs girly by adding feminine hair accessories like bows and headbands.
Oh TSwizzle. Changing boyfriends and hairdo's like it's her job. Taylor's new bangs are full and not tapered on the sides. They cover the entire forehead and are what I like to call "jumbo bangs".
Prom is just around the corner, and it’s time to start thinking about your hair. Don’t wait until the last minute to decided how to style your tresses. When thinking of hairstyle, consider your dress, face shape, and the overall look you’re going for (i.e. bohemian vs. classic).
Pro Tip: show an image of the hairstyle you want to your stylist. It will give your stylist more direction and a clear visual of what you’re hoping to achieve.
A classic updo for your big night. Will compliment most dresses and face shapes. Elegant and out of the way on the dance floor.
Add a little pizazz to your bun by opting for this criss-cross style. Best for blondes, as darker hair might not show the detail.
Add a braid to your updo for a bohemian touch. Going boho keeps your look flirty and casual, while still elegant.
This updo is great for gals with short hair. Don't miss out on the hair fun just because you have pixie-cut tresses.
This glamorous low-updo will keep you looking beautiful all night long. The low-styled hair is a modern take on the classic updo, while tresses still display volume and movement.
If you're most concerned with accentuating the back of your dress, opt for a high octane updo with lots of detail.
A side updo is always a nice choice, and is flattering for one-shoulder dresses or dresses with lots of detail.
Going strapless at prom? Want your hair to be elegant but still down? Try the half-up, half-down look for a polished finish that's feminine and timeless.
If you want that effortless sexy look, opt for loose waves and side part. It's a great hairstyle that can be worn with many different types of dresses.
Luscious, healthy hair is something most gals have to work at. Even Victoria’s Secret models don’t wake up looking like hair goddesses… well except for Gisele. I don’t think she’s even human.
For the rest of us mortals, achieving glamorous locks takes work and a little TLC. I’m always harping on the importance of using a weekly deep conditioner to keep strands nourished, but it’s time to update my facts.
Get ready for this bomb to drop… there are TWO types of necessary conditioning that your hair craves. Not one, but two: Moisture and Protein.
Balance is needed for healthy hair. Protein and moisture are equally important.
Moisture and protein work together, utilizing each other to be effective. Too much or too little of either one can disrupt the balance of hair. One hair expert, Brenda Barrett, put it wisely by saying, “Consider your hair to be a garden and the hair strand a plant. Moisture would be the water and protein the dirt.” If there is too much dirt, the plant can’t grow. Same as if there is too much water.
The trick is to achieve the right balance within your hair. Too much moisture will make your hair limp and weak in appearance. Too much protein will make your hair hard like a brillow pad and unmanageable.
How to tell what your hair needs: when brushing your hair (wet or dry) take notice on how the strands are breaking and stretching. If you hair hardly stretches or just breaks off right away like a dried twig, then you need moisture. If your hair stretches far like an elastic band and then breaks, you need protein to rebuild the structure of the hair. If your hair stretches like an elastic band, but doesn’t really break, then you only need mild protein.
There are lots of conditioners that either add moisture or protein. Protein conditioners will say things like “restructure” or “restorative hair treatment” whereas moisture conditioners might say things like “rejuvenate” or “nourish” or “adds moisture”. You can check out my homemade DIY recipe for a protein treatment here.
Moisture conditioning can be done about once weekly depending on your hair’s needs, whereas protein conditioning should be kept to every two weeks since it is much easier to overdo protein than moisture.
Side note, if you do a major protein treatment, make sure to follow up with a moisture conditioner to prevent the hair strands from becoming overly stiff and brittle.
It’s the balance that counts, so pay attention. Too much of anything can be a bad thing.
After a recent Twitter convo with L’Oreal Paris (check it out here), I decided that we all need a little help cutting back on hot tools and learning how to get great styles without the damage.
This favorite classic can do wonders on tresses. Shower and condition hair like normal. Towel dry so hair is damp, not wet. Use a little anti-frizz serum, mousse, or shaping cream. Put hair into a loose braid and go to sleep. Wake up with loose, beachy waves. Opt for some sea-salt spray or hair spray to texture hair and make it stay put. Side note: Don’t want to sleep in a braid. Do the same after your shower in the morning and let it dry while you get ready.
Headband Flapper Girl
This technique was featured in a previous blog (read it here), but I incorporated the blow dryer to speed up the style. Get rid of the heat by axing the blow dryer and sleeping in it instead. I’ve used this overnight style technique numerous times, and love how bouncy my curls are when I wake up. They loosen throughout the day, and by night… my hair has perfect, loose waves. Plus, sleeping in the headband is super comfortable.
Top Knot Glory
This trick is similar to the Sleeping Braid, except that you use a top knot or ballerina bun. This technique is great for gals with straight or smooth hair. My coarse frizz doesn’t do well in the loose buns because it ends up tangled and quite ugly. I will say that my straight hair friends love this trick. Use it overnight or in the morning. You can also rock a damp bun all day at work and let it out by night for an easy glam ‘do.
My All Time Favorite
Do nothing and see what happens. Condition your hair, then towel dry and apply leave-in conditioner and any styling product of your choice. For added smoothness, add an anti-frizz serum or cream. Gently comb locks with a wide-toothed comb (as seen here) and rock your natural hair. Maybe it dries into waves and you can use your natural volume to create a cute updo. Perhaps your tresses dry straight and flat, so opt for a deep side-part or trendy poof. Whatever your end result, find a way to make your natural hair work for you.
Remember, as with any style… confidence is key! You are beautiful. Let your beauty shine and be proud of who you are.
New York Fashion Week Fall 2013 has unveiled some amazing designs that we can all expect to see gracing red carpets and NY streets in the coming months. Along with the beautifully adorned dressed and tailored looks, NYFW also unveiled the next lineup of trendy hairstyles.
Want to see what hairstyles every gal will be sporting in the coming year?? Scroll down for six of the best ‘dos we are all going to try.
Pony tails were all the rage at the Anna Sui show as models strutted down the runway with retro ponies that had lots of bounce and volume. Expect to see this look in more places then your local gym.
Elegant side-parted hair was the favorite look at the Diane Von Fursetenberg show. Models showed off voluminous tresses all with an effortless side part. This style is appropriate for all occasions, so expect to see it at the office, glitzed up for a night on the town, and on the weekends for causal errands.
Ahhh the updo. No one did updo's like Badgley Mischka. Not only will the famous designer's gowns be a favorite on the red carpet for this season's award shows, but so will the updos. Expect to see many starlets with this classic Hollywood hairstyle at the Oscars.
Big bouncy curls made quite an entrance at the Marc by Marc Jacobs show. I've been waiting years for curls to return to high prominence, and am crossing my fingers that this is the year. Use an anti-frizz serum and plenty of conditioner to keep curls moisturized. Time for curly-haired girls to rule once again.
The models at the Carmen Marc Valvo show wore hair half-up, half-down. This versatile look can be dressed up or made casual, and can be worn with curly or straight hair. Expect every gal to be rocking this look at one point or another in the next year.
Vintage twists were the style of choice for Carolina Herrera, and made a nice alternative to the typical updo. You can part hair in the middle or to the side, then twist back sections until you reach the back of your crown. Loosly pin hair up for an effortless look, and enjoy this popular 1940's throwback.
