If you want a gorgeous, easy-to-style and chic new hairstyle, consider the lob. You’ve seen it on your favorite celebs, including Emily Blunt, Heidi Klum, Jessica Alba, Tyra Banks, Anne Hathaway, January Jones, Nicole Richie and Naomi Campbell.

An updated version of the classic bob, the lob falls somewhere between the shoulders and the collarbone. Longer in the front and shorter in the back, it can be worn straight and sleek, tousled or wavy. And it goes easily from jeans to red-carpet glamour. The lob is long enough to be gathered into a ponytail, a loose bun or an updo.

You don’t need to be a star to rock a lob. The cut looks good on almost everybody, says Los Angeles stylist Domingo Serquinia. “The lines are softer than a bob,” he says, “so it flatters every face type. And it can be adjusted to work with any hair texture, save for super curly locks.” If your hair falls in ribbons, a lob will look beachy chic.  But the style can look too boxy or bottom heavy on corkscrew or coiled curls.

Here are some tips from Serquinia, who has been turning out some luscious lobs at Paint Shop Beverly Hills, his hip hair and nail salon.

1. Choose the right lob for your face shape. If you have a square face, long choppy layers at the ends will play down your square jaw. A long face will get a lift with shorter layers. “Midface layers will draw attention to your cheekbones and eyes,” Serquinia says. Keep the lob below your shoulders to lengthen a round face. Longer, side-swept bangs can add angles to a round face, but avoid a blunt fringe.

2. Work with -- not against -- your hair’s natural texture. “The thicker your hair, the choppier you want the ends to be,” says Serquinia. That avoids a bottom-heavy cut and brings some playfulness into the style. But if you have fine hair, those choppy ends will look thinned out. Instead, keep the ends blunt to create fullness.

3. Have fun! One of the great things about the lob is its versatility. You can pull your hair into a high pony and let some of the bottom layers hang out. It’s what Serquinia calls “an unkempt kempt look.” Let your hair dry, and apply a thick leave-in conditioner or wax to play up the ends and layers. Style with a round brush for body, or use a flatiron for sleekness and try flipping up some ends. Experiment with a large-barreled curling iron to create those tousled waves.

As your tan fades and fall approaches, chances are your sun-streaked summer hair could use a little TLC. Follow these hair-resuscitating tips from industry pros and you’ll make autumn the season of gorgeous hair days.

Moisturize, Moisturize, Moisturize
“Summer hair damage isn’t going to just repair itself,” says West Hollywood stylist Mauricio Ribeiro, who operates his own namesake salon. He suggests treating parched manes with a moisturizing shampoo followed by a moisturizing conditioner. Be sure to apply the conditioner where sun-damaged hair needs it most--from the mid-shaft to the tip. “Hair isn’t as dry at the roots thanks to its natural oils, so condition there more sparingly,” says Ribeiro.

Handle With Care
To baby your stressed tresses, apply a leave-in detangler. This will add an extra boost of conditioner and also gently smooth and separate strands, so you won’t have to tug at snags with a comb. That kind of rough handling can add further damage to your hair. “When your hair is wet, only use a wide-toothed comb to prepare it for styling,” says Pantene senior scientist Jeni Thomas. “Even when it’s dry, you want to use the minimum number of brushstrokes it takes to achieve or refresh your style.”

Get Deep
If your locks still look lackluster after using rinse-out and leave-in conditioners, call in the SWAT team: a concentrated hair-conditioning treatment or mask. To get all the benefits from the nourishing ingredients, apply the conditioner section-by-section to your hair, says Dani Hauflaire, a stylist with Maxine Salon in Chicago. Start at the tips and work toward the roots. Then, leave it on for a few minutes while you buff your skin with your favorite body scrub. (Your skin can also use some extra care now!) “The steam from the shower will help the product really penetrate the hair shaft,” says Hauflaire.

Tweak Your Color
Sun exposure can leave your hair looking dull and brassy, especially if it’s color-processed. And the streaks that looked glowing against bronzed skin will wash out fall’s paler complexion. Maintain a flattering balance by adding rich tones to your hair. That means auburn, chestnut, chocolate and coffee if you’re a brunette; caramel, gold and toffee if you’re a blonde. An at-home or salon gloss will also restore shine to your hair so it gleams on even a cloudy fall day.

Cut Your Losses
Chlorine, sun, salt, ponytail elastics -- all can lead to frayed and fried ends. “Left alone, those split ends are going to continue to split,” says Hauflaire. A half-inch trim will make a world a difference -- leaving you with well-defined, healthy ends that will show off your hairstyle, whether it’s a bob, a pixie, straight and sleek or long, sexy waves.

Photo: Corbis Images

Saltwater, chlorine, surf-side breezes, the warming rays of the sun on a cloudless day … the elements of a perfect summer weekend can play havoc on your locks. But you can still maintain gorgeous hair -- and even get a conditioning boost from the sun with these easy summer hair care tips.

Use Moisturizing Products
Fried hair isn’t just a figure of speech in the summer: It’s a reality. The heat of the sun and the exposure to salt, chlorine and sand will open up the hair’s cuticle, stripping it of natural oils and leaving behind scorched strands. Use shampoos, conditioners and styling products that contain the words “moisturizing” or “hydrating” on their labels.

Shield Your Hair Color
“Just as there’s no such thing as a healthy tan, there’s no such thing as lightening your hair in the sun in a way that’s good for it,” says Beverly Hills hairdresser Jon Patrick. UV rays pull the warmth from color-treated hair, leaving behind locks that are faded and brassy. Even untreated hair can turn dull under the sun’s oxidizing rays.

If you're going to be outdoor during the hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., make applying a hair care product that contains UV filters -- these can be in spray, gel or cream formulas -- as much of a daily habit as applying sunscreen.

Saturate Hair Before Taking a Dip
Drench your hair with clean water before you dive into the pool or the surf. “Your hair is like a sponge,” says Melissa Herst, a stylist at the DiPietro Salons in San Francisco. “If you coat it with clear water, it will soak that in instead of absorbing damaging chlorine or salt.”

Lasso the Power of the Sun
If you’ve ever sat under the dryer for 30 minutes at the salon while good-for-you ingredients soaked into your hair, you know how heat helps a deep conditioning product go even deeper. You can get the same dramatic results by applying a deep conditioner when you’re spending an hour or two at the beach or pool (just pack your favorite conditioning treatment in your beach bag).

Put Down the Heat Tools
With all the heat exposure you’re getting from the hot summer sun, you want to keep your use of hot styling tools to a minimum. “Blow-drying and flatironing your hair usually does not hold up well in the summer heat and humidity, so it’s better to use a styling cream or mousse and let your hair dry naturally,” says Dana Lulgjuraj, a stylist at The Butterfly Studio Salon in New York City. For that sexy beachy look, apply a curl-enhancing spray or cream throughout your hair, allow to air-dry (or speed up the process with a blow-dryer set to medium and a diffuser) and work in a light pomade to keep your hair soft and shiny.

Instead of a curling iron, add body or curl to your hair by using rollers on damp hair, says David Kastin, a senior stylist at the Julien Farel Salon. Let air-dry, then remove.

And remember, accessories can more than make up for less-than-polished tresses. “Get some cool pins and clips and just put your hair up,” says Kastin. “This also minimizes the amount of hair exposed to the sun.”

Here’s all that’s standing between you and your most beautiful, most manageable hair: a tiny bit of self-knowledge. Simply knowing your natural hair type will help you achieve smooth hair that holds its style through the whole day (curls that are defined and controlled, fine hair that doesn’t flop midday, etc.).

“If you understand your hair,” says Jeni Thomas, a research scientist on hair and scalp health for Pantene, “you not only know what it is capable -- and not capable -- of doing, but how best to work with it as well.” 

The Science of Hair Types
Think Avatar is the most important 3-D breakthrough? Consider this: The same kind of 3-D technology used in medicine to image and measure bone density is also being used to study the way multiple hair fibers interact. What researchers have discovered, says Thomas, is that different types of hair texture create different kinds of 3-D structures. This revelation is leading to customized product lines that can spell the end of bad hair days. 

We now know that the same shampoo and conditioning ingredients and formulations that keep curly hair shiny and healthy won’t give fine hair the body and volume it needs. Curly hair fibers form an intricate network that can act like a filter, trapping ingredients from shampoo and conditioners; what’s needed to prevent damage are products that minimize the friction between strands.

Fine hair fibers, on the other hand, arrange themselves in a parallel pattern that acts more like a funnel, so ingredients that moisturize and condition slip away rather than stick. The fix is a formula that helps those reparative ingredients grab on and stay.

The Basic Hair Types
Almost all hair -- 98 percent -- falls into four different structures:

1. Fine hair has up to 50 percent less protein than thicker hair, so it’s fragile and tends to fall flat.
   
2. Medium-thick hair can contain up to twice as many cells as fine hair, making it more rigid and capable of absorbing up to 40 percent more moisture than fine hair, which can lead to frizz.

3. Curly hair has twists and turns that can cause the cuticle to lift and weaken, leaving hair rough and difficult to control.

4. Color-treated hair has undergone a structural change in the chemical process that makes it more negatively charged than unprocessed hair -- that can mean hair that’s rough, dull and vulnerable to damage.

Why Hair Type Matters
Products formulated for your hair type will make styling easier; on the other hand, the wrong ingredients and formula will have you waging a losing war with your locks -- struggling to get the style you want, frustrated when it doesn’t hold. For example, as Thomas points out, “thicker hair tends to be more frizz-prone than finer hair, so for medium-thick hair to hold a style throughout the day, ingredients that offer hair some humidity resistance are extremely helpful.”

To keep fine hair from wilting midday, however, prep it with a shampoo containing polymers boosting its cleaning power and allowing these fragile strands to stand up to the weight of accumulated scalp oils, dirt and yesterday’s styling residue. Look for shampoos, conditioners and styling products that are especially designed for your hair type; you’ll find customized lines on your drugstore shelves.

The Right Cut for Your Hair Type

• Fine hair “Avoid overly razored cuts,” says George Papanikolas of West Hollywood’s Andy Lecompte salon, where you might spot such A-list clients as Madonna and Penelope Cruz. “Opt instead for a layered cut with blunt ends, which will leave the hair looking thicker.”

• Medium-thick hair Keep your hair at least a few inches below your chin. “You need some length to prevent your hair from getting too bulky,” says Mike Van Den Abbeel, owner of Mosaic Hair Studio in Orlando, Fla. “Long layers will also remove some weight and add definition to your style.” 

• Curly hair To avoid what veteran hairstylist Don Bewley describes as “curly hair that looks like a topiary,” ask for a cut that imposes some structure and shape on your ringlets. That means long layers -- no shorter than 6 inches -- save for a few shorter face-framing layers in front and a well-defined line at the ends.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/fmbackx

Summer beauty is getting a makeover this year. The look is a bit bolder and more daring than in seasons past. It doesn’t require a whole arsenal of new products or techniques. But it does take a willingness to depart from your tried-and-true hot-weather makeup and hair regimens. Try at least a couple of these new tweaks, courtesy of celebrity makeup artist Tasha Reiko Brown. You’ll be surprised how effortlessly modern they look and feel.

1. Skip the lip gloss. Instead, apply creamy color straight from the tube. Choose lipstick with a satin finish in bright sorbet colors like neon peach, raspberry, cotton-candy pink, lush melon. “Satin formulas pack a lot of pigment,” says Brown, “but they’re a lot friendlier than matte lipsticks.” Matte may be a favorite on the fashion runways, but because the formulation lacks shine, it can look severe and dry on small lips and too intense on full lips.

2. Put down the bronzer. A summer staple, bronzer is taking a vacation this year. In its place, a straight-from-the-orchard burst of fruity color. Swap winter’s rosy hues for peach, berry and tangerine. To make sure these shades look fresh rather than clownish, apply the color right on the apple of your cheeks. Choose a gel or cream blush instead of a powder, and look for a finish that doesn’t have any shimmer to it. “You want the wash of color to melt right into your skin without any contouring or hard lines so it looks soft and natural,” says Brown.

3. Quit the smoky eyes. If you’ve never quite mastered those multi-step smoky eye tutorials, here’s good news: It’s out of fashion this season, replaced by a foolproof wash of color from lash line to crease. Choose a melon, light gray, or citrusy lemon or lime hue. Apply with a fluffy eye shadow brush.

4. Lighten up on lashes. While there’s not an actual back-lash taking place, fringes are getting a little less showy this summer. “If you do a really heavy lash with the colorful wash of shadow, you’re going to end up with a look that’s ‘80s rather than current,” says Brown. “You want to keep your lashes clean and defined.” Just curl and apply two coats of your favorite mascara to your top lashes.

5. Embrace your hair’s natural texture. The flat iron is banned this summer, says Brown. Instead, the coolest look for those hot days is an off-the-face, pulled-back hairstyle that tames -- but doesn’t totally subdue -- your hair’s texture. Smooth your hair with a light styling cream that will hold it in place. Then, gather into a classic ballerina bun. Now, run your hands over your hair toward your face, freeing up the short pieces that don’t make it into the bun. Spritz with a shine spray for a polished finish. The end result: on-purpose texture instead of out-of-control frizz.

Photo: @iStockphoto.com/iconogenic