Blow-dry Your Hair Like a Pro

Some women are blessed with hair that goes from wet to wonderful without any help at all. For the rest of us, only professional intervention seems to tame our manes. The good news: With practice, patience and some expert instruction, it’s easy to recreate a professional-looking blowout at home.

Here is a step-by-step guide to getting sleek, polished tresses on your own.  

1. Gather the right tools You’ll need a wide-tooth comb; a hand mirror; styling products; a blow-dryer with a nozzle; a round, ventilated bristle brush; and six hinged hair clips.

2. Gently blot hair with a towel Vigorous rubbing can create frizz and tangles.

3. Apply styling product Steve Lococo, who teaches blow-drying classes at his Borelli salon in Beverly Hills, Calif., suggests using a leave-in volumizing or lifting spray on the roots to give lift to limp hair. If your hair is wavy or medium-bodied, also apply an anti-frizz serum or other anti-humectant product from roots to ends. 

4. Blow out the excess moisture until hair is about 80 percent dry Concentrate heat at the roots and don’t try to control individual strands. If your hair tends to become limp or flat, add volume by bending over while drying. 

5. Section the front Lococo suggests beginning with an arch that spans the top of your head, running from ear to ear. Part that hair horizontally, creating two sections. Coil each section into a rope and secure with a hair clip.

6. Section the back Working from top to bottom, draw three horizontal parts across the back of your head from ear to ear; coil and secure all but the bottom section.

7. Wrap hair around a round brush As you wrap, pull hair at a taut 45-degree angle to your head and finish drying your hair completely. Begin with the loose bottom section in the back and continue working from back to front. Point the blow-dryer nozzle at an angle to aim air across the surface of strands and into the brush.

8. Subdivide the tough sections In areas where hair is thick or especially wavy, separate the larger sections into smaller ones that will dry faster and be easier to handle.

9. Check your work in a hand mirror Look for still-damp or unruly strands. Repeat the drying process, allowing hair to set by cooling momentarily on the brush before unwinding.  

Advanced Tips

  • Use a natural bristle brush, suggests John Doucette, director of student salons for Empire Beauty Schools. The gentle boar bristles prevent hair damage and help smooth the cuticle, a process that enhances shine.
  • If you make your part on the side, dry it with your hair parted in the center, suggests Muriel Mastey, who leads Hair Bootcamp classes at her West Hollywood, Calif., salon, Point de Vue. The switch helps keep hair from falling flat.
  • Keep the nozzle at least an inch away from the hair to avoid heat damage.
  • Use your hair dryer’s “cool shot” feature to finish each piece with a blast of cooler air and “set” the curl.
  • Unwinding the hair with a twist of the brush instead of pulling it out straight results in smoother, shinier hair with a bit of wave.
  • To help your blowout last longer, Mastey suggests using a root lifter or amplifier at the start of the blow-drying process. The product can help lift hair slightly from the scalp, where body heat and perspiration may flatten it or add frizz.
  • If you’ve achieved that straight-smooth look, a light mist of hair spray can help prolong the shiny perfection of your blowout. But be warned, if there’s any frizz in your hair, hair spray will preserve that too.

Kate Middleton: Royal Wedding Beauty

Will she or won’t she … wear her hair up? That’s the question royal watchers are asking about Kate Middleton’s ’do for the big day she marries Prince William -- April 29 -- in Westminster Abbey. One thing’s for sure: The 29-year-old future queen of England has her own sense of style, and she won’t take orders from the royal advisers just because it’s “tradition.”

With her long, shiny chestnut locks that are often topped with a hat (so very British), Middleton might want to wear her hair loose when she walks down the aisle -- that’s her signature look, after all. But given the fact that this is a royal wedding, with 1,900 gold-leafed invitations sent out and a fairy-tale glass coach to ride in after the vows are exchanged, some speculate that Kate’s hair should be as formal as it gets: worn up in a classic style, such as a French twist.

This sleek, sophisticated ’do would showcase the tiara the bride will undoubtedly wear, chosen from many in the queen’s “jewel pool” and usually presented by the queen as a wedding gift. However, “a French twist is so structured, it can look too severe and mature on a young woman,” says hairstylist (and fellow Brit) Christopher Dove of The Doves Studio in Santa Monica, Calif. “That said, I’m sure Kate would look amazing with her hair up in a French twist, but I’m voting for a much more youthful half-up, half-down style.”

Makeup Fit for a Princess
“All of the young brides I make up are asking for smoky eyes on their wedding day,” says Eugenia Weston, an Emmy-nominated makeup artist and owner of Senna makeup studios in Los Angeles. She imagines that Middleton, however, will skip the sultry makeup.

“I think she’ll go for a fresh, clean look -- starting with her skin -- to take advantage of the fact that it’s naturally luminous,” says Weston. “I’d define her eyes with delicate eyeliner, and add a few individual false lashes to fill in where needed for a feathery fringe. I’d also groom her brows so they are dramatic frames for those lovely eyes. And for her mouth, I’d suggest a rosy lipstick, or maybe even a matte shade that reads like a rosy stain.”

The bottom line: Middleton is so pretty, there isn’t much to be done, and in the conservative splendor of Westminster Abbey, dramatic makeup would look inappropriate. 

Your Own Wedding Countdown
Here’s how to achieve the healthiest and most beautiful hair possible on the big day.

4 weeks before the wedding: Schedule a practice session with the hairdresser. Bring in a photo of your dress and the actual headpiece (veil, jeweled clip, headband, tiara, silk flowers). Bring a camera to capture the range of hairstyles (updo, French twist, half-up half-down, long and flowing). At home, print out the top hairstyle so the hairdresser has a handy reference point for the big day. 

3 weeks: Start weekly at-home deep conditioning treatments.

2 weeks: Have hair cut or trimmed. Book an intensive in-salon conditioning hair care treatment.

1 week: So your hair color looks as fresh as possible, wait until now to have your color or highlights done. Have bangs or fringe trimmed. Continue with at-home conditioning.

Day of: At least three hours before the wedding, meet with the hairdresser. If you’ve chosen an upswept style that can be pinned up securely, you can have your hair done earlier. But if your hair will be worn down with soft curls that can go flat, the appointment needs to be closer to the wedding’s start time.

If you’re headed for a tropical honeymoon, don’t forget to pack that at-home conditioner to maintain your hair’s shine and to protect it from the sun and the sea.

New Hair Trends for Spring

There may still be a chill in the air, but there’s a clear forecast for spring hair: It’s coming undone. As relaxed silhouettes, bright colors and textured lightweight fabrics paraded down the New York fashion runways, hairstyles also unwound -- think the disheveled glamour of Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively and Sienna Miller. 

“This spring, you’re perfect in a cool pair of jeans, a simple shirt and a beautiful jacket,” says Jeanne Yang, who styles the likes of Keanu Reeves and Katie Holmes, with whom she also designs the fashion line Holmes & Yang. “Your hair should have the same vibe -- like you’re pulled together, but not trying too hard. Nobody wants to look like they’ve just sat in a salon for an hour.”

Hair is getting shorter, cut in long layers just below the collarbone or at the shoulders. Beverly Hills stylist Byron Williams, who tends to the tresses of Selena Gomez and Eva Mendes, has been chopping flowing hair to 2 inches below the collar bone for an “edgier, fresher” take on surfer-girl sexy. Still, says, Lori Morris, senior editor of American Salon magazine, “There’s no big haircut of the season. Curls are relaxed and wild, and ponytails are loose and messy, as if you’ve just played tennis for an hour.” Jamal Hamadi, a favorite stylist of Kirsten Dunst, says come spring he’ll start with a shoulder-length cut that has jagged ends for more natural texture. “You want to look like a messy child,” he says.

Want to get a jump on spring hair? Here’s how to achieve what will be the season’s big four hair trends: 

1. Loose Waves
For this surfer-girl look, start with day-old hair that has some texture and body to it. Dampen your wavy locks with a texturizing spray, then scrunch random pieces while you blow-dry with a diffuser. If your hair is straight, wrap 3-inch chunks around a large-barreled curling iron. Finish with a light-hold hair spray.

2. Messy Braids
The look: braids with attitude. Spritz hair with a texturing spray, then part to the side, letting loose strands fall around the face. Gather hair into a slightly-off-to-one-side ponytail. Braid loosely and secure with an elastic band. Cover the band by winding strands of hair around it. Fasten stray strands with a bobby pin.

3. Textured Ponytails
The ponytails that bobbed down the spring runways were a bit less sleek than usual. With the tails textured and a little bit wild, they were a fetching mix of control and chaos. To get this new hair trend, smooth your hair with a dab of gel, and then brush it into a high ponytail. To texturize the tail, flat-iron hair and then mist it with sea-salt spray. Pull clumps apart for that cool, unkempt, out-at-the-club-till-4 a.m. look.

4. Hot-rollered Hair
For sexy tousled waves, wind haphazard sections of your hair into hot rollers. Leave in for five minutes, then remove and fluff the curls with your hands. If the waves are too voluminous, lightly brush. Place a dab of shine cream onto your palms and work onto the surface of your hair, then mist with a light-hold spray. “I wore hot rollers in my hair as I drove to a wedding,” says Yang. “When I got there, I pulled them out and headed to the party. Everyone kept telling me my hair looked fabulous -- little did they know I’d just styled it in my car!”

Top Hairstyles to Do With a Curling Iron

It’s the secret to top hairstyles like Beyonce’s barrel waves, Kim Kardashian’s sexy bedhead look and the glamorous cascade of curls that stars regularly show off on the red carpet. We’re talking about curling irons. “You can change the whole texture and personality of your hair in just a few minutes with a curling iron,” says Mezei Jefferson, a Chicago-based salon educator. “It will also help boost volume and add fullness to baby-fine hair.”

There are a variety of different curling irons that create curls of different size and tightness. Here’s how to find the one that’s right for you.

Spiral Curls
These curling irons have raised ridges on the barrel. To create the telephone-cord curls of Mariah Carey or Sarah Jessica Parker, simply twist your hair around the spiral pattern. The closer the grooves, the tighter the curls. For cascading ribbon curls with volume at the roots, choose a spiral iron with a tapered barrel.

Tips:

  • Work with diagonal sections of hair to get closer to your scalp and create small bouncy curls.
  • After you curl a section of your hair, pin it to your scalp to keep your curls intact as you continue styling the rest of your hair.

Loose Curls
Megan Fox and “Glee” stars Jayma Mays and Dianna Argon all rocked retro Hollywood glamour at this year’s Golden Globes with romantic, wavy texture. To create this look, choose a spring curling iron with a barrel size of at least 1 inch. The longer your hair, the larger the barrel you’ll want: Opt for a barrel of 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches for mid-length hair, or 2 inches if your hair is shoulder-length or longer. Spring curling irons are a great tool for novice curlers; the clip helps you keep a firm grip on your hair as you work.

Tips:

  • Begin working from the middle of the hair shaft. Roll hair in the direction of your scalp. Then open the clip and feed in your ends.
  • To protect hair, use as little heat as needed. Start with a temperature of 300 F. If that doesn’t give you the hold you want, gradually move on to hotter settings, increasing heat by 25 F at a time.

Waves

Double- or triple-barreled curling irons give you that just-back-from-the-beach look you’re craving in the middle of winter. This is the tool to choose if you want the tousled tresses of celebrity hair trends seen on Taylor Swift or Blake Lively.

Tips:

  • For an authentic beachy look, start with day-old hair rather than just-shampooed locks.
  • Apply a light holding spray before curling, and then work with horizontal sections of hair, rolling up to about 1 inch from your scalp.

Tips for All Types of Curls

  • Apply a silicone-based serum before using the curling iron to protect your hair against heat damage.
  • After curling, apply pomade or a silicone-based styling product. Work through your hair gently, and then finger-comb your hair to separate curls.
  • Keep the barrel of your iron clean. Run a smooth, dry cloth over it when it’s still warm -- not hot -- to remove dust and product buildup.
  • Make sure your hair is absolutely dry before you use your curling iron. Otherwise, you’ll end up with damaged hair and limp, ill-formed curls that will wilt in one to two hours.
  • Always work with small sections of hair and hold the curl around the curling iron for 10 seconds, then release.
  • Spray each section with a light mist of flexible-hold hairspray.

Photo Credit: @iStockphoto.com/coloroftime

Latest Celebrity Hair Color Trends

When it comes to embracing beauty trends, hair color is a tricky one. After all, few of us would undergo a drastic change in color just to make a fashion statement. Fortunately, you don’t need to go Lady Gaga platinum to feel current and fresh.

British celebrity colorist Louise Galvin explains how it’s done. “Good hair color should always enhance skin tone and eye color,” she says. “That means staying within two shades -- darker or lighter -- of your natural base. For example, Emily Blunt and Keira Knightley are classic English beauties who never move too far from their own color, but instead change the tone throughout the year, going lighter and brighter through the summer and then richer in fall and winter. Another example is Jennifer Aniston. Her color is always spot-on, moving from deep caramel tones in winter to honey in spring and summer, but always staying within the boundaries of her natural base.”

Here, the top hair color trends for 2011, from London to Los Angeles:

Warm Color
Just say no to ashy blond or beige-blond shades, which can make the skin look dull and gray. “Cold colors like that are not flattering to the face, especially on winter-pale skin,” says Lea Journo, owner of The Lea Journo Salon in Beverly Hills, which attracts A-listers such as Brad Pitt, Sienna Miller and Kate Bosworth. Instead, go for warmer tones: If you normally wear bright blond highlights, take them down to golden. Red hair is still on trend for 2011, but will be richer and warmer, in the strawberry or auburn family. As for brunettes, check out Journo’s client Katie Cassidy of Gossip Girl. “We gave her warm-honey highlights and lowlights that stay within the brown family, but are still lustrous and multi-tonal,” Journo says.

Hand-painted Highlights
Skinny streaks are out. What’s in: chunky highlights that vary in size and in depth of brightness, depending on where they’re placed on the scalp. It’s a look best created by a method known as balliage -- painting color directly on the hair instead of using traditional foils.

“After the client’s hair is cut, I ask her to show me how she wears it every day, how she moves with it, how she puts it up,” says Journo. “This helps me design where the lowlights and highlights should go. Since I don’t want a thick chunk of blond at the roots, I use a paintbrush to sketch the color on softly and then gradually widen the streak as I go down the hair. The strength of the color also changes, becoming brighter on the ends.” This technique is shown to best advantage on her client Ellen DeGeneres, “whose highlights and lowlights are bright and shiny and full of dimension, thanks to balliage. We could never achieve that look with foils.”

High-shine Hair
Forget the matte grunge look; lustrous, light-reflective locks that show off your multidimensional color will feel more chic in 2011. Galvin says you can achieve this glossy finish by tweaking your hair care habits. “Apply your conditioner or deep treatment liberally to the mid-lengths and ends, skipping the roots,” she suggests. “Massage it through using your fingers -- not a comb -- and allow the product to penetrate the hair for as long as you can. When you’re ready to rinse, apply a little water to loosen the product, and then begin combing it out, starting from the ends and gently teasing out any tangles while you work up to the root. Once you’ve combed it through, rinse.”

While this system takes a little longer, treating your hair as gently as you treat your skin will leave it nourished and moisturized -- plus it will keep your hair looking shiny and healthy.

Photo Credit: Getty Images